Vacation!!
After a truly exhausting weekend of show after show (they all blended together into one caffeine-fueled blur) I was really ready for a break. Luckily we had Monday, Tuesday, AND Wednesday off this week, in honor of the fantastic Fourth of July! Since I only have one friend in DC (Mark) and we haven't even hung out yet... the idea of a few days alone in DC seemed a little boring. Soooo... I decided to hit the train and party it up in NYC!!
I left Monday morning and rode my first long-distance train. The Chinatown bus is cheaper, but I've got a real job now, and I figured I could splurge. The train ride was actually pretty fun. I got a yummy microwave burger and took a nap and got some reading in. Loved it! When I arrived in New York I went straight out to Kew Gardens to visit my old bestie Marti in her fabulous apartment.
Marti and her adorable fiancee Joel are the most grown up of all my friends that are around my age. They are getting married this fall and they're totally adults. They own their own apartment that is gorgeous and so pulled-together. They make their own dinners and Marti crochets baby clothes and Joel builds furniture and it's all very lovely. I love hanging out with them because they're also very laid-back. We spent the afternoon and evening just laying around and watching TV and doing crafts and living in their gorgeous apartment. We even made plans to hit up a movie and dinner and then canceled them to order Chinese and watch The Wonder Years. It was a perfect evening.
When I woke up on Tuesday, I had to say goodbye and head back into my true home, Manhattan. I was meeting four besties (Matt, Tiffany, Jess, and Kenneth) for a lunch date! Unfortunately we were meeting near Matt's workplace... Rockefeller Center-ish... and it was a nightmare. I forgot how much sidewalk rage I get walking around New York. Note to non-New Yorkers: Do not stop in the middle of the street. Do not walk slowly. Pull over to look at a map. Do not piss me off. Luckily it didn't take me long, and we all met and hugged and headed to a brasserie for lunch. We ate and caught up, and the afternoon sped by, until it was time to head "home".
When I think about my home in New York, it's definitely my UWS apartment, on 95th and Columbus. I have lived there a total of 16 months (minus a few out-of-town engagements) and that's a record for me. It's also the apartment that contains my fabulous roomies, Kenneth and Sloan. We may have had our ups and downs... differing degrees of cleanliness included... but we have the best time ever. It was great to see them. I lounged around with Kenneth for a while, playing with our pet-sitting project Lola, until it was time to get ready for a night out!
It's true that every time I go in or out of New York, I have a party. I'll find any excuse, from a birthday to a job to unemployment. So, on Tuesday I called and texted a bunch of my friends, and we all met up at a bar in Hell's Kitchen, called Vintage. It was a perfect night. It ended up being a group that combined people from college, high school, sound of music, and various other places. Everyone got along swimmingly, and I got to catch up with all my besties! We ate and drank and chatted, and it made me realize even more how much I miss them, and how lucky I am to have such a fantastic group of friends. At the end of the night we considered bar-hopping, but instead headed home to bond. I was SOOOO exhausted from the busy and stressful week that I crashed as Sloan was popping in a movie!
The next day was the 4th of July! I woke up lazily, to the sound of a barking Lola, and immediately made plans to meet up with my super bestie Flann. I hopped in the shower and met him and his cousin and cousin-in-law at Gabriella's, the FANTASTIC Mexican restaurant a block from my apartment. It was great fun catching up, and a perfect way to start a lazy holiday. Afterwards a bunch of friends came over, and we hung out on our roof deck. The day was overcast, but it was nice and cool (MUCH better than DC's humidity). We drank beers and ate chips, and it felt very American. Eventually we moved to our back patio, and then when it started to pour, inside. By this time there was a group of about ten of us, so we decided to start some game time!
I LOVE GAMES! I especially love to WIN games, so I like to play Celebrity, because I'm pretty good at it. I ended up on a team with Sloan and Tiffany, and I knew we were looking good. Chris, Miles, and Leisy put up a good fight, and Henry, Naclerio, and Kenneth tried their best, but after a few million rounds, we narrowly cam out on top, kicking butt amidst boos and questions of cheating. Although I'll have you know that Sloan NEVER cheats, although I do whenever I'm the banker. After gaming, time was running out for patriotic things, so we decided to find some fireworks. Finding a good place to watch fireworks in New York is like finding a straight single man there, basically impossible. You might find a little view, but it's obviously crowded, or covered by trees, or smelly, or something. All three 4th's I've had in the city involved severe pushing or obstructed views. We decided to try something different, so we headed out to Long Island City, Queens.
It wasn't far on the subway, and our jovial mood took us all the way. When we arrived we were right by the famous Coca-Cola sign, on the water, across from a beautiful view of Manhattan. We were a little nervous because it was raining off and on, but Naclerio and I just just got soaked and worked our drowned rat look. When the fireworks actually started, they were fantastic! Kenneth took video, and Chris ran up front to get the best view. Leisy made fun of Asian people, and Tiffany and Miles cuddled. I don't think I've ever been as close to fireworks, and it was perfect. It stopped raining long enough for us to enjoy them perfectly, and they were spectacular. When they were over we all cheered, and then headed out on a pier to take pictures.
We ended the night back at V*ynl, a restaurant with some of my favorite yummy food. We ate until we thought we'd burst, and then it was time to head home. I got to chill with my three adorable roomies (I've been so easily replaced by my adorable subletter Dave) for a few hours before it was time to say goodbye! I was on the 3am train out of Penn Station, and I was back in my bed asleep in DC by 8. Today was a long exhausted (caffeine-filled) day, but it was totally worth it. I love New York, and I LOVE MY FRIENDS!
I left Monday morning and rode my first long-distance train. The Chinatown bus is cheaper, but I've got a real job now, and I figured I could splurge. The train ride was actually pretty fun. I got a yummy microwave burger and took a nap and got some reading in. Loved it! When I arrived in New York I went straight out to Kew Gardens to visit my old bestie Marti in her fabulous apartment.
Marti and her adorable fiancee Joel are the most grown up of all my friends that are around my age. They are getting married this fall and they're totally adults. They own their own apartment that is gorgeous and so pulled-together. They make their own dinners and Marti crochets baby clothes and Joel builds furniture and it's all very lovely. I love hanging out with them because they're also very laid-back. We spent the afternoon and evening just laying around and watching TV and doing crafts and living in their gorgeous apartment. We even made plans to hit up a movie and dinner and then canceled them to order Chinese and watch The Wonder Years. It was a perfect evening.
When I woke up on Tuesday, I had to say goodbye and head back into my true home, Manhattan. I was meeting four besties (Matt, Tiffany, Jess, and Kenneth) for a lunch date! Unfortunately we were meeting near Matt's workplace... Rockefeller Center-ish... and it was a nightmare. I forgot how much sidewalk rage I get walking around New York. Note to non-New Yorkers: Do not stop in the middle of the street. Do not walk slowly. Pull over to look at a map. Do not piss me off. Luckily it didn't take me long, and we all met and hugged and headed to a brasserie for lunch. We ate and caught up, and the afternoon sped by, until it was time to head "home".
When I think about my home in New York, it's definitely my UWS apartment, on 95th and Columbus. I have lived there a total of 16 months (minus a few out-of-town engagements) and that's a record for me. It's also the apartment that contains my fabulous roomies, Kenneth and Sloan. We may have had our ups and downs... differing degrees of cleanliness included... but we have the best time ever. It was great to see them. I lounged around with Kenneth for a while, playing with our pet-sitting project Lola, until it was time to get ready for a night out!
It's true that every time I go in or out of New York, I have a party. I'll find any excuse, from a birthday to a job to unemployment. So, on Tuesday I called and texted a bunch of my friends, and we all met up at a bar in Hell's Kitchen, called Vintage. It was a perfect night. It ended up being a group that combined people from college, high school, sound of music, and various other places. Everyone got along swimmingly, and I got to catch up with all my besties! We ate and drank and chatted, and it made me realize even more how much I miss them, and how lucky I am to have such a fantastic group of friends. At the end of the night we considered bar-hopping, but instead headed home to bond. I was SOOOO exhausted from the busy and stressful week that I crashed as Sloan was popping in a movie!
The next day was the 4th of July! I woke up lazily, to the sound of a barking Lola, and immediately made plans to meet up with my super bestie Flann. I hopped in the shower and met him and his cousin and cousin-in-law at Gabriella's, the FANTASTIC Mexican restaurant a block from my apartment. It was great fun catching up, and a perfect way to start a lazy holiday. Afterwards a bunch of friends came over, and we hung out on our roof deck. The day was overcast, but it was nice and cool (MUCH better than DC's humidity). We drank beers and ate chips, and it felt very American. Eventually we moved to our back patio, and then when it started to pour, inside. By this time there was a group of about ten of us, so we decided to start some game time!
I LOVE GAMES! I especially love to WIN games, so I like to play Celebrity, because I'm pretty good at it. I ended up on a team with Sloan and Tiffany, and I knew we were looking good. Chris, Miles, and Leisy put up a good fight, and Henry, Naclerio, and Kenneth tried their best, but after a few million rounds, we narrowly cam out on top, kicking butt amidst boos and questions of cheating. Although I'll have you know that Sloan NEVER cheats, although I do whenever I'm the banker. After gaming, time was running out for patriotic things, so we decided to find some fireworks. Finding a good place to watch fireworks in New York is like finding a straight single man there, basically impossible. You might find a little view, but it's obviously crowded, or covered by trees, or smelly, or something. All three 4th's I've had in the city involved severe pushing or obstructed views. We decided to try something different, so we headed out to Long Island City, Queens.
It wasn't far on the subway, and our jovial mood took us all the way. When we arrived we were right by the famous Coca-Cola sign, on the water, across from a beautiful view of Manhattan. We were a little nervous because it was raining off and on, but Naclerio and I just just got soaked and worked our drowned rat look. When the fireworks actually started, they were fantastic! Kenneth took video, and Chris ran up front to get the best view. Leisy made fun of Asian people, and Tiffany and Miles cuddled. I don't think I've ever been as close to fireworks, and it was perfect. It stopped raining long enough for us to enjoy them perfectly, and they were spectacular. When they were over we all cheered, and then headed out on a pier to take pictures.
We ended the night back at V*ynl, a restaurant with some of my favorite yummy food. We ate until we thought we'd burst, and then it was time to head home. I got to chill with my three adorable roomies (I've been so easily replaced by my adorable subletter Dave) for a few hours before it was time to say goodbye! I was on the 3am train out of Penn Station, and I was back in my bed asleep in DC by 8. Today was a long exhausted (caffeine-filled) day, but it was totally worth it. I love New York, and I LOVE MY FRIENDS!
posted by Beth at 11:06 PM
1 Comments:
What a cool story! DLADK
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