Love on the weekends.

My last two posts were super short, huh? Well today's Monday - and there's nothing short about Mondays. My weekend was...fantastic. I saw 3 of my favorite "Greeks" and 2 of my favorite bands. Every minute was a renewed sense of happy, and I'm grateful to have the friends I do to let a weekend play out as such.

Friday.

It started out exactly as a calendar would agree - Friday, with a capital F. I went into work a few hours late (they knew this before hand, don't wave any fingers) and fiddled through all my tasks as fast as I could. There was anticipation in my cubicle that no assignment could deflate. I was blowing up inside, and my sights were set on the ground below. I had the office well informed that a friend from abroad had finally made their way to New York, that at any moment past five o'clock they might look up from the subway stairwell, and that I didn't want to be more than a few lights and cameras away from them. At about 5:40 I got the call I'd been waiting for. Within two minutes I was dodging stand-up comedians and passing by offers for a tour of the city. It's a funny feeling being in Times Square with a few thousand people, and knowing that eventually one of those faces would look back at you and stop. Of course when that moment finally came we were separated by crowds and cars. Our heads swam atop the commuters' waves, struggling to keep our eyes above the surface. Suddenly the curb met my toes. There we were just standing on the edge, watching all the green lights, waiting for our red light. It came. We splashed. I was drenched in friendship.

We played the ketchup game in a ballin' hotel room while we waited for more "Greeks" to arrive. They eventually paddled downstream in an off-white minivan. Ivy and I were standing on the pavement, guarding a steal of parking spot. An hour later we were stumbling around on the 19th floor and cramming every last one of us into a bathroom, for the sake of taking a photo. Nine months apart and I felt like I'd never left these kids. Turns out we hadn't changed at all.

That night I took them to see The Unionn @ The Village Underground. No question about it. Extraordinary as usual, there wasn't a moment of doubt that my friends would love it. Live music, particularly at this level of talent, leaves you feeling experienced, like you were a part of it. And I got to be "part of it" with five faces I wish I saw more often.

Saturday

I was awoken inconveniently at about 8 in the morning. Ugh. Meter was hungry. Pocket filled with quarters, I was heading for the feed. Why are hotel lobby's always filled with people ready to conquer the sunshine in style so early in the morning? It makes the under-slept revelers stick out like a refridgerator in a haystack. Advice - walk swiftly till the coins in your pocket rattle into their parking garage ears.

We meandered into Central Park. Max grew star struck under the over-arching branches of the Literary Walk, a movie haven to say the least. We spilled out memories faster than we could soak them up, each of us bringing to light a detail someone else had left out. Time let us wander away, but our hunger never lost it's eye. By two o'clock we were headed into Astoria to let our stomachs reconnect with our past. And of course we ate our way into oblivion.

Later, we FINALLY collided with Andrea, a friend from Athens who'd just recently landed herself in Queens. We settled at a cafe that may as well have been in Greece, drank our familiar orders, and listened to Andrea tell us everything going on under the acropolis. It was one of those "where am I right now?" kind of moments. Eventually, after rummaging through a Greek supermarket for all the old essentials, we packed ourselves back into the mini-van and headed for Marist.

I drove. Most others were tired. Not Ashley though, she was awake. And talking. I responded. Love her.

That night we did the college thing. Friends from here and those from there met somewhere in between. It's nice when that can happen...to some extent. The truth is, it can be weird. It's not that you're "different" around either one, it's just that they know a different shade of you. You live through different circumstances with different people. That's your common ground, and it's unique to those clusters of friends. It's funny, I love the divide better than the mesh. There I said it.

Sunday.

Here we go. Quite the anthem to my day, I made frappes and said goodbyes. Much too quick, I kept thinking. Nine months too long, 3 days too short. I'm already waiting for the comeback.

A car and two trains later I was sitting beside Ricky in her red Pontiac. We had one of those parking lot conversations that carry the weight of our worlds. She was sipping soup and giving me those Erica eyes - those 'here's what I see, tell me what you think' glances of affection. I love that about her. She communicates a lot by saying very little. And when I read the words she writes on paper (translated onto screen), I know there's a reason for ever last letter. She shares my love for words (I'm jelous of her to be honest) and I think that's how we function - we read each other.

And of course we end up where this all began - tC. Incredible night. There's a lot more these days than just 5 guys. DOB, Jay, Andre, Colin, Ricky, Randi, Emma, the list goes on; it's a perfect ensemble of comedy and support. I look back on where they were two years ago - I was one of seven bystanders, four I came with, another I've come to call Colin. They sang the songs that never made it to a recording studio and deliberated the distinction between bandmate and friend. Young love back then, love only today.



In today's highlights, DOB was on Room Raiders! Hahaha It was AMAZING.
This Condition's cameo was priceless too. I agree with Anthony - room one was just not mature enough for DOB.

Anyway...back to the mix I suppose. Monday just happened, Tuesday's about to.

THAT WAS LONG.