Siddity In The City

The District.

So. I took the Amtrak choo choo both ways, and a rousing gloryamenandhallalujah to that. The trip down on Friday only clocked about 3 hours and change. No time stuck in NY/NJ/PA/MD/DC traffic. None. Beauty. When I got in, my BFF met me at the station. BFF is awesome, and has been my BFF forever, since our first day of college. I hadn't seen her in months, since, you know, she had the nerve to up and move to D.C, about five years ago and hasn't seen fit to move back. Today is her birthday. Lotta things to celebrate this weekend, you see. So we headed out for eats and catching up. Our first stop was Bardia's New Orleans Cafe in Adams Morgan. Damn. Fine. Gumbo. Mmmmm, gumbo. I could have eaten there for every meal the whole weekend and been okay. After dinner, BFF and I strolled back to her place to bunk down for the night, and by bunk down, I mean play so much Katamari Damacy that my eyeballs tried to leap from my head before I finally quit to give them a rest. Have you played Katamari Damacy? Because if you haven't, you should. In it, you are a little tiny prince of the Cosmos and you have to run around rolling up little bits of the world on this thing called a katamari and do it fast and make big balls of stuff that will be turned into stars! I know how it sounds, but it is like the crack rock of gaming, man. Trust me. Saturday, we actually got up early and went outside just long enough to procure provisions for brunch, brought them back, and played more Katamari for...five...hours. At least five was when I stopped counting. Then we went out to have nummies at Meskerem. Again. Damn. Fine. Eatin'. I don't usually like injera so much, but I even loved that, perhaps because the dishes themselves were so good. I had the, uh, yebeg kay wat, I think. BFF ordered the combo-sampley dinner, and it was all just...yum. We sat around patting our tummies and sipping hot drinks at the Starchuck's up the street afterward, and talked about misery and the things/people/situations that cause it. Because, you know, I'm that kind of friend, stirring up the grumbles on your birthday eve (sorry, BFF! Loves you!) To make matters worse, I got her a birthday slice of Starchucks green apple loaf and it tasted like it was flavored with Body Shop products. Narstastic. Uh, then we went home and played some more Katamari. Katamari cures all. Sunday, we went out for derishus falafel sandwiches at Amsterdam Falafel Shop. A while back, I might have mentioned another friend's significant other extolling the virtues of the, er, Amsterdamish falafel (Amsterdam, Holland, whateves. They all talk that crazy language, whatsitcalled, oh yeah, Dutch.). Well, I dunno about the variety fried up in that distant tulip-covered, weed-tokin' land, but in its eponymous D.C. falafel shop? Quite nice. Especially since they let you tart yours up yourself with all kinds of fresh veg, sauce, hummus and baba at their falafel garnish bar. We both ate for under $20 at that one. And there's a bare-boobied lady on the wall for those who like their fried chickpea with a little...nip? Breasticle? Whatever, you are informed. Oh, also, E-love from Harlem, in AFS 10-19-05, as you proclaim in ballpoint, wherever you are right now: If you are going to tag up a public restroom, damn, at least make it interesting, okay? Thanks. Ah, you may have guessed that at this point there would be more Katamari. You'd be right. Then we made an aborted attempt at a zoo visit, and had dinner at Sake Club with BFFs SigOt. Good spicy tuna up in that piece, yo. And toasty flame lamps outside that keep the outdoor seating area very, very warm. Brilliant. Right around then I got all melancholy, as the weekend was drawing to a close and I was returing to the daily grind. Poor BFF, being the queen of kindness and generosity she is, did not say any of the following: 1. Bitch, it's my birthday. Cheer the fuck up! 2. Take your ass home! 3. Where are my magnetic spice tins? Huh? Huh? How can I coveniently store my spice in said space-saving tins if you forgot to bring them down? Huh? Nope, none of that. I miss BFF. Dammit. I hopped the train back from D.C. right after dinner and pulled into NYC before 11, reading the first book of the His Dark Materials trilogy all the while, am now enamored of Mr. Pullman. Thought I saw another fabulous NYC blogger but wasn't sure, and didn't want to roll all up on her out of nowhere, considering my track record, becase odds are good I would be totally wrong. Also, that is just weird. I've always wondered what I'd do if I saw another blogger on the street, randomly--apparently, absolutely nothing. Home before 11:30. Nice. Happy Halloween. *For the record: I didn't know Ms. Rosa was lying in state until--literally--the ticket agent in D.C. told me she was, right across the street. Great. Ten minutes before I am scheduled to board a train, I discover I've missed a chance to stand in line to maybe sorta see some hist'ry. My bad.

posted by Sid @ 10/31/2005 12:07:00 AM