Highlights Of A Random June Weekend

Okay, here are my top 5 highlights from this past weekend, a pre-VACATION weekend, no less, as I am leaving for Hawaii this coming Wednesday.

5. Hasidic Women Clad In Pink. A little fact: I live in a part of Brooklyn that borders a Hasidic neighborhood. The Hasids are always dressed in black or, if they're feeling a little crazy, a dark navy blue, coupled with a white shirt or blouse underneath. For some inexplicable reason, tonight, June 17, 2007, I saw several Hasidic women wearing clothes that were colored a bright, happy pink. The strangest thing: on their heads, they wore these wraps that looked suspiciously like the ones the Sikhs wear. It was a very strange sight, to say the least, but a nice twist on their typical drab reality. You have to wonder why they can't wear more optimistic colors on other days of the year. If anyone knows what the deal is about this, shoot me a comment, because the curiosity is driving me crazy.

4. My Mother Telling Me I Need A Girlfriend. This from the woman who, for most of my life, told me to work hard and not worry so much about relationships. And who took no prisoners as she busted the chops of every girlfriend I've ever had. Ah, the memories! Back in the day, she made one of them cry because the poor girl wouldn't leave a house party to do my mom the favor of picking up some milk at the grocery store. Then there was the time Dear Ma kept calling my ex, S., by my ex-ex's name. To this day, she swears it was an accident. I think we both know better. (S. had kind of a squeaky voice, so behind her back my mother called her "Mickey Mouse." Before you start getting all up in Mom's grill, S. turned out to be a colossal liar and cold-hearted biotch, so I'm going to write the whole thing off as her razor-sharp Sixth Sense working overtime.) More recently, there was the time she started picking on H.'s case because of a flower shirt I bought that she didn't like, claiming that H.'s influence caused me to buy it. Poor H. Mom just couldn't face the fact that maybe, just maybe, at age 36 I liked flowers on my shirts, and it didn't make me gay.

Throughout all of this b.s., Mom never got on my ass about having a girlfriend or not having one. In fact, a trained psychologist might conclude that she has, consciously or subconsciously, put up obstacles to drive them away. These days I keep most of my personal shit to myself, so in fairness, this hasn't been an issue since the mid-90s.

Dearest Mother, I'll get a fucking girlfriend (a) when I feel like having one, and (b) when the gods conspire to provide me a suitable companion.

She's just lucky today wasn't Mother's Day. And I'm lucky she doesn't read this blog.

3. Breaking Out The Bicycle For A Sunday Spin. I took the bike today for my first ride of the summer, and I found out how much I missed riding. Would have brought it out sooner but last week I inadvertently let all the air out of the front tire when I was trying to pump it up, and it took me forever -- at least 20 tries -- to figure out how to get the friggin' pump to hook onto the nozzle so I could inflate the tire. (Sometimes I have trouble getting it in.) I finally figured it out yesterday, and an enjoyable spin around the 'Burg was my reward.

2. A Nice Sunset By The Waterfront. A direct correlation to No. 3, I took the bike down by the still-decrepit-but-improving-with-every-developed-patch-of-grass Williamsburg waterfront today to watch the sun set below Manhattan. The combination of the crimson sky, the silhouetted Empire State Building, and the light's reflection off the water was truly beautiful. Then I took a spin down by Schaefer's Landing to get another view (that's where I saw the lavender Hasids). Once they turn the waterfront into parks and bike paths, it's going to be stunning. I just hope I'm living there long enough to enjoy it.

1. Meeting My Best Friend For The First Time. Long story, but it was surreal, scary, wonderful, awkward, funny, and special, all at once. : )