The Fill-In

PART 1:  The End of July

The Saturday after I got back from Montana was a perfect weekend for beaching with Brian, Megan, Lisa, Andrew, and Amanda.  Brian still had his car in town from his birthday camping trip, so we drove to Fort Tilden and spent hours splashing in the last waves of July before regaining our strength with the ever-delicious fish tacos of The Wharf.  We went back to Brian’s gradma’s house in Park Slope and I said a sort of goodbye to the place, knowing I probably won’t see it again after Brian moves to San Fransisco.  His grandma isn’t well enough to live there on her own anymore, so she’s been relocated to Warwick where his family lives and they’ll probably sell the place.  It’s got to be worth millions now but hasn’t been renovated since 1950-something and it's always been my glimpse into classic Brooklyn life.  And so, July ended in a flurry of waves and fish and musty house and cruising past Coney Island in a car with my pals.

Clouds, a skidoo showoff, and dock kids.

The Wharf Almighty.

Margaritas!

Wild Brooklyn Wallpaper

Back in the Boys' Den of Grannie's house

PART 2: CK & Allison and our 3 Year NYC Anniversary

The following week, Christina came to visit.  She didn’t have plans other than catching Newsies on Broadway, so we did a few things she never had a chance to experience while living here along with our old favorites:

-Wednesday was Highline Park, Chelsea Market, and a quick visit to Amandrew at College Humor.

-Thursday was The Cloisters, a wine bar, and Newsies, followed by Bryant Park at night.

-Friday was Eataly, Shakeshack, window-shopping, and dinner at Allison’s to round it all off.  We had a sleepover and then headed to the beach in the morning...on the worst day possible.  I’m afraid CK and Allison may never want to go back to the Rockaways after being pelted with sand on such a blustery August day and then watching a barbecue stand start a whole field on fire.  The one benefit of big wind is big waves, though, and I had a blast getting knocked sideways by them.  I still haven’t learned the “jump through” technique, and like any good Montanan, I prefer to keep my head safely above the ocean's surf. 

Eataly SeaLife

PART 3:  Chat Roulette

After CK left, I spent the next few days finishing my College Humor freelance and intermittently taking walks around Williamsburg.  (Unemployment can be very kind on the wanderlust.)

Adding tallies to my social docket, I met up with Heather Berms for her usual brand of trouble and I was also free in time for a weekend meet-up with my friend Jay.  It started with drinks and billiards but ended as one of those unexpected nights where you find yourself at a dance club in Chinatown making new friends amidst an amazing crew.  Jay's a native Brooklyner (and one of our former freelance designer/animators from Mantra), and I love getting his perspective on New York life since it’s all he’s ever known.  His friends are the same local stock, and their stories are fantastic, with most of them having never set foot in Manhattan until highschool because Brooklyn was their everything.  But judging by their dance club moves, they're just as comfortable in Manhattan now at a club serving pint-sized mojitos and Euro-tunes.  We had such a blast we didn't leave until 3 a.m., which was not my greatest idea considering I had to be up for a morning trek to the Jersey Rodeo!

Jay and The Friends