Coffee Intervention

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Sara, Tabitha, Frank

Subject: Sara and her Joe

Sara's sitting at the table with her laptop and a cup of coffee, tapping away at the keys. Frank's watching television, and Tabitha is making herself a sandwich in the kitchen.

“So Sara, how's Joe?”

“Joe? Who's Joe? Are you dating someone new and didn't tell me?”

“I have no idea what he's talking about. I'm not dating anyone that I know of.”

“I meant your coffee. It seems like I never see you without that coffee mug or Starbucks cup anymore.”

“That's not true! Yesterday I had a Juan Valdez cup!”

“Have you tried..and I know this will sound odd, a good night's sleep? It's not like you have work to get up for.”

“Good night's sleep? That's so 1920s.”

“1920s? Did they historically sleep more in the 1920s?”

“I don't know. Maybe?”

“I guess it was during prohibition. If they couldn't stay out until four drinking, I guess they could get to bed early.”

“Either way. It's a problem when you go to bed after Frank does.”

“Is there something inherently wrong with going to bed at 5am? You know, I wouldn't get this kind of criticism of my schedule in Las Vegas.”

“Well can't you even go to the dentist at 3am in Vegas? But this isn't Vegas, this is New York.”

“It's the city that never sleeps!”

“If it laid off the coffee, it'd be able to sleep!”

“Did you know that the first Starbucks opened in New York in 1994, the same year Friends started?”

“I think I did hear that actually.”

“Very telling.”

“So I'm keeping my coffee then. Besides, It's almost a sin for a programmer to give up things like coffee.”

“Well, the first web cam was created to see if the coffee pot was full so they didn't have to get up.”

“I've always wondered about that. I mean, if everyone could check the coffee pot, and no one got up if it was empty, how'd they ever get coffee?”

“I'm sure the secretary probably started filling it up.”

“Exactly.”

“We're moving towards that culture right? Soon we'll be able to query are fridge contents from a web browser, probably even turn on the oven too. We'll be able to cook dinner from our computer.”

“That would be excellent!”

“Lazy bums! There is some benefit to not sitting on the couch all day you know.”

“There is?”

“Blasphemy.”

Tabitha just rolls her eyes, and takes her sandwich into her room.

Sara the Diseased

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Sara, Tabitha, Frank, Billy and Scott.

Subject: Sara gets Sick

Sara moans, while laying on the couch. “I think I'm sick.”

“Stay away from me, I don't feel like getting sick this week.”

“What's the matter? Got a cold?”

“A cough, my head feels all congested and I have a headache, and I'm nauseas.”

“There is Tylenol cold in the bathroom, you should take some. Take some vitamin C and Echinacea too. It'll help.”

“Okay..” Sara mutters, pulling herself to her feet and heading to the bathroom. Can you pour me something bubbly then?”

Tabitha pours Sara a glass of ginger ale. “I hope she doesn't get us sick, I have a test next week that I need to study for, and trying to study sick sucks.”

“I have to work, and I need the money. And I'm too lazy to do any writing when I'm sick.”

Sara returns from the bathroom and heads towards the kitchen. “Woah, stay away from me! I put your glass by the couch.”

“Yes yes, I'm diseased, no one wants anything to do with me.” Sara mopes around and plops down on the couch.

“Me and Mark have big plans for Valentine's Day, I can't be hacking and sneezing for them. That'd suck.”

“Here, take some Vitamin C with me.”

Frank walks in from his room and sees Tabitha and Ann swallowing pills. “Oooh, popping pills already? Need something to take that edge off before Valentine's Day dates tonight?”

“Just Vitamin C, Sara's sick.”

“Diseased! Quick, someone spray her with Lysol!”

“I don't think spraying me with Lysol is going to heal me.”

“You never know. I'm headed out for an early dinner with a friend, you want me to pick you up some cough drops on the way back?” Frank asks, as Sara start coughing violently.

“That'd be great. Thanks Frank. See if they have the strawberry vitamin c ones. Those are yummy.”

“You got it.”

“Tabitha runs over with a Lysol wipe and wipes down the coffee table in the living room. You can at least cover your mouth if you're going to hack all over!”

“Oh relax! I don't think germs can live for long outside the body anyway, especially on a coffee table.”

“Okay okay..I just don't want to get sick.”

“I'm sure you'll be fine. I don't think I'm contagious anyway. I'm actually glad I didn't have any plans for tonight, I'm not feeling up to being romantic anyway.”

“Yeah, hard to feel sexy when you're coughing and sneezing and generally miserable.”

“That was a Friends episode once. Monica was sick and trying to get Chandler to have sex with her.”

“Yeah, I remember that episode. I just hope you two are snubbed and don't bring smelly flowers back here. They'd probably aggravate my noise.”

“Roses don't smell that much, but I can keep any flowers I get in my room if it bothers you.”

“We'll see. I'm going to lay on the couch and hopefully fall asleep watching chocolate specials on the Food Network.

“Sounds like a plan. I guess I should go get ready to go out and enjoy my Steak tonight. Woo hoo!”

The Bitter End

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Sara, Tabitha, Frank, Billy and Scott.

Subject: The Bitter End

The holidays have come and gone too fast and it’s back to the daily grind for most of us. Holiday decorations have started to come down, and even the leftovers have been eaten or disposed of. Soon discarded Christmas trees will start to line the curbs having outlived their usefulness. The weather has dropped to sub-zero temperatures so that cheeks are turning rosy and noses feel like they’re going to succumb to frostbite. Everyone is bundled up and rushing about from place to place even faster than usual, desperate to get out of the cold. It’s almost as if all the love and warmth of Christmas has been sucked out of the city to leave us with a cold dispassionate wasteland.

I exit the subway, taking the exit that’s farther away because it’s closer to my destination and allows me to stay out of the cold for an extra 50 feet. Everyone is bundled up in hats and scarves and gloves, and the few that aren’t look miserable. Every drop of moisture is quick to freeze; globules of spit have frozen to the sidewalk and coffee quickly cools off between the coffee shop and the office. Even though it's technically been winter for a couple of weeks, this is the first time you walk outside and think to yourself 'I want to just stay in and hide under my blankets all day'. The calendar has turned to 2008, and it's tempting to think of the future, of spring, baseball, barbecues, and the beach but there is still two or three long cold months to dredge through. There are snowstorms, ice pockets, slushy street corners that you have to leap over, cleaning off and warming up your car in the morning if you have one and always wondering if the jacket, hat, and gloves you brought with you are warm enough. Snowstorms can be beautiful, and plenty of people prefer the cold snaps of January to the heat waves of July, but when you're shivering while standing around waiting for a subway or a bus or a taxi, you're rarely thinking of how beautiful the snow looks against the backdrop of the Empire State Building.

The best part of the day is upon me, as I can return to my apartment until tomorrow, safely out of the elements and surrounded by my loving friends. The apartment is full of energy and warmth, and it's easy to forget it's below zero outside when you're joking around watching family guy reruns or playing Apples to Apples, a game Tabitha got for christmas. I unlock the door and go in.

“Hey Ann! We're going to watch Evan Almighty. You in?”

“Sure, I love Steve Carell.”

“I've got a pot of hot chocolate on the stove. You want some?”

“Wow, I can't think of anything I want more. I brought marshmallows and whipped cream.” Ann says, holding up the bag from the store.

“Add a splash of Rumplemintz in there, nothing like warm peppermint to soothe your soul.”

“And your liver!”

“I hate to admit he's right, but it does taste good this way.” Sara says, indicating the mug of hot chocolate she's drinking.

“Bring those marshmallows over here!”

“With pleasure.”

A 6th Floor Thanksgiving Story, Part One

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann, Sara, Tabitha, Frank, Billy and Scott.

Subject: a 6^th Floor Thanksgiving Story, part one

10:30:

Ann arrives back home at the 6^th Floor with Tabitha and bags of groceries.

“The store was a mob scene! The streets themselves were quiet, but everyone is packed into the couple of open stores.”

“Craziness. Hey, Frank is cooking pancakes!”

“Oooh, Pancakes! A suitable Thanksgiving brunch if I do say so myself.”

“I've got plain, blueberry and chocolate chip. Help yourself...just hurry before Scott and Billy eat them all.”

“Billy's eating them at such a pace that I had to keep guard in the kitchen because he was trying to eat them right off the griddle.”

“Didn't stop him from taking a swig of pancake batter though.”

“Eww! Billy!”

“It's Thanksgiving! I was hungry! I am hungry!”

“Thanksgiving is about being thankful your roommates are as well-fed as you. So share!”

“Can I have a little space Frank? I want to get this turkey started so it's ready for dinner.”

“Definitely. Wow, that's a pretty big turkey for six people.”

“Five. I don't eat meat remember?”

“The turkey deserved it though.”

“It was the smallest one I could find actually. That's what I get for waiting for the last minute.”

“You could blame your parents for going to Vegas and ditching you last minute too.”

“Your parents went to Vegas? And they didn't invite me?”

“Contrary to popular belief, every time someone in the general vicinity of New York goes to Las Vegas, they don't have to notify you.”

“Isn't a home cooked Thanksgiving dinner better than room service on the strip anyway?”

“I don't know, you haven't made it yet.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“I'm sure it'll be great. We're all going to help anyway. Right? Right?” Sara says, looking over at Scott.

“Of course! I don't think Ann can eat that all by herself.”

“Not quite what I meant.”

“You want Ann to eat that whole turkey? What is this, a Friends episode?”

“Oh forget it!”

“Oh good. The new episode of the Thanksgiving Day Parade is on. Is this the one where Underdog gets away?”

“If only. The weather's very tame today. No crazy winds or anything.”

“It's very warm out too.”

“Won't last, I heard it's supposed to be frigid tomorrow.”

“Well, luckily it's not tomorrow, it's today. I call next batch of flapjacks!”

“Whoops, Tabitha already called it.”

Tabitha sticks her tongue out at Ann.

To Be Continued....

Here I Am!

Welcome to the 6^th floor.

Today's contributors are: Ann

Subject: Ann's e-note

I'm not at home, but I read my roommates' post searching for me, and decided to leave an e-note instead of responding directly. At least this way they won't make fun of me using whole pads of post-its for my note. I feel like Nemo after reading the post; Tabitha as the father clown fish, and Scott as Dory.

First I want to say thank you to the Barmaid and hope she's okay after her last post. We got more traffic from her link to our blog Sunday than we'd had all of the previous three months, and I think we may have even snagged a regular reader or two.

I've had a busy week, and certainly a better one than the Mets. (Sorry Sara) I've got two big surprises, which I don't want to reveal in this note, but if you're all in for late night snacks and drinks at Catalina's Friday night, I'll meet and explain it all to you there. Frank and Sara, you guys aren't headed to one of the subway series games this weekend right? Both surprises will be explained when I show up, although they're not related in any way.

I visited my parents out on the island. I was briefly hanging out with an old boyfriend, who it turns out only actually missed one part of me. I had some of my mother's delicious ravioli, and caught up with my family and read some books I'd been meaning to read for a while. I really enjoyed Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, I'd been meaning to read that since Sara lent it to me after we saw the Da Vinci Code.

I left my job at the library, which is what allowed me the time to visit my parents. The job wasn't bad, and I wasn't worried about being stuck under a pile of Harry Potter books, (excellent visual there Scott, thanks.) but it was time for me to move along.

My writing ambitions have picked up again, and I think a lot of it has to do with making myself write this blog. Having my roommates help out with it has been a great relief too. I was discussing the blog with an old friend, and she mentioned that our lives resemble the tv show Friends in many ways. She suggested I should write a script based on the blog, like a Friends episode. I've never written anything in that format, but I might try it just for the sake of trying something new.

I have been coming and going at odd hours, especially since I haven't wanted to pay the peak LIRR train fare to go out on the island. However, I have indeed seen my roommates this week, even if they haven't seen me. I'll leave the details for discussion over drinks Friday night.