Hot Time, Summer in the City

I slept 3.5 hours Thursday night before heading to DIA to catch an early flight. I usually have plenty of time to spare but this time I think I managed to subconsciously confuse the boarding time and the departing time so I ended up getting to the gate just ten minutes before departure and I was the last person on board. But I did make it and fell immediately to sleep, only waking when the wheels hit the runway for my connection in Milwaukee. That's the way to do it. I didn't sleep all of the next flight though. I ordered my usual cran-apple beverage, but I think maybe I should start opting for Ginger Ale.

The sights of New Jersey were all there to great me in the area surrounding Newark airport: huge industrial lots, waste dumps, a giant Fedex depot, factories and parking lots full of stretch limousines and hummers. Somehow I have managed to schedule a trip into NYC on the hottest day in NYC in my lifetime (2nd hottest ever with #1 happening in 1977, before I was born). I took the train into Penn Station. Then I walked to a private luggage storage facility between Penn Station and Port Authority so I wouldn't have to schlep a suitcase and my alto sax around all day. I stopped to enjoy an authentic NYC dirty water dog as well. Then I headed to the west side to meet Matt at The Kitchen and pick up a spare key to his lower east side apartment, where I'd be crashing that night. Then back into the hot-and-stinky subway up to the upper west side to meet Chris and Alex and Amy for burgers and shakes at Shake Shack. It was fun to chat and catch up. We wondered around to the Apple Store afterward. Alex noticed that the computers upstairs had sleek little Apple cables locking them down, but in the lower level there were no cables, so he proceeded to investigate by disconnecting the ethernet cable from one of the laptops. Instantly, a loud siren started blaring throughout the entire store. Chris and I tried to walk away from the culprit inconspicuously. It took several minutes for an employee to do whatever they need to do to stop the alarm. They didn't approach us or say anything so I figure the siren probably says all that needs saying. I looked at Alex and said "I can't wait to tweet about this". :-)

Alex headed home and Chris and I talked some more over by Lincoln Center. Then I took the subway down to the Lower East Side for a much-needed cool shower and the respite of air conditioning. I was gross with sunscreen, sweat, and NYC stink. Later than night my old band-mate from Confunktion Junction, Satish, came in and we met up at a dive bar called Iggy's in the Lower East Side to chat and catch up. We talked a long time and I even drank two whole beers, which happens about once a year for me. I called it quits around 2am and went across the street for a banana nutella crepe which was fantastic.

The next morning (technically this morning, but it's been a long day so it feels like yesterday) I made a valiant effort to get to Murray's Bagels since Satish said they were the best in NYC, but I had incorrect information about their location and didn't have time. So I just got my luggage out of storage and headed to Port Authority to catch the bus out to my parents' place. I slept soundly for the first hour of the bus ride. My Mom asked later if the bus stopped at Newark Airport or not and I had to admit I hadn't the slightest clue since I was out like the dead.

I met my new nephew Daniel Lyons Murzenski today. He is about 10 weeks old and he's super duper adorable. He likes to be held in a belly-down position kind of surfing on your arm and craning his neck up a bit to peek around every so often. I also played with his older brother Will who is now 2 and talking up a storm and running around all over the place. We played a lot of legos and went in the swing for a bit. The Pizzis came out in the afternoon for a collective July birthday celebration with yummy food and good chocolate cake for dessert. I was totally exhausted by 9:30 pm and so I went to bed. I only slept three hours though so now I'm awake and it's 4:30am here. I think I can go back to sleep, though. More NJ fun planned for tomorrow including sitting in on a Sunny Daze gig on the boardwalk in Asbury Park.