S/P Survival Guide, Vol. III

Hands + Handles = Germ-infested Appendages

Your daily ride may leave you with much to be desired on the cleanliness front. And while you may be tempted to start toting a can of Lysol, as a fellow Big Appler, you're better than that. It's subway surfing, hand sanitizing or dealing. After all, what New Yorker expects clean? Now that glove weather is officially over, the recommended option is the half surf, half sanitize combo - surf when possible and if grasping to stay afloat is necessary, promptly sanitize all exposed areas.

For a summerlicious, recession-friendly antibacterial option, try Coconut Lime Verbena Pocketbac from Bath & Body Works.

Hands dried out from winter chill, compounded by said hand sanitizer? Try Lollia Mini Hand Creams from Anthropologie.

When the Stars Align

Oh what a wonderful Friday. I woke up late, from aforementioned wine coupled last night with the Sweet 16 tourney, took the time to shower, do my make-up, straighten my hair, AND iron a shirt - after all it's Friday, its 60 degrees out, and Blue Smoke is calling my name for post-work comfort food.

I left my apartment late per usual (without my Northface OR my Uggs!), yet somehow the stars aligned for me, paving the way to get to work on time - for once. Is there a better feeling than running down the PATH steps, just as a 33rd street-bound train pulls into the station, and best of all it is NOT completely packed?

And the answer is yes, there is. It's when following this stroke of luck, I walk upstairs, and a B train is waiting with doors wide open. I didn't even have to do the run and dive to make it through the closing doors, avoiding leaving my purse and at least one limb hanging outside the car. I even had time to treat myself to a large Hazelnut coffee from my favorite coffee shop.

It's days like these that hope fills my heart for warm weather and convenient travel.

Daily Dilemma: Running Late

We've all been there. Last night's bottle of wine left you with waking up to a holy headache and you end up stumbling out of bed 30 minutes later than the first time you heard that obnoxious buzzing alarm. You have no time to make your morning coffee and to make matters worse, you didn't even get to shower, let alone apply any sort of make up, leaving a nest of tangles on your head and a face from Night of the Living Dead.

I'm not sure how many of you are like me, but I often find myself running to catch a train with all of these weekday intricacies in tow. My question to the universe is: Why do you always pick those days for the B train to creep through 4 stops, causing my predisposed lateness by 5 or 7 minutes to escalate into straight up being 15-30 minutes late for work? Am I not a good person? All I did was slightly overindulge in my 3 little hours spent outside of work last night, and this is what I get in return?

Anyone else out there sharing my frustrations?