...And the World Returns to Normal

Sarah has rectified what I'm sure was a clerical error as detailed a post ago - many thanks, Sarah!

So Spill About the Weekend Already!

Okay, okay. :-D The trip to New York City was a good'un. It'd been over four years since I visited the first time, and this go-round I was able to savor the experience to a much more thorough degree. I also have excellent subway karma, apparently - I don't think Meagan (my sister) and I ever had to wait more than a minute or two for a train. Got to walk the Jack Russell Terrier she's currently dogsitting along a decent portion of Riverside Park, which was quite impressive; the priority of parks in such a densely crowded area as Manhattan was great to see. I also had the chance to stop by Lincoln Center (down by the Juilliard School); first, we had some incredible sushi at Sushi a Go-Go, and then I stomped around a bit while Meagan rehearsed. I got to patronize a street vendor or two (fresh, warm honey-roasted peanuts, cashews and almonds rock), check the shops and watch the sun set over the local skyline. That evening we met with some good friends of Meagan's as well, and caught up with a comparatively long-lost cousin for dinner at the Gramercy Diner. Oh, this was after we hung out and goggled at the furniture at ABC Carpet and Home, which is a truly high-end store for such things. We saw a few pieces that ran north of $10,000.00, and rightly so. To close out the day we zipped back to Lincoln Center and caught In the Bedroom, which would have been inscutable enough in its own right, if not for the onslaught of snoring, laughing, clapping and cell-phone-dropping perpetrated by the audience. 'Twas a great people-watching opportunity, if the movie left a little to be desired in the "point" department. That closed out Friday; we dragged ourselves home and crashed.

The next day we went to the @SQC Restaurant for brunch with Meagan's new beau (who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty). Most notable (aside from the guy himself - she's found herself a live one this time) was the hot chocolate: effectively warm chocolate syrup in a large coffee mug, only richer, better tasting and topped with homemade whipped cream and sporting a cinnamon-stick-like roll of shaved chocolate. OMG. The maple-apple-cinnamon souffle was almost bland by comparison. Whoof.

Hopped a bus to New Jersey to visit an old friend recently reacquired for the remainder of Saturday and the beginning of Sunday. There is more, but it is written in the language of Mordor, which I shall not utter here. ;-)

Sunday afternoon I hung out, exhausted from my travels and nursing the faint beginnings of a head cold, and for dinner Meagan and I ordered Indian food in and watched the Super Bowl. Poor Rams. Did doze nasty Patriots give you a owwie? :-p Great game, though.

The trip back from JFK airport to Dulles was horrific. Not only were we delayed an hour because of inclement weather of indeterminate type around Washington, but once we got close enough to determine the nature of the weather we discovered that it was high winds. Can you say turbulence? Can you say extensive barf bag use? Can you see the runway slew repeatedly from right to left as you get closer and closer to the ground? I knew you could. Thankfully I didn't require my "complimentary convenience bag," but the guy behind me (and most of the rear of the plane) did. Ewwwww. It was a Gulfstream I (other photo), and as such small enough that they had to move big passengers like me around for weight distribution reasons - i.e., so it could take off. Yeesh.

Nevertheless, we all made it back fine, but I now need to make an appointment with my chiropractor thanks to the violence of the final approach.

So anyway, quite an adventure. Between the good and the bad, I'll definitely be making more visits to NYC from now on.

I may take the train, though...

-Rich