It's been what, four days since I last posted? Cripes, loads can happen in that amount of time. On Thursday night, I slipped onto a Metro-North train, got myself the hell out of dodge, and visited Meghan at her families estate up in the Berkshires. The train trip was uneventful, and Meghan picked me up at the train station, and drove me out to visit her friend Amanda. I met some random Vassar student, class of 2002, and then Meghan and I went back to her house to watch Snatch. I love that movie.

Friday, in the morning, she showed me the grounds of her house. We walked around the stream, and she showed me the old millhouse and the dam that her father built. Later, she took me around the Berkshires, showed me the Red Lion Inn (which I realized later that I'd stayed at with my parents many years ago) where we had lunch, Stockbridge, and Great Barrington. At night, we went to Jacob's Pillow, where we saw Flamenco dancing. Meghan's on her way to Madrid at the beginning of September, where she'll get to see a bunch more of Flamenco than just the bit we saw at the pillow. Spanish men banging their feet really hard into the ground... I couldn't believe how fast they were able to move their feet. I used to be a sprinter in high school, and my feet could never ever move even close to that fast. It was incredible.

Saturday morning, Meghan left for work at 7(!!) and I went back to the city at 10. I met up with Bethany and we went to the American Museum of Natural History. We saw a bunch of dead stuffed critters, which made us both a little nauseous, and then went to the hall of outer space, which I had previously been to with Betsy, and it made much more sense this time. We also saw the hall of scary fishes, which I really get creeped out by. It's so seventies that it's weird, and the fish are all so creepy looking. I hate fish.

Bethany and I went out after that, but it was crummy, and I don't wanna talk about it. My friends were good, but it was the day after a full moon, and things were iffy, at best. Went back to Bethany's house to crash, because my folks were staying at mine, and while she IM'd, I fell dead asleep on her futon. Couldn't keep my eyes open. The summer has started to drain me, a bit.

Woke up early to go have Dim Sum with my parents at Jing Fong, wander lower Manhattan, discovered a place that sells elderflower pressed water (if you don't know what it is, leave your job right now to go searching for it) which was also a kosher confectionaires, and wound our way around SoHo and the LES, shopping and talking about my practice. For my birthday, my parents got me two folding chairs that you can take to the beach (now I need to find a beach!) and dishware since most of mine has gotten broken over the past four years. And a new hemp shirt from DDC. Yeah, good birthday weekend. Dinner was at Prune, where I had a scrumptious ribeye and fries (the ribeye was served on a wooden plank, with just an herb butter on the top, while the fries had just the right amount of salt and vinegar to make me eat every single last one of them.

After dinner, I met a guy that I've chatted with online some, out at Last Exit in Cobble Hill. Wandered home sated from the weekend and collapsed into bed.

And now, some administrivia:

From the help-a-hot-chick-for-fun department, Christine asked me to post this for her:

"I'm running as part of Team Courage for Cancer (http://www.courageforcancer.org) the Labor Day weekend half-marathon in Virginia (called the "Rock and Roll Half-Marathon"). The team raises money for research for ovarian and breast cancers. As of right now, I only need $900 more to make it to my goal. ANYTHING will help--$10, $30, $50, anything. You can donate either by going to:
This site by mailing a check (made out to Courage for Cancer) to:
Christine Beers
1773 1st Avenue #3
New York, NY 10128"

My birthday is this coming Wednesday, the 8th, so don't forget my Wish List is still mostly unfulfilled (eternal gratitude to anyone who buys me a juicer, and Catherine who bought me Crouching Tiger on DVD...) I'm going to postpone having a party until September, I think, when more people are around. Everyone is going away next weekend, and that's when I'd wanted to have it, so I'm going to have an "it's a month after my birthday and you should feel guilty for missing it by being away so buy me nice presents" party.

Andrew is probably leaving New York sooner rather than later. Damn it all, everyone that I like is leaving or has left.

Have some pictures while I ruminate on the fact that all my friends are going away or already gone.

Another Sign photo! (Where's yours??)

The swimming hole in Meghan's backyard

Meghan's waterfall

Lunch at the Red Lion Inn

Don't forget to Subscribe to updates and to send me more fan signs.

I keep seeing such bizzare entries in my referer logs. Just say hi and where you're logging in from or something. I mean, the treasury department? I've seen a bunch of law firms, too. I have no idea who you all are, just tell me.