Table of Contents
Hi friends!
It’s the perfect temperature outside forever, y’all! I’m going lizard mode and just soaking up the sun. I have spent so much of my week in parks and have no motivation to write, so I’m not going to say much.
What’s also frustrating is that I had a big week with lots of things to muse upon, but it’s mostly drama my subscribers are involved in. I could never put my writing above my friends, but I have a lot I wish I could say. Moral of multiple friends’ stories this week: dudes suck!
I spent the first day of Pride Month in the best way I know how: at a straight bridal shower in DC. I think Pittsburgh had a Kenny Chesney concert and Pride on the same day? Anyway, I’m happy to be in New York this month.
14 things that happened on Saturday
I was running on three hours of sleep and had to get to Penn Station. Thank god I left the house early because the L train happened to be down. I want to be less of an obsessively early person to things, but experiences like this reinforce my way of thinking. If I didn’t run to two different connections, I would have missed my Amtrak.
I took a train to DC and back for a day to attend my first-ever bridal shower. I was excited but nervous because I feel like Bushwick has made me forget how to be a woman. On the train there, I made friends with multiple seat mates. One was a really cool girl that had just flown back from Trinidad and had a busy day ahead. I later sat near a couple on their way to a baby shower. I asked them what to expect from a shower of the bridal variety, and the girl said There might be games! which was helpful.
I have been voluntarily taking way longer in the bathroom recently, and it feels like a mini-vacation. It’s more time to just scroll on my phone and be away from the world. Union Station’s bathrooms are much better than Penn’s.
Getting an Uber ended up being cheaper than getting a Metro card and charging it, so I Ubered to lunch. I told my driver about the bridal shower and he started giving marriage advice randomly. He also told me that his brother in Africa has 3 wives and 24 children. Imagine. He asked me if I was married or anything and I panicked and said I had a boyfriend.
I got lunch with my friend Zamone and we hung out in his neighborhood. I sat on the balcony of his new apartment while we listened to music and drank Diet Coke. This is what life is all about. Bliss!
Zamone drove me to the bridal shower, which was for our friend Molly. I met a bunch of new people aside from the bride and, hilariously, a girl I went to high school with that used to work with Molly and I. We sipped wine, noshed on some food, and everyone I met was really nice. A lot of readers of that horny book A Court of Thorns and Roses (I am thinking of reading it?) I was nervous about my gift because my bag was way smaller than everyone else’s (stupid reason but is my truth), and thankfully Molly opened it while there was commotion and less people were paying attention so we could just have a moment together.
High school friend Georgina offered to drive me back to Union Station, which was great to scheme for when she moves to New York soon. I miss being in the car with friends, or just being in the car in general.
On the train home, we were passing through vague wilderness in Delaware, and I watched a deer gracefully hop over a fence in the distance as we sped past. It was magical!
My train was delayed, so I got back into the city around 10:15. The L was still down, and I needed to drop my stuff at home before going out again. I walked to the Herald Square stop in hopes of taking the M train to Bushwick, but my eyes failed me. I accidentally took the D train instead and after what felt like a long time underground, I surfaced at Barclays Center. I was so angry.
I threw a temper tantrum (read: texting Meera that I was ready to slit people’s throats). I am too exhausted to deal with this. I wanted to go out and show face to see some friends who were in town for the night. Meera and my friend Nat called me an Uber. While waiting, I chugged a Celsius and felt nothing. I also sat in a random chair on the sidewalk and realized minutes later that that was probably gross.
I get in the Uber and accidentally say For Sydney? when the name on the screen was Meera. Not thinking, I said to my driver, Mohammed, Oh yeah, my girlfriend called it for me. He then said You have a girlfriend? You like girls? I responded Yeah, don’t you? He didn’t answer and instead asked if I like boys, to which I stated I like both. He shook his head a few times and said No, no, no, no and we didn’t talk for the rest of the ride. Happy Pride!
I dropped my stuff off, changed into sweatpants, and met my friends at Danger Danger. I was exhausted and double fisting.
I then went to a second location, got too tired, and Irish goodbyed.
I ordered 7th Street Burger, ate, and went to sleep.
This week’s photo is from the second location of my Friday night: Hart Bar. I was having such a great night with my friends, but I suddenly craved solitude…and solid food. I bought Banh Mi fries they were selling at the back (an outpost of Vietnamese restaurant Falansai that I want to try), sat at a table alone, and scrolled through Twitter. I was so happy. Friends eventually found me and I had fun with them again, but I needed that moment alone with some fantastic fries.
Current fixations I want to mention
Food & Drink
Another week of eating good. My pick this week is a new rooftop bar I imagine will be mobbed within the week. Vacations is at the onset of Ridgewood, shepherding in the neighborhood away from nearby warehouses. I think I first heard of this place from an Instagram post mentioning they had Vanderpump Rules watch parties. I’m not sure how old the bar is, but their rooftop opened for the first time at the start of May. The bar is themed around, well, vacations with kitschy furniture and colorful postcards all over teh bathroom walls. There’s a bar on the first floor, but the rooftop is the real standout. The actual roof bar is indoors, but there’s lots of outdoor seating with a view of Manhattan. It was a wholesome vibe, with mid-20s dudes dancing in their corner to music (Lauryn Hill) and a beautiful toddler running around to every table. I partook in their $16 beer/shot/burger deal, which I enjoyed. The burger is just filling enough, with usual fixins and fried onions. I also got a cocktail later, one with tequila and watermelon that went down smoothly. My friend and I sat and chatted outside as the sun set, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere.
Music
I just went lizard mode in Battery Park to take a break from working in the office. Every few months I remember the existence of “Mad” by Solange, which accurately showcases the exhaustion and sadness you feel while in a consistent state of anger. I love Lil Wayne’s verse in this and think he is at his best in a slow, contemplative song. This song always has me at the brink of tears that I could submit to if I were in the mood. Masterful track!
Internet & Pop Culture
This is so stupid, but I’m going to have to choose irrelevant Drag Race content. It’s a video on Twitter of Detox and Roxxxy Andrews lip syncing to “II MOST WANTED” by Beyonce and Miley Cyrus at a bar recently. Watching them look at each other and smile while mouthing I’ll be your shotgun rider ‘til the day I die. They both get a bit emotional and Detox cries. Maybe I’m still thinking about this video because I first saw it while a bit tipsy, but I thought it was so beautiful. These two queens have been working hard their whole careers and are still at the top of their game years after their original season aired. To get to share that success with one of your best friends? Priceless. We do not have enough friendship-centric ceremonies and celebrations.
Television & Maybe Movies
I’m part of the way through Freevee’s reality series The GOAT, which is basically reality TV all stars. People from across networks and genres who have won (if applicable) their shows stay in a house and compete in challenges to eventually make it to the end. I love any show that tries to be self-aware, and this show is just the silliest. Daniel Tosh is the host, and he constantly cuts any tension with breaking-the-fourth-wall debauchery. There are plenty of people I love here (Alyssa Edwards from Drag Race, Lauren from the only successful Love is Blind couple, Kristen Doute from Vanderpump and The Valley) plus some people I never knew of and enjoy (Da’Vonne from Big Brother, some guy from The Next Food Network Star who escapes elimination by cooking incredible meals for the cast). My favorite contestant is CJ from F-Boy Island because no one knew who she was but I not only watched her show but loved her on it. She’s unapologetic about her quest for fame and general ditziness and (thankfully) allies herself with Alyssa. The best part of the whole show is SPOILER: Joey Sasso of The Circle went home first. I’ve watched enough Joey shows and how he naturally overpowers a space (not in a malicious way), and I’m just so happy he was immediately deemed a threat. Each week has different challenges themed around different types of reality shows, and it’s great seeing (in an almost fanfic way) who gets along and who butts heads.
Journalism & Literature
I read a great coffee table book that Meera got for me a while back called Tenements, Towers, and Trash. The big book is a series of comics about New York from cartoonist Julia Wertz, whose work has been in various noteworthy publications. TTT is a mix of personal anecdotes, cartoons of the same blocks from different years, and visualized historical stories. Wertz made some of the comics while living in Greenpoint when it was affordable but has since left the city and has complex feelings about it. I love learning about New York, and cartoons make it extra easy. I learned about the origins of trash beaches and egg creams along with Wertz’s favorite bookstores (which included mine: The Corner Bookstore on the UES).
Something I Saw in the Wild
I was walking in Williamsburg when a bird flew from behind me and lightly grazed the side of my head. A girl walking from the opposite direction turned to me and said That was really scary!