Zippy

Ah, another great weekend under my belt. I have to say, I have been having some fun lately. Amanda leaving soon has forced me to get out into the city with her to see and do all the things she wanted to do before leaving, and it has really been a lot of fun.

Friday night we had plans to go to a fairly new bar/nightclub called Carnival. Unfortunately, although we had decided to do that this weekend instead of last so Eric could join us, he was stuck at work until midnight and was unable to make it. He has been really busy at work, which has been a real bummer. But, it's good that he has work coming in and it sounds like he's getting a very good reputation around the firm. I miss having him around, but I'm so proud of him and so appreciative of his hard work. Eric is just the best, what can I say?

But, Amanda and I had to go to Carnival sans Eric. A bunch of her nurse friends joined us, as did our old friend James from Gainesville (we all worked together at Calico Jack's). This bar was so much fun! Inside, it's set up literally like a Carnival. The ceiling looks like a big top tent, there are murals of Coney Island on the walls, performers on stilts walk amongst the crowd, and the dance floor is found in the "Funhouse."

The tent ceiling

Amanda, James and me in front of the Coney Island mural, featuring the Cyclone (aka the scariest roller coaster EVER)

Stilt lady

The Funhouse (although it doesn't actually contain any crazy mirrors or anything, just a dancefloor, another bar, and some VIP tables)

The bar serves a variety of novelty cocktails, including a Blue Cotton Candy Martini (garnished with actual cotton candy) and liquor sno-cones (I highly recommend the cherry sno-cone with Absolut Raspberry vodka! Yum!).

Amanda sipping a cotton candy martini

Enjoying my grown-up version of the sno-cone

Although I did love the sno-cones, my favorite part of Carnival was the games. They had a variety of standard carnival/fair games around the main room that you could play. For your cover charge of $10, you received five game tickets. Amanda, James and I pooled our tickets and played the ring toss game, and the fish pong game twice. I am very proud to say that on the second go-around at the fish game, I won a goldfish! Ha! Amanda and I named him Zippy, after the Ziplock bag he came in. And now we have a new member of our family!

Games!

World, meet Zippy!

We had a great time at Carnival, but to be frank, the novelty drinks (though very fun and delicious) were a little pricey. So, some of Amanda's friends decided to head to a bar called Home Sweet Home on the Lower East Side and we opted to join them. I had a great time at that bar, too - it was just a little hole in the wall, like somebody's basement. There was no sign out front, just stairs leading down the bar. The drinks were cheap (by New York standards), and the music was excellent, with a very 50s & 60s vibe to it. It was the kind of music that got everybody dancing, but you didn't even care how you looked - you just danced. Kind of like wedding dancing. It was great! And, the most interesting part - I had Zippy with me the whole time. I'll tell you what, you haven't lived until you have danced the night away with a goldfish. That fish is a party animal. He was a hit! I really wanted him to live on after the night (I figure most of the fish they give out at Carnival probably don't), but I told myself that even if he didn't make it, at the very least he had a far more exciting short life than most goldfish do. Go Zippy!

Look at that dancing fish!

Amanda and I love us some Zippy.

Finally I decided it was time for Zippy and me to call it a night, so I left a little earlier than my friends - I left at 3:30! What is this, college?! I can't believe I have been out that late two weekends in a row. Craziness.

The rest of the weekend was so nice also, although I have less photographic evidence to back that up. The best part was that Eric didn't have to work all weekend, so we got to spend all Saturday and Sunday together! Saturday we had a leisurely morning at home before braving the cold for some errands, including getting some supplies for Zippy, who did make it through the night! Go Zippy! We got him a nice bowl, some pretty blue rocks, some food and other necessities. He's all set. We also picked up dinner at Daisy Mays BBQ and brought it home to eat while we watched the sky turn pretty shades of pink at sunset. Lovely!

Look at that gorgeous sky!

That night we stayed in and watched Shawshank Redemption, which for me was one of those movies I have seen parts of, and I know people love it, but I never saw it all the way through. So, that was fun to finally see it, and I love movies about prison life and prison psychology. And of course, it was so wonderful just to be able to cuddle up on the couch with Eric and watch a movie. It's been a long time since we did that.

Sunday brought another leisurely morning (well, for me - Eric went out running while I relaxed), then more errands, then home for the Super Bowl. We just watched it in the comfort of our own home and made some burgers and sweet potato fries for dinner. Eric is a big Peyton Manning fan so I think he was a little bummed with the outcome, but I was pretty indifferent.

The Empire State Building lit up for the Superbowl - yellow and black for the Saints on the North/South sides, and blue and white for the Colts on the East/West sides

We did spend most of yesterday being concerned about Zippy, who was looking very lethargic all day. But, as the sun set, he started swimming around like a crazy fish! Is it possible fish are nocturnal? Or was he still just recovering from his wild weekend out on the town? Regardless, he seems fine today and is settling in nicely to our little home. I hope he sticks around for a bit.

Achilles checking out his new "brother"

They're already the best of friends!

So that was my weekend! I had such a nice time. Now the next few days will be busy as I prepare to leave for my trip! Tonight I have dinner plans with Amanda, which will be the last time I see her before she leaves New York, since she will be gone by the time I get back from the cruise. Tomorrow night Eric and I will celebrate our Valentine's Day with a nice meal at home. The rest of the time will be spent packing, cleaning, and preparing. Busy, busy!