Last night I was tired from all the moving in and such and figured I’d stay in for the evening. But then Justin called with an event too intriguing to miss. His guitar teacher was going to be playing in the LES. But not just in a typical band – in an eastern European band. Um, awesome.

The band was playing in a basement restaurant. When we first entered, it seemed a bit empty. Except for the . . . interestingly dressed women near a small bar. Picture in your mind a stereotype of an eastern European idea of classy, and you’ll understand what we saw. We moved into the main restaurant area, where the band was playing, and secured a space at the bar. The room was filled with mostly older folks, likely ethnically Russian, although there was an entire party of people there around my age who were definitely not ethnically Russian. Everyone seemed to be having fun and enjoying the music. The bad consisted of members playing the tuba, clarinet, horn, saxophone, guitar, fiddle, drums and accordion, plus a singer. The fiddle player especially was amazing.

I really enjoyed the music – I even signed up for their email list. It was fun and unexpected. But what occurred during one of the band’s breaks was REALLY unexpected.  

So when we first got there, as I mentioned, the women hovering near the smaller bar were dressed in an interesting manner. I missed one woman, but Justin noticed her (of course). She was wearing a sparkly silver thong and a satin jacket. And that was it.

During the break, someone starts telling us we should step away from the bar, and take our drinks with it, because someone was going to dance on it. Um, what? Had we found the Ukrainian Coyote Ugly? No – it was better than that. So, Sparkly Thong woman gets up on the bar (barefoot), and some generic “sexy” music starts playing. And she’s holding a bottle of vodka. I could tell you the brand, but I’d rather not promote it. Anyway, her dance was part of a promotion for the vodka.

She clearly has dance training (and had a killer body). I also notice she’s wearing fishnet knickers. With a run that had been sewn up. I’m not clear as to what possible purpose fishnet knickers might serve – why wear ‘nylons’ that end just below the knee?  

She’s dancing, and then she removes her shiny jacket to reveal a sparkly red bra. And she continues moving provocatively. I was trying so hard to not lose it. But it was close to impossible, ESPECIALLY when she TOOK OFF HER BRA. No wonder they were checking IDs at the door. She had some very sparkly red pasties on, and she did some more shimmying before ending with a full split on the bar. Frankly, that was just unsanitary.

To recap, the evening of my first night in my new place involved a few drinks, some great Russian music, and a striptease.  I love New York!

My walls are bare. All of my clothing is in garbage bags and suitcases. My files weigh a lot more than I thought. And I’m feeling all sentimental . . . which is nothing new. So, as I get a little sad about leaving, I thought I’d remind myself of what I’m getting in return.

Losing: 400+ square feet that I have to hike five flights to access.

Gaining: A huge closet.

Losing: A 10-minute walk to Central Park.

Gaining: A two-minute walk to Prospect Park.

Losing: An amazing roommate.

Gaining: A former roommate in North Carolina who I can go visit.

Losing: 15 minutes of reading time each way on three trains.

Gaining: An extra 15 minutes in bed in the morning and 15 minutes in the park at night.

Losing: A real refrigerator

Gaining: Access to a great food co-op.

Losing: The ability to ask my roommate a question late at night . . . through the wall separating our rooms.

Gaining: The ability to sing along (loudly) to my favorite songs without bugging anyone.

Losing: a half-dozen movie theaters within walking distance.

Gaining: a half-dozen friends within walking distance.

That last one sums it up – I’m so excited. This is very, very good.

Since Stephanie is in town, we’ve been enjoying the sites. Yesterday after the traditional stop at Serendipity (oh, frrrozen hot chocolate, how I’ve missed you), we went to the Bronx Zoo. If any of you haven’t been, please go. It’s really fantastic. It feels like a huge park, which isn’t what I expected. But the key is to pay to see the gorillas. It was amazing to see them, and see how they interact with each other and with the visitors.

After a yummy dinner in my neighborhood (of course now that I’m moving I’m discovering all of these restaurant’s I’ve overlooked for the past two years) we headed out to Water Taxi Beach for Turntables on the Hudson. We met up with Jon Mark and Michelle, and relaxed on a picnic table overlooking Manhattan. It’s a great set-up – there is a dance floor under a tent, but then there are loads of tables set up where the music isn’t totally blaring. And the view is ridiculous.

Off for more adventures in the City.

The weekend started well and got even better.  

But first – I had an interesting moment in Union Square on Saturday. First, a roided-out douche walked by me wearing this awesome shirt. Ready for it? It’s pretty spectacular. It said:

“There’s no room in this country for hyphenated Americans.”

The hell? First off, who thinks that way? America is unique – it really is a melting pot (or mixed salad, as I like to call it). If you’re going to get all up on your horse about what “America” really means, that’s it. And second – who puts that ignorant stuff on a tee shirt? And wears it around New York City?

Okay, back to the awesomeness of the weekend.

Saturday Jon Mark and I met up for yummy Indian food at Cafe Spice on University. I had this really good wrap with a spiced potato filling.  Yummy. Then we headed over to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It’s entertaining, for sure. My favorite scene was this intense chase scene. I won’t spoil it, but you’ll know what I’m talking about. A lot of hyperventilating during that scene.

Afterwards, we went and met up with a couple of friends – well, a friend and his friend in from out of town – for drinks in Manhattan. Then dinner then back to my friend’s house for some Guitar Hero. Have any of you played that? Man, I didn’t realize how hard it was! I loved it. Anyway, after we went out to a pub, then back to my friend’s place for French toast. I was out later than I’ve been out in possibly five years, and it was awesome.

After two hours of sleep, Michelle and I left for a train ride out to Long Beach (Long Island, not New Jersey and not California) so we could get some pre-cancerous cells and a few more wrinkles. It was perfect weather, and if I had managed to completely cover my back with sun block, I would have deemed it a perfect beach day. So now, I’m a little itchy, but good.

Today I met up with a friend for lunch and a walk through Central Park. It was really nice – good food, fabulous weather and really nice conversation and just generally good times.

Afterwards, Herman and Kathleen and I saw Iron Man and got dinner. The movie was really entertaining. Robert Downey Jr. was the perfect choice.

I’m pretty energized right now and ready for a fabulous summer!

Last night a couple of friends and I did something uniquely NYC. We participated in an Improv Everywhere event. You may have heard of them – they are responsible for Frozen Grand Central and another 70 or so entertaining ‘pranks’.