I <3 NY!

I guess I need to call the Angry Midget any time I leave the D/FW metroplex, because neither of us had any clue that we'd both be in NYC on Memorial Day weekend! I'm sure we'd have gotten kicked out of more than one of the countless Irish pubs in Manhattan, so maybe it's not a bad thing.

My girlfriend and I spent three nights in NY. It was our first time there, so it was a little overwhelming. Fortunately, we had a friend who recently moved to Long Island, and he showed us around, and even brought us with him on Saturday to a Fire Island beach house that a friend of a friend had for the weekend. The last thing I thought I'd do in NY is practice kung-fu on a beach, but there's so much to do there that thinking back, it shouldn't have surprised me.

Anyway, I'll post a few pics, just for the hell of it:


When you combine my misanthropic tendencies with my subtle claustrophobia, Manhattan probably wasn't the best vacation idea for me. Shitloads of people, and skyscrapers everywhere. I think I handled it pretty well though. I didn't throw a single Muay Thai elbow at anyone.


Hey, whaddya know? A big fucking hole in the ground. Honestly though, Ground Zero was kind of eerie. Tons of people all around, and a deafening silence surrounded the entire area. I heard a couple of people whispering behind me, and it sounded like they were on a bullhorn.


We had lunch in Battery Park, which was nice. We didn't have time to go over to Lady Liberty, because the wait in line was around four hours, so this is as close as I got. Works for me though, because I wasn't in the mood to climb up that bitch.


Grand Central Station is a busy place? I thought it was just a figure of speech!

I had a few other pics I wanted to post, but honestly, I don't want to turn this into some estranged uncle's vacation slide show. I'm not sure if I could live on Manhattan island, but it was fun for a getaway, and I'd love to go back for longer than a three-day weekend. The whole time, I had Bill Hicks quotes running through my head:

"They say if you quit smoking, you get your sense of smell back. Well, I've got news for ya. I live in New York. I don't WANT my sense of smell back. 'Is that urine?' 'I think I smell a dead guy.'"

And even with the strong smell of urine on every other city block, I'd still take NYC over Los Angeles. People in NYC weren't all that rude. They were just always in a hurry. On the other hand, L.A. reeks of smug. I've never been to San Francisco or San Diego though, and I hear they're both beautiful. Maybe next time...