1. I had trouble sleeping last night. I went to bed a bit late, at around 9:30. I couldn't fall asleep. Habitually using the iPhone as my alarm clock, I had the iPhone nearby so I decided to browse the App Store and go through my iPhone Settings. I inadvertently locked my SIM card out of my phone, which apparently happens after three failed attempts at unlocking it. (The default passcode in the United States, it turns out, is 1111, according to Apple's support pages.) So there I was stuck, unable to place or receive phone calls or do anything else over the cell network. I had my WiFi though.
2. I still wasn't able to sleep, now especially with this problem on my mind. Not sure what this Locked SIM problem was, I searched online to find solutions. Someone somewhere said it was possible to reset the passcode (using a PUK, or Pin Unlock Code) by either going to AT&T's website or calling Customer Service. My problem was I hadn't created an account. So I attempted to create it ... until I get to the step to validate my phone by sending it a text message (which I couldn't receive because I was locked out!). It was an interesting Catch-22.
3. By that time it was around 12:30. I figured I'd try to sort it out in the morning and I tried to go back to sleep. After rolling around in bed for another hour or so, I decided to look up the AT&T Customer Service number and try giving them a call (still on my SIM-locked iPhone). I had GV Mobile (which uses Google Voice) on my phone, and I wondered if it would place my (800) call. Well, it turned out it wouldn't because the way Google Voice works is by calling both the number I wanted to dial and my own phone and then connecting the call; I had forgotten about that. Then, I remembered that Skype can place (800) number calls for free. Tried Skype over my WiFi and it worked. Surprisingly, after being on hold for what felt like 10 minutes and listening to a barrage of AT&T advertisements, I was talking to someone on the other end of the line.
4. I straight up asked him for my PUK, which I had to memorize because I did not have a pencil or paper ready, and I couldn't directly type in the code while in the Skype app. In the end, the code worked. Great!
5. By 2:00 am I decided to go to my computer and charge my iPhone, which was at its 20% marker with its bright red battery indicator. By 3:00, I was on the sofa and managed to sleep about a sound hour, before needing to wake up for work at exactly 4:18.
6. I made it to the subway a minute or two early, looking forward to continuing my half-sleep on the train. Maybe I was expecting too much. There were two real-live hobos, one on either end of the train car, and there was a disheveled man sleeping lying down on one of the benches. There was spit everywhere on the floor around him. To add to the mental discomfort, one of the train doors was jammed so it kept making a disturbing mechanized moan whenever the doors tried to open. There were also two guys who got on the train shortly after I did, who sat across from one another, and who were speaking loudly in a non-English language. I guess I could have easily moved to another car. But it was routine; I had my usual spot and I did not want to leave it.
7. Desperately needing a coffee more than most other days, I made my trek to the usual Dunkin' Donuts. The sky was dark and gray, and it was raining pretty well. Then, I went to catch the LIRR, which was also non-routine this morning. Track change caused confusion. The people were divided between two platforms, not knowing which is the correct one. Do we trust the modified sign, or do we trust the physical train waiting where it usually sits? It turned out it was the latter.
8. I saw perhaps the saddest thing I'll see today as I walked the mile from the Hicksville station to the office. I saw and heard a pigeon slam into the sidewalk from out of nowhere. I have no idea why it happened. Through its beady eyes, the bird looked as if it were crying. Even I, who usually detest pigeons, felt some compassion. I probably should have attempted to rescue it. I feel guilty that I did not.
Showing posts with label lirr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lirr. Show all posts
Port Jefferson Visit
This past weekend, I trekked my way to Stony Brook again. Like last time, I stayed with Henry and Adrian.
We went to Port Jefferson on Saturday (12/06) to do a little photography, not knowing what we got ourselves into. I am only familiar with Port Jefferson because of the National Grid power station over there. Turns out the quaint little town of about 7000 was celebrating a Charles Dickens weekend, where the town plays the roles of characters from "A Christmas Carol". It was very interesting and different from what we are used to in New York City and Stony Brook; the people there were actually nice, and we each received a candy cane on two separate occasions: one from Santa at the restaurant we ate at, and one from the lady who runs the town information office, whom we asked for a bus schedule back to Stony Brook.
The two of us ended up hiking the beach at low tide (this was not the kind of beach for tourists and sunbathers), and we had traveled a total of about 10 miles on foot that day. We ended up going up the west coast of the Belle Terre peninsula from the Port Jefferson LIRR station. We turned back just as we got to the McAllister County Park bay (See the iPhone GPA Map insert.) Rather than pay for the LIRR to go back to Stony Brook (at $2.25 one way), we decided to try out the Suffolk County Bus which was only $1.00. In this trip, we not only pulled off some interesting and very cool shots, we have gained the first-person experience of what tides can mean and what walking miles on sand and rocks means for the feet. (If you look on the satellite view of this beach, you'll notice that the beach is actually under water at high tide. By the time we made it out to where we were, there was a little fear that some parts may become impassable because of the rising water. Thinking back now, that was some scary trip. Man...)
View Larger Map
I have posted photos to Flickr. Also check out Adrian's Port Jefferson photo set.
We went to Port Jefferson on Saturday (12/06) to do a little photography, not knowing what we got ourselves into. I am only familiar with Port Jefferson because of the National Grid power station over there. Turns out the quaint little town of about 7000 was celebrating a Charles Dickens weekend, where the town plays the roles of characters from "A Christmas Carol". It was very interesting and different from what we are used to in New York City and Stony Brook; the people there were actually nice, and we each received a candy cane on two separate occasions: one from Santa at the restaurant we ate at, and one from the lady who runs the town information office, whom we asked for a bus schedule back to Stony Brook.
The two of us ended up hiking the beach at low tide (this was not the kind of beach for tourists and sunbathers), and we had traveled a total of about 10 miles on foot that day. We ended up going up the west coast of the Belle Terre peninsula from the Port Jefferson LIRR station. We turned back just as we got to the McAllister County Park bay (See the iPhone GPA Map insert.) Rather than pay for the LIRR to go back to Stony Brook (at $2.25 one way), we decided to try out the Suffolk County Bus which was only $1.00. In this trip, we not only pulled off some interesting and very cool shots, we have gained the first-person experience of what tides can mean and what walking miles on sand and rocks means for the feet. (If you look on the satellite view of this beach, you'll notice that the beach is actually under water at high tide. By the time we made it out to where we were, there was a little fear that some parts may become impassable because of the rising water. Thinking back now, that was some scary trip. Man...)
View Larger Map
I have posted photos to Flickr. Also check out Adrian's Port Jefferson photo set.
MTA Service Advisory
Because of major temporary service changes to the LIRR line because of the recent series of accidents, I'd like to bring the MTA NYC Service Advisory Notification System to your attention. I have signed up for the service when it was still in beta, and while it doesn't prove terribly useful, it is still a good thing to have and to be made aware of.It says:
"Access to our email notification system sign up and options designation is temporarily unavailable until Tuesday Nov. 25th at 11:00 AM. This will allow us to migrate to a more robust email and text messaging alert system.
"Email Alert Notifications for existing customers will continue to be sent during this time period."
Hopefully, it'll be something much nicer than its current advisory iteration. Sign up here.
This NYTimes article talks about this updated service.