It’s difficult to get back into the swing of things at work after a long weekend. Four-day weeks usually feel longer than normal five-day weeks to me, although that doesn’t mean I don’t want any more days off.

I feel a little bad that I’ve been fairly antisocial lately - it’s not that I don’t like any of my friends anymore, it’s just that I feel so worn out at the end of the day that all I want to do when I get home is eat dinner and go to bed. Weekends are better, but my free time is so precious to me that I often find myself wanting to do nothing but luxuriate in it. Wear pajamas for most of the day, watch movies or play video games, take full advantage of being able to relax while I can. That said, I think Al and I are going to try to hit up small weekly events more frequently, if only for the music. We go to bars and drink anyway - we may as well do it at places that play stuff we actually enjoy listening to.

One thing we’re always talking about is how there’s no really nice afterwork bar for our crowd. Nice in the sense that it’s spacious, has large tables or booths suitable for groups, tastefully decorated, possibly serves appetizers, etc. Good music and open early are the real sticking points - we want somewhere we could go at 5pm for cocktails and Sisters of Mercy. Don’t tell me I should be at the Raven or Korova, please - we don’t want somewhere that feels like someone’s mom’s basement. New York is packed to the gills with gorgeous venues that fit all of these requirements except for the music - for example the Tenth Street Lounge or Zanzibar. We make do with a couple of places that favor 80s music or take requests, but it’s not quite the same. A shame, really.