Some have called me an over-booker. They say that it's unreasonable to fill one weekend with an out of town sleep-over, kiddie playtime, girls night, eleven-dy hours of work, and a late night David Bowie birthday concert tribute. I say, how am I to choose from all the amazing options offered by my talented and hilarious friends? Of course, as I sit here incubating a killer cold on my day off, I wonder about the wisdom of my choices. Not that I would choose differently, mind you. I'm just wondering whether I should admit my foolishness or not. I think you should be the judge.
Let's start with the Long Island sleep-over. I remember back in high school one of my teachers staunchly maintaining that, regardless of the bonds we had formed during our school years, none of us would be friends later in life. Well I have a wealth of childhood connections to prove him wrong. Take my friend Tovah. Our friendship has lasted so long that she now has a child the same age that we were when we met. There is something so special about spending time with these Tovah-hybrids, watching their ever-evolving personalities, and their riotous games that involve dressing up like pumpkins and running into things. True, you don't sleep so much around these adorable little munchkins, but that's a small price to pay for non-stop high-jinks and butternut squash soup. And incidentally, that soup is to die for. Velvety, creamy, with just the right amount of sweetness. The perfect antidote to a child-hangover.
The next day we seamlessly transitioned into girls night in Queens. My friends and I have often talked about the “friendship renaissance” that took place right around the time we all hit 30. I have no doubt that it will go down as the highlight of our respective decades. With ties spanning elementary school, middle school, high school, college, and post-collegiate sublet situations, we have formed a group that guarantees entertainment and new perspective at every gathering. The theme on Saturday was game night and take out. We were a bit foolish to believe that the game part would happen. With all eight of us there (the only one missing lives in LA, so we gave her a pass) we had far more important things to focus on: brilliant tales of bribery; family planning strategies (for example, who will volunteer to adopt me so that I can get EU citizenship?); helping each other cope with both the exhilarating and mournful changes that just seem to keep piling up as we age. Okay, there may have been a few moments when the conversation turned to sex and giggling, but we really spent most of our time solving the world's problems.
Of course, not even the problems of the world could keep us from food. While we weren't able to figure out a workable plan to obtain food from Sripraphai (arguably the best Thai food in NYC), we did find an acceptable replacement in Yum Yum, the new Thai place up the street from Girls Night Central. Oh the curry that was had. I personally prefer green curry that burns my face off, and while this failed to even singe my cheek, it did provide spicy, coconut-y satisfaction. And the tofu/mixed veggie option was top notch too. There was a variety of vegetables, instead of merely a lone piece of broccoli amid a sea of bamboo shoots. Add to this the crispy duck that I surreptitiously poached from Cory's plate, and I was golden. A true culinary highlight, however, were the homemade red velvet cupcakes. Oh Erin. You have found the cupcake corner of my heart. In contrast to my obsession with all things savory, I am strangely reluctant to indulge in the sweeter things in life. Give me a plate of cheese fries for dessert and I will be happy. I can easily pass up the ice cream course. But every now and then I am presented with a dessert that makes me rethink my strongly held allegiance to the savory offerings of this world. This was one of those occasions. The fluffiness of the cake! The perfectly proportioned frosting! I had planned on taking one bite before passing it on to a more sugary-inclined friend. Instead, I came out of a dessert swoon moments later with the cupcake wrapper pressed to my mouth and guilty look on my face.
Somewhere around the whiskey course we did in fact manage to play a few hands of Apples to Apples. And perhaps I should have regretted that a tiny bit as I made my way through the following work day that started at 10am and lasted until 10:30pm. But really, how could I be expected to leave? There are many things I most likely will never have in my life (wealth, fame, health insurance – if the Republicans have their way). But I have people in my life so continuously fascinating, who possess such tremendous hearts and wild spirits. The list extends far beyond the people I saw this weekend. I feel that I have somehow been lucky enough to be surrounded by an embarrassment of friendship riches. And if I'm to truly live up to what has been bestowed upon me by fate, or the cosmos, or whatever, I'm going to have to overbook. Or quit my job. But the former seems a bit more realistic. In fact, my only regret is that I couldn't extend the weekend even farther – I finally hit the wall at 1:30am, at the David Bowie Birthday Bash. True, I had seen a hilarious cover band, and some astonishingly semi-dressed drunk people, but I missed a performance by Maria – the hardest working woman in the David Bowie Tribute Band Universe. And also my favorite rock star. Since quitting my job is not an option, I'm clearly going to have to learn how to function on less sleep. It's really the only way.
Oh Andi, I shed a tear at this. I was feeling particularly guilty that I was not going to make it to Maria's Bowie event...similar to how I felt when another New Year's Eve approached and it became clear that I would not make it to the city for your birthday. But you have given me new motivation. I've already forgotten what my new year's resolution was, and now I have a new one: to stop being so practical and start over-booking (babysitting costs and sleep deprivation be damned!). The actual face-time with amazing women is absolutely worth it!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely got me choked up too! Andi, our friendship means so much to me and had someone told me, when our tetherball days on the playground at Ocean Avenue came to an end, that we'd be here 20 something years later to tell the tale, I may not have believed them!
ReplyDeleteReilly is waiting to challenge you to another game of Minotaur!!
Excellent. My blog has driven people to tears and child-neglect. My work here is done.
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