So after I survived the trials and tribulations of the first portion of the weekend, I had nowhere to go but up. And up it went. I spent Saturday with my friend Jenn. We attempted to meet up with the Run Against Bush event in Union Square, but somehow managed to miss it, as we were running a bit late. We couldn't quite figure out how we couldn't seem to find a pack of people wearing identical blue t-shirts who were supposed to be running conspicuously from Union Square to Washington Square Park. After changing, we ended up going shopping and diiscussing men. We were talking about our financial situation, and we concluded that the whole thing is somewhat of a vicious cycle -- we spend money on clothes we like so that we feel confident and attract men, but this leaves us broke, and if we don't spend the money, we don't attract them. We realized, of course, that this is merely a way to rationalize purchasing any given item. Jenn encouraged me to buy girly-girl clothes (when left to my own devices, I tend to buy lots of black and hang out in jeans, tshirts and hoodies). More on that later.

That night we went to a dinner party, hosted by our mutual friend Jeff, who was in town from upstate. After fresh pasta with delectable homemade pesto (loved the addition of the sun-dried tomatoes, Jeff), salad with feta cheese, olives, and a healthy dose of red wine, Jeff proceeded to go around the room and compliment each of us. He had brought together his friends from different facets of his life, and took great joy in having us meet each other. Taking the time to go around the room and highlighting what he likes about each of us was pleasantly eye-opening; it made me realize how rarely we take time to let our friends know what we love about them. We should do more of this as a general rule. So to all of my friends out there, you rock! Anyway, after the feel-good-fest, we were off to Winnie's for some solid dive bar karaoke. And speaking of friends, at Winnie's I ran into Dan, a friend of my friend Gaby, and through the magic of Dodgeball, my friends Matthew and Manhattan Transfer stopped by too. A good time was had by all, at least until we closed down the place and they kicked us out. Thanks to Jeff (pictured below) for a fine meal, good company, and a solid evening of revelry at Winnie's.

The next day, after a brief recovery, I met up with my mom, to catch up and do a few errands before we headed off to foodie at a gallery downtown. This foodie was a six-country culinary tour, with stops in Mexico, India, Italy, France, Portugal, and the local tri-state area. I've put up the pictures (from both nights), but not sure I have the energy for a write-up right now. All in all, it was a good time, and a special thanks to mom for treating me! My attempts to go home and go to bed after foodie were futile, and we ended up at 'inoteca for some more wine and snacks. And as an aside, if you haven't had their chicken liver, you must go have some. Immediately. On my way out, my friend David introduced me to the two women he had been chatting up at the bar. They complimented me on my outfit -- lo and behold, it consisted primarily of the girly-girl clothes that Jenn had convinced me to buy the day before. Okay, you were right -- that stuff does look good on me, so thanks, Jenn!

Off to bed now, but I did want to note that tomorrow night I'm going to my first food event where I am using my Gothamist Food press credentials, Harvest in the Square. I get to check in at the press table and everything! Ok, must calm down. I'm sounding like a dork again here . . .

* A tribute to the Beatles' Getting Better