Dancing on the edges of storms

The first flakes started to fall as I walked out of the rest area on I-91. I was roughly an hour and a half away from Brooklyn, on a trip to visit some friends in New York City and roll some dice. There were several options that I agonized over all weekend long, but in the end I chose the Big Apple for a long overdue visit. The snow fell faster and faster, and the traffic moved slower and slower as I turned on to I-95. Leaving early was definitely the smart idea, I could afford to just take my time and enjoy the snow fall. The enjoyment started to fade when I realized I missed my turn and was about to head into New Jersey. What seemed like an easy off and back on again turned into a forty-five minute jaunt through Dykson and the South Harlem river road. Finally I recognized 138th street, and turned on to that. The snow was falling thick and deep, but I found a good place to pull over. A quick phone call to Larry and I was google mapped back on track in four easy steps.
What could have been a tense and stressful day turned into an amusing tale, one I shared with Arash over pad se yu in a local Thai restaurant. It was to be the first of many delicious meals I had on my whirlwind tour of The City. We spent a little time painting and watching Layer Cake, and then left for the Playwrite pub in Manhatten. It was a club hangout for the guys I was gaming with this weekend. One of them had a girlfriend who tended bar, so the drinks were plentiful and deeply discounted. The dozens of flatscreen monitors on the screen surprised me; they were all showing horse racing, and had a betting window in the back of the pub. They even had a TV in the toliet!
I met Jarrett (the Marine reservist), Jeremy (the birthday boy) and Andy (master gamer from England) Dark colors must definitely be in style in New York, because my hoodie was easily the brightest thing in the bar. I took it off and ordered another drink. Jarrett took one look at my shiny button up shirt underneath and said "you might want to put that back on, we aren't going to any S and M clubs tonight." I smirked, but stayed as I was. We carried on until they kicked us downstairs, and switched from beers to shots and mixed drinks. The temptation to stay out drinking and carousing was growing, but I had a long day ahead of me, and a long drive back to Boston. I bowed out, and Arash and I returned home. There's all knids of trouble I could get into. Perhaps I'll return when it's warmer and look for some.

Tomorrow: tasty food, a cheap Santa hat, and fighter jockey focus. Plus, the story behind the KHHAAAANNNN!