Here are all my pics from the first half of September 2005!
Tuesday, August 30th
The day after returning from my (unplanned!) month-long trip to
Korea and Japan, Meredith surprised me with a belated birthday cake! (My
29th birthday happened while I was teaching in Korea).
Here's Meredith giving a look to the camera that says "I like you enough
to buy you a belated b-day cake, but I'm still not quite sure if you're
boyfriend material, Disappearo!"
Wednesday, August 31st
The next day I got lunch with this funny looking lil' elf and then we did
some people-watching in Union Square.
Afterwards, I ended up in a bookstore where I found this amazing book of
magazine ads from the 1980s. Check out this fucking AMAZING ad for a clothing
store called Chess
King. A dragon? Curly-haired muscle dude wearing headphones and holding
a broken chain in one hand and an oiled, topless slut with a dagger
strapped to her leg in the other?
Whoa, upon closer examination, I realized that the dragon's tongue is turning
into the dude's headphones. I'm not sure what the deep symbolism means
exactly, but it's sure-as-shit left me speechless. Wow. Just wow.
After the book store, Vin came over to Sarah's (where I was still staying
before moving into my new apartment with Niki in a few days) and I gave
him a bunch of nerdy Japanese action figures that I'd bought for him in
Tokyo.
Thursday, September 1st
On Thursday morning, Grant grabbed the NJ Transit train with me out to
my parent's house...
...so we could rent a U-Haul and pick up all the stuff that I'd stored
in my parent's basement so that I could remain semi-homeless and travel.
I'd just gotten the keys to my new apartment with Niki and after loading
up the truck...
...we drove back to NYC and then Fatty (and my Dad, not pictured!)
helped Grant and I move all my stuff into my new place. Thanks so much,
guys!
Here's all my stuff dumped into our new living room! Woo!
And here's my new bedroom!
Later that night Niki and a few of her friends came by to drop off some
of Niki's stuff...
...and I busted out the decorative bottle of Ouzo (shaped like a Greek Warrior!)
that my parents had brought back for me on their trip to Athens. Here's my new
roomie Niki admiring him.
Niki's friend Karla (aka "Hot Karla") showing him off.
Meredith cut right to the chase: she popped his lil' Greek Warrior head
off so she could drink his delicious licorice-flavored blood.
Here's to new roomies! Opa!
Friday, September 2nd
Friday morning I took the Fatty out for some delicous pad thai to thank
him for helping me move, then I headed downtown to meet up with Niki so
we could do some...
...furniture shopping for our new apartment!
Here's me testing out a chair.
We ended up buying this set! (And we ended up getting a crazy deal! We
furnished our entire living room with eveything you see here for like $1100
including delivery! Wooo!)
Later that night, I helped Tinny carry some piece of furniture she found
on the street up all five god-damned flights of stairs up to her apartment!
It was just a furniture kind of day!
Saturday, September 3rd
On Saturday morning Mer and I got up bright and early and took the A train
out to Rockaway Beach! Fuck the Broadchannel shuttle transfer to the 118th
St. Beach! We stayed on the A all the way out to 60th Street and go to
the (sorta sketchy, but always totally
empty) beach out there in the middle of nowhere.
Plus, the last house on the street before you get to the boardwalk always has
the sickest hotrods parked out front. How do you top this bad boy?
How about with a slammed Cadilliac hearse with straight-pipe exhaust?
Hoo-ah!
And see what I mean about the beach? Almost empty!
Oooh-la-la!
I didn't even go swimming and somehow I still managed to get beach-hair.
After we left the beach, we took the train up to Chelsea and hit Bed, Bath
and Beyond to get some pillows and sheets for my new apartment. Meredith
kept trying to convince me I needed this sweet-ass Bon Jovi pillow. Hahaha.
Later that night we all went to Misshapes. I didn't even dance. I just
hung out in the backroom, got krunked on free vodka (woooo!) and somehow
took pictures of a bunch of people wearing the same creepy, ShirleyTemple-esque
wig. Here's Josh.
Leigh.
And Meredith. Hahaha.
Sunday, September 4th
On Sunday a whole buncha us when to brunch at Kate's and we all fawned
over Ellen's brand new chiuaua puppy named Piper that she snuck into the
restaurant. Here's Leigh about to chomp her tiny lil' puppy ear off.
After eating, Meredith and Ellen came over to Niki and my new apartment
to check out the view from our sick roof deck. Here's Mer and Niki.
And here's me carrying tiny Piper in her puppy-papoose. Hahaha.
Later we went to Circuit City so that I could buy a new TV for our apartment
wooooo!
Then Ellen came over and helped me unpack and set up the new TV. Thanks,
honey!
Here's me out on the street wishing Piper the puppy and Ellen a good night.
Later that night after unpacking some more, I headed out to Park Slope
to meet Jen, Amy and Jess for a drink at a bar called The Gate. (When I
moved to NYC in 2000, I lived in Gowanus, BK with Amy and The Gate was
like the only bar around back then!). Here's me and Jen!
Amy and Jess D. (Holy funniest photo ever. Have anotha pitcher, ladies!)
Monday, September 5th
On Monday morning our new furniture that we'd purchased on Friday was delivered.
Here's our living room filled with boxes. Fast forward a few hours later
and...
...check it out! Furniture! We have furniture!
Wednesday, September 7th
Meredith snapped this pic of me enjoying my newly-unpacked bedroom.
Later that afternoon I went over to Sarah's to pick up some more of my
stuff and give her the awesome visor / welder's mask I'd scored in Korea.
Here's visor mode.
And here's welder mode! If anyone ever tries to shoot her in the face with
a Roman candle, she's all set!
Then later that night I went to see Group Sounds and Fiasco play together
and Pianos! Group Sounds was on first.
Fatty give Frank the ol' "get a load of this guy."
Fiasco performed last which meant they had to endure Sexy Joe's naked antics
while they played (check out Grant's face! Hahaha).
Heave-ho! Throw the naked guy up onto the stage!
Hahahaha. Sexy Joe and Meredith recreate what happened after the last Group
Sounds show (when Jared laughed so hard he threw up!).
Sweet hat!
Then we went to Orchard Bar to see Karen and Sar!
Look! Lizzy and Brandon were there too. Woot.
Thursday, September 8th
After an early morning breakfast at the Dunkin Donuts on Houston, Meredith
and I walked over to the 6 train and headed up to...
...the Bronx Zoo!
Monkeys!
Er, I forget what this was called! But he was sorta like a giant, lumbering
ant-eater type guy!
Giant fishes!
Hahaha.
Look how close one of the male peacocks came to us! He was so friendly!
Errrr, ok. Or maybe it was because I was tempting him with some delicious
zoo-fries!
That's right! Come an' get it!
Hahahahah! He likes it! He likes it! Look at him with a fry in his little
beak! And don't pretend you disapprove! Just because he's pretty doesn't
mean he's not just basically a giant, turquoise pigeon. Hahaha.
Afterwards, we went into some critter-house, but it was too dark in there
to take photos (and you weren't allowed to use a flash for fear that you'd
sear the all the little creatures' retinas). So instead, I took this backlit
photo of one of the signs on the way in. Awwww, he's so cute!
Polar bears!
They were so fun to watch moseying around.
Then we went over to the tiger house!
Tiger bath!
Eight feet tall?? Who knew!
Stretch.
Well, now you know.
Before leaving, we made sure to feed some ducks.
Later that night I met up with Sarah and we had a kick ass dinner at that
Argentinian restaurant on Ave. C (Esperanto?).
And then we went to Joe's Pub to see Fiasco play.
Friday, September 9th
Friday night, Meredith and I headed down to the Jersey shore to hang out
with my parent's at their little shore house down there. Reststop Pizza
Hut on the way down. Greasetastic!
Saturday, September 10th
This pic pretty much sums up how I spent the next two days. Passed out
on the beach with a book on my lap.
For dinner, we all went to this awesome all-you-can eat buffet place that's
right around the corner from my parent's house called Ming Dynasty. It's
pretty much the most food I've ever seen at a restaurant ever.
The best part about Ming Dynasty is that they're always having to change their
"eating policies" because all-you-can-eat places attract really fat
people who go there because they want to make sure they get "their money's
worth." Check
out how they had to amend the sign to reduce the maximum stay down to two hours.
Think about that. That means that at some point, enough people would show up,
eat, then hang out for like 3 or 4 hours until they were hungry, and
then eat again! That's why they had to update this sign!! Incredible!
It's hard to tell from this picture, but one of the seats in our booth was broken
and sunken-in from all of the super-huge fat people that must've been responsible
for the reduction in "maximum stay" time.
Nobody loves the all-you-can-eat dessert bar more than...
...this guy! Treat hound!
Meredith...
...and my mom totally didn't get their money's worth.
Sunday, September 11th
Whoa, I'm actually awake on the beach here! How'd that happen?
Later that night Mer and I went to the grocery store to do some shopping
because Meredith offered to cook my parent's dinner to celebrate their
35th wedding anniversary!
Who's a Good One?
Thanks, Mer!
After a long day of the beach and then cooking in the kitchen, Mer passed
out early! I woke her up from her little nappity nap, and then she and
I took the train back up to NYC so that I could head to...
...Neil Perry's studio to sit in on Fiasco recording their record.
Check out the intensity with which Francesco plays the triangle. Hahah.
(This picture looks like it belongs on the back of the Spinal
Tap DVD).
 Grant preparing
to lay down some "hott lixx."
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