twodoebs

Kati recently put up an album of pictures on Kodak Easy Share Gallery (formerly oFoto). My favorites are clipped below, but you SHOULD be able to see the whole album, if you like.

One of the BESTEST parts is all the nice pictures she had of her grandfather's surprise birthday party.














Also, everyone's been clamoring for more pictures of our trip to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Kati was, therefore, kind enough to post another picture from that trip.











And FINALLY for more from the Fourth Of July. It's kind of tough to make out in this picture, but she and I are SOAKED. You see, last year, Kati, Toko, Gilles, and I celebrated with a very cool, very metropolitan theme--Coney Island, Brooklyn BBQ, New York City fireworks . . . THIS year, Kati and I had a decidedly SUBURBAN celebration. The festivities were rounded out with children (TONS of children!), Summit Fireworks, and games. And ONE of the games was a water balloon toss. And DESPITE our efforts to stay out of the line of fire, we both got . . . well, we got hit (and YES, I AM wearing the same shirt in both pictures, but--HEY!--I'm KINDA livin' out of the trunk of my car these days you know?).

I'm happy to announce that as of tonight, the lease for a super 2 bedroom apartment in Cobble Hill has MY name on it and is duly signed by the landlord. That means that as of August first, I'll once again be a New Yorker.

I'm SO excited about this for a number of reasons. First, Sweet Kati and I will be able to make this OUR apartment. We're looking forward to making ourselves comfortable there together.

Second, it's super convenient to the place where I'm working now. Accessible by both foot and subway, I've got the option of enjoying the fresh air or avoiding foul weather. Sweet Kati's commute is ALSO drastically improved and NEITHER of us will miss having to deal with the NJ Transit busses!

Many thanks to Bob, Paula, Gilles, Mariel, and Rob for their patience and cooperation in getting this all put together. I'm sure I wasn't SUPER easy to deal with, but . . . well, HEY--it's FINISHED!

Te he . . . Sweet Kati's been featured in the pages of "Cosmo," appeared on the hit television program "Surprised By Design," and NOW she's been quoted in The New York Times. Rock ON, Baby!

Sweet Kati In The News

Sweet Kati and I celebrated "our nation's birthday" by trekking out to Coney Island to watch the 90th installment of the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest.



This was our second year there (although we missed Gilles and Toko this year) and--while we had a blast--we were disappointed with the performance of Four-time world champion Takeru Kobayashi, who didn't even come CLOSE to his world record of 54 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes. A new world record WAS set, however, in the women's division, which was very exciting.



While we were there, we--of COURSE--took the opportunity to ride on the world famous Cyclone roller coaster. There's a little quote about the Cyclone that I enjoy passing along: "Like most everything about Coney Island, the Cyclone is infused with a certain edgy magic. . . . the thrill of the Cyclone is its hint of greater hazard, of ANARCHY. Coney Island is no Disney World; if Micky Mouse shows up here, I'll mug him myself" (Roberts, M. and Palitz, W, "Brooklyn: A State of Mind," p. 67, Workman Publishing Company, Inc. 2001). I can't explain how true this is. Today, however, it was even MORE pronounced 'cause right after our train left the station and started to go up the first hill, it stalled. Hangin' out there, midway up the track, the "hint of greater hazard" takes on a WHOLE new meaning!

I LOVE the 4th Of July. It's such a great holiday that's not about religion, it's not about the military . . . it's just a chance for ALL Americans to celebrate and enjoy living in the greatest country on Earth. So I hope everyone has a great day--God bless America!

Ha ha . . . last night I met Aileen Quinn the actress who played Annie in the hit movie "Annie." I TOTALLY had a crush on her when I was a little boy at the Jersey Shore--I remember her being on the cover of some magazine. . . . She's now a hostess at a restaurant/bar in Hoboken called Trinity Pub. Sweet Kati says "oh how the mighty have fallen."