Cynically Optimistic

June is the beginning of summertime, and Pride season. I've been extremely busy living life, going to the beach, working in the lab, and running about in DC and NYC. I've got thousands of photos I have yet to sort through and post, but it's just not happening yet. Simma!

This weekend is NYC Pride - and a NYC Blowoff promises to be a killer time. Tom's in town, the sun is shining, and good things are happening. I'm a happy man.

Oh! And it's Wimbledon time, too. Seeded players are dropping like flies. No American men are left. :(

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Eventually, if you're lucky enough, the big birthdays roll around and force you to reflect back on your life. At least if you're like me. Luckily, Tom and George planned me enough distractions to occupy my attention for the weekend. I had a busy workday on Friday, mediated by the presence of bacon cake from the fabulous Foxy (who used to be a blogger). Mmm.... Bacon. I thought it was delicious and orgasmic - other people not-so-much.

I opened up a bottle of my favorite scotch I received two years ago as a birthday present from George. Running late as always, we hopped in a cab and arrived at Saka Gura for a delicious Japanese dinner. And plenty of sake. Afterward, we joined the party at Snaxx partied like rock stars - with rock stars!

Saturday, my actual birthday, I spent on the phone with family and then lots of lazing about the house. Chillaxin'. Prepping for my "surprise" party later that night at Nowhere Bar... bringing along bacon cake number two! Was I surprised? I was surprised that so many people showed up before I did! We cracked open several boxes of my favorite cupcakes [Red Velvet with cream cheese icing from Billy's Bakery] and lit up candles. They sang. I cried a little. We partied all night long as friends kept appearing to celebrate.

I feel very loved. Thank you to everyone!

Waking up at the crack of noon on Sunday, brunch was required. I rounded up my grad school peeps and we hit the UES Vynl. Bloody Mary, how I love thee. Battling the grey day, we watched dogs play in the puppy gymnasium and sampled some of the pubs in the 'hood. Smooth transition to the Dugout where even MORE friends came out of the woodwork! Instead of the standard Sunday itinerary, we detoured to Truck Stop where I had a remarkably good time. Guess it's always fun to sample something new. A quick stop by the Eagle and street meat and then home to recover.

I'm getting to old for this. Father Tony says such sweet things. I might have some reflecting to do later.

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Photos from last weeks Blowoff NYC are online.

We hit Snaxx on Friday night after eating delicious sushi at Sakura Hana. Saturday was a major sleep-in day, but Tom, George and I made it to Jackson Heights to wander around and look at Indian and South American culture.

Saturday night, we launched from Matt's place downtown and then into a mega-crazy line outside Blowoff. Buy your tickets ahead of time and arrive early, kids! Everyone stayed in good spirits, and once we were ushered inside the party was rocking! Off - The - Chain (or hook, or plane, or geranium, or whatever). A LOT of people danced all the way until 4 am when the lights came up.

When we finally woke up on Sunday, we had to fight off mega-strollers for a seat at the Barking Dog cafe. Later on we met up with the crew downtown for typical Sunday night extravaganza and a lot of recapping of the previous night's activities. I love Sunday night, and as the weather gets better they can only get more fun!~

Bring on this weekend!

Posted by Jeff at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Yeah, I went to the Black Party – the annual springtime celebration of rebirth. I danced and danced and had loads of fun. I didn’t get home until after the sun had been up for hours. If you really wanna know the dirty details, hit the jump!

Continue reading "Where HAVE you been, son?" »

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Good News, Everyone! I passed my qualifying exam without too much of an issue. Sure I've got some minor revisions to make, but overall it's a great relief. Now back to doing research. To celebrate, I got the heck outta town and visited Tom in DC for a long St. Patrick's Day weekend. I got to see Bob Mould play live with his band followed by an immensely fun Blowoff.

Clicky Clicky for the Photos!

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Riding the Subway last Sunday I entered the shuttle between Grand Central and Times Square. Something was odd... the subway cars were paneled with wood. At first I thought these were some crazy fun old antique cars they brought out for a special event. Then I realized that it was just a vinyl sticker custom fit to every possible surface, including the ceiling.

What a slick re-design, I thought. Until I noticed that the whole thing was a Swiffer ad. Feh.

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This covered bridge reminded me of the opening of Beetlejuice so I had my classmate John take the photo as I prepared to drive through it. Everyone in the minivan appreciate the fact that I didn't try to shoot and drive. We had enough drama with accidents on the trip.

We drove up in 3 minivans at different times for scheduling convenience. Due the snowstorm and traffic, our arrivals were out of order. To kill some time, one of the vans went to buy groceries. A frozen parking lot plus several inches of fresh powder equals super-duper slippery surfaces. One step out of the minivan and one girl was rendered screaming and grabbing her foot. Her heel was 90° to the left of where it should be. If it were the NBA they'd be showing the instant replay in slo-mo to see the gore.

After 5 pm on Friday the EMT service in rural Vermont is volunteer. The 18 year-old police office assured us that they would arrive in about 45 minutes. Since they're volunteer, they can administer an IV, but no pain meds, which made their attempt to set the ankle in the ambulance quite remarkable. Oh the screaming.

Hospital.
Morphine.
A very late night.

The next day, the local orthopedic surgeon arrives to announce her tibia is broken in 2 places, her foot in one place and she will require metal plates and screws to hook it all back together. Meanwhile, her ankle is as big as a football. Since we live so close to many hospitals the decision was made to take her back to the Hospital for Special Surgery. Except when they arrive they learn that since the referring hospital was capable of performing the surgery they would not be able to call in an emergency surgeon until Monday. Switch to ER at NY Presbyterian Hospital, which also refuses to admit her because she's been already seen by a different ER for the same problem. So they kind of begin to panic. Eventually we think to advise them to call the Insurance company (we have great insurance really) who works something out where they can get into NYP.

The major surgery had to wait until Monday anyway because they had to do something earlier to reduce the swelling. She'll be in the hospital for a few more days but will eventually recover fully. All this makes me consider what I'd think to do in such a crisis. I'll definitely be talking to my doctor about how to contact him should an emergency like this arise. Second, it makes me wish for Universal Healthcare. Badly.

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I should have been writing, I know. Instead I took Saturday night off and went to BLOWOFF! It was worth it. The night was incredibly from start to finish. Great tunes, sexy crowd, and all around a good vibe from smiling happy people. Even while the club was trying to shut down people wanted to dance.

Want to see some photos?

The Highline Ballroom really is a great space with an excellent sound system. With a few notable exceptions, nearly everyone I know in the greater New York City area was in attendance, which made it extra special. Big thanks to Bob and Rich for bringing a great DC party to NYC.

Best. Blowoff. Ever!

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Blowoff in NYC was a killer time!!! Rami (from Project Runway) showed up, too. Such a sweet guy, but I was glad to get away without having my chest hair draped.

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Hey it snowed! I took a break from writing my thesis to go for a walk in the park with Tom. It was magical.

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Thesis Proposal is still due on the 29th. 10 Days to go, and I'm not even close to being done. Hopefully it'll be streamlined and good enough that I can use it for an actual grant submission and get a few extra bucks i my wallet to go with the moths and tumbleweeds.

I did manage to find a swank corner office in which to work. Small things.

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I celebrated the Year of the Rat with some of my lab mates. The Chinese guy in the lab organized a big dinner at New Yeah Shanghai Deluxe Restaurant. Inside was a tropical theme married to exposed brick. Somehow it worked. Here's what we had for dinner:

1. steamed crab meat and pork juicy bun
2. eight delicious: smoked fish/aromatic beef/ preserved duck/ jelly fish/shanghai dough/aster indicus/ spicy cabbage/ little bamboo shoot with brown sauce
3. jumbo shrimp with ginger and scallion
4. sauteed fish fillet with chinese yam and lily ball in wine sauce
5. sea cucumber with shrimp eggs
6. pork shoulder in honey sauce
7. steam whole fish
8. house crisp duck
9. vegetable in season
10. seafood soup
11. house style fried rice
12. sweet eight jewel taio
13. fruit

The dumplings and the pork shoulder were my favorites. Also of note, the seafood soup had sea sponges in it, which was interesting. I felt like I was eating a loofah. Chinatown was in such disarray after the previous night's festivities. Confetti and streamers of mylar and paper littered the gutters and covered cars. As we left dinner a cleanup crew was outside assisting street-sweepers. Oh, and the NYPD's paddywagon drove by, too!

Posted by Jeff at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I didn't really mention it before, but I got a new camera for Christmas. It's a Canon 40D. Right now all I have is a 50mm f1.4 lens and and the awesome Speedlite 580EX II. Review here if you're interested. This might put me ahead in the technology arms race with my Iowa Peeps. Or maybe it bumps me into a different class. I still have my trusty Canon SB800 IS pocket digicam to keep it real.

Anyway, I'm still reading the manual.

My big exam is coming up to let me stay in grad school. Advancement to Candidacy Exam / Qualifying Exam / Thesis Proposal Exam - call it whatever. Written part is due on Feb 29. I have zero words on a page. I can start stressing anytime now.

Superbowl was cool. I have no strong opinion on either team, so it was a quality game where the underdog won - fun for me! Plus we had chili and guacamole and cheese and cannoli and cookies. And dark chocolate m&ms. Mmmmmmm

I almost never post YouTube videos, but I saw a really great video for a Snoop Dogg's song Sensual Seduction. It's pretty much how music videos would be if I were an art director. I would love to find a tutorial for Photoshop to figure out how to do that crazy Fat Albert-esque effect toward the end. No, not the part where he's flying through space on a round bed. The OTHER awesome part.

Aaaaaanndd... Star-Wipe to black.

Posted by Jeff at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I learned at the Natural History Museum that frogs sometimes need a hug, too.

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Yesterday's BLOWOFF here in New York was outstanding. More to come!
(Yes, that's Tom and I hanging out with Cyndi Lauper)

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The reading at the Rapture Cafe turned into a surprise Transgender wedding!
Only in New York!!!

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The price of fresh frogs keeps climbing year after year. Where are our strategic frog reserves?!

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Why not try a General Tso's Burrito or a Kung Pao Enchilada ?!

Posted by Jeff at 09:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This weekend I'll be rendezvousing with Tom and our friend Rich in San Francisco. It's been a few years since I was last on the west coast for the Cell Biology meeting. This trip is purely a getaway, with few solid plans. I'm getting a head shave / beard trim from Joe the Barber in the afternoon, followed by happy hour on Friday. As for the rest of the weekend, only time will tell. I'm sure we'll manage to fill up the hours with some sort of mischief.

Hopefully we run into some friendly faces while we're there!

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Last year for Halloween I was trapped inside my graduate school student center, going quite insane trying to write up answers to exam questions. This year a clear crisp night found me at the parade. I love the huge dramatic costumes and puppets and organized parts, but kind of lose interest after the first hour when random drunken revelers wander by. George, Matt and I grabbed a bite to eat and drink at a Cuban place on 8th Ave.

Then I went out on my own. Merciful heavens... I bore witness to demons and wolves and all such manner of wickedness. It was awesome. What was meant to be a one-stop excursion turned into night out at Avalon - a dance club in an old church. I was taken aback by the spectacle of costumed dancers everywhere. It was virtually impossible to tell who was a paid go-go dancer and who wasn't. Not that it mattered. At the prescribed point in the evening (morning) there was a 20 minute stage show with full choreography. The energy of the performers on stage left the audience slack-jawed and wanting more.

I love Halloween.

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Last Wednesday at the Rapture Cafe, a reading was held titled Reading for Filth. Miss Understood was reading a biography of Charles Pierce when a small child scooted right up to the edge of the stage. The filthiest part of the reading continued, as the crowd began chuckling and slowly ramped up to raucous laughter. Upon the realization that she wasn't "killing" as they say, and we were laughing at the child, she exclaimed, "Shoo! Get outta here!" Sympathetic, the crowd let out a sincere 'awww' as the child's head dropped and his caretaker came to fetch him. Gotta love New York parenting!

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To celebrate the entry into this world Mr. Neil, six fellows gathered at Juniors in Brooklyn for brunch. Sadly, no one ordered the cheesecake. Bryce organize the whole glorious outing, which later included a trip to Queens for the Amazing Corn Maze. Not everyone made it, as Taylin and his BF had better things to do on a sunny Saturday. Damian, Neil, Bryce and I set off then on the A-train to the LIRR to Otto's taxi to the Queens County Farm Museum. It's just barely still in Queens. I think Nassau county is just across the road.

Being from Iowa, I kind of felt ashamed that I was not a corn maze pro. The truth is that until last Saturday I'd never even thought of going to one. Probably because most self-respecting Iowa farmers would rather sell their crop instead of ruining a few acres to create a maze. Every year the maze has a theme, and this year it was the Wizard of Oz. During our "intro to the maze" discussion, the chemically-enhanced woman called me Dorothy. Haaaaaay! *snap*

We wandered. We were silly. We dodged strollers. We found all the puzzle pieces. We filled in the entire crossword puzzle. Best of all, we totally blew-off the Wizard after he chided us for our slow time. I made a video of some movie clips of the outing which is below. The photos I took can be found in the usual place. There are some other updated galleries as well.

Corn Maze Photos.
BLOWOFF NYC Photos.
Iowa Homecoming 2007 Photos.

Posted by Jeff at 01:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My first full summertime in New York as been filled with activity and fun. So much so that I'm behind in documenting all my wheelings and dealings. Forgive me if spending time playing, singing, dancing, working, traveling, and loving all trump blogging. Oh yeah, and grad school. Pesky that.

The previously mentioned Yankee game, which was a scorching 95 degrees(!) was a splendid affair because of terrific box seats! I guess my complaining from last year paid off. It was a high scoring game, and everyone drank plenty of $9 beers in the shade. I think I'm still more of a Mets fan though. Following the game we hung out with other geeky scientists at a fancy terrace BBQ party called "Beers of the World". Note, that the Chili beer is a crime against humanity. To quote Ralph Wiggum, "This tastes like BURNING!" The Wagyu Beef burgers were scrumptious, and made up for it. Such a happy day.

The next day, I noticed my 17" MacBookPro battery had swelled up out of its case, and was severely bulging. A trip to the Apple Store fixed it but this is a serious problem that's affected 4 people I know - including Tom. The wonderful Aaron had acquired tickets to see Erasure at McCarren Park Pool and invited me along. It was my first time seeing Erasure, and despite being a tiny bit late we all had a great time. I'm not such a fan that I can name every song, but I sure did sing along with the crowd. Later that night I ended up running into Andy Bell at Nowhere and grabbed a photo. Check out the rest o the Photos!

That Saturday I spent at a BBQ with our new first year students in upstate NY (okay fine, it was Westchester). Chill, standard, bus driver from hell - thank goodness for Google Maps on my phone. Sunday was a housewarming party all the way out in Brooklyn for David. He's got a beautiful view of the Verrazano Bridge.

Next up, my friend Adam from high school was visiting NYC from Amsterdam and we got together for a dinner and drinks. Super-great to catch up with him. I think we really weirded out his friend (from Luxembourg!) a few times.

And then? And THEN I went to see Daft Punk. Robots. Lasers. Lights. Dancing. Awesome. Getting to Coney Island was awful, but it was all worth it. Check out the photos. I have some videos up on YouTube as well... link to come. Nothing can really convey the energy and flow of such a show, but maybe you can get a taste of it.

The next day, I hopped a train to DC for a weekend with Tom. NY and Philly peeps were in attendance, so we had a little pre-party at Tom's place to watch the 130 Cats Video from CNN (really, this one is better than the YouTube one) and drink Watermelon frozen drinks. Yum! Then off to Woof! at Titan. Much fun was had. Much dinner was also had at Thai Tannic.

Saturday after a workout, Tom and I went to Taberna del Alabardero for Restaurant Week. It was delicious, but the cream based potato, leek & shrimp soup did not end up agreeing with me. Costume change followed by a stop at the Chateau Deux Sean, featuring Jimbo to warm yet another house. Great space, semi-sketchy neighborhood. Great to see those peeps, as I don't always when I'm in DC. We stayed long enough to drink a vodka or two, then it was time to bounce over to Nellies Sports Bar. Good space, fun people but it was crowded trying to get a drink.

On our way to the 9:30 Club for BLOWOFF we had to walk past a bus stop on U Street with about 15-20 black men and women. A smile and a nod and no big whoop, until we all get past each other and then one guy shouts to us, "Ya'll look like Martians!!!" and begins to jump up and down pumping his fists. So I turn around and jump back shouting, "Wooooooooooooh!" One love. :)

BLOWOFF rocked, as usual. Great music, great friends, sexy crowd. Unfortunately I didn't make it the entire night this time, as the cream soup caught up with me. Mixed with the aforementioned vodka, my stomach was doing flip-flops but I managed to keep my dinner down. Photos from the entire weekend are here.

Sunday, Jim and Don were gracious enough to host an impromptu BBQ and Pool Party. It was one of those amazingly sunny, perfect gatherings of friends where you just lounge and float and have a coke or a beer, eat a burger, jump off the diving board 50 or so times. Yeah... bliss.

I played the bonus round and stayed in DC through Monday, reading and working from the couch. And then Tuesday morning back to the lab and experiments and science. Hang on to me, before I fly off this crazy spinning world.

Posted by Jeff at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Daft Punk blew the roof off Keyspan Park last night. If it had a roof.

ROBOTS!
HUMAN!

Now, off to DC to see Tom and go to BLOWOFF!

Posted by Jeff at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Remember that bananas are worth 5,000 points. Very important!

Looking back through some photos on my computer I realize I've been up to a lot lately. My camera odometer rolled over! Sat in the park watching roller disco (again). Went to Blowoff in July. Photos finally online! Holy crap it's August already. Lab work is going well, when I'm actually there. Summer has sucked away any productivity I might have had. It's just too hot. I'm supposed to go to a Yankee game today at 1pm. The high is predicted to be 93+, which means the plastic seats will be approximately 138°F. Yowch! Sunscreen, much sunscreen.

More stuff: Big Lug BBQ at Cattyshack a few weeks ago was a blast - too bad they killed the Big Lug Bar and all BBQ events. Hopefully they resurrect the BBQ and maybe a weekly event in the future. Been hanging in Williamsburg more than usual, checking out the interesting hipster indie hotspots. And the strollers. Saw the Simpsons Movie (cartoon nudity!). Played grillmaster for the lab BBQ - in Manhattan! It was great to once again smell like a grill. The bonus was the boss is British and made Pimm's cocktail.

I've been hitting the gym again after I got over a period of 9 weeks where I was sick or dizzy or a headachey mess. Progress after 4 weeks is approaching where I was at before. I got a new bed and it's helping a LOT. All that sickness actually involved me getting a head and sinus CT scan. Because I'm such a nerd, they gave me the digital files on CD-ROM and I can analyze my own skull. And reconstruct it in 3D. It's pretty sweet. I hope to post it when I figure out how to remove the personal information from the images.

Oh, and Ms. Pac Man has some hot shoes.

Posted by Jeff at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I met Chris at the Metropolitan Museum of Art last Friday to check out the new Greek and Roman galleries. Statues of famous ancients littered the floor. Hercules. Caligula. Voldemort. He was creepy. Sometimes I'm glad I'm a muggle.

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Even in the shiny baby-proof New York City of 2007? Really? What will s/he be wearing?

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Happy 4th of July, ya'll. May you, too, get to play in some fire hydrant sprinkler fun!

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Where were we? Oh yes... coming down from my 3 Minute Hero high and an obnoxious flight back to JFK (seriously, get your ATC issues worked out. k. tx.) The following weekend it was time for another trip to DC and Baltimore Pride. Friday the Baltimore and Nebraska peeps took Woof! by storm. We jumped in the Land Rover and jetted to B'more on Saturday. We wandered by the parade setup an arrived at our home base: the non-secret party behind the stage. The parade crept by at a NYC parade pace and was excruciatingly boring, so we spent most of our time at the party. No way I was getting in that redneck swimming pool. No chlorine = no thanks. We bounced around from the party to the Hippo and the festival. Definitely a fun trip!

Fast Forward (or rewind) to NY Pride weekend. Again, Tom came up for the festivities. After a few drinks with the Dean, we joined George and Matt for private sushi at Sakura Hana. Cupcakes followed. Ty's followed. Sleep followed.

Saturday we slept in, had brunch, wandered through Central Park, met up with Commandrew for drinks at Therapy and then hopped a Bus (Priority Seating!) to George's party. Had an awesome time at the party, chillin' and chattin' with the guys. Afterwards, nearly everyone appeared at Nowhere bar for one of the bests nights out there I've ever had. Freaks and Geeks were dancing around crazy and the vibe was terrific. Late nights out lead to sleeping in late.

Sunday we missed a large chunk of the parade, but witnessed a few hours of it until our crowd-tolerance circuit breakers tripped and we headed to Florent for dinner. It was good, but way too greasy. We thought it a great idea to follow dinner with another cupcake. Billy's kicks Magnolia's ass, for the record. Mmmm... Red Velvet. Then we found ourselves at the Eagle on the roofdeck while the sun was still up. Miraculously we snagged a perch on raised planter and watched the crowd swell while friends grabbed us beers. We barely made it to midnight. Monday it was time to sleep in again and nurse ourselves back to health.

Baltimore Pride Photos
New York Pride Photos

Oh... and 3 Minute Hero Photos are Posted too!

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Super cute, or super evil?

I feel like this party colored pomeranian puppy wants to set me on fire.

[ed. - and feed me to Brandt Payne (sorry, inside joke)].

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Top of the Rock, last Sunday. The weather was perfect for a trip to the top of Rockefeller Center for the best view of Central Park from pretty much anywhere. It's so much better when the trees have leaves.

I should have some time later this week to post the backlog of photos I have from Spring Break, my sister's wedding in Nashville, baseball games, and Kosher Coke taste tests. At least for some of it. Class is nearly over, and the real fun of lab work begins again.

Posted by Jeff at 11:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Beware citizens. Frog Baby has descended upon New York. None are safe.




RIBBIT!
Thanks Chris!

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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.

Posted by Jeff at 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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.

Posted by Jeff at 01:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

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]

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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!

Posted by Jeff at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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!

Posted by Jeff at 09:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Saturday night I attended something called a "Blarg Hop" - a blogger bar hop from gay bar to gay bar on the lower east side. I remember the whole night, despite a bevy of beers and even a few shots along the way. I had a great time meeting a bunch of new friends and hanging with my buds. Three of the bars we visited were new to me, and I had a blast!

Yeah, I forgot a lot of names. I screwed up the ones I could remember. Alert me and I'll make amends. Now, on to what everyone really wants:

MY PHOTOGRAPHIC PROOF!
also note: new Blowoff photos are up from a couple weeks ago

In addition, here are more pics from others.

Joe's Pics

Curly's Pics

Tom W's Pics

Glenn's Pics

Posted by Jeff at 06:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Went to George's to hang and eat chili and watch the big game on Sunday after a very low-key weekend at home. Everything was going well until, while washing a 7-inch Santoku knife I hacked into my index finger very deeply. There was blood. I think I swore a time or two (I know, shocking). Damian accompanied me to the drugstore to get a splint and first aid supplies, which I managed to leave at George's last night.. D'oh! My real doctor friends say I'll live and all is well. I do hope that pesky numbness goes away though.

In other news, the icy winter weather has settled into NYC. It sucks to walk 15 blocks in 8 degree weather! All the Con-Ed stacks were working today as well, making steam and electricity. Wish some of it got to my apartment.

Damn it's difficult to type.

Posted by Jeff at 04:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I wonder if these things accepted wooden nickels. Probably not, as they'd be too easy to counterfeit back in the days when whittling was a necessary skill.

Posted by Jeff at 01:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last weekend Tom joined me on a low-key weekend of eating, drinking, and wandering. Friday we had Upper East Side sushi, followed by Lower East Side drinks with