June Renew: Day Twelve
The word of the day was “Surly.” Absolutely everyone was in a bad mood this morning. Except me. I was fine. I had a good breakfast. But yes, I certainly felt the tension. It was here, there, and everywhere. I don’t know if everyone is just in a rut, or if they’ve got legitimate grievances to air. All I know is things are about to blow out there, so perhaps keeping a lid on it is a fruitless endeavor.
My surliness started after work today. Immediately upon exiting the building. First, the unseasonable wind hit me. Then, I was wrestling with myself on whether or not I should purchase something, as I’m already a little tight on cash. I then saw a woman, clearly without a vendor license, selling fruit on the corner near my building. Brazen, in broad daylight. Then, my Uber was going to take seven minutes to get to me. So I canceled it, and suddenly there were no cabs to flag down. And then the one cab that flew by had a girl in it wearing a mask. And so I screamed “what are you even doing?!” to no one listening. And then I got a cab and the driver was rude to me for like no reason. And then I got home and everything was fine. But it was a really tense fifteen minutes let me tell you.
Only after being home and ranting about all the insane New York Things™ I see on Twitter did I remember I got the number for the Manhattan Borough President’s office. Don’t worry, the only trolling I do of these people is online. But if you’ve read this previous entry, you’ll know the park I frequent near my home was recently hit by vandals. The plaza has not been properly maintained since pandemic times, so I’ve been on a mission to figure out how I can make it better. I’ve been searching online and calling various places to figure it out, but just wasn’t making any headway. When 311 told me I’d have to go through the Borough President’s office to find out more, I asked him to pray for me that I wouldn’t lose my temper with these people. My frustration is reaching a boiling point as to how much NYC leadership seems to not care enough about its citizens, so this has become my new mission, if just to prove the taxpayer actually has a little say in this city.
I called the Borough today, and was extremely polite. Nauseatingly so. A woman answered the phone, I asked for information, she gave me the “Topographer’s” office who she said could help me. I wrote down the number and called. No answer. Didn’t go straight to voicemail, but the mailbox was full. At 1PM on a Monday. So I called back and was a little firmer this time. I explained to the new woman my plight over a city official’s voicemail box being full, but then inquired further about getting the contact information of who owns this park. I felt she was giving me the runaround, so I presented my case firmly and sternly, not once losing my temper. She was very irritated when I prodded on when exactly I could expect a call back, but I remained sweet as pie. And while I was writing this entry, I actually did get a call back, and am well on my way in obtaining even more information to get my little park fixed.
I’m clearly on simmer right now. I’m increasingly angry at the lack of leadership across the country right now, and I’ve had just about enough of this shoddy treatment. I don’t have much time before I burn, but as long as I keep stirring the pot, in a good way. we just might see a long day of cooking pay off.