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I drove up to New York City on Thursday while popping back some sunflower seeds and listening to the Beatles. God damn, I’m a hippy. En route, I had a conference call with my team at IBM on licensing issues with open source software. There is only one more week before I’m working down at IBM in North Carolina. I cannot wait.

Becca and I sat down for dinner at a local restuarant in Jersey City near her new apartment. Becca is looking amazing, as always. She took me down to Typhoon in downtown Manhattan. We had some sushi and drinks courtesy of the bartender Joe, Becca’s new roommate. I DD’d but made sure Becca was properly gone before the night was through.

Becca had work on Friday and I kept productive by fixing her computer woes. I went to catch the train to meet her for lunch. As the train approached I could see a shower of sparks from underneath. As this was the first train I have taken in New York, I didn’t think much of the fireworks. Then a blindingly white arc of sparks shot from the side of the train and filled the station with thick plumes of smoke. I hesitated for a second as some people screamed and shouted, but decided now wasn’t the time to take a picture and followed everyone else up the stairs. When the sparks stopped, everyone came back downstairs. I snapped a photo of the smoke as everyone boarded the train. Nobody was in the least bit phased or concerned about riding the train, except for a couple of people who complained about the smoke. New York.

Becca and I ate lunch and then she released me into the city while she went back to work. Guised as a tourist with my camera, I walked down Broadway and across the Brooklyn Bridge. It started to pour later in the afternoon. I purchased a cheap umbrella and made my way back to the financial district.

That night, we went out to dinner at a very nice Italian restaurant and then went to see Becca’s other roommate, Elle, in a fashion show. I brought my camera along and joined a few other photographers covering the event.

Saturday was fairly lazy. We woke up pretty late and got some breakfast at IHOP. Becca’s new car was covered in bird shit. There were no less than 15 shits on the front windshield alone. It took some hunting, but we found a cheap car wash. Afterwards, we went and looked at puppies for the rest of the afternoon. I had to pry Becca’s hands off of a cute boston terrier. Financial and roommate situations prevented us from taking the dog home.

We went and saw Elliott perform in a play. It made our heads hurt. It didn’t make any sense at all, but that was the point. It was a surreal clash of Casablanca and the Maltese Falcon with hints of cohesive comedy. After the show, we relaxed at her apartment and watched a videotape of Becca’s last show.

I drove Becca back to Baltimore on Sunday. We caught her sister’s musical performance at Friends school and then I headed home to York. I spent the rest of the evening playing the photos I took. Gimp rocks, but I am going to install Photoshop under linux. I did get some quality pictures this weekend, but I need to improve my photoshop skills.

I learned this weekend that I need more confidence. I deserve to have more. I have plenty when I have a drink - but with a little acting practice, I should be able to have it anytime. I just need to unwind and never hesitate.