What an adventure! I spent yesterday on the lovely land just south of Manhatten known as Staten Island. I was invited by my kick-arse roomie from London to a bbq at her boyfriend's house. (Note: her boyfriend's name is Tony and his dad is Vinny--I am truly in New York!) The day turned out to be a complete blast! The free ferry ride over offered excellent views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and an amazing look at the Manhatten skyline. The people of Staten Island have the thickest New York accents but also the biggest hearts. They welcomed me in with open arms and open liquor bottles (a stash that would have rivaled the immense glory of wild Bluestone nights!) and more delicious food than I could squeeze in. I had a great potato knish and lots of Italin meats...it was nice.

The highlight of the night had to have been the crazy drinking game which managaed to bring together all of the parties participants in a loving, hugging, kissing, high-fiving mass of drunkeness. The game is called Flip Cup and basically consists of people forming teams of however many want to play. Then going down the line shooting beer from a dixie cup and then trying to flip the cup over on to its top with a quick flick of your finger. It's a lot harder than one would think and a whole lot more fun. I played twice and each time upon completeion of my task was met with huge bear hugs and being lifted off of the ground as people screamed around me...seriously, so fun!

Anyway, by the time I caught the eleven o'clock ferry back to the city I was totally exhausted but really happy that I got to meet some of the nicest people on Staten Island.

SIDEBAR: I saw my first rat the other day. It was huge and running down the street with about half a dozen men chasing him with a hoe and yelling about how big he was and how he must be eating well. Funny and frightening, but mostly just funny. Just another day in the city!