Black Friday? Green Friday!

For me - a woman coming from Israel - when adding "black" as an adjective to a day in the week - it is usually in a negative connotation.

For example - the "Black Saturday" on June 29th 1946, is known as the day where the British - who ruled Palestine back in the 20's-40's of the 20th Century - put a curfew on the Jewish settlements, and arrested the leaders of the underground mvements, who acted illegally - striving for the establishment of the State of Israel.

Another known black day was the "Black Sunday" - on November 8th, 1942 - where the Nazis slaughtered the Jews of Staszów.

But not here in the USA. Here - the "black" adjective is added in a positive context. Black Friday - is the Friday after Thanksgiving - the day where millions of Americans begin their shopping for Christmass, and the day where the financial books are turing from "Red" (the color for "loss") to "Black" (the color for "revenue").

I would call it - Green Friday. Don' know how it shows in the official financial books. I got to spend a lot of greens today :-)

Living in the City - Never a dull moment # 3

Tuesday. 5:30 am.

A knock on the door wakes me up. Another one a little stronger, and then - a bang. 

- "Who is it?"

- "Police."

- "what the hell are you here for?"

- "Open the door!"

I get up from the bed, and through the peep hole I see 3 cops - one of them is a female, wearing NYPD jackets and their badges hanged from their necks. Now I understand I am not asleep anymore, and this is not a dream nor another episode of Law & Order. this is for real. I have 3 policemen knocking on my door. I'm so busted...

Wait a minute? busted? me? for what?

I decide to open the door (thanks to the policewoman - otherwise I would probably continue yelling over the closed door...). The policeman who stands close to the door tries to squeeze himself as much as he can to the threashold. Of course he is not allowed in without a court order (that I learnd from Law & Order). He asks: "Do you live here on your own?", "Yes", "How long have you been living here?" - "Almost a year", "Have you met the tenant who lived here before you? Do you get any mail for Ricmond? Do you recognize this guy? (he shows me a photo of an ugly guy which makes me cry in fear: "who is this?")" etc., etc. 

I don't know how long it took.

Only thing I know - I couldn't go back to sleep.

Waht a drama!

Living in the City - Never a dull moment # 2

Last week I wake up in the morning, and somewhere between brushing my teeth and maing coffee - I get an alert from Chase Bank - that I have just made a purchase of $338.46 in Ralph Lauren UK (!). Called Chase, they cancelled my card, I was charged, I got the money back, a week later I got a new card. 

But I keep wondering - what the hell can you buy in Ralph Lauren for $338.46? socks?

Living in the City - Never a dull moment # 1

6:00 AM. 

I'm asleep.

Or at least - I think I am. 

In my dream I hear someone yelling at somebody and a dog barking.

Wait a minute - it's not a dream! I'm awake!

My neighbor - who ownes a dog - is yelling at someone and his dog is barking:

"Go away from here! do you hear me? go away! get out of the fu@#ing building! I'm gonna call the police!".

I get up and check the peep hole.

On the floor in fromt of my neighbor's door sits an old, dirty man, holding the door knob and begging: "pls. let me in! this is my home! for christ sake!" (read in a heavy Eastern European accent).

Now I hear the Superintendant:"Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave the building. you are disturbing the tenants. It's trespassing." and another "I will have to call the police".

what the hell is going on here? how long does it take them to call the police? 

I called 911.

5 minutes later a huge policewoman and a small policeman arrive. They as well try to ask the homeless guy to leave. Amazing.

After 5 minutes trying to convince the homeless to get up on his feet and leave willingly (all this time he sits on the floor keep saying this is his apartment and that he had been living there since 1998!), they decide to take an action. They put on their latex gloves, pul the man up, handcuff hm and take him downstairs. In the meantime an ambulance came, and they are waiting with a strecher in the street.

Too much drama for one morning. Now I am fully awake. 

Note to myself: Next time - find an apartment in a doorman building.