In the city

Last weekend I wound up in New York City thanks to a free ride from my roommate, who was heading to New Hampshire and dropped me off along the way. About a 4 1/2 hour ride, I didn't actually get there until 2 a.m. Friday night, and he dropped me off in the Village close to where my buddy Jay and his roommate Danny were hanging out. The bar, which shall remain nameless, was definitely the highlight of the weekend, and lets just say that I was there until early morning singing showtunes with a bar full of talent and a live piano-playing gay man. We made it safely back to Jay and Danny's Upper-east side apartment, which is in a great area and they actually pay less than Chris and I do in DC (although our apartment is a little bigger).

Saturday we slept till noon, which is about 9 a.m. on Jay Melder time, and set out to get something to eat. After lunch we had the brilliant idea to buy a full-size NFL football and go play football in Central Park. Luckily, there was a Niketown along the way and $17 later, we were running plays and waiting for Tim and Danielle to come meet us. The newlyweds took us to their apartment and we caught "The Illusionist" at a local theater.

The next day I went for a run through Central Park and then Jay, Danny and I went and stood in line at the Carnegie Deli, which was just as good as I remembered it. We pretty much hung around the city the rest of the day, watching the Saints whip the Eagles online (they don't have a television in their apartment yet).

Chris finally picked me up later in the evening, and we drove straight back to DC, listening to classics like The Beatles' Abbey Road and Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here (which we listened to the whole way through, something I've never done. In a word, amazing) the whole way back. We finally arrived back home and were asleep by 2 a.m. I made it to work early the next morning, but I've been lagging in my sleep all week.

Our apartment is finally finished, for good. We hung our third-hand surround sound system on the wall and some art Chris' family sent us, and the place really feels like home.