Birthdays, Berlin, and Barbeques

The end of last week was an Anne-tastic few days for me; I got to see Anne not only for The Lives of Others on Wednesday, but for her birthday on Thursday and at a send off party for a Germany-bound friend on Friday.

The birthday shindig was at a great rooftop bar atop the La Quinta hotel only a few blocks from McGraw-Hill. Somehow, I never discovered this place when I still worked there and spent way too many happy hours in the enclosed booth at Mustang Harry’s when I could have been drinking at this cute spot instead. The weather was perfect for out door libations, and I loved catching up with old MH friends who I don’t see nearly enough. My real accomplishment of the night, though, was resisting the coconut cake when Anne and I went to Billy’s Bakery for her birthday dessert. That coconut cake is amazing, and even though they cut slices large enough to feed a small household for a week, I always eat the whole thing. It’s a good thing Anne got her cake to go, because I don’t think I’d have had enough will power to resist it if we’d stayed there much longer.

Friday night started with a round of drinks with Laura. I wanted to drag her to the next part of the evening, too, but she was determined not to blow off the wedding activities that brought her to town in the first place. What she missed was a party at Jane’s: her husband’s trip to Germany to work on his German language skills proved a perfect opportunity for a get together (he’s not actually going to Berlin, as suggested in my title, but I needed it for my alliteration). It was a great chance to catch up with old friends and better get to know some very fun people Jane has known for years but I’ve just met in the last few months. We debated what would happen in the final Harry Potter (will Harry be one of the characters to die? And if he does, is it an artistic decision or Rowling’s attempt to avoid The Wind Done Gone-esque sequels by other authors?), the use of semi colons in turn of the century literature (I love publishing people!), and bee keeping (just what is in royal jelly, anyway?).

And Saturday was family day. It was a short LIRR ride out to Bayside to see just about my entire extended family, which is so small that we could all fit around one table for dinner Saturday night. We barbequed hot dogs and hamburgers (and by we, I mean my uncle and cousin’s husband; the rest of us stayed inside and out of the sun), talked about summer vacation plans, and were generally entertained by my cousin’s son, the cutest kid I know.