Summer 2010 Shenanigans

THE END IS NEAR! I can't believe how quickly this summer has come and gone! Less than two weeks left in the big apple and I find myself looking back and asking "WHAT THE BAWLS DID I DO ALL SUMMER LONG?" Well. Let me share with you some of the awesome things I did. (Well, at least I think they're awesome...)

1) OM NOM NOM NOM.
I ate some amazing meals in this city this summer. Whether is was super awesome chopped steak with my parents at Benjamin Steakhouse (quick shout out to our incredible waiter, Ricky - you da man Ricky) or sweet ass deals like 3 sushi rolls for $10 or street vendor gyros, this city has filled my belleh and made me a most satisfied bear. mmm.

2) Throw a BBQ
Fourth of July weekend was fabulous - I shimmied my way over the GW Bridge to my parents house in Jersey, invited all my friends over for the weekend, and had a slamming time. Swimming, tanning, eating, dancing, lounging, drinking... you name it, we did it. And had the house looking spotless before my parents got back home from their vacay. HIGH FIVE!

From BBQ 2009 - Me, Lil bro, Sushi & Bear <3

3) Photography
I am a big fan of the traditional film photography and I brought my darling camera up to New York with me for the summer. I have snapped about 12 rolls of film and can't wait to get back down to Miami to develop them and see what I got. From South Street Seaport to the Upper East Side, my camera has traveled almost as much as I have this summer. Almost.

4) House/dog-sit for someone
My friend Stephen has two adorable little puppies - Biggie and Cali - and they have made my summer filled with so many more snuggles than I could have ever expected. Stephen went out of town for a weekend, so me and my best bear Hillary house and dog sat for him for the weekend. Added bonus: he's living in his parents' apartment on the UES on the 26th floor with an ILL view. Taking the puppies for walks, feeding them, and snuggling in bed with them late at night was wonderful. Much love to my two favorite pups.

5) Walk for a really long time
Earlier this summer I decided to walk from 42nd & 6th to 87th & Lex for fun. A lot of you are probably like "Wow you have a warped definition of fun" but allow me to explain myself. There are so many different neighborhoods in this city, with so many fascinating stores and restaurants and people of course - I feel like I miss so much of it riding the subway. The weather was fabulous and I had my iPod and a pack of stogs and decided to go for a stroll. It's not that I saw any one thing that was outrageous or mindblowing, but being in the city and not under it and watching the neighborhoods change slowly was awesome.

Fun fact: I just mapped it and discovered that my walk was 2.7 miles. Sweet!

6) Cook an epic breakfast
Last weekend we (me and all my friends up here from Miami) went out to Long Island for another weekend long BBQ event at our friend Brandon's parents' place (THANKS B-HILL!). Sunday morning came and me and my best bear Hillary decided that we were going to cook breakfast for everyone (not that many people, only like 12 of us). So we jumped our friend Teggles and harrassed him into taking us to the grocery store for we are sans transportation, bought a whole buncha yummies, came back and whipped up eggs, bacon, cinnabuns and pancakes for everyone with a side of strawberries and OJ. Mmmm. I have never seen so many happy hungover people before.

Obviously I did more than just the above mentioned things, but these are a few of the events that stick out most clearly in my memory right meow. Thanks summer 2010 - you've gone above and beyond my expectations.


xxx Nikbear