MLK Weekend

Aside from today, I've been having a very nice MLK weekend. Friday night, I went with two of my girl friends to see "Stomp the Yard," a movie with a predictable story line, some amazing dancing/stepping sequences, and so much eye candy that the women in the theater were going crazy hooting and hollering. Think "Bring it On," but with gorgeous brown-skinned boys. Channing Tatum better watch out!

Saturday, I headed to Queens to meet up with another one of my girl friends and a bunch of her friends for delicious Indian food and salsa dancing in this club that just opened up in Jackson Heights. I don't get out to Queens that often, because it's a hike, but it was worth it. Dinner was delicious and so much fun. I caught up with my friend and had a great time getting to know her other friends. I've decided that this is apparently the way to meet new people: Go out in groups with your friends and ask them to bring along their friends, and gradually everyone's social circle expands. In the last two months, I've met about 20 totally new people that way, several of whom I really liked and with whom I could see developing friendships.

Salsa dancing was a bit of a trip. I've never taken a class and didn't know anything! I felt slightly embarrassed for the guys who asked me to dance despite my protestations that I totally sucked, because I could see they wanted to show off their moves and I was just not the girl to help them. One guy told me to just "go with the music." Yeah, right! Between watching my feet, counting, and concentrating very hard in an effort to stay on the beat, there was no going with the music. You know Baby's older sister attempting to dance in "Dirty Dancing"? In her grass skirt and coconut bra? That was basically me at the Mambo Room. I think next time I'm going to take a lesson before going salsa dancing, for everyone's benefit.

Yesterday, I had a lovely time during the day with my cousin, who I recently found out lives in New York on the upper west side. Technically, she's my second cousin, but family no less. I had brunch with her and her boyfriend at one of my favorite places, Le Pain Quotidien, and then my cousin and I went to the Met. We spent most of our time at the Met looking at Chinese and South Asian art, and breezed through the Impressionist paintings in our last hour. It was so much fun and it satisfies one of my new year's resolutions, to do more cultural things in the City. Bravo, to me! I spent Sunday night drinking wine with my roommate talking about men, sex, and relationships. It's so much fun to live with a girl again!

Which brings me to today, a holiday on which I'm supposed to be celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy, but am instead at the office slaving away for Dragon Lady. My firm is closed today, but I have some summaries that are overdue and on Friday evening, a minute before she left for the weekend, Dragon Lady left me a really nasty message saying that the summaries "Better be done by Tuesday [Insert sneer]." Apparently, she wanted to start the weekend off right by being a total uncompromising bi-atch to a junior associate. I hope it brought her a lot of joy. According to Dragon Lady each summary should only take a "half hour." Perhaps other mortals could accomplish such a task in a half hour, but there's no way I can see to summarize an 800-page deposition transcript in a half hour. She's basically on crack.

The fact that she left me a nasty message made me want to do the exact opposite of what she had ordered me to do, of course. However, since this is still my job, and since I know that I will only feel better once I get her off my back, I've decided that I have no choice but to grit my teeth and grind these summaries out.

This is a hideous, useless, and pathetic way of celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King day. However, it is what it is, and thanks to him at least I have an extra day to get this b.s. done so that I can focus on the real work that I need to do tonight: getting prepped for my first interview with another firm tomorrow!

Here's some eye candy (Columbus Short) from "Stomp the Yard" for you viewing pleasure: