Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Home Sweet Home


I just got back to Syracuse. I'm looking at my bed in a whole new way.

I'm realizing I didn't give much info about Ed. He's 26 (about to turn 27). Within a half hour of walking in the door, Ed had made me a mojito with fresh mint leaves he picked from his parents' garden in New Jersey. He also insisted on buying the first round on account of his own couch surfing tradition. I guess you can throw journalistic ethics out the window.

Ed works as a waiter for a catering company in Philly, but he loves to write. Honestly, we got along great. He was very knowledgeable about everything from sports to politics to travel. He calls himself a "cultural omnivore," in the sense that he loves to explore the cultural impact in every sector of society. He offered some great insights and an awesome look at the Philly nightlife. It was also quite the contrast between the day with Judy and the night with Ed.

When I told Ed I had revealed his shirtless sleeping habits he just laughed and said, "Yeah, I sleep in the raw. You're just lucky you didn't get the whole show."

One interesting note I found out about Ed when he woke up. I noticed that he had a ton of wine and champagne corks lying around his room, and even more stowed away in bags. I asked him about it, and he said he's been collecting them from work since December. He now has over 2,000 of them. When I asked him why, he said he plans to build some sort of sculpture and call it the "cork mahal." One problem: He's still trying to figure out how to connect them together, since glue isn't working.

After Ed woke up (probably due to my incessant typing), we agreed a breakfast cheesesteak at John's Roast Pork would settle the Pabst. I know everyone says Geno's is the best, but Ed thought something with a less touristy feel would be good. I don't know how they make 'em at Geno's, but I know the cheesesteak at John's made my headache disappear.

And with that, I said my goodbyes to Ed and all of Philly. I would have taken a run up the Rocky stairs, but something tells me that heaving in front of the art museum, trying to hold back cheese steak, would only tarnish Rocky's reputation.

Stay tuned tomorrow for some more follow up.

- Evan

1 comment:

Brian Wright said...

Way to Nosh off the beaten path. O, and if Ed wants to hold the corks together, tell him to try using a long needle and some thread or just a hot glue gun. I'm sure one of those will work.