the taurus

Last night Aijia and I took two buses down to Sheepshead Bay, which is all the way down on the other side of Brooklyn, to attend our friend Justin's 30th birthday party. He lives on a converted ferry boat on the marina there. Our journey took a whole two hours and we were so exhausted when we hopped off public transport that we immediately sat down in a Dunkin' Donuts and ate a donut each. Afterwards we boarded our friend's amazing houseboat, where he lives with his girlfriend and twin sister. There was a mini Dachshund in attendance at the party and she was the sweetest, tiniest little dog who would scratch at your leg so you would pick her up. When she wasn't in someone's arms, she was imperceptibly scuttling around on the ground and often getting kicked. Many of the other attendees were Burner-types, vegan-types, and there were all sorts of little snacks like deviled eggs, liquors being lit on fire and breathed in with a straw, and the birthday candles were stuck in a delicious chia pudding.

The boat was not an enormous boat but it exhibited an incredible use of space and had two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a workshop. The bathroom was probably the strangest I've ever seen, with a toilet that incinerates your poop into white ash. We spent some time out on the deck and it smelled like ocean. When Hurricane Sandy hit, there was a fist-sized hole in the basement and jellyfish washed in in the flooding. When it's crab mating season, Justin says he scooped up a bucketful of crabs and fried them. The party music started as Hank Williams but turned to house.