animation

we are always in the midst of change. whether we realize it or not, want it or not, are ready for it or not, we are perpetually in that state of active equilibrium, the difference between what we are truly on the inside and what we want the world to see, what we were today, last minute, yesterday and what we become the next second, tomorrow, in a decade due to the choices we make. in making these choices for ourselves the changes stay within our character and we grow, when we abdicate the power to choose or willingly let others choose for us we are less happy with the choices because they are out of character. my friend odalys calls these "out of character" actions animation. we hate to see out favourite watering holes and eateries change because those changes generally will create a diversion from the nature of these establishments which we have grown to love, appreciate and to which we have become accustomed and familiar. change, in this case, is not always good, and can seriously detract from the experience. at long beach island, on a FABULOUS weekend with John and his sister Karen (compliments of her generosity), i visited two places of which i have previously been a fan that went through "changes". the new incarnation of Bistro 14 suffered in the change. animation. the place never had "a look", not even in a beach town where that sort of thing is not only de rigeur, but usually means nautical; but the food used to be a great representation. somewhere along the change they stopped making the fried seafood basket, including no fried clams (a staple in that type of place), they "fancified" some of the fish dishes (you can have it with this type of sauce or that type of sauce...blah,blah,blah), poussin chicken (really? in a great fish place?), and (gasp!) they stopped offering both types of chowder (yes, clam of course) and now only offer their "award winning manhattan". ok, so they won the '07 LBI chowderfest with their manhattan style chowder; but really? no new england style? that just plain sucks 'cause when i'm in LBI i wanna have them alllllll!!!!! and, hold on to your cocktail glass, they don't have a liquor license anymore. who was the fucking asshole that let THAT happen? and why don't they advertise that it is BYOB, which would have been perfectly fine; but really? i'm sitting at the table and you tell me i can't order liquor? i should really have left at that point. the chowder was good (award-winning? really?, i don't know), the mussels didn't have enough garlic, butter or white wine sauce (although they were deliciously fresh), the fried artichokes were greasy... ok i've said enuf. i hate change. at our dinner at the new Gables Inn (nee Green Gables Inn) i was pleasantly surprised that the drastic renovations which the place had undergone were actually very beautiful, in spite of the fact that it was not as rustic as it used to be. on this point, some people might say that rustic in just a word for run-down, and to be honest the place was looking a little rough around the edges, and the majority of the changes had actually been done to the living quarters and not the food. they still offered their fantastic prix-fixe multi-course dinner complete with amouse-bouche (i highly recommend it), but they extended their menu to include a la carte. as in the past, the service was gracious and expert, and the food was, well, delish. pate de foix gras with figs and a balsamic reduction as an appetizer, and a delicious and huge piece of perfectly cooked butterfish in a broth, over vegetables. the place is even more beautiful than it ever has been in its long history and i am happy to say that i look forward to going back. i actually like change, appreciate change, know that it is good, but...i guess the chef at Bistro 14 was being true to himself, and, well, no-one was really twisting my arm to eat there and i'm just letting you know what i thought. the Gables, well, i wish places like that didn't change at all, but then i have Cancer rising, and for the Crab that takes its home around on its back i have to be eased in to that type of change. having sun in Gemini, a mutable sign and the proverbial purveyor of change, i'm constantly in that state of equilibrium, loving it and hating it. so, "don't change your hair for me, not if you care for me..." anyway, there are the sites there on the side and don't hesitate to visit them both, and all the great places at LBI. and if you have to change, at least stay true to your nature, it'll be less shocking for the rest of us that way.
Changes, gotta love 'em.

thank you for seeing you

no, that's not a mistake. it's something Odalys says. she said it once at a Halloween party we all went to when she saw this guy there dressed like Elvis, and it's the sort of stupid thing that just never goes away. now we always say it when we are saying good-bye to each other. we visited "the girls" this past weekend up in Bethel, NY and had a great time. as i mentioned we hadn't seen them since last august so there was alot to catch up on, and we had alot of down time by the fireplace (we made alot of trips out to the cord). they've done a little more work in the cabin. the bathroom looks great with a new floor, sink(with cabinet), toilet, mirror and lights; some painting in the master bedroom, and new arrangement of furniture in the guest bedroom and living room. it was hugely cold up there but it didn't keep us from firing up the bbq for our surf and turf dinner. the girls like to cook too and there's always food and drink when we get together. they made some caprese salad and mini pizzas with arugula, prosciutto and fresh parmigiano for appetizers. and we did filet mignons and lobster tails after and it was delish. we used to do alot of camping together and we probably had the only gourmet food on the camping ground. we would bring these pre-marinated pork tenderloins, or shrimp on skewers, or fish steaks, and cook rice or pasta and have appetizers spread out while we were cooking. we'd have some music going and of course that led to dancing. one time at this campground at bass river state park in new jersey the rangers kept passing by our site and they finally came over to us to tell us that while they didn't want to put a damper on our party we were obviously having way too much fun and to make sure that we didn't let it get out of control. that was actually a "dry" campground and the rangers were totally cool. another one of our favorite places to camp is the KAO campground in newburgh, our favorite site there is #31. there's some beautiful hiking around there.
here's some photos of the weekend, bon apetit!
us and them, 8^* love ya!!

the surf...

and the turf.

appetizer anyone?

oh yes, and the drinks! lotsa drinks %^D

one of those days

you ever have one of those days that you think, "jesus fucking christ! that's it, i've had it" and no amount of food can help, it' just all about the drinks. i like to start out with a vodka gimlet, or as my friend Odalys calls them "airplane fuel". yum! it's actually a somewhat old-fashioned cocktail that i'm doing my best to help make a comeback. or maybe a gin and tonic, and make sure you have limes around for this or you can just forget it. my friend Marita and i are totally into G&Ts. she prefers to call them T&Ts because she also prefers the tangueray gin but i'm not so much of a liquor snob. it's Mari's birthday today and she's picking me up around 7 to do some celebrating. i'm actually taking a little time off this weekend and it's starting tonite. yesterday was John's birthday and we're leaving tomorrow morning to visit our friends Catherine and Odalys. they live in the mountains in Bethel NY and we haven't seen them since august. they used to live just a few blocks from us here in the city and then they bought the cabin a few years ago and winterized it right away. we helped with some of that and man was that alot of work. about a year later Odalys decides that she wants to move up there full time and then Catherine went some months later. it took them some time 'cause they had to find jobs up there and Catherine is a nurse practitioner with and HIV care specialty so that was tough. they finally made it and we miss them alot. i'm bringing some of my schoolwork as a token of sincerity; but you know how that goes. whenever we get together there's always food and drink involved...i think that's mari now, later...ok, so it's now much later and of course there's been food and drink. it was sushi and beers at Dominick and Grant's. my favorite sushi is a place called Yuka on the upper east side, 2nd ave and 81st st. their fish is so fresh and their portions are huge compared to many places. we also got to listen to the debut of their awesome debut recording as Faux Furnishings, "Lydia, Look!". visit them at www.myspace.com/fauxfurnishingsofficial, or just use the link on the side over there. so much luck to them! it was a good time, shout out to Guitar Heroes Lauren, Jacob, Dominick and Guitar "Super"Hero Grant, also Scott, Steven, Izzie, Jennifer, and my BFFF Mari, happy fucking b-day you brick house!