The Fan IV: Garden State Yankee & life in suburbia

(I woke up this morning feeling a little chilly. Sort of reminded me of those days of winter and early spring as the damned cold made me want to stay in bed and not get up for work. After Los Angeles, I moved to New York but split time working in the Garden State doing odds jobs before I found work in the Big Apple). I lived first in Ewing then moved to Princeton to be closer to work. As much as I love the Big City, Princeton and maybe Ewing is simply a beautiful place to live. I'd really want to settle down and move back there in the near future.).
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Ewing is located in Mercer County in northern New Jersey. It’s about a 15-20 minute drive to the Garden State’s capital of Trenton and an hour or so to Philadelphia.

Home is Glen Mawr Drive just a stone’s throw away from Parkway (I wait for a bus here that will take me to the NJ Transit to New York) and North Olden Avenues. It’s the suburbs so you know it’s peaceful and quiet. A very nice place to settle down. Not one house here has a gate. All the yards and lawns are open for all to see. The houses look similar -- a simple garden with squirrels running all over, a roof with a chimney atop, an American flag flying from the porch, a garage for a car or two, and a mini-basketball court. The houses are heavily insulated against cold and are meant to protect against the harsh winters. Hurricane Izzy blew in the other day and thank God it didn’t cause any damage to the area. But it was still a sight to see State Troopers and the National Guard on stand by. I got to chat with a few of them who were detailed around the intersection of Olden and Parkway. We had some Dunkin’ Donuts and it was nice to meet these men and women who put on the uniform. They tell me that some of them should be shipping out to the Middle East soon. God bless them.

When I get home from work, around 6pm, if I’m not tired, I play some half court hoops with my next door neighbors. Hahahaha. They think those dorky glasses I wear means I don’t have game. Hahaha. Stick it to ‘em and hustle them for money, I say.

On Friday nights we walk around the bend to watch a football game at Ewing High. Friday night lights indeed. My friends Vinnie and Elmer are the only Filipinos in this area and it sure is nice to speak with someone in the vernacular from time to time. And we’re all hoops crazy. Vinnie’s also into American football while Elmer’s my bud when it comes to baseball. You should see his monthly phone bill to his girlfriend back home in Manila. It goes up to like $1000! My other friends here are Aziz, an Egyptian who works at Chuck’s Barbecue and Lai, who is from Thailand. She works in Fu Wah Chinese Restaurant.

Once in awhile, Aziz and Elmer will join me in that two-hour trip to the Bronx to watch the Yankees. It just gets tougher in the evening because once we get of Trenton Station, there aren’t much busses any more so we have to settle for a $20 cab back. That’s a lot so we pool together our money. During the times they’d lose a game, the ride back took like forever.

The suburbs are cool except you miss living in the city after awhile.

When you take the PATH train from New York to New Jersey, you pass through what seems to be a graveyard of retired trains and rusting container vans. Add to that all their notions about sizeable portions of East Rutherford being a former marshland suddenly you’re reminded of why New Yorkers think of New Jersey as its poor cousin. But that’s a myth, I’ll tell you now. When you’re traveling via railway, you must realize that you aren’t going to see anything picturesque. After all, who builds anything scenic beside a railroad?

All you can see are car parks for those who leave their cars and take the train to New York or elsewhere in Jersey. Pavonia Newport is the exception as it will remind you of Ortigas Center except it has a nice view of the Hudson and a marina.

When you cross the river into Elizabeth, everything starts to look better. I’ve only been to Princeton, Lawrence, and Trenton and all of them are clean, spacious, simple yet elegant, and quiet. You’ll see the woods and wonder about the Blair Witch and the Jersey Devil. Bwahaha.

I’d oft walk to the Mercer County Library which is like an hour away just to while the time away. Sometimes I think I’m crazy as I walk down to the 7-11 which is 15 minutes away just to buy a 50 cent copy of the New York Post (it costs a quarter back in the Big Apple) so I can avail of the New York Yankee coupons to exchange for collectible medallions of selected members of its current team or poster inserts of any of its various World Series champion teams. Walking at 530am during winter has got to be real stupid. God, I hate the cold and the snow.

This here is Yankee Country. I just walk from Glen Mawr to where I work in Parkway Avenue. And baseball is a daily topic among my officemates whether at the water cooler or the pantry or stopping by one’s work station. But it sure makes for better bonding. One time we all made the trip to Cooperstown and that was a memorable experience. I’m even getting goose bumps writing this. The Baseball Hall of Fame was a thrill for me as a fan of the sport.