Author Archives: therealtamara

For an opinionated woman such as I, blogging is an excellent outlet. This is one of many fori that I use to bloviate. Enjoy! Comment on my commentary.

Quaint

“The company felt deeply remorseful for the unsatisfactory performance,” it said in a filing to the stock exchange.

Meanwhile in China, a CNN newsletter Sep 1, 2023

The company in question is a large real estate developer suffering in a struggling market sector. The losses it reported came to appx $ 7 billion.

It is a devastating situation for the world’s second largest economy to face.

Chinese developers have been living in interesting times (as the local curse or proverb goes) for some long while.

My riff is a look at something other than the financial crisis China faces.

I am interested in the way in which the development giant is addressing its losses. Here in the West, we are unaccustomed to such a quaint apology in our financial statements.

Coffee, a walk & time to write

What daily habit do you do that improves your quality of life?

Too sweet, lush, and delicious. Pumpkin soy latte. Ordinarily not on my menu.

On any given day, I am definitely going to walk: To an old haunt; to meet a friend; to my workout.

The walk that leads me to my coffee trail is particularly cherished.

All these habits wrap around my time to write. Sometimes, I blog to a prompt, and other times, I am prompted by other inspiration.

What’s all the excitement?

Tell us about the last thing you got excited about.

I’m prone to mood swings that affect my walk. When excited, I pace myself a little quicker.

Heading to the Ballet Hispánico at the Museum recently had me giddy and overjoyed.

Walking along the UWS for a change of scenery a few weeks ago had the same stirring effect.

Other destinations give me pleasure, too. Sometimes, it’s a treat being in the familiar. Sometimes, the excitement comes from a fresh perspective.

Tomorrow

How would you design the city of the future?

Future think is hard. Imagining what life will be like some distant day is hit or miss. Will we all take a flying carpet to get from home to work?

I would design a city with no major traffic. Busses or trollies will pick us up at certain points.

Bikes will be there for the young. Road lanes for the elders on walkers and wheelchairs will also be by design; strollers and carriages will be able to get by. As will those walking as sidewalks will be wider.

Cars will be kept outside city limits. They are useful for visiting friends or family in the hinterlands.

Trees will be a prominent feature on my city streets. As they already are in NYC in our present time.

Homes will be modernist, whatever that means. I like glass bricks.

There will be balconies cantilevered on structures no taller than 12 or 14 storeys.

Lobbies will open to stairwells and glass elevator banks. Each floor will offer a common room and plenty of privacy for when you prefer not to be communal.

It happened today

These are interesting shoes strolling ahead of me on E. 80th. Full disclosure this was actually yesterday’s event.

The birdhouse artist is getting flashier. I like the little gold dome

Retro gas dispenser and green traffic dummies are an interesting touch of color in a plumber’s garage on the block.

It was a big chiefs’ visiting day at the Amazon loading spot outside the local Starbucks.

The crew gathered as they usually do, though this was the first time I stayed for the entire ceremony. Workers arriving to enjoy a cup while waiting for the truck seems like a daily ritual.

One fellow regaled a couple of ladies with stories while he waited. I followed along, but he was continually distracted just as the “punchline” was coming.

The day unfolded a bit like “dinner and a show” as police raided a next-door convenience store (no license).

Then, the aforementioned mucky mucks pulled up in a chauffeured Escalade.

They huddled. They rallied. They cheered. Plenty of hand shakes and earnest words of thanks to the team for its work passed among the crew and its visiting bigwigs.

Meanwhile, inside, the Starbucks baristas had their own visit from outside. A very cheerfully sweet manager was overseeing and approving their work, too.

Corporate oversight and boosterism at its best was on display on this short strip of York near 80th.