Not only do you get the opportunity to catch up, you get the opportunity to host. A lot. Hotels are very expensive in the city, and so travelers are always grateful for a couch or air mattress to occupy. I don't mind this at all - I like helping my friends, spending more time with them, and showing off my apartment and neighborhood. Plus, I am usually repaid in drinks or a free dinner, further sweetening the deal.
During the past few weeks, however, I've played host to so many friends that I've scarcely had time to drop off and pick up sheets and towels in between. Here's a quick roster of people who've snoozed on my couch lately:
Eric - a friend via my brother via his wife. He came to the city for the weekend from D.C. with his friend Joanna for no good reason except that they felt like it. She stayed in Brooklyn, and he stayed with me. He is the tallest person to have slept on my couch - it was barely long enough! We had a great time checking out the Brooklyn flea market and drinking lots and lots of beer - he's German, so it was a necessity.
Phil - a dear friend from college who came at the tail end of a cross-country trip primarily to watch several Rays vs. Yankees baseball games. He came rather unexpectedly (i.e. sent me a text message at work saying that he was arriving that afternoon!) and stayed for about five days. As repayment for my hospitality, he has offered to fly me to Florida to visit him at his parents' beachfront home in fall, an offer I believe I will accept.Phil is from the south originally, and as such is as charming as the day is long, making it a pleasure to see him.
Virginia - a former dorm-mate from Cate. Virginia had just returned from working in Georgia (the country, not the state) and traveling through Turkey, and she had a lot of fascinating things to tell me about her adventures. She's been living in D.C., but will move to California soon and I'm sorry to see her and her sweet husband leave the east coast. She's one of the most interesting people I know, and it was a pity she could stay only one night.
Michael - one of my traveling companions during my summer in Berlin before my senior year of college. Every time I see Michael, I resolve to see more of him and then somehow never manage to do it. He came down for the weekend from Boston, where he is working on a Ph.D in some sort of ludicrously difficult engineering/math/physics-related topic. He's one of the smartest people I know, and well-rounded to boot (he's a pretty phenomenal chef, plays the cello, takes great photographs, and speaks several languages), but is remarkably down-to-earth and easy to talk to.
Cathy, another friend from Cate, will be passing through the city in about a week, but unfortunately I'll be in Germany and will not get to see her. That misalignment didn't stop me from asking her to stay, however, and she'll be picking up a set of keys when she arrives in New York - I'll be gone already at that point - and keeping the place from sitting empty in my absence. While I'm sorry that I'll miss her - she's on her way back from two months in Haiti and I am dying to hear about her experiences - she comes to New York fairly often, so I'm sure I'll get to host her again soon. And now I have someone to water my tomatoes.
Reading through the post, I was beginning to think I wouldn't be getting a mention! Ah the relief at the end of the message...
ReplyDelete- Your best houseguest, Cathy