Hot, Smelly Trash

This weekend was busy. Isn't that crazy? Tyler and I have been sitting in our living room for the past two weeks working on our freelance stuff and then BAM, all of a sudden everything happens in a weekend.

Friday night we traversed to Park Slope, Brooklyn, to see Tyler's friends Bryan and Will play in their band, The Habit.

Firstly, The Habit is amazing. It's like...Neil Young with a girl singing and playing piano, and a little more country, little more rock n' roll, Bryan's deep perfect-for-country-songs voice. Siobhan, Bryan's girlfriend and the singer/pianist, has a beautiful voice, and we had a great time. I just loved it all.

Secondly, it took us about 45 minutes to get to the venue from our apartment. I'm still getting used to this whole no-car you-wait-for-the-subway-it-doesn't-wait-for-you thing. That's why after the show, when Bryan, Will, and Siobhan offered us a ride back to our hood in Will's car, we enthusiastically said yes. Little did we know that the BQE, the busiest stretch of interstate in the US, was down to ONE LANE. And, we were behind a trash truck. And let me tell you, I smelled smells I have never even fathomed as we crawled through the neighborhoods on the BQE at a rip-roaring 3 miles per hour. We probably could've taken the Q--a train that weaves back into the City before going back to Brooklyn--and gotten home faster. But it was fun nonetheless, we had some good conversations about the stenches of New York.

New York really does have some interesting smells, and most of them aren't pleasant. Trash day in the city on a hot summer day? I hold my breath when I walk past the heaps of garbage bags on the sidewalk. It's all I can do not to gag.

We ended up buying some beers and Nacho Cheesier Doritos and sitting in Will's backyard until 3 in the morning. Will and his wife, Gina, have a backyard space that was a salve to my nature-deprived soul. They have a garden, ivy covering the high walls, plants and flowers everywhere. It was beautiful and a great place to have great conversations.

Saturday was the cleaning of Duck Duck! Dave and Jenny's bar has undergone a massive remodeling/expansion at the hands of Evan and Oliver, two carpenter/designer brothers who use salvaged materials to build their spaces and are amazingly nice. The Duck is now more than twice as big, and it looks great! I'll have to take some pictures. We worked hard all day wiping down everything, using the shop-vac on every imaginable surface, setting the bar back up, cleaning the bathrooms, giving the dusty rubber duckies bird baths, etc. I was in 7th heaven for about two hours, since I love to clean, but my euphoria soon wore off in the un-air conditioned space. The soft opening was later that night, and it was a hit! I met some nice people who gave me advice on finding a job and seemed genuinely interested in how we're adjusting and all that.

There's even a dart board shaped like a duck, and chefs extraordinaire Ginger and Preston (who are getting married in a month) brought their darts and taught me how to play. Tyler and I were on a team and I WON for us by hitting TWO BULLS EYES! Of course, I only hit them after christening the duck's feet and head with its first dart holes (you don't get any points for those, unfortunately).

But now that I know how to play and know how the point system works, I love it. Wouldn't that be great if I actually became good at something recreational, like darts? I'm not good at anything -- I'm horrible at hand-eye coordination (it was a disaster when Tyler tried to teach me tennis), I can't throw anything very far, and pool frustrates me and makes me feel like an idiot. I wish I could be one of those suave, cool girls who blow everyone's mind by beating the toughest dude in pool...or darts.

Eh.

Maybe someday.



Tonight: Caracas with Jocelin and Jenny. I've never had Venezuelan food before, but after looking at the menu online I am REALLY excited to try it! Not to mention that Tyler and I need to go grocery shopping (Trader Joe's, hurray!), and all I had to eat today was a piece of bread with peanut butter, some yogurt with frozen blueberries, and the crumbs from a bag of chips. Gross.







(P.S. Rochelle, if you're reading this...I'm so so so sorry we couldn't hang out while you were here. I feel awful! This was our only busy weekend and of course it had to be when you were in town...but at the end of Saturday night, I was so exhausted from cleaning all day that I passed out around 12:30 and totally forgot it was your last night. I hope you had a great time though!)