Cynically Optimistic

This long weekend's activities are varied and random. Wendy came to Long Island to visit on Thursday. We spent the afternoon enjoying the warm weather and sunshine with a special project. More on that later... Friday brought us to New York City, and I spent the afternoon at my new grad school, a.k.a. "The Institute". My first rotation is set up, and pretty much I'm set to move in whenever I want. I also got a chance to scope out my new neighborhood.

Meanwhile, back downtown, an Acela train rolled into Penn Station carrying Tom. We made our way downtown to Rosa Mexicana, where George was hanging out. We split after several fancy margaritas to get sweet delicious sushi. En route to Snaxx (and sans password) we were enticed into a bakery by an unpaid cupcake patron who insisted, "These are better than Magnolia's. They have red velvet cupcakes." Intrigued, I had to have one. Mmmmmmm, Red Velvet Cupcake. Delectable!!!

We Snaxxed. We went (to) Nowhere. We drank (free) shots. We ate pizza. We heard far too many car horns at 7 am. Saturday brought us to church The Apple Store in SoHo, followed by a stroll through TriBeCa and a trip to Ground Zero and Battery Park City. We ate a crepe on the street in Chelsea. A Seinfeldian moment occurred as I snapped this photo of the nexus of the universe and almost got hit by several cars.

Let's talk about hand sliced meat for a moment. Ever since our failed attempt on New Year's Eve, I've been jonesing for some pastrami at Katz's Deli - so that's where we dined. Pastrami. Corned Beef. Brisket. Yuuuuuuummmmmy! Moist, tasty, delicious!!! I highly recommend it. Afterward, a venue change to meet up with other folks, listen to live music, and drink more margaritas. More bouncing around the east village ensued, ending up at Lucky Jack's Bar.

On Sunday morning, George put together a delicious bagel breakfast for 7 people. Plus Cauwffee. Can we tawlk? No big whoop. Eventually, it was time to return to Long Island and Tom and I jumped on the next convenient LIRR train. Inconveniently, a brush fire (wtf?) on the tracks prevented us from getting any further than Mineola where we were stranded with 750 of our closest friends. We paced a bit, thwarted by the one-toothed taxi gouger who was attempting to coordinate the hoards of people into the appropriate taxis. Tom and I walk around the corner and have an Amazing Race moment, as a taxi pulls up and we are set. PHEW!!! As our taxi drops us off at Hicksville we hear the announcement that train service will now be resuming. Figures.