Oct 29-31 - "Holla" Weekend and All the Scary people you can drink with

A great finish to a busy week. Much work and now much play. I arrived home to a delivery of a nice steak dinner from Jack's Fifth Avenue, with sides of mashed potatoes and spinach. Cleared off the steak, and the spinach, a few mouthfuls of the cheese covered mash and then it was time to change into our traveling clothes and prepare to step out. The weather was clear and the night was nice as we drove into town in the Murano and found a parking space one block over on 18th street. Because the time was before 12 mid we were able to cut through the parking lot and then cross the street to front of the line. Said hi to Ray at the head of the line and pick up an apple licorice string from Lisa to clear the palate before we stepped inside. Said hi the cashier and then headed down to coatcheck as I put away the coats while Pais picked up the first drinks. The crowd at Splash was not as big as the Frankie party from the week before but the boys kept streaming in for DJ Alex Lauterstein as his trademark hard party style kept the room moving. I ignored the siren song of the music for a while and then finally left Pais and Brett in the lounge to take a trip upstairs to dance on the stage. After the stage I went down to the dance floor and became one with the boys dancing to the beat of bass and the sound of the drums. On the dance floor I met one of my recurring party friends who was entertaining a friend from England. Our new friend Peter was over here in the US doing press for an english castle/hotel called Lumley Castle. The website was pretty cool, someday when I finally hit that island overseas I'll stop in and see the place. We traded numbers and websites and continued on imbibing Vodka redbulls and plenty of water. The boys stayed on well into the evening dancing to infectious sounds thrown out by the DJ and before I left I stopped by the booth to say thanks for the great time and even threw out a last request (suggestion?) for Cinderella's "Where's my Shoe?", of course the DJ was already searching through his box for that very song and even as I had prepared to step out the door in my leather jacket I handed it back over to Pais so I could have my last dance before leaving. Afterwards we picked up the mags at the door and stepped out into the night. The ride home was uneventful and the first night of the weekend was under wraps.

Saturday we awoke to a fresh new day and a trip into downtown Brooklyn to visit the newest neighborhood location for the Vitamin Shoppe. The Flatbush/Atlantic Ave location was big, the staff was friendly, and the selection well done as I picked up my latest vitamins and the supplements I was almost out of. We then trekked over to Wendy's and had that Biggie size lunch to make sure we had the energy to get through the rest of the afternoon. A quick stop at the best 99cent store I know (on Willoughby St) and a slight detour for a pair of scissors and we were headed back home to chill out and finally watch the second half of the movie "Underwold". Nothing like dark scenes, violence and mayhem and plenty of moody monsters to get a person in the mood for a night of Halloween weekend. Some working out, and some cartoons and then an italian dinner delivered and we were ready to clean up and prepare to pick out our wares for the eve to hang with the boys in the city. Paramedic pants, coaches shirt and wifebeater underneath topped off by an NYPD cap and my all blue outfit was completed. Pais went for an all camo-green look and army cap to complete his ensemble. Poor Jimmy was relegated to putting together a look at the last minute as laundry day had snuck up and denied one of all options. After some impromptu S&M (stand and model) an undercover cop look was picked out and we were ready to venture out into the night and drive up the West side as we headed up to 18th Street and the Sat Night Party they all go to. The place filled up early and the Roxy party goers were in full regalia as the costumed and the gawkers all filed in continuously for quite a lot of bodies in a hot space. The music was great as DJ Peter Rauhofer treated the boys to his trademark tribal beats and some new mashups as we watched the catman and the policeman dance on the speaker in the asian section. The hot lights (webs and skull projections) and the number of revelers combined to keep it heated inside. The smoking section outside reached capacity quite often and I found myself using my police gear to great effect as I played crossing guard, police captain and crowd control officer at three separate times during the night. (Respect my authoritah!) Besides all that leadership fun we enjoyed all the costumes, the great Barker drinks (thanks man) and the staff of the whole place making sure that despite all of the drama the vast majority of boys had a great time. We left the place at 5am (6am really) and had a great early morning breakfast at the diner up the street near 23rd street. Afterwards we flagged down a car and made our way back to BK for a well deserved rest.

Sunday blew in with a blast of warm air signaling the return of our Indian Summer and a great day to go out and see the town. The trick or treaters started early as we travelled up to 7th ave to pick up our lunch at the Italian Deli (and some strange coffee flavored soda from the makers of San Pellegrino). It was a good hearty lunch (dry bread but great smoked turkey) and we spent the afternoon relaxing. We finally got up and went out to go shopping for dinner fixings and more soda and ended up picking up a nice spread. I ended up making italian sausage and using it to add meat to my spaghetti sauce. The sausage was a hit and the dinner, while very filling, was very very good. After that I just lazed around watched The Wire and Family Bonds on HBO and looked up interesting blogs on the internet. The Halloween weekend was over and while the day was filled with 3 foot crazed killers with axes I found that these are the kind of things that make you laugh and know that you no longer have to be afraid of some of visuals that scared us in the past few years at the movies. If the kids don't have to be afraid and own that fear by wearing it down the street to get candy from strangers then us adults have nothing else to fear come nightfall if we just prepare for the worst and hope for the best. When you got it, you keep it and make it work for you.

Until next time.
Keep it scary.

Oct 22-24 - A weekend in October, Books, Boys and Pornstars too

The end of the week can never come fast enough it seems. There are plenty of places where there is fun to be had in the city so after some cleanup, a wardrobe change and a quick run out to where the ride was waiting, the night is begun. Not too much traffic and the lights were not against the drive so then we arrived at 12:10 at Splash. After a quick trip downstairs where bartender Brett was presiding we had our first imbibement of the evening under wraps and the night was moving nicely. DJ Frankie Knuckles was throwing out a nice vibelicious groove and the guys and boys and girls were feeling it. I went upstairs to hear "How Would You Feel" and danced on the stage while the packed dancefloor cheered him on and the lights were dancing along with the crowd. I noticed the motion of the lights several times while I was dancing so finally I went up and introduced myself to Mistress of the lights. She introduced herself as Liz Ligouri and I imparted to her that I had never seen some of lighting effects she was so effortlessly displaying. The speed and ease at which she morphed one new effect to another, without any awkward pauses, really drew me in and I told her so. She thanked me wished me well and I told her I looked forward to seeing her at another event soon. The party kept moving and the lights kept changin but the boys stayed packed into the place well into the night. Well after 3am the dancefloor was still packed and the lounge downstairs was packed as well, the weight of the crowd more reminiscent of a holiday weekend than a mid october 2 day weekend. We finally decided to take our leave of the place around 3:45 having thoroughly enjoyed the music, the mood, the lights, and even the new glass partitions in the bathrooms (very interesting). The ride home was thankfully uneventful and after a quick strip I hit the bed and fell all the way to sleep.

Saturday was spent hanging out in BK. Our friend Phil had a book signing at our local Barnes and Noble and we journeyed over to 7th Ave and caught the tail end of the crowd that had been there for the book reading. We also hung out with our friends Ernesto, Kevin and met new friends Ian and Marc as well and we all went to brunch. At Sotto Voce we enjoyed eggs, bacon, and Unlimited Mimosas (now you're talking). The meal was good, the friends were better and afterwards we said our goodbyes and headed back home to chill out the rest of the afternoon into the evening. I phoned my friend TT who was supposed to be meeting us later and got her call back on my cell phone (even though I did not recognize the ring tone, silly me). We finalized time and place and I went back to watching TV and DVR before trying out my new Remington Hair Trimmer, which is supposed to never need oiling (we'll see). The haircut was a little close but neat and it was going to be not about the hair-do later on in the eve anyway. We got ourselves and the house neatened up and The Jimmy arrived at 10:30 as we watched the days sports highlights. A while later we stepped out into the night and felt the chill. The ride into the city was uneventful as we drove over to 14th St and 7th Ave and I went to the ATM while I waited for TT to show up. She arrived on time at midnight and after playing musical corners we piled into the car, said our introductions and we were off down the street heading for 10th ave. The meatpacking district was once again busy with revelers as we passed through on our way to a parking space. On the ave we found a good spot and after checking the time that parking rules came back into effect we made our way inside. Even though we were broken up by the VIP entries, doorman Derek made sure to treat us nice anyway and we made our way inside and up to the window fairly easily. The coatcheck was once again in business as the boys dressed to protect with the winter chill setting in. Even as we walked in DJ Chad Jack had the boys in the Roxy ready to dance and see what all of talk was about. The upstairs crystal room was full but a quick trip upstairs revealed a spinning of Madonna and "Borderline". We determined that while the song was good it was not up to our usual Saturday night standard and we spent the rest of our night on the ground floor. After discovering that my own bartender was away for the eve I visited the other staff waiting to assist and serve my drink of the choice when at the Rox, a nice Stoli Orange and Red Bull. I gave TT the grand tour showing off the stage, the DJ Booth, the lounge, the chill out room, The back balcony (all lit up and seat free), the towering bass speakers, the asian section and even a trip to the smoking section outside with the boys and their cigarettes. The night progressed well and we made the circuit of the place a few times as the drinks kept coming and the boys kept dancing. The later it became the more boys packed onto the floor and kept on dancing. Sometime after 3am I made my appearance on the speaker in the asian section and enjoyed a nice dance for the crowd before heading back to the front bar. We finally wound things up around 5am and made our way outside to catch a cab for TT and then catch another for us to head back to BK. Another hot night in the cold night. All good and then some.

Sunday we breakfasted and then headed into the city to pick up some clothes Pais had left in the office. After that we headed into Soho and visited the Apple Store. The layout was cool, the glass stairs interesting and the selection pretty cool and the visuals great. Of course after the walkthrough and making our way back to the car we find our Escape from NY far harder than it looked with the traffic conspiring against us to keep us trapped before Broadway for quite a while before we were able to make it back to the Manhattan Bridge. We stopped off at Pathmark to buy our weekly supplies of milk and juice and then arrived at home to spend the eve watching sports and cooking dinner. The meatloaf, macaroni and cheese and niblets corn came out well and I lounged around a while before striking out into the city once again. Pais dropped me off at Splash where I hung out with the boys waiting for whatever was going to happen at another installment of Never the same thing Sundays. DJ Keana kept the boys interested even though the lightshow by some guest light guy was kinda laid back with some of the visuals going on for several minutes before changing to something else, very haphazard with far too much lasers. Finally at midnight the show and the performers came on and we saw Owen Hart and Dean Phoenix dance for the boys. The crowd just ate it up and after some tips, phone pics and some scene changes (from stage to box) the show wound down around 12:30. Afterwards I made my way downstairs and after waiting behind dumb and dumber who made sure to get all of the giveways given to themselves, I was able to meet Zak Spears, shake his hand twice and get his autographed picture. After that I picked up my coat and made my way back home. I watched some more cartoons and finally was tired enough to end my weekend and go to sleep. Ahh, sleep.

10/15 -10/17 - Back in The City, Staying Hot in the Cold

A nice short workweek (Thank You Vacation Days) and we have once again arrived at the weekend. Got back in the house, finished off my dinner and found myself something to wear for my Friday Night out. The Jimmy showed up at 10:30 and the boys hung out and then we piled into the new Murano and drove into the city. Got into Manhattan rather quickly and made our way up Lafayette and over to 17th Street. Found a nice parking spot right on the block and headed into the club. Said a hello to Doorman Ray in his new coat and made our way inside. The DJ on the decks at Splash this evening was Carlos Pedraza. He stayed with a pretty nice mix of tribal, hard spanish tasting mixes and a few Diva tunes. Of course my first priority was to get inside, take a quick once-over of the bartenders and then see if the new bar/lounge downstairs housed what I was looking for. And what a new look it was. Great all around lighting and so many places to lounge and talk to your friends it was like a whole other place. Plus the bathroom can now be entered from both sides of the back and there is now only one coatcheck (the one in the back). Of course the reason why I settled downstairs was my best Barman Brett. We said our long overdue hellos and I immediately ordered my signature Splashbar drink ( a Surfer on Acid). I then brought Pais and The Jimmy downstairs to see the new look of the new downstairs. We all liked the bar (except it seemed too wide at the top/back but the lighting and the materials were great looking and showed a lot of thought and planning. Without people smoking cigarettes the seats should stay looking good for a while. I headed back upstairs to dance a few times and even made my special appearance on the stage while hearing some of the high energy tunes at 2am. Our one downstairs complaint seemed to be that the music was kinda muffled with the midrange taken out for the listeners downstairs. Brett told me how he had lost the last Peak Hour Mix I had made him (stolen at the Gym) so I told him I would have a new copy for him the next time I saw him. I danced some more and eventually decided to leave at around 3:30am and make our way back into BK after grabbing the mags at the door and headed back home.'

I woke up and found Pais had picked up some breakfast so we dined in and hung out the afternoon chilling out and watching a DVR recording of "Friday After Next". After getting a Pizza lunch at Lenny's we hung out some more and rested up for our Saturday night. My friend from work was too sick to come out but since I have a pretty full sched of having fun I am sure we will find time to hang again real soon. For dinner we eventually ordered in Chicken Parmesan. All set after a quick haircut earlier and shower I was ready to head out into the night once again. The night was definitely cooler and I was glad I settled on wearing my Columbia coat with the lining in. The line in front of the place wait was not too long but I still would not have wanted to come back out into the night air with just a thin jacket or like some of the more despeerate seeming people come in with just a sweater or long sleeve shirt or the crackhead look of just a shortsleeve shirt. It was in the 40s at night so I was not the one to be cold for no good reason. We said hi to the guy with the drinking bracelets. Made our way to the coat check, said hi to the girls and then on into the club. Our DJ for the eve at Roxy was Peter Rauhofer who of course was not yet in the booth when we arrived at 12:30am. The music was still good as he seems to give us a nice playlist even before he arrives. I was able to tell however with the depth of the bass and the complexity of the mixes when he finally showed however and the party of course went to that next level where the party can only get better. Except for the pockets of party girls who felt they could smoke indoors (you can't in NY) and the fact it got almost too crowded to move at one point with the crowd evenly spaced through almost the entire club. The crowd was into the music and the DJ did not disappoint while my drinks kept flowing from Barman Barker. I even saw my other Barman Brett from across the bar. I of course had his gift CD to give him because I am one who parties with cargo pants just so I can walk with a CD and he was so happy he just up and disappeared. I never did hear the almost famous 4am play of "Lola's Theme" but the rest of the music, including the wild extended teaser buildup and then final playing of "Lose My Breath" by Destiny's Child was nicely done and even though I am sure I have heard it before the music sounded most excellent. In fact it stayed so good I stayed on at the party until 5am. We walked out happy and content, picked up the missing HX magazine and headed home.

Woke up Sunday and once again had a delivered breakfast to nosh on and plenty of football on TV to watch. The afternoon was spent decompressing and looking up esoteric wild mess on the internet. We were supposed to go out and shopping something for dinner but we ended up phoning the order in and picking it up. I enjoyed a nice lasagna dinner and readied myself to watch some TV. Of course with the baseball games on there was no other TV to watch besides football but at least we were able to catch up on last weeks episode and the new episode of The Wire on HBO. (DVR is a great thing). Anyway, another Sunday drew to a close and another weekend finished and under wraps. Until the next one anyway. Hope the night is not as cold or at least stays as fun. Of course it will. I like them like that.

Oct 8-11 - Oh Canada and some other stuff too (like dancing).

Awaken late, after spending the night burning CDs. (The new car does not wish to have CDs with paper labels in the CD Changer). Have breakfast, stop for sunglasses and a new shirt and then its on the road. Of course it is unbelievable how many people are on the FDR Drive and then later on the Palisades Parkway but eventually the trip is underway and the real driving is begun. Traffic around some of the out of the way cities and even Albany but we avoid the fuzz and get up without any real delays... until the border. Then comes the border guard from west bubble to give us a hard time. She tells us that we need more than just our NYS driver licenses to cross into Canada. She tells us that in her 16 years as a border person she has heard people say many times that they should know better. After we stated that we had no other forms of real ID beyond credit cards and work IDs she told us we could go but we might have problems again with just our NYS IDs. After that drama we decided that the delay was just to cover our background checks via computer as we crossed the border and the fact she was a slow reader and typist. Instead of the usual nice banter (we have crossed the canadian border by car a total of 9 times before this) we were treated evilly. She must have had some personal issues in her life to make her treat us that way. (really Paisley, she said nothing to me). I guess that they have the option of doing background checks if you seem suspicious. She was treating EVERYONE as suspicious and she read slowly so it took a long time. Poor us, that took up an entire hour of travel time waiting on line and then the hellish interview. Anyway once again underway without getting hit up by the fuzz and even without the benefits of printed maps (forgot them) We were able to find our way to our hotel and then to the host hotel to pick up our welcome gift bags. (The were giving away free CDs and cologne this year). We then checked into our hotel, dealt with someone doing the on floor fish fry and got into our room to chill for a minute. Since we got in so late, no disco nap for us. It was straight into the night after grabbing a quick snack around the corner. We arrived at 12:20 and heard the first pumping tribal sounds for the guys in Leather. This year the door check focus appeared to be on weaponry. I emptied my pockets, they waved a wand over me and then let me in. Kinda quick and kinda cool. The low alcohol level in the drinks had me waiting on inebriation well into the eve but the music however was good with DJs Norm Robert and DJ Chad Jack keeping the boys dancing. I eventually felt good enough and the music built to known point that I got up on a speaker with 3 guys. Eventually I worked it down to just the high boy with the belt (belt?) and myself with the speaker all to ourselves. He eventually left and I had the speaker for just me for a few songs. When the speaker eventually refilled and the the paid dancer returned I left the space and went back into the party crowd. Pais had to leave a little earlier due to fatigue (long drive) and I decided to save some energy for tomorrow. Besides they weren't serving alcohol anymore. : )

Woke up Saturday, fended off that persistently knocking cleaning lady and got up and out to eat brunch. We wandered down to the end of the strip and got ourselves a nice brunch. True, the food did take a long time to arrive, but as we have visited Montreal 4 times now I expected the wait, especially when the place was packed. The broccoli and bacon scrambled eggs was good and after plenty of cups of coffee we set out to get some stuff as we took an expedition up the street to buy some drinks and mixers for the room. The store in the mall was sold out of premium vodkas and as we turn our noses up to the Absolut and the Smirnoff we decided to keep looking. After a fruitless search and over a mile of walking up the strip we decided to head back to the hotel and even caught a taxi back so we would not have to totally retrace our steps and wear ourselves out even more. After we got back to the room I fell out and caught up on some more needed rest in preparation for later. Everybody was up and ready to go out and have dinner as soon as night fell. A quick jaunt over to Chinatown and we discovered a nice little place with some great Szechuan food to sample. I had the General Tsos while Pais decided to go with the squid in black bean sauce. Both dishes were extra spicy and while the chicken was good I finally decided that my tongue and lips could take no more and left the rest alone. Back at the room I chilled out some more and then showered, cleaned up and donned our military wear (my SWAT outfit and paisley in green fatigues) and headed out to Metropolis and the ever popular Military Ball. After the coat check the obligatory pat down and the searchlight search and then we walked past the guy making dog tags for those that forgot to bring with. We forgot to bring our own but we decided we didn't need to spend another 10 bucks just to get another set. DJ Joe Gauthreaux was keeping the boys dancing on their toes and we danced on until the BBCM Dancer performance (something about war) which was good but the song selection did not really match the party. Afterwards we danced some more and decided to stay away from the upstairs as the heat that rose off of the main floor made the balcony type-stifling to stay for any length of time. Staying away from the smokers, rabid dancers and the boys with the green lasers made for an interesting time. We enjoyed another show from Jeanie Tracy (cha cha heels) and then DJ James Anderson took over. The reins were passed effortlessly as the party vibe simply got even more energetic while still keeping away from the trance or too far out there feel. We enjoyed an even more tribal hi speed mix of V Calderone's The Drive and even had a few tempo changes while the boys just got hotter and the music stayed good. We saw our friend Keith from NY as well as a few other Military Ball regulars (Brian L. from SBNY and his BF) as well as the usual cast of boys and friends of such. I still had plenty of energy left for more but once again we decided to save ourselves for the main even and left before it got to late (around 3:45) once again undone because of the cutoff of drinks but I was a little peeved that my last drink ended up spilled by some senseless wastrel. Anyway the walk back around the corner to the hotel was quick and the bed looked good enough to sleep in so sleep I did. And we were only halfway through the weekend...

Woke up Sunday before afternoon and decided that a nice breakfast was in order. Made our way down to St Catherine and had a nice brunch at Bisous. The Bronze pass entitled us to a free brunch so we had the brunch included in our VIP (cool deal). After a great breakfast of a ham and cheese omelette we made our way back to the hotel to pick up the car and drove around the city a bit. On the way we picked up some replacement water for the room (gotta stay hydrated) and some cough medicine. After seeing just how big the city was we drove back to the hotel (not as tired as the day before but still ready to chill) and laid low until the nightfall. When night actually fell we made our way out to Mike's and had ourselves a nice dinner of chicken parmesan and caesar salad. Earlier in the day on our drive around the city we had located the convention center that was housing the main event of the Black and Blue and saw that it was actually in walking distance from the hotel. Since it was cold and it was not too far (like the $20 rides to Olympic Stadium) we called the concierge to get us a car. However our first taxi was stolen by passing walkers who got to our car before we did. We asked the front desk to call us another car and after waiting in the lobby listening to some soothing classical refrains we met our driver in between the inner and outer doors and got the taxi to take us in. $5 cab ride later and we were right at the door ready to make our way to the head of the line. A few flashes of the VIP and we were up the escalator and saw this huge line to get into the place. Thankfully since we came in the VIP entrance that line was on the other side of the tape from us and we did not have to wait. The line was for the coat check and then the contraband/weapon search by security. The event is supposed to be about safety first after all. After we made our way into the space we saw that the center had been decorated very well with a writhing mass of locals and visitors from every corner of the globe. We figured there must have been around 20,000 people. Especially when viewed from the VIP area second level we could see out over the whole crowd and could make out the far edge of the crowd. The monitors hanging from the ceiling, the synchronized lights and the extra bright lightwall flashing high output bright yellow definitely set off the party atmosphere. The DJ choices were cool as well with Giles Masicotte spinning as we arrived playing "Dirty, Dirty". We made a complete circuit of the place and discovered the best place to get drinks was right in the middle of the dance floor right near the stage. I made do with double vodkas and cranberry and Base and Pais just had the doubles in small glasses with vodka cranberry. We saw a BBCM dancers put on show of a Louis XIV acted out with poor people playing drums all around the venue on platforms while the king and the court looked on. I didn't understand what the people being lifted up on harnesses and the dancing windows were for but it was an interesting distraction. Then we decided to go to the bathroom. After an incredible trek of about a quarter of a mile to the bathrooms off of the main floor and up one level we decided that maybe the portapotties weren't so bad back in the day. Anyway we soon discovered another VIP privilege, the VIP bathroom. Even though it appeared to have a line it moved rather quickly and the bathroom monitor quickly picked off those trying to jump the line or get on without the VIP band. Membership has its privileges. A few more circuits and trips to the boys room and then Pais stated he was going to call it a night and rest the legs. I walked him to the coat check entrance and said goodnight. I then went back in and made my way up to the VIP section. At 5:15 there was an announcement that two performers had flew up from Vegas where they were performing in Cirque du Soleil "Varekai" to perform here at the Black and Blue. They were two aeriel acrobats that rose up into the air hand in hand and then proceeded to morph from pose to pose while performing multiple acts of strength, fearlessness and a great many hours of training as they performed death defying stunts of holding onto each other with just their hands while suspended over a concrete floor. After that great show DJ Roger Sanchez took over the spinning reins around 5:30 am. Spinning some great beats mixed with a classic house vibe and then some truly energizing tribal energy the party continued well into the morning with barely a loss in the size of the crowd or the energy. I finally decided to call it a rap at 7:30 when the mood turned trancey and before I completely wore myself down. A quick pass through the coatcheck to get my wrap and then a nice exit on the main floor and I was outside into the brisk October morning. After walking in the wrong direction two times I finally found the correct street to make my way back to the hotel and after a good 20 minutes arrived back at my hotel room to rest up and recuperate and enjoy the fact that I had a very good time 3 nights in a row so far. These canadian kids really know how to throw a good party. I felt the smaller venue at the convention center worked better than the middle of the baseball field which seemed to suit the party much better and it was laid out much more practically than when at the stadium. I hated the VIP section last year but this year thought it was set up and executed pretty well. I could have said they needed a higher fence, especially in the back but it was a good spot to see everything and was cool to dance on. The video monitors were used very effectively to involve the crowd and even show pictures that had been taken of events not 1 hour beforehand, candid shots of posing partiers and action shots of the performances. It seemed planned very well and I was glad I attended. Sorry, no pictures but plenty of great memories.

Woke up Monday afternoon at 1:30pm. Yes, it was a very good party night. Anyway got dressed and Pais and I headed out to get us a lunch. We drove out to the other side of the city and found a St Huberts (Service Rapide!) and both ordered a combination platter. Mine with roast chicken and Pais got the chicken fillets (chicken fingers). It was a good lunch and very filling and the staff was pretty friendly too. However for the temperature that day I should have worn longer sleeves so I wouldn't have to wear my coat indoors. We watched the crowd outside the window in the neighborhood which reminded us of downtown Boston. After lunch we drove up the hill behind the city and found the lookout point and looked down. The city looked beautiful in the fall colors as well as seeing the river and the bridges at the end of town. The gaggle of tourists and the cold quickly wore thin however and we piled back into the ride and went back to the hotel. Caught up on some football highlights and then I took a nap. The brief rest did me good. After watching some baseball we decided to go out for dinner. This time we chose a restuarant based on location and found out that location means you don't have to serve as good a product. We ordered a combination dinner and ended up with chicken and vegatables which was mostly vegetables and a Orange Beef that was serviceable but was kinda dry. After the rather large servings of saturday night at the other place I guess I was spoiled especially when they charged more for this place. I learned my lesson that location means you are not always expected to have the best product, just the same, there is just no excuse for some things. Anyway, came back to the room and got ready to go out again for the last evenings festivities. The recovery party, where you recover party from all of the other parties. Before I got in however we had to go through security once again. This time I had the security girl who had just found somebody carrying so was now determined to do so again. After searching the battery compartments for my lights. The battery compartment for the laser and inside my wallet (even feeling my socks) and even calling for a second opinion of my Altoids I was finally allowed into the club itself. Club Soda was a nice space and DJ Manny Lehman manned the helm from the very beginning with a vibrant mix of dance classics like "Show Me" and his signature blend of good tribal. Nothing as high speed as Saturday night but then it was supposed to be about recovery and not burning oneself out. The show put on by Mistress Faroushka was cool too, using the nitrogen blasts and confetting machines and snow machine to give the act atmosphere and then floating over the audience in a harness and dancing in midair. Was a nice act to end out the parties and the boys seemed to enjoy it. Pais called it a night at 2am as I stayed and danced through the eve until around 3:30. The place was full of boys out to have their last night of partying and I even talked with a guy in front of the stage named Scott who was also from New York. I said I would see him around at the Roxy in NYC and then went to dance in the back of the club at the top of the stairs. When I finally decided it was time to go back to the room I was tired but happy I had come out and danced with the boys again.

I woke up at 9:59am and rush packed to get out of the hotel. Pais brought back up a nice selection of the continental breakfast but i just had part of the the muffin and the juice. After a quick check of the room status it was down to the lobby and waiting on the valet to bring the car up. A quick load up and then its on the road again. A ways down the road and we bought some canadian gas. That per liter price really adds up and $40 canadian dollars later we were further down the road to make a quick stop at the souvenir shop. This time crossing the border went more normally and there wasn't even a line. However an hour into NY we came upon another checkpoint right in the middle of the nowhere where we had to go through the questions all over again. After the questions done we were moving once again and moving towards New York at a good speed. We stopped at Mickey Ds for lunch and after returning a stale misorderd quarter pounder I thankfully received my Double Quarter pounder fresh off the grill (with the grease still on). After that quick repast we made good time back to the city and got back into Manhattan just in time to get in on the evening rush. Some wait time was spent on the FDR and the Brooklyn Bridge and then we were once again in Home Sweet Brooklyn. Another vacation weekend all wrapped up and living on in memory. I was happy to have been there and had al lot of fun. Somebody has to do it... why not me?

Oct 1-3 - Into the Night and In the Mix

Stayed at work late and had dinner on the way in. Was too late to cut the hair but figured I would have time for that on Saturday so no rush on that. Then we change the clothes and call for a car and its out into the night we go. Pais is out in Philly visiting with the fam so my regular running crew is starting even leaner than usual. Still, I arrived in time to get in before midnight and watched the place get more and more packed. This Friday night Splash was having DJ Elliot Dehoyos spinning on a Friday Night for the first time. The signs at the door even stated it was a tribal event and I will say that the party definitely shaped up to be a heavily tribal evening. I will say that the boys that came into the place, stayed in the place and continued their party until after 3am. I danced up on the stage twice enjoying the high energy of the place and the dark vibe that the DJ spun for the boys on the floor. This evening's drink of choice was a Melon Ball as the nice fruitiness balanced the level of alcohol nicely. My friend Rickey showed up and we hung out for a little while and he even talked me into dancing on the box when I really had no business dancing up there (tripped once but stepped backwards while dancing the long way on the speaker and then proceeded to keep with it like I meant to do that). Later while we were outside getting some air and water I even invited him to hang with me when I take my trip to Canada but he cited family and other issues and said he would actually be taking a break from hanging out for a while. I understood where he was coming from and I wished him well. Hopefully we will see each other again sooner than later (before too much time passes) as I have really enjoyed his hang out company over this past summer. For the evening as a whole I did end up enjoying myself a whole lot and found myself getting so into the music that I did not want to leave. Of course I decided that before I made too much of a fool of myself (as the drinks continued to digest) I would leave (at 4:30am) and live to party again another day.

I decided that a nice long walk would help my overcaffeinated (yet still highly drunk) self so I took the train home. Since I thought I might actually go shopping the next day I decided to buy a fun pass unstead of just a regular pay-per-ride. On the train ride home I read the one of the mags I picked up and the ride went by rather quickly. I fell out in front of the television watching cartoons and woke up with cartoons watching me. After breakfast I spent most the day chilling out, watching even more cartoons, taking my vitamins and napping again in the afternoon. I stepped out briefly to pick up some dinner and shop for beverages but I never really felt rested as the day came to a close. I tried to pick up some more shut eye but ended up just laying low before taking time to finally cut the hair and then clean up before heading out. Cursed by that 7 buck funpass I decided to use it to go into the city and have some time to gather my thoughts before I arrived where I was going. Having to ride 3 different trains and wait at west 4th for 15 min was not that great a time but hey, its public transportation at midnight, you can't ask for much.

I walked up the two blocks and over the two blocks and arrived to wait on a fast moving line and get into the place with very little drama. I stepped into Roxy said hi to a few friends and got myself a drink. After guzzling the first and hurrying through the second I made my way over to the stage and danced to Peter's mix of Janet's "Dance All Night". I wish I could buy it somewhere but I guess I am supposed to make do with the Sander K or the Deep something mix. Anyway with my first no-light, shirt-on, first stage dance taken care of (much better than last weeks first stage dance) I endeavored I would try and have as much fun as I could squeeze out of my night especially hanging out once again with a very lean crew. I danced in the asian section but for some reason there were no asians IN the asian section (I guess because Peter did not arrive until 1:15am) but after I had claimed that speaker for myself and livened up the area a bit I returned later in the evening to find it looking a lot more like its usual multicultural high-bandwidth area. Soon after that appearance I had one high speed dance on the speakerbox in front of the DJ booth and discovered that a walkthrough of the chillout area at the back cooled us off very nicely. I returned to the front bar to get myself a drink and a gatorade and then lo and behold a caught a visit from our fellow softball alum Chris and his own crew. I treated him to a drink and the nicely toasted spectacle of myself talking about anything and everything until it was time for him to leave so he could catch the train back to LI (that darn infrequent LI Railroad) so he could hang with the Fall league in LI. Anyway I invited him out one weekend so that he could hang out with the guys in BK since there's plenty of space and always something on the itinerary for the guys to go and do. After Chris left I dived back into the party headfirst and proceeded to dance myself into a frenzy more than once in the dancefloor back lounge area. The first time I was asked by one young black woman who was hanging with her friends if they sold the light I had on my leg somewhere in the club. Of course I told her no and headed out onto the dancefloor to dance in front of the stage and get highly sweated all over again. Just when I thought the dancing was over I returned to the lounge and in the midst of my own knot of onlookers once again enjoyed my 4am Victor mix of "Lola's Theme". I decided to end my night while it was still going good and after saying good night to barman Barker and wishing him well I headed home without even finishing my last drink (there was just no way it would have fit). Once outside and with the Next magazine in hand I headed over to 9th Ave and caught myself a nice taxi ride home. I got home quickly cleaned up for bed and poured my tired self onto the mattress and fell out. Thank goodness for beds.

Sunday I got out of bed around 1pm and after cleaning up headed out to have a lunch at Quiznos with Pais. The sandwich was kinda good and I ate the whole thing for once. Spent the rest of the afternoon moving music between my PC and my Powerbook while giving Pais a run-on account of my fun packed weekend. After a dual decision to not go to the supermarkedt, Sunday dinner was ordered in. A nice italian dinner parmesan and we spent the eve watching football, The Wire and Family Bonds. After midnight some more Adult Swim on Cartoon Network and the weekend was finally through.

Hopefully these two past weekends packed with too much dancing, too loud music and a lot of being in a happy place will carry over and survive at least one more weekend as all my planning comes to together for a nice long hang out weekend. Plenty of time to rest, plenty of places to dance, some good DJs and a great place to be and meet and just wondering whats going to happen next. Much preparation once again, we do the road trip to fun and frolic in another country, this time with an honest to goodness drive in a lux vehicle as we see fall roll in with full living color. All I can say is, ... it better be good.

Sept 24-26 - Summers End... Lazy Days and Party Nights

Discussions about movies, books and traveling, all on the trainride home. And I still got home in time to go to the gym. A slightly abbreviated workout and then time to have dinner. A nice steak from Jack's and then preparations to go out for the night. Pants by Ecko, Nike kicks, Nike shirt and some no name socks made up the outfit. A nice evening to go out after first picking Altoids at the Neergard (got to keep the breath minty fresh). We left a little later than usual but the traffic (lane closures on the bridge) and the hour would not keep us away for long as we arrived at 12:20 and parked on the street next to Old Navy. The parking lot attendant closed the fence just as we were driving up so no shortcut through to 17th street on this night. A quick walk around the corner and then it was straight to the front of the line. Splash was loud and packed with the usual mix of Friday night boys in town to visit and the locals there to watch them and show them what to do. DJ Billy Carroll hosted a packed house of boys that was into the party from the start and with a vibe this upbeat I joined the fun with both feet in motion. I missed my bartender Brett most terribly and ended up trying out a few new guys and settling on the two poor bartenders at the front bar forced to share a register. They were both cool guys, one had been there for a while with his neat goatee, ready smile and high level of focus, the other a little taller leaner and new for this year, but smiling, eager, blond,and ready to serve. I did get the wave from the tall smooth dome dark bartender but I was not ready to switch over to his area like he had it like that and he ended up leaving his corner unattended after 2:30am anyway (guess he had something to do) a thing I considered unprecedented not a good thing on such a busy night. When I heard the beat rising to a crescendo and took off for the stage and ended up dancing up there for two songs I had never heard before but I surely liked the beats. I was surprised at how many boys stayed well into the evening and how the line to get in was consistently healthy for a good portion of the night. I will definitely say that even with the downstairs partially open and the fact it was not a holiday weekend that was one of the more populous crowds I have hung with on a Friday in a nice long while. Of course the night was not over until I went returned to the stage once again when I heard the familiar beats of Victor's mix of Shapeshifters. I went back up to a wet stage and used a napkin under my foot to clean my area of the stage before dancing. The club light guy nicely used a flashlight to help me see what I was doing and I giggled at the absurdity of it like I was featured entertainment. I proceeded to dance the song out and then nicely rejoined Pais to finish out another great night (marred by my missing bartender) in the place to be on Friday Nights.

I awoke to the headache to end all headaches that reminded me of a 40 pound eagle claw perched on the side of my head, the steady pressure made it impossible to stay in bed. After an excedrin and two ibuprofen I felt a little more like myself (after 20 min). I wandered about the house in my post party daze doing my best to rehydrate and take my mega-man vitamins to help replace those essential nutrients and readied up to head into Jersey for a nice day of shopping. Our target place was of course Target (tar-J) land of the excellently low price. I finally bought the stuff I needed at the price I wanted to pay. I have sworn off going to several other stores because found out I was paying far too much for everyday stuff. We ended up buying a nice cart full of stuff to bring back home, stuff I needed and stuff I just wanted. It was a good day out in Jersey and the traffic going out was rather light. The return home however was packed with people returning from their various errands and it took a little longer to make it back. The cursed CD player in the car appears to have given up the ghost and pauses and then reads ERR on my favorite car tunes. For our trip soundtrack we listened to the radio, I termed it KTU lite, the new NEW which sounds just like the other station but without the commercial sellout and limited playlist and kinda like KTU did 4 years ago too. After we got back home and rested up some more we called up for some chicken parm for dinner and freshened ourselves up for another night out.

The Jimmy arrived at 10:30 and we all hung out a bit before heading into the city. We avoided the construction on the bridge by taking the tunnel into the city and got into the city kinda quickly and located a parking spot on 23rd street. We watched the crowds enjoying the great weather night and then made our way back down to the club and waited on the line. Our doorman Derek got us in smoothly (and quickly for such a long line) and we waited for the single armband girl to give is the drinkband and then we entered the party. DJ Manny Lehman was our host at Roxy for the night and he made sure the boys got into the party early. The crowd was nice and in the moment. I walked in as he was playing Janet and before my first drink was even finished I went up to the stage to dance to "Lola's theme" before my first alcohol even had time to be fully appreciated. I danced right in front of the booth and worked up a nice burn to start off the evening. I returned to the front bar and got a refill of my Stoli Orange and Red Bull from barman Barker as I realized that I can only truly work up a great danceburn when I have a few drinks already thrown back. After one break outside with the guys in the smoking section I decided to head back in and catch up on the beats. I proceeded to put on a show in the lounge with my own lighted backup (a stick juggler that was putting on a show for his girlfriend) where I managed to pull in the crowds attention with my lit hands and my total apparent lack of regard for such things as my legs as I danced down low, up high and all of the spaces in between. I let the crowd squeeze by when it was necessary but definitely represented my space having a full 360 of onlookers and well wishers before I moved on. My only lowpoint for the evening was when some angry goth boy kicked a half full drink off the stage and caught my side with the overspill as I was dancing in the black section. I stood stunned a moment and then found another half full glass and threw it back onto the stage and hit him in the middle of his chest with it. He might not have known why he needed the blowback from his actions but I could not in good conscience allow such things to happen to me when I was out there having fun. I felt much better afterwards and felt nicely pumped to dance some more. When I finally thought it late enough took off my Tommy shirt and proceeded to dance hard enough to become a nicely glistening boy more than once while my friends made sure that I had a drink available whenever one was required. I even re-decided to get just one more drink before the cutoff because I was channeling all kinds of energy before the night was over. I danced to Sheila E "Glamourous Life" and so many high energy instrumental tribal explosions I don't know how I lasted through it all. Maybe I just had the music in me (or something cold with a kick in it). I did my final nights appearance on the box in muscle beach and gave the crowd that final push of energy before we ended our party and left the space spent but happy. We got into a car outside in which the cab driver had the audacity to tell us that he could not take us to BK but he's the one that lost out on 3 dollars in his meter for driving us a block and I told him that I spit on him and his taxi and wished him a nice accident. We then walked a nice long block over to eighth ave and caught a nice taxi home with a taxi driver that had no problem getting us back to BK nice and easy.

I woke up with a layer of alcohol resting on my gums and I was still a little tired from all of the excitement of the night before but I eventually worked up the energy to go out and have ourselves a nice brunch at Quiznos with a spicy angus steak sandwich. That spicy mustard got to be a little bit much after a while and I decided I would try something else next visit. Pais bought a melon on the way back home and we chilled the rest of the afternoon until we decided it was time to go out food shopping. After picking up fixings for dinner we returned home, where I cooked up a nice meal of baked seasoned chicken breasts and Stove Top stuffing with a side of Green Giant sweet shoepeg corn. We ended the eve watching football, Dateline NBC, The Wire, Family Bonds and Da Ali G show. Definitely one of the best party weekends I have had in a while and hopefully not the anywhere near the final, of what has shaped up to be one of my favorite years ever. Writing this blog has helped me with expressing myself and remembering all of the cool times I get to have with my friends. After my truly reflective time spent last weekend I thought I was sliding into a nice plateau of partying with nothing really new to see or do. I guess I was wrong. I still got plenty of party left in me and as long as the party needs me and I can still represent and have fun, the party will have me with both hands in the air and both feet moving over the floor. Keep it coming... I have a lot of dancing left to do. Another drink for me and mine please, you know what I like.