So Let Me Finally Tell You About My Weekend

These photo-filled posts take me quite a while to create (which is why there's an ever-growing list of travel posts that get put on the back burner), but I really wanted to show and tell you about my weekend because it was just so good. Last Thursday's post had me feeling a bit spazzed because of allergies and an impending deadline, but luckily writing the story was a breeze. I'm actually quite proud to say that it's for the fourth issue of Anthology magazine! (Remember my write-up on the premiere issue last year?) (Okay, just read the comments and apparently Intense Guy is a bit of a psychic!) Six months after meeting co-founder Meg Mateo Ilasco (and Joy Cho) at a "Creative, Inc." book signing event and expressing interest in contributing to her new mag, I landed an assignment. All has been going well and hopefully I'll get another chance to write for a future issue. I'll be sure to let you all know when the story's out.

Because I was scheduled to work for BET.com on Sunday and then hanging out with friends that night, I treated Mom and the sibs to a Mother's Day outing a day early. It was a bit of a slow start and my intentions for lunch quickly turned into an early dinner, but it was such a nice time. We rarely ever eat a meal together let alone go out to a restaurant as a family so this really meant a lot. Everyone behaved, we shared some laughs and I'm proud to see that my "little" brother has begun to shed his "too cool for everything" act. Guantanamera's Cuban cuisine was delicious and that sangria? So sweet! (The flan was just meh though.) I really want us to plan more moments like this. You hear that, sibs?!

Because things often have a way of, um, escalating when the parentals get together, I decided to keep the restaurant event to just us four and that was all right by Dad. Besides, right after the meal, I was taking him and A. to the Mets v Dodgers game at CitiField. The sappy girlfriend in me just wanted her dad and boyfriend to bond some more so what better way than by taking them to see their favorite teams go up against each other and then drag home a loser and a winner? Dad teased A. pretty frequently and came out the victor, but A. was a good sport about it all. He really likes my dad. Or maybe the poor guy was still feeling defeated about the Lakers' third loss against the Mavericks in the NBA playoffs the night before.

Aside from having a fun time with these two foolios, I also got to see three friends at the game: our friends Zack and Jona and my grad school BFF, Kimmie, who regularly covers the Mets and the Yankees and gave us a quick tour inside the press box. Sweet, huh? Actually, it was pretty quiet and just lined with tables and chairs with people tapping away at their laptops, but for a moment I was cool by association when A. called Zack right up to tell him all about our Amazing Adventure.

Sunday morning, I woke up early to start posting stories onto BET's site while lucky A. slept peacefully in my room. I somehow convinced him to stick around until the end of my 9-to-5 shift by letting him watch the Lakers game on my computer. Too bad that was the game that finally ended their season. What a letdown.

But thank God for friends right?! A. had organized a trip to Brooklyn Boulders to teach some buddies how to rock climb and show off his Spider-Man skills. Although he'd originally intended to teach some how to belay, his plans were foiled by some surprise cockamamie rules at the center (something about liabilities or whatever). So he belayed all of us and then found someone who could do the same for him. Then we did some bouldering, or climbing without ropes, for the rest of the time. All in all it was a great night, albeit late as their cheaper off-peak hours are from 9-11 PM, and I'm happy to note that I'm getting quicker and more confident climbing up. Unfortunately, I still shriek and shake on my way back down.

So, was your weekend as exciting as mine was?

Images: some images courtesy of Damaris Ramos and Zack Hample