Starting To Feel Better Again
...about life. Not much... still wondering what the hell it's all about, but I'm not falling apart.
And I have no problem admitting it, and don't care what folks say, but alcohol helps.
Saturday night the Professor came with me to see a friend of BigSensei's perform a reggaeton show at a small bar on the Lower East Side. Very odd place to have a reggaeton performance... but the few folk who didn't clear out when the Puerto Ricans ("162 in da HOOOOOOOUSSE!") took over had a good time. The Professor and I got downtown slightly ahead of BigSensei and his entourage (his wife, her sister and a close family friend) but when we met up we discovered we were all hungry. I asked the bouncer if they served food in the place--they didn't, he said. But we could order in.
So we went walking... Chinatown started on the corner we were standing, so we walked up East Broadway looking for open restaurants. The ones that were served things like Congee and beef stomach with turnip, but BigSensei's wife wanted real Chinese food... egg rolls in particular.
We never found any.
But the beauty of New York is that ethnic neighborhoods are all crushed up on each other, especially on the LES, so we turned another corner and ran into pizza, Spanish food, and McDonald's. The Puerto Ricans all ate McDonald's... the Professor and I shared a plate of yellow rice and chicken.
After the show, BigSensei excitedly introduced me to his friend the dj... nice enough looking dude with a shy smile. Eh. But it was flattering to get the Gladeye.
It was still a little early when the group broke up; BigSensei and crew were going to go hang out in the Bronx, but the Professor and I went to Gonzalez y Gonzalez for an hour or so. Neither of us felt like dancing, but the band was great and the dancers were twirling and it was just nice to be there...
The Sun had spent the night with one of his oldest school friends, up in Washington Heights. The family down the street from where he was staying is an elementary school friend of MoodMagicBarbie and was having a birthday barbecue. So that meant MMB was there on that block as well. It's walking distance from the Professor's apartment which meant she wasn't driving. Which meant I made the trek over there from the Rock by bus and train. Wasn't too bad... less time than it takes to get to Yonkers and much the same route.
I hadn't wanted to be around people too much, but the loneliness in the house was killing me, and once I got there I was glad I came. The Sun's friend, Mowgli has one of the nicest families around. MMB has been friends with Mowgli's sister since pre-K, so we've known the family a long time. The parents had been separated for a bit, but are now back together... in love as always, and it was nice to be around. The grown ups all ended up sitting in the little courtyard of the garden apartment, drinking beers and sangria, and doing shots of Hennesey. The kids ran up and down the block between the two apartments, the boys (including TinyOne who had come with his mama the Diva) playing with a basketball, the girls "swanking" and tossing hair.
Afterwards Mowgli's dad drove us home in his wife's convertible. When they had split up two years ago, she had sold her old SUV and bought a snazzy two-seater convertible. The license plate reads "Ciao Papi" or the equivalent and I had the bestest time ribbing him about it. Particularly since he happens to be a really good-looking guy. But he smiled and took the ribbing with humor.
So now we're back to Monday. School is three weeks away for us. Back into a routine... I hate when summer ends but I'll be glad for the normalcy. This summer was just way too intense...
And I have no problem admitting it, and don't care what folks say, but alcohol helps.
Saturday night the Professor came with me to see a friend of BigSensei's perform a reggaeton show at a small bar on the Lower East Side. Very odd place to have a reggaeton performance... but the few folk who didn't clear out when the Puerto Ricans ("162 in da HOOOOOOOUSSE!") took over had a good time. The Professor and I got downtown slightly ahead of BigSensei and his entourage (his wife, her sister and a close family friend) but when we met up we discovered we were all hungry. I asked the bouncer if they served food in the place--they didn't, he said. But we could order in.
So we went walking... Chinatown started on the corner we were standing, so we walked up East Broadway looking for open restaurants. The ones that were served things like Congee and beef stomach with turnip, but BigSensei's wife wanted real Chinese food... egg rolls in particular.
We never found any.
But the beauty of New York is that ethnic neighborhoods are all crushed up on each other, especially on the LES, so we turned another corner and ran into pizza, Spanish food, and McDonald's. The Puerto Ricans all ate McDonald's... the Professor and I shared a plate of yellow rice and chicken.
After the show, BigSensei excitedly introduced me to his friend the dj... nice enough looking dude with a shy smile. Eh. But it was flattering to get the Gladeye.
It was still a little early when the group broke up; BigSensei and crew were going to go hang out in the Bronx, but the Professor and I went to Gonzalez y Gonzalez for an hour or so. Neither of us felt like dancing, but the band was great and the dancers were twirling and it was just nice to be there...
The Sun had spent the night with one of his oldest school friends, up in Washington Heights. The family down the street from where he was staying is an elementary school friend of MoodMagicBarbie and was having a birthday barbecue. So that meant MMB was there on that block as well. It's walking distance from the Professor's apartment which meant she wasn't driving. Which meant I made the trek over there from the Rock by bus and train. Wasn't too bad... less time than it takes to get to Yonkers and much the same route.
I hadn't wanted to be around people too much, but the loneliness in the house was killing me, and once I got there I was glad I came. The Sun's friend, Mowgli has one of the nicest families around. MMB has been friends with Mowgli's sister since pre-K, so we've known the family a long time. The parents had been separated for a bit, but are now back together... in love as always, and it was nice to be around. The grown ups all ended up sitting in the little courtyard of the garden apartment, drinking beers and sangria, and doing shots of Hennesey. The kids ran up and down the block between the two apartments, the boys (including TinyOne who had come with his mama the Diva) playing with a basketball, the girls "swanking" and tossing hair.
Afterwards Mowgli's dad drove us home in his wife's convertible. When they had split up two years ago, she had sold her old SUV and bought a snazzy two-seater convertible. The license plate reads "Ciao Papi" or the equivalent and I had the bestest time ribbing him about it. Particularly since he happens to be a really good-looking guy. But he smiled and took the ribbing with humor.
So now we're back to Monday. School is three weeks away for us. Back into a routine... I hate when summer ends but I'll be glad for the normalcy. This summer was just way too intense...
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