Landbreadth
We went east for the holidays this year, which means Jersey City, for Cat's parents, and Virginia Beach, for mine. For the first time since we've been engaged, we actually had significantly different travel plans, primarily because my parents have a new longhair cat which leaves enough fur behind it (†) that they were specifically warning Cat away (††). So she was just heading out to her parents for a week beginning Wednesday, whereas I was joining her on Christmas night, then flying south on Monday afternoon, then coming back up on Thursday to spend a few days with lordm in Brooklyn.
But that was not to be; the Newark airport didn't open from the snow until three hours after my flight was meant to take off, and given that they had twenty hours of flights to make up, it really didn't seem to make any sense to force my way onto a replacement plane. So instead I called my parents a lot and spent the spare time with Cat in Jersey City before finally taking PATH into the City on essentially the original schedule.
On Thursday, I just hung out in Brooklyn until Moiseyev got off from work, at which point we went up to Times Square to find Julie and Christin Steinbruch (whom I hadn't seen in years), watch the end of North and South, and play random Wii games until after midnight, whereupon M. and I went back to the borough, missed a farewell party, wandered through Prospect Park, and then got called in to close a bar with some central-Pennsylvania people associated with M.'s neighbor/friend Paul, leading eventually to a long 5am diner conversation. It's in times like this that being adjusted -3 hours really comes in handy.
On Friday, we naturally didn't get up until after 3pm, at which point one of my random hey-people-I-am-here feelers paid off and we met up with jcreed at a diner on (I think) Flatbush, where we proceeded to stay roughly forever while discussing philosophy, occupations, &c. Eventually we split up and M. and I went into the City to acquire alcohol-favors and Julie, having done which we headed into Queens for a Party populated with unknown-to-me people which nonetheless was very pleasant except inasmuch as I will one day learn not to engage in drinking contests with myself, as a bottle and a half of wine is really just Too Much To Reasonably Have Drunk And Yet. And then we caught a cab back to Brooklyn and went to another party where I met Paul again and at which I essentially stirred chocolate fondue and then all-but passed out.
On Saturday, I believe it was 4pm before we all got up. We watched assorted football, then went to a bad-side-of-mediocre English-ish pub, then bundled off to see True Grit. Which I enjoyed! modulo still being somewhat hung over. And thence back to sleep.
On Sunday, I eventually badgered M. out of bed at 2pm, and we wandered over to a sports bar to catch some extremely unbalanced football games, serendipitously gathering up Paul again along the way. And then it was off to JFK, where the planes were all running late but I snuck onto an earlier flight anyway.
And on Monday it was work again, and now here I am, writing to you when I should be sleeping.
Alas, I missed a few people due miscellaneously to snow, travel, and miscommunication, but I will have other chances, I am sure.
† This might not actually be an issue. Cat and dog allergies are usually to the dander, not the fur, and if anything that's usually lower with longhairs. That said, the real problem is that the house is packed with approximately eighteen cat-years of accumulated dander, and my parents have the usual blindspots about it, even when they're making a specific effort. For example, last year they had no cats, and my mother very carefully vacuumed the rug in the room where we were sleeping - but didn't clean at all beneath the futon, so as soon as we pulled it out....
†† We're actually both allergic to cats and dogs, and in the abstract, I think my allergies might actually be worse. In practice, Cat's reactivity is testing the brim already, so any new exposure tends to hit her quite hard. And of course I'm more willing to tolerate the cat to spend time with my parents, just as she's more willing to tolerate the dog to spend time with hers.
But that was not to be; the Newark airport didn't open from the snow until three hours after my flight was meant to take off, and given that they had twenty hours of flights to make up, it really didn't seem to make any sense to force my way onto a replacement plane. So instead I called my parents a lot and spent the spare time with Cat in Jersey City before finally taking PATH into the City on essentially the original schedule.
On Thursday, I just hung out in Brooklyn until Moiseyev got off from work, at which point we went up to Times Square to find Julie and Christin Steinbruch (whom I hadn't seen in years), watch the end of North and South, and play random Wii games until after midnight, whereupon M. and I went back to the borough, missed a farewell party, wandered through Prospect Park, and then got called in to close a bar with some central-Pennsylvania people associated with M.'s neighbor/friend Paul, leading eventually to a long 5am diner conversation. It's in times like this that being adjusted -3 hours really comes in handy.
On Friday, we naturally didn't get up until after 3pm, at which point one of my random hey-people-I-am-here feelers paid off and we met up with jcreed at a diner on (I think) Flatbush, where we proceeded to stay roughly forever while discussing philosophy, occupations, &c. Eventually we split up and M. and I went into the City to acquire alcohol-favors and Julie, having done which we headed into Queens for a Party populated with unknown-to-me people which nonetheless was very pleasant except inasmuch as I will one day learn not to engage in drinking contests with myself, as a bottle and a half of wine is really just Too Much To Reasonably Have Drunk And Yet. And then we caught a cab back to Brooklyn and went to another party where I met Paul again and at which I essentially stirred chocolate fondue and then all-but passed out.
On Saturday, I believe it was 4pm before we all got up. We watched assorted football, then went to a bad-side-of-mediocre English-ish pub, then bundled off to see True Grit. Which I enjoyed! modulo still being somewhat hung over. And thence back to sleep.
On Sunday, I eventually badgered M. out of bed at 2pm, and we wandered over to a sports bar to catch some extremely unbalanced football games, serendipitously gathering up Paul again along the way. And then it was off to JFK, where the planes were all running late but I snuck onto an earlier flight anyway.
And on Monday it was work again, and now here I am, writing to you when I should be sleeping.
Alas, I missed a few people due miscellaneously to snow, travel, and miscommunication, but I will have other chances, I am sure.
† This might not actually be an issue. Cat and dog allergies are usually to the dander, not the fur, and if anything that's usually lower with longhairs. That said, the real problem is that the house is packed with approximately eighteen cat-years of accumulated dander, and my parents have the usual blindspots about it, even when they're making a specific effort. For example, last year they had no cats, and my mother very carefully vacuumed the rug in the room where we were sleeping - but didn't clean at all beneath the futon, so as soon as we pulled it out....
†† We're actually both allergic to cats and dogs, and in the abstract, I think my allergies might actually be worse. In practice, Cat's reactivity is testing the brim already, so any new exposure tends to hit her quite hard. And of course I'm more willing to tolerate the cat to spend time with my parents, just as she's more willing to tolerate the dog to spend time with hers.