Morning Has Broken

Invariably, I try not complaining but it really does me no good -- it stands to reason that the better the weekend, the worse it will be come Monday morning, and this week's example appears as if it will meet or exceed that semi-self-fulfilling prophecy.

First, the weekend began on a high note: I headed over to the West Side to hang with friends at Make, that pottery place where you pick out and paint your own pottery. Between the fact that there is good wine, good tunes, good people and an endless array of a la carte dining and creative options, it was a blast, and it was good seeing both Dave and his brother, Matt, to whom I owe mediocre sushi.

I finished at Make -- the project is a frame for my grandmother -- and actually spoke to a friend on the way home who mentioned he'd be in the City early Saturday and asked if I wanted to meet him for a skate. So we made plans for the next morning, I got up and out relatively early -- 11AM without a hangover on a weekend is par for the course -- and did a bit of skating before coming back to Casa de Boogie and celebrating the difference between animals and humans. No, not opposable thumbs -- air conditioning.

Saturday night was a friend's belated birthday get-together, a small gathering of friends at the Boat Basin Cafe on West 79th. I'd been there years ago and actually forgot about it, as it's as close to the Hudson as one can be without actually being in the Hudson. Despite the fact that it was remote and far out of the way, it was easy getting there and we wound up staying 'til the late hours of the morning, around 1-ish, if memory serves me correctly. Aside from the problem I had with what might have been bad-ish tuna, everything was a blast and it was great seeing some old friends whom I hadn't seen in awhile, reminiscing about others, discussing the world's most irritating words and/or expressions, and, of course, meeting new people. And the fact that we got a chance to see a couple rats kicking it old-skool-style down by the water reminded me that, especially in summer, late-night weekends is the best time to do your best rat-spotting, if that's your sort of thing. Hence the reason why so many people escape the City on the weekends and make their way to the Hamptons, Fire Island, or Yankee Stadium...which leads me to my next point...

The Yankees managed a pretty impressive four-game sweep of the Red Sox this past weekend. Not only did they play good baseball, they outpaced the Red Sox in every aspect of the game: pitching, defense, hitting, baserunning and -- most importantly -- victories. Several friends are Red Sox fans -- I know, what the hell am I thinking, associating with Red Sox fans -- and have mercilessly given me shit regarding the fact that Boston has been the better team over the past few years. Not only did the Red Sox win their first 8 games this season against the Yankees, but they've managed to win a couple World Series since the Yankees last did so in 2000. Between those facts and the new Stadium, I subconsciously wondered whether there was any truth to that "Reverse the Curse" supposition. Unfortunately or otherwise, the Yankees' foul play -- no pun intended -- lent credence to that possibility.

Well, I'm happy to say that this past weekend -- coupled with the recent revelation that David Ortiz admitted to having used performance-enhancing drugs -- remind me that the only way the Red Sox will ever be better than the Yankees is by cheating. The fact is that if Manny Ramirez -- now with the Dodgers -- and David Ortiz hadn't cheated, it's pretty likely that the Red Sox would not have gotten the production from them they did. Red Sox fans are quick to point out that Alex Rodriguez used steroids -- knowingly or otherwise -- but they are much less quick to admit that his steroid use had no positive effect on the Yankees' successes. Many Yankee fans, in fact, are not A-Rod fans -- even after his game 2 heroics Friday night. And they very quickly point out that Roger Clemens was also a steroid user whose involvement with the Yankee World Series could be cause to put a black mark on the Yankees' success from 1996-2000. Personally, I think anyone who compares Roger Clemens to Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, let's remove all three from the equation. Delete Roger Clemens' stats from the Yankees and delete those of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, and let's see where each team would be.

Thought so. Moving on...

I finished the weekend in grand style: another brief skate down by Carl Schurze Park, some basic quickie errands, some work at home -- thank god for A/C -- and then we wound it all up with True Blood and Entourage, which is always a great way to say goodbye to the weekend and begrudingly accept Monday morning's impending arrival.

And as I indicated earlier, I can't wait for it to be Tuesday, or Friday night, for that matter -- so I can get back to doing it all over again.

I'd wish you a happy Monday, but there ain't no such thang ;-)