#26: Friends (NYC reunion)

Taking a rest after some bouldering at Brooklyn Boulders

In April I got to see some friends from Korea! One was my good friend (and later, boss) who is currently on a three-month vacation around the world.

She stopped in New York, so most of us on the East Coast could come meet up. We used to all come hang out at her cafe/pub in Korea - and then continue the night after she closed up shop by carousing downtown the rest of the evening. Until finally, the buses would start up again, around 5:30 AM, and we could make our way back home.

 At her cafe we would play board games, talk politics and philosophy and other thinky-nerdy stuff. The rest of the night was typically mindless shenanigans. So, there were a lot of good memories with these folks. It was great to have another night or two like that with them. It was a year (this month) since I left Korea. Excellent timing for a reunion.

Beautiful spring flowers!

We went bouldering the first day, over in Brooklyn at Brooklyn Boulders, which was super chill and fun! Then, checked off "east delicious NY pizza" off our list before heading back to Harlem for the night. The next morning, we made breakfast together at the apartment and went out to see the National Tartan Day Parade in downtown Manhattan.

Sam Heughan aka Jamie Fraser

It was a cold, drizzly day, and I was the one that was dying to go see the parade (THANK YOU MY DEAR FRIENDS FOR PUTTING UP WITH ME AND MY OBSESSIONS!!!). My friends were good sports about the weather as we went speed-walking through the crowds to get to the front of the parade. That was where the main focus of my attention was, wearing a kilt on top of a double-decker tour bus: Sam Heughan, one of the star actors in the tv series, Outlander.

I've read the books and love them, and the tv show has been fantastic so far (mom and I obsess over the show together. It's good to have something to bond over -_^). Sam plays the character, Jamie Fraser, who is the most dreamy man in fiction (sorry Sherlock, Gambit, and the Winchester boys). Both a studly, brave, warrior of a man, as well as a thoughtful, wise, and loving husband ::swoon:: Doesn't fiction just ruin real life sometimes?

That evening we played downtown like we were back in Korea: 5 PM to 5 AM.

We started with two Japanese restaurants (Kenka was especially...unique) to get our appetites started (and the drinks flowing), followed by one bar for a quick shot (The 13th Step), and then on to a bar with tall ceilings (Off the Wagon) and cheap beer.

After that, we went to enjoy great jazz at Groove, near Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. There was an amazing bass player in the band! We danced and cheered our hearts out until they closed up for the evening. We even got a picture with the band!

Our food break - because you need to refuel if you want to keep the night going - was shawarma, and then a final bar of the evening.

This last place we went to, we went straight to the back where they had a room (very different from their front bar), that was all "red velvet this" and "fringe on the lamps that" and mood lighting that helped accentuate the fact that they had fireplace in the corner. They made their own vodka there, so we got the house special: lemon vodka martini. So yummy! I guess it was kind of like a "speakeasy" sort of bar (although, it's not like we needed any special code to get in or anything). Google let me know later that this was The Fat Black Pussycat. Google really is on the fast track to become my new bf.

It was a wonderful night of laughing, dancing, hugging, singing and even some crying (why did I put so much hot sauce on my shawarma?!). I was beyond happy. Just, totally in love with being there, goofing around with my Korean friends again (as in, we met in Korea... only one was actually Korean).

This reinforces my need to hurry and make money so I can go back and visit. "I dream it, I work hard, I grind 'till I own it." (Beyonce) (she totally rocks.)


KJets