I’ve had a great weekend heading into my birthday: starting Thursday night, wandering around the Chelsea art galleries with my new friend Jon and finding these amazing paintings at Axelle Fine Arts. I’ll do a post on the artist soon, but we spent most of our time admiring the work and had a great conversation with the gallery owner who just received the paintings two days’ prior. After the gallery, dinner at a diner, wandered down through the 20s and teens to 10th st to grab some lychee ice cream and a strawberry milkshake at Cones & Sundaes. Then up 3rd Ave all the way to 48th St. so Jon could meet up with his mom at her hotel.
Friday a happy hour at work featuring the visual artists who work at the firm. Lots of pleasant surprises seeing the secret identities of some of my colleagues. Jon and I went to see Up after that (though it took us a few attempts with it being sold out at every movie theater before we landed at the Astoria Kaufman in my ‘hood). Walked by the new beer garden on the way–seems a little too gentrified for my taste; I like the grit of the original. Up was well-done–nice to have an unexpected protagonist in an elderly man and nice to get the message that you can begin your life and adventures at any age (made me think of Susan Boyle). There’s a great montage at the beginning of the movie that shows his life with his wife, no words, just scenes from over the years–a great way to show their history without annoying exposition or narration. And halfway through there’s this great exchange between the boy and the elderly man about the boy’s father–the word “divorce” is never mentioned but from the subtext of the conversation it totally comes through. Well done indeed.
Saturday we helped my friend Robert move some furniture into his storage unit and I went out to my friend Alex’s new pad in Jackson Heights for a little housewarming. Great light and space in his new place which he negotiated down to a great price given the slump in real estate and rentals right now. His one cat spent the day freaked out and lounging behind the Shakespeare on the bookshelves.
Sunday a late brunch at Freeman’s (love their artichoke dip!) and shopping in SoHo for some new wardrobe choices and an outfit for my reading Wednesday night. Sat in Washington Square Park for a while enjoying the sun through the trees and people-watching. Went to a windy evening rooftop performance piece of Sleeping Beauty in Williamsburg right beneath the Williamsburg Bridge which concluded with an impromptu and random fireworks display over the East River up by the Queensborough Bridge. And then home to meet our new foster dog Lucy!
So a good birthday so far. I took the day off and Aimee and I just got back from walking Lucy in Astoria Park. And now I’m reading about my moth and year ahead of random Astrology sites. Here’s my year ahead according to one site: Your mind is especially restless this year, and you are hungry for new experiences and for answers. And good old Susan Miller’s monthly forecast (love her). Soon a quick load of laundry and then dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Mundo.
Thanks for all the birthday wishes you’ve been sending!
UPDATE: A lovely dinner at Mundo (red sonjas!) and two journals accepted poems today. The fortune that came with my ginger lemon tea after dinner was a quote from Emily Dickinson: “I hope your rambles have been sweet and your reveries spacious–“