Invention of the Year

Since I've been wearing glasses since my sophmore year of high school, I've struggled through a couple pairs of sunglasses, opting for eye protection over being able to see...anything. First it was the pair of Revo's (not sure what ever happened to them), then a few years back was a sweet pair of black sunglasses with orange lenses that I picked up in Brazil. Last year I made an incremental improvement by opting for the auto-darkening lenses on my perscription glasses, although they were never really dark enough to prevent me from having to shade my eyes on bright days in places like Brazil and Puerto Rico (yes, I use vigorous test environments). I ordered perscription sunglasses from my uncle a few months back and they finally arrived last week, just in time for the weekend trial session. And, I gotta say, AWESOME invention. They worked stellar, though I kept tripping on uneven sidewalk, they're a little different than my normal pair because they cover the lower half of my vision as well.

These were just the thing I needed on a Sunday afternoon of trekking around SoHo, NoLIta, and the East Village gathering information (websites and phone numbers) for my imminent departure from the Upper East Side - well in August anyway. Due to unexpected circumstances, it looks like I may have a prospective roommate in my sister's long time and family friend. I guess that's better than a closet crackhead roommate that I would find on Craigslist ;o). By the way, the new Trader Joe's in Union Square? Yes, there was a line down the block - just to get in! It's a massive one, but I wasn't going to stand in that line for $1.89 pasta. On second thought, I pay at least $1.95 for pasta down the street from me, so it may be worthwhile....

Tuesday night we had a special guest in town - Paul, returning from his round-the-world trek of living in Cyprus with his wife, travelling to Seattle to administer a wedding (yes, he's an accredited minister from the internet and Universal Life Church in Modesto, CA ;o), then heading down to Southern California for a few days before flying back to Cyprus, stopping by New York for a few days along the way. So he got together with D and I to relive some memories eating dinner at Deborah, cupcakes (or banana pudding for me) from Magnolia Bakery, and then kicking back at a local brewery and watching some A's vs. Yankees baseball. It was a short-lived trip and we eagerly anticipate his and Cathy's return in a few months.

Friday night I got together with Andrea and Liz (ssshhh! Alan's out of town!) for a romantic fondue and wine dinner ;o). I haven't had fondue in ages, so I was pretty stoked on that brainchild plan of Andrea's. The fondue cafe, Kashkaval, is also a cheese shop, so it's safe to assume that their fondue would rule and the wine would be authentic. The gruyere/swiss cheese fondue was fun, no doubt, but I'm sorry - mom and dad's fondue is still the best I've had, however it is they make it (swiss cheese and wine?)!

For those of you who remember her, I have a new "coat-room girl". I was on the long commute downtown Sunday morning and just before getting off at Spring Street, I noticed an adorable lady getting off the subway ahead of me. I didn't see what she looked like but she had a very unique artsy hair-net type thing holding her black hair back that made me open my eyes a little wider and admire her attractive style and look. But by the time I was out of the subway she was gone and I went my own way to check out some apartment buildings while waiting for the eternally late Sean. An hour later, once we finally met up somewhere in SoHo, we went to eat at a supposedly "hidden" Mexican restaurant that was rated the Best New Mexican Food in New York. Given the fact that I'm consistently disappointed with Mexican here in NYC, I figured we'd give La Esquina a chance to impress me. Though I was very impressed with the food (though it wasn't taqueria-standard fare, more like creative Mexican that was good nonetheless), I was astonished to see that my mystery woman from the subway was a waitress in this hole-in-the-wall cafe! After confirming that she was on the downtown 6-line (from eternally-hip Williamsburg, of course), I through some witty lines her way, got some laughs, and introduced myself and got her name. Uhhh...I guess I was too enthralled with her to remember her name; then again, I never remember names the first time I meet someone, but always remember it the second time....

J. Riley, for some reason I think I may be eating a lot of Mexican food in the near future....