Sex and Food (Let's keep it clean please)

[VincentUlyssis]

What is it and can I get some at CVS? I have a feeling not.

Rum could work under the right circumstances I suppose. Tried and true.

[Boomer]

Truth serum. Doubt if they stock THAT at CVS, but you never know.

Rum is much more fun but takes awhile.

[VincentUlyssis]

That's cool. Is it legal to make it at home with a kiddie chemistry set?

[Boomer]

Up to you - but try magical shrooms first. It will help with the recipe.

[VincentUlyssis]

You're the kind of person I would have gotten in trouble with in high school Boomsie!

[Bageleth]

Stick with chocolate! It will rarely ever get you into trouble and is welcome by most! And it's totally legal!

[VincentUlyssis]

Yes, chocolate and rum.

[VincentUlyssis]

Relationships are not always easy as you all know. My anniversary was very nice but I confess that I was strained and frustrated. Check in at the Four Points Sheraton in SoHo was 3pm. Now I know you don't have to be there at that time, but at $280 per night, more than I can afford to really spend right now, I figured we should make the most of every minute. I preface the rest of my story with the FACT that my wife is late for everything (shhh, don't tell her I said that!) and that I don't want to be late for anything! It happens to everyone occasionally, but when it's a pattern...

Anywho, I wanted to leave by 2pm and she managed to dilly-dally so we didn't leave until 4:45pm. I said nothing and worked very hard to keep it off of my face. The traffic going into the city wasn't horrific, but because the hotel is near the Holland Tunnel we got stuck in gridlock. I was getting nervous because we had a 7:15 dinner reservation, it was 6:45 and we hadn't arrived and would still need to check in, park and walk to the eatery. I hit a point when my frustration led to comments like "We should have left earlier."

BRUTUS: THIS IS WHAT I MEAN WHEN I REFER TO WORDS AND ACTIONS THAT I IMPULSIVELY LAUNCH...

We had already missed happy hour at a Salsa club with a live band and I didn't want to lose a reservation. I fought myself to not release additional comments! We walked up Prince Street to the corner of Mercer Street, arriving at The Mercer Kitchen, were led downstairs and seated. The brick walls of the original factory were artistically lit, not too artsy nor pretentious, creating a warm sensual atmosphere. We ordered a bottle of Bordeaux which was very good and moderately priced and shared nice conversation, reflecting on our 21 years, the kids, etc. Marisa ordered angel hair pasta in a mushroom sauce and I ordered a pizza with salami and pecorino and basil. They sound like ordinary dishes you might order anywhere, but they were "a cut above" what you would normally find. Each was prepared by a master chef and it was obvious. Of course everything comes nicely garnished. Next to us were two lovely Brazilian women who we chatted with. We took a photo of all of us and they took one of "just us" for our anniversary.

I of course asked if they were RUSH fans, being from Brazil and all, and they had no idea what I was talking about.

We discovered after dinner that it was raining like the dickens and my wife does not like to get wet, trust me. I could care less and looked like a wet rat. She walked under her umbrella. There was a crowd on the street for some kind of Arts magazine fundraiser and we were quickly invited in for a drink. It was crowded and I saw that she didn't want to stay so we left. I wanted to go to the "Cafe Wha?" to hear some great live music but I wasn't sure how to get there and Marisa was getting blisters on her feet from wet shoes, so we went back to the hotel. I fell asleep and that was our night. My best laid plans crumbled to the ground. As I dozed off I wondered if this happens to everyone or just me...

After a good night's sleep and an early wake up call we left on foot to find someplace to have breakfast. We were both cheery and eager to explore. We found "The Cupping Room" and ate a nice but expensive breakfast and hit several art galleries and street vendors for a "look." The prior night's rain gave birth to a day of sunshine, mild temperatures and low humidity. We stopped at thrift stores and lots of places with "girlie stuff." I didn't mind. I walked into a vintage guitar shop which was pretty cool. In conversation with the owner I mentioned my '79 25th Anniversary Fender Strat and asked its value. He showed me one that was in poor condition going for $2900. I was content knowing that mine was still in excellent condition with the original case, Fender signature strap, instructions and certificate of authenticity. I'm still not sure why I picked that guitar when I stood there with my dad and brothers. It was the first Strat I had seen or touched and didn't care about the big words "ANNIVERSARY" written across the face of the instrument.

We checked out an outdoor market several blocks long and walked up Bleacher Street (spelling?), llater the Saint Mark's Church flea market where Marisa bought a hand made set of "azul something or other earrings" which were beautiful on her (I told her that she makes them more beautiful). We walked up to 7th Ave and ate lunch at "Sushi Samba" Japanese/Brazilian/Peruvian. I highly recommend this spot, especially at night. I can't tell you what we ate exactly. Imagine sushi garnished with western ingredients. Sushi with mozzarella? Jalepenos? tomatoes and onion? The cocktails were excellent as well. I had something with ground blackberries and mint. She had something with fresas (strawberries-that word "fresas" reminds me of "fresca" meaning fresh, obviously because it's a cognate) which was very tasty as well. After the aforementioned St. Marks market, which by the way had a "city archaeologist" who looked like a blonde Lincoln complete with beard and straw TALL top-hat and makes wearable and decorative art with artifacts ranging from broken pieces of ornate pottery from 1740 to fragments of broken ceramic dolls aligned on a wall design. Very cool.

SoHo is known for its cast iron district of 100+ year old buildings where ornate architectural details were cast from iron rather than fashioned from wood or stone. Beautiful buildings... The architecture in the area is notable, and skyscrapers are barely visible anywhere. I could see the Freedom Tower rising from one of the blocks where we were waiting for a light, but overall from the ground it seemed more like Philly than Manhattan. There's a nice vibe happening there.

We finally sat for a cappuccino for a little while and soon started the journey home to Long Island. It was a very nice memorable time.

[Scythe Matters]

Wonderful Vincent!! Congrats

[RN-PRN]

Happy Anniversary, Vincent!!