4th of July + Really Hot Weather

I know the 4th of July was a long time ago (like, last weekend) but it was really the first time Tyler and I had ventured out of the apartment to be with other human since we’d previously spent virtually all our time running errands or sitting with mountains of IKEA pieces and reading directions written in poor English. It didn’t feel like the 4th of July -- maybe because we’d been cleaning and putting up pictures all day, or because we weren’t at Arkwright Pool Day drinking strawberry daquiris and grilling burgers and lounging poolside with our friends (and friends’ parents).

But come 11 o’clock we met our friend Kate Ryan (another fellow Omaha transplant) for brunch at this darling little French café called Le Barricou. I had a croissant stuffed with goat cheese and spinach, with mixed greens and two friend eggs on the side. Magnifique! I love that these amazing places are just 15 minute strolls away -- because even after you leave the restaurant completely stuffed, by the time you reach your apartment you have walked just enough to stir up your digestive system and then are just pleasantly satisfied.

We got an invitation to BBQ in our neighbor Dave’s backyard. Dave owns the Duck, two buildings down from us, where Tyler used to bartend before he moved back to Omaha. Dave has an awesome apartment. And an amazing backyard where his two strays-turned-domestic cats Missy and Goose fight other alley cats. There are even snails back there, fastened like miniature seashells or dresser-drawer knobs to the cement retaining wall. Dave’s girlfriend’s father is a classical guitar professor in Brazil and is visiting New York for a month, so after we ate he played us these amazing, beautiful, heart-wrenching Brazilian sambas and ballads on his six-stringed guitar. A train ride and a long walk to Manhattan later, we were all watching the Hudson River fireworks on a rooftop of a building where a friend of a friend works (that’s how you end up meeting people here, or going anywhere ‘special’ -- you meet people through other people, and you have bonding experiences by relating stories of where you’re from, because hardly anyone is genuinely from New York).

I have to admit I was actually really disappointed by the fireworks. Or maybe I'm just getting OLD :(

My birthday is on Tuesday. Tyler has an interview (his 4th with the same people) with Bedford/St Martin's that morning, and then hopefully the Internet guy will hook us up so I don't have to venture down the street to the un-air conditioned cafe where I've been not-so-dutifully keeping y'all updated. But when we get the Internet, watch out! I'll probably post a million times a day, especially if I'm still unemployed...which hopefully won't be much longer.


Some highlights of the past week:
Driving past Fook Hing Chinese Restaurant (Tyler busted out laughing immediately...it took me a second. But really! Were they serious?! Or is this a joke played on the public? C'mon.)

We went on a bike ride yesterday because for the past two days we've been cooped up in our apartment because it's too freaking hot to venture outdoors. The heat in New York is so much more serious than anywhere else I've lived -- even Phoenix, it seems like. I think it's because there's so much concrete and everybody walks, and the subway stations aren't air-conditioned (though the subway cars are) and it's just miserable. Miserable! But yesterday it wasn't so bad, so we biked around Williamsburg and stopped at the Alligator Lounge. At the Alligator Lounge, you get a free pizza when you order a beer. It's the best deal! One time I ate two pizzas after a long day at Coney Island drinking beers out of a Nathan's cup. This was back when I visited Tyler. I really don't know how I ate two pizzas...I ate one and I was so full.

But not too full that we couldn't stop by Fortunato Brothers and have some gelato! (My second visit in about four days. The girl was nicer this time.)

So this video says it's going to take 48 minutes to upload, and I can't sit in this cafe for that long, but I promise I'll post the apartment video soon! In the meantime, here are the "before" pictures. The mess that took 4 days to organize!