March 28th, 2002. Sunday

    On Friday I was overloaded with work at the old job.  This doesn't happen very often, and sometimes it's actually a nice change of pace.  I can just set my mind on the task at hand.  It's actually a lot more of a pain in the ass to try to look busy.  When I actually am busy, I can just listen to music and zone out and work.  I found out around 1 o'clock that because of the holiday, the office was closing at 3.  So I hurried through the work and got out of there shortly after three.  The only thing better than leaving work is leaving work early.  So I came home and called Matt and we made plans to go up to the Park.  It was a great day out, and it really felt like spring. By the time we actually got up to the park, shortly before six, it was kind of dark and cloudy and cold.  But whatever.  So we came back and made plans to go to Great Lakes in the evening.  After changing my pants, I got a call from Morning, one of the upstairs neighbors.  Her roommate's band was playing in Williamsburg, and she wanted to see if we wanted to come along.  So I jumped on that wagon and took a car into Williamsburg with Morning and Kristin, one half of the four girls upstairs.

    I was kind of curious to see Rachel's band. I'd seen them before, and didn't think they were terrible.  But they were only playing for 15 minutes, so I was a bit put-off by the 5 dollar cover. And I knew exactly what was going to happen when we got there.  They'd all go talk to their respective boys/bandmates/etc., and I'd be sitting around drinking my beer.  Which is exactly what happened.  Not that I really minded that much. They were all standing, and I was enjoying my stool at the bar.  I'd met most of their friends at various functions before, and they're all pretty friendly.  I just wasn't feeling particularly social.  And lately, everyone I meet immediately asks me what I do for a living.  And I really hate having to answer.  I hate hearing my voice when I say "I work for a publishing company that publishes tax code."  Then the inevitable "What?"  And then I have to explain, in my over-enunciated speaking mode, much like the manner of Jed.  It's no wonder why they think Jed and I speak exactly the same way.  Anyway, Rachel's band was much better than I thought they'd be.  I was legitimately impressed.  I still had plans to go out with Matt, so after Rachel's band's set ended, I left with the fourth upstairs neighbor, "Miss Charming Melodee," and we walked to a car service on Bedford Ave.  On the way I bought a copy of Kurt Vonnegut's Deadeye Dick for three dollars at a little book store.  I'd been needing a new book for quite some time now, and this seemed as good a time as any.  So far, in the short time I've spoken with the upstairs neighbors, Miss Charming Melodee is definitely the toughest to figure out.  I think I'd get along best with Rachel, as we have very similar musical tastes and seemingly similar sensibilities. I've spoken the most with Morning, and we get along well.  I've talked to Kristin the least, though she seems pretty pleasant and intelligent.  And she helped me out of my apartment on Friday morning when the doorknob broke and I was trapped inside.  And that's the upstairs neighbors in a nutshell.

    So I came home, played the guitar for about half an hour, then called Matt and we went down to Great Lakes.  It was a pretty odd crowd.  For some reason, something felt really weird.  I asked him, and he said it looked sort of "vampire-ific."  I was amazed at how quickly I knew what he meant. We'd just seen Blade II the night before, so we probably had vampires on the mind.  But even without that, I still would've agreed with his assessment. Something was definitely weird at the Lakes that night.  Anyway, it was a completely uneventful time, and I felt sick for most of it.

    Saturday was another beautiful day, and I managed to get out of bed before noon, which is quite an accomplishment for me.  Eventually, Caryn came over, and she, Josh, Matt, and I went up to the Park and threw multiple frisbees around for just under three hours. It was exhausting, but a lot of fun.  Geoff showed up shortly into hour two and we were already beat.  But managed to stay another hour.

    In the evening, I had to work, and was feeling quite resentful that I had to spend my evening watching tv.  Though I sort of lucked out and drew America's Most Wanted, so i was out of there before 10:30.  I came home, and as planned, I found Matt, Jed, Rodzilla, and Jen, whom I had not seen in many weeks.  So it was nice to hang out with her again.  It'd really been too long.  I was pretty glad they all came to hang out.  Rodzilla is now working at a wine store in Soho, and she brought over a couple of bottles.  So we sat around and drank and shat on one of Jed's friends.  Matt was particularly unforgiving.  Which was not a surprise.  Or really all that inappropriate.  Around 2:30, Rodzilla really wanted a cheeseburger and fries, so we headed down to the Purity Diner. When the waitress asked if we wanted anything to drink, I said I was fine with water, unless i spilled it all over myself.  I thought I was being funny. But I was just drunk.  But she laughed anyway.  So two minutes later, Rodzilla spilled all her water across the table and into my lap.  Irony.  So I apologized profusely and insincerely to the waitress.  I thought I was being funny, but I think I was just being a dick.  Then I kept loudly explaining how I couldn't take Rodzilla anywhere, and kept apologizing to waitress.  I sort of paraphrased the scene in Rushmore, where Max is pissed off that Luke Wilson is at his dinner, and told the waitress "Excuse me, I just wanted to thank you for accomodating us. You see, we thought we were only going to be three, but someone rudely invited himself."  No one else knew what I was quoting, and I think they thought I was just being an asshole. Though Rodzilla knew I was quoting something.  She just didn't know what. She was pretty much out for the count at that point anyway.  Jed was pretty convinced he could have slapped her in the face and she wouldn't have minded all that much.  Then we wanderd home shortly after three. Rodzilla was going to take a car back to Queens, but the 23 dollar fare was enough to convince her to just stay in Park Slope for the night.  Rodzilla and I are doing fine as friends, but it can still be sort of weird.  Weird isn't the right word.  More like, it can still be too familiar.  Like, I wouldn't want Jed or Jen using my toothbrush.  So why should I mind less when Rodzilla does?  The answer, of course, is clear.  Of course, I wouldn't want to lose that familiarity.  Then it'd just be some watered-down version of us.  I'd rather not be friends at all if that were the case. Anyway, the transition has been slow, and often grueling, but constant and nearly complete.  But I don't think she'll ever stop using my toothbrush.

    So Rodzilla had to be at work around 10, which meant she had to get up around eight, which meant I had to get up around 8. Which meant that we both woke up around 6:30, after going to be around 3:30.  So after she left, I thought I'd take advantage of my day, so I took the bike up to the Park, and rode to the highest point I could find. I'm pretty sure it's the highest spot in the park.  The view wasn't particularly spectacular, but a nice little ride nonetheless.  Though I'm sore all over from the frisbee excursion on Saturday. I was fine this morning, but the bike ride made it all come out.

    And then I spent the majority of the afternoon sitting on the sidewalk, trying to sell a bunch of books, cds, and other uselss crap i've had lying around for months.  The guys on the 3rd floor moved out and were having a stoop sale, so I thought I'd latch on to theirs. And I managed to make a little ove 40 dollars. Which is a big deal for me. That's four hours at my night job.  Then I came inside and cooked about a pound of pork cutlets.

    So anyway, it was a pretty long fucking weekend.  The days do seem to last a lot longer when I get out of bed before 1.  I can't remember the last weekend where I didn't sleep past noon on either day.  But some good progress was made on several fronts.

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