One thing is for sure. I am sleeping great in Denise's guest room. Five star hotels be damned. Another thing is for sure. Waking up to the sound of rain on the window is one of the more pleasant ways to come out of a great night's sleep. I guess two things are for sure.
Again, the camera cannot see rain until it hits something. In this case, a window.
Now... it is raining hard. Very hard. And today the winds have decided to join the party. This is the perfect day to chill with Kittichai/KC/Oreo. But I am told we are headed to the Upper West Side to meet Jodi for lunch, which means a short walk to the subway and then we get to be underground, away from the weather for the trip to the opposite corner of Manhattan.
He tried to convince me to stay home all day. This also happens to be the last time my jeans would be dry.
Heading out into the weather.
I never managed to get that perfect shot of people struggling to keep their umbrellas from being torn apart by the wind. Likely because when the wind would kick in I would stick my hands into my pockets and lean down, letting the brim of my hat protect my face.
Self portrait. In the rain.
Self portrait. In the rain. Cropped.
I hate these guys. A beggar who owns spray paint. But man was that little boy loving the show. And there's nothing I like more than taking a picture of someone taking a picture. So I took a picture.
You know, the trains in NYC come to the platform much slower than other cities. London, Paris, Berlin, Rome... those trains really zip in. NYC... it kind of slides in slowly, with a sort of, "Seriously, don't jump in front of me unhinged person, because I might just maim you without killing you." I know it's wrong to take subway train platform arrival speeds and use them to assess the mental health of that city's population. But I just did. And it was fun.
You cannot tell, but I am mother scratching drenched there. Soaked through and through.
Some people get their rain gear pic in a more hospitable situations. As you can see, we have arrived at Jodi's apartment building. Lunch will be soon.
Hey! Maybe I did manage to get one, just one, pic of the NYC Umbrella Ballet.
We grabbed lunch at a local diner. I forgot to take pics. But Barbie had eggs & pancakes and I had a burger. I trust you can figure out what they looked like.
Jodi's cat. April. April is... well... let's put it nicely and say that even though she has lived with Jodi for a year April is a bit, "feral." As in she attacks human beings who are not Jodi. Fun.
We proceeded to act out an episode of Oprah. Jodi just moved, and we walked her right through the, "throw out what you don't need," process, because, well, she needed it. Just like Oprah, the Howards change lives.
Headed back to the Lower East Side, I thought, "You took subway car pics across Europe. See if you've still got it." I pulled out the iPhone, pretended to check email, and secretly snapped this one without knowing what I was going to get. It sure is fun taking a pic without seeing the viewer, and then finding out later you got what you were after.
Switching trains, Barbie represents. That's her official Mezco roach hat; swag from Toy Fair around 7 years ago.
The train didn't come for a long time, and Barbie's patience wore thin. So we ventured up into the storm for a cab. Getting a cab in a rainstorm was miserable. We walked towards our destination as we kept trying, and finally we got one. By then, it was a half hour from our dinner reservation, so we improvised and went straight there instead of back to Denise's to put on dry clothes. There was a coffee house next to the restaurant, and we took refuge in there.
I got a warm apple cider, and man if that wasn't a delicious, hot cup of heaven on a cold, rainy, windy day. Barbie then informed me that there was a but of a show going on behind me. A bit of a hot date. They were holding hands, toughing ears, and flirting. When they started kissing, Barbie took a pic of me to capture the moment.
Guys kissing in public never hurt anyone. I suppose this image could help raise funds for certain political parties, but I don't want to go much further into intolerance territory. I'll just leave it at the fact that these guys bother me no more or less than if a guy and girl were making out in the corner.
Time for Cuban food. Peter met us at the restaurant, followed by Kelly, and eventually Jodi. It was a great conversation and we ordered a series of delicious tapas... and I took no pics. Sorry.
An empty plate. This communicates it well enough.
We walked then minutes home, as the rain had let up nicely. There was still some wicked winds, though.
In front of the famous Katz Deli, Peter posed with meat.
I should have taken a pic of the five of sitting in Denise's living room (she was up at the Catskills) and discussing religion, messiness, and life in general, but I didn't. I kind of forgot that I was away from home and doing the blog. And you don't need to see a pic of people sitting around.
Time for bed.
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