Snow!!

As I stepped out of the doors of Sir Branson's Phonograph Emporium into the chill air of Monday morning, I was greeted by a flurry of soft white snow. By Jove! This was my very first snow storm that I had the pleasure of walking through.

The early hour (12:30 am to be precise) of the morning meant that the slick and cold New York streets were relatively deserted, allowing me the opportunity to savour the experience. The flakes fell quite thickly, swirling and dancing around me like cotton from the thresher.

I caught the locomotive out to Jersey City and had the pleasure of seeing the mean and dirty streets of the Heights transformed into a pristine white landscape - sparkling under the yellow street lamps. As I trudged home I was thankful of the efforts of both my Grandmother and Mrs. W in locating and sending over my stout leather boots. At least an inch thick on the ground, the snow fluffed, flurried and crunched under my feet as I walked.

And while the going wasn't without peril (at least four times I was threatened with near slips on areas of icy footpath) I couldn't help but imagine what it was like for the early explorers seeing their own footprints break through fresh snow as they trekked the American landscape during their incessant march west.

I didn't meet a soul on the way home, and it felt very peaceful wandering the cold, crisp streets blanketed under fresh snow.

About the weather...

...it would appear that it is cold.

Much colder than I have ever experienced before.



Note the (fake) fur collar...I assure you that it is quite indespensible.

-14 degrees!!!!!

To Lt. B Smitherton,

A Barracks,
Sydney Cove,
Australia.

Well dear chap, it seems one of us has the better post! When time came up to serve in the colonies I should have read the fine print closer. The 'Americas' is not the sunny, sandy beaches and scantily clad serving girls in halved coconuts as we were led to believe by 'Soldiering Weekly', almost the polar opposite. It also appears that there is a significant difference between 'America' and 'Central America'. Well, I guess it is these experiences that make us the elite of the Corps eh what?

The weather has taken a turn for the colder in the last week, with a fresh fall of snow and more due by the end of the week. If the thermometer is also working it appears that we have been seeing -3 degrees for most of the week (personally I do not put much store in these 'thermometers', but instead stay by the tried and true method of timing how long it takes to defrost your underwear in front of the fireplace).

The wife and I took some R & R over the weekend (after a full week of work - it seems the chaps down at Sir Branson's Union Square shop have finally found something for me to do - underpaid of course!) with a trip to the metropolitan Museum of Art for a gander at the Tiffany collection. It seems that the old silversmith family have donated a few things from out of the attic of the country estate for the viewing public.
The old fellow certainly new how to blow glass, I'll give him that. Whilst we were not allowed to take any daguerreotypes I managed to purchase a couple of post cards at the gift shop for you.



















As we were so close to Central Park we decided to have a look at the ice rink. I've included a few photographs so you can see how frozen the park was!




This is the Conservatory Water where the old men race their model boats of an afternoon. As you can guess, they were not in residence on this day - the surface was frozen solid!



Whilst it had snowed earlier during the week, it didn't stay around for long. There is still snow on the ground back at the fort in Journal Heights which is nice as it appears to hide the worst of the garbage that gets blown around.





This is the famous Alice in Wonderland sculpture in Central Park (note the pre-Disney features!) by José de Creeft.







And here we have the Ice Rink at the southern end of the park. The little lady and I resisted the temptation to break in a pair of skates as we were both still feeling the affects of a rambunctious night in the Village and were not quite up to seeing how cold the ice would feel on our behinds.



At that point it was unanimously agreed that a cup of tea was in order and we retired to the rural abode in the Hills of New Jersey. Whilst the cold air is enough to turn one positively frigid, it is surprising how fresh and clean it makes one feel. We have discovered that it is positively vital that one keeps their chapstick handy (no Smitherton, the other chapstick). I spent a painful few days regretting its absence.

Keep well Smitherton, and remember to keep out of the sun during the day. Hopefully we shall be granted leave for Christmas next year when I hope we can convalesce in warmer climes.

Till then,

Yours

Sgt. M

Nothing Much

To the avid word fan (or Reader as we like to call them), my blog would seem a bit of a let down. It's not that I don't like writing in it, rather that there is a distinct lack of anything decent to write in it. That is, unless one would like to read about my complaints which I'm quite sure gets old very quickly.

Essentially, there has been little change in my situation since I arrived, apart from being rather much poorer and definitely much colder. It is starting to become a bit of a bore really.

One is spending their time learning about networking (in the computing sense), how to draw fashion illustrations and attempting to learn how to sew (this one is proving a little more difficult as the resources can be costly). One is also spending much of their time going to the local gymnasium for callisthenics. I'm not sure the last thing is having much of an effect but it keeps one out of trouble.

So there isn't much to like here at this point in time so my entries have been rather short. I've decided that this should probably be rectified and so I am going to write about a couple of things that I actually like about America (and I'm afraid you can count them on one hand, or paw).

Squirrels
That's right. The little blighters are furry and manic but are a pleasant sight to see scurrying around the suburban (and even city) streets. The variety that we have here are the Eastern Grey Squirrel (pictured)

although you occasionally see critters that are dark or reddish in colour (however I am reliably informed that they are the same species, just a recessive phenotype).
It always brings a smile to my face to see these little fellows bounding along the road as if the very devil himself is at his heels.



Bagels
Good Lord! The Americans have made a bread product that is not so full of corn syrup that it makes your toes curl in your shoes. They come in a variety of flavours and believe me - they are good.

Cheap Stuff
Cheap stuff? What the deuce is he talking about?
It's amazing really. Most things are cheap here - about half the price they are back home.
Now, when I say stuff and things, I am not talking about stuff that is important - those things cost alot. Stuff like cds, televisions, furniture, whitegoods, computers, clothings, etc etc are actually quite cheap. The things you need to survive (healthcare, insurance , etc) is quite expensive, and on many occasions out of reach of the everyday folk.
Couple the fact that things are cheap with the fact that there is an incredibly large selection of things to buy - you can see why America is a shoppers dream! All I need now is money (I know it exists, I've seen pictures of it on television).

Gin

The range of gins available is enough to make a grown man (they would have to be a martini lover) cry. Astronomical! And so incredibly affordable: $30 for a 1.5 litre bottle of Bombay Sapphire (and here, that is considered to be a fairly substandard gin - so you can see what sort of heaven I'm in...). Amazing!




So there you have it, a very short list of things I like - but a list nonetheless.
Till things get rosier....

Smoke me a kipper.

Sgt M

Social Security and all things pale

Well, it finally has happened. The US government has decided I exist for taxation purposes and has issued me with my very own barcode tracking device social security number. This will make getting work much, much easier!

And another thing that has made our existence here so much better. We have discovered, as of today, that the local ShopRite (10 blocks away and down the hill) stocks Coopers Pale Ale!