Back in NYC, Back in the Mix, Back on Track

We had a great time on vacation but we had to come home sometime and it was back to work on Monday. Still nursing a touch of laryngitis but things are slowly returning to normal as time passes. I could not wait for the weekend. Once again worked far too late on Friday to make it to the gym but promised myself to workout on Saturday and fixed myself up to make my way out on Friday Night. Just finished my latest retro mix and listened to some classic tunes on my way into town (Mel C, Book of Love, Destiny's Child, etc.) Stopped in to say hi to Bruce and the babies. Kept the conversation down to a whisper so the little ones did not get antsy and then made out way out into the night and headed over to Splash to hang with our waiting friends Steve and Rickey. Gave a gift CD to Barman Brett and listened to the hyper kick sounds of DJ Billy Carroll. Despite his huge booth entourage for the evening the tunes were definitely kicking and he kept us all happy with a lift from some of the hottest tunes from Victor Calderone "Lola's Theme", Ofra Haza "Love Story" and even Veronica "Someone To Hold". We stayed in the place until 3:30 and made our way home happy and whole once again.

Saturday we went out for breakfast and then rested up for a great Saturday workout at the gym. Afterwards a nice lunch at Quizno's made another new shared experience for myself and Pais, since neither of us had ever eaten there before. The turkey sandwich was excellent and despite the heat the afternoon was a great one to rest up and await the coming of the night. The Jimmy was unable to hang this eve but did stop by to say hi before we headed out and took car service into the city. Despite it being 11:30 and kind of early there was still a line in front of Roxy but doorman Derek got us in quickly and after a quick hi to the door staff and the wristband girl we made our way inside to hear the sounds of DJ Peter Rauhofer (or did we?).

The party was going good for such an early start and we were listening to a wide selection of Peter classics and recent remixes. However the energy did not seem to be there and after a wander over to the stage to dance on the box right in front of the booth I turned around to see... No Peter. Instead the light guy was there with a few other stand ins but the reason for the lack of true Peter feel (as evidenced by recent parties) was made evident. It kind of reminded me of Peter from last year when he was just starting to get his own groove. By the end of the night DJ James Andersen stepped in and was manning the tables and keeping it live but the fact that there was no notice in the lobby kind of killed the mood for me and kept it from being the truly interesting night for me that I was hoping and expecting. Maybe Peter will be here for next weekend but who knows. I still had fun (when I was not looking at the booth) and enjoyed myself. Barman Barker kept the drinks flowing and our posse of friends circulated the place until the wee hours of the morning. After the early start we were ready to go around 4am.

Sunday woke up and headed out to Quiznos once again but this time had a club hero sandwich. After lunch we hit off the Footlocker and helped them clear out some stock before Tax free week and the back to school rush. When the shopping was done we headed into the city to the Loews Theater to see Collateral with Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise. The movie was good, kind of sudden ending when it was over but was a nice character study just the same. Nice action too.

After we got back into Bklyn we barbecued dinner and then watched Six Feet Under. I DVRd the MTV Video Awards and planned to watch on Monday night.

All in all a good weekend back in NYC. Nice to have a holiday weekend to look forward to next weekend. See you soon boys. Nice and easy now..

Aug 16-22 - NY Boys down in TX and Then We All Went South

A quick pack of the suitcase. Pack the Powerbook and some DVDs, a good book and then its off to the airport. A flight at 3:15pm. Slept a little and then watched The Italian Job on DVD. An arrival at 6:30 in DFW and its on the way into the heart of Texas. With some Yahoo Maps instructions and the names of some of the citys attractions in hand we headed into town. We stayed at the pretty nice Crowne Plaza Hotel right next to Love Field Airport.

After catching up with our friends in town we headed over to the NAGAAA Softball World Series opening ceremonies at Lee Park. After some nice live entertainment, some Bud lights and hanging with some cool friends and nice bartenders we headed back towards the hotel. After a wait on the shuttle bus at the other host hotel, the Sheraton, we ended up heading to the street of bars, Cedar Springs Road. I am sure they have never had a crowd on Monday night like this, especially for Alternative Music Mondays. A few drinks later and we proceeded to hang out for a while watching the boys play pool and watching music videos until it was time to step out. We left our boy Chris behind (reminded him of the name of our hotel) and headed back to sleep for the next days festivities.


Tuesday's round robin games started far too early for me so I stayed in while Pais headed out to the games. The team won their games easily, as I watched ESPN and worked out in the hotel gym. I was also happy I brought the Powerbook so I could play Icewind Dale in the room waiting for the guys to return. A nice breakfast downstairs with the team and then it was off on a whirwind tour of the city. We saw the sights that were there to be seen, admiring the architecture, the plethora of highways and main streets and ended the day out with a lunch at Denny's. The boys were getting together at club Roundup so after a quick nap and then some warm-up drinking, we headed out to hang with the boys at club Roundup and packed house with the boys at the big country western bar. After some more drinking and hanging with our team the boys decided to turn in so we could get to the games awake the next day. We caught a taxi back to the hotel and welcomed Larry and Donnie at the hotel with an in-room hang out and a quick wrap up of the days events. We all turned in soon enough to our separate rooms and rested up for our next day and an early start for the game at noon.


On Wednesday the team played well and won once again so we were able to get out of the round robin before the actual series with a 3-0 record. This happened despite the fact that poor Donnie injured his ankle running into second base. A quick shift of all of the players and we were able to finish out the game successfully. Since we had the afternoon off, we decided to grab some lunch and then hang out. We hit off another Denny's and then hung out at the hotel for the afternoon. We decided to head out for dinner before it was too late and ended up at Hunky's on Cedar Street having a burger and fries. It was a good burger and the staff was very friendly but it was a late dinner so after a quick hi to some of the local boys outside we headed back to the hotel and turned in back at the hotel. Thank goodness for the laptop, the internet connection and the video game so I was able to find something interesting to do. The weather report for the next day was not looking good but we had to go through the time machine of going to bed before we would know for sure.

The weather report was true and the Thursday was not going to turn out to be a day when the team could play. After calling the hotline and going downstairs and checking with the other players we found that the rain delays would push the games back for hours. We searched out the IHOP up the road and waited around to get ourselves a breakfast. I guess they were not expecting such a big crowd in the middle of the week but then if they couldn't handle the rush they did not let on until after we sat down. The manager came to our table personally and apologized for the wait and we ended up having a pretty good brunch. After our meal was over we were told we received a 10% discount because of the inconvenience of the wait. After that we decided to go shopping and after some directions from the front desk we ended up heading over to the Irving Mall. The mall was just average but the boys found some stuff to buy anyway from socks and shoes to shirts and hats. Despite the rain we were able to at least get around and drive some while seeing different parts of the city. We saw the m4m personals sign on Lemmon Ave (in Dallas no less) but after a while we tired of bouncing around in the SUV and headed back to the hotel. The team met for dinner at a steakhouse in the restaurant district and had a great dinner. A very peppery steak and some interesting appetizers and the team had a good time. Jimmy was even presented with a 3rd base coach shirt and he vowed to wear it the next day under his team jersey. We made our way back to the host hotel for the talent show but after some bad reviews some of us decided to wait outside and have some drinks outside the event at the bar. While there we witnessed some drama between the door security and someone who watched the first few acts of the show. We also picked up a card for the 2006 Gay Games that the FGG has awarded to Chicago. Seems there is some drama between Montreal and the FGG as to the venue and how much it was supposed to cost and how it was to be hosted. The team ended up hanging out by the pool and had some drinks while we watched the gg's (genetic girls) having fun playing different drinking games. We were also aware of the biting insects so prevalent in TX so we called it a night and prepared for the next day of games.

Friday, Oh Friday. The team won their first game in dramatic fashion staying tied up until the 4th inning and then putting up some runs near the end a nice 14-9 win. The team had a break then so we left to eat lunch and then return but the long wait before he next game appeared to work against the team and the Titans lost their first game to a team that ended up finishing 6th overall. After being knocked into the loser bracket the team was going to have its work cut out for it to win enough games to be back against the winners the next day. The team rallied back to beat the next team but another long wait before the next game worked against them so that when faced with a four-foot older lady in yellow bloomers for a pitcher (who had the fast arc pitch down pat) the team was unable to score more than one run and with some dropped balls and some injuries the team was not able to come back in the end to win the game. After that loss the team gathered up all of their stuff and went back to their individual places. After different discussions as to where to go to we decided to go to TMC a dance club behind JRs and we watched the boys dancing on the boxes and got a few drinks before the 2 am cutoff. The rest of the boys from the team showed up and we all danced on the dancefloor until Ed egged me on to dance on a speaker. Everyone was having a cool time (and some of us have the pictures to prove it) This despite the rifts that were tearing into the team even then. Pais and Jimmy ended up leaving before I did so I stayed with the boys until 3:40 when we decided to make a break from the place before the mad rush at 4. Frank took Chris, myself , Mike F. and Vinny back to the Sheraton while Ed and Mike S. found a taxi to go back. We hung out next to the pool talking about what was and could have been and along with some beers, some pool time by Ed and Vinny, some on again off again speed dating by Mike S., and some plain old dating by Chris we called it a night at around 5:45am and myself and Mike F. made our way back to the Crowne Plaza by cutting across the lot of the abandoned high rise building on the corner.

Saturday. The team was no longer playing any softball games but with the weather back into the upper digits of heat we were glad for the AC and the time to hang with the boys. I went with Larry and Chris, Jimmy and Pais and checked out the Black Eyed Pea. Despite the decent service we were not impressed with the food. After a mess up at the cash register when we were trying to pay for our food I likened the place to what I could have had from a Stouffer's dinner at the super market. I would definitely have been more satisfied to go back to Denny's. But anyway we hung out the rest of the afternoon waiting for the closing ceremony back in the Cedar Springs Road area. On one of my trips to the Tom Thumb supermarket I stepped across a small patch of grass for just 3 steps and by the time I had left and came back to the party I ended up having 2 bites on my legs. Those chiggers that Chris had already found out about had struck again and I had to go back to the supermarket and buy some itch suppressant before rejoining the guys at the party. Some more drama that we did not see coming happened with some others playing on teams from Boston. But all of that aside after Pais and Jimmy decided to go back to the hotel I stayed with the rest of the team and went with the others to hang out in JRs. After a few drinks, Chris bought us some shots and I went back to the supermarket one more time to buy some Robitussin. After some chatting and hanging out some of us went next door to TMCs and danced some more. The place was much more crowded for a Saturday night and despite having too much to drink on the part of several persons and parties we were able to have some fun and leave in one piece to go home and rest for our trip back to New York.



Once we got to the airport I learned to never wear Armani Exchange through the security checkpoint. The metal loop belt and all of the metal snaps meant that I was singled out for a secondary search and had a wand waved over my whole self while my CK waistband was visible to all of the security staff and others passing through. I chalked it up to an experience, giggled the whole time and we made our way into the terminal. After a quick BK lunch we were able to chill out and wait while our 3:15 flight was delayed by almost an hour but in the end the trip home was fast and uneventful. I was even able to watch Pirates of the Caribbean on the Powerbook. Waited for the airport shuttle, picked up the car at Avistar and despite the traffic at the red light before the Holland Tunnel was able to get home in just over an hour from Newark Liberty Airport.

Now I learned a lot on this trip down to Dallas. Both with new friends and same friends, from hanging in the hotels and hanging in the clubs to hanging on the fields and at the softball parties. I liked the shuttles to and from the hotel to the different events and parties but was not happy about the untreated grass that had little bugs waiting to jump up and bite. I liked the interesting neighborhood that had all of the g clubs in one 2 block space but was not happy with the 2 am drink cut off, the false advertising regarding some of the clubs and parties and the police in the clubs looking for people doing bad things but not looking on the street for people looking to do bad things like mug and rob.


Also was it just me or did the Transportation Security Agency search my luggage for no reason. I understand that heightened security is a good thing but besides making me take off my shoes and wand me with a handheld when my pants went off in the metal detector, the fact that they searched through my checked bags (left a nice note saying sorry but your bag was searched). I guess it was the fact that 2 guys were traveling together from a city that had just hosted a rather large gay sports event. But even when I traveled internationally I never had that level of security enacted upon myself.

Also the team seems ready to crumble into nothingness after such a strong beginning. We saw how teams that did not have a deep bench ended up having to fly talent in from NYC on an emergency basis after an injury forced out a shortstop. We also saw that basing the batting order on batting averages only did not sit well with some and hurt a lot of feelings. We also saw how hitting safely, so that runners can be advanced was sometimes confused with just hitting which is not scored as a hit in any league. Everyone has their own opinions and these needed to be shared with the entire team when issues arise and not when they boil over later in an overly dramatic fashion. We had several injuries on the team which called upon some emergency substitutions and moving around of players but at least we did have players waiting to be moved in. I am sure that in the professional leagues the best team is always on the field and not on the bench watching. We also know that professional teams don't get to have pickups and other players brought in just for the world series.

All of these issues would not be such a big deal if the team had gone farther and placed in the standings with a trophy or some other prize. Players on other teams that won were happy just have come down and been on a team that won.

Regardless of all of the drama I had a great time with friends I just met and friends I had hung out with before and was happy we got to hang out in a cool city together. However nothing else is like New York and I can't wait to hang with my buds at Roxy and other NY clubs soon.

Until we hang again. Keep it hot, stay safe, and watch out for those aggressive panhandlers.


Much love guys,
T

Heard over the course of the week:

"I'm sweating out every beer I ever drank"

"I see you baby, shaking that ass.. shaking that ass."

heard performed during the talent show "Cause your Drunk, and you're ugly, and you bore me to tears, and this bar and got enough... beer"

heard in an argument outside the talent show "we gave you your money back now go!" response: "Its not enough! Its just not enough"

"For our limited dinner menu we have... Turkey Croissants"

"But ,.. He has no teeth!"

Aug 13-15 - Waiting for the night, and the boat and other summer stories

What is a weekend with no Friday hangout, no Saturday club arrival and no huge hall full of adoring friends and favorites.

Well we still hung out on Friday, just not in the usual places. Left work a little early so I could pack my bags and get ready to go. Then after the arrival of Steve and the Jimmy, we were able to all head out in the car for a quick drive out onto the island and with Pais at the wheel we were able to get out there fairly quickly. We were staying in Ocean Beach, that college town out on Fire Island. The ferry arrived at 10:40 and we headed out across the water to that narrow strip of beach and houses. After noticing the trash thieving deer and passing by all of the young kids at the ferry slip bars, we headed into our room at the hotel. Nice rustic look place with wood walls, Dish Network Television. Stand up showers in one corner of the room and a separate bathroom in each room. All of us stayed in two connecting rooms so we had plenty of bathroom and shower space. We grabbed some pizza and after finding out the water taxi schedule we headed over to The Pines and the party happening at the Pavilion. We caught up with Larry Bullock in his new job as a director at the place and got some nice drinks at the bar while we danced with the boys in the two level club. The room wasn't that big but the long island boys don't need much. I am not sure who the DJ was but once I heard Ofra Haza "Love Song" (DJ Paulo Mix) I knew I was having a great time. Between the lights, the fan dancers and the great music we partied hearty until the drinks were cut off and the place let out at 4am. And then then the horror... We found out that no, you could not just call an hour ahead for a water taxi. We found out that we would have to wait a little longer. Then we found out it was a lot longer. The next water taxi would not arrive until 9am. So we ended up staying outside on a nice summer night in The Pines on a park bench like a homeless. Taking turns falling asleep until the sun came up. Then we went over to the boat slip, picked up a few fixings for lunch and headed back over to Ocean Bay. After a nice sleep in a nice bed and a great shower, we barbecued some hot dogs and burgers and enjoyed a nice lunch. We even had macaroni salad and potato salad along with the very fresh off the grill hot food. Even fighting off two Irish setters and a sheep dog we were still able to keep enough of our food to ourselves to enjoy a great meal. The everywhere Wi-Fi networking that we were able to sign up for was a great thing as we were able to go onto the internet with my new Apple Powerbook no matter where we were inside and outside. However the weather was not going to cooperate with us for the whole weekend. After showing another of the hotel tenants that she could check her Ebay account and view sales of her genuine Olympic baseball caps, we checked on the weather. It turned into a true washout out as we ended up rained in and having to just stay inside and watch television while the rain came down. Turns out that the remnants of Hurricane Charley had worked its way up the coast and had some energy to pour some water down on the New York area beaches. After sleeping in and then quick cleanup we were able to get out and away well before noon and arrived back in the environs of BK. A haircut, some television and watching Six Feet Under I determined that I had been shortchanged with my weekend and decided to go out and hang on Sunday Night. I was going to be on vacation the following week so what the heck.
I arrived in the city at 12:15 and along with a nice size crowd for a Sunday night I was greeted with porn on the screens and live pornstars on the stage as Aaron Tanner hosted the Pitch Black party at SBNY. Along with some extremely not tall performers and some cheesy poses the shows were decent if not just for the fact you could see the whole thing up close. The giveaways left something to be desired but otherwise the music of DJ Max Rodriguez was definitely a fun and great dance vibe. I even got to do an impromptu danceoff with 3 other boys while listening to Britney "Me Against the Music" the Rauhofer mix. The night out was a good one and the week of vacation had only just begun. Now with a takeoff from Newark Airport and a great weekend away ahead, what's not to like? Coming up... Out West with the boys from the East.

Summer Cool and Fun in the Sun

Have enjoyed a great summer so far. Hanging out with friends, going to new places, dancing in the same spaces and keeping the fun moving.

This week I worked late and missed some workouts but with the coming of the weekend we still have to go out and hang with the guys. Snatched up some dinner, picked out an outfit and went out on the town with the friends. Arrived inside the place at 12:15am and stepped into the middle of a party. Yes the DJ Susan Morabito was having her birthday celebrated at SBNY so all of the bright lights and loud music was all for a good cause, supposedly. If only I had known ahead of time, and plan on knowing in the future. The lady can mix but what she chooses to mix leaves much to be desired. She cuts together snatches of almost familiar beats and plays it in an avalanche of sound that keeps you desiring more... but you never get any more. Yes, That is all there is. A lot of promise, a few snatches of beats and voices, but never the full delivery. Its like eating chicken caesar salad but with no chicken. We tried to tough it out for a while but gave up and left the space at 2:25. I haven't left that early in a while but I figured it was best to save my energy for the next day.

Saturday was spent housecleaning, trying out some new beats on the pc and the mac, catching a trim and various household stuff until Pais returned from playing BASL softball. Talk of a close game and then a sudden interruption were the highpoints of the games for the day. With the rest of the team heading out to Long Island we decided to once again turn towards the city and hang with the boys in NYC. First we headed into heights (Prospect Heights) and hung out with Q and Ernie and a few other friends celebrating Black Gay Pride weekend. Along with the boys pouring out of Fort Green Park and the blaring sounds of the concert in progress we headed upstairs and chilled with the boys drinking white cranberry and vodka while getting 10 kinds of laid back. That is until 11:30 when we headed into the city and discussed various movies and college stories until we found parking in the lot around the corner from the club. Steve got us past the line with doorman Derek and then the wristband kids made a point of telling me I was late (I was supposedly supposed to open the place). And then we made our way up the stairs into the Roxy. DJ Steve Travolta set up a sultry mood and got the boys worked up and ready to dance. Barman Barker was taking a break from the front bar and even though the place stayed busy throughout, the energy just was not the same as the lights and sounds up at the front. We still had fun though and Barker definitely kept the drinks flowing and the boys coming back. I only did one floorshow in the rear dancefloor lounge and even though we hung out with plenty of friends we ended up being far more talk and less dance so the energy level eventually ended earlier than usual. But all is well that ends well and despite a wild ride home and wake up earlier than usual we made our way back to the fully awake so when Bro Jimmy showed up the next day at noon we headed out to wilds of Long Isle. Our friend from the team Chris had invited over the whole team to hang and we decided were definitely going to make an appearance and got out to the house in just under an hour. We got there fairly early and were able to welcome most of the team as they also arrived. We spent the day enjoying barbecue, playing volleyball in the pool, playing horseshoes and hanging with the guys. Cool water, hot sun, nice lounging and some great hot dogs and cold tomatoes. The day flew by and when it came time to go we were very happy that we had come out and had fun with Chris, his family and friends as a good time was had by all.

We headed back into the city and despite the normal levels of construction traffic we made it back in one piece. We had DVR of Six Feet Under and caught up on that before turning in for the evening. Another nice and well rounded weekend and we were all glad that we were able to enjoy together. Until next we meet boys. All over the place and ready to party all over again.

Storm Warning... Party Alert... Still Having Fun

Stayed at work so late on Friday I could not get to the gym. Just worked out at home and cleaned up ready to head into the city. Got out a little late, arrived at Splash at around 12:20pm and met up with Steve and Rickey once inside. DJ Max Rodriguez made his return to the booth after being away from the boys on the dancefloor for over a month. He brought with him some familiar tunes and some new ones to the boys in the place. Both Narcotic Thrust and Offer Nissim both have a out a song called "I Like It". Heard both of those, as well as new tunes from tunes from Madonna and Britney and something new for a night with Max, wait for it... non vocal Tribal House, I was there to witness it. I heard not one but 2 different songs that can only be described as tribal house. Yes the Max is growing as a DJ. Its a good thing. Stayed out with the boys until 3:15 as I was called back to dance on the speaker one more time by "In the Zone" by Britney. Got back home and caught some well needed rest before the sun came up.

Pais had to get up early to go and hang with the boys of the BASL and did well. The Titans won 2 out of 3 games and will be continuing into next week with their playoffs. I myself stayed home, cleaned up, caught up on my anime, trimmed the hair and prepared myself for the coming of the night. Chowed down on Chicken Parmesan and watched TV until the it was time to head out once again. Despite the bridge traffic and quest for a lighter and looking for a parking space we got there in plenty of time and walked into the space at 12:25. Once inside Roxy and after a few drinks I said hi to my friend Barman Brett and discussed DJs and music and all that fun stuff before the party started on its way into the deep. DJ Chad Jack once again showed the boys a fast moving, tribal fueled, unpredictable dancefest. At one point we were dancing to the buildup of Mel C "I Turn To You" as well as some other surprises in beats and party. We stayed far into the night and Barman Barker did his regular stellar job of keeping the drinks flowing and the mood upbeat. I think I dropped a few things as the night progressed but nothing irreplaceable. We stayed until 5am and got back home into BK in just 17min. I ended that night on some deep sleep.

Sunday was a rather worn day but made it out to get some brunch and caught "The Village" in my theater downtown. No I was not seeing a documentary of some of my favorite bars but rather the M. Night Shymalan film with John Hurt and the people in yellow and the "things" in red. I enjoyed it myself and found myself emotionally involved with the characters. Maybe it was just the come down from the mood from my previous night but I really liked the movie and felt for the characters. Hope more people get out and enjoy some to. Both movies and dancing, eating and shopping. There is always so much to do and not enough time to do it in but I look forward to another hot time in the city very soon. So what about the lightning storms and the killer humidity. I'll be there, and I know I won't be alone.