Homecoming

Maybe not this kind of Homecoming, but great nonetheless!

In just two days time I will be joining the rest of you out there in Readeropolis as dedicated followers of our blog. I am getting out of here just in time to catch the tail end of winter in the Northeast and, thankfully, to miss Ted’s sure to be awful “T” themed birthday party in Casa Cochabamba. (Ok, I didn’t mean that. I said it purely out of jealousy because I had dreams of rekindling the Halloween-glory days of my youth by dressing up as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Tortuga, some how, some way. Instead, I’ll be listening to podcasts, reading Cien Años de Soledad, and requesting more little bottles of wine to knock me out for the witching hours of the flight. Let me take this opportunity to publicly wish Ted a most happy 23rd birthday, I will be sure to throw back a glass of Sutter Home or two in your honor somewhere over the south Atlantic.) I arrive at JFK International Airport this Saturday morning and will proceed to spend that day and evening with friends before returning to Massachusetts Sunday afternoon, where I will be until heading east for the Bat Mitzvah festivities of the next weekend. I am excitedly looking forward to each weekend, both providing quite different opportunities to catch up with those who I’ve missed over the past five months. And after talking to a friend from DC who made it sound as though a contingent from the District would try and make it up for the day/night, I have even higher expectations for Saturday.

Now, you may be asking yourself, what else am I looking forward to during my brief spell up north besides a romping evening in New York and family time in Westborough? Quite a few things, most of them revolving around food. While I won’t bore you with everything I’m looking forward to, here’s a short list of things I can’t wait to do:

1. Although it’s somewhat related to my weekend in New York, it has absolutely nothing to do with whom I will see: I want my first meal to be a huge slice of New York pizza. I’ve been saying this for a few weeks now and I aim to make this dream. After making my way up to my friend Jake’s apartment in Harlem, I plan on purchasing a greasy, cheesy, giant slice of delicious thin crust pizza. The best way to describe the pizza in Buenos Aires? Incredibly mediocre, sometimes okay. So what better way to reintroduce myself to one of my favorite foods by experiencing it at its best? It would be even better if Jake greeted me at his door with a hot slice in his hands. Please, Jake, if you’re reading this post, make this happen. Please.

mmmhmmmm

2. I’ll spend one more on various other foods: I can’t wait to not skimp myself on the novelty items I’ve had delivered by gracious visitors, namely peanut butter and hot sauce. Along those same lines, I eagerly await Buffalo wings, Mexican, Chinese, and other foods full of flavor and spice. Despite that fact that I adore Argentine fare, I’ve often commented on its limited set of tastes and look forward to giving my palate a more than welcome kick in the pants. I need a fresh bagel from any bagel shop, preferably with smoked salmon or accompanied by a fried egg with bacon and melted cheddar cheese. The Jew in me cannot believe I’ve gone 5 months without a bagel and I will rectify this transgression shortly after arriving. Last but not least, I can’t wait to help myself to a cold glass of 1% High Lawn Farm milk. I drink the milk that need not be refrigerated until opening in milk and coffee, but I truly miss drinking milk with breakfast, lunch, or dinner. If you couldn’t tell, I’m pretty excited for some food from home.

more mmmmhmmm

3. While I would rather not own a car in Buenos Aires, or in Argentina in general, I very much enjoy driving, something I will be able to do while I am home. If only my family still had a manual car in the driveway, I would be tickled pink, but the automatic ones will more than do for me. That’s it, this one was pretty straight forward.

4. At the opposite end of the spectrum, I look forward to walking around my neighborhood with my dog, Tucker, who has essentially become a new dog since I left. My mother has told me that the news she delivered back in November of his change from a wild man to a gentleman, a change I’m quite anxious and excited to see after dealing with the pup’s crazy antics for so many years, continues to be a near model citizen. According to her, he has even been civil enough to have sleepovers in Jacob’s room on numerous occasions. I, too, want a doggy sleepover. Tucker, get ready for some quality time!

Not Tucker, but a dog of similar likeness.

I was all ready to go on a long rant about how excited I was to finally watch an episode of Lost on a large television in HD amongst other Lost fanatics (or maybe just one, but he's worth 5 regular fanatics), until I found out today while reading up on last night's episode that the show will be taking a week off the one week I will have the chance to watch it live. Very typical. I had similar dreams shattered when for about 2 minutes I thought I would be in the States to see the first weekend of March Madness only to figure out after further investigation that that would not be the case. I will have to settle for seeing the conference championships along with a healthy dose of NBA action, which would be the last item on my list of things I'm looking forward to. I've gotten to view a few basketball games this season, but no where near my yearly quota of somewhere between 50 and 500. I don't expect to satisfy said quota next week, but with basketball on all day and night, I'll definitely make a dent in it.

You might get an update from the states, but for now, I'm signing off. Fingers crossed for a painless trip home, see you all on the other side.