Marathons

Monday is nearing being over, thank goodness! It's been a long couple of weeks, with two weekends in a row out of town, and with longer-feeling weeks of work. But, goodness is on the horizon, with a very empty weekend ahead and a special delivery of OUR NEW COUCH! Allow me to backtrack. Friday late afternoon (of this past week) we traveled to LaGuardia for our flight to Indianapolis. Everything went extremely well, and we landed early, picked up our rental car which was actually very nice (only 900 miles on it - new - an Altima?) and drove a short trip to visit Tim and Angela and their sweet baby Ryan. Tim ordered us pizza and we chatted and caught up. Timmy wasn't feeling the greatest, so we didn't stay too long, and we then headed to Djay and Diana's house for a Halloween bonfire. Being in Indiana again was comforting, and strange, of course. Djay and Di have a long winding driveway and an even more intriguing winding plot of land, so Chris picked us up in a golf cart. We proceeded to careen around tight corners with no lights (the battery was low, Chris informed us) through dark thick trees, flying over bumps in the earth and on the brink of being thrown from the cart! And then we arrived at the bonfire, where we reunited with Corey, Brooke, Djay, Diana, John, and a few of their other friends. We weren't out there too long - it was late, by this point, and we were all pretty tired from our respective days. But, Craig and I wound up crashing at Djay and Di's so that we wouldn't have to drive, and we stayed up with them for quite a while drinking beer and touring their amazing home. Good times.*Saturday, Craig and I woke up feeling magically well-rested. I attributed that to the most brilliantly comfortable bed we've ever slept in, in Djay and Di's guest room. I can't even begin to explain...it felt better than sleeping on the best bed ever, with perfect temperatures on the sheets and the comforter and absolutely right pillow depths. Thanks Djay and Di! Craig left the house to find bagels and coffee, and he returned for me and we snuck out without waking Djay and Di. And we were off to Purdue for a tailgating/football/bar-hopping marathon.*What fun. What a fantastic time with his friends! It felt so warm and happy, like none of them have ever been apart geographically. And they are all so nice to me, the outsider dating one of their very best friends. They always are so nice!*Purdue won in an extremely tight game, and we went to Harry's for some beer, and then several of us decided to eat Indian (in West Lafayette, really??) for dinner. Then we resumed drinking at Jake's, and the night lingered on from there. In the morning, Craig and I went to some beautiful coffee joint called Graytime-something, and I indulged in a latte and a four-cheese crepe (it was outstanding). And then we headed back to Indy to catch our flight. In the meantime, Saturday morning I received a voicemail on my cell from Room & Board - the couch is in New Jersey!! I requested a Saturday delivery. I can hardly wait. I know I'm looking more forward to it than to anything I have in a long time, but it's the principle - the fact that I paid that much money in cash up front for something so divine. I can't wait to see it settle into our lives. We will love it.*Tonight I made pretty successful chicken chili. And tomorrow marks what might be one of the most significant days of our lives, the 2008 Election. Craig and I are leaving the apartment half an hour early to grab coffees and stand in line to vote. Our polling place is right around the corner at Knickerbocker Plaza. Fingers crossed, our country is in store for some real change, at last. Fingers crossed.*Oh, the placard above was propped there Sunday by someone who was cheering on a runner in the New York City Marathon. The Marathon and its populated stretch of 1st Avenue made it next to impossible to get back to the UES on Sunday. We helped the cabbie and endured thick traffic on the FDR, but finally managed to land an open ramp into Manhattan. It was a long ride. And costly. We won't do that again! Cheers to a new President of the United States. I just hope it's the right one.