Festivities


The holiday season has been a filling feast of equal parts spirits, snow, and sleep so far.  I suppose I’ve left much of what’s happened to memory; I can’t quite recount the past two weeks in detail because I simply let it slip too far away.  So, last night seems like a good place to start and end.

I went down to the city last night to hang out with Wil, Chris, Brian, Scott, and Chris’ friend Paul.  We went to Silk Road, and enjoyed a bountiful repast of noodles and things schezuan style.  Then Chris and Paul went their separate way, and the remainder of our party retired to the Dead Poet (great bar, 82nd and Amesterdam) to debate quotes attributed to Hemingway and bash around glasses of Smithwicks for which the establishment is nice enough not to make you pay. 

Then Brian left us: Wil, Scott and I made our way down to Mike and Steve’s awesome apartment, where we hung out with and caught up with those two plus Brie and others.   Delightful company and generous drinks were plentiful.

 Unfortuantely, boxed wine and Smithwicks don’t make an excellent chemical match, so my stomach told me to go home early.

 Wil and I celebrated New Years in Grand Central, slumped up against a stairwell, totally exhausted and waiting for a late train.  There was something spooky but nice about it.  Grand Central, that is.  It was like a private party… stray people tramping around who had defected from the Times Square Scene.  A few partiers at the restaurants that sit above the stairs, with horns and cocktails. Crowds of conductors, who had a rare hour or so break, congregated by the tracks joking and laughing and slapping each other on the back, dispensing  hearty wishes for the brand new year. 

I love people watching.

Happy new year! Cheers

Thanksgiving! Hooray! It was a good day.  I feel satisfied and warm.

 Got to see my brother’s baby boy, Luke. He’s great… so laid back, and forgiving. Lots of smiles and wise looks, too. At only 4 months! So much happiness.  His daughters are wonderful as well, growing and getting curiouser and curiouser by the day. We watched Pinnochio together — I think I need to do a comparison check with the storybook version.  I’m not sure Monstro the whale is the real deal.

So here’s that picture of my hair:

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Ta-da.  Okay, back to reading.

Well, I’m finally back home after a harrowing run in with a gin and tonic.  And a very cordial cop.

I was shuttling me and Cal over to Lilly Logans post-drinks (gin and tonic drinks!)with Ed at The Artist’s Pallete in Poughkeespie, when the lights flare up red and white in my rear-view mirror and I pull over accordingly.

I was so convinced he was going to be a jerk and breathalyze me — I’d only had one drink, two hours prior, so logically I knew I was FINE, but I’m paranoid — however, he only needed to notify me that one of my front headlights was out. Then, he chuckled several times, gave Cal and me directions to Lilly Logan’s (a bar…) and we were on our way.  Fantastic guy.

By the way? That gin and tonic? Delicious.  Sure, it gave me a small aneurism during the few seconds I thought a trace of the juniper stuffs might show up on a DUI test, but the good fortune barometer seems to be reading quite well these days.   And that gin and tonic therefore remains heavenly in my memory. Ah.

I’ll now enjoy a beer, thank you very much.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Clean that plate! Mmm!

May it stuff you to the gills, immobilize you to the point of Many Naps, and pour you so many glasses of wine that you’ll be willing to toast to most nice things. Cheers!