Catching up

Once again, the blog has been neglected. My readers cry for help from the ditch beside the road. For the last two weeks, I've simply gathered my robes and hurried about my life, looking the other way.

But I'm back. Never again will I let this happen. I have started afresh. A new leaf. An open book. The curtain rises.

Yeah, yeah. Right. Get over it, readers. I'm busy, okay? It's called residency! Yes, I know, I know, it's anesthesia, but I'm still working harder than those Wall Street traders I know. So two weeks went by. It's happened before; it'll happen again.

(To my more mild-mannered and gentle readers, I apologize for that brief tirade, but it must be understood by those nervy patrons of Mulberry Street who is the one writing this blog.)

So here we are. I wanted to share a brief synopsis--the highlight reel--of my busy September weekends.

September 1-4 Labor Day weekend. New & old friends Jessica, Michael, and Sarah in town. We strolled the Brooklyn Bridge, ate pastrami elbow-to-elbow with strangers at the Carnegie Deli, and braved the rain on our self-guided tour of Columbia. I cooked a garlic-embedded leg of lamb one evening, which we enjoyed. One particular fellow sitting ahead of us at Spamalot did not seem to enjoy the garlic during the funnier parts of the musical. And then there was the stroll through the park, sushi & sake, dim sum, and the Empire State Building. I did more tourist things that one weekend than in two full months in The City.

September 8-10 The weekend started with my birthday on Friday spent on short call. Yippee. Roommate Clay treated me to dinner that night at what is destined not to be our new neighborhood hangout, Rancho Jubilee. Dark. Candle-lit. Caribbean decor. Creepy romantic Latin music. At least the shrimp and sauces were good! The next day friends from Philadelphia--Luke, Marianne, and Lucy--came in town. We had brunch at a sports bar, I finally visted the Cloisters, and later we enjoyed Magnolia cupcakes in Washington Square Park. On Sunday I hung out with Justin after church on the "urban beach" of Columbia's steppy mall, and picnicked in Central Park with other residents. And by sheer, random chance met William, whom my sister knew in Fort Worth.

September 16, 17 Overnight call on Saturday has a way of eating up the weekend. Thankfully there was still time for church, lunch at a cheap Mexican place with Alex, and a little social activism at the Darfur rally in Central Park where I met up with my cousins Lucia (accent over the i) and Johanna (pronounced with a y). I accompanied Johanna to afternoon church at Redeemer's East Side service. And oh yes, chanced upon William--this time with wife Katherine--yet again, entirely randomly on the street.

September 22-24 Fellowship group with my church on Friday night at Andy's amazing brownstone apartment. 12 foot ceilings, and a bay window looking out onto a tree-lined street on the Upper West Side. I arose at 0500 the following morning to take a subway to Chinatown. Awaiting my connection at 59th Street, I enjoyed listening to a few jackhammers busy at work early on a Saturday morning! The Chinatown bus took me to Washington D.C., about which I'll write more in a future post.