Farewell, Hell's Kitchen

© Joselito Briones

I spent most of the morning doing all the tedious things I'd really rather not do, but had to. Phoned a lot of people, and companies. Arranged for roll over of 401(k), cancelled fax account, photocopied documents, mailed Norie's pins, mailed documents for the rollover, mailed application for renewal of license, bought train tickets to South Norwalk, took train schedule booklets from Grand Central.

After all these, I walked around my old neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen and took pictures: the restaurants I frequented, the ones I frequently called to have food delivered to me, the cafe' I used to go to for breakfast on weekends, the heavenly cupcakes, the fish market, the video store, the grocery. I'd show you all the photos, but there's so much there's no space here, so let me just show you this one, from Cupcake Cafe.


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It's the (good) witch's birthday today

© Joselito Briones

72 years ago today, a girl with magical powers was born. Her parents christened her Lea. She grew up to be the prettiest (and coolest) girl in the land. She fell in love with a fervent admirer. They got married and brought into this world eight loving kids.

Had the first seven kids not known that Lea loved them all just as much, they would have been jealous of the youngest, a boy, as Lea seemed to have shown him so much love and attention. This was not lost in the youngest, who grew up very close to her.

He remembers all the times she performed magic, like those times when he was ill and all she had to do was give him the gentlest kiss on the forehead and everything was suddenly alright. He also remembers the time she made him realize that he was totally capable of doing something selfless. And how could he possibly forget the earliest childhood recollection he had (at age 3!), a moment of clarity, when she explained to him the meaning of being considerate and kind, and he completely understood?

For this child, she remains, the prettiest (and coolest) person in the world.


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P.S.
She now lives in California, but she's presently in Carmona to celebrate her birthday. I spoke with her on the phone and she said she's having her bingo pals over, and Toto is roasting a pig for her party. She sends her regards.


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Cowgirls' night out tonight

© Joselito Briones

Jane and I went out tonight. She picked me up from Eric's. First stop was Cowgirl. We found a parking space close enough. As i already had dinner, I just ordered dessert. Brownie a la mode. Warmed up. Very good. And latte. Jane had chicken quesadilla and strawberry flavored frozen martini. Their nachos and beans dip was really good too, considering it's a free starter.

After dinner, we grabbed a couple of magazines and sat on a sidewalk bench nearby to see where we can go. While browsing through them on a bench on the street, Natalie Portman passed by, with two gay boys and a girl in tow. I guess now that she has a movie out, she has to keep a high profile. Her hair is now longer than in her movie "V" and she wore a headband. Btw, why are people giving so much hoopla over her allegedly naked photos in Vanity Fair Magazine, when she's not really showing anything?



We decided to go to Henrietta Hudson's. Only, they wouldn't let us in, because they said they only allow a guy in if he's accompanied by at least 2 girls. WTF??? Jane and I decided to go somewhere else, only we couldn't decide where, and it was possible most of the other bars she wants to go to will have the same door policy. We decided to split up. I left her at Ruby Fruit's, and I walked around.

I just walked around West Village and Greenwich Village. When I got tired of it I walked around the Meat Packing District. Great night to go strolling. The area is full of clubs with long lines of impossibly beautiful people outside waiting to get in. After an hour I went back to Ruby Fruit's. Turns out they don't have the same door policy, they even let me in without the cover charge. The place is nice and cosy, the crowd was very mixed. Had a beer there. After a while we decided to go somewhere else, so we drove a little and ended up at Cubby Hole. The crowd here was more mixed. More relaxed. Another beer.

After this, Jane suggested we go to Grand Central to get the info on trains going to Connecticut. The place was closed. This was 3:45am. Then she suggested we get some hot noodle soup at Republic, in Union Square. It was already closed when we got there. We went to Chinatown instead. Where else but Hop Kee's. We had chicken and wonton soup, deep friend won ton, and steamed dumplings. They're all basically the same. The place was yet again full of Filipinos. The crowd this early in the morning was young though. It was already 4:30am when we left.

It was already 5am when Jane dropped me in front of Eric's building.


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