Fleet Week 2008

He was so young. So adorable.

So lost.

I wrote on his palms so he could get back to his boat.

He thinks my name is Amber.
(Because I told him that.)

'Til next year, boys!

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My Tumblr stole your sailor hat.

I'm back. And sober.

Documenting my ride in the yellow Mustang
Originally uploaded by DrunkBrunch.

Back to work after four days of wine tasting and walking among naked men on the streets of San Francisco. True story.

The Bay to Breakers 12K run/walk was an amazing time. San Francisco is such a peaceful and friendly town. Everyone is always smiling. For no reason at all! Can you imagine that on a daily basis here? I long for the day that someone holds a door for me during rush hour.

Guys were always talking to me in SF. (Even the straight ones!) One dude said that I smelled nice, and he didn't appear to mean it in a creepy way. A male conductor gave me a free all-day trolley pass and didn't even give me a once-over or that dirty old man wink. I think San Francisco might be the Land of Respect. Of course, everything's rose-tinted after you drink rosé in Napa.

I feel like my love life would fare well there. Well, anything's a step up from the lackluster encounters I seem to have with New York men lately.

Yawn.

I leave tomorrow for a bachelorette party in New Orleans (oh, the irony), which will surely be interesting. Especially since my 2004 trip to NOLA is still a blur due to happy hours specials like "Buy 1 Get 3 Free." Can't wait!

OH! And it's Fleet Week! I came back on Tuesday and didn't find out until tonight that it's the biggest week of my calendar year, so I have some serious catching up to do tonight with sailors.

San Francisco / Napa Valley / Bay to Breakers 2008 [Flickr]

(There really are a lot of pictures of old naked dudes. You'll deal.)

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My Tumblr learned that she does like Sauvignon Blanc, after all.

Bee Scene: Get on the List

I know it's not a Friday, but today's my day on neighborbee!

Today's Bee Scene is about Hipster Travel, a great website run by my pal Evan. He searches for the best events around town and compiles them into one massive weekly e-mail. Hipster Travel totally helps me plan my social life.

This will be my last post until I return from vacation next week.
Napa Valley, here I come!

(The wineries will have to restock after I leave.)

Get thee to the 'bee!

Yelp! Meat! Wine! This post has it all.

Horses galloped while I gulped.
Originally uploaded by DrunkBrunch.

I may have a problem.

I'm a recent newcomer to Yelp and fear I may already be addicted. Although, I'm not quite sure why I need yet another site to write about my favorite activities and restaurants.

(Side bar: have you added neighborbee to your daily reads? Do it! Now!)

So far I am loving Yelp. It's another venue that allows me be an obnoxious, rambling jackhole with very little censorship. . . not unlike this blog.

Tonight I wrote about my experience at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que:

"The guy sitting next to me said something about a 'full rack.' I politely said thank you, but it appeared he was ordering off the menu and not speaking to me at all. (Full racks were around $20). My bad."

My review also mentions something about a "meat party in my mouth." Ahem, have I mentioned that I'm single? This site's gonna be a problem.

Know what else I put in my mouth? (Um, where is this going...) Wine! The Gang and I went wine tasting on the North Shore this weekend for Alice's birthday. And oh, how we tasted. The Gang drank so much that we got down-and-dirty with children and goats in the wild outdoor jungle that is Long Island.

There's no way I can redeem myself after that last sentence, so let me just say that spending a sunny day outdoors in the country helped take my mind off the crazy that is my personal life right now.

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My Tumblr drank a whole bottle by herself too.

It's my day on neighborbee!

Keith Haring bathroom
Originally uploaded by DrunkBrunch.

Stop by neighborbee today and see my post about Keith Haring's artwork around NYC.

This week would have been Haring's 50th birthday. While he left us too soon, his talents live on in the form of public art displays that are accessible to everyone, which was how he believed art should be. I wrote about a walking tour that features many of Haring's works in Manhattan.

Yup, that's a picture of a penis and group sex (which is also the background on my cell phone). Gotta love public art.

Happy Friday!

Sigh. I'm back at work, grudgingly.

Hamptons heaven

Apparently the ocean has WiFi.

Right now I can see Montauk to the south, Connecticut to the north and thousands of stars above me. I am sitting on the ocean surfing... the Internet. Yes, apparently East Hampton has the World Wide Web evevywhere, even on the water.

We arrived here this afternoon, ditched our rental car and let our host drive us around. Before our site visits, he drove us by the houses of Martha Stewart, Kelly Klein (Calvin's ex), Steven Spielberg and the house from Grey Gardens. Martha has really nice gardens, natch. The gratuitous displays of wealth are overwhelming and somewhat sickening, but I always get over it quickly because, um, it's really pretty.

We had dinner at The Laundry, a restaurant I only knew as a place where famous people dined, according to People magazine. The nice thing about being in the Hamptons in the spring (I'm usually only here in July for work) is that the restaurants need business, so they offer excellent prix fixe specials. Tonight I had a first course of mussels in white wine sauce and a meal of gnocchi with pancetta, mushroom and crab meat. Simply incredible. It's really lovely here, since the cherry blossoms are in bloom and there are daffodils everywhere. Being out here has taken my mind off everything.

I am literally sleeping next door to Samantha. How hilarious is that. My boss and I plan to take a picture of her SUV tomorrow morning. I'll have amazing pictures to share.

Headed east

"Will she be able to golf on my wedding day?"

That was my brother's question when I finally reached him on the phone today. I broke the news and he seemed to take it well. Shortly after, my mom called me at work and just... sat on the phone. She said she just wanted to hear my voice.

I thought 2008 was going to be better than last year. Doesn't seem that way anymore, at least right now, and I really need it to be. I'm hoping I can stay strong for everyone, although I broke down on the phone with Alice tonight. I'm still in the process of calling all the family members and it's killing me. I've never had to do anything like this before and admit it's a weird experience. I still need to tell my dad.

There's a tradition on Mom's side regarding the morning of a family member's wedding. My brother, father, various uncles and cousins will play a round of golf before my brother walks down the aisle that afternoon. My aunt is a damn good golfer and is expected to join them. I hope she can.

I get a brief respite this week, as I'm currently packing to work in East Hampton for a couple days. I'm hoping a visit to my favorite restaurant out there as well as a quiet walk around town will calm me down and rebuild my strength.