a long day's journey

some weekends are over in the blink of an eye. . . but this weekend was different- i'm not sure if was all the activity or people or being outside my usual groove- but it felt incredibly long and full.

i flew out of work at 1:30 to meet up with VK at azusa for lunch. . . beef negimaki for her and sashimi for me and plenty of conversation regarding work frustrations all around. lunch was short because VK had to go back to work and i made my way back home to clean to run errands and await my parents' arrival. my parents are notorious for getting lost- in particular- on their car rides to come visit me in NYC. their ETA was 7ish but when i called around 5 and heard they were still in the maryland area- i knew it was gonna be awhile.

luckily, i had plenty of company. around 6ish, theng and hosmillo stopped by for a visit, bearing treats of buffalo flavored pringles and cookies. i broke out the wasabi peas, almonds, chips, salsa, beer and whisky and quickly passed the time gabbing and munching on all the goodies. sometime after 8pm, the boy arrived and joined our impromptu gathering. around 8:30 pm, the efforts begin to help navigate my dad through the nyc area streets. equipped with the boy's most direct and simple directions and hosmillo's guidance on the phone, my parents miraculously did NOT get lost!

after helping to unload the car, theng and hosmillo headed their separate way and the rest of us went to felice for a late dinner. delicious as usual. we shared a couple of bottles of wine and the cheese/meat platter. the boy and dad both ordered the risotto di mare, the special fish dish for my mom, and pollo disossato e ripieno for me. it was the perfect meal- hearty comfort food executed exceedingly well. we dropped my parents off at my apartment then went to larry lawrence for a drink.

saturday morning got off to a slightly skittish start. exhausted and groggy from a restless sleep, the boy and i decided to veer off the usual route via canal and ended up taking an unnecessarily long and indirect path to golden bridge for dim sum with my parents. crankiness was swept away with iced coffee and greasy, carbolicious brunch. after tucking away an impressive amount of food for four people, we went to south street to check out david byrne's exhibit "playing the building". super interesting- essentially an installation with a "piano" centered in an enormous room that was connected to all sorts of metal beams, pipes, etc that would sound with the touch of the key.

next was shopping in soho before heading back uptown to check my parents into the hotel and so that everyone could rest. nap for the boy and gym for me. big bro and his wifey arrived around 8:30 and so we all met up at hearth for dinner. i'm glad to say that this long anticipated visit did not disappoint and the food was every bit as amazing as i had remembered. pictures and reviews to follow.

the kids decided to stay out for a few drinks- decibel was the venue of choice. we ordered a bottle of otokoyama but sadly, the majority of us were too worn out to really drink much. when weariness turned into nausea, i decided i was done for the night and the boy saw me home then drove back to CT. after a solid's nights rest i felt 100X better but rather than lazying the day away as i might on my own, i was up and about again with the family. we had a nice family breakfast at the barking dog luncheonette before my parents started their drive back to VA. then big bro, nissen, blondie, and i headed downtown for some sneaker shopping. alife rivington was the highlight of the trip. then, nissen and i decided to take a break from all the trekking and headed to gama for some refreshments. bro scored a pair of sneakers and happily settled down for some blue moon and korean grub. a few more stores and we were all worn out.

by 6, everyone had left and i had my apartment to myself once again. gym, shower, dinner. a little time to blog and unwind.

i. am. beat.

time to sleep.