One of the most humourous things about the Universe is that you can make the best of plans for any random thing: a get together, a night out on the town, a list of errands or something as simple as making supper, but when push comes to shove, we all know who the winner is. It’s the Universe.
This weekend I got together with our friends Greg and Dave in Connecticut. Well, Dave was visiting from Toronto and it’s Greg that actually lives in Connecticut, but we decided to get together in Connecticut for a number of reasons, one of them being that our birthdays are really close together (July 13, 16 and 8, respectively) and we thought we would use this weekend to celebrate.
Getting there was the usual drill: Dave would fly in from Toronto on whatever airplane had an empty seat to wherever that plane happened to be going. He gets to fly the fun way, being a flight attendant and all. This landed him in Albany this time; simple enough, I’d pick him up at the airport. Step one done.
In the meantime, Greg was kind enough to plan out a nice dinner at his house for the three of us. Here’s where it gets a little weird. While I was picking up Dave at the airport, a storm blew through New Haven, knocking the power out. Greg couldn’t cook without power so he decided to take a nap with the flashlight until the power came back on.
Earl gave me a call to tell me that he wasn’t feeling well and thought he should go to the emergency room. After repeatedly being told “no” after telling him that I was going to turn around and come home, I continued the drive to Connecticut. It turns out that Earl was just fine aside from the fact that he just ate too much at Pizzeria Uno and his blood pressure was a little high. I kept telling him I would come home and he kept telling me there was no need as Jamie was in town finalising his college paperwork (he got lots of grants) and he would be there with him. Thank god for technology as I was getting updates whilst on the road.
We arrived in New Haven we found Greg just waking up but still in the dark. Unable to cook, we opted to go out to dinner. Since it was almost 11:00 at night the options were limited so we ended up going to a Mexican restaurant. The name of the place escapes me at the moment.
Our server was Leslie. If she squinted and I squinted she might resemble Jennifer Aniston in a way and Dave was quick to comment on this. She was flattered. Greg turned on his charm as well and then I started talking quite a bit as I’m wont to do and before you know it Leslie has a glass of wine and is joining us at the table. Shortly thereafter her friend Lisa is at the table as well, soon to be followed by the well-intended JulieAnne who has a really weird fear of thunderstorms. Since the storms had blown through that evening she seemed to be spooked still and got a little rambly.
So there we were with Leslie, Lisa and JulieAnne chatting it up when the DJ started playing some song called “Crazy Bitch”. That’s when some crazy bitch got up on the bar and started dancing in a rather nasty way, which made Leslie angry. She did look skanky (the one on the bar, not Leslie) Dave, Greg and I decided we had had enough of the place and split. When we got back to Greg’s the power was on.
I continued to check in with Earl throughout the night and into the morning. All was well and he continued to tell me not to come home. It was that night that Greg’s new cats decided to come out of hiding after two weeks of lying in the closet and began yowling like they were on fire. This added to the atmosphere.
Saturday we headed into the city. Life has been hectic for the three of us lately so we decided to relax by getting haircuts (or in my case, a head shave) and a shave (at least around my beard) at a barber, so I found the shop that Glennalicious had talked about a while back. We felt better after that experience. From there we were going to head to Bear Hill in Central Park but I can never remember where to find it and had neglected to ask Joe about it’s location when I asked if Bear Hill would be in session this weekend (it was, I just don’t know where) so we ended up going to the claustrophobically packed Apple Store on Fifth Avenue. From there we jumped on a train, found the car where we left it in the village and headed back to Connecticut.
Upon arrival to Greg’s the power was still on but my allergies decided to make their yearly appearance. Barely able to breathe and with watery eyes, I took a couple of Benadryl which mingled with the beers I had had earlier and promptly fell asleep. So much for a fun filled Saturday night on the town.
This morning we were up and to the diner that in Milford that I call “Hello Nice People” because that’s what people call it. The wait was rather long and a very large woman in 80s neon pink bulled her way ahead of us in line so she could wedge herself into a booth before we got to it, but otherwise all was well. The rest of the day was uneventful; Greg took Dave to Bradley Airport in Hartford and I headed home. Oddly enough, I remember very little of the drive. I think I was daydreaming and contemplating the entire ride. I hope I didn’t hit anyone. There are no dents in the car or anything.
Now I’m trying to keep cool (it’s rather warm in the house) and get to sleep so I can get up for the early shift tomorrow. I feel like the odd vibe of the weekend is dissipating a little bit; I think I’m ready for the what the week holds. I know I’m looking forward to another bike ride tomorrow after work.
When I got home I wrote a few phrases on my whiteboard in my studio to keep me focused. I think they are a result from my contemplation time during my drive:
Healthy Approach = Healthy Result
Clear Mind = Clear Connection
Positive Thinking Brings Positive Existence
Give Respect to Receive Respect
Blessed Be.
