If it’s your birthday
SAM Gridlock alert! The Memorial Day exodus continues Friday. The LIE to the Hamptons, Garden State Parkway to the Jersey Shore, and the Tappan Zee and GW bridges to upstate mountains will take the most heat. If you’re driving through the Bronx avoid pre-game traffic at Yankee Stadium (see below).
Airport-bound drivers, leave 45 minutes to one hour early for JFK and Newark, and 90 minutes early for LGA. Expect jams on the Grand Central and Belt parkways, Van Wyck, Holland and Lincoln tunnels, NJ Turnpike, and Route 78. Best bet is transit: A,E,J,Z, and LIRR to JFK AirTrain; NJ Transit to Newark AirTrain; 7,E,F,M,R to 74th St./Roosevelt Ave. for Q70 bus to LGA.
Fleet Week has begun, taking over the Hudson River, Times Square and the Intrepid till Tuesday. Friday evening’s Times Square events will impact Seventh Ave. traffic. Saturday and Sunday; events throughout the day at the Intrepid will cause slowdowns on the West Side Highway at 46th St.
At Yankee Stadium, the Bombers battle the Athletics 7 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, causing backups at the Major Deegan and Cross Bronx expressways.
From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Midtown West Spring Fair will close Eighth Ave. between 42nd and 50th Sts.
The Woodside Avenue Festival, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., will close Woodside Whatever you’re searching for, you’re well on the way to finding it. Your role is to treat every day as a new experience. Do your best to set aside your habits, conventions and even your preferences and let your curiosity lead you. One positive development will lead to another. Use your skill at conversation and be friendly and open with everyone you meet. You share a birthday with Miles Davis, Matt Stone and Lauryn Hill. MARCH 21-APRIL 19 Look for constructive ways to channel your passion or aggression. If you’re using words, make sure that you’re persuasive and polite, even if you’re a little outrageous. Remember, as well, that in the age of the internet, anything you type into a device is potentially public information. APRIL 20-MAY 20 Don’t panic over money, though don’t go out of your way to spend so much, either. You need a long-term financial plan, which is specifically designed to create sustainability. A simple way to look at this is spending less and making more, though the key to that is efficiency. JUNE 21-JULY 22 If you feel panicky today or tonight, take a deep breath and remind yourself how rarely your fears are actually true. Many spiritual paths teach the same thing: Fear is a form of energy, and it can be transformed into something more passionate and far more creative. Keep that in mind. JULY 23-AUG. 22 Hold yourself to a higher standard of honesty for the next few days. Anything you say can be distorted; so if you maintain a policy of strict adherence to demonstrable truth, there can be no room for anyone to argue with you. Be aware that you’re more visible than you may think. AUG. 23-SEPT. 22 If you’re plotting a rise in your career, first you’ll need to set aside any resentment over what’s happened in the past. If you can do that, you’ll see that you don’t need to be more powerful; you need to be more influential on the level of ideas. You want to be taken seriously. SEPT. 23-OCT. 22 You may decide during the next 24 hours that you have one goal that you must follow above all others. Then it may not seem so important after all. The chances are that this is truly a priority, even if drops into the background. Remember what you want — and pursue it persistently. OCT. 23-NOV. 21 You may discover that your financial life has suddenly become more complicated, particularly if it involves an intimate partner. Consider setting the questions aside until some of the emotional pressure is off of the situation. This is a conversation requiring at least one, but preferably two, cool heads. NOV. 22-DEC. 21 If you find that others are being argumentative for its own sake, do that Sagittarius thing and humor them. You’re sensitive, though you’re also capable of a rare kind of objectivity. Stand back and watch the fireworks, or better still, get your mind off of this person for a day or so. DEC. 22-JAN. 19 Today would be a good day to leave work early, especially if you don’t have any pressing deadlines. Instead, put some time into self-care, which might include a trip to the gym. You have some energy to burn off. If you want, you can stay at work till midnight getting things done. JAN. 20-FEB. 18 Pay no mind if your ideas don’t seem to have public acceptance, even among your own friends. You’re likely to be on the right track; and even if you’re not, you have a valid experiment going on. If anyone presents you with a coherent viewpoint, listen carefully, as it will contain useful information. FEB. 19-MARCH 20 Do everything you can to claim your home-space as your own. The first place to take over is the kitchen. Try something radical and make only homecooked food this weekend. It’s a real challenge, possibly more difficult than staying off of the internet, which would also be a good idea.