thank you for leaving town

i stayed in the borough for thanksgiving. that was rad. i avoided the anxiety of travel, didn't miss work, and still got to see my family and friends. my sister hosted a small but delicious dinner after my family and i went to the parade. then we all headed to s.gary and sara*'s apartment for mad dog and turkey carcass tossing. everyone was full of cheer. although i noticed something peculiar walking down bedford the night before thanksgiving: the neighborhood was empty. i saw maybe 10 people where i would usually be sidestepping jerks the whole 12 blocks down to grand. not only was no one around but bars and restaurants closed too, for the whole four day weekend. i was embarrassed to live here. as s.gary said, "proof again that williamsburg is a college town." regardless of the desolate population, everyone that stayed here had a great time in BK, without all those clowns. hope yours was equally enjoyable, wherever you were. cheers.

i'm back

hi everybody! i know it's been a long time. i have a job now. what did you expect, more frequent posts? to be honest the party dude hit his peak in summer. i'm not sure why or how just that summer was rad for me. this was affirmed last saturday. i saw the girl from the saturday night's alright...for doin' it post at a bar. i didn't know how to react. every scenario i could think of seemed like it would lead to embarrassment for both of us. so i didn't say anything to her, even though i exited right past her. when i woke up on sunday i, appropriately, felt like a jerk. but how did you expect me to react, she was my first one-night stand. i'm still learning how to be a party dude.

ahoy employed

i got a job, grouches. i'll be your internet sales representative at alkit photo. that means i'll be photographing and writing descriptions for used equipment that will go on the company's ebay store. regardless, i'm gainfully employed.

brunch gang

i had another delightful brunch on sunday with sara*, em, and s. gary. i love the meal and the company for sure, but this brunch thing is getting out of control. last week it was reservations in manhattan. this week it's checking out the brunch offerings from brand new restaurants. sara*, s. gary, and i walked by a space that the two of them had scoped for weeks before. they knew it was going to be a restaurant and yesterday was the first time they noticed that it was open. it is called the roebling tea room. we saw the door was open so we walked in to check it out. the first thing we noticed was the warm, comforting smell, which we decided consisted of baked ham and fresh bread. then we browsed the space like we were looking for an apartment and decided we couldn't leave without trying one of their 60 different tea flavors. we also noticed they have a brunch menu. at that point it was immediately decided that we should indulge our brunch fix there the very next day.

the tea was delicious. the meal was dicey. i didn't respond very well to the mint, scallion and feta frittata. i suppose i should remain suspicious of cafe-style egg dish service. by that i mean the frittata was prepared and displayed then simply reheated before being served. regardless, i am prepared to spend more time at this establishment as an afternoon meeting place for imbibing wonderfully aromatic beverages. plus they offer a small selection of wine and beer. perfect for that transition from caffination to intoxication. cheers, mates!

catch the fever

the virus is spreading. i was infected by sara*'s diary and now my sister has the parasite. she just published her first blog. it's named Brooklyn Gal For A Year. check it out. i have also added it to my links on the right so you'll always be able to find it and check out what she's been up to.

marathon sunday

today began with the bleary realization that someone not too far away was performing a terrible rendition of "are you gonna be my girl" by jet. dj and i decided to investigate, so i put on my jogging costume: running shoes, bobo socks, sweatpants, track jacket, and headband, and we took to the streets. it didn't take long to find the source of the noise. there was a band, oso, playing around the corner. sadly, the poster draped behind them, with a stylized image of their name, appeared to say "so so." once we cruised manhattan ave. we found that there was a band playing on every corner. i thought, "marathon day is party day."

as we continued down the street and as the main pack of runners came along i enjoyed a number of sights: italian runners' faces lighting up when a woman waving an italian flag shouts, "italia! italia!" in support; the older couples hanging out of their windows watching the runners pass; a gentleman in a polish soccer shirt running along with a polish runner, offering his support; the response i receive when i shout, "go dave!" to a middle-aged runner with "dave" written on his shirt. surprisingly there were also a number of "joke runners", runners in costume. i saw a man in a cow costume, two as the blues brothers in full, matching suits and hats, and a couple as the cheerleaders from saturday night live.

after the race had wound down, with only a few racers on the empty streets, dj and i walked the route back to our apartment. we passed by the park where i see a group of young hasidic men playing baseball in kippas and wool trousers...i love this city.

marathon day was the brightest, most up-beat, i had ever seen the neighborhood. but this is new york and that classic new york charm wasn't far away. near the end of our trip we passed a group of young women cheering on the straglers in the race. i glance to see who is still patiently watching these last runners. as i turn away one of them casually declares, "we're not cheering for you. you're a poseur." at first i was surprised she would say that, despite her accuracy. then i thought about how glad i was to be the recipient of probably one of the few discouraging remarks on the course all day.

they can't help themselves