Sophie's photo roundup, part four

It was quite a shock last week when I heard that Sophie's had made the New York Post's "Page Six." Somebody quickly pulled out a copy for me to read:

December 20, 2007 -- It may be the final nail in the shared coffin of East Village dive bars. Two longstanding holes-in-the-wall, Sophie's on East Fifth Street and its sister spot, Mona's on Avenue B, are up for sale. "The neighborhood has changed so much," co-owner Bob Corton told Page Six. "I love both bars, but they're dinosaurs now." Corton plans to sell the low-lit saloons after the holidays. He has run Sophie's, which adopted its name from its original owner, the late Sophie Polny, since 1986. He opened Mona's in '89. Corton assured us he'll stay in the neighborhood but couldn't predict the future of his beloved drink tanks: "Once the places are sold, what happens to them is really out of my hands."

Wow. I've been thinking a lot about this the past week. Obviously, I just hope that whoever buys Sophie's and/or Mona's doesn't strip either place of its essential character. It seems to me there's a real appreciation for these kinds of well-worn gathering places. Spring of 2008 is shaping up to be an interesting time.
But the holiday season is a real down-time for the pool league, the matches are few and far between. Personally, I've had a hard time keeping up any kind of momentum. There were only two times this season where I played matches on back-to-back weeks. Even if I play in our final match on January 8th, I'll be 50/50 in terms of weeks I played vs. weeks I sat out. Next season I want to avoid that. The only person on our team who has played less than me is our official captain, Caveman. Unfortunately, he's been in the hospital a lot lately and thus has only three matches played.
There have been some good times as always, sure. "Definitely," as Slima always says. I just wish I didn't get that little nag of guilt every time I go out for a night of pool. It just seems like it's a little frivolous in times like these, when my workload is very light. Still, I long to get back to Sophie's this weekend. One of the last times I was there I had a great night, stringing eight or nine wins together.
I am trying to wrap up 2007, get caught up on paperwork, take any assignments I can get between the holidays. The biggest thing on my plate is that within the next few days I'm going to find out for sure if I'll be moving to the East Village. A good friend of mine is subleasing her spacious fifth floor walkup on 7th Street close to Avenue A, and it would be a perfect place for Yvonne and I to take care of until late 2009. I have grown fond of the neighborhood in the last few years. But considering the lingering uncertainty about Sophie's, the timing of this move could be bittersweet. We'll see.