Take what you have gathered from coincidence

I was off work yesterday and still managed to see not a single blast of colorful lights. I got a little drunk and a little sleepy, but other than that, the day was just like any other. Craig cooked up some shrimpies and scallops (in orange juice, which tastes amazing) and we lingered around the bar at the Lob, despite the fact that we're both utterly sick of spending 50 hours a week there. It's such a bittersweet job. So strenuous, yet so rewarding. So tiring, yet so attractive after only a short nap.

I'm feeling the bite of homesickness. I haven't been back since the end of March, and that's much too long. It's hard to get away this time of year. But I'm always up for visitors, if you feel like taking a beach vacation. Eh? Eh?

From July 1 until Labor Day, it costs money to park at the beach if you don't have a resident's sticker on your car. I was planning to drive up to the kiosk with my New York State tax return to prove my residency, but I don't really have a way to prove that my car is my own. I had a beach date with Zephyr and, upon attempting to pay-and-park, realized that I'd left my wallet at home. "I'm a resident, you know," I told the girl. "This car is in my mother's name, but the address on the registration matches the address on my driver's license. But I don't have my driver's license."

She asked for my address and I spouted it quickly, as if it that would make it more believable. It must have, because she offered me a resident's pass, which costs $25.

"Yeah, I don't have any money," I said. "But my friend might."

I walked down to the beach and borrowed the money from Zephyr, then walked back and proudly stuck my new sticker on the back window of my car, above my LIU parking pass. Things are coming along nicely, if you're judging by stickers.