Lost at Sea

This is my excuse for not updating this thing with even a little "hello, I'm fine" for the past month - I've been lost at sea..metaphorically speaking at least! Life has been super crazy at work since I got back from Disneyworld/Memorial Day weekend and I've been exhausted/ stressed/ticked off/frustrated...you get the idea...I've been working late, getting home and falling asleep right away, working weekends, etc... this week has been better, I'm involved with this huge project at work, which I'm fine with because I'm learning a lot, but at times it's been too much to handle, so anyway, these are some of the things I've been up to the past few weeks - as I think the best remedy for working hard is playing hard...so on the weekends and such, I've been trying to keep busy and do a lot of fun things to make up for how tough my work existence has been - or maybe that's just the rationale I use to go out and have fun, spend some money, and have a few drinks - that kind of thing...

So, let's see...first of all let me tell you how much fun Cindy and I had at Disney...I was like a little kid! There was so much to see and do and Cindy and I laughed the whole time, we now have a whole new set of jokes to go along with the ones we picked up in New Orleans...every aspect of the trip was wonderful and I was so happy to see Cindy again, it's been too long! We pledged to make trips to see each other more often - I miss her already!

The past month's activities included: a lovely dinner with Megan and then off to see Cinderella Man, which I liked a lot more than I thought I would - it was a bit schmaltzy at times, but Russell Crowe was great and I sure do like looking at him...sigh...the next weekend, I went to Fire Island for the day with Lucia (it was her birthday) and that was beautiful, its been so hot here and that was the perfect way to take a break from being stuck in the city...we took the train to Long Island got on the ferry and were sipping margaritas on the water by 2pm...then we laid on the beach for an hour or so, walked around the village and decided to treat ourselves to a lobster dinner in the evening...even though it was only for one day, it seemed like a little vacation, something I definitely needed...the next day, I took a drive to City Island with Frank, Frinee, and Mr. James, had yummy Dominican food for dinner with them and then to bed early - I need my sleep these days! Last weekend, I went to Megan's neck of the woods to eat dinner - the fastest dinner ever by the way - and then up to the tip of Manhattan to Inwood Park to see a free Shakespeare in the Park "Henry V". Then on Sunday, I met Tiff and Mark at Delancey (yes Mom, I "crossed Delancey, hee hee hee) and we went on a Big Onion walking tour (http://www.bigonion.com/) - this one was a Multi-Ethnic Walking Tour of the Lower East Side. I ate, in succession: Dominican maduros (sweet plantains), Kosher sour pickles from The Pickle Guys, Jewish rugelach, Asian seaweed jelly candy, mozzarella, dried pork sausage and the best tasting parmesan cheese I've ever had from an Italian deli that's been in business for 5 generations, and finished it off with dim sum in Chinatown....then we took our tour guide's suggestion and went to his favorite restaurant in Little Italy Il Cortile (http://www.ilcortile.com/) ...I had beef short rib ravoli with arugula and wild mushrooms, a glass of chianti, topped off with an espresso - an indigestion inducing afternoon if there ever was one!!

Tonight, I am off to Yankee Stadium for the second round of the yearly Subway Series, Mets vs. Yankees....cross your fingers for the Mets and Pedro, please....