Meg
5:30pm on a Sunday
at Lux Lounge

Interview by Maria Gorre.

Published October 30, 2015.

What’s your favorite part of living in Rochester?

Well, I technically live in Spencerport, so I like the fact that I can live outside of the city, but it’s not that far away. That’s really cool that I can have the best of both worlds. I can live the city life without actually living in the city.

Do you have any favorite secret spots?

Well, I feel like so many people have been there, but I like Cobbs Hill. You can take the trail down to where the giant water towers are and where all the graffiti is. I love going there and taking pictures. I think that’s just an awesome place to be. And no one knows about it! You can’t see them. You have to know the area. I got brought down there one time five years ago and I was like, “Holy shit! What is this?” No one was yelling at us or anything, so that was pretty cool.

What’s your favorite time of day?

It never, ever, happens with my schedule, but I love it right at sunset. This time of day, actually. Especially in the summer when it starts to cool down and people start to come out of their caves. This time of the year is the best. It gets so hot in the summer. Which is completely weird because of how cold it is in the winter, (laughs) it’s terrible!

What’s your favorite day of the week? You kind of have a different schedule than most people, so I’m curious.

I know! That’s the problem because I bartend. When I’m in school, I work Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I have no fucking day off at all. I’m in school all day and then I go to work on the weekends. But right now? Sundays. I have off of work and no one is really doing anything, so everyone is down to chill. Parking is free in the city on the weekends, so that’s cool.

Do you have a favorite neighborhood?

I could pick two. In the city, it would be where University Ave and Alexander Street cross. My first friends that lived out here, that’s where their house was. So I feel like I practically I lived there with them. Not in the city, I grew up on Doewood Lane, which is off of Elmgrove Rd. That’s just always been cool. I used to hang out with all the kids in the neighborhood, you know, ride bikes. Climb up on the railroad tracks. They were right by my house and we’d go on the top of the Elmgrove bridge. When I got to be 15, we started smoking cigarettes up there. (laughs) We were so cool just chillin’ on this bridge.

You know they tore that bridge down, isn’t that sad?

It’s so strange. It was big deal when they tore it down. My childhood best friend and I used to hang out there all the time, and we were so sad. Our childhood was just plucked out of our visual sights.

I grew up basically in the village of Spencerport, so when they tore that bridge down, it was really weird too.
What’s your favorite bar?

Lux. I like Marshall Street. I like McColley’s in Spencerport. I’m not going to say my own bar that I work at because that would be stupid, so no.

What’s your favorite hungover eating spot?

Realistically speaking, I feel like I just go to McDonald’s because it’s down the street from my house. Fucking McDonald’s, man. (laughs)

What’s your personal coping mechanism for cold weather?

Get drunk. (laughs) I drink a lot of Red Stag and pretend I’m on a beach. Just kidding. I feel like in the winter I just drink with my friends. That’s honestly what I do.

Just having a day at the beach when the beach isn’t nasty and polluted and having a fire with all my friends.

(laughs) It doesn’t matter how cold, if you go to a bar here, there will be people in it.

I could tell you stories of when it’s negative degrees out, and there’s five feet of snow, and I’m truckin’ down East Ave going to the bar. (laughs) Crazy.

What’s your favorite Rochester memory?

This was pretty recently. The other day I showed up at [my friend] Dan’s apartment and we met Frankie at the Genesee Brew House. I had my camera with me and we didn’t have anything to do, so we just got dinner, had a few beers, and took pictures. Some of our other friends met us out. We went underneath the abandoned subway and we were hanging out down there hoping we didn’t get mugged by a hobo or something. And then we went to Washington Square Park, and there were just people playing music. Then we ended up coming here. It was just fun walking around and taking pictures. That was a recent memory that was pretty neat.

Describe your dream Rochester day.

Day drinking is involved. Not spending any money while you’re day drinking. (laughs) I guess probably being with all my friends and going to Durand Beach.Having a fire. The water would be clear and not disgusting, and I would be swimming in it. And I would have a boat and jetskis and we could go fishing. We’d have lots of beer. Just having a day at the beach when the beach isn’t nasty and polluted and having a fire with all my friends.

That’s sounds so nice. I want that day!

With longboards. And ukuleles.

Nice touch. If Rochester were a drink, what would it be?

Right now, the beer that comes to mind is an IPA, because you can get certain IPAs that are bitter as fuck, like winters in Rochester, but they’re always delicious in the end.