TNYA

    I haven't blogged about this for a long time, but I love my swim team here. They are gay, loud, and so much fun. They are easily one of the things I miss most when I leave the city in August.

    When I graduate next year and officially become "retired," I will for sure be joining a gay masters team.

That's all.

*side note, I myself am not gay, but the team welcomes everyone

Photo from 2011 Pride Parade

Official Resident

My new room!

Since it has been over two weeks since my last post, I will give you a quick bullet style recap of my past events:

·         *Took the LSAT (and hopefully aced it!)

·         *Have loved staying with the Sutherlands on Long Island

·         *Hated the hour and a half commute

·         *Found a room to sublet in Stuyvesant (Stuy) Town

·         *Got the room and moved in last Friday!

·         *Went out to many bars on the Lower East Side

The amazing sunset on Friday

So, my life has taken a huge turn in that I am now living on the island of Manhattan.  After moving in last Friday, I went to Caroline’s sister's birthday party which was so fun. Her theme was “burgers and bubbly” which was a delicious one for sure. She had Pop Burger cater sliders and had many a bottle of champagne, along with other libations as well.  After the party, Caroline and a couple of her friends from LI and a couple of W&L friends went out to some bars/clubs around town.  All in all, it was a great night.

Will and I on the BK Bridge

Saturday morning, I woke up around 9:30 and forced myself to shower and get dressed. I met up with Will and we took the train down into Brooklyn Heights. From there, we walked across the bridge back into Manhattan. We picked a perfect day because there were clear skies and it wasn't terribly hot. There was also a very nice breeze on the water. The bridge was amazing because you could see just how much work went into its construction. The large brown bricks are beautiful you just don’t see bridges like that built anymore.  We also had a great view of the Manhattan Bridge.  A foreign couple asked Will to take a pic of them which is not surprising, but then the guy pulled out an apple and said, “We want you to take a picture of us in the big apple with our own apple!” They then proceeded to put the apple between them and they both bit in and held that pose for a couple of shots. It was priceless.

Will and I then walked around the Financial District and grabbed a bite for lunch. We then went back to Stuy Town together because will was actually working on some sort of video recording there. Stuy Town by the way is completely adorable. It is a little village within itself, kind of situated in a park. There is a large fountain in the center of the village and they have bands play on Saturdays during the summer and have a small farmers market every Sunday morning.  After saying bye to Will, Ashley and I (who lives in the building right across from me!), went to the grocery store to do some much needed shopping.  I then went back and rested for a while because my feet were aching from all the walking. 

Later that night, Ash and I got ready to go out and made dinner for ourselves. We cooked a very delicious shrimp and linguine dish, straight out of the bag. We are top chefs. After our 5-star meal, we got dressed and hit the town. We planned on meeting up with some friends at a bar in midtown, and so we took the bus all the way up there, only to realize that I had forgotten my ID… So then we went all the way back home to get my ID, and then all the way back uptown again, only to realize that the bar we met our friends at was kind of lame and disgusting.  So then Ash and I just went back to the Lower East Side and hung out at some of our favorite spots.

Margherita pizza

At around 2AM we were getting tired and began our walk home. There is this place called Artichoke Pizza right around the corner from where we live, but we had never stopped there until Saturday night. We had always noticed the long lines outside but never thought it would be worth the wait. Well, let me tell you, it is worth it. They sell only three kinds of slices (Sicilian, Artichoke and Spinach, and margherita), but they are to die for. The crust is perfectly crispy but not burnt, and the cheese just melts in your mouth. The prices are a bit high at $4/4.50 a slice, but well worth it. They are a good size too. I got the margherita and Ash got the artichoke-spinach and I highly recommend both.  And the place stays open until 5:30 on the weekend so don’t worry about them closing early.

Gay Pride Parade

After sleeping in until 12 on Sunday, Ash and I made our way to the Gay Pride Parade. I saw this amazing display last year, but Ashley was a gay pride virgin, so she was very excited. The usual display of half-naked, ornate costumes, and flamboyant men and women, paraded all the way down 5th avenue. My personal favorite of the parade was the cowboy saloon float, that was jamming to classic country and had one guy dancing with his boots and underwear with such pizzazz; it really got the crowd going.  After watching the parade for a couple of hours, Ash and I had worked up an appetite and so we wandered around in search of some good greasy food. We settled on Big Daddy's Diner and were thoroughly satisfied. I got an omelet with tater tots smothered in chili and cheese and a waffle, with a banana split milkshake to top it off. Another place I highly recommend. We were exhausted by 4 o'clock and so walked back home and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. All in all, a great weekend.

Week Late Weekend Update

  I apologize for my tardy post about my last weekend, but I have been beyond busy.  My weekend started off on Friday, as work came to a close at 4.  After work, I went out to eat at a great Italian restaurant called Pescatore with my friend Mona. I highly recommend it. After stuffing my face with grilled mahi mahi and chocolate molten cake, we went to see Midnight in Paris. I also HIGHLY recommend it. For anyone who has a knowledge of art history, Paris, the 20's, or even English writers, you will love this movie. Woody Allen has still got it. After dinner and a movie with my gal pal, we went back to her apartment and enjoyed a much needed, restful nights sleep.
  Friday may have been a relatively mild night out, but Saturday night definitely made up for my lack of adventure. I began my Saturday with a morning swim practice at Columbia, went home to shower and change, and then made my way back into the glorious NYC. I walked by the dyke parade and met my friend Emma and her friend Moe at the NY Public Library. We walked to Qdoba and they used their coupons to buy copious amounts of cheap tex-mex. After some food we went to Moe's apartment in Brooklyn.

  For $500 a month, Moe has got an amazing apartment, so jealous. Not to mention, the view form his roof is breathtaking. Just look at my facebook pictures for further proof. As the night went on, lots of Moe's/Emma's friends showed up and we all hung out on the roof. Around 12:30, we left to go to a gay club called Sugarland. I have never been to a gay club before, but it was an experience. Not to mention the gay marriage bill had been passed the day before... We didn't get home until 5 AM. I can't remember the last time I stayed up that late; at W&L we go out at 8 and I'm usually in bed by 12!
  4 hours later we were waking up and getting ready to head to the gay pride parade! One bacon egg and cheese bagel and a quart of ice cream later we had made our way to 5th ave. I had on idea what to expect from this parade, but it far exceeded all of my expectations. I even got to see my swim team march by in their Speedo's and water guns! Next year, I am going to be IN the actual parade, preferably on top of one of those party busses...