I have no good excuses to offer, except to say that that sometimes one is too busy having adventures to dutifully record them.
But never fear! I'm back...er...on the wagon, or something. And I'm offering the following list as penance.
Summer Adventures (Abridged)
- It's been really hot. I learned how to make mint juleps.
- Thanks to the sweet perks of Ian's job, we saw both Shakespeare in the Park productions (and went to two opening-night parties!) on two almost unbelievably beautiful summer nights. We saw The Merchant of Venice first, and at the risk of sounding like a squealing schoolgirl I'll say that it's one of those theater experiences I'll remember for the rest of my life. I thought it brought Shakespeare's words to life in the best possible way, and it's going to Broadway, so you should go see it. (Yes, you.) The fancy after-party was up at Belvedere Castle, were I felt like a movie star. And if I were any good at recognizing movie stars, I could tell you which ones were there. Winter's Tale had its lovely moments, too, but it couldn't compare with Merchant, and it's such an odd play anyway. (Tragedy and then comedy? And so much divine intervention. What were you thinking, Shakespeare?) As a follow-up, we watched that weird Al Pacino movie Looking for Richard. Against all odds, it seems that Al and I are on the same page about many things.
- I traveled to the homeland for a lovely visit with: my parents, my sister, and Arthur, the world's cutest and most magical dog; the Entrekens, who cooked us breakfast and let us watch soccer at their house; darling Wesley, who attempted at this late date to teach me to play Mario; and the best grandparents (two sets!) in the universe. The best thing about not living in Florida anymore is that I get to have Florida vacations.
- While I was away, Ian badly hurt his knee playing soccer and had to hobble around on crutches for a while. He's much better now, but the recovery has been slow.
- Schuyler had a birthday party on a Tuesday night at Karaoke Cave. Schuyler and Rob did "Suddenly Seymour" and brought down the house. (This is the danger of going to karaoke with real singers.) Anna and I feebly sang "Total Eclipse of the Heart." Ian, still on crutches, surprised us all with a very enthusiastic and bluesy "With A Little Help From My Friends" (the Joe Cocker version). Maya did a thrilling rendition of TLC's "Waterfalls," complete with the rap in the middle, and I felt like I was in third grade again.
- For the 4th of July weekend, we traveled to Paoli, Pennsylvania for an enormous family reunion at Ian's grandmother's house. Ian's mother, Heather, and her seven (!) siblings and their families were all together for the first time in years, and it was such a lovely time. Lots of pretty blue eyes, laughter, and good stories. (Ian's grandmother, an expert hostess, reminds me of another delightful Irish-American Marilyn that I know.) It was particularly fun to hang out with Ian's littlest cousin, Joseph Lamke, who is just two and who speaks with impeccable articulation. "I-am-going-into-the-sun-room." "I-keep-talking-to-Aunt-Jaaaaaane." Much of his time was devoted to the very careful organization of a fleet of toy trucks. On the 4th, we all went to a big all-American barbecue at Uncle Greg's (the youngest uncle's) house. With hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream cakes, sparklers, and fireflies in the yard, it was one of those evenings that makes you feel nostalgic while you're still in it. (Note to any McNicholases reading this: I want to see the results of the epic photo shoot!)
- One weekend in July, Ian went upstate for some kind of man-fest with his Swarthmore friends and left me to watch bad romantic comedies (remember Did You Hear About the Morgans?) and the World Cup final all by myself. Dear Netherlands fans: your team played dirty and uninspired football and deserved to lose. There, I said it. I much preferred the third place match, as I'd fallen in love with Germany over the course of the tournament. Uruguay was pretty great, too.
- The Entrekens came to New York and took Ian and me to another Red Bulls game, this time against Tottenham Hotspur! Our beloved Red Bulls lost (big surprise?!), but our seats were close enough that we might have touched--or kissed!--Thierry Henry. We had a great time, although the return trip was somewhat arduous. As Eddie observed, boarding a PATH train in the middle of the night is a little like stepping into an episode of the Twilight Zone. In a parallel universe, we're probably still orbiting Hoboken.
- I joined a gym. It is very sad and small and smelly and all of the other members are grubby-looking dudes. It's one block from my apartment and they always play a classic-funk satellite radio station. I like that.
- We saw two New York Philharmonic concerts in Central Park. It was supposed to rain both days, and it didn't! The first one featured some kind of cultural exchange with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, who performed a piece that Anthony Tomassini rightly described as "a lush, soaring neo-Romantic crowd pleaser that made the composer seem a Chinese Andrew Lloyd Webber." Schmaltz: another great American export?
- I reunited with Jessica McJunkins, my amazing and beautiful roommate from Eastern Music Festival the summer before our senior year of high school. Jessica was in town doing a chamber music intensive at NYU, so we went to her concert and went out for a drink after. It had been way too long, and I was so glad to see her again! One summer long ago, we had all kinds of adventures together, like walking through a McDonald's drive-thru at night in the rain.
- Ariell and I traveled to my old neighborhood one Sunday afternoon to visit our beloved Sycamore, the combination bar and flower shop. It was raining and we had to sit indoors, but we'll be back soon.
- Because movie theaters are air-conditioned, I've seen far more summer movies than usual: Inception (fun, loud, and don't let anyone try to convince you it's confusing); The Kids Are Alright (good, bittersweet, too much steamy garden sex between Julianne Moore and the sperm donor); and Charlie St. Cloud (the ultimate guilty pleasure--whatever would I do without Schuyler and Rob?).
- Ian and I boarded the Bolt bus and tagged along with Schuyler on one of her many trips to Boston to see Evan. What an amazing weekend! (Photos to follow.) Lots of walking, even more eating. We stayed with Ian's friends Ilya and Sarah, who were generous hosts and who had an enormous, beautiful apartment (with patio!). The weather was gorgeous that weekend, and we sat in the sun while they made us delicious pancakes. (We've since stolen the recipe, and are hoping they will come to New York soon to see us.) After a pilgrimage to the house where my mother lived while she was at Boston University, we walked most of the Freedom Trail (until I got cranky and tired of the tourists). Then, more food: we ate with Schuyler and Evan outdoors at the darling cafe attached to Trident Booksellers, and later met up with Ilya and Dan at John Harvard's, where Ilya is a brewer (!!!!) and was able to provide lots of free, delicious beer! I was totally impressed with his creations. Before we left on Sunday, we had brunch with Schuyler and Evan at an astoundingly delicious Jewish deli called Zaftigs. Best potato pancakes EVER. Oh, a postscript for anyone who lives in Boston: the Green Line train is like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. What does it think it is, a trolly?
- I started eating tomatoes.
- Michael, the aforementioned awesome cousin of mine, finally came to his senses and moved to New York. For our first adventure, we rode the Staten Island Ferry at sunset (beautiful!), and then attempted to find something to do on Staten Island. We were mostly unsuccessful, but we did wander around a lot and find a cool old church and some other curious sights. Waiting to get back on the ferry amidst all the Staten Island residents dolled up to go to Manhattan bars, we ran into Roy, a guy I knew from the bassoon studio at FSU. After we'd exchanged "what are YOU doing here?"s, Roy confirmed that there is in fact nothing to do on Staten Island, and seemed slightly alarmed that we'd been roaming the empty streets at night. Whoops. Back on the boat, we got in the beer line with a bunch of dudes that looked like they belonged on Jersey Shore. Ian and Michael had Beck's, but I insisted on Budweiser. (Everything was under $3, but when in Rome...) Rumor has it that Jim, my other awesome cousin, may be coming to visit soon. I hope it's true. I like to imagine how my seven-year-old self would have felt about the idea of the three of us bopping around the city together.
- Schuyler introduced me to the show Shaq VS. It's changed my life. I cried laughing when Shaq battled Rachel Ray in a hamburger-making competition. An actual quote: "My country 'tis of cheese."
- Thanks again to Ian's job, we got to see the Public's production of The Capeman--that strange, joint creation of Paul Simon and Derek Walcott--in the Park. To those who complain that it doesn't really hang together as a musical, I suggest thinking of it as a concert instead. The singing was great, the dancing was spectacular, and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra stole the show. We had great seats (fourth row!) and I left grinning.
- Eleanor Margaret, the darling daughter of my good friends Dane and Debby Boston, entered the world on August 15. I can't wait to meet her!
- Just yesterday, I joined Ariell and her dashing friend Kyle on a midafternoon trip to the Brooklyn Brewery. Highly recommended: Penant Ale; Summer Ale. Also recommended: arriving early (at 2:30, there were no seats left); eating lunch first (to avoid boozy-wooziness). Afterward, we stumbled across the street to Beacon's Closet, where I bought a $15 dress, and then camped out in the East River State Park, where we met Michael and gazed across the river at the Manhattan skyline for quite some time.
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