12/16-12/18 - New Fridays, Fun Saturdays, First of 3 three-day weekends

The weather has finally stopped getting into the deep winter freeze. Those days in the 20's are totally busted in the month of December. I expect it in the heart of winter like January or February but I was very happy to see the days head back up into the 40s and such. I was looking forward to the first of 3 three day weekends (and 4 day workweeks) until January. I was able to get home pretty easy for a Friday night, tested the bluetooth headset with flying colors to leave msgs. I got home a little later than usual as I slept through my train stop and had to take the train back in the other direction. I finally made it home and unloaded my bags and was able to chill a bit. Russ had ordered The delivery dinner arrived and I was able to tuck into a nice batch of Pot Roast and mashed potatoes and with gravy and carrots. I then cleaned up a bit with a haircut and shower before picking out a nice outfit to go out. The Jimmy arrived a little late (around 11) but we hung out for a bit and then we all headed out at 11:35.

The traffic on the Bklyn bridge was pretty tough so we took the Manhattan Bridge instead and then drove up the east side a bit to Houston street before finally making our way over to Hudson street. After circling a bit for a spot we found one not too far away but also noticed that the bodega on the corner of 8th and 18th was closed for good (no more gum and Tums). We made our way up the half block and into Gym. I had brought along my unwrapped gift (Connect Four) and handed the box to Rick who told me to speak to Jorge at the bar so he could enter me into the Raffle. I spoke to him a little later at the bar, very nice and he entered me in the raffle and wished me a good night. I talked in the back with DJ Smoky for a bit who was feeling a little fatigue after having worked the day before at a corporate event. We hung around for 2 drinks and then as the place finally cleared the initial crush we stepped back out into the night and retrieved the car so we could move onto the next spot. We didn't have tickets this time for Krash but we went anyway and after dodging a few garbage trucks on pickup we found a spot and then headed up the street. At Krash I do not have high expectations but at least the bartender is nice to me and the music started out pretty good but then got stuck on some kind of beatmix reply before and after the performance of Pepper Mashay. She gave a good performance but we had to leave before it got too late. At least next time I will be on the list as Lisa did me the solid and got my phone #. We said goodnight to the Jimmy and headed out to flag down a car ride on 5th Ave at 3:15am. The ride home was uneventful and all good. Another nice friday spent out and about.

Saturday I was up for a gym visit but we also had some errands to run so we headed further out into Bklyn and when it was time for the gym I found myself at the NYSC near Carroll Gardens. At first the gym seemed kind of small but then we realized that it was broken up into two floors and even the locker room had two levels. It had a funny smell in the place though and it was very cold so I was glad to finish up and then head out to pick up some lunch at KFC. After an afternoon of rest and quiet it was time to prepare for the evening. Dinner was ordered from Friends Italian and it was straightening up and a cleanup then I was outfitted in the new Akademiks powder blue and I was ready to head out with Russ into the city.

The ride in was quick and after a short wait on the line we were inside and ready to hang with the crowd. I quickly got the necessities out of the way first and gave my gifts of appreciation to Barker and Matt They liked the shirts and the usual CDs and even though they felt it wasn't necessary I knew that for me it was. The DJ at Roxy this evening was Manny Lehman and there was a nice crowd in attendance from the very beginning. As expected all of the hits, plenty of dancing, more drinks and no extraneous drama. Russ decided to leave around 3 and I stayed until 4:15 myself. All of the usual hits, (Suzanne Palmer, Jamie Sanchez with Stroke and as well as Rihanna) and I would definitely term the eve as a success.

I awoke the next morning and knew not how I had arrived at home but I appeared to have arrived safely and with no injuries. Russ had his theories and I had my own as well but as there was no APB on the web or on NY1 I felt I had no misdeeds to worry about. Late in the afternoon we travelled to the storage facility and retrieved part of my mothers PC but could not find the CPU. We apologized when we saw her out on SI later and she told us it was inside one of the green storage containers. So that would be retrieved next time. In the meantime I played Animal Crossing DS with Gigi and listened to Ian playing Mario Kart DS. The Oven Stuffer Roaster dinner was great along with all of the usual side dishes. We stayed until around 9pm and then headed back to BK after the usual goodnights. I didn't have to work the next day so I watched DVR programming until it was time for bed.

Monday was spent watching DVDs and toons and spending a lazy monday at home. I needed it and it was definitely appreciated. Of course now we had the transit strike to look forward to. At least it's a short week. Until the next one.