7/1/02, 11:08 am

I'd reckon that a Sunday that starts at 6 AM and ends at 4 AM is either a very good day or a very bad day. Fortunately, this one was a good day.

Celinda picked me up and we hit the beach for the coed tournament. We played well for our first time out, winning 5 and losing 3. That left us tied for second place in our pool, so we had to play a rally game tto determine who would advance to the playoffs. We lost the rally and got to go home early. It was a beautiful day on the beach, a bit cooler than Saturday, and I had a lot of fun.

Showered at the gym and chilled out on the sun deck for a bit (the jacuzzi wasn't working -- bummer), and then went out to meet my friend Steve for dinner. We went to a place on the Lower East Side called Cafe Habana (delicious!). We hadn't seen each other in almost two years, and it was good to catch up, and especially to learn about his new paragliding hobby.

After dinner we went with his sister, a waitress at the restaurant, and her friend, a cook there, to Brownies to see Rainer Maria play. Their set got better and better, and even managed to bust out a great encore despite the guitarist breaking his high E string. I love the way their male and female vocals flow over each other.

Brownie's is closing in August, which makes the band and lots of other people sad.

A brief walk and pit stop later, we ended up at a restaurant in the East Village that was celebrating it's fourth birthday anniversary with free food and alcohol. The crowd was mostly restaurant workers... waitresses, cooks, etc... and was really fun. I pulled myself away from the salsa dancing that broke out in time to wander home across town by 3:30 or so.

Long day. Good day.

6/30/02, 12:02 am

Great day at the beach today. Anthony and I made a respectable showing in our first volleyball tournament together. We won three before running out of energy and losing our last three.

Meanwhile, Liz and Jeanhee managed to take first place in Women's Division B with a dominant 15-2 win in the finals. And this despite the fact that they went winless in their pool play. It was confusing, but what will be remembered is this: first place!

April came out to the beach with us and all in all we had a grand time, taking dips in the cold but refreshing ocean between games, walking along the boardwalk, and watching some impressive play in the finals of the Men's Open division.

On Friday night, I helped my friend Jess celebrate her new job and engagement, and then went to a birthday celebration for a friend who moved to Charlottesville not long ago. It was fun talking to her and thinking of life in that wonderful place.

At the party I met someone who traveled to Myanmar to the ruins at Bagan a few months ago. That destination had been on my list, but after talking to him, it has moved up a lot higher. I wonder when I can do that trip... maybe January...

Anyhow, it's time for a shower to get some stubborn sand off and then dear, dear sleep. Tomorrow promises to be another wonderful day -- it's back to the beach to play coed doubles!