I really should stay home more.
Poor me, right? Always doing fun things and spending a ton doing it, but I really would like to save more, stay home, play video games, drink
my own home brewed beer, and pet my cat.
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| When she lets me. |
But living for the moment does have it's benefits! Here are some moments I managed to get my phone out and capture between
all my hours at work!
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A mini-JET reunion
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| We had ramen, karaoke... |
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| And a little honesty? |
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| My favorite things about Astoria are the people. |
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| I get to run into them at cool events like this bloc party at the Strand |
These shoddy photos are from outside The Strand on Broadway in Astoria. Less than a year old, and they're already throwing bloc parties! I didn't even ask who was going, I just went, and sure enough... saw about a dozen friends from the 'hood!
Somehow I didn't get any photos, but after this, I rode my bike halfway home tothe lovely home of a JET-couple who threw a killer BBQ on their deck! It was several more hours of delicious food, good conversation, games, beer, and dessert!
Theses two photos are taken from about the same spot. One looking into the restaurant, the other looking out! If you enlarge it, you can see the band playing on the stage in the middle of the street. They were strange, but quite rockin'!
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| Another (the next?) weekend, us former-JET-types dressed up in yukata and jinbei for a Brooklyn pub crawl! |
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| Every few months my coworkers and friends get together for bowling too! |
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| Ryan's b-day party at the beer garden! |
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| Hugh and I at his wife's going away party. He was very torn up. |
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| More friends with Janelle, a.k.a. the one going away. She's working the coolest job ever, so I bet that helps pass the time. |
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| Not often enough, Wendy and I go on double-dates |
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| This friendly raptor invited me to a juggling convention! |
The latest NYC craze is the Cronut, a croissant-like doughnut. The flavor changes every month. I've had lemon and coconut mint. Apparently this month's flavor is "fig and mascarpone". Getting one involves lining up outside the one bakery that invented them at 6 am and waiting until they open at 8 to buy one before they sell out, so needless to say, it's a commitment.
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| Remember that juggling raptor? Here he is playing the 8 string bass with his band "You Bred Raptors?" |
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| Another weekend I gave a couple lectures to this year's new JETs heading to Japan on Japanese etiquette. This guy, Steve, surprised me by being one of the group because we first met as fellow foreign exchange students in Japan in 2004! |
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| This guy works at the Czech-style beer garden near my house! The beer is good and CHEAP, but the food is pricey, so I only go about once a month. |
Every year I wonder what to do for New Years, Halloween, 4th of July, etc. But this year, once again, I was lucky to be invited to friend-of-a-friend's apartment for a Japanese-style BBQ and then viewing of the Macy's fireworks on the Hudson from the communal deck in New Jersey. It was such a fun and comfortable environment, we got to know a lot of new, cool Japanese people while enjoying drinks and Japanese food!
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| We love sake! |
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| So much food! |
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| The view was amazing even before the fireworks! |
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| Another fun day out and 2nd year running (no pun intended) - This year we did the Color Run, a 5k "fun run", in Brooklyn. Last year in Philadelphia was better scenery, but really, it's more about who you run with! |
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| This is our "after" shot. Hence the name "Color Run"! |
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| Here is the post run brunch I got in Greenpoint! Nom! |
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| Then I went home and shaved my hair! |
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| I got to the beach only twice this summer, but on this lucky day I took 4 lovely ladies with me! |
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| Saw the NY Philharmonic play with Mariah Carey in Central Park |
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| And my buddy Dan held his annual, insanely good BBQ in Astoria! |
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| So that's pretty much my summer! WINTER IS COMING! |
