Friday Night at Jake’s Dilemma
Spent the morning in Brooklyn housing court watching proceedings. Went to some salad bar for lunch (not very good) and took care of some work back at the office. Was too tired after work to go to services even though I had planned on going to Or Zarua on the East side. Another day I suppose. One of my NYU friends had a birthday party at Jake’s Dilemma at 10PM and even though I didn’t feel like going out I had promised so I went down. Had a few beers and did the whole social thing. On the up side I found someone to go to an off-broadway show with me that I had an extra ticket to. Went home early (just after midnight).

I love NY?
Saturday made me wonder if I might be able to get used to NYC after all. I did my laundry and went to the gym in the morning and then did the most metrosexual thing thus far. I made a salon appointment. Yeah I know. WTF? Well, I can explain. I’m sick and tired of going to Supercuts or the other joints in my neighborhood and getting a really crappy haircut for more than it’s worth. $15 isn’t much of a deal when you walk out unhappy with your hair. So yeah, maybe I’m just trying to justify the splurge in my own head, but it was AWESOME. I did my homework and found a highly rated salon on the East side, Simoni Salon. I got lucky on the way over too, it started raining just as I was getting on the bus and it stopped just as I got off. Beautiful day after that. But I digress. The salon was on the second floor over some diner and it had a pretty blue roof, kind of a Mediterranean look. Inside all the art and furniture was very tasteful and everyone was laid back, friendly, and calm. I think pretty much everyone there was gay too. Not the scene I’m used to around NY but somewhat evocative of certain neighborhoods in SF. Everyone kept calling each other “babe” and kissing on the cheeks. What ever floats there boats I guess. I just wanted a good haircut. MY appointment was for 3:30 but they were running behind so I had to wait almost an hour before they got started. I read the books lying around on Greek and Cuban architecture in the meantime. Not terribly enlightening. They started out by washing my hair (never had that done in a barbershop before) and I was a little awkward. Felt nice though. I left the towel on the chair, which was apparently a faux paux. I was supposed to keep it draped on my shoulders during the cut I guess. Oh well. My stylist was Tito, a short, gay, Peruvian man who was all smiles and compliments. In spite of the mild allergic reaction I was having to the two small furballs (I guess they were dogs) that were running around the salon (with bows in their hair of course, rather cute) I couldn’t help but smile as he cut my hair. He really was very good. He used some sort of styling wax and by the time he was done he said, “Ooh, you look just like a model!” I must say I was grinning ear to ear and it was believable. He gave me a sort of tousled look and the wax gave me a shine I’d never previously achieved. So yeah. It was 55 bucks. But worth every penny! Perhaps happiness can be bought after all :-P I walked out of there like I was on cloud 9. When I got back I had a rushed dinner at Café Swish with a friend from Oklahoma whose birthday I had missed while she was out of town. Then I had to speed down to Bleecker St. for the show. I was supposed to meet up at 7:30 but I had to switch trains 4 times because they kept being discontinued. Grr. I made it at 2 minutes to 8. Just in the nick of time since the show was supposed to start at 8. I had reserved tickets in advance and they were amazing seats so at least we weren’t put in the back for being on the late side. We were 3rd row, dead center :-D The show was called Border Clashes and it’s the story of a half black, half Chinese, Jamaican lesbian, told by her through a mix of dramatic monologue and poetry. It was a one woman show and it was INCREDIBLE! Truly amazing. Lots of humor and laughter but also a much deeper message about tolerance and rebellion. I recommend it to anyone. In fact I think I’m going to see if my journal wants to go en masse. Perhaps I’ll propose it at the Bastille Day party we have coming up Thursday. After the show we went to a bar in the area called Gattesby’s. Very red. The furniture was red, the lighting was red, the walls were red. Nice enough place. A couple of my friends from the nursing program met up with us and after we had a few drinks we moseyed on to Rays for a slice, then McSorley’s for a few beers, then the nurses left us and we went to a party at a hookah bar way back up on 110th and Broadway. Neither of us smokes so it was just more booze. Then we went to 1020 and played some pool. Wandered around a bit, realized all the bars (even West End) were closed and called it a night. It was after 3AM anyway. Perhaps a tad more drinking than was necessary, but I really had a very good time all day. So now I have a hair stylist, a secret clothing store, and some trendy hangouts. I just need a therapist now and I’ll be a NYer :-P Maybe I am starting to <3 NY…  ¶ 11:03 AM