After my long, long weekend, and a long, long drive back from Westchester due to a heavy traffic load for lots of the trip, I decided to head to Castaways before I went home.

A couple of friends had invited me to "Stop the War in MyRaq," a benefit concert "fun raiser" at Castaways aimed at helping women under 30 with breast cancer, and one local in particular. I missed the first two performers, but got to see the Katherine Aelias Band (shown here), who I hadn't seen perform in years, and Tyson Alston, a Binghamton performer I'd never heard of. He started out mellow enough that I thought the decision to have him close the show was an iffy one, but he got more interesting and turned out to be a great, energetic performer.

Couldn't make it and want to donate? Chip in here.

They were raffling off lots of donated prizes, some of which even appealed to me, and had a silent auction, again with some items that appealed to me. There was also a bake sale and there was some cold pizza for sale by the slice. It didn't quite match the "food" I was expecting (Castaways has a kitchen that's open once in a while), so I didn't end up eating much dinner. On my way home, both the Subway and Burger King at East Hill Plaza were already closed, saving me from the impulse to have another full meal. I had a bowl of cereal later, but the limited eating options helped close out a weekend where I actually lost a little weight, rather than gaining any. Now I just have to keep that up.