After a month of weekend visits, I’m finally here! I keep forgetting that I’m here permanently now and don’t have to fly back to New York in a couple of days.
The move last week went smoothly, aside from the bacon grease incident. The day before I dropped off the last of our donations at Housing Works and packed up most of the rest of our stuff. That night I had dinner with YP, who was kind enough to let me into his workplace and give me another much needed box.
The next afternoon, the movers arrived on time. There were just two guys, since I didn’t have much to move, even less so when I ended up leaving behind more furniture than I had planned (one bookcase, a kitchen rack, the kitchen table and chairs). Steve was willing to take anything and I was tired of dealing with my parents’ bickering and stress over what I was bringing home.
The movers were done in about an hour. They took off in their truck while I hopped the NJ Transit. They offered me a ride, but I declined, thinking they might hit a lot of traffic and also not wanting to make small talk for two hours (so I’m antisocial).
My train was really slow and they got a little lost, so we arrived within minutes of each other. From there it was smooth sailing. My parents good-naturedly ordered them around, and the movers good-naturedly followed their orders. They also helped my parents move their old TV to the basement, freeing up space in the study. Again, done in about an hour. All moved in by dinner time.
As I expected, my parents were excited about using our little things – MB’s old speakers, my laundry drying rack, this random stool. My dad also really likes MB’s desk. I’m thinking I should have given him MB’s huge computer monitor instead of leaving it behind, but I was picturing an argument. Mom: “This one’s better, you should use it.” Dad: “I don’t need it, the one I have is fine.” Mom: “Why, just use this one.” Dad: “No, I like the one I have.” Back and forth, and in increasing volume. Then again, my dad might have decided to use it anyway if it showed up without warning. Ah, parents.
The rest of my time there was uneventful. Thursday morning I slept till 10, exhausted from the move. AY was home sick from work but feeling better by noon, so we grabbed lunch and coffee afterwards. It was fun catching up.
After I got home, I had a nice run on the road behind my parents’ house (about 3.5 miles). It was easy since I hadn’t run in about a week and the weather was so cool. But I was very sore the next day.
That may have partially been because I didn’t fall asleep till about 3 AM. That damn coffee! I got up around 9 and felt the whole day that I was coming down with something. But I think I was just tired because the next day I felt fine.
I spent Saturday with YP. I was flying out of JFK early Sunday morning so it’d be easier to stay in the city the night before. Plus it was nice to spend some time with a pal before my move.
We had lunch at Cafe Habana, and walked all around afterwards, that is when we weren’t avoiding the tremendous and sudden rain. Umbrella-less, we dashed from awning to awning till finally taking refuge in a bookstore. About an hour later, the rain slowed and we were able to walk back to his place, where we spent a good while drying out and watching TV.
A little while later, the skies cleared up more so we headed back out. We didn’t do a photo theme this time, just snapped when we felt like it. I had been wanting to get out to the water, so we walked out to Christopher Pier. It was lovely.
Then it was back to YP’s for some absinthe, my first time. It was surprisingly tasty – like licorice – but I’m not sure it did anything. I did feel bit of a weird buzz but it’s hard to say. Drinks were followed by dinner at Room Service, then Naked Comedy at the PIT. No better way to end my stint in New York.
The line-up was really good for a change, and there were a ton of comics so we didn’t have to hear the host make the same jokes again and watch him do yoga – AGAIN. (Yeah, a chubby naked guy doing yoga, not my thing.) A few of the guys had some nice tushies. Oh yeah, and they were funny too (the guys, not their tushies).
I got a few mosquito while we were walking around so all night I was paranoid. YP hasn’t had any buggers for weeks but with my luck, they’d reappear the night I stayed over. Plus I was anxious about having to get up early.
But again I was anxious for nothing. I got up in time, caught up a cab quickly, and got to the airport lickety split. I was so tired I actually slept a bit on the plane, and then was bored pretty much the whole time. (So tired of flying.)
Then I was home! Yay!
Since I was so pooped, MB and I took it easy. Had lunch, then walked out to Valencia Street. Finally saw what everyone calls the hip Mission district. Our assessment: enh. Yes, there seem to be lots of yummy Mexican places, but otherwise, we’re pretty satisfied with our own area.
We saw a matinee of Zombieland, which was lots of fun, then had an early night in. MB picked up dinner from Shalimar. I was unconscious by 11.
This morning I’ve been unpacking and reorganizing. Also waiting on a load of laundry (in the building! how novel). This afternoon I plan on hitting the Container Store, Bed, Bath, & Beyond, and Whole Foods, and possibly go for a run. And of course I need to squeeze in some writing (though I guess I’m writing right now).