Beth, Billy and Beaches

Beth was in town for work yesterday, so I got to see her and Christine last evening. I met them, and one of their co-workers, at Heche en Dumbo in the East Village. It was so great to see Bethy's smiling face. I miss my girlfriends. Afterward, since we spent much of the evening talking about non-personal things, she and I cabbed it back to our apt so we could have a good catch up. It was good for my soul to see her. :) At one point in the evening, a girl struck up a conversation with me. She moved from NY to Shanghai 7 months ago. I asked her about the social life--had she met a lot of people? She said, "There's a big ex-pat population there, so I've met a lot of people. They're not really close friends like my NY friends, though." Somehow that's how I picture my time in NYC. I'll make friends, but they won't be like my KC friends. I don't see how they could be.

The weather has continued to be gorgeous. Yesterday, after Frederick kicked my butt at Pilates, I walked to the South Street Seaport (by way of Ground Zero) to go to TKTS. I got a 9th row ticket to Billy Elliott for today's matinee. I can't wait to see it. I took my first foray into Lululemon, and I have a feeling I could spend a lot of money there. I stopped by the library on the way home. Fortunately, they're less picky than banks: I can get a library card with any bill, not just a utility bill. So that's on my to-do list for this week. After walking for miles, I took a nap in Hudson River Park for an hour or so. Heaven.

Last weekend, we went to the Jersey Shore to see Lina and Tom. Bob was there on Friday, too, and Joyce and her family spent much of Saturday with us. It was great to catch up with the clan. They're hilarious and keep me laughing all the time. Rafe and Hero came too, so it was a full house. The kids are getting so big. The last time I saw Nat, he was in a pumpkin seat. I took the three of them for a walk on Saturday, which ended up being a trip to the beach. There's a rocky pier that has holed bored into the rock which turn into fountains when the tide comes in. We didn't realize that, and it was a huge surprise for Nat when he got an ocean enema. He got over it pretty quickly, though, once he started digging in the sand. We had intended to come home on Saturday, but ended up in a hotel with Rafe and Hero Saturday night instead. It's not a bad train ride--only 90 minutes, and you're at the beach.

I got myself signed up for Art History 201 at the Met last week. That should be fun...