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Hitting the road (or rails rather) to DC for the weekend. George kindly saved me from the stench of a bus ride. Hopefully there will be some lovely blooming trees to witness when I arrive. Hope to see all the DC peeps out and about!
On the patio yesterday I saw this woman smoking a cigarette with her friends. Three other friends of mine (all guys) agreed the woman was probably about 7 months pregnant. And smoking.
We were all aghast, but paralyzed with the appropriate action. Go question her? Shut the hell up? Silently judge?
If it matters, she was likely some flavor of European. I bet that baby gets a bit of red wine to go with his nicotine.
Tuesday was a beautiful day. I struggled with a problem set for a week, and finally turned it in with enough daylight left to stroll through the park. And stroll I did (More photos to come). Mostly I just hung out with a few friends near the newly renovated Bethesda Fountain underpass. Then I had to go home and do laundry. Le Sigh.
In other exciting news, my credit cards are missing. I went to the gym, then to the grocery store, and when I tried to pay I noticed that AmEx was gone, then my forlorn MBNA card which must now be reissued with a (probably tacky) Bank of America logo. Ugh! Did they fall out? Who goes through a wallet and takes JUST the credit cards - no cash, and no ATM cards? So odd. Anyway, I canceled Bank of America with their evil automated system. There was no option to even speak to a human. American Express on the other hand was terribly friendly. They are even sending me a new card by UPS overnight! That is customer service as it should be.
Waking up on a Saturday morning after 9.5 hours of amazing sleep and getting an everything bagel in the park is a wonderful way to start a day. Realizing that the Mr. Softee truck is back, and thus Spring is really here is truly decadent. Pretty soon we'll be sitting on a hill in the park all afternoon watching the roller skaters. I hope to participate this year. Anyone got a pair of skates, size 11, or know where I can get one? Preferably black with red wheels, like I had when I was 10.
He. Puts out.
FIRES!!!
And [allegedly] so did all the other firemen I saw stumbling around the Upper East Side last Saturday. Go take a look at all the delicious evidence.
I had a blast at a party in a friend-of-a-friend's pad right near all the action. We had cornbeef and cabbage, johnny cakes, green chocolate chip cookies, and plenty of booze. I refused to swallow any Jager on this most holy of days, and chose Jameson like any civilized person. Also like civilized New Yorkers, we watched a parade on TV that was literally only 3 (avenue) blocks from our party. We did go for a stroll during the party to gawk and ogle the sidewalk eye candy. Later, the party moved to a crowded Irish Pub near my place called TJ's Pub where the barman knows most of the patrons. Much fun was had. I crashed early with a slice from Pizza Park (mmm.... whole wheat crust).
[Note: please excuse the poorly photoshopped green wall above. It's just not appropriate to see a red wall for a St. Pats post]
Mark has a magic finger, mostly for battling away monsters at the Dugout trying to massacre the jukebox. Someone like Jimbo might say he's casting 'Burning Hands'. Stay back, boys, he'll burn ya!
This light in Damian's living room fascinated me last Saturday at his birthday party. It emitted a soft pleasant glow in his spacious living room. I seriously need an interior decorator to fix up my "dorm" room. First step: Curtains.
Also, my apologies to Chris Glass for borrowing his crop ratio.
The last two weeks were a grumbling mess, what with a huge pile of work to deal with for school. Luckily I had last Friday off, and Tom came to visit on Thursday night. Much fun was had at Big Lug, including some crazy lady who thought her corset was a girdle, and then proceeded to remove it. I've now seen the definition of a hot mess. Except not hot.
No photos from that night, since I forgot the camera. The rest of the weekend is online now.
Friday we started at Happy Hour at Ty's, followed by a subway near-mishap en route to Sushi. And what best follows sushi, you ask? But cupcakes from Billy's of course! I loves me some red velvet. Then we ran into Glenn at Gym Bar while waiting for Snaxx. Our newly augmented group (which was about 8 people at this point, even sans Glenn) arrived at Snaxx, descended into the basement, and rocked the party. Our DC peeps showed up and the music was great, so we stayed until about 1 am - then shot to Nowhere for Cruisin', where we ran into some Farmboyz, Chris, and a few other peeps. Pizza followed, at a crap-tacular place nearby that can't hold a candle to my Pizza Park (oh, how I love your whole wheat crust).
Saturday I cooked up a pork and egg based breakfast, and we ran a few errands in the afternoon. The evening started off with a birthday party at the Eagle, where it was actually bright enough to see people while speaking with them. Met some fun guys, ate some delicious Argentinian cake-like desert, and watched Michael Jackson appear at the World Music Awards (still scary, ya'll!). Then it was off to Penn Station where we were forced to ride a 5 train on the 2 line up to Harlem. A 5 train! On the 2 line! Inconceivable!!!
The rain in Harlem didn't stop the group of teenage girls from getting loud and saucy on the stairs, and after we deftly navigated their weave-politics we got to Damian's pad for his birthday party. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Damian's wonderful roommate, awesome friends, and spacious pre-war apartment. The moldings! The parquet wood floors! The BOOZE! Then the early daylight savings time kicked in and we cabbed it back south.
Morning (okay... afternoon) came too early on Sunday, and we ventured to Chelsea for brunch at Elmo with a couple from DC. I once again proved that I cannot be trusted with stemware, as I splashed a mimosa around before finishing even half of it. Switching to pear bellinis was the smart move, despite remaining in a champagne glass. The room was full of gays, lesbians, and families with kids - how metropolitan! We strolled through the Chelsea Market and tasted a buttery cookie delight while sipping coffee. Before the guys jetted back to DC, Tom and I joined them for a drink at the Dugout. We ended up waiting on the rest of the standard Sunday crew to arrive - then they all left to go party at XXL. Tom and I made the "smart" choice to go visit Glenn at Barrage for another drink - or 3.
Thus, spawning the comment, "Ok, no more Glenn after 5pm on Sundays".
A semi-drunken stumble home through midtown brought us an encounter with an SUV that drove on the sidewalk to chase me. Honest, I only slam people's hoods for a good reason. Then we tried to ice skate at the Rockefeller Center Rink, but with only 10 minutes left of open time, we'd opt for another time. Instead, a quick trip to the Temple and home.
Totally Random. Totally Fun. Totally Awesome Weekend!
On Monday I attended the New York Academy of Science lecture titled "The Science of Beer". Dr. Charlie Bamforth gave a terrificly entertaining talk which included animal noises and a douche joke. Yes, seriously. Afterwards, refreshments were provided by local breweries. Mmmmmm...Beer. The guy from the Duvel / Chimay distributer was really stingy with the beers, so I gave up and talked to the nice folks from Heartland and Sixpoint breweries. They kept me refreshed, and I kept oogling the incredibly attractive crowd.
All the NYAS lectures are on the 40th floor of 4 World Trade Center, a bright and shiny glass skyscraper just adjacent to where the twin towers once stood. The view was outstanding despite the weather being crappy. I'd love to go back in the summer and watch the sunset from that venue. It reminded me again how much I love the gothic style of the Woolworth building, and how I'd love to go inside and tour it. Anybody got a hook-up?