Sunday Fun Day!

Liz and I woke up, got ready, and headed out for a bit before she had to go meet her fam for the drive home. I dropped off my laundry on the way to South Street SeaPort, and a short walk later, we were there. We went up on the balcony of the pier, facing the East River. It was afternoon, so we decided to get daiquiris and stood on the pier, looking at the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, and chatting. We would've liked to have sat in one of the lounge chairs, but they are apparently very prime real estate.

After we finished, we walked back to my house and I picked up my laundry on the way. It was ready in an hour and a half, and was only $10 for 17 lbs. Not too bad, considering my total effort involved. I also wanted to show Liz the Chinese grocery stores and fish markets before she left, and all of the fresh (still kicking and flopping) seafood had us both in a bit of shock and awe. There are of course crabs, lobsters, fish, but there are also turtles, frogs, and eels. Anything remotely edible (and I use that term very loosely) can be found in Chinatown. If you like freeze-dried squid and salted freeze-dried olives, you're also in luck. You want some Lays? Not so much.

We caught the train up to Times Square, her suitcase in tow, and met her mom at the parking garage on 9th ave and 42nd St, right by the Lincoln Tunnel. On the way there, I got a text from Maggie, who I met my second night in town at Guevara's friend's party, and she was going to a concert that I was considering going to alone. I met up with her in Brooklyn at McCarren Park (where the rained out show last week was). Again, the free concert had a HUGE line, this time doubling up the length of the block. We got in line, and met up with Maggie's boyfriend, Paul, and his friends Wes and Chris. There was a guy who worked there who came around with a bullhorn, telling everyone that they were only letting one in, one out at that point. We still had a way to go in the line, but so many people were discouraged from his proclamation that we actually got in to see the last five songs by Blonde Redhead. The lead singer is so cute, and used a stuffed horse as a keyboard stool. It was really a great show.

After the show, we all grabbed margaritas in styrofoam cups from the Turkey's Nest, and took them to the park. Paul tried flying a kite, but there was barely any wind, so we watched the adult kickball league games instead. There, we met a couple other of the guys' friends, one named Sholmyk (more about him later). The highlight was probably the guy selling empanadas out of a cooler for $1 each, especially since it was now 8pm and I had only eaten a banana and cereal all day.

A little after 8, I said goodbye, and Maggie walked me up to the subway station. I caught the L back to Manhattan, then the 2 up to Lincoln Center. There, I met Natalie and Julie for a free outdoor concert of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. I only caught the last few songs, but that included their most famous song, Take Five. They're pretty old at this point, so it was nice to be able to see "living legends" live in concert.

After the concert, we headed across the street to Natalie's favorite restaurant, Rosa Mexicano's. It has an amazing interior, with a big blue glass tile wall and 150 little diver sculptures, all covered in a thin stream of water. Upstairs, the top of the wall is exposed behind the staircase, and the rest of the interior is very warm and inviting. The chairs are made of woven red and orange seatbelt material. It was great, not to mention the amazing guacamole, made table-side ($14 serves 2), the crab empanadas that Natalie and I split, or the pomegranate margaritas.

We parted ways, and I headed home on the subway. I was nowhere near home yet, but while changing trains underground, I passed Shlomyk in the tunnel. We both thought it was so weird that we had just met a couple hours earlier in Brooklyn, and we're now seeing each other in Manhattan, so I got his email address and told him he'd be invited to my house warming party the last weekend of August.