Seasonal Changes

I can’t believe it’ll be September in 2 days, which means that summer is coming to a close and the end of the year will be right around the corner before you know it. It’s time for seasonal changes.

I haven’t been blogging the past week since I’ve been buried with work since coming back from my holiday. When I got back to work, I only had 2 weeks to finish up the files that were assigned to me in my old unit before my new assignment started. Last Thursday and Friday, I had to pack up my old desk and move things to my new desk. It was actually pretty sad putting my books away in boxes. It almost felt like I was leaving the office, period (instead of just moving to a new desk across the hall from my old one). My old team even threw my co-worker and I a going-away pizza party to bid us good luck with our new unit. I’ll definitely miss my teammates from my old unit. Things definitely come and go:

--my good friend Bryan from law school is moving back to his home state, Minnesota. I’ve been friends with him since our first year of law school and we used to hang out a lot (especially when I still lived in Manhattan). There’s actually five of us –we’ve dubbed ourselves the “Party Posse” and we all met in law school. While we haven’t been as close as we used to be, we still hang out on a regular basis (along with the rest of the PP). He quit his job recently and is now starting a new business with his friend back home. Good luck B! At least he’ll be back and forth.

--my good friend Annie (another PP member) is also ending her job as a law clerk (in the same courthouse where I work). Judicial clerkships are only year-long positions and her last day is tomorrow. I won’t be able to eat lunch with her anymore. Boo-erns. Seeing her everyday kind of reminded us of law school, and I know working here won’t be the same without her.

At least I had an activity-packed weekend to buffer some of the changes. I was supposed to go to Los Angeles this past Thursday to see The Cure, but because of work and more pressing matters, I thought it best not to go anymore. I’m trying not to dwell on the fact that I missed them! So here’s what I did instead (accompanying pictures to be posted shortly):

--went out for drinks on Friday after-work to celebrate the end of the law clerks’ stints. We played the “I Never” Game which is always fun (not to mention racy!). I only had 3 drinks, but by the time I drove home, I had a banging headache!

--went to a birthday party Friday night (in the Lower East Side area of NYC). The thing about going to bars/lounges is that nothing happens before 11:30 pm. We got there at 10:30 pm (because the party was supposed to start at 10 pm) but no one was there. So the hubs and I walked around to buy some time. By then my headache was still going on full force and I knew that I would not be drinking anymore that night. Then we went back to the joint and people finally started to arrive. It started to get busy by midnight, but we left at 1 am because the hubs had to wake up early for golf the next day (and I still had my headache and felt nauseated by then).

--went guitar and drum set shopping Saturday afternoon with my bandmate Angela. She and I both came home empty-handed. I’m in the market for an acoustic-electric guitar, but I didn’t want to shell out more than $300 for the model that I liked. Maybe after I’ve done more research. And part of me is still hoping for a Gibson electric model. The Gibson dream may not end up happening though because most necks of the models I actually like are pretty thick. I have small hands and need a neck that’s on the smaller side, if possible. Angela came home empty-handed because she really has no place to put a drum set at the moment. Our band (still un-named at this point) is shopping around for a studio that we can rent on a monthly basis. So far, we alternate practices between this studio we rent ($40 for 2 hours) and Jesica’s (the band-leader) house (her room is pretty hooked up with a track recorder and some amps). We’d like a place to call home though. Tonight, we’re back at the studio.

--early Saturday night, we went to Annie’s place for my friend Bryan’s going-away party. It was a Party Posse reunion of sorts. We were there from 5:30 to midnight which is a pretty long time. Ate tons of food, had some drinks, and basically just hung out. We also played a mean game of Trivial Pursuit that was pretty neck and neck. Good times. Good times.

--Sunday morning, the hubs and I drove down to Point Pleasant Beach, NJ. It’s about 1.5 hours away from home and this is the first time we’ve been down there. This is the 4th time I’ve been “down the shore” and most folks are aghast when they hear it. You see, during the summertime here in NY and NJ, people flock to the beaches for the weekend and stay in the shore houses. New Yorkers go to the Hamptons for the summer (which is great with me because traffic and parking problems are greatly alleviated) and the NJ-ites go “down the shore.” They end partying and drinking, but that’s not my scene and that is definitely not my crowd either. The hubs and I spent half the day at Pt. Pleasant just sunbathing, reading, wading in the water, and walking down the Boardwalk. I had a great time and got a bit more tanned.

--Sunday night, we also went to Queens to see my mom and dad (and score a free dinner). On the way there, we saw a slew of military choppers over the George Washington Bridge, reminding us that the Republican National Convention (RNC) has arrived. It's great how they chose Madison Square Garden of all places (which sits atop Penn. Station --the world's busiest station). I saw news footage of all the protests so far and it's just crazy. About 200+ have been arrested so far. Traffic is crazy.

Home was good. The folks are good. My dad thinks my hair is too short (I cut it last Sunday and yes, it is short). I also hung out with my bros and played video games (I used to play more, but now, not so much.) We left relatively early and were home by 8:15 pm. Watched the MTV Video Music Awards the rest of the night.

Now, it’s DAY ONE of my stint at the Juvenile Unit. I have no calendar today, so I’ve spent the morning unpacking, re-arranging my desk, cleaning up, and updating my blog. I won’t have a calendar until this Thursday, so I’m spending my time preparing for a trial tomorrow, and (still) working on files from my old unit.