December photo-a-day: Week 1

December Photo-a-Day Challenge.  I'll be posting all of my photos on Mondays this month.

December 1 - 8 o'clock

1. Nothing like getting up early on a weekend to get to Target before the crowds and the madness that is this Bronx Terminal massive complex of stores.  Seriously.  It was so peaceful at 8 o'clock.  I was in and out with the quickness and didn't have to worry about bumping in to anything but all of these carts that were jutting out of the outside of the store.  I guess they were moving them in from the parking lot and didn't have enough space for all of them.

December 2 - Peace

2. I am not the type of teacher who shies away from assigning essays because of the time it takes to grade them.  But, I am the type of teacher who starts to grade them and then realizes that I am using the old scoring guide and not the new and improved easier to understand one that I made the day before.  I am the type of teacher who then has to re-grade two classes worth of essays and transfer the scores onto the new scoring guide and the different guidelines on the new scoring guide.  I am also the teacher who enjoys the peace after the grading and watching Scandal.  I just started watching this show last week.  I liked it so much that I watched the entire first season on Netflix in two days and then signed up for Hulu Plus so I could watch the new season's episodes.  I am now caught up and am amazed by each the episodes each week.

December 3 - Something you held

3. It is official.  I will be traveling with students to Greece and Italy this summer for a school excursion.  Which means on Tuesday, I held my expired passport to be sent off for renewal.  Exciting!

December 4 - Black + white

4. I don't know if it has gotten better, or if I have adjusted, or if my nose sensors have been burned out by all the horrid smells, but the corridors of the L train connection from the 1/2/3 line don't seem to smell as bad. At least not in this long section where I took this black and white photo.  I am going to assume that I have burned all the cilia and can no longer smell as well with my nose.

December 5 - Looking up

5. View of the Empire State building from W. 34 Street and 7th Ave.  Pretty nice.  I wished the lights had been one of the various colors they sometimes decorate the building with, though.

December 6 - From where you live

6. Went to a workshop at the Teachers' College at Columbia U.  One of my coworkers has been taking grad classes there and knew how to get to the dining hall for lunch.  I don't remember dorm food having awesome tilapia and roasted potatoes, or cool looking furniture and chandeliers.  But it was nice.  She said some of her classmates who are teaching still stay in the dorms since they are taking classes there.  Must be nice to have some great food ready made for you all the time.

December 7 - Stars

7. Some days when I walk through areas of NYC, I wonder, "Is this really where I live?"  This is Columbus Circle, the lights are great!  They are like stars floating in the trees.  I haven't even made it to any of the big-time Christmas areas of the city, yet.  I'm sure they are even more beautiful.

December 8 - Someone you love

8. This is a bill board posted in the city.  I'm sure there are similar ones in other cities.  It makes me sad to think that you could divorce someone you love and not even get their signature to approve of the divorce.  I guess you go, get it done, and then go to your spouse and tell him/her that you are now divorced and the person can do nothing about it.  Sad.

December 9 - Out + about

9. On Sunday, I went to a Hannukah dinner - my first.  Food was good, but more importantly, I met up with some old high school classmates for the first time since high school.  Good times.  We are going to work to develop some sort of NYC get together of the many numbers of hs grads that live in the area.  This is a picture of graffiti I saw in Brooklyn while I was out and about on my way back to the subway last night.