a history of me

Before I get into my own business, I just wanted to express my sorrow on the sudden death of Peter Jennings. Growing up, I would watch him report the evening news every night with my Dad. I suppose the 24-hour, no-time-to-lose, cable news era made the nightly news less relevant, but his death (combined with the retirements of Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather) officially ends a notable chapter in television news history.

But I digress. This blog's about me and last night I went to a BBQ party in Brooklyn hosted by Kate and her boyfriend Josh. They live in a very nice (and shockingly spacious) apartment in Park Slope. Unbelievably, their home spans two floors and includes an entire backyard area which we packed with people and a big grill. I arrived just as food hit the fire, literally! The grill was so hot the first round of burgers and dogs were positively blackened. Later items, such as skewers of shrimp and veggies, turned out more mild. The cold appetizers included a big hummus dip (Kate later revealed that they gobble that stuff up so they always buy large quantities) and some assorted cheeses. My sister Salena made some very interesting cole slaw that included apples and walnuts so it had a charoset taste to it. Kate's potato salad was reportedly excellent but I abstained for dietary purposes. In hindsight, a serving would have been fine.

Lots of people from Croton were there. Ben of course, my sister (and her boyfriend), Cydney, Renee and Scott came too. His enthusiasm for hanging out with me in Japan has really raised my own enthusiasm level about the trip (often I feel anxious or nervous but not lately). I was amazed at Scott's ability to converse with a Japanese partygoer. She was speaking at a normal pace (way beyond my comprehension) and the two of them were going back and forth! I guess that's what five years of immersion will get you; when I visited Scott four years ago, I spoke more Japanese than he did. Even two years ago, on his last visit to Croton, he barely spoke Japanese with his then-girlfriend who came with him. These days, he's light years ahead of me!

A real funny moment came around nine PM. We were discussing my blog and Cydney (who just started her own blog) asked me about Hyde. I did my best to give her the short version of the story. Mid-thought, however, I got a text message from Hyde! She was still in California but what a coincidence! I'm not going to get into what she sent, mostly because it's her business but also because I'm not 100% sure what she said. My response was brief because I was in the middle of a party but I told her I was thinking of her, which I was. I know this sounds sappy but I miss her a lot.

During the evening, Scott had been proposing a trip to the village for some karaoke as he's quite fond of it and he had heard I enjoy it as well. Hearing our discussion, Kate announced that she had a karaoke machine, albeit a primitive one. It was basically a cassette player with a microphone. She didn't have any instrumentals or lyrics, we could only sing over the regular tapes she had around the apartment. Thankfully, she had some Sinatra so I could sing my favorite, "New York, New York." It's probably the only song I know all the words to. I didn't sound too hot but Kate loved it. The other partygoers were, in a word, uninterested. Kate tried to sing "My Way" and asked for my help but neither of us knew all the words. Scott found a Red Hot Chili Peppers tape with lyrics so he sang a rendition of "Under The Bridge."

As far as consumption, I ate and drank too much but I did my best to keep things in check, relatively speaking. I didn't eat any hamburger or hot dog buns, I refrained from dipping pita bread in the hummus or eating any chips and I stopped drinking pretty early. My biggest departure was eating two cookies (Cydney had brought them so she wanted me to try them) and half of a grilled chicken sandwich that Ben prepared. It was fabulous but I held myself back from eating the whole thing, which I'm proud of.

Eventually it was just me, Ben and Kate left awake, although I was dipping in and out. Scott slept for a few hours and joined us after dawn. The three of us left for Manhattan around 6:30. I went to sleep around eight, got a few hours in before waking and working out this afternoon.

Only two weeks to go! I suppose I still have a lot to do, although I have secured all of the official paperwork I need. Mostly little things, like packing, ridding myself of old clothes that I won't be taking, getting a camera (Mom offered to pay for it) and maybe trying to see a dentist.