The Trials of May, The Summer of George
May has been a complete wash for me. I haven't had time to do anything I've wanted to do in my spare time (except taking time to have a wonderful fifth anniversary dinner with Dinka). I found myself missing Veronika even though I never left home. The weather changed and the weeks passed but I just kept moving, head down and nose to the grindstone. As I look back on the last few sentences, I realize how completely unacceptable this is. A month is a long time, certainly too big of a part of one's life to let pass without noticing.
To combat this trend, I took a number of steps in the last week of May that I believe are an indication that a better summer is in store. Each is worthy of exploration in its own post but let's face it, that will never happen (speaking of posts that will never happen, go see the new Star Wars. It's really good, the best of the new ones by far and can run with the old ones. Imagine what you liked about all the other ones but with legitimate drama, with feeling.). I'm not sure if this if a sure-fire method for breaking out of a rut for everyone, but it can't be a bad start:
- Discover port. Why didn't anyone let me in on the sweet secret of port earlier? I had always wanted to try it but didn't have the guts to buy a whole bottle without knowing what I was getting myself into. I finally had the occasion to order it in a restaurant (the aforementioned anniversary) and I was not disappointed. Having no idea which to choose or even what the different varieties were, I went with a 10-year-old tawny. It was very nice--something sweet in place of dessert (but not cloying like those disgustingly sugary white dessert wines) yet with the addition of brandy for a little extra fortitude. It would be useful if you wanted an after dinner drink but for whatever reason cognac was too strong an option. Since then I've purchased a bottle, of course--a 1998 Dow's Late-Bottled Vintage--and it has been helping me along for a week now. More information for interested parties: informational Wikipedia entry, Seattle PI primer with recommendations.
- Eat at Shake Shack. Last week I commuted into the Big City for a training class, which was cool because I could pretend that I was working in New York without changing a thing. However, the novelty of taking a train into Grand Central and a 5 train downtown wears off by mid-week when the exhaustion of keeping that schedule sets in. In order to take a 9 - 5 class, I had to leave the house by 6:40 a.m. and wouldn't get back until 7:00 p.m. at best. The upside was a lot of train time for reading, but the huge downside was barely seeing Veronika. Needless to say, commuting into the city isn't going to happen any time soon.
Anyway, class got out a little early on Friday afternoon and I took the opportunity to wander over to the much talked about Shake Shack. Even though New York magazine recently deemed their burger the best in New York, I was only interested in one thing--their Chicago Dog. I love Chicago-style hot dogs like no other and, having been a resident of the Chicagoland area, I know what a real one should be like. I never dreamed it would be so hard to find a legitimate Chicago dog on the East Coast but until Friday, I had had no luck (that's ten months of withdrawal, for those keeping count). My judgment may have been altered by the fact that I was jonesing for a Chicago-style so bad, but I think Shake Shack's was one of the best I've ever had. It had all the right ingredients, high quality and in perfect proportion. It was such a sublime experience that I had to capture it in a photo album. Click here to view An Afternoon at Shake Shack. - Spend a perfect day with your family. On Memorial Day, I finally had the opportunity to spend a whole day with the family and we took advantage of it. We spent a couple of hours biking up and down the Putnam County Trailway, Veronika in tow in her new bike trailer and Digby alongside on leash. It was a beautiful day and the trail winds scenically through lush New York forests. Veronika narrated the entire trip, Digby trotted bravely along like the miniature horse he is, and we all had a great time. Afterwards we got lunch at Quiznos, the greatest of all sandwich chains, where I ordered my usual--the Turkey Ranch & Swiss--while Veronika ate a whole container of pickles. After a long nap at home, we finished the night with a dinner of grilled filet mignon with friends. Not a bad day to end the month.
So you see, there's hope after all. June will be better, I know it.