Happy Hangover Friday!

You know you are having fun when you can't find your boot.
New York City will be cleaning up for quite a while.
Last night there were sirens going all night long. Police, firetrucks, and ambulances. New York City celebrates the new year by hurting itself, apparently. There were enough drunk people shouting on the street that staying home may simply be a choice of safety.

We had a few get-togethers over here. I spent a good part of my day exploring the city. I went up through Harlem to go visit the gym I want to get membership with. Now, there is a good rule of thumb on how to judge if a street is safe or not, a rule that is universal around the world, be it Moscow, Mumabi, or New York City. If there are women and children on the street, it is probably safe. If there are no women or children, best to avoid that street. Same goes for time of day. If you are on a street and the sun sets and suddenly there are no women and children around, best get off the street. I applied that rule while wondering Harlem. I was NOT welcome in Harlem. The locals were very clear in how they broadcast that. People would be greeting each other in the street, talking and laughing, but when I walked by everyone became quiet and didn't look at me, and waited for me to pass before going back to what they were doing. I found a road up to the gym that is well policed (lots of businesses), so I will be taking that route in the future.

Having said that, Harlem is relatively clean and orderly place. There was just a little graffiti here and there, but otherwise no signs of vandalism.