Smiles in G# minor

Since Saturday, time moved so rapidly I hadn't realized it had been a few days since my last HoB visitation. And while that makes for boredom for the reader, it makes for a crammed, chock-full catch-up for those of you in and out of the loop. In either case, I apologize for my absence, but can nonetheless affirm the delay was most absolutely worth it.

The last few days -- the remainder of the weekend, etc. -- are a blur. Saturday, we headed down to Soho and lunched at Mercer Kitchen, with a couple celebs tossed into the mix:

From (Gawker Stalker):

We sat down to lunch upstairs at Mercer Kitchen on Saturday 7/9 and
were seated 1 table away from Keira Knightley and a woman (I’m assuming her mom
or manager). Had to tell my boyfriend not to stare. She was very casual - floral
off the shoulder dress and awesome boots - and quite pretty. She was having tea
and seemed rather bored. She and the woman paid and walked into the lobby of the
Mercer Hotel. I motioned to my boyfriend that the rockerish looking older man
sitting across the way looked like Neil Young. He turned to quickly check him
out and told me that it was, in fact, Neil Young. Good sightings for both of
us.

Eventually we headed out to Chinatown and Little Italy, as is our weekend wont. We perused a variety of stuff for our friends and family and then, well before we were ready to go elsewhere, the skies opened up and it poured for what seemed like an hour (it was actually about 20 minutes). We wound up having a few conversations with people about the weather, the location of the subway (which, with the trains being a block away, seemed like a trick question -- "Boogie Gets Punk'd") and the best place to get good Chinese food (Mr. Tang, 50 Mott).

Though the rain delayed us, it also -- mercifully -- erased some of the smell of fish and other "dried" treats in bins, boxes, containers and shelves that littered the sidewalks. So my recommendation to all you kiddies out there -- go to Chinatown only during chilly weather, lest ye nostrils be accosted by the smell of rotten fish and tourists wearing "Eau de Trailer Park." Consider yourself warned.

Once we wrapped up Chinatown and Little Italy -- with nothing much in the way of excitement or memorabilia in tow -- we returned back to the house and showered and kicked back. First we headed over to Eli's and grabbed a bunch of kickin' appetizers -- guacamole, bruschetta topping, We ordered Mexican -- yet again -- and watched Team America, which quite possibly could be the most rude, vulgar, disgusting puppet movie ever made. Made by the tandem of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the guys behind South Park, Team America was as nasty and offensive a film I've ever seen -- and I mean that as a compliment. They insulted Alec Baldwin ("F.A.G."), Matt Damon ("Matt Day-mon"), Kim Jung-Il ("So Rone-ry"), the French (deservedly so) and just about every other institution, stereotype or typical human endeavor (including sex) imaginable. Starting with the movie's theme, which is "America -- FUCK YEAH," there was nary a minute that the film didn't cross the line in some way, shape or form. Again, a compliment. And if I failed to mention the film had a pornographic sex scene -- complete with golden (and brown) showers -- between puppets -- that nearly earned it an NC-17 rating, I would be remiss in saying that the film -- for better or worse -- was incredibly funny and very entertaining.

Sunday, we managed to get ourselves moving a bit earlier than usual (read: out of the house by 1:00) and into a cab to have brunch at Panorama Cafe, which, at 85th and 2nd, is not exactly gourmet or incredible, but features good brunch and dinner fare (we opted for the former), good drinks (we got a pick-me-up of red iced sangria) and a fun, laid-back atmosphere (hence the "cafe" in its title). We headed out and hit the West Side to visit the Columbus Avenue Flea Market, which is definitely a lot of fun -- except when it's 90 degrees and humid, which it was on Sunday. Within a half hour, I was wishing I was "enjoying" the smells of Chinatown instead of the BO that was making its way across that expanse of ripening humanity.

By the time we got back to my apartment, we were drained so we just showered -- yet again -- and had some snacks. Bruschetta with toasted garlic croutons, pate with cornichons, guacamole with chips, and cucumber with garlic-herb dip. We watched a movie -- I Robot -- and by the time it was over, we were still mellow, so we followed up with Grind. The former was interesting in its scope and its effects -- though we both agreed we kinda had had enough of Fedex, JVC, Converse and Audi product placement. Grind, of course, is an altogether different ball o' wax -- that's a skateboard movie, and while -- on the surface -- it was a total waste of time -- it took a lot of liberties with Dazed and Confused, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Road Trip, Euro Road Trip and every other teen movie you can name. But it was fun and kept us awake until it was time to no longer be awake...

Monday finally rolled around, as did we, albeit a bit late. We headed to our respective offices, drained yet again, but smiling and relaxed. As the day -- and the 90-degree heat -- wound down, we each made our way back to my apartment, showered and decided -- rather than stay in -- to head out for some good eats. So we cabbed down to Dos Caminos on Park Avenue South (better than the one in Soho, incidentally) and we noticed, as we made our way to 27th Street, that DC is down the street from another restaurant high on our list, Les Halles (on 28th). Not content to wow diners with the great, uber-cool mood set by the lighting and the latin-esque soundtrack, the food was awesome. We started with some incredible tableside guacamole, then moved into chicken tacos with black beans and rice for Kaia, and the chiptole-marinated pork ribs for me. Hers was kickin', but I can honestly say I've never had better BBQ than I did that night. That statement has one caveat: we haven't yet gone to Blue Smoke (which was also around the corner from DC) which features great BBQ and awesome jazz, so I'll hold off judgement until then. By reputation, Blue Smoke pretty much has the best BBQ in the City, even besting my personal favorite, Brother Jimmy's. So since we only have a few more nights together, I'll drag my other half over there if not to Balthazar and Las Halles ASAP.

Other than that, nothing's been going on...we just keep smiling, enjoying being with each other and anticipating the day when we can wake up and not have to think how many days we have left before one of us has to return to another City. But as we both expected, these last ten or so days have only confirmed and strengthened what we already knew -- we love being with each other and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter with each passing hour.

And I apologize for the length of this post and for not picking up the phone; as you have undoubtedly concluded, we've been pretty busy doing lots of nothing...