Saturday, Reid and I went out for some dinner and a couple of drinks. Not a whole lot. Just some good times and some good, earnest conversation. It's been probably a year or more since I've seen Reid, and probably three years since I've been up to DC. Lots of times I wanted to. Lots of times I planned to and had to back out. Lots of times I should have but didn't. This time was great, too because there wasn't an agenda. No show to go to, no game to go to. Just hanging out.
Sunday morning we got up, walked around the neighborhood a little, then met up with Susan and Tad. I haven't seen them since their wedding almost two years ago, and I had only met Tad that one time. I had a great time finally getting to know him. We had a good time at the brunch place, then we met x-box for some drinks. Poor dude was wiped out, but chose to hang out with us anyway. Just fresh off the plane from Europe, he drove through the night from NYC, and met us instead of getting some quality shut-eye. I also got to meet his new best girl, Nicole, who was another paragon. It's really cool that my friends are so awesome, and that their significant others are also cool is like getting two for the price of one. The six of us sat at a roof-top bar in Adam's Morgan, having probably a few drinks too many. It was, though, all in the name of good friends and good fun. Nobody did anything dumb or hurt anybody. We just laughed, reminisced, and I got to meet two wonderful new people.
To revisit a theme I've played before, we eventually got on the subject of the absurd number of Thai restaurants and their absurd names. Thai Tanic, for example. We always try to come up with the most absurd, and we came up with a couple of new ones this time.
Tad = "Thai Kingdom Come, Thai Will Be Done"
Reid = "Thai Priter"
I wasn't able to come up with one until I was driving home, but I have
"Thaiming is Everything" or "Perfect Thaiming"
We capped the day by eating at this ginormous Mexican place (the name of which I can't remember) that was pretty damn good. Even though it was Uno de Mayo, we were still able to get a table for six with virtually no wait. I had a total blast. Maybe it was the amount of alcohol, but I was practically in stitches for most of the night. I'd like to give my friends the credit for being hysterical, though.
Even though I'm sad about having lost my job, and my already tenuous financial situation has become more shaky, I am reminded that I have terrific friends, and that all-and-all, my life is actually pretty great.
I'm gettin' all misty-eyed as I type this.
For those of you who were there, thanks. I had a wonderful time.
Now.... Here's the thing. Reid had mentioned that his downstairs neighbor is impossibly loud, but I got off easy on Saturday night. Evidently, the guy wasn't there. I was also thinking that perhaps Reid made it sound worse than it really was. I didn't get off so easy on Sunday night. In actuality, it was pretty damn bad. But it's precisely like Reid said. It isn't the kind of noise you can feel justified for telling him to "knock it off". He isn't playing loud music really late. He isn't smashing shit, he isn't doing any of these. He's simply talking. Presumably on the telephone. It's just that it's kinda late, and he apparently doesn't have any rugs or furniture down there. So it sounds really loud, especially when one is (trying to) sleep on the floor. Can't rightly go down there and tell him not to talk. You just deal with it. Ear plugs did the trick, actually.
I hated to end the visit, but the weekend was over, and I had some fun to go partake of in North Carolina, so I got on the road early Monday.
The only unfortunate things about this weekend were that it had to end, and that it (and all the driving) made me tired. As a result, I was pooped at the Mountain Goats show. In fact, I'm still pooped, even though I've had lots of sleep since then.
Now playing:
Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs, Volume 1
6 comments:
Man! Sounds real fun!
BTW, the mountain goats? Isn't that one dude? I think he (them) are from nashville? But anyway, anyone else confused by the recent spate (okay, 2 I can think of right off-hand) of one person outfits that use band names? What the hell are you supposed to say when you want to say,"I like them or him or her"? Sigh...
Oh, and yeah, ear plugs are a must - that guy is just way too loud!
Woo hoo! It was a great visit, Dave. I was thrilled you could make it up here for a little while.
I gotta give credit, though: Thaipwriter was Tad's and Thai Kingdom Come... was actually Ivan's. It's just a favorite of mine.
Come on back up anytime. Though maybe next time, you might want to stay at Christian's.
Yeah, agreed on all counts. It was great to see you Dave. Come back anytime. You're welcome to stay at my place next time.
Btw, the new Mountain Goats album is the best record about an abusive stepfather...EVER!
Damn, you know what, I got some things mixed up - and the only reason I mention it here is because I think it's funny...even if no-one else does. I got The Mountain Goats mixed up with Lambchop - who are from Nashville (I think), and are a group - whereas, their name suggests one person whilst The Mountain Goats suggests a band. And lambchops are made from baby sheep which seem to be alot like goats. Well, I mean, all sheep are like goats - not just baby sheep.
There. This soooo doesn't matter.
Yeah. I don't know where John "Mountain Goat" Darnielle lived before Durham. For all I know, it may have been NAshville.
Here's where I'm going to make matters worse: I always made some assumption that Lambchop was from Durham. Maybe I was doing that because they're (he's?) on the Merge label. Now that I think of it, it's a totally retarded assumption to make. Out of the many bands on Merge, only a small handful are actually from Durham. Oh well..
Also, I was thinking about the "bands" where there's just one person, and the awkwardness you mentioned about saying "yeah, I like them, er... him" And people get so indignant when you say "oh, Nine Inch Nails? ... I don't like them" or "Badly Drawn Boy? I've got a couple of their records". They get all pouty and scream "It's not a they, you freakin' idiot! It's a he!"
You just can't win. Between these musicians trying to confuse us with their band (or personal) names(don't even get me started on Cat Power, or the likes of Bettie Serveert), the robots, and the scientists who keep making the robots, we're in a heap of mess.
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