Mission Impossible III: The Microwave

This was a weekend of running errands. Still nursing my cold, I ran around town trying to finish my apartment, looking for things like glasses for my cabinet (thanks Dad!), Bath and Body Works "Wallflowers" scents, etc. After runnings some errands and eating a grilled cheese at Sean's favorite grill (I was nursing my cold, he a hangover), I relaxed at home for a while, preparing for the evening. Being my birthday, Paul organized a dinner with some friends, location unknown to me. We ended up going to a North African place called Le Souk down in the East Villiage. Paul has a talent for finding these places. The dinner and entertainment was great, as the pictures will show. I'm sure that I am beat-red when they made me put dollar bills in the female belly-dancer's...err...clothing. And when she made me get up and dance with her. Much to my friends' chagrin, I refused to put money into the male belly-dancer's clothing. I mean, do male belly dancers even really exist in their native land? Of course not....which is why I wouldn't tip him, despite the fact that he could shake it almost as well as the girl ;o) . On the way home, we found a few cool lounges, like Sala. Because of my cold, I made sure that I only drank healthy drinks that night like Sangria, which, being red-wine based, is high in antioxidants ;o) ....

Today, my sole goal was to find a microwave. I checked a local place, but couldn't find one under $60. Surely, a low-end microwave should be cheaper than that (I don't need a built-in toaster, and I don't need a silver-plated one). KMart should have some cheap microwaves, right? I strolled downtown and, come hell or high-water, they were sold out of the cheap ones. Again, only silver or gold-plated ones were left. Well, I needed to go to Bed Bath and Beyond anyway to find my garlic peeler (which I didn't find, BTW) and they didn't have a cheap (enough) microwave. Geez, I'd just spent five hours looking to save $10 on a microwave. I stopped in a futon store on the way back to the subway and bought a futon within minutes. Remember the yogurt story, this is not unusual.

Anyway, Paul found a microwave in his apartment's basement. Microwave installed, crisis averted, $64.99 saved :o)

Old roommate Ryan Hess is coming to visit this weekend possibly, and Leif from Germany (and his girlfriend) are coming next week. And the sisters still have no confirmed flights to come visit me....

J. Riley