We have fun at home!

I came back from vacation and it turns out there's lots of fun stuff to do in Brooklyn.

Settling Back into Brooklyn

After going on such a huge trip where I got to experience lots of of new stuff, it was nice to come back and experience some of the things I love to do in Brooklyn.

The Welcome to Brooklyn sign seemed fitting to include here. It’s hanging above the highway on the Pulaski Bridge that connects Brooklyn and Queens. I spied it one day while walking home from work and snapped a quick pic. The funny thing to me is that they claim it’s “Like No Other Place” which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s different in a good way.

Anyways, cut to a morning in Brooklyn. Making coffee in the morning is a ritual for me at this point. While going out to grab a cup on vacation is nice, making it at home feels so cozy, and it’s a great way to start the day. The tiny cup you can see above was made in our Moka pot which makes it strong and tasty.

Returning to work wasn’t too bad. I basically picked up right where I left off, writing code to support a financial application. I take my time during the workday to focus on completing tasks, and when lunch time rolls around I sometimes treat myself to a sandwich from my local deli. I’ve always been a sucker for a turkey sandwich as I’m sure most of you know.

We were fortunate to have some decent weather in April, so when working time is over I sometimes take a long walk. McGolrick park in Greenpoint is a good destination because it has a charming neighborhood feel. It’s nice for switching out of work mode, plus there are a bunch of dogs over there.

The London Effect / Beer!

My time in London definitely influenced my leisure activities. I enjoyed going to the pub over there so much that I found myself wanting to go grab beers more often in NYC. Only now that I reflect am I realizing that I spent a decent amount of time hanging out and having beers with friends.

The funny thing, too, is that all the pictures above are technically still in Greenpoint. Spritzenhaus33 is a neighborhood staple since who doesn’t love a German beer hall? I met Kaylon there one day for a drink, and on another day we met Ashely, Sirina, and Kaylon there and sat outside.

Cindy and I tried a new pinball bar that opened on the northern end of Greenpoint (they have like 40 pinball machines, it’s crazy).

Nikhil and I went to happy hour at Good Bar before going for a night out.

The only thing I’m missing is a picture from trivia night in Alphabet City. We lost, by the way, but we still did pretty well overall.

Miscellaneous Shenanigans

Ever have those days where you kinda just do whatever? The back half of April was full of those. Here are some of the events that made an impression on me.

My walks took me to some fun local spots. One of my favorite destinations was this weird park that’s under a bridge. I feel like nobody knows about it, but it’s just a big park built under the Kosciuszko Bridge that goes all the way to the water, and the whole time I was there I couldn’t stop humming “Under the Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

I went to the MoMA with my buddy Luc. It was a nice spot to go on a rainy day even though neither of us know all that much about art. Also, I’m a member there, so I can bring guests whenever. I should really be going there more often. They show lots of films at the MoMA theater.

In gamer news, Cindy and I continued our Fallout 4 play-through, and we’re really close to beating the game. I hadn’t played a Fallout game in a while, so we’ve been having a blast playing as a way to unwind at the end of the day. I don’t remember why, but I put a blanket on Cindy’s head while she was playing and took a picture.

I was looking through photos and realized that I actually didn’t really take any photos of myself in the past month. How can I write Ian’s Newsletter without including a picture of Ian? Here’s one of me outside the Louvre, hope you like it.

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So occasionally I make errors because writing a newsletter is hard, and most often it’s that I forgot to include an event I went to or something along those lines. Allow me to make a correction. You might remember that March/Early April was a big time for birthdays, but I forgot to mention one! And yeah while it would be weird to mention birthdays for every single person I know, I gotta prioritize the folks who consistently read the newsletter because I really appreciate those of you who see the email and actually take the time to read it. Happy belated birthday to Sirina!

And with that correction, I think I’ve exhausted both my April content and my writing muscles. Hope all of you are well and enjoying the month of May in the year 2025.

As always, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one.

-Ian