See what happens when you try to rush?

The local Metro North train station is only several minutes away on foot, so unless the weather is bad, I'd rather walk and get fresh air than pay $3 to park for the day. I can put $60 a month to better use. This morning, however, I was running late and drove down the road in order to catch my usual train. It's much cheaper to park at Westchester train stations than in Manhattan, where space is very much in demand, and parking fees reflect it. One parking garage across the street from where I work, in midtown, advertises a "special" of $5.91 for a half hour. Also, the Metro Transit Authority implicitly gets the bulk of my business after I've parked, unlike the parking garages.

After finding a seat, I realized I had forgotten my necktie. Normally I bring one in my portfolio and put it on at the office, but I had my tie in my hands when scampering out the door. Hopefully I left it in my car and didn't drop it at the train station; it's one of my favorites. I'll find out when I get home, but my more pressing concern this morning was not having a necktie. A suit by itself is not enough here, at the formal global headquarters. A tie is a must, which doesn't bother me since dressing well is my personal norm. Even in college, for a long while I frequently wore suits to class, when I regularly met a friend after she got off work. She would be in business clothes, and I wanted to look nice.

I mulled over where I could buy a necktie and how long it would take: a shop at Grand Central Terminal, or one in midtown? Then I remembered one of the ubiquitous souvenir shops near work has a display of cheap neckties: for $4 I picked up a plain blue one to match my clothes. Viva capitalism! It ties well, looks okay, and for today nobody need notice how gauche I am, wearing a polyester tie. I won't say it looks "good," because I'm a fussy type who believes that polyester is fine for young boys, but a grown man's ties should be silk.