I beg your pardon, sir -- I thought you were signaling for the check.

The summer in New York has been disgusting, and now it's spreading to the NoFo.  We were up there again this weekend, and the heat and humidity were so bad it felt like we were floating in a pot of boiling pasta.  And with all the air-conditioners running at full capacity, we were blessed with some rolling black-outs as well!  I made the mistake of going for a run (which is usually how I start every story about going for a run) and thought I'd need to be choppered back to the city.  We're thankfully back in the our climate controlled apartment, but I dread that first step into the subway station tomorrow morning...it's like being locked in a baking dumpster.

We did, however, try to relax and take advantage of the help this weekend.  ECG has taken to calling Chloe "Turtle," which conjures images of a recent trip to the Central Park Zoo (Parental Advisory Suggested)  I'm not sure that's my top choice for pet-names.  But if she's willing to take the 3-5 AM shift for a night then she can call her "Turd Blossom" for all I care. 

The big event for us was visiting our friends Mary and Jimmy for a barbecue with other parents.  This was the first time EVER I've sat with people who had kids and not felt like I was from a different planet.  The conversation ranged from a recent story on "Clothing Optional Dinners" on NPR (thus the headline above) to the advantages of having an adopted child.  This last one was fascinating to me.  Apparently, if you have a belligerent Korean child who likes to punch other kids at the playground, and you look and talk like a bloke who stays up late watching Arsenal v. Newcastle United on BBC, then you can pretend that the child isn't yours when he misbehaves, dodging some awkwardness with the other parents.  A nifty trick, albeit with disturbing implications.  "Why are you following me??  Go find your real dad!" 

In any event, we're glad to be home for a few days.  Chloe's weekend involved six-hours of gas pain and crying before each bowel movement, which unfortunately for us also occurred every six hours.  She's sleeping now (somewhat inexplicably) and I'm waiting to bathe and squeegee the two inch thick film from her body.  That's probably not something you'd see on a "restaurant nude", or at least let's hope not....