Monday, Apr. 11, 2005 - 9:54 a.m.
This past weekend felt very long. It was nice. I had fun. But it still wore me out by the end of it.
Friday was my friend Brendan's last day at Wizard. So, a bunch of Wizard employees were going out. Me and Jairo joined in the fun, as much as bars aren't really a fave for either of us. Actually, I'm ok with bars when something's going on like a band's playing or you can hear each other or play pool.
But this bar is the atypical "dive bar." Olive's in Nyack. Dark, dirty, almost always nearly empty. And the jukebox alternates between bad metal and bad rockabilly depending on what the crowd feeds it.
But it was nice to hang out. And Alex was also visiting from Miami, so even more people were there than I had thought would come. Jesse, Chris and Sara, Ryan, Alex and Liza, Brendan, Dylan, Jason. It was a night of mimicking Mick Jagger and yelling over too-loud music.
Deirdre's girl friends had taken her out for her birthday, but they stopped by. And she invited me to come out with them the next night, but I'd already agreed to go to the "November-fest" party. But the invite was cool and I think we'll do something next weekend.
Saturday Jairo took me to look at a place for rent in Yonkers, desperate as I am to leave. It was insanely tiny! Not space-wise, I don't need tons of space. But the ceilings were only maybe 3 inches above my head. I left knowing I wouldn't live there without becoming slightly clausterphobic.
That evening we headed to a party at the usual Wizard party place, a house shared by three of the employees. This party was mostly in honor of Alex's visit, but I think they were calling it "novemberfest" anyway. (There is a tradition there of having a huge party in November, thus the name....then they started having 2 a year - one in the summer - but retained the title).
I was going for Jairo's sake. I had stealed myself up, ready to be uncomfortable. But I ended up really having fun.
I talked to Alex and Jesse some, met Liza who was really nice. Had a nice long chat with her and Allison. Got to meet Brendan's girlfriend, Christa, who was also cool. Saw Brad and Julia. And a bunch of people. At one point there was a karaoke video game that people were surprisingly into. Lots of laughing and I left with a good feeling.
Sunday we had to get up early to go see another prospective place to live. This place was gorgeous. It was a studio in a house owned by an incredibly nice artist and his wife.
They were so friendly and it was ideal. They instantly liked Jairo because he's an art student and could discuss the guy's work.
There was another girl looking at the same time as us, and I left knowing I'd have to figure out what to do by the end of the day. So, as we headed to the city to spend the day with our friend Dylan (and Emma, who's sort of his friend and an acquaintance now), I pondered my finances. It was a little too expensive, but I wanted it soo much.
The day was ok. A little weird. There's something about hanging out with Dylan and Emma....there aren't ever really group conversations, it's always one on one. But we're there as a group. That just felt odd to me.
Emma's orthodox Jewish, so we had to find a Kosher place to eat. And aside from the horribly rude service, it was good. But it is a completely new experience for me being asked if I want to eat dairy or meat today. (Kosher restaurants cannot cook both).
After eating, we decided to walk around Central Park. We weren't the only ones. Since this has been one of the first really nice weekends since spring started, it seemed like the whole city was in the park. We even passed Mark Wahlberg (who was staying amazingly unbothered). Me and Dylan recognized him. Emma said, "you should go get his autograph." But we were in agreement that that would be kind of rude and obtrusive.
There were people in a large fenced area roller skating to music, dancing on skates.
There were volleyball matches and baseball games, endless groups of people sunbathing, tossing baseballs, flying frisbees, sitting on the large rocks reading. A man was playing his cello under a tree. We sat down near the carousel. There were kids everywhere, eating cotton candy, rolling down the hill, dripping ice cream down their face. The atmosphere in the park was spring captured. People enjoying the sun, bringing kids out to run around and laugh.
Jason called because he was also there. So, we met up with him and Kate. Shortly after, Dylan and Emma headed home and we headed to Strawberry Fields. Then we wondered a little more until my knees could no longer take it and we headed home.
I checked my email, and had been emailed by the lady whose space for rent I'd seen that morning. She was telling me the other girl had taken it. I told Jairo and said "well, no more stressing about it, it's been figured out" meaning it. He wondered off while I finished playing on the computer. But a second later he came over and looked at me and said "are you ok?" and proved how well he knows me. Because I *was* disappointed. So, the search continues.
About an hour later, he touched the back of my neck and goes "are you sunburned?" He hadn't believed me when I'd told him that the first time I was really outside in the sun I'd end up with a sunburn. He'd thought I was exagerating. But no, I've got a light burn across the back of my neck, my shoulders, and the bridge of my nose.
We were both happy to just sit down for a while at the end of the evening.
