Fourth of July BBQs

Despite the running around and craziness, this was one of the most relaxing Fourth of July weekends I've ever had.
My first year I worked because I got holiday pay. I ran out of the Strand at 9 pm, leapt onto a train, and arrived in Williamsburg just in time for the fireworks. I was on a seriously crowded rooftop, and Jen and I stood on top of a cooler to see, holding onto each other to keep from falling off. Then, I had a magical NYC moment. I said, "The only thing that would make this better, is if I had an ice-cold beer." And a guy standing in front of me, without even turning around, reached behind his back and handed me a 40oz Bud. Ask and ye shall receive.
The next year Christy was visiting. She destroyed me in many ways (see Flesh Eating Diseases from last year) but I will never regret sitting out on the FDR to watch fireworks. It is not exactly relaxing, but I highly recommend it for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
This year was the parade of BBQs. On Saturday, we went to Sonal's loft (Joe's friend Rupal's sister) and drank for 8 hours. It was me, Joe, this random guy who kept blending drinks in a frenzy of 3 blenders in front of him, and about 50 Indians. A super friendly crew who puts on a fancy BBQ. Rupal was about to explode with child, so we spent a lot of time sitting inside (where there's AC) chatting with her.
Sunday we went to Joe's mom's house in Jersey. What is normally an hour and a half bus ride, turned into over 3 hours with a combination of holiday weekend traffic and a nasty motorcycle accident ahead of us. A few girls had to jump off the bus to go pee in the woods, then run to catch up with the bus again (okay, walk. We were going half a mile an hour). I was fine, but Joe didn't feel so great (after 8 hours of drinking--see Saturday) and he was worried about his mom waiting for us at the station and the guys home alone. Everyone was fine in the end, as I knew they would be, and we had a really nice time. Joe fired up burgers, Nancy blended Margaritas, and I eventually whipped up some really tasty Orange-Rum Juliuses, if I do say so myself. A really wicked lightning storm knocked out the lights for a few minutes at the end of the night. It was amazing to watch. It was the last time I'll see Joe's mom before we move, and the last time Joe will see that house, since they're moving the same weekend we are. His mom held up admirably though, and only cried a little.
Monday Joe worked and I watched TV all. day. long. I was in heaven. Also managed to finish polishing my resume and apply for a few jobs.
Tuesday was the Day O'Brooklyn. We went to Dina and Noah's for a Kosher Vegetarian cookout in their backyard. It was incredibly hot, but they filled up the kiddie pool and I splashed around with Mya, their 18 month old daughter, and some neighbor kids. Later, I saw Mya about to stick her fingers in the fan and I grabbed her and pulled her away. I expected her to start shrieking because normally she doesn't want much to do with me. Instead she held tight to my hand and dragged me into the living room to play. Jump to ten minutes later and I'm swinging her around by her ankles while she screams with happiness. I was sweating buckets. I was afraid her little legs would slip out of my slimy hands and she would go sailing across the room like a discus. But she did not want me to stop and when we left she cried.
We cut across Brooklyn on the G train and arrived at Bibbi's BBQ just in time for food. Turkey burgers (where's my cow?!?!?) but real hot dogs and a tasty strawberry shortcake someone showed up with later. It's always fun hanging with the gang. Then we rushed to Oriana's rooftop in time to see the fireworks over in Brooklyn. They were underwhelming, considering we were almost directly beneath them last year, but there were enough fireworks being shot from our rooftop and the rooftops around us to still be exciting.