This Was April

Bet you didn't expect me to have my April roundup posted by the fifth day of May, did you? Well, I did! The secret: Breaking April up into a lot of sub-posts--this is the post for nothing that became a sub-post, although some of this definitely could have.

Started April off by going to Andy's house to listen to the Priesthood Session of General Conference (before running up to Boston the next day to meet up with my folks). Andy's for General Conference with Chicken McNuggets and fries, this is becoming quite a tradition.

This is Andy laughing when he heard someone was named "Gaylynn" in a story in one of the talks.

A big change at the old new apartment: I have a rug now. It looks oranger than this in real life, but you get the idea.

Then one Friday: I meet up with Steve to walk around Harlem a bit, looking at trees grown through fences and stuff, and then go up and check out his studio in the Bronx.

Meanwhile, in Midtown, they're still skating at Rockefeller Center

Although the new art installation suggests summer is around the corner?

Ironic iconography at Salvation Burger

And the Lady of Guadalupe and I have definitely had our ups and downs before but now that we're neighbors we're getting along better.

Now here's something big: Harlem neighbors Kelsey, Amy and Nico invited me one Saturday morning on a major day trip to check out West Point and return to Storm King. I liked West Point a ton, we had a good tour of a little bit of the campus that definitely left me wanting to see a lot more.

Down the hill there? Just some cadets practicing their Irish dancing

Seems awfully un-American how much trouble Army wishes on Navy

Post-campus (and burritos), a quick visit to the Military Museum. Time was short, so we focussed on the weapon exhibits.

Then it was a quick drive over to Storm King for a whirlwind walk to its farthest points and back.

Richard Serra balance-beaming

I hadn't seen the mirror fence before. Mirror fence makes quite the optical illusion.

Back to more art!

Nailed it!

Before returning to the city we were headed for a Hagen Daz that had turned up on our maps until we came across this far more American opportunity

Another day, a daytime Soho walk

A terrible bummer of a discovery: Peep on Spring street has been shut down. I don't think there's a restaurant I've been to more in the city. I think I've taken absolutely every visitor I ever had here. I remember the first time I walked by it and looking in at its shiny, space age hipness and thinking "Oh, I probably can't eat here" but no, we wound up having quite a history, Peep and I.

Okay, let's finish this walk on a happier note...

Some evening in the lobby with Ned

One afternoon I meet up with Lexia and her girls for one last visit before Lexia and Adam move off to Maine (with their daughters, of course). Having arrived at New York at the same time, it's a nostalgia-stirring loss to see Lexia go. Whatever happened to 2003?

On a Saturday night I check out the big Enchantment Under the Stars gala to raise money to send kids away for the summer. If there's anything I'll support, it's definitely sending kids away!

One weekday I find myself handling a little business downtown, followed by my first visit to the Oculus, which was kind of tricky to find an entrance to.

Baxter Building, I guess.

And then, on the last day of the month, I find myself joining in on a biscuit-crawl through the Lower East Side.

Post biscuits, I go it a lone for a bit before meeting up with Patricia, Ned and Jeff at Mission Chinese

Later on: I blow out candles on the Upper West Side

A Mighty Mighty Weekend Trip

Mom and Dad were in Boston the first weekend in April because Dad had a conference up there and they were like "Hey come meet up with us" and I was like "Oh, I don't know, it's such a long bus ride and didn't we just do this only four and a half years ago?" But then I realized "Hey, no one else is asking me to visit them this weekend, shouldn't I go where I'm wanted?" So Sunday morning I bought some bus tickets online and THEN checked the weather. Cold. Cold and snowy. That's what I was headed for.

I got off the bus at South Station or North Station and then walked through Chinatown and up Washington, met up with Mom and Dad on the street, and headed on over to their hotel, the famed Parker House Hotel.

There we listened to the afternoon session of General Conference on my computer and, once we were done, went to dinner at a nice Italian place with lots of sea food on the menu. Too dark in their for pictures. Just imagine bay scallops and mussels and stuff.

Woke up Monday morning and it was snowy! Mom and I walked through the snow and trained over to the library to see the murals Mom and Dad had enjoyed so much a few days earlier.

After the murals we T'd down to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which I felt I'd never even heard of but really liked. Isabella was this rich lady who built herself a Venetian Palace to live in in Boston, filled it up with art, and then left it as a museum after she died. There was a famous art robbery there in 1990 that I would like to know more about, too.

Then Mom and I caught a train to lunch with Dad and a place the name of which I cannot remember, but I went hard on the Boston food and had clam chowder and a crab cake BLT.

So rainy wet and cold, but everything I've ever read says my camera is weather proof. 

Then it was back on the T and back to the hotel and then back to the bus station and back to New York with me! It was a good little getaway. I'm glad I let me talk myself into just taking it easy and going up to see Mom and Dad when I could. I hope my actions will inspire my sister Kristen to come up to New York while on one of her monthly trips to Washington DC.

March: Some Stuff From It.

Yeah, so there was this stretch of six weeks where I was working all day every day...and by all day, I really mean all day (8am to midnight) and by every day, I mean absolutely every day (that I wasn't in California). That light burned bright and brief, it was a six week sprint, and then suddenly one Friday, the case was done and my time was my own.

So I ran to the nearest theater and saw Episode VII one last time in the theater while I could. That would make five times I saw it in the theater. By seeing it in the theater five times, I find myself in no rush to get the Blu Ray.

The next morning I met up with Karrie and Laura from my Bachelor watching group to eat and the walk around taking pictures. It was a great way to celebrate my first Saturday off of the year.

We ate at the tremendously popular the Smith. I'd never been there before, except to use the bathroom...it's easy to sneak into the bathroom at busy places.

Oh I just realized this picture of an empty dining room might seem like me being sarcastic about the Smith being tremendously popular. This is a dining room in the basement. The upstairs was poppin. Maybe the basement was being reserved for a wedding or something.

Apres lunch, over to Union Square. First things first: let's figure out camera settings.

Chubby Union Square squirrels know no fear. And my camera has no zoom. I was getting up close and fursonal with those guys.

There was a lady selling knit pigeons, so much like the real thing.

Knit rat pile.

Then we headed down to Washington Square Park to see what was going on down there.

A Wheaton was freaking out over a fur ball.

Two yoga people were doing some serious balancing.

And a fellow on roller blades was helping a man push his grand piano home. Typical!

At this point our group disengaged and I wandered down through the Village to Soho.

Passed a cake disaster.

Some West 4th Street Basketball (located outside the West 4th Street subway station on 3rd Street).

That bad feeling I get when I know I'll be trying something out (The new 7-11 $2 Chicken Sandwich, that is...not a melt. Who cares about a melt.)

Soho Apple Store because bathroom.

A wide variety of classic scripts available for purchase, such as Thor.

Went up to this store that's an apartment but everything in the apartment is for sale. Maybe including the apartment? Once they sell everything else?

I was walking along thinking: Wait, isn't there a Kanye West pop-up shop this weekend? And right around then is when the Kanye West pop-up shoppers started popping up. I followed the reverse trail of Pablo apparel to the location.

It was, say, one-ish when I passed by and I overheard people coming out saying that they had gotten in line at 7am that morning.

Don't worry, guys. You'll be posting your purchases on ebay soon!

This is a picture from night time on another day.

In celebration of a job well done, I bought myself a new tie that I thought looked cool. But then when I wore it to church I was like "Wait...is this just an old United airlines pilot tie?" Thank you to everyone that listened to me make that observation over and over that day.

KFC has got a new kind of spork that's shaped like a shovel. I got this with their new Nashville Hot Chicken. My take on the KFC Hot Chicken: Of course this is crazy that they're making Hot Chicken, but also a little cool that Big Chicken is trying to bring such a niche chicken to the masses, one that is so geographically particular and community dependent...I mean the audacity is remarkable. Anyway. It's not hot. Or super good. But the flavor is surprisingly accurate--the secret might be the pickles? (as long as they remember to include your pickles). Also: all they do is squirt a Hot hot sauce on their normal chicken. It's not real Hot Chicken. Duh.

The day before Easter I went out to Bushwick to try out the well-regarded burger at Fritzl's Lunch Box with Laura. I didn't get a picture of the burger, but I did get a picture of a nearby taco mural.

Then I rode westward a bit to go on a good old fashioned Williamsburg walk.

The day after the day before Easter? It's Easter! This is my co-Home Teacher Mike and there's me in my traditional Easter tie, 11 years running.

After church I was fortunate to attend Kristin's annual Easter Dinner at Brent's apartment, of which I took next to no photographs

BUT CHECK OUT THIS LAMB CAKE. I mean, COME ON! I think it's amazing, don't ewe?

One night I had a great feast at Mission Cantina with Leanna where I discovered that, thanks to their Green Chili Cheeseburger, you don't have to drive all the way to Shady Glen (<--that's a good link, you should click it) if you want a crispy cheese overflow sticking out from your burger anymore.

Living up in Harlem now I can just walk to tutoring on Tuesday nights

Stakes were high at the Hotdogs and Homework egg hunt this year

I'm also seeing more of my buddy Steve, too

Being at home and having free time has also let me get back to cooking. Plus one of my goals with the new apartment was to get an oil cloth tablecloth and some Chinatown plates and bowls. Goals accomplished!

Made my old Cannelloni Bean and Kale soup

Tried several iterations of Chongqing Chicken Tacos to get the salsa situation (hidden under the chicken) right

I've "perfected" my Bacon and Rice Cakes through the introducition of chili flake and water

And I bought some quesillo cheese from a nearby Mexican grocer so I can make quesadillas out of everything. In this case, leftover spicy Sichuan sausage.

And one last thing about food...remember that feeling I had about the 7-11 chicken sandwich coming my way?