Yesterday (My Troubles Seemed So Far Away)

Yesterday was a nice day. (Sorry about the lack of blogging by the way--I have been consumed by moving into my new apartment. Now that I am fully moved, I can get back to my regular life...) It was E's last Saturday in New York, and the day before her birthday, so we did a few fun things. First we had breakfast at Sarabeth's, our favorite place for breakfast and brunch. It was delicious, and such a beautiful morning, so we sat outside and people-watched as we dined.

Afterwards, we headed downtown and over to the east side, and took the tram across the East River to Roosevelt Island. E loves this place because of its quiet, strange buildings. I think the island used to house lunatics, but now there is some kind of rehabilitation hospital, government offices, shops, and lots of parks. For being so close to Manhattan, it is surprisingly quiet and tranquil. And strange. We kept finding things that might have been clues to a treasure hunt. Who knows--maybe there is more to the island than people know. I guess most people don't think of going there for recreation, but the lighthouse park on the island's northern tip is lovely. I laid down in the grass and fell right asleep while E explored the island. I woke up to see her bringing me pizza, so we picnicked. The day was so gorgeous, warm and sunny. We walked the circumference of the island, and then took the tram back over to Manhattan. I took some pictures of the city from above.
Back at home, E napped while I headed back out on the town. I met up with friends at Shake Shack, maybe the most popular burger joint in the city, and we ate some delicious food in Madison Square Park while watching the fireflies come out and play. Then it was karaoke time down in Little Korea, where we got our groove on to some AC/DC, Tom Jones, and all kinds of stuff. I sang Cotton Fields by CCR, which was really fun, but I didn't really have much of a voice because I've come down with some kind of summer cold. My throat has been all scratchy lately. Ugh.

So Saturday was a good day. Today was good, too, but we had a torrential downpour. You'd think that after such a gorgeous sunny Saturday, Sunday would not be so bad, but the skies were dark as I headed to church, and I turned back and grabbed an umbrella. Glad I did, because when I left church it was raining hard. I have a longer walk home now, and as I got going the rain got harder and harder. By the time I got to St. Nicholas Park, I couldn't go up the stairs because they had become waterfalls, and I was wading through puddles that covered whole streets. The storm drains couldn't handle the flow, and parked cars were being flooded along St. Nicholas Avenue. My umbrella started to leak, and it was all I could do to keep my ipod, camera, and phone dry. By the time I finally got home I was sopping wet from head to toe!

I tried to unpack a few boxes, tried to write on my blog, but I fell asleep on my new roommates overly comfortable couch, and when I woke up E was home from church too. Since I still have no food here at my new place, we went over to Peter & Josh's place and took advantage of the fact that Peter had just baked an entire menu full of things as part of some Good Eats contest. It's nice having neighbors that cook! Once I get settled in, unpacked, and my stove is fixed, I will have to repay them by fixing them a dinner. Meanwhile, one of the most amazing things about my new neighborhood is Santiago Deli, this tiny hole-in-the -wall store just up the street, where you can get a foot long hot sandwich made to order, with a free can of soda, for only $3! It's AMAZING.