Five Years, here

1. This week marks my five year anniversary. Five years in New York and five years at the place where I work. Five years of floatery. And in honor of this I intend to throw a shindig, at some point. But for now, I called my folks to announce the news and then took myself out on a date.

2. I have great dates with myself. It's easy to do in NYC. There are places that you can go and just linger - have some quality time with yourself. I went to a place called the Risotteria. I love risotto especially when it is made by others. What I did not realize was that I was walking into a Gluten-free haven. It was narrow, crowded and warm. Too warm for summer but at other times of the year, I'm sure very cozy.

This did not change the fact that the risotto with fontina, zucchini and oven baked tomatoes was delicious.

3. I kept myself company with a book. I have been reading a book called "How to Be Idle" by Tom Hodgkinson which is just lovely. Idleness is what I miss most in this stage of my life. Those endless stretches of time in which to ponder and reflect, in which to dream and nap.

I am not a go-getter. But there has been a lot of busy-ness and busy work to take up large swathes of my time of late. Many distractions. Distractions and entertainment are pleasures as well, but the languid passage of time, delicious.

Pure idling makes me antsy these days. It takes time for me to ease myself into it sometimes there is not enough time for me reach that state. I do try to do nothing on occassion. My preferred method is that of the flâneur or in my case, la flâneuse. I want to buy 10 copies of it and send them to friends and loved ones. Because of this I thought that I had missed Manhattanhenge.

4. Two days of the year, the sun sets at an angle such when you look down a city street from east to west, the sun sets right down the middle of the street, framed by buildings on both sides. Were it not for Twitter and MomVee, I would not have ever know about this. Manhattanhenge.

The day after, I dragged the Fella out to the Crocodile Lounge for beers and free pizza and to ensure that we were on 14th street to see the sunset. To see whether some remnant of the Manhattanhenge effect could be seen.

5. Let me begin by saying that the pizza at the Crocodile Lounge is best eaten hot. You need to let it cool enough to eat. But do not let it cool so much that the cheese gets cold and congealed. The pizza has a very narrow window for enjoyable eating if you have not yet had enough to drink.

6. As for watching the sunset on 14th street - 14th street actually has trees. So if you are too far east, the trees obscure your view of the west side of the island and the sun itself.

The Fella and I got around this by crossing back and forth across 14th street as slowly as we could while staring Westward. And behold, the sun was setting in frame although a bit to the north of the middle of the street. As we walked westward down the street, at one point, we joined a group of other people who wanted to witness this phenomena and many of the bushy-est trees were behind us. We all stood in the middle of the street whenever the traffic lights permitted and gawked and took pictures and oooh'd and aaawww'd. There were probably about 20 of us.

The second recommendation I would have is to wear sunglasses. The sun is not as strong but it is still bright.

The third recommendation I would have is be present for the experience. I was trying to adjust the camera settings on my phone and heard everyone else say, "It's over. Let's go." I missed the actual moment when the Sun crept below the horizon. Or you could adjust the settings on your camera before the festivities get underway.

Lastly, you might want to try a street that is not 14th. Although that being said, 14th was kinda cool. After this the Fella and I continued wandering the city, a favorite pasttime of mine, until late.

7. Which meant that I got a late start on the next day and in a fit of deranged, cranky, ravenous hunger dragged BE out with me to get a sandwich. He had discovered that a nearby place on Varick Street called the Little Italy Pizzeria has a corned beef sandwich that cannot be beat. If ever there was a sandwich that could soothe the raging beast to the point of pure food inspired happiness, it would be corned beef on a roll with mustard and mayo from this place. BE got the brisket sandwich with gravy, which I am sure is also good.

8. It was so filling that after eating 3/4 of it, I was good for the rest of the day until later when I went to Pier 54 for a River Rocks show. The tUnEyArDs played a show. (a band that BE introduced me to) Waited in a not horrible line. Couldn't see a thing and was surrounded by tall people. So I have to watch some youtube vidoes to see how she does what she do. It was, near as I can tell, a bass player, two saxophones and Merrill Garbus, drumming, singing, harmonizing, playing the ukelele and god knows what else. It was incredible. Just incredible. I was blown away. And then. and then, as the tUnEyArDs finished playing the encore, there were fireworks.

9. I got very sick on the 4th of July weekend and missed the fireworks. Only to get to enjoy a fireworks display from the pier. I do not believe people who say that they are unimpressed by fireworks and don't enjoy zoos. I say, no matter how jaded you become. A fireworks display is a winner. I don't care how many you have seen. Pretty, colored explosions in the sky - bad ass.

So far, it's been a good week, the week of my 5th anniversary.