9:15am Wake up. Think about getting out of bed. Normally I probably wouldn’t quite yet, but I want some time to putz around before I have to leave for a baby shower in the neighborhood. Putz around. Drink coffee, have breakfast, peruse my favorite blogs, check out the real estate section of the NY Times (it’s a unhealthy obsession).
10:00am Start getting dressed and looking presentable. I’ve never been to the host’s apartment before, so I decide to take a Claritan for good measure in case they have cats, which is likely.
10:40am Decide that this is a good time to write my Friday post, even though this baby shower is supposed to start at 11am.
10:55am Finish the post, wrap myself in many layers, and head out the door. It’s a nice brisk walk and only takes me about 15 minutes max.
11:10am Arrive at the brownstone that the host owns (and rents out the top two floors). Everyone is gathered in the kitchen around the food and it is nice and cozy. I see a cat on top of the dining room table and I learn they have four cats total. Thank god for the Claritan. Eat lots of yummy food, drink more coffee, chat, watch the mom-and-dad-to-be open gifts. Watch the mom-to-be’s eyes open wide at some of the gifts that she didn’t know she would even need (I will not get into the gory details here). The crowd is all 30-somethings, only three of which have children. Some of the childless guests secretly rejoice at not needing to know the difference between a regular bib and a super-bib.
1:50pm Walk back home and take a nap. All those cats tested the limits of my Claritan and I am knocked out.
4:00pm Wake up from my nap and Skype with mein Schatz. I tell him about the baby shower, and he tells me about his office Christmas party.
5:00pm Putz around for awhile. (That’s my favorite thing to do on the weekend.)
5:20pm Call Suzanne and see if we’re still on for Unsilent Night. We make plans to meet at 6:15pm. I dress warmly.
6:15pm We meet up and head for the train.
6:50pm We arrive at Washington Square Park and join the growing crowd carrying boomboxes and speakers. We look around for Dave, who is kindly supplying us with our sound systems. He has already picked up the audio cassettes of Unsilent Night, a composition by Phil Kline. The crowd grows larger, despite it being below freezing.
7:00pm-ish We receive our instructions over a megaphone, and relatively on-cue, we all press the play buttons on our tape decks. The music begins on hundreds of stereos at once. We proceed from Washington Square Park towards Tompkins Square Park, hundreds of people carrying boomboxes playing the same music, along the city sidewalks. We receive looks of amazement and interest, and a general feeling of calm pervades what is otherwise on overwhelming section of the city.
7:45pm-ish Everyone arrives in the park and the piece comes to an end. There is complete silence for a few moments, and then everyone cheers. The crowd disbands. We discuss our plans, and decide on dinner back in Brooklyn. We head for the train.
8:30pm-ish Arrive back in Brooklyn. Stop at Suzanne’s to drop off the tape players, and then walk over to one of our favorite restaurant, Bogota. We’re told it is a 20-minute wait, so we settle in near the bar and sip mojitos and sangria.
9:00pm-ish We are seated, in the backyard, which is heated and covered. Good thing, because it’s sleeting outside. I order the pork chops with black beans and cilantro mashed potatoes. Among other things, we discuss the topics of immigration in Europe, and under what circumstances we might possibly be swayed to leave New York City. We order the flan for dessert.
10:40pm-ish We all head home. It is so cold out! I take a shower to warm up, and then return my Mom’s phone call.
11:30pm I hit the sheets.