08.22.04 - 8:40 p.m.

Self-taught guitar lessons are progressing. Slowly. I can now play the first third of the 12-bar blues as well as the verse portion of "She Says." Both VERY SLOWLY. It's a start. I love how the fingers on my left hand are all numb and tingly when I'm done practicing. The tingle says that I am ACCOMPLISHING something.

Bocce and Barbecue 2004 was not a complete bust. It rained during the scheduled bocce portion of the evening, but stopped in time for smores and grilling, and did not affect the drunkenness one bit. Everyone laughed at the fact that I seem to pick up one or two friends at each of my many jobs. There was one person in attendance from more or less every stage of my life save grad school and high school. Nobody got stung by the bee, I had marshmallow all over my face, and Carey D was back in the house.

Drinking with Carey D is always a good time. We ended up at Down the Hatch on Thursday to celebrate her return to the city. She was upset because somehow, in the year she's been in Denver, she's somehow lost her internal subway map and got off at Union Square, THEN started walking in the wrong direction. I sympathize. The same thing has already happened to me with Chicago, and it's scary to have the city you love and know so well slip away from your memory. You can love a city like you can love a person.

Then we had wings and two buckets of beer, and made friends with girls who were in town from Minneapolis for the weekend, and all was good. Conversation:
Me: "Can we do another bucket?"
Carey: "Of course we can do another bucket!"
Me: "I know we CAN, that's not the issue, but, I mean, it's 10:30, and work, and...[signals bartender] Another bucket, please?"

I am such a pushover.

This week, I have to buy two birthday presents (one for Dan, one for Carol), possibly grab a D4D hoodie for Jess and stop by, um, the (small embarrassed voice) Prada sample sale. Dan's gift is [something I can't mention here in case he reads - let's give him a little bit of a surprise] and Carol's gift is the Babbo cookbook, autographed if Mario's in town this week. All of these things can easily be found on the island of Manhattan. I can see how it seeps into you. I can see how eventually, you could never consider the possibility of leaving.

Oh, and did I mention that Dan and I are going to see R.E.M. and Bruce Springsteen on October 1st? In Philadelphia, so that's a reason to leave for the night. Our two favorite bands, together, as if they especially planned it for us. I tell you, it brings a tear to one's eye.