"Nice Game Pretty Boy!"

Monday, May 08, 2006

"Well, You Know, I've Been Lyin' About My Income for a Few Years. I Figured I Could Afford a Fake House in the Hamptons."



Due to a busy weekend, I've been off the blog for a couple of days. Yesterday (Sunday), while nursing a wicked hangover from back-to-back birthday party drink-fests, my wife and I, along with our friend Marty, went looking for houses to rent out in the Hamptons. Yes, I am "one of those people" who spends time in the favorite summer playground of Alec Baldwin and other annoying celebrities, with whom I fortunately never have the displeasure to interact. This has been a summer tradition for me since my ragin' single days in the late 90's and early 00's, and one that, thankfully, my wife has embraced in our 30's. When I was in my 20's it was all about the share house, where you plunk down a couple thousand dollars to share a bedroom with 5 or 6 people and spend the weekend by the pool, playing hoops and/or tennis and drinking in anticipation of the big night out, which consisted of either body shots at one of the cheesier hotspots in West Hampton, Quogue or Hampton Bays, or donning your best black shirt and spending $300 for a table at one of the swankier lounges in Southhampton, Wainscott or East Hampton. Now, in my 30's, we rent a house ourselves (with money we've saved throughout the year and help from a friend or two--I can't wait to tell my future children that I squandered their college money on vacation homes). We have our own bedroom, still spend the weekend by the pool and (when the ocean warms up), the beach, but take some time enjoy some of the culinary delights of the local restaurants or get our drink on at Cyril's and the Blue Parrot for Happy Hour and see live music at The Stephen Talkhouse at night. I've also been trying to learn to surf, which, in addition to providing some comic relief to the locals, has been a lot of fun, and makes my wife very proud to tell people she's married to "a surfer" (which, anyone who could see me out there, would know is a bald-faced lie, but I let her have her fun). There are plenty of other activities we enjoy out East (eating baked Clams at the Dock House in Sag Harbor, which Keith Hernandez will tell you is good eats; back yard bar-b-q's and beachside clam bakes, where you can enjoy cheap wine and cold beer, trips to the local vineyards to enjoy some better wine (starting to see a pattern here?), but I'll spare you the details because (A) I don't want to bore the non-East End readers (B) I may need something to write about later this summer. My only regret about spending time at the Beach, is that it keeps me away from the weekend action at Shea Stadium. I will therefore have to make up for this by going to more ballgames during the week (the 7 train is jut two blocks from my office) and by continuing to read The Metropolitans and Toasted Joe. Of course, I'll also be watching Gary, Keith & Ron describe the action (and talk about chicks), but even a 13-3 drubbing by the hated Braves is a lot easier to take when watching from the pool and sipping your Corona. BEAT PHILLY!!

7 Comments:

  • Fuck Shea. Give me a TV/radio with bbq's, beer, and a pool anyday. You ever been to a game during August or July in the mid 90's?

    You can go to Shea during the week.

    By Blogger michael o., at 1:40 PM  

  • I've always been a tangential Hamptons guy - my dad has a place in Quogue that's like a half-mile away from the share house my friends had in '03-'04 (not sure if you had a share in that one, Bookie D). It was fun sleeping in a clean bed in a quiet house and then biking over to the share house to drink. Only drawback was the bike ride home. Apparently street lights are frowned upon out there. Once I had to use the backlight from my cellphone to illuminate a street sign.

    By Blogger Toasty Joe, at 1:47 PM  

  • Believe me, weekends at Shea would never prevent me from spending time by the pool or at the beach. I just happen to enjoy being at the ballpark a lot more during the daytime than at night (though if you read Toasty Joe, you wouldn't know I enjoy anything at Shea). You forgot to mention that I LOVED that they brought back the original 1962 version of "Meet the Mets", complete with the lyrics, "Bring Your Kiddies; Bring Your Wife; Guaranteed to have the Time of Your Life." Great, great stuff.

    I was in a Quogue house with some of your friends during the summer of 2001. In fact, that's where I first met SonnyD and The Schwizz. That was my last summer in Quogue. Speaking of the Mets (aren't we always?), one thing that I will not miss about the sharehouse experience is the battle over the house TV between Yankees and Mets fans. Most houses I did had Mets fans in the majority, but not all of them, so I sometimes had to suffer annoying afternoons and evenings with Kaye & Co. This is not a concern for me anymore, at least not at the house. It also helps that the afternoon bartender at the Blue Parrot is a huge Mets fan, so we always win the battle of the TV.

    By Blogger BookieD, at 2:03 PM  

  • Right - my '03-'04 was way off. It was more like '01-'02, wasn't it?

    By Blogger Toasty Joe, at 2:16 PM  

  • Ah...the good ol' days. The Drift Inn and Jaeger shots...was there ever a better combination? Well, {insert anything} and Jaeger shots are the best.

    By Blogger SonnyD, at 4:31 PM  

  • That post just made me 1000 times as likely to sign up for a share this summer.

    By Blogger Count Choculitis, at 5:13 PM  

  • That post just made me 1000 times as likely to sign up for a share this summer.

    By Blogger Count Choculitis, at 5:14 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home