halta girls came to visit
I wrote this awhile back like the week after the Halta girls left, but never posted it.
I feel like I've been on an emotional roller coaster. Wednesday night before the girls flew in, I was stressed out of my mind preparing. After work, I trekked out to Rose's apartment in the rain to pick up her inflatable mattress, and on the walk home from the G train, I almost prayed to be mugged because it was so heavy. Wearing my rain boots and puffy coat and lugging two giant bags, I was so uncomfortable. Then I did cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. Before I could finish putting fresh sheets on my bed, I passed out, and the next thing I knew, it was time for work.
Thursday was Valentine's Day. After work, I met up with a few of the girls at Bryant Park. We talked through Grand Central terminal and headed down to East Village for falafel, Belgian fries, and Japanese drinks. Ron was so sweet and surprised me with flowers and a dozen cupcakes for me and the girls. We weren't planning to do anything for Valentine's since it was the first night in NY for the gang.
Friday was Friday. I stayed late at the office, came home, and tried not to get too comfortable in bed. The gang came home, and we headed out to Williamsburg for Terris' party at Hope Lounge. Walking there was an adventure. I felt bad because it was so cold and so windy, and the streets were confusing. Two people didn't know where to point us. One guy told us to "walk down that way, then go up on a ramp along the freeway. And if you keep walking, you'll see the street on your right. It's near a painted gorilla. You can't miss it." Mmm... yeah. The party was fun. I was expecting a little better of the DJs and venue, but whatever, I was with Halta crew, Rose, Jolina, and Terris.
What happened Saturday? It feels like so long ago; everything is taking some time to backtrack. Vicki and I met up with Suzane, Lynnette, and Diana for brunch. Burgers and sweat potato fries, a winning combination. Then Vicki and I ran some errands together. Before we knew it, it was dinner time, and we ordered delivery. Ahh... nothing like delivery on a cold night. We played around in my apartment for awhile; I showed everyone my nerd setup and played some music. Then finally Ronald and Monique showed up, and after much debating, we decided to stay local and went to LIC Bar with Jerry and Kat.
Sunday morning was rough. Our goal was to leave the apartment by 10:00. I woke up around 9:20, and I decided to go back to bed because everyone looked dead. But Suzane was up, so I forced myself to get out of bed. I felt like hell, as if a bus had hit smack dab in the middle of my back. Amazingly, we managed to leave the apartment by 10:15. Seriously, six girls after staying up til 4 and some even later, 10:15 departure is very impressive.
Sunday was sight seeing day. We started by heading way downtown to the World Trade Memorial. Then we walked east to South Seaport and Pier 17. Then walked along the water down to Battery Park and took pictures in front of Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, and WWII Memorial. Starving, we jumped on the train to Chinatown, where we watched the last of Lunar New year festivities and ate at Joe Shanghai and Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Then we headed up to Soho and stopped in Uniqlo before continuing north to Washington Square Park. After Greenwich Village, we trekked towards West Chelsea in hopes of seeing a couple galleries. I was hoping to show the girls the Juergen Teller and the Sartorialist exhibits, but all the galleries were closed by the time we made it. Not to waste the walk and because I love food, we walked a few blocks to Billy's Bakery for slices of cake and pie.
And that was not the end of our day or night. I can't believe how much we did in one day. We went out to dinner with Vincent (no Danny because he was lame and wanted to iron his shirts) at a very festive Indian restaurant in East Village. The sketchiness and cheesiness of the place is what made it so fun. The owner wanted us to be repeat customers, so he tried to be buddy-buddy with us, calling us his friends and showing us his garden patio which is usually open during the warmer seasons. After dinner, we had girly and delicious cocktails in Lower East Side. I was getting restless and wanted a change of atmosphere, so we went to the small club next door and it was fantastic. Jerry and Kat met up with us, and Vincent was the best group body guard ever. Take that, creepers. We had pizza and were hoping to sustain Lynnette and Suzane's buzzes, but it was a Sunday night and everything was closing.
Monday, I didn't do crap. I really wanted to show the girls around Central Park (skating rink, zoo, lakes, etc) because it's a Manhattan landmark, but with all the bumps along the road, we didn't have nearly as much time as planned. So we just made it to Strawberry Fields and it was time for lunch in the Upper West Side. While the other four girls went to see Conan, Lynnette and I hung out, enjoyed some Sugar Sweet Sunshine and tea. It was really great to catch up.
Tuesday, I had work, but the girls met up with me for lunch. We went to K-town, and we said our awkward goodbyes. It felt like old times, so it didn't feel like I had to say goodbye. Vicki, Suzane, Lynnette, and Diana were gone. They "didn't leave me cold-turkey" as they put it because I had Monique, which was nice. And it was nice to have one-on-one time with Monique.
Wednesday, Monique and I did a tour of cheap eats in the city. It was pretty amazing, if I do say so myself.
Whew, what a week.
I feel like I've been on an emotional roller coaster. Wednesday night before the girls flew in, I was stressed out of my mind preparing. After work, I trekked out to Rose's apartment in the rain to pick up her inflatable mattress, and on the walk home from the G train, I almost prayed to be mugged because it was so heavy. Wearing my rain boots and puffy coat and lugging two giant bags, I was so uncomfortable. Then I did cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. Before I could finish putting fresh sheets on my bed, I passed out, and the next thing I knew, it was time for work.
Thursday was Valentine's Day. After work, I met up with a few of the girls at Bryant Park. We talked through Grand Central terminal and headed down to East Village for falafel, Belgian fries, and Japanese drinks. Ron was so sweet and surprised me with flowers and a dozen cupcakes for me and the girls. We weren't planning to do anything for Valentine's since it was the first night in NY for the gang.
Friday was Friday. I stayed late at the office, came home, and tried not to get too comfortable in bed. The gang came home, and we headed out to Williamsburg for Terris' party at Hope Lounge. Walking there was an adventure. I felt bad because it was so cold and so windy, and the streets were confusing. Two people didn't know where to point us. One guy told us to "walk down that way, then go up on a ramp along the freeway. And if you keep walking, you'll see the street on your right. It's near a painted gorilla. You can't miss it." Mmm... yeah. The party was fun. I was expecting a little better of the DJs and venue, but whatever, I was with Halta crew, Rose, Jolina, and Terris.
What happened Saturday? It feels like so long ago; everything is taking some time to backtrack. Vicki and I met up with Suzane, Lynnette, and Diana for brunch. Burgers and sweat potato fries, a winning combination. Then Vicki and I ran some errands together. Before we knew it, it was dinner time, and we ordered delivery. Ahh... nothing like delivery on a cold night. We played around in my apartment for awhile; I showed everyone my nerd setup and played some music. Then finally Ronald and Monique showed up, and after much debating, we decided to stay local and went to LIC Bar with Jerry and Kat.
Sunday morning was rough. Our goal was to leave the apartment by 10:00. I woke up around 9:20, and I decided to go back to bed because everyone looked dead. But Suzane was up, so I forced myself to get out of bed. I felt like hell, as if a bus had hit smack dab in the middle of my back. Amazingly, we managed to leave the apartment by 10:15. Seriously, six girls after staying up til 4 and some even later, 10:15 departure is very impressive.
Sunday was sight seeing day. We started by heading way downtown to the World Trade Memorial. Then we walked east to South Seaport and Pier 17. Then walked along the water down to Battery Park and took pictures in front of Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, and WWII Memorial. Starving, we jumped on the train to Chinatown, where we watched the last of Lunar New year festivities and ate at Joe Shanghai and Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Then we headed up to Soho and stopped in Uniqlo before continuing north to Washington Square Park. After Greenwich Village, we trekked towards West Chelsea in hopes of seeing a couple galleries. I was hoping to show the girls the Juergen Teller and the Sartorialist exhibits, but all the galleries were closed by the time we made it. Not to waste the walk and because I love food, we walked a few blocks to Billy's Bakery for slices of cake and pie.
And that was not the end of our day or night. I can't believe how much we did in one day. We went out to dinner with Vincent (no Danny because he was lame and wanted to iron his shirts) at a very festive Indian restaurant in East Village. The sketchiness and cheesiness of the place is what made it so fun. The owner wanted us to be repeat customers, so he tried to be buddy-buddy with us, calling us his friends and showing us his garden patio which is usually open during the warmer seasons. After dinner, we had girly and delicious cocktails in Lower East Side. I was getting restless and wanted a change of atmosphere, so we went to the small club next door and it was fantastic. Jerry and Kat met up with us, and Vincent was the best group body guard ever. Take that, creepers. We had pizza and were hoping to sustain Lynnette and Suzane's buzzes, but it was a Sunday night and everything was closing.
Monday, I didn't do crap. I really wanted to show the girls around Central Park (skating rink, zoo, lakes, etc) because it's a Manhattan landmark, but with all the bumps along the road, we didn't have nearly as much time as planned. So we just made it to Strawberry Fields and it was time for lunch in the Upper West Side. While the other four girls went to see Conan, Lynnette and I hung out, enjoyed some Sugar Sweet Sunshine and tea. It was really great to catch up.
Tuesday, I had work, but the girls met up with me for lunch. We went to K-town, and we said our awkward goodbyes. It felt like old times, so it didn't feel like I had to say goodbye. Vicki, Suzane, Lynnette, and Diana were gone. They "didn't leave me cold-turkey" as they put it because I had Monique, which was nice. And it was nice to have one-on-one time with Monique.
Wednesday, Monique and I did a tour of cheap eats in the city. It was pretty amazing, if I do say so myself.
Whew, what a week.