yes, you may

...and it's a big one! I apologize for not updating for a few days but I've been quite busy ever since my last post (except for Thursday, nothing happened at all on Thursday so I didn't write anything). I'll separate the events into distinct time frames:

Friday night - When Bloggers Collide

Astute readers of my blog have noticed that Hyde (not her real name) has been a regular contributor to my blog via the comments feature. She blogs a little differently that I do: she refers to people (and certain places) using codenames and most of her friends and family are unaware that she has a blog at all. This affords her a certain level of anonymity and an opportunity to be very frank about some aspects of her life that I would shy away from since everyone I know reads my blog (or at least has the ability to do so). We began giving each other advice on our respective life-dilemmas remotely and we eventually struck up a kind of friendship even though we never met, spoke, or even e-mailed each other directly. How did we come across each other's blogs in the first place? I'm sorry, the answer would compromise her secret identity.

Hyde is a fellow New Yorker and happens to live in relative proximity to my dad's apartment so once I came "home" from school it was suggested that we try to meet up in real life for a change. However, I still didn't know her name, what she looked like (besides her race and hair color) or even where she lived so I could do little beyond walk around the neighborhood and try to piece together her identity from the few clues I had. I couldn't even try to be forward and e-mail her because her blog doesn't have an e-mail address. Thankfully, she recently e-mailed me to lift the veil and we exchanged phone numbers with the notion that we really should meet sometime.

On Friday I finally worked up the nerve to text message her and suggest that we have dinner. I proposed Ariyoshi, the local Japanese izakaya which is fast becoming my favorite spot. She agreed much to my delight. With my recent dating experience fresh in my mind I had to carefully prepare myself mentally for our meeting. This was, first and foremost, not a date. I tend to get all giddy when I do anything socially with any woman between the ages of 16-61, frequently resulting in physical manifestation of my sexual anxieties. I considered Hyde to be my friend despite having never met before and I didn't want to start off our "real" friendship on the wrong foot. Now, more than ever, I would have to be relaxed and just "be myself," as I am often told to do.

We met at Ariyoshi and hit it off immediately. We just started talking and the conversation came very easily. I told her the gigantic story of my "breakdown" in high school which segues directly into the story of my first girlfriend whom I met my (first) freshman year at UR. It's a great story but it's very personal and I don't normally tell it to people I've just met, but Hyde and I clicked so easily that it felt like the perfect story to tell (for the record, she brought up the subject of my high school years). By the time the check came I felt like I had known her for years.

Bonus story: Our waitress happened to be one of the regular servers down at the Otafuku. This meant some casual Japanese practice in between sharing stories with Hyde. It turns out she is from Osaka which is the metropolitan area I'm going to for school this year.

Dinner, by the way, was delicious. We split a bottle of sake and an edamame appetizer. I had another yakitori combo (it's delicious and there's no rice) and Hyde enjoyed an unadon (eel over rice). She had never eaten eel before and ordered it purely on my recommendation.

After dinner we walked down 2nd Ave to the Manchester Pub. We had a couple drinks (including some delicious White Russians) and kept talking about likes and dislikes. She's apparently a great singer so I told her about my musical aspirations. It turns out we both got into singing through childhood productions of Gilbert & Sullivan. For her, it was The Mikado, for me it was The Pirates of Penzance. During our conversation she got a call from her neighbors and she invited me to come back to her place and hang out with everybody. I was happy to since I had no other plans that evening or the next day (or so I thought).

We went to her building which had a nicer lobby than my building (although we have nicer elevators). I got to see her apartment which has an awesome view of midtown and then I met the neighbors. Going by her codenames, they are "NDN" and "Oc." Oc is moving to another part of town soon so the evening had a "going away" feel. They were all really cool and we stayed up very late talking about all kinds of personal and metaphysical issues. I was thrilled to be hanging out so late and having fun for a change; typically I fall asleep at home while watching [adult swim] or Conan. We parted ways sometime after 3 and that was entirely due to activities they had planned on Saturday morning, otherwise we might have chilled until sunrise.

Saturday afternoon- March of the Humans

I slept in on Saturday until my Dad told me that his friend Bill (father to a close friend of mine in high school) was coming down and we were all going to the MoMA. Bill was accompanied by his longtime "girlfriend" (I always feel awkward using that word when describing the relationships of adults) Marlene. We hit the MoMA for a short while, just long enough to explore their special exhibition of Cézanne and Pissarro. I couldn't get over the resemblancence between Cézanne and Stanley Kubrick. The exhibit was pretty crowded and everyone seemed to be walking in different directions. It wasn't noisy so much as I felt rushed to move along, even though I tend to tear through museum exhibits very quickly. Once you've seen one French impressionist landscape, you've seen 'em all.

From the MoMA we went over to the West side near Lincoln Center where everyone was suddenly hungry except for me. Dad and Bill had some pizza while I stood outside and made yesterday's audiopost. Normally I would gorge myself on pizza whether I was hungry or not but I'm really trying to hold back here. I didn't even get any popcorn at the movies!

What movie, you ask? We all went to see March of the Penguins, a very nice documentary about exactly what you think it is about. The French title (follow the link) has a better sense of mystery, non? My only objection was the tendency of the narration (along with the music and editing) to attempt to anthropomorphise these beautiful birds. Penguins don't "love," no matter what Morgan Freeman says. The forced romantic notions made me feel extremely lonely which is probably the single most pathetic thing I've ever written in this blog. When you envy mating penguins you truly have hit rock bottom.

After the film we strolled around that neighborhood and had some slamming Turkish food at Pasha. Everyone's food was delicious and the forks were oddly huge. That's not particularly relevant but I had to say it; they were ginormous. My dish had a little pita bread in it but otherwise I restrained myself from eating any of the bread they gave to us to start the meal. Likewise, everyone else got ice cream afterwards while I stood outside and waited.

Saturday night - Drugs and Rock n' Roll (no sex)

I went downtown to the Knitting Factory to see The Minibosses as planned. They're from Arizona so they don't play in New York very often (they came to Brooklyn last April, remember?) so I was really looking forward to the show. However, it turns out they were playing with four other bands and they were last, so they didn't start playing until sometime after 2:30! By that point I had squandered far too much money on beers (so much for my diet) and cigarettes. Cigarettes! I never smoke alone but last night I was a tobacco fiend. When they finally rocked out I was loving every second of it. They played for about an hour, covering all of my favorites and even throwing in a new tune. I expected to be home earlier than Friday night but instead I didn't get back until after 4.

Which brings me to right now, Sunday evening. I did nothing today besides type this post and call my mom. I've got a ton of things on my mind right now and I'm not sure how to express them all. All the problems I brought home with me from college are still active and here in New York I've managed to develop a few new ones. I remain optimistic for a few reasons:

1. I am going to Japan. This is a certainty.
2. I love living in New York. Love it.
3. I now have a close friend living in Manhattan.