I've Got My Pride, and My Friends, and some Hot and Sticky fun too..

The week was full length but over soon enough. I said my goodbyes at work and headed home. I cleaned up, cut my hair and changed clothes. I lined up the sneakers and outfits for each day of the weekend and then stepped into the first set of shorts and shirt of the weekend. I had prepared early and made sure I was rested up enough and even planned on going to the gym on Saturday. Pais and I had been invited over to visit with our friend Troy as he had a few friends visiting and hanging out.

We called and got a car into the city pretty easy and after making sure we had the right address we rang the bell and made our way inside. There were already plenty of people there and some nice chilled drinks waiting as we made with the conversation and waited for the arrival of Will. Once he arrived, Pais and I listened to his tales of life overseas and the new baby. We hung out for a bit with the guys before it was time for the party to move on and take to new locations. A lot of the guys were heading out to Krash but I had places to be myself so after making sure I had handed gift CDs to Will and Troy I headed outside with Pais to flag down a taxi. Pais let me get one first and we said our goodbyes as he headed back to BK to rest for his game the next day. I took the longest cab ride ever and finally made it over to 8th ave and after hitting up the ATM I made my way down the avenue to Gym just around 12:30. After a short wait on the line I showed my ID, got stamped and moved on inside. Barman Brett was right at the front of the bar and we said our hellos and I started off with my first drink. I made my way to the back and said hello to DJ Smoky. Between the stories I heard from him and from Brett I pieced together reason I had not been able to see Brett the previous weekend. A police officer had come in and accused them of serving a minor a drink. Since I know no one in the place gets in without being carded we knew that was a lie. The officer then said they were over the limit for fire dept permit and said they could not have more than 69 inside the place. Of course this meant the place was mostly air and floorspace. Brett was sent home early at 10:30pm so of course was not in attendance when I walked up and then moved on to the next space. We hadn't seen each other in about 3 weeks and we discussed much and then as he went off the clock we chatted downstairs as he counted out. We said goodnight to Rick and then headed over to G Bar so Brett could meet up with his friend(s). We said goodnight and I headed over to
Splash. The bottle of water I picked up on the way in finished, I walked past the line in front and wandered up and inside. The place was packed with DJ Alex Lauterstein whipping the boys into a frenzy as the place was in some serious need of a blast of air conditioning. I said hello to Grace and we danced for a bit and I even said hello to barman John. Before I could get too wrapped in the scene however Grace said she had a another party to attend. She said it was uptown but I thought what the heck its not like I party hop that often (right). We went outside, Grace signaled up a taxi and we were en route. The ride uptown to 38 street was not too far and we were there in no time. We stepped out to hear the music blasting into the street and plenty of people on the street and inside. The place was a driveway opening from the front of a warehouse like building that was cool cement all around and a long hallway-like room all the way to the back. Of course right after we arrived they were putting away all of the mixed drinks but there was still beer and good music. DJ Randy Bettis was spinning on a table at the back and was very happy with the crowd and the beats. The party seemed to be winding down but between the lights that I brought and the flags that Grace brought the opened up floor space just made it more convenient to dance. I don't remember any of the songs but the mood was good there was plenty of smiles (and beer) to go around. I even picked up this cute little guitar pin with flashing blue lights around the edges. We finally headed outside on the sidewalk for Grace to catch a smoke and I timed myself as ready to go home at 4:20 am. I said my goodnights and then walked down to the next street looking for a car to take me back to BK. It was much harder than when I am downtown and after losing my sense of direction and making my way all the way over to the west side I then walked downtown to 34th street still trying to find a cab to take me home. A few obligatory nasty cabs that locked their doors as I approached and asked me for my destination before I got in. I tried to wave them on but when I gave in and told them they of course peeled off like I was Freddy Jason and I was left yelling their cab numbers into the slowly lightening air. Finally after I had walked over to 11th ave a cab stopped for me and actually let me get in before I had to tell him where I was going. A whole 30 minutes wasted trying to get a car but I was finally underway. I told him where I was going in a rush, thanked him profusely and sat back and leaned back for the ride home. Of course he woke me up when he thought it was time and told me I had arrived. I did not recognize the street outside my windows and told him that no, I was not at the right place. I was 2 blocks over from my house but of course did not recognize the block in my sleep deprived state. Once we made it to the corner I told him he just had to drive down to the next corner and make a right. Finally home and happy I paid the driver and made my way upstairs. The key in the lock, the door opened and I was once again home safe and sound. The night was good and I still had 4 days before I had to be back at work. Life was good.

Saturday I awoke and wandered about a bit in the house before heading out to the gym in NYC. The trip into the city was quick and after showing the girl my ID (damn lost keys with my membership on it) I headed into the gym and proceeded to workout. The workout was good and I was able to finish in not too much time. I then headed down the street, to the Wendy's of course. Finished off my great lunch of a Single and a Side Salad and then went around the corner to check out the Century 21. After picking out a few shirts I was done and I headed over to J&R to see what they had inside. I looked over the games, the CDs, CD cases and got my stuff. With my shopping over with I headed over to the train station and got me and my bags home nice and quick. After putting everything down and just chilling for a bit watching some toons, Pais called and said that the softball team had won so they would going out to San Diego this year to represent in the Softball World Series. Nice. After Pais got back and we got the food delivered from Friend's Cafe we were ready to take on the night. I had already set aside the outfit for the evening and after taking my time cleaning up, it was ready to dress to impress and step out. The Jimmy arrived just a little early and we were able to get out the house just after 10:30 so we could shoot for a parking space before the whole weekend crowd got in.

We dodged in and out of traffic and then surprisingly our regular spots were already taken. We ended up finding a rare spot right on the corner of 23rd Street. After making sure our spot was really real and really legal we headed down the street. Chris had already called and we knew he was on his way so we knew we would see him inside. After saying hi to the doorman we headed on inside and headed for the ticket counter. We made a quick left, handed over our pre-bought tickets and made our way inside of
Roxy. As it was still open bar I decided to prepare myself for the eve with a bottle of water and we looked over the overdone decorations, a sort of melange of disco balls, chinese lanterns and new lighting installations tried to make the place seem a little more upbeat. I said Hi to DJ Manny Lehman as he chatted with friends at the front bar after pointing him out to Pais. The place filled up fairly quickly and opening DJ Hex Hector segued the crowd from some classics on and into some high energy beats that had the crowd going from the early evening right into the heart of the party. The place filled up very quickly and we spotted Chris as we stood near the front overlooking the front bar. We came together at our barman Barker and ordered up a round. We took a break from the heat outside and talked to a few of the guys who had traveled up from all over the country and beyond. After we headed back inside the heat was a palpable thing as it wrapped around you and didn't let you find a moment. Chris and I headed towards the chillout room and stood right underneath the vent in order have some cooler air to hang in and we attracted a herd of bears to hang out and meet with before we headed back into the crowd to see what the boys were up to. I bought a tequila shot for Erica after she had the misfortune to have her bag stolen from the bar counter and be found shortly afterwards trodden upon and empty. I wished her well and made sure all of the rest of our gang was still doing well and well accounted for. At 3:30 we watched Deborah Cooper take to the stage and sing two songs (including "Pride - A Deeper Love") before DJ Manny Lehman took over and brought the night to another level. The place stayed hot, the boys stayed involved and crowd showed no signs of clearing out. The late night came and was gone and we stayed in attendance until 5:30. I had not had a chance to make it out to the speaker all night due to the press of the crowd but I took the late night chance to fight my way out onto the stage and then onto the front of the press of bodies to dance with both hands lit and then lasered the disco balls through the heated smoke before waving a goodnight and setting off for the outside. Even outside Pais refused to put his shirt back on it was so damp and we flagged down a car on 9th Ave without too much drama. The ride back to BK was quick and we enjoyed the sunrise (Thank goodness for the sunglasses) and the summer breeze. The Saturday Night was survived and just halfway through the weekend and plenty of days off ahead, looking forward to the sleep was a good thing.

Sunday I awoke around 1pm and hung out in the house noshing on delivery breakfast. Watching DVR programming and movies on the DLP passed the early part of the afternoon. Later on we heading out for some household necessities like fruit and soda and picked up some dinner at Dallas BBQ. Some more DVR programming and some music shopping and then it was a goodnight to Pais who still had to work the next day. I however was ready for another party night so I prepared to head out a little later to account for the parades and fanfares in the city and was all ready to head out in my last outfit for the weekend at 1:25am. I walked down the street and made my way over to Castle Car where one of the returning drivers volunteered to take me into the city. The driver got me into the city fairly quickly but was surprised to find a whole lot of people still in the streets, police barricades just being moved out of position and plenty of fanfare still going on. At first I thought there was still a crowd in front of Avalon but it ended up being just a bunch of people coming and going and I was able to get inside fairly easily. Once inside however the sheer heat of the place was enough to overcome a person and I headed upstairs to the second floor and looked out over the crowd. DJ Chad Jack was throwing down some hard beats and the crowd was just eating it up. I plied myself with drinks and got into the groove myself. Helping Erica down from the stage and then taking to the stage myself to dance out the end of the eve. I stayed on the stage until after 5:00am but the outing was only completed after having bore 45 minutes of torturous gospel beats and church music before moving onto the always classic and welcome Veronica and "Someone to Hold", I could have stayed a little longer and even headed onto another venue but decided against it. I had already had a great weekend and I didn't need to make any of the promoters any richer making their parties any better than they already were. Spending another $60 or $40 just was not enough for a party at 6am. That would have been like going to work. My walk outside into the sunlight was trying enough without the sheer exhaustion that would have set in after another 4 or 5 hours. I walked down the street and headed down to Mickey D's for a breakfast biscuit before making my way down to the subway, buying a $2 metrocard and waiting for the train with the early morning commuters. The ride home was uneventful and I wandered into my place as the sunlight lit the streets I normally walked on my way to work. I couldn't sleep right away so I hung out for a bit watching cartoons before collapsing into the mattress sometime in the late morning. Thank goodness I gave my body some rest when I did. Its so much nicer when there is not too much recovery going on during your recovery time.

Until next year, and next week even, stay happy, healthy and proud enough to get out there and share it with your friends.

June 17-19 - When the Fun Stops and then Starts Again and Alls Well that Ends Well..

After the short work week it was right back out and ready to hang on this Friday Night. Vacation was nice but we wanted to hang just as bad after 3 days off than the usual five. We welcomed the arrival of the Jimmy but felt bad he had injured his shoulder in our absence. He was still ready to hang so we headed out just after 11pm and made our way into the city. We were ready to hang but didn't want too boisterous a crowd that would bump the shoulder of the Jimmy too much. However I still wanted to go to Gym and see how Barman Brett was after my 2 weeks of absence from the NYC hangout environs. We were able to find a parking space pretty easily and walked the 2 blocks down 8th Ave to arrive in front of Gym. However, some drama from earlier in the evening (bad lieutenant) and the attendance appeared way down the doorman were keeping the number inside greatly controlled. We saw Rick outside in a bad mood and no trace of Barman Brett so we decided that we would skip this jump on our barhop for the evening. We headed over the two blocks crosstown to head on into Splash. We got inside and wandered through the place for a bit and then picked up our drinks and started to hang out. We moved from the downstairs to the upstairs, from the back bar to the front bar and hung out till we strung out. Well not exactly but we definitely had a good time. The crowd was bumping, with DJ Eddie Elias totally keeping the crowd upbeat and moving to the tribal grooves. We ended up leaving the Jimmy to his own devices after 3am but we were all ready to go so we up and left. The cab was pretty easy to get right out front and we headed home none the worse for wear.

I woke up Saturday morning ready to move and ready to get out and do the workout thing so after a nice order of breakfast delivery (damn nasty burger) I made sure to hydrate and Pais and I headed over to the gym in downtown NYC. I was able to get the workout through fairly quickly but Pais had stopped in the office first and started late so after my workout was done I headed across the street to J&R. A little shopping for blank CDs and CD cases as well as some new movie DVDs downstairs and I was ready to head back home. I called up Pais after I had picked up a new bottle of Coca Cola Zero at the Duane Reade and climbed into the Murano and we headed back to Bklyn. We chilled out for a while in the afternoon, rested up and then ordered in the italian dinner. After finishing off the grilled chicken and started the late evening preparations. I had already received a call from Gigi and was finally able to determine her time of arrival. She clued me in that she wasn't arriving alone but it was really no stress as we had plenty of time and space before it was time to go. Gigi and Ana arrived around 10:30 and while I was changing on one side of the apt. they both changed on the other and we all came out outfitted and ready to head into the city.

After a quick stop off at the ATM we all piled into the car and headed into the city. The ride in was easy and the mood was high as we arrived fairly quickly and made ourselves for entry and arrival. We were there at 11:50 and we got in fairly easy saying hi to all the staff and I even introduced my sisters to a few of my friends on the staff. We then walked into Roxy ready to have some fun. We started off with drinks and a tour of the place. From the front to the back upstairs and down with drinks in hand we danced near the bar a bit and then headed upstairs to the Crystal Lounge just in time to hear a Janet Jackson compilation mega-mix that had us dancing with the crowd and having some fun. After the music changed we headed back downstairs and readied ourselves to really dive into the evening. The girls were a big hit, especially with one older spanish gentleman who danced with Gigi near the bar. Ana, Pais and I kept in the same general area but didn't crowd too much but just smiled and looked on. As the place grew more crowded around 1am we were ready to really jump into the eve and the guy Gigi was dancing with brought her over to the bar on the other side of the Barmistress to get a drink. Before we could step too much closer Gigi had already taken the shot glass and downed the drink. She put both of her hands up to her face as if the drink was hot but she said it wasn't too strong. She then announced to everyone that she needed a cigarette. Me and Ana converged to walk her outside and show her the way outside. The guy asked us where we were going but we told him we were related and walked her outside. Outside at the fence Gigi and Ana conversed with the guys outside but Gigi was getting quieter and quieter until I noticed she was not quite right. Before she even knew what was happening I could see she was about to be sick. I turned her around and she christened the fence for a minute or so before we walked her down to the stairs at the end of the area and sat for a bit. I ran back inside to get a bottle of water (seeing no sign of the mad spanish man) and quickly returned outside to see how they were doing. Gigi was not well and Ana volunteered to take her home. As we were celebrating my birthday it was decided that I would stay in the club but even though I saw them get into the taxi and head home and received status calls on my cell I was still in a bad mood until I got the call they had arrived at home OK and were about to go to bed. Pais left not too long afterwards as he had a game to go to the next day and needed some rest. I realized a little while later that bad things really do happen in triples (I had left some one of a kind clothes back in Vegas the previous weekend, lost my keys as soon as I got back home, and now had my sis get poisoned at the very space I spend almost every weekend). Once I realized that we had all come through it alive and maybe better for it I decided I would move out of that angry space and end my night on the stage. I got the stage to myself, lit both of my hands and put on a show for the DJ and lightboard crew (the crowd too). After that was over I headed back to the front picked up another drink and moved on with the rest of my night.
I stayed until just around 4am and headed outside to pick up a taxi and head back to BK. I arrived back home nice and safe and fell into a welcome sleep pretty quickly.

Sunday morning I awoke feeling pretty decent, ready to head out and see what needed to be seen and plans to do quite a lot of traveling. As Ana and Gigi had not gotten to return to pick up their wardrobe they had left at my place I packed it all up in a J&R bag and made ready to travel I walked down the street and picked up the Brooklyn bound train. The train arrived fairly quickly and I rode it down to 86th street and visualized the bus waiting for me upstairs and ready to head over to Staten. After finding the bus sitting there and waiting for my Metrocard to process the transfer I sat down very happy but then hungry as the people in front of my had brought on some bags from Mickey D's. I was definitely ready to eat something by the time I arrived down near Wagner College and waited for the bus to take me up the hill. The bus was not on schedule but at least I hadn't missed it as it arrived about 9 minutes late to take me up the hill. There were only about 2 other people on the bus and I ended up taking the bus a little too far but at least the walk back was downhill and not an uphill walk. After finding the right house I said hello to Ian and stepped inside. We spent a little while watching and playing Resident Evil 4. The game was really great looking and very disturbing. The crazed killers in that game just do not give up and go out of their way to throw a nice scare into you. It was real hard to get that girl out safely without her getting jumped too. Oh well, pretty soon The rest of the household arrived with babies in tow. I said hello to Ana Gigi and the kids and we began to prepare the food for the barbecue. With Moms in the kitchen throwing everything together Gigi and I got the grill going (mostly Gigi) and we made sure it was packed with loads of grillstuff. They didn't take too long to cook and right after we had removed the first waves to just stay warm the rest of the party arrived. Anissa, killer Kaheem, Willy, GF and all of the babies and we definitely had a houseful. With Heineken in hand I minded the grill and made sure everything stayed within the bounds of edible Kaheem showed off the new Crossfire and we started giving out buns, burgers and dogs as fast as they could come off the grill. However before it got too late Emmett, Ana and I knew we had other places to be in NYC. We hurriedly said our goodbye's as we piled into the car and headed down to the SI Ferry to catch the 8pm boat. We caught it with a few seconds to spare and sat down and enjoyed the short ride across the bay. Keeping the babies occupied in transit passed the time and pretty soon we were in downtown Manhattan. We said our goodbyes and then I headed over to the ATM to pick up some cash before riding the R train uptown. I changed over at 14th street to the L so I could move over to the 8th Avenue Line before continuing uptown to 28th Street. Of course the express train I caught went too far so I had to walk back down from 32nd street and over 2 blocks to get to the Eagle bar (better late than never). The place was ridiculously crowded with the leftover crowd from the earlier street fair and after picking up a bottle of bud light I wandered through the crowd and took in the sights. Pais was up on the roof, the team having had arrived en masse after finishing off their afternoon game. However there was a line every time I walked over and I could not head upstairs at first. After watching people practically devouring each other with hands and kisses I finally saw the way clear away enough for me to wait on the steps and head upstairs. After a 3 minute wait I was on the roofdeck and making my way across to the guys. Everyone else was far more advanced into their imbibe than I was but it was a very happy bunch. Pais, Donnie, Chris, the Jimmy, Ty, and Mike were all in attendance. I headed back over to the upstairs bar to pick up some more drinks and we commenced hanging out and having ourselves a good ol' time. However as the time approached 10:30PM we had to say our goodbye's so we could head back to the comfy environs of BK. After all of the goodnight's we went downstairs and found the Murano before heading downtown. We didn't have too many late night meal choices but finally we let the fact we need to buy gas decide. We picked up some gas after coming off of the Manhattan bridge and then headed over to Mickey D's. We picked up a meal for each of us and then quickly headed home so I could release some fluid (those damn beers). The night ended well and the weekend came to a close as well. I was glad everyone made it through OK and counted me and mine fortunate that if anything untoward were to happen we were all there together and ready to see it through till the finish. Out of all of us at the time of highest drama, the two most responsible were the ones able to maintain a cool head and get through with the night.

I hope I never have to see one of my friends incapacitated again, and as far as depends upon me and mine, it won't. I'm not saying I can watch everyone all of the time but I can make sure to be aware that even in the most familiar places there are underlying elements ready to pull you under. Until the next time, Keep it hot, Keep it safe.

June 9-14 - Eating, Dancing and Running in Vegas

I worked until 4:30 on Thursday Night and finally got out and ran for home. I was able to get home by 5:50 and then call for my siblings to find out everyone's location. Ana was in transit from work and we decided that we would meet at the airport since she did not have time to come from Queens to BK. I waited for the ever to meet up with Ian and Gigi so I waited until they were in transit and then I headed over to Bay Ridge with the car service to pick them up at the bus stop. Despite traffic and runaway construction going on I was able to locate them after 2 phone calls and then pick them up for the return trip right next to the highway. While riding I called up Ana to tell her to make her dinner order at Lenny's and then got dropped off at our place for a brief respite before I was going down the hill to pick up our pizza dinner along with Ana's eggplant parmesan. As soon I was back in the house I called the car service to get us a ride out to the airport. The red minivan was on its way and was there fairly quickly. We jumped into the car at 8:49pm and told the driver what time our flight was (10:15). He looked at us incredulously as we told him we needed to get there as soon as possible. He then proceeded to ride us onto the Gowanus headed for the Belt Pkwy as we jetted out towards the airport at downright amazing speeds. He just happened to get us to our gate in 32 minutes with 10 minutes to spare before they closed boarding for our flight. Ana showed up 5 minutes later and we were all ready to begin our travel as we checked what needed to be checked and carried on the carry-on's as we made our way upstairs to find out the flight was only slightly delayed (fog) and we also found out that some enterprising person at check-in had moved our seats apart and Ana was not sitting in the back while the rest of us were at the front. However once on the plane our Nintendo DS enabled us to chat from the front to the back until we tired of the chat and began playing video games. I played "Touched" for a while before taking a short nap and then waking up to watch some Jetblue television. The flight was uneventful despite the funky bunch sitting in front of us throwing off all kinds of garlicky odors both in the terminal and on the plane as well as our close proximity to the front bathroom (2nd row) which after a while appeared to be housing some heavy duty miasma that we could not wait to escape ASAP. We landed and proceeded to exit post haste but once outside in the terminal we had to wait for Ana to catch up from the 19th row. After giving a few people directions to the exit we finally rejoined as a group and headed for the baggage claim. The bags came out in short order and were undamaged despite the JFK warnings against large soft bags. My new High Sierra bag came through the trip pretty much unscathed and ready to make the trip by cab to the hotel. We waited on the line at number 4 for the next available car (for some reason our late arrival of 1:15am meant no cars in the terminal, a far cry from my last trip). Eventually our available car showed up and we piled in and headed for the Luxor. Conveniently located near the bottom of the strip not far from the airport we were there fairly quickly. After finding the check-in counter after wandering almost over to the Excalibur next door. We checked in and dropped off our bags in our nicely appointed room. The bag was set up for wheelchair access so was nice and roomy in both the room and the bathroom and we soon headed out and downstairs to walk the strip at night to find something to check out and something to eat. We ended up finding the food court right next to MGM near the Adidas store. I picked up a burger from Wendy's (out of fries) and my siblings settled on Taco Bell. We finished that off and then headed back down to the hotel to hang out and gamble some. The slot machines only worked if you spun once or twice and moved on. If you tried to stay with any machine and keep winning, it all went south. This was a theme that was pretty much repeated for the entire vacation. Eventually at 4:15am I couldn't stay up anymore and begged off to go to bed. Of course New York Time it was 7:15am so I was definitely entitled to go to sleep. The siblings followed and we wished the casino good night.

Friday morning we awoke too late for the buffet downstairs but I felt it would be wasted anyway since we had done our late night snacking so recently. Instead we walked up the street and headed over to the Denny's near MGM not far from the Walgreens. At first we thought it was too crowded but with too few late breakfast choices we decided to use our time wisely. I got us a place on the waiting list while they walked next door and bought their touristy shirts and gifts for when they headed back home. I told them exactly when to reappear and then called them on the cell with just 3 minutes to go. Of course they were able to get back in time and then we got our table in the smoking section. We knew that no one really smoked in the smoking section. In Vegas people can smoke anywhere so no one is going to smoke in the Denny's. We got our table pretty quickly but for some reason the kitchen staff got together to make sure everyone's order took longer than it should have. I have never had such a wait at a Denny's but I think the kitchen staff were doing some kind of over work protest. The food was still good but the wait kind of took away from the whole breakfasting mood. When we were finally done and paid for the bill we headed back to the hotel to decide on where to go and then we got ourselves together and then walked to the back of the MGM to catch the monorail. Despite briefly walking too far and having to walk back again we found it out back after walking away from the pool. A tourist lady had just given up on a machine that she couldn't get to print her ticket and so I just walked up punched in what I wanted and moved on. If the metrocard machines hadn't shown me how to get a card from a machine then I had learned nothing. We went upstairs to wait and I picked up a can of Monster energy drink before we got on the train. We took the train the 6 stops up the line to the Hilton and walked right in the back door of the place and found we were pretty close to where we wanted to go. We walked inside and got tickets for the rides. Of course once we were inside and in the museum part of the attraction we were walked up to by a borg who just stepped out of the employee door right behind us. Gigi was spooked but I just smiled as he walked by and wandered through the waiting crowd on lines for the rides. We got on the line for the Klingon Encounter and then got on the ride. Gigi got a little spooked when we were seemingly kidnapped and brought to another room when the lights went out but from then on the ride was funny and fun. We ended up in the back row which meant we had a great view of the visuals on the screens but it also meant that we got thrown around during the sudden turns and we had to hold on to the seats to make sure we didn't bang anything too hard. Once that was over it was around and back on line again to wait for the Borg Invasion 4D. This time we took pictures with Klingons while we waited and then it was onto the next ride. We avoided the invading Borg and then it was time to take our seats in the small auditorium (supposed to be a small ship on the run from the borg) We were then captured and scanned. The chair actually pulsed so hard it made us jump and laugh and we watched the 3D spectacle on the screen with our 3D glasses. Another ride down and enjoyed. We then headed out of the ride and picked up a case of Romulan Ale (for Dan) and waltzed into the business area to try and ship it only to find out that FedEx and UPS did not accept shipping of alcohol. We then headed outside to the taxi stand and rode back to our hotel where we could drop off the heavy box before heading out again. We headed back out for dinner and settled on Fatburger to each have a burger and fries. We had the good meal and then once back in the casino I stated I had to go back to the room to lay down Feeling the effects of the long day and Monster energy drink wearing off, I really needed to take a nap. I started off taking a short nap before dinner and ended up sleeping again and again. The girls went out and hung out in the casino winning some, losing some. I was just sleeping some. I ended up sleeping until after 1am and by then I decided to just stay in and sleep so I was able to wake up the next morning before it was too late.

Saturday we woke up and felt ready to tackle the buffet downstairs off of the casino floor. We headed down around 9:30am and found it after asking for directions and reading the signs. For just $10.50 each we were each able to head in and pick up the most interesting parts of the buffet. After a trip up the first time for eggs, bacon, sausage and french toast, I headed up again for yogurt, granola and fruit. We all enjoyed digging into the repast and then headed back upstairs. After hanging out the casino for a bit we decided on another road trip and walked back over through the MGM Grand to take the monorail once again. This time we headed all the way up to the last stop at the Sahara and after walking through the casino floor twice we discovered there was no shuttle to Freemont street but rather just Vegas mass transit. We ended up just taking a taxi and getting dropped off right around the corner before walking up the street, taking a few pictures and then hanging out in Mermaids and later the Golden Nugget. I spent far too much money in those small little spaces and we finally called the gambling quits after hitting off the pawn shop (oldest one in Vegas) and then heading up the street to the movie theater. We broke out the DS and killed some time before it was time to watch some previews and then the feature presentation. Mr and Mrs Smith was actually very fun and we all enjoyed. The movie kept our attention, kept us laughing and seeing how the action was going to ramp up next. We walked out feeling energized and ready for the next step on our day into night out. We took a few more pictures and then headed down the block to the street we had been dropped off initially in Freemont. We crossed the street and then went to the first cab in the line. He headed over to the highway and then jetted back towards the Strip. We held up a little to take in rubberneckers at a roadside accident and then get back to the hotel in no time. We arrived back in the room. washed up and then performed our costume changes and got ready to head out into club scene for Saturday night. We decided on Club Ra in our very own hotel so that we would have no trouble returning at the end of the night. We walked into the club, paid our admission and then started off at the bar for a drink. The drinks were 7.50 to start and we wandered over to the dancefloor as the DJ decided what vibe he was going to put into the night and Ana, Gigi, and myself were some of the first to brave the floor, (along with a black married couple). We were watched by the majority of the crowd for quite a few minutes and then finally after the DJ settled on a nice upbeat R&B groove with Usher, MJB and Donell Jones. 45 minutes into the eve we had plenty more people dancing with us on the floor and by 11:30 the place was jumping. Gigi did her best to keep her own dancing area cleared and Ian met some new friends from Staten Island all the way in Vegas and we even took pictures to commemorate the eve. I only had one moment of drama as one girl refused to move by quietly. I gave her space to move by but she kept forcing the point saying "Excuse You". I finally just picked her up and put her on the other side of myself and stated "now Excuse You". Of course a few minutes later I was approached by security who wanted to determine the storyline but after listening to who was more coherent (Of course me) He moved off and let us party in peace. We only left the dancefloor for a brief stint when the DJ went into "Sweet Home Alabama" but when the music returned to normal we came back after getting a drink. Finally around 2:15 I couldn't go any farther and we all headed out (except for Ian) and had some fun in the casino. Ian joined us about 30 minutes later and I stayed out until just after 3am until I bid the other good night and headed upstairs to go and rest. The others came upstairs not too long after and I was enlightened with their different stories of different games bet on and people met. The night ended with everyone happy and another day to spend together.

We decided for Sunday that we weren't going to hit up the buffet again as we were not too impressed with it yesterday morning. We decided not to rush to make the buffet and instead just took our time getting ourselves together and then headed out to have another b'fast at Denny's. There was much less of a crowd on Sunday rather than Friday but for some reason the staff of Denny's could not keep it together and our 10 min wait turned into 15 min and when we finally sat down and ordered our food despite the friendly waitstaff we still waited for 25 minutes for our food and then waited forever for the check and then I waited almost 4 minutes at the front checkout for them to take my money to pay for the food (no one at the door). I told them I had a good meal (they said wow you were the only one) and we finally were able to get out of there and get Ana back to the hotel so that she could get back downstairs and to the airport on time. We went downstairs to the same entrance we had been going in and out of on the North side but there were no taxis there. We thought we were on the taxi line until someone else stole the next taxi (the people in front of the line said they could take it). Gigi then went down the line and bogarted a taxi and asked if he could take our sister to the airport. After reaching that agreement we said our goodbyes to our sis and then watched her head out to her waiting flight. We headed back in switched clothes and then headed back in to chill a bit at the casino. We hung out a bit inside and wandered through the mall connecting our hotel to the next before stopping in at the Mandalay Bay hotel and checking the place out. We looked over the place for a bit and hit a few machines before heading back to our hotel and up to the room and deciding what we wanted for dinner. As we had not yet checked out In and Out Burger we decided to walk around the corner and head over to the fast food restaurant. After taking the long walk besides the road and then underneath the highway we took a slight detour up the wrong side of the highway and then quickly changed direction and came up the right side, crossed the three point intersection (crossing 3 streets instead of crossing one) and made our way into In and Out. The wait was not too long and the food was definitely good for the price and we finished it off quickly. We headed outside to walk back around the way we came but Ian suggested we walk the other way to avoid walking the way we came. We agreed at first but when we seemed to be walking away from the hotels and walking around the long way (towards the Rio and away from our hotel entirely). When the sidewalk suddenly changed to be just one foot wide we decided to ditch this way and head back the way we had come. We crossed the street to where the buildings (and bushes) were and quickly found out the reason no one else ever walked this way. The bugs caused us just to walk a little faster at first but when Ian tried to step on one giant roach and was almost attacked by another and we spotted giant fireflies walking on the ground like fast and fat caterpillars, we took off running. I also found it very funny and by the time we had reached the intersection my stomach hurt from laughing and running at the same time. We finally made it back to the intersection and crossed the street. The walk back to the hotel was kinda jumpy but uneventful except for one giant roach sighting, and we made it back quickly. We then hung out on the casino floor for a while before we decided to get to get one of those tall drinks we kept seeing. However when we headed to the attractions floor we found that the margarita bar was closed for the night. We headed back downstairs and wandered into one of the hallways that connected to the pool area. We looked out of the window and watched the giant fireflies flying into the light at the top of the Luxor pyramid. Just as all three of us leaned out the window to get a better look, something big and flying smacked into my arm once and again. We all screamed and took off running back into the hotel. Of course at the moment we were scared out of our wits there was no one else in the hallway. We laughed over that too and hung out some more in the casino before turning in for the evening. Plenty tired from all of the walking and running we had done for the day.

Monday we awoke and tried to decide what to do with our last open day. Since there was still a lot we had not done we decided to start our day within the hotel by returning to the attractions level and checking out the different restaurants since we were hitting them for the first time (while they were still open). After looking over the different places I polled Ian and Gigi for what they wanted to eat and I got a resounding "Pizza!" so we had... Little Caesar's. I had not had Little Caesar's in many years but we ordered our midsize pepperoni pizza and waited a bit for it to be prepared. After they called our number we began our meal but then had to take back the crazy bread for the correct order of cheesy bread. The pizza and the bread were very good and we were now sated enough to begin our long walk up the strip. We headed first through the Excalibur and then out and around New York New York (we had seen the guy with the free shirts-if you signed up for a credit card and the Coyote Ugly girls display far too much over the past few days) and took the escalator across the street to the MGM Grand. Once there we turned in the machine ticket at the change booth and then we exited and began our trek up the street. Once again past all the street vendors, storefronts and car rentals and restaurants. We picked up some water at the Walgreens and continued on up the street in the first really hot day of our trip. We made our way up the street past the Aladdin and on to the Paris. We saw a man passed out on the sidewalk with others around him rendering medical assistance. We knew the heat was vicious but the exhaustion could happen to anyone. Be Prepared. Anyway we continued on past Bally's over the street and past the Flamingo and then across the street to Caesar's. Gigi was feeling the long walk in her feets and called a time out once we were inside the casino and resting in the nice A/C cooled atmosphere. After a brief rest we headed into the mall shops past the casino and did some window shopping and looking at the giant saltwater fish tank near Niketown and the Cheesecake Factory before heading into Nike to look around. I didn't see anything too compelling this trip but Gigi picked up a pair of walking sneaks and we were now ready to walk on through the mall. We ended up heading over to other end of the mall and the SonyStyle store. We then headed outside and into the heat. We made our way past Treasure Island and the Mirage and on into the Fashion Center Mall. Once past all of the Apple Ipod signs (and commercials on giant screens) we were once again out of the heat and into some nice mall air. We headed up to the food court and stopped at the Haagen Dazs to pick up some nice fruity smoothie's. We took in the young homeless and the trashy tourists and then moved on across the street to the new Wynn hotel. We walked past the Ferrari dealership and on into the bright and airy casino floor. The place definitely showed off its newness and we like the fact the place wasn't ridiculously busy but was heavily booked and seemed to have plenty of high rollers. We did our short circuit of the machines and we enjoyed the decor and the space, which rivaled the Bellagio in size and looks. We took a few pictures, walked around, admired the inside and outside artwork. After a nice little circuit through the place we headed out and admired the gardens outside and took photos of the moving facade on the hotel sign. We then headed down the street as the sun finally was starting to go down and the heat was a little less intense. We walked past the Venetian and on past Harrah's before going upstairs and into Outback Steakhouse. We had a few margaritas at the bar before heading over to our table and dug into our meals. The steaks were excellent and we finished up our dinner while watching the first tentative eruptions of the volcano at the Mirage. After dinner we headed downstairs and watched the volcano show a little more close-up for the sidewalk outside. We then headed back up the street and made our way past all of the hotels and sights back towards our hotel. We paused briefly across from the dancing fountains of the Bellagio while listening to "Hey Big Spender". The walk continued and we were underway without too much of a rush to return to the south end of the strip and our familiar group of hotels. We headed into the Luxor and right up to the attractions level and picked up "voted best Margarita on the strip" at the bar. The margarita by the foot was pricey but it did in fact taste excellent. We headed downstairs to the casino carrying our tall drinks and played with the machines and at the Roulette for a bit before finally being overcome by fatigue and not even being able to finish our drinks. With a little left to go we headed upstairs and cleaned up before going to bed.

We had to rush out on Tuesday morning after staying in bed a bit too long but we had already packed so we just had to clean up a bit and put the accessories away and then we headed downstairs to check out at the front desk and then on to the taxis out front. We took the main entrance instead of the tower entrance we were used to and were welcomed by a nice line of taxis ready to take us to the airport and despite a slight pause as we packed in the case of blue ale we were all ready to ride and took the short trip across the strip and around the corner to the airport. We got dropped off out front and then headed in to the counter but had to be separated as Gigi was singled out for SS (because of my last name on her ticket) but was calm afterwards when she finished up far faster than we did. We then found our way over to the gate and after setting Ian to watch the luggage, we headed over to BK and picked up a nice breakfast so our stomachs were full before our flight. We piled into the plane when they called our rows and sat at the back of the plane and promptly fell asleep. It is amazing how close to actual time travel a good sleep is and the flight back to NY was so much faster because of that great power nap to start. After dealing with the clumsy lady next to Gigi spilling her drink and missing out on all but the last round of snacks and drinks we had a pretty good flight. I read a little, played games a little (finished off Warioware Touched) and watched some TV. Despite a short delay while in a landing holding pattern we were back on the ground and ready to head through the airport in short order. I checked with Pais to see if he was doing well in transit for our pick up and we all seemed to be heading to meet up in good time. The carousel took forever to put together all three of our bags (mine was actually sliced open on the bottom, probably by the TSA looking for something bad, hmmph, as if...) Once outside we found Pais arriving just then and piled in and headed for the highway. We regaled Pais with tales of our trip and got home fairly quickly. After a nice dinner of chinese food (none in Vegas) and driving over to Staten to drop off Ian and Gigi it was once again home to Bklyn. The extended weekend was finally over and the thoroughly enjoyable vacation was under wraps. Until we hang again. Stay cool but keep it hot.

June 3-5 - Longer days, Hotter Nights, and Spilled Drinks

I worked on Friday and was invited out even before I left. Seems one of the people that I worked with was getting married next week. After I got done all that could be done I went downstairs and found Joy at the bar but no one else in sight. I had missed Tanya who had went looking for the gang across the street but a chance passing by Linus and a wave through the window made me look in the back behind the divider at Ole. There at the table I found Bruce, his Fiancee, Monica, Doris and Susan. After an aborted search for Tanya, I joined them at the table and Joy came over soon after. We hung out there for a while discussing relationships, vacations and various minutae as we finished off the appetizers and finally called it a night at 8:25. We walked down to the Path train and went our separate transit ways. Doris and Bruce rode uptown while Monica and I headed for Bk via the WTC stop. I got home rather quickly and made my way up the hill and into the house in time to have some dinner, clean up and watch some TV with Pais. When it was time to head out I called up the car service and got a ride out with the long haired driver I had not seen in a few months. His do reminded one of a jheri curl wig but it was all natural and all his. He chatted on his phone with his taxi compadres and while I listened to my ipod (guarantee of entertainment through the longest cab ride) He was able to get us into the city in fairly short order despite riding up 6th ave first and then driving down to 8th Ave via 14th street. He dropped me off right across the street and I was across and inside fairly quickly. I spoke with the doorman briefly and then made my way inside to hang with barman Brett and the many people crowded inside of Gym. I made my way to the back to speak with DJ Smoky who was having a good time spinning for the crowd. Pretty soon however another admirer of the DJ came over and began to speak so I went back to the front and got another drink. Since I had arrived late it was already after 1am when I was getting my last something to imbibe. I had already given Brett my newest CD "Beats the Heat" and I was all ready to jump ship and head over to the next bar on the hop but Brett invited me to hang while he counted out. We headed downstairs and I sat on one side of the table on a barstool while he sat on the other side with his receipts spread on the the table and plenty of rubber bands to make sure it was all evened up. As long as I didn't talk about numbers he was able to count in peace and I was able to finish off my drink before heading back upstairs. We headed back upstairs and then we parted ways as he flagged down a taxi to head home and I stayed and talked to the doorman for a while. After discussing jobs, the upcoming summer and helping him speak to the patrons who were lining up to enter I said goodnight and then headed over the two blocks to Sixth ave to pick up a bottled water. That was swigged down fairly quickly before I headed across the street and down 17th and on into Splash.

I still had my jacket to check with the coatcheck but quickly headed back upstairs when I did not see my bartender John manning the bar downstairs. I found him at the front where I picked up my first Stoli Orange and Red Bull (had enjoyed Stoli Orange and Rockstar at Gym). I danced up on the stage in front of DJ Billy Carroll who was throwing down a very high energy and fun set for the guys and girls in the crowd. i shared the stage with a guy and a girl doing their best to re-enact "Dirty Dancing" to the beat of high speed dance beats . DJ Mike Rizzo was also in attendance in the DJ booth looking over the beats in the set and bringing some of his own tunes as well, I'm sure. While I was up on the stage (and even when I came down to get another drink) I noticed that the dancers on both boxes, the one in front of the stage and the one across the bar in front of the screens, were making sure to put a little something "extra" in their routines. In fact they were going full monty and then hiding it a bit and then doing it all over again. I saw Mgr Ray in passing and told him that the dancers appeared to be getting a little out of control. He told me thanks and a few minutes later he actually talked with the dancer in front of the stage to cool it a bit. However when I saw that he left the other dancer alone to flash the crowd at will I stopped the mgr again and told him what about the other one. He told me "Baby, go have some fun". I decided that was good enough for me and I let the boys just have their fun too. I walked past the dancers and back to the front bar to hang with John and give him a gift CD "Forward Spring" which he absolutely was very happy to get. He actually giggled he was happy that I remembered that I had asked him what kind of music he liked. I hung out dancing inside for a little while more before calling it an evening. I was able to flag down a taxi right out front and was able to get back to BK nice and easy. Another night bites the sheets.

I got out of the house for the afternoon and headed over to the gym near city hall. I remembered my lock this time and did not have to pick up another one at Duane Reade. I was able to finish up in about an hour and then because of the heat outside I stayed in shorts and headed down the street to pick up some stuff at the Vitamin Shoppe before heading up to Wendy's for a bite to eat. I decided on the side salad with my burger to not totally nullify my day at the gym and hung out upstairs finishing off my lunch before leaving the space and walking up to Park Row and J&R. The nice new TV made me appreciate a nice size screen so I picked up a nice 19 in monitor for the PC in the home office. I picked up a few DVDs as well and then I was back to the train station to head home. Of course the weekend track work meant that I had to decide what station to go to since the downtown City Hall was not in service. I decided to take the uptown train to Canal and take the train across the bridge. It turned out that was a good idea as all the trains were heading across the bridge or stopping before going under the water so I ended up only having to wait a bit at Dekalb before finally making the last part of the run and getting off the train down the block. The walk home with the boxes was not too bad and I had everything set up and plugged in pretty easily. Pais returned home from playing softball shortly afterwards and after watching some TV he was off to catch some nap. I watched some DVR programming and the cartoon network before it was time to order up some dinner. A nice delivery of chicken Parmigiana and I was all good and ready to wait for the later. I cleaned up, wardrobe changed and was all ready to step out. The Jimmy arrived at 10:35 and we watched the HD before heading down to the car and after I made quick return upstairs for a Tums I was ready to head out.

We were able to get into the city pretty easily and made our way across the Bklyn Bridge and into the city. We found a nice spot up on 19th street and then walked down the street to stand on the line in front of Roxy. Doorman Derek was back and making sure that the boys stayed in line nice and orderly. After waiting behind a boy with a questionable ID we were finally waved in and up the stairs to go through the wristwrap, the cashiers and the ticket collector. I waved over to the coat check staff since I did not have to check anything for the first time this year and stepped inside of the party. Compared to the hordes that were in town for the holiday weekend the week before the place was looking kind of empty. Of course it was only midnight so I knew it could only get better and I walked up to the bar to say hi to Barker. Of course I was very surprised to see the return of my original ROXY bartender, the dark hair twin of Barker. I said hi and we started off our night with the usual flair. I said hello to a few friends and spilled a Red Bull on one of my friends but thankfully it wasn't cranberry but it was still kinda sticky. At least after it was all over and he had cleaned up he said he wasn't so cold anymore (the AC was on full blast to start the night off) I said hello to the same dancer I usually do and looked over the slowly filling room and listened to the beats. Of course I had to go out to the speaker near the stage and dance for the floor when DJ Hex Hector put on "Love has Come again" by Human Movement w/ Sophie Moleta, After getting nice and sweated up for that I returned to the bar and picked up another drink. I saw Duane and hung out with Pais and The Jimmy for a bit, in between some speaker appearances and in the back but I went outside with the guys for a breath of fresh air and met two army boys who were hanging in the city and seeing what was doing. I promised a bought drink back inside and later on as they passed us I picked up a vodka cranberry for one and then we talked some before heading out to the dancefloor. After dancing on the floor for a bit I headed up onto the speaker and danced with both hands lit and a pep in the step. After I stepped down and made my way back over to the bar I was greatly surprised as we were approached by none other than Kevin and Phil. They were up and about and decided to make an dual appearance at the ROX for the first time in two years. After saying our hellos and chatting with them how I had actually wanted to call them earlier in the day but decided not to bother Pais to get the info while he was at his game I let it go , only to see them both the same night. As we made our way around the bar the two army boys invited us to go and dance upstairs in the Crystal room so we headed up and rocked for a bit to Mariah Carey and "Fantasy". When Madonna and "Lucky star" came on we timed it to head back downstairs and bid the army boys goodnight. We hung out for a bit before I found myself dancing on the speaker again but quickly found the party kicked up a notch when I heard a familiar beat. I jumped down off the speaker and walked across the dancefloor to make my way onto the stage and dance to the full on classic vibe of Veronica and "Someone to Hold" that had the entire crowd and myself totally into the party and happy we had made our way into attendance. True the crowd was no where near as busy as the night before but there was plenty of crowd to go around and people to dance with as the boys enjoyed and did the enjoy again. We heard La Noche, Bring It (Superchumbo), and Warm Leatherette. We stayed in until around 5:30 when we headed out to say gnite to The Jimmy and then walk up and down the stairs again to head out to the street. We made our way over to 9th Ave and Pais flagged down a car nice and easy. We headed back to BK with thoughts of a nice rest and some quiet. It was easy to do once you get back and at home once again.

Sunday was spent just chilling out with delivery breakfast and a nice afternoon spent watching the HD. We finally headed out with the new CD in the car and a took a trip down to 9th St and a stop to say hi to Phil before heading into Mickey D's to have a Big Mac before heading over to Pathmark to shop for dinner type stuff and more stuff for the house. After filling up the cart and heading through the self service checkout we made it back home and chilled out before dinner. After deciding we were not up to the work of grilling on the roof we ordered in Italian from Friend's Cafe. I had Penne a vodka with grilled chicken and enjoyed the meal thoroughly before kicking back and relaxing the rest of the Sunday night away. I watched some DVR programming from the previous week before finally turning in for the eve and closing out the weekend.

Seen and heard over the past few weeks:

"I was so hot my knees were sweating"

"There's a party under my eyelids and the lights are nice"

Its just so hard to remember them all I think I'm going to have start using the voice record function on my phone.

Next week: Road trip 2005 part deux.