and...Go!

First, it was a nice, quiet early birthday celebration with family, 2 weeks ago. As usual, mom made a wonderful dinner. I overdid it with the noodles (so good) and the steak (so better). Then the gifts and the cake. It's official...I'm 29. the rents gave me some cash, which is always helpful, and my sister and bro-in-law were very generous in getting me a nice-sized flat screen TV for my room. Muchas gracias, indeed.
The rest of that weekend was spent getting some things organized for the upcoming semester. Then it was off to my roadtrip...





Left NJ last Tuesday, the 16th. Arrived in the city by 7ish and had a nice barbecue on the roof with Yoni. His apartment is in the upper west side, which had a nice urbanite feel to it. The next morning, I did a lot of walking in Riverside Park and was playing with the new camera I bought from my brother. It worked well, except for the memory card...not enough memory (sheesh). Took lots of pictures of trees. They were better looking than the architecture. Had lunch at this hummus joint by 72nd street and had Shakshuka (tomato stew with poached eggs) for the first time. Very tasty and bright. Spent the rest of the afternoon just chillin' in the apartment...I think I pulled a hammy from all that walking. That evening, saw "The Hangover" with Yoni and his friend. Pretty damn funny. Later on, it was off to a bar for some more eats and drinks with his other friend, Andy. Congrats to him for getting the GI fellowship!


The next day, it rained, and it never really stopped. So I said my goodbyes and thanked Yon for his hospitality and the use of his couch. I was finally off to Massachusetts to go see Chris and Al. They had since moved from Boston to Waltham into this huge condo. Chris and Al got me some strong plum wine and 3 one-cup sakes for my birthday. Chris and I split one of the sakes before heading out to another party in downtown Boston. Al caught up with us later that evening from her work and we pretty much played pool and had pizza and wings, courtesy of Chris's work. Later that night on the ride back home, we all decided to go for more food @ this place called Shabu Zen. Very cool Japanese restaurant that specializes in shabu-shabu (translation: swish-swish). They give you raw food so you can cook it yourself on the boiling broth on your table, very much in the style of fondue. Everything looked and tasted amazing. I went home the next day and Chris had to go to Martha's Vineyard with his workmates. It would've been a great trip for him except that it was still raining. It never stopped. Al had to go to work too, unfortunately so we all said our goodbyes and I was off, back to Jersey.
That afternoon I picked up some CDs for the ride back home to Cherry Hill and met up with my other friend, Viv, @ Eclectic in Montclair for coffees and a late lunch. It was good to catch up with her.
And so ends my abridged New England roadtrip.

Yesterday, 3rd year officially started with our orientation. Back to battle...

Song of the Day: "Nothing But A Miracle" - Diane Birch

She's So choice!