stay-cation

i've said it before, and i'll say it again: one of the best things about living in new york is that everyone comes here to visit, which means i keep getting to see people i would not get to see otherwise.

sunday i had brunch with a friend of mine from college (she is still finishing up, spending the summer interning in nyc) at the marvelous sette in park slope (i say go for brunch; it's fixed price, including unlimited cocktails, whee!), and we spent a few hours catching up on each others' lives and college gossip. afterwards i headed uptown to spend the afternoon on the backyard patio of a garden apartment on the upper west side, sweating and cracking jokes with s's studiomates at their summer party. (it has been a very long time since i sat in someone's backyard. i want a garden apartment.)

today i had dinner with my high school boyfriend, now someone i can consider a friend. (it took some work.) his great-grandmother, a fantastic old new yorker who i had the pleasure of getting to know when i was at nyu, just passed away at 99 years old, and he was in town for her memorial. i got to see his parents, too, whom i had not seen in a few years (apparently the family were all asking about me.) we went to curly's lunch (he's a big vegetarian too), and caught up about our lives and the lives of our high school friends. it was really fun to see him again--now that we've gotten beyond the tears (me) and weirdness (him) of our high-school-sweetheart-break-up, i really enjoy his company as a friend. he also lives a totally different life from me or anyone else i know (river raft guide/snowboarding instructor/nature teacher--aka, most like to go "into the wild"), which makes for very entertaining stories.

it's always fun to see old friends. thank you, new york.