magicbeans. nothing if not awkward.

Call to Chris.

'Hey, what's up?'

'I'm not doing a whole lot at work this afternoon. Just calling to see what you're up to this evening.'

'I just got to Julia's, I'm probably going to be in Astoria for a while. You know that Garth is in town, right?'

'No, actually. I mean, I knew he was coming this weekend, but I thought he was getting here tomorrow.'

'He's at Dave's. He might be sleeping right now, but you should give him a call. Call me back later if you make any plans.'

---

Call to Garth.

'Hey Bean.'

'So what's this I hear about you being in New York and not calling? I thought you were going to be here tomorrow?'

'We were going to be here tomorrow, but Edie and I decided to leave earlier yesterday and drive all night. We just got in a little while ago. We're walking to prospect park right now.'

'So what are you up to tonight?'

'I'm going to go see a friend that I haven't seen since high school. She's having a dinner party. You want to go to a dinner party? She said I could bring friends.'

'That might get a little out of hand if you show up with five or six friends.'

'I suppose you're right. But maybe we could all get together later tonight.'

---

Call to Chris.

'Did you talk to Garth?'

'Yeah. He's going to a dinner party. Some friend that he hasn't seen in years, who lives in New York now.'

'I suspect that you're hungry though.'

'Yeah. I was wondering if maybe you and Julia wanted to come into Manhattan to get something to eat.'

'We were headed to the park, but I guess we could do that. How long can you wait to eat?'

'I don't know. What time is it? Six? Maybe an hour or so.'

'We'll meet at Union Square in about an hour?'

'Sounds good.'

---

Dinner at VP2. Then out to Dave's house in Park Slope. Julia tried to get me to give my number to a girl playing guitar in the West 4th subway station. Which, probably needless to say, didn't happen. We hung out at Dave's for a bit, then Chris and I headed to Williamsburg to meet up with both Garth and Sarah.P at Barcade.

I've walked past Barcade before, but never been inside. Basically it's a small, still very industrial, warehouse space that's been converted into a bar with about 20 vintage arcade machines (which you can play for 25¢) along the outer walls. As you can probably guess, it was full of hipsters embracing the nostalgia of their youth. Or, in most cases, of five years before their youth. Although, the wide selection of beers on tap does make it more than just a niche themed bar.

Met Garth's friend Evy. Had a few drinks. Sarah left. Chris left. We walked down the street to Union Pool for one more drink. I was a little surprised that on a Friday night at two different hipster bars in Williamsburg I hadn't run into anyone that I knew (or even recognized) from RISD, other than the ones I was out with. As I'm fond of pointing out, you can hardly swing a cat in Brooklyn without hitting a couple of RISD kids.

But a little later, on the L back into Manhattan, I got onto the first car just as the doors were closing (I would have walked back to the last car, if I had had time) and Red, who was in the year after me at RISD, in apparel, who I've run into in some unexpected places, was sitting there.