Those two gorgeous people are my friends Jelani and Lex. They took a train all the way from the flaming pit that is the Toledo train station and arrived in Penn Station Thursday. They met me up at the Pourhouse the that night and we spent the evening catching each other up on our summer time experiences.

Friday

The following afternoon I met up with them after I got off of work and we rustled up some Thai Market before meeting Jelani’s friend Serena at the Pourhouse. She has brought some friends, including one Angela.

That is Lex and Angela. They hit is off pretty well that evening.

Jelani and Serena. Serena was really nice and generally fun person to talk with. We had to steal some tables because we had so many people. Eventually we were joined by more friends of Serena’s.

Before we left the Pourhouse, the three of us made a three way pinky promise that we would have more nights like this in the fall. We came to the realization that the next year is going to be incredibly trying for each of us, and we’ll need the support from one another.

Funny thing, having friends.

We eventually left the Pourhouse for greener pastures. I succeeded in getting us barred from one bar. The bouncer there was harassing Lex about her zipcode and the 4 digits the follow the first 5. No one knows that. Most people don’t even know where to find that. He was just being a dick.

I told him such.

He told me he was going to “exert his authority to refuse someone entry” because I “was being a dick”.

One of those people that enjoy the rush of power I suppose. We left, found some place else, and eventually walked back to my apartment to crash.

Saturday

After getting called in for a short shift at work and then spending a wee bit of time recovering from the previous night, the three of us traveled down to 49th and 7th to a little Japanese restaurant where we nearly died from the amazing food.

You can’t tell, but my bowl was literally overflowing with food. You had to tip it back and shovel the food in. Sounds terrible, but so so amazing.

A point of interest: Jelani ordered for us in Japanese. Not stumbling Japanese. Perfect. The people next to us complimented him on it. His head almost filled the room.

After eating we decided to explore Times Square. Lex had never been, and I suppose Jelani and I needed a refresher as to why we don’t like going there.

So much of a mess. I made a comment about it being tourist central and then laughed at myself for sounding like I actually lived in the city.

I guess I kinda do. Kinda.

Anyway, we took Lex to the Toys R Us store to show her some of the awesomeness therein.

Jelani had to flee the T-Rex until the Marquis de Columbia came to stand off with it.

Our great battle with the king of the dinosaurs led us to receiving honors from the one and only Optimus Prime.

Optimus arranged for us to have an honorary dinner at the court of Lady Barbi in her Barbi Funtime Mansion.

Unfortunately we were party crashed by one Mr. Edward Cullen.

Did you know they actually put glitter on the Edward doll. He is pale and they put gold glitter all over him so he can sparkle. We laughed pretty hard over that one.

Anyway, on our way out of the store a found myself in a predicament.

Yeah, that’s right.

Mushrooms.

Mushrooms filled with candy!

I’m just walking along, minding my own business and BAM a mushroom ruins my day.

We ran from that trippy scene and after enjoying a street performance we returned to my humble home in the upper west side.

Sunday

I had to wake up bright and early the next morning for work, which didn’t exactly stop me from staying up til 5 the previous evening. After work and a short nap, my friends brought me some coffee and we snagged some lunch.

I felt oddly motivated after lunch and I decided I wanted to get some pictures done with me leaving my mark on Columbia’s campus. So, I decided to climb nearly every statue on campus.

A few of my favorites:

We rushed back to rest and balm my poor burnt palms - turns out metal gets hot while baking in the sun. We relaxed and shot a few of my favorite pictures from the whole weekend:

Yes, we are in fact 20 stories up and hanging out a window.

After resting for a bit, we made the executive decision to go down to South Ferry and take the ferry to Staten Island. We had some time to kill, so Jelani and I became wizards.

When we finally got on the ferry the sun had set and we had a beautiful night view of the city. Unfortunately night pictures always come out a bit poorly, but we did get a few nice ones. One of my favorites from the night:

Once reaching the island, we turned round and decided it was dinner time. Rather than take the train, we opted to walk the distance to Little Italy. Jelani and I tamed the Cretan Bull:

We eventually reached our restaurant after trekking to an area I have fondly named “Ruffie Alley”. It is kinda like Knock Turn Alley, but more mundane and involving ruffies.

After a long walk back to the 1 line, we found ourselves back home at Columbia. It was to be our last night together, so we ended up talking the rest of the evening and falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning.

Monday

We woke up a bit early, planning to go to a specific restaurant before saying our goodbyes. Unfortunately for us, someone got very ill on the train we were going to take and the whole line was shut down. We didn’t have time for the delay, so we got food elsewhere and explored Riverside Park for a bit.

After swinging at a play ground for a little while, we decided to go explore the lower level of Riverside. I had sudden inspiration to dance with a light pole.

Once down in the lower level we explored for a bit, eventually going down Hobo Rape Path. Once again, not nearly as much hobo rape as I would expect.

If we look a bit sad there, it is likely because we were on our way back to the subway to say our goodbyes. I got one last picture of these two amazing people before they boarded their train.

It was a pretty wonderful weekend. It really set the tone for the rest of the week. I hope they get a chance to come visit again soon.