Sorry I've been slow to post..

I have still been doing fun stuff but have been distracted by shopping, the closing and re-opening of Roxy for the month of November, and of course real life. For the month of November I did go to Splash for the first and second Saturday of November and then Crobar. The second time we went to Crobar also went with Nathan and Gary.

The weekends were fun but a little less than my usual high standards of fun. I like going to Rox because I have fun with the widest selection of friends, have friends on the staff and also get the best music. While I did have good times at Splash and Crobar and danced on speaker at the former and the steps to the VIP in the latter it still wasn't to the extent of my dancing for the past 3 weeks. Peter Rauhofer, Roland Belmares, and then Peter Rauhofer again was plenty of reason to hang with friends, dance, dance and dance some more. My friends have been there hanging out as well. And thankfully I was able to dodge the colds and flu symptoms of the season (until today, Tues 12/19) and now staying home on a personal day that they job did owe me I decided to finally update my blog before it got any more out of hand with the silence.

I think the blog needs some more funny stuff to go along with the fun stuff so I will try to put some of that on here too.

Keep having fun guys. I'll be doing the same.

10/27 - 10/29 - Some Hallowed Evening , 2 Times.

Friday
After work I had originally intended to just rest up for my weekend but Russ and the Jimmy wanted to hang out and meet up with Jonathan at Gym bar around 9pm so after getting myself all freshened up and haircut I headed out and met up with them at 9:15 PM. A few drinks later and after hanging for a bit with DJ Smoky we headed out to the car and made our way over to Splash. We decided not to stay too long but had a good time all the way up till 2 am when Russ and I said goodnight to the Jimmy and Jonathan. Despite the rain we got a taxi on 6th ave fairly quickly and made our way back to BK.


Saturday
Went to the gym after delivery breakfast and worked out the muscles before taking part in weekend Wendy's. The guys had frescetta sandwiches while I had the grilled chicken. After lunch it was back to BK so that I could rest up for the night. Or so I thought. My phone went off and reminded me that I had a farewell dinner to attend in NJ. So it was a quick shower and change and rush out to the train and then the PATH. I checked with Saroj to make sure I had the place and time right and then I got there 30 minutes early so I wandered through the mall and picked up something for myself at Spencer gifts (magnetic). I then headed over to Dorians and met up with Doris and pretty soon Bruce and then the rest of the crowd piled in. The dinner was good if a little overpriced (expensive appetizers) and then we had the dinner payment drama. It too us like 20 minutes to finally count up all of the money even with the tip automatically included. Those damn pushy waiters trying to make us drink too much. Anyway I got a ride backm to the city with Terry and Marilyn and got dropped off at the train at Canal street and arrived back at home after midnight.

After a quick shower and cleanup I was ready to really start my night. My cop outfit was fully assembled from the new pants, new shirt and new NYPD baseball cap. Russ did the Army outfit and we got in the Murano and headed into the city. Parked in the lot and then after a quick hello to Derek I was inside to the crowded house that was Roxy. The line was packed and I stupidly forgot to use my JB card but still got inside and checked my coat and checked out the decor. They used those blowing cloth flame lamps over the dancefloor so the place had that fresh from the fire feel and the vibe over the place was nice and dark red. After I verified with Cathy that the time rollback would occur at 2am I split my time between the front bar with Jose and the back bar with Aisha. At the back I said hello to Paulina and she told me she liked me outfit. Back inside I said hello to Rob and Tres and took pictures with the blond twins. I also ran into Brett and gave him the BlackIce 3 CD and the Ultramix Fourplay CD since I had not seen him since the springtime. The place filled up early and the crowd shifted from front to back and then back again. I said hello for the first time to the Wonder Woman who I would again meet the following night and spotted many interesting outfits waiting for the judging and contest by Alan T. DJ Peter Rauhofer was on point from my arrival at 1am and on with tunes such as "Nosferatu" and "Spin Spin Sugar" along with his own mixes of "SexyBack" and "Jump". Jonathan rolled in and found us at the front bar and we crossed paths with him several times throughout the night. I even got Russ onto the dancefloor a few times and we danced with all of our friends from the front of the dancefloor to the back. I had a very good time and we stayed until 4:45 (with the rollback it was actually 5:45). Another great night with a packed house.

Sunday I woke up around noon, enjoyed delivery breakfast and watched some football. I did my part to re-hydrate and prepare myself for the night by DVR ing all of the programs I might miss later on. We picked up dinner at KFC around 7pm and around 8pm I cleaned up and then got the outfit ready. Since my attempts at fitting in the teeth on my canines was a failure I instead just made up my face and painted the teeth on (makeup is a cool thing) but of course this meant that my makeup on the lips was very fragile and would not last through a few drinks. Anyway the whiteface went over well and after making sure Russ got the photographic evidence I texted Rob and Tres to check on their whereabouts. They picked me up after 9:30 and we rode in the Mini-cooper into the city and up the west side. After circling the neighborhood we found a parking spot on 11th ave and headed inside of Crobar and the Alegria party. Security pondered my lights for a second but let me inside unscathed and we said hello to Pat once inside. He said the place was kinda empty (for starting at 8pm) but that just seemed because everybody decided to come out at 11pm. It also meant we got in quickly, checked our coats and were on the dancefloor fairly quickly. The music started old school club beats and the segued into the tribal beats we come to expect from DJ Abel. From songs like "Real Love" and then getting on the box in front of the terrace for "That Feeling" I was in a good mood from the very beginning. Of course I tore one of my lights so I made a mental note to reinforce them before my next event (clear tape). But I still had the other 3 lights so later on in the night I took to the terrace and danced to "Lola's Theme" before heading back to the dancefloor with the boys. As the dancefloor got crowded and hot they blasted us with jets of cold smoke and we huddled together to stay warm. Around 3am they did the costume contest with successive trips onto the stage with the contestants until finally the Wonder Woman won the top prize and danced in her stars and stripes cape for the crowds applause. Later on the crypt doors opened on the stage and the dancers stepped out of the caskets in their skeleton costumes with their endowments lit up with fiber optic and danced for crowds applause before another cold blast obscured the stage and the made their way offstage as the music continued. I was very happy I went in between conversations with Pat and Rob and even saying hello to Erik Rhodes and Liz Ligouri as she was taking pictures of the costume contest. I finally said goodnight to the guys at 5am and made my way to my cape and coat and then outside. A walk over to 9th ave and I was able to get a taxi home after waiting through just one traffic light change. The driver was fast and I got home in no time at all and woke Russ up to tell him I had a good time before finally getting tired enough to go to sleep myself.

Of course I could not stay asleep that long so I decided to call into work that I was coming in late and then actually went to work. Of course the fatigue caught up with me on Tuesday and I did not go to the gym until Wednesday but it was an all good weekend and I would do it again in a heartbeat. No reason to actually go out on Halloween Tuesday as I had partied down ahead of time and got that bug out of my system before the next week of work. At least I did not have to wake up as early as last week with school.

10/20 - 10/22 - The cold comes in the Night and so does Party Time

Friday after work I carried the bag I had bought at Kohl's and made my way back into the city. Russ was hanging with Nathan and Gary over at the Tribeca Grand Hotel. The weather had turned cold but my Nike jacket was warm enough to get me there but definitely not as warm as I wanted to be. I could not get a taxi but it wasn't too far to walk from the PATH station, just a long 15 minute walk up the street. After I found the guys at the bar we hung out for a bit, ordered some very simple veggie appetizers before finally deciding we needed to go out to dinner and go some place else to get it. We headed around the corner to Walker's and got a table right near the front door and had the very friendly wait staff keep us happy with drinks and good food. The hamburger was just as good as advertised and we all had a very good meal. After dinner we said goodnight to the guys and then Russ and I headed over to the Ave to flag down a taxi to take us over to the parking garage where the Murano waited to take us back to Brooklyn. Battling trucks and buses we got back to Brooklyn in short order and headed upstairs for a quick clean up and then time for sleep.

Saturday morning I woke up to delivery breakfast and watching TV. Russ was going to meet Nathan at the gym so I decided I would go too and we headed into the city to go to the NYSC near City Hall. Nathan arrived a short while later and we continued through the work out before we finished up and headed over to Wendy's for lunch. I got a Grilled chicken sandwich myself and the guys got Frescatta sandwiches which they said were quite good. After we said bye to Nathan it was back to Brooklyn to chill out for a while as afternoon drew to a close and the night settled in. I watched DVR programming and woke Russ up when it was time to order dinner and get the dinner delivery before it was time to clean up and get ready to head out. Russ decided he was going to stay home for a bye week so I was going to head out alone for the evening.

I was able get a car at the car service and headed into the city. No real traffic and I was able to get to the city pretty easily. Dropped off at the corner of 18th Street I walked over to the front of Roxy and after saying hi to Derek I headed inside. The rest of the month was 21 and over to enter and the party so the crowd took a while to pile in. I think part of the problem was that no one knew what to expect from DJ Merritt. On some nights he goes electro way too soon and sometimes loses the crowd part way through the night. I've enjoyed Merritt at Roxy from back when he used to open for Peter and even more-so after Peter was gone and he opened for himself. He seemed to be in a much better mood on this night however and the music was on point from the very beginning. We heard hits from Madonna "Jump" and "Nobody Knows Me" along with "Boost Your Metabolism", "Sexyback", "Let the Music Use You Up" and a whole lot of music that I thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately although the crowd enjoyed the music (the area around the bar was emptied out and the floor was full), there were other parties (Evolve with Victor Calderone) that some people were looking forward to and my friends Rob and Tres had invited me but I decided to stay at Roxy. After they left and took some of the entourage with them the dance floor developed quite a few empty spaces. The music was still good though and I myself stayed at the party until 5am before finally heading out to pick up my coat before heading out into the night. A short walk over to 9th Avenue and I found my car ride home and headed back to Bklyn for my well deserved rest.

Sunday I stayed in. No going outside for me. We had already picked up dinner fixings so I made Lasagna (which turned out most excellent by the way) but after dinner I did not feel like leaving the house so Russ picked up dessert at Baskin Robbins and brought it back. Since there was no "Wire" to watch on HBO due to the World Series we watched DVR programming and then the news and then it was time to shutdown the weekend and prepare for my week of school in Midtown. I so deplore waking up early multiple days in a row.

10/13-10/15 Return to New York and Return of Manny

So So Busy. Updates so far and few in between. But at least I'm still having fun. I had just returned from my long weekend and short work week to start a new weekend. I did not go out on Friday Night, just came home and watched TV. I even went to bed at a reasonable hour because I wanted to make sure I went into the weekend well rested.

I awoke on Saturday morning, enjoyed delivery breakfast, and made ready to go to the gym. Russ drove us over to the city and we worked out at the NYSC near City Hall. The workout went well and afterwards we headed over to Wendy's and had lunch. I had a burger myself and watched Russ have his own. Afterwards we headed back to Brooklyn and chilled out for the rest of the afternoon. My poor Powerbook was still keeping me from my full music transferring capabilities (from PC to Powerbook to Ipod) but on the PC in the office I still was able to search on Beatport and Itunes for new tunes. When dinnertime finally rolled around I had my chicken caesar salad and after watching Cops on Fox I went ahead and did the weekly haircut. Once that was over we showered and cleaned up and dressed for the night out.

Russ and I piled into the Murano and headed into the city. After one loop around the block we found parking just down the block from the club and headed up the street. After saying hi to Derek I headed inside the club and said hello to the wristband girls and then coatcheck. I also spoke with Aisha and told her much fun I had up at the Black and Blue. After speaking for a little bit I caught up with Russ at the bar and then said hello to Jose. I gave him a gift shirt brought back from Canada and discussed how quickly the place was filling up. Our Roxy DJ for the evening was Manny Lehman who had not had a Roxy appearance since before the summer time. It was a long wait but I knew it was going go as well as usual as virtually no other large party DJ reads the crowd and gives them what they want. Once I heard the opening beats to his own mix of "Jump" and I was up on the speaker in the asian section and dancing. I stayed through a tribal song and before I could get off the speaker he segued into "Sexyback" so I took off my shirt and danced some more and once the song changed once again to "Promiscuous" I lit my hands with the lights and danced some more before finally returning over to my friends near the bar. The mood of the party stayed upbeat through all of the expected hits that Manny played for the crowd and the place stayed packed until far after 4am. Russ was still recouping from our trip to Montreal so we left the party around 4:20am and stopped at the diner on the corner for Russ to have a bite to eat before heading back to BK. Another party enjoyed and while not too many of our friends were there the crowd was upbeat and the party was all that could be expected.

Sunday I woke to delivery breakfast and watched football games on Fox and CBS through the afternoon. I made stuffed shells for dinner and we enjoyed those before settling in for the evening programming. Of course we took a short break to pick up some vanilla ice cream from Baskin Robbins and catching up to The Wire on HBO at 10pm. And now another week of work ahead. (It happens to the best of us). Until next time

10/6-10/10 - To Montreal we go and a Black and Blue Weekend it is

Friday

We drove all afternoon and all night (7 hour drive when you have to stop to eat at least once and several rest stops as well). We arrived in Montreal a little after midnight and then had to find the Host Hotel that had the event tickets. A little driving around in the city and we found the Delta in the more modern business section of Downtown rather than the middle of the tourist/club/shopping areas at the other end of St Catherine. After I had picked up our tickets we headed to the hotel and checked in. I love the Suites and I cleaned up and then got ready to head out. My sister was dressed all in black and I opted for black long shorts and my boots along with the leather armbands. We were heading out to the Leather Party after all. Russ was tired from driving so Ana and I headed out to the ATM on St Catherine across the street from McDonalds and picked up some Canadian bills. We then headed back the way we came and made our way into Club Medley.

The club is a concert venue as it has a nice stage but is build for Standing Room Only. The dancefloor is big enough for a smaller party but since they closed off most of the upstairs most of the crowding was due to the fact that people only could go upstairs for the restrooms. We had arrived late but we still saw the show with Kevin Aviance and we cheered him on with drinks in hand (it was a chore getting understood at first but since we always wanted the same drinks we just had to do the pantomime for what we wanted once). After the show Ana was able to get Kevin's signature on a 5 dollar bill along with a signature Kiss on the bill as well.

We stayed until 4:30am as we wanted to be able to hangout again the next night. Ana wanted something to munch on before she turned in We looked through different 24hr Bodega type stores and ended up buying items in the vending in the hotel. Soup and crackers. I was able to relax and head to bed on our first night.

Saturday

We headed out after noon for Brunch at the restaurant that was serving Brunch on our passes. The service was nice and the food was pretty good if more exotic than my usual "bacon and egg" breakfast fare. Afterwards we headed over to the Pharmaprix and picked up cranberry juice, water and different hotel room items and then headed over to the store across the street to buy some Absolut Vodka. We then caught a taxi and headed back to the room. I spent a while trying to find directions to the gym we had free visits for with our passes. After I located the address I used the map of the city in the tourist guide to locate and we headed out with the Murano. Of course we got lost and asked a bus driver who told us we were 5 blocks south of where we needed to be. The street was parallel to St Catherine and did not cross it. We found the street, found the gym, and got to work out. The gym was huge with a lot of over used machines but with an unmatched selection of different types of machines and a lot of space. After the workout was over we headed back out, took pictures of the Olympic stadium and headed back to the hotel. We had passes for dinner after 6pm and we arrived after 7 and had dinner. Ana won a CD from one of the previous parties and we had a great steak dinner. After dinner we caught a cab back to the room and watched Sat Night television on Canadian TV. From the racy sexy camera shows (Candid Camera but with naked people) and the crazy commercials and the subtitled MTV and sports programming we had plenty to watch. Ana had guest list at a Grey Goose party but it was too far away when the Military Ball was right around the corner.

We made our obligatory trip to the ATM and then headed over to the club around 1:00am. After the thorough security check after we checked our coats we were into the party vibe. I headed upstairs first to get a nice overview of the whole place but the lighting was much darker than I remembered. We still saw a cool stage performance and then headed downstairs to do some more dancing. When Manny put on Madonna and "Jump" I headed to one of the platforms in the middle of the crowd on the dancefloor and danced. There were plenty of people who also wanted to dance and at one point I ended up dancing between 4 other people. But finally the space cleared and I danced with just 2 other people on the platform before coming down and heading back over to where Ana was standing. We had a pretty good bartender at the back bar and she even had shots with us before the drink cutoff when we got our final drinks. The DJ for the middle of the party was Manny Lehman and after the cool segue into DJ Paulette I decided it was time for us to go around 5:30. We still had plenty of other parties to look forward to. We headed out and my sister got late night food at McDonalds (burgers) before heading back to hotel. Another party enjoyed and then to sleep.

Sunday

Russ was still not heading out anytime soon (Saturday afternoon gym visit turned into back muscle strain) so Ana and I headed back to the Pharmaprix to pick up back soreness stuff and some more hotel room stuff. We then picked up lunch (me at Mickey D's and Ana some Canadian Pizza that Ana did not like when we got back to the hotel). I gave Russ his food from Mickey D's and he went back to watching TV while I played with my DS for a bit before taking a nap. Around dinner time Ana and I headed over to Chinatown and picked up something to eat. The food selection was poor but we made do with what was available and I had orange chicken and Ana had something made with goat. Russ liked his dumplings and some of the Orange chicken but I found the food very generic as NY Chinese food seems to put most other cities to shame. Anyway after watching more Canadian TV we got ready around midnight to head over to the main even party at the stadium. I decided to go with blue camo shorts and a t-shirt with blue on the front. My lights were attached to my waist so the Security had no problem with my usual pocket full of stuff (mints, eyedrops, lipbalm, and Purell) Once inside the stadium we had the long walk to the entrance to the stadium floor. The party was in full swing and the crowd was huge. We appeared to have arrived after the main rush because there were no crowds at the coat check or at the security check but the dancefloor was packed. I gave Ana a light for her wrist so we could see each other from far away and then we headed into the crowd. The bars were already running out of drinks an hour before cutoff so we both had rum and cokes to drink before I switched to a Base (gatorade). When the time for cutoff rolled around we were cutoff 5 minutes early but were able to head into the VIP and order our last round before it was too late. Last drink under our belt and a trip completed to the real restroom deep into the stadium we were back in the VIP section dancing on the platform. We headed out briefly to dance in front of the stage and were just in time for the next performance. Three drag queens, an entire squad of BBCM dancers and the acrobats on the trampolines and we had plenty to lookout as they performed a whole routine to "Ain't No Other Man" and a few other recent hits. After that was over we headed back into the VIP and danced some more. We saw another stage show that we watched from the VIP around 5:30 am and stayed at the party until 8:30am in the morning. I could have stayed longer but felt Ana and myself really should get some rest since we had been at the party for over 6 hours. I was once again happy we danced on the wood flooring in the VIP section rather than the stone floor on the main section. Much less stress on the feet. Especially the way I dance we I like the music. Our trip back out to the coatcheck was much shorter and we got our stuff and headed out into the daylight. Instead of flagging down a taxi we walked over to the train station and caught a train back to Berri Uqam not far from Mickey D's and our hotel. We picked up breakfast and then headed back to the hotel and told Russ about the party. Then I went to sleep.

Monday


I woke up in the early afternoon and we headed to the Canadian KFC (PKC) before heading back to the room. More Canadian TV and then calling Ana who had taken a day trip on the subway to see the city. After she came back we headed down St Catherine to the diner type restaurant we knew about and had a great hamburger dinner. After dinner was over we went back to the room cleaned up and Ana and I decided what we were wearing to our last party. We also packed up our luggage so we would not have to pack in the morning. We made a drink in the room before we left and then headed out to the ATM and then to Stero Bar across the street. Thank goodness we had our drink before we headed inside as Stereo is an afterhours club (I forgot) but it was a good detox from the previous parties and I got a good dance and sweat on before 3:10am rolled around and I told Ana it was time to go. We picked up our stuff at coatcheck and then headed down the street to the Couche-Tarde 24hr store. Nothing inside that Ana wanted so we headed back down the street, dodged homeless people and went back to the room and to bed in the hotel for the last night.



Tuesday



I woke up, washed up got dressed and we all said bye to the hotel room. We checked out retrieved the car and headed into the city to find a coffeeshop that took our coffee coupons and then we headed for Rue de Bonaventure and out of the city. The trip back was faster but the wait at the border was just as long. The guard was conversational but trying to catch in something suspicious but we had no issues and headed back home through NY State. (A week later Buffalo was hit with 2 feet of snow, who knew?) Anyway our trip back was all good until I suggested we head back through NJ and Russ wanted to head through NYC. During rush hour that was not a good idea and we had to make a rest stop for Ana at the Amex building downtown. We then drove over to Staten and picked up the baby on Staten over at Moms and then headed back to BK. Once we got back home we called a car service for Ana to get back to her home and we said goodnight. A nice order of Chinese food from Uncle Liao's and we had completed our return. Then we started watching DVR programming from when we were gone.


Another good time.

If I go back to the Black and Blue again I will fly up to Montreal. That 7 hour drive takes too much out of you but it is still pretty, I will just enjoy the park pics when I get to Montreal rather than just the trip. I did a good job with the planning this time but next year will plan even better.

9/29 - 10/1 - Party In and Party Out and then Party again..

I met up with Russ in the city and decided that even though we were going out to hang we would eat something before it got too late. We each picked up Whopper, headed back home, ate the sandwiches and then changed to head out. Russ had the directions and once we were in the depths of Brooklyn I fell asleep for a few minutes until we got off of the Cross Island expwy near Cypress Hill. After moving the the neighborhood for a bit we finally passed the familiar and turned on the right street and then parked in the Jimmy's driveway and headed inside. We said hello to Chris and Cliff and after banging my leg on the coffee table the host gave us a tour of the house and then after my coat was hung up I headed into the kitchen and had myself some chicken wings. After the meal we headed down to the game room and watched the guys play Poker. We welcomed Stephen, Mike, Ben, Donnie and Ty and continued with our party. After the Poker tides had turned back and forth quite enough and enough drinks had been drunk, I had saved bottles of beer falling from the fridge and made myself some excellent Sprite and Ketel One drinks. When we could play no more it was time to head back home. We said goodnight to the guys, I made sure Donnie had his CD and we gave the Jimmy his gift bottle of Belvedere. We headed back across Brooklyn, dropped our friend off at home and then headed back to the slope. Good Night.

Saturday we had delivery breakfast and then headed out to Pathmark to pick up soda, orange juice and some other stuff for the house. Once that was over we headed back home and chilled out some watching DVR programming including the delayed watching of ER as well. It was time to chill out for a while and then once dinner rolled around we watched Cops and ordered the delivery of chicken caesar salad. After watching the DVR episodes of Oprah and the Dateline NBC with the stupid predator men who get caught trying to go to the house of the young chicken head girls and boys they met online. After watching the end of those shows I went ahead and cleaned up with the haircut, then the shower and shave. After the wardrobe was all set up I was ready to step out into the night. I said goodnight to Russ and headed out.

A short walk down the hill and then into the car service. I stretched my legs while waiting and then walked out to the car and got in with the driver when she arrived. She told me there was made traffic on the bridge so I paid for her to go through the tunnel but of course she went in the EZ Pass lane when she had no EZ Pass so we had to give the booth money to the police before we headed through the tunnel. We made good time into the city until crossing 18th street I decided to get out and walk the rest of the block over to
Gym Bar. I stopped in and said hello to Ty and gave him my latest R&B CD "Ride and G Groove" before finishing off my drink, picking up the magazines and then heading out into the night and down the block. I got in front of the club and after a short wait I said hello to Derek and the security and headed inside. Once inside I hung out with Aisha for a while and headed inside to see the crowd and headed to the back to see my bartender Jose. The Roxy DJ for the eve was DJ Mike Cruz. I was not sure If I would be as excited as the first few times he was DJ at the Rox but I kept my hopes up and got into the groove. The energy was upbeat, the crowd came early and the party got the place full before 1am. The music ranged the tribal and vocal mix spectrum and even though I expected "Glamorous Life" I still enjoyed it and the rest of the music as well. I hung out with Rob and Tres both on the dance floor with the rest of the group and danced on the stage and on the different boxes. I was looking forward to next week of even more hanging out and I stayed until 4:35 am before heading outside and walking over to 9th avenue to catch a car back to Bklyn and home.

Sunday was pretty much a lazy day, with just delivery breakfast and watching football in the afternoon before Ian came over and played Megaman on the DS for a bit and we watched TV before we all headed out to pick up dinner at KFC. Ian got popcorn chicken and a wrap while I got a 2 piece meal and Russ got himself a chicken pot pie. After dinner I said goodnight to Ian and wished him well on his trip home to Westchester. All of the Fox programming for the evening was on repeat so it was more football until late. Of course, once 10pm rolled around it was all about The Wire on HBO and later Def Comedy Jam. I had to remember to DVR the shows the next week when I was away. The weekend was over but the coming week would be short. Always nice to have something to look forward to.

9/22 - 9/24 - Shopping in NJ by Day until the Night Comes...

Friday I got home and watched TV through dinner. Those "To catch a predator" are always interesting but you wonder just how many stupid people there are out there. You would think they wouldn't just look for young looking girls and not go the illegal route and drive for hours to do the wrong thing. But now they have a record and got the punishment they deserved. If they are going to keep being stupid, I guess I will enjoy watching their dumb asses get locked up. I even went to bed by 1am. A nice early Friday with nothing to do but sleep.

Going to bed early on Friday means that I wake up far too early on a Saturday with nothing to do but get the days shopping out of the way nice and early. Delivery breakfast of eggs and bacon and then it was downstairs to the Murano and heading over to NJ for the less hectic and more easily navigated lower priced Target in NJ rather than the raucous and usually packed Target in downtown Brooklyn. The traffic was pretty light through the Battery Tunnel and then up the west side to the Holland Tunnel. Once in NJ we took the long way around but ended up at Target in short order and headed inside to buy soda, paper goods, more greenery for the house and I finally picked up my black Nintendo DS Lite. Once finished there it was over to Boys, Bitches and Beyond to pick up toothbrushes, pillows and random housewares. After the shopping was over it was back to Brooklyn where it was time to chill through the afternoon and play with the DS for a bit before nightfall and it was time to order dinner. Chicken Caesar salad around 8pm and watching "Cops" until 9pm and then it was time to cut the hair and freshen up before 10 and then get dressed and ready to head out. Lights, laser and Vaam, along with Keys, Wallet and Cellphone, and always mints, Purell, lip balm and Visine (Thank goodness for cargo pants). Down to the Murano and on into the city.

Russ and I drove into the city through moderate traffic from Brooklyn to Downtown Manhattan. Up the west side and through the usual parking areas but nothing was available so we parked at the parking lot with the lifts next to 20th Street. We walked down to the club, said hello to Doorman Derek and the security posse and headed inside Roxy. Once inside I said hello to Aisha and then headed over to the bar. It was a busy night but the crowd was slowly coming in to hear DJ Chad Jack. The line outside was pretty long but I expected everyone to make it inside to the party before too much time passed. DJ Chad Jack I expected to do something new and impressive and he was definitely on point staying away from to much Electro-House and killing the party too soon like some DJs have done recently but instead set the tone well with Offer Nissim and "First Time" and later on in the evening more Offer and "Be My Boyfriend". We hung out with Rick and Shawn and later on Rob and Tres who told us they had hung out the night before at Splash so I was very happy they decided to come out once again. My bartender Jose kept us in the drinks even though Russ was having Grey Goose martinis instead of the regular Ketel and cranberry but we were still having a good time far into the night as I was having far too good a time dancing on the dancefloor and various boxes to leave at 4am. We stayed until 4:35 and said goodnight to the party and headed home happy. The party was well handled, upbeat and everyone stayed late and later.

Sunday I awoke far too early for some reason and finished off my trance CD "Descent in 2 Glory" and enjoyed breakfast before football came on and then as the afternoon wore on I had to take a 1 hour nap before I woke up and watched the rest of the games. Football on Fox is a lot better than football on CBS which is kind of dull by comparison but at least they are both broadcast in HD. Finally around the the time that 60 minutes was coming on and the interviews with Condi Rice was going to come on and talk about her childhood and her current views on world affairs. The parts that were interesting were the basis for her belief system and why she is doing her part in the government as is. Anyway I DVRd the rest of the evening programming on Fox (all the cartoons, nothing else) and then we watched "The Wire" and then the comedy half-hour on HBO. Sunday drew to a nice peaceful close and we look forward to the week and next weekend. What's doin?

9/15 - 9/17 - Hanging with the Boys and then Journey into the Afterhours

I went into work early so I could leave early. Russ called me on the phone while I was in between a few tasks and it took forever to shutdown and close out my desk but I said goodbye to everyone and headed down to the car. I had packed my clothes the night before and put the bag in the car before leaving for the train. All I had to do was come down to the car and get in. Russ and Gary were already inside and we were already later than we wanted to be so we got on the road right away. No stopping for gas, lunch or drinks at all just 2 hours of driving in the driving rain. The weather was vicious at some moments with the radar feed on my Sprint phone showing we were driving the the worst of the storm on our way south. The Murano handled the weather most excellently and upon arrival to Atlantic City the weather had already passed us by and we were hanging in blue skies.

Valet parking out of the way we checked into the hotel and hung out at the tables of the Borgata for a while with Pete and Nathan. At 5 in the afternoon we went up to the room changed for the gym and headed down to the spa floor to workout at the hotel's gym. They charge $10 to workout at the gym and it was charged to the room before we started our workout. I did an abbreviated workout since the machines were not what I was used to and I usually did not work out on Friday's but the workout was good and I hung out with the guys and watched them finish up their arm workout. When it was time to go we bid each other goodbye, scheduled to meet up for dinner and headed up to the rooms. I showered first then changed for dinner. While I was waiting and watching TV I fell asleep for a brief instant before Russ woke me and told me it was time for dinner. We headed downstairs and waited for everyone else at the B Bar. We played some video poker for a bit and then headed over to Wolfgang Pucks for dinner. We had to wait a bit for a table in the section in the back where the reservations were seated. We found out the tables in the front were for walk-ins and the tables in the back near the fireplace were for the reservations and after around 30 minutes we headed back to a great table surrounded by walls of glass. However it took forever to get any bread or water sent to the table and although the appetizers were good when the dinner finally came we were sadly disappointed, It wasn't just the amount of alcohol we had already drank but the selection was lacking so we ended up going with the only choices we had left were more of the appetizers, the special (short ribs) and I myself had lamb shank. The food was just ok but considering what we were paying and where we were the food was just average. Russ and Pete both hardly ate what they ordered, stating that it was both salty and fatty. We discussed how we were going to let the management know that it wasn't all that great and we let Pete take the lead at letting the manage know it was not about the price or getting the meal comped since we all paid for the meal anyway. It was the principle of the matter and the knowledge that we would not be eating at Wolfgang Pucks at the Borgata ever again. I remember the menu in Vegas being so much better. After the dinner we headed out to the tables and proceeded to spend some more money. We were still having fun until it was time for half of us to move on to the next phase of the evening and Club Mur Mur . Nathan, Gary and I headed over to the club and found that the line was non-existent. I then had one of the most thorough looks at my ID that I have ever had. The security guard looked at my ID twice and then scanned it twice before he gave it back and I paid and headed inside and downstairs. I quickly spotted the bartender I had last time, Leah. who was nice enough to remember me and I got my first drink of the night, a Stoli Orange and Red Bull. The club was no where near as crowded as the last time, when Dave Chapelle was there for the weekend. But the music was still good and after a few drinks I was on the floor and moving with the crowd. I stayed away from the college kids and nodded over to the DJ when I liked the music and he pretty much stayed close to the formula that he had thrown out the last time. I wasn't surprised, especially with the pop revision that shook up the crowd with "Sweet home Alabama" but about 15 minutes later we were back to the R&B and Hip Hop beats. Nathan disappeared outside and retrieved Pete and Russ and we all hung out for a bit in the club before the boys decided it was time to head out around 3:35 am . Nathan and I found Gary at the B bar smoking a cigar and drinking Bailey's. After I got a few ginger ale's and we had calmed down enough it was time to say goodnight to the girls and guys at the b bar and head upstairs to sleep. However when I could not find Russ I headed back downstairs and found out the Russ had started playing Hold em poker not too far from the club. It was after 4:30 am so he too agreed it was time to say goodnight and good luck.

We packed everything in the morning and checked out downstairs. We left the bags with the bell boy and then headed over for breakfast and discussed the weekend and prepared to leave. After a great breakfast we headed down to the valet and had the bags brought down and we said bye to Pete and then the rest of us piled into the Murano and headed out. On the road the first thing we needed was gas and then we were on the road again. For both the ride up and the ride down we listened to the newest Pop Rock CD "Shades of Pop" and then let the music move on through the rest of the Pop line up. The ride back took a nice 2 hours and we made it through Staten Island, the through the traffic in Brooklyn on the Gowanus and then decided to take the Brooklyn Tunnel. Once in the city we dropped Nathan and Gary off downtown and headed back to Brooklyn. Resting up from the long trip back meant we had to miss out on some more friends waiting in the city over at Splash doing the last team awards for the end of the year of softball. But at least I was well rested for later. Dinner was ordered and after dinner it was a short rest before preparing to head out. Russ was staying home but I had promised myself this Saturday night out so I was going to go. I remembered everything except the light for my left leg and the laser but other than that I had it all going on as I headed out into the night. Early enough and Metrocard in hand I decided to take the train since the train at 11:19 was supposed to be the D train but instead I got a 11:29 N train. The train was going local so I got off at Dekalb and caught the D Train into the city. Transferred at West 4th street to the A train and got out at 14th Street. I needed an ATM stop so I headed up the street to the closest one I knew and got the Chase ATM at 21st Street. Back down the street and over to 18th street. I handed over a copy of "Danse Eternal" CD to Derek and headed inside Roxy. Said hello to Aisha also at the coat check and then headed inside. The place was done up in red lights and Sexy signage over the dancefloor and around the club. Both Louis and Jose were at the back bar and I said hello and got my first drink around 12:25am. I hung out for a bit and talked to a few new people and then made my way around the club to feel the crowd move along with Peter Rauhofer. He made sure to keep the crowd interested with tunes such as "I'm Listening". I spoke a bit with Bob H and then met up with Rob and Tres on the dancefloor. Tres was celebrating his b'day and we took pictures and kept on dancing. DJ Peter Rauhofer was nice enough to play old favorites such as Wonderbox and "Turn Me Over" and new favorites such Justin and the PR remix of "SexyBack". We enjoyed it all the way down to the end but ... I was invited to keep it going at the afterparty over at Crobar. I said I would go if everyone else was. Of course we went.

Out to the car in the lot and we headed up to 28th street were we were fortunate to find a nice space when someone was leaving. We headed down the street and picked up some sodas before heading over to the club. We waited at the front for Pat and then we headed inside. After submitting to security and paying the cashier we headed inside to the party. The place was packed but the dearth of smokers meant the place was much more inviting than the last time I was there for an afterhours and we headed out onto the dancefloor and moved into the beats. When it was time to get something to drink I headed over to the bar with Tres outside where he could get a light and there I ran into Mike who was working the bar. He made sure we stayed hydrated and we headed back into the party. I would dance some, take pictures, dance some more and then break it up with trips to the bar. The time passed nicely and I had a lot of fun dancing to the music as it sped up and kept it moving. DJ Victor Calderone definitely knows something about stuff that moves the feet. I stayed at the party until after 10am and had to say bye to everyone on the dancefloor before I headed out. Once outside I put on the hat and the glasses and walked over to 10th ave. I did not want to walk over to 9th ave so I just started walking south and then flagged down a taxi. Late Sunday morning and I got a quick ride home into the heart of Bklyn. A long long night but alls well that ends well.

I did the breakfast before I went to sleep and then I headed out on to bed. I spent the rest of Sunday sleeping then waking late to watch DVR programming and then once Russ returned from Westchester going to dinner at the ever popular KFC. Night TV was the Fox Block (from the DVR) and then over to HBO for "The Wire". Some news and then it was time to wind down for bed. Another weekend successfully navigated and nothing but better days ahead. We'll see it all again soon.

09/08-09/10 - Dinner with Friends and then Out to the party

Friday, After work I came down to party at Ole for the end of the summer and a visit from Susan. I had a Stoli Orange and Cranberry and a glass of the house Sangria. Susan made sure we didn't starve by making sure we had hot wings and plenty of chips at the table. Candi, Liz, Susan, Doris, Bruce and Hector all hung out for a bit before we headed back inside from the tables outside, danced a bit to the music playing in the bar and then said goodnight and headed our separate ways. I headed into the city, where I came out of the World Trade Center looking for a cab. The competition right next to the tourist attraction was too much and all of the taxis already had passengers. I walked over to Broadway and caught a car at the next traffic light change. A 5 minute cab ride later I was at Bubby's and looking for the table the guys were at. The five of us moved over to a bigger table instead of a booth and ordered dinner. Surprisingly my dinner came first even though I was the last to order but everyone else got their plate soon enough. The garlic burger was good and I was happy for all of the water and soda to help me recover from the drinks in NJ. Everyone finished up dinner and then ordered coffee and dessert (just coffee for me). The coffee was burned so only a few sips and I was ready to go. We all walked outside and then Russ and I piled into the Murano and told the rest of them goodnight. We headed back to BK and Watched normal Friday Night programming while making sure all of the gift CDs were ready. Russ went to bed but I was struck with insomnia and was refraining from taking anything since I did not want to get up too late. Eventually I did fall into a restless sleep.

I woke up around 10:30 and lived on milk and juice while we finally headed out and I picked up the missing ingredients for the dinner I was planning to cook. After the first f0ray out for Orange Juice, Soda, Beer and Red Bull and Sour Cream I headed back home and spent the early afternoon watching TV and checking out different TV programming then did the obligatory weekend haircut and shower before finally starting to cook. After I couldn't find the cookie sheet or bowls for the macaroni and tuna salad it was back out to pick up bowls. Back at home, after the macaroni salad was all done I realized that I needed more Salsa for the Taco Salad. Down the street to the Met and I had two jars and was ready to finally cook the remainder. Taco salad done and in the oven I started to prepare the fried chicken. I was still cooking the chicken when Rick and Shawn arrived and still doing the second batch of chicken when Bob and Tres arrived. Finally done with the cooking but still involved in the running conversations about travel, work and HD TV, Sports and other programs I finally sat down and had some of the food that everyone else was enjoying. Everything came out OK although I wish I had used more of the newer bag of Nacho chips after having tasted both bags of chips afterwards. (When in doubt taste test the ingredients). After I gave out 3 gift CDs to each Tres and Bob left before it got too late (ran after them downstairs as they forgot the 2 dance and one Pop CD) and Shawn and Rick just changed shirts and shoes and they were ready to go out. I headed to the back bedroom, showered for the second time that day and changed into the clothes for the night. Tan military cargoes and the latest Ecko t-shirt and the Nike 360s and I was ready to head out. I remembered all of the different lights, laser, mints, VAAM, and vitamin and anti-inflammatory. The Jimmy arrived around 10pm and the guys discussed sports until it was time to head out of the house at 11:07pm.

We headed into the city through a wave of traffic over the Bklyn bridge and up the west side pretty easy but after failing to locate any parking we parked in the lot on the corner of 20th ave and after waiting for a few customers to exit we finally handed the car over to the attendant and were ready to head down the street. There a small line in front of Roxy but we bypassed that, said hi to Doorman Derek and headed inside. I said hello to Aisha in coatcheck and briefly discussed October and the Black and Blue before we traded information and I headed inside. After getting our first round of drinks we hung out near the front bar as I shuttled from one end of the bar to the other saying hi to Jose, Louis and Cathy as well as the friends I walked in with. Tres came to the party a little bit later and I danced with him on the dancefloor and brought him out to hang with all of the guys before we all headed to our various spots in the club to hangout. The DJ for the eve was Eddie Elias and I knew we could expect an upbeat vibe but the eve mostly missed its highest points because I did not recognize most of the music. I did dance on the stage and did dance on the box near the door to "Mediterranean Soul" but still wished there had been more highpoints to the night. Finally decided to leave around 4:20am and I was able to pick up both magazines outside before Russ flagged down a taxi and we headed back to BK. Another night completed.

Sunday I awoke slightly dehydrated but still in a good mood. After watching the regular sunday programming and then digging into all of the leftovers the afternoon and evening went pretty good. Distracted by setup of the computers I stayed in while Russ headed out and picked up ice cream for dessert. The rest of the night passed as normal and I went to bed around 1:30am.

Another very good weekend. My first dinner party since last years uper Bowl went very well and enjoyed a great night despite having had very little sleep the day before. I look forward to better planning and more fun in the near future and hope my friends are up to the task as well. Peace.

9/01-9/04 - Wet Summer Nights but still Make it Hotter

Friday I left work early for the Holiday Weekend after ending the day by looking up crazy news stories. I got back to NYC and went to the gym before meeting up with Russ and heading back to BK. Dinner was ordered from Jack's and I had a steak dinner with spinach and mashed. After dinner I did the Friday night haircut and washed up before getting dressed. I finished up the gift CDs and started planning on my next Pop CD before the arrival of the Jimmy. The guys hung out for a bit and we watched Mets and Yankees before finally heading out of the house at 11:20. However after we stepped outside the rain and wind gave us pause. The Jimmy was already wearing a jacket so Russ and I headed back up to the house and got the Ralph Lauren spring jackets out of the closet and put on the wrap. Much warmer and more comfortable we got into the Explorer and headed into Manhattan. We pointed out where the Lowe's was to the Jimmy as we had been discussing home improvement, and easily moved on to the BQE and over the Brooklyn Bridge. We turned up Church St and made our way up to 6th ave with the normal level of city traffic. We then looked for and found parking on 18th street near 5th ave and began our walk up to the club.

SST-DX - On 5th ave. we passed a poor kid passed out in a doorway with his legs out in the rain. It wasn't even midnight yet. Some people just are not prepared. Anyway we continued on up the street past the milling packs of people and made our way down 22nd street to Krash. Of course even in the rain they made us wait and stand outside in the rain for 15 minutes. After we finally moved close to the front Lisa kissed me hello and soon waved us all into the door and out of the rain. Once inside however I had to endure the most THOROUGH security pat down ever. After patting down my back, chest, arms, middle of my back and pockets, the security guard actually reached inside my pants and cupped MY PACKAGE and then rubbed down my legs. I had already taken my glasses off and put them on so he wouldn't manhandle them and when he took too long to feel up my wallet I told him what it was and he gave me a look like he was seeiing me for the first time. And then he waved me on. I waited for the boys to finish their pat downs (they did not get their space invaded like mine, just had hands in their pockets) and then we all went to the cash register. The discounts were over and we all had to pay $10 to get in but it was not overmuch so we just paid and then the boys went to the bar for drinks while I headed downstairs to check the coats. Downstairs after the $4 a coat coat check i ran into Reggie. We said our hello's and then since he was with his friends I told him I would see him upstairs. Back up the stairs past the crowd at the door I was inside the club and over to the guys at the back bar. Our bartender David was in attendance and we got our drinks and watched the crowd slowly sift in from the long lines outside. We took pictures with Reggie when he finally made an appearance and then we got water and red bull at the bar. David told us it was his last night and was dressed up all in white for the occasion. On the way to the dancefloor I saw someone being carried out of the club with a security guard on both sides with his pants around his ankles. I turned from that mess with a "wow" and continued on as Reggie pulled me out onto the dancefloor. We listened to the tribal sound of DJ Glenn Friscia segue over to the tribal sound of DJ Merritt. However just 4 songs later as we watched Anthony Lamont perform to his own song "Oh Really" the sound cut off and the lights soon cut on. I knew it wasn't a raid because they were making no announcements and all of the activity was in the DJ Booth and not the front door. Eventually, 10 minutes later the music started up again where it left off and the lights turned back down and we started dancing again. Anthony Lamont organized a vogueing show after a clear line was opened on the dance floor and the boys and girls put on a show before it was all over and the crowd went back to regular dancing. I danced on the table near the dancefloor at first and then went back to where Russ and the Jimmy were over at the bar. We took pics with Tyra Allure and Anthony Lamont as well as David the Bartender. Before I returned to the dancefloor to dance some more with Reggie I said hello to Ric Sena and wished him good luck for this weekend. He thanked me and moved on with his red bull and went back with his friends. The dancing and hanging out continued until after 3am when I picked up a final drink and a red bull for the Jimmy and a bottle of water for Russ before we said goodnight to everyone and headed out. I picked up our coats at coatcheck and then we headed outside. Out in front of the club Russ flagged down a car and got us a taxi home. The taxi ride home was $16.50 and we gave the driver a $20 and said goodnight. Another night under wraps.

Saturday I woke up before noon and watched TV before it was time for delivery breakfast. Some eggs and bacon later I showered up and got dressed and then spent some time on picking out music online before it was finally time to head out to the gym. We were going into the city to meet up with Nathan and after picking him up we headed to the gym near city hall. The rain of course intensified after we parked the car 2 blocks from the gym. I had forgotten my jacket but endeavored to truck it through in the wind and rain as we made our way over and into the gym. Once inside I warmed up quickly on the bike and then did the biceps and triceps since I had just worked out the day before. I finished up on the sky machine and then we said bye to the gym attendants and headed back down to the car. We headed back uptown and then crosstown to drop off Nathan and then headed back to BK over the Brooklyn bridge. We turend onto Smith Street and I ran into Wendy's while Russ drove around the block and around the corner so he could pick up me up out front. Lunch in hand we headed back home and dived into the Double and fries before sitting down and watching TV. I soon headed back to the computer and browsed the sites looking for music before finally sitting back down to fix up the blog and watch Cops. Pretty soon it was time to shower up and get outfitted to head into the city. I remembered all of the lights, and the VAAM, but forgot to take the Especially for men multivitamin since the b-vitamins make it easier to go to the bathroom when one has to go at the club. Anyway everything else was in order and Russ and I piled into the Murano at 11:15PM and headed into the city with an R&B soundtrack.

The rain kept the roads mostly clear, over the Brooklyn Bridge, across Chambers street and up the west side. We even found the last space on 20th street before heading down the street to the club. There were police out front handing out nightlife guides but since I already had one stuck in the mirror next to my front door I turned it down with a no thank you. There was a line out front but we said hi to Derek and headed inside of Roxy. After saying hello to Iyesha and checking our coats its was inside to the bar. The front bar was packed with the pre-midnight crowd. I headed to the back and got a bottle of water from Louis and then drank the VAAM Power and then with the crowd thinner around the bar after midnight and circulating around the club I went up to Jose in the front and got my first drink of Mandarin Absolut and Red Bull. Russ had his usual Ketel One and cranberry and we watched the crowd slowly build until around 1am the place was pretty full of people. They even had dancers on the bar and the boxes on the dance floor. 4 dancers at a time for the first time since the winter time. The DJ of the eve was Brett Heinrichsen and even though the music started out unknown and ancient at first the DJ finally picked up his pace around 1:15 and we heard all of the hits that people were looking for such as "Deja Vu" by Beyonce and "Sexy Back" by J. Timberlake and the juicy mix of "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado. I myself was finally called to the speaker to dance to "Stroke" with hands lit and then stayed through the next song, and updated remix of "Be Without You". The night continued on well and the energy of the place stayed high and the dancefloor was packed. I headed out onto the dancefloor 3 times with Russ and friends and we had a very good evening. We hung out with Rick and Shawn and danced on the last speaker of the night near the front bar. I had forgotten about the lemon drop shot in the middle of the night for a friends b'day and after I left the club became slightly incoherent. But with no illness and a good friend to get me home I made it home safely.

Sunday I woke up to delivery breakfast and watched TV in the afternoon with Russ. I watched diffferent shows on TV and found that we had an Anime on Demand station but we still don't have MTV HD or Starz HD so it was normal afternoon fare before it was time to head out and pick up dinner. When the KFC closest to us did not have the ever popular Pot Pie for Russ we did the road trip down to Bay Ridge to the non-drive-thru KFC on 92nd street. Of course the line was long and the people were out of control. After a lady tried to cut in front of me by handing in her receipt past me to the servers. The server took notice of me and did my order first so I was finally able to leave. They did get our order a little wrong giving us both a large cole slaw and large mashed potatoes made sure Russ was happy with dinner and I enjoyed the honey BBQ wings. Russ had to go into work for a bit so I watched some Anime on demand before Russ returned shortly and we decided to head out for dessert. The first stop at Mickey D's showed that there were 4 cars in he drive-thru ahead of us so we turned around and headed up 9th street and went to the Baskin Robbins to get some scoops of ice cream. I had a single vanilla scoop with rainbow sprinkles and russ had his ice cream and we headed back through the neighborhood eating ice cream and got back to some more TV watching. Despite the fact I did not have to work tomorrow I ended up just staying in as I started watching "In Her Shoes" on HBO and found the story interesting enough to watch until 1am. By that time I knew that everyone who did go out clubbing was way ahead of me in the party and didn't want to come in at the drunken downhill midway. I ended up watching Anime On demand cartoons and then VH1 late night videos before it was finally time to turn in and go to bed before the sun came up.

Monday I woke up to unlock the door for Russ who had locked himself out of the house and then went back to sleep. When I did wake up I had rice krispies and watched DVR programming as Russ went to the gym and worked out. Later on he returned to Bklyn and gave me a ride over to Wendy's where i had another Double with Cheese with no mayo. Back at the house we watched the rest of the Discovery Channel special on Attica prison. Later on we finally did the shopping for the week out in Red Hook and the Fairway. After picking up everything but the sour cream and complaining once again that the Fairway doesn't have 2 liter diet coke (just those ripoff little bottles) and no 96 oz. Orange juice (just half gallons) I figure we are going to have to go to Pathmark to get big bottles and things like toilet paper. Fairway has really cheap fruit and vegetables and has a nice selection of prepared food but their selection on some things is really lacking (like all brands of toilet paper and things like peanut butter) and so will probably end up having to shop at both places to get everything. Back home I cooked some tuna patties and had some potato salad and watched the Different Strokes movie and then SuperNanny before finally winding down and getting ready to return to my work week. A nice short week and then entertaining for friends. Always nice to have something to look forward to. Keep it hot.

8/24-8/27 Hangin with the crowds, Gambling in the casino, The Party in AC

Friday at work I left early, I got in a little early, no lunch, and said bye to everyone and headed out just before 2pm. Russ drove me across the street where I headed into the mall to pick up lunch from BK (the Stacker) and then we headed over to the highway and jumped onto the Garden State Parkway. The ride was smooth except for when the road merged, express and local, and then three lanes to two lanes. Eventually we made it down to Atlantic City, pulled onto the local highways and made our way to The Borgata. The newest CD (Ride and G-Groove) was a successful listen and we pulled into the valet at the hotel with no drama. After a short wait (and a quick bathroom visit) we were checked in and IDd before heading to the elevator upstairs. The room was nice and the bathroom was spacious with the glass door shower and separate room for the toilet. The window had a great view of the strip on the boardwalk and there was plenty of space to spread out in the room. After a brief rest and watch of Judge Judy we changed to go to the gym and then worked out. The gym was good, with plenty of machines and was nice and quiet. The music was blasting from the speakers but I ignored it with my ipod. After doing the aerobic workout on the treadmill and the elliptical machine we headed back up to the room. Freshly showered I was ready to go downstairs and check out the casino. The low ceiling and sheer size of the room reminded me of my visits to Bellagio and the Wynn in Vegas. I was impressed with the number of slot machines and friendly crowds around the tables. The wide range of tourists I had seen in Vegas was not in evidence. No crowds of people just passing through. These people all seemed to be here to gamble and a few of their supporters. I promptly lost money in video poker and slot machines but made some back when I put 5 dollars in a slot machine and cashed out $27. Russ had his fun at the Blackjack table and at Caribbean Stud Poker. When he came over to watch me play video poker he promptly won $56 dollars. After leaving the gambling to go to dinner we had an OK dinner at Specchio, nothing to write home about but were satisfied to go out and spend the rest of our evening at Borgata.

Russ headed back to the tables and I headed over to Mur.Mur. I was not used to waiting on line but before I could give up and try the people at Mixx the line moved and I moved closer and then got inside. The place was small but the bartender staff was nice and the music was a good fast moving mix of hip-hop and Pop Rock. I stayed when the music was good and when it took a turn for the worse I headed out and gave a status check to Russ. With my hand stamped I was able to head right back downstairs and dance again. I saw Dave Chapelle hanging out in the DJ booth but after he took a picture with the guy doing the lights. The crowd started to notice he was there and so he headed for the elevator at the back of the club. I headed out to tell Russ and then came back inside one last time to dance before finally heading back up to the room at 3am.

Saturday we woke up and went downstairs to have breakfast at Metro. They were no longer serving breakfast but I was able to use the all day menu and order an omelet and still get some bacon. (I guess the bacon they would use for burgers). After the breakfast we headed down to the jitney and rode over to strip before getting off near Bally's before heading over to the Outlet Mall. We passed through different places but did not really find too much to be happy over. Place after place had prices that were pretty much like no sale department store prices. Finally after turning into the Ecko Outlet store I was pleasantly surprised to see prices that were reasonable ($15 dollars a shirt) for both graphic Tees and short sleeved shirts for work. After picking up some new stuff to wear I caught up with Russ who was able to find a new scent in the Calvin Klein store. I might have bought a $20 shirt there too but was happy with what I had already picked up. After shopping we walked back down to the strip and headed into Ceasar's. After finding the men's room and then picking up something to drink we stopped for a moment outside and looked at the ocean and the beach. Plenty of day trippers and tourists were out and about but we had already fed the shopping bug and so were ready to return to the hotel. Instead of dealing with the hot and stuffy jitney (no A/C?) we jumped into a taxi and headed back in comfort.

After we were back at the hotel we did some more gambling but after a while the stickiness just got to me and I headed up to the room and showered before returning to the casino. I watched Russ gamble some more before he too headed up to the room and cleaned up and I changed clothes to get ready to dinner. Tonight the reservations were for Old Homestead, but we found out after arrival that we should have actually arrived early for our reservation as we had to wait 15 minutes before they were ready to seat us, despite the reservation. After the short wait we headed upstairs to the table and sat down to get our appetizers (I had the steak house salad) and wait some more for the main course (a great filet steak that was cooked just right). Even though we had tickets to see Dave Chapelle and the place opened up at 9:30 there was still plenty of time as we headed to the Event floor for the main event. The place was still filling up and the real show did not start until after 10:45.

The pre-show visuals (James Bond type dancing shadows over moving backgrounds shown on the giant video screens around the room). When it was finally time for the show everyone sat back and really enjoyed the first comedian, the opening act Joe DeRosa was very funny. His bit about gay people having so much fun and then his bit about widespread (sarcastic) prejudice against Egyptians was hilarious. Near the end of his act we also enjoyed his bit about bad sex partners (inappropriate talking and bad faces). When he left the stage to introduce Dave Chapelle the whole audience stood up and applauded Dave's entrance. He started off with a little bit about Leaving the Show on Comedy Central which for him was a good thing. He didn't want to dwell on it however and moved on to funnier topics such as living in Ohio (guns and learning about bullets) and his wife (she is from the Philippines, and his kid ends up Puerto Rican) and said he was glad he no longer lived in the city (getting into fights over a slice of pizza). He ended the show on a more serious note but only because of the urging from the audience to continue his story. He told us about the book PIMP that was written many years ago but explains in a high level overview not just about pimping but the underpinnings of Capitalism. He told us how a pimp actually views his girls as money makers and sizes up all females this way. Taking this into a larger perspective people who run corporations view their employees this same way. I really got what he was saying and took the message to heart. Later on I explained it to Russ. We stayed till the end of the show and watched Mos Def perform his Katrina song before heading back downstairs to get to the casino once again. It was after 1am by the time I was heading over to the club once again.

The line was even longer and the people even more restless but since I was expecting it the line finally moved and I was inside the club ($20 dollars later) once again. The place was even more hectic than the night before but I made my way through to the dance floor and had fun once again. The music had been better the night before but that was just because I was new to what to expect the first time but just settled into the groove the second night. No surprises just fun. I did however have to head back upstairs to get my camera because Dave Chappelle showed up again but I ended up not taking any pictures when I got back. I just was able to meet him in person talk a moment and shake his hand, and wish him a good night. I talked to my bartender and she told me that he was very nice to her also when he had talked to her. When the music changed to something you just could not dance to around 4am I headed back upstairs to the room and turned in for some rest.

Woke up the next morning around 10:30am and got cleaned up and then got all of my stuff ready to head out. I got the car from the valet while Russ checked out and then we were all piled in and ready to head back to NYC. The traffic was good until we got closer to the turn off from the Garden State. The pile of cars made no sense but after we turned off onto 440 and headed for the Outerbridge crossing. Of course there was traffic crossing Staten Island but once were were over the hill and heading past Clove Road it was smoother sailing all the way into BK. Of course expecting nothing in Brooklyn there was crazy construction on the Gowanus so we got off the highway at 25th street and headed up 4th Avenue. After picking up brunch at the bagel place we brought our stuff upstairs and then I settled down for an afternoon of TV and rest while Russ headed up to Westchester to hang with Zach. The afternoon was slow and easy and I fell asleep watching TV before waking up to clean some before I cooked the remainder of the Eggplant Parmigiana for dinner. It was very good. Russ came back and we watched Sunday night sports and HD programming some but Russ was tired and headed to bed early. I stayed up a while myself but went to bed around 1am. The weekend was over but the fun remains.

I look forward to heading to AC again with an even larger group of guys and having more fun away from the city. It was not too divorced from the crowds I'm used to and the people weren't out of control like NY tourists (great security) and staff was nice. But now we look forward to fun in the city. Let's go long weekend .

08/18-08/20 On the Town and Hanging around

Friday I decided to eat light and just had pizza before heading home and getting myself ready to hang out. I ate dinner, haircut, cleaned up and picked out an outfit while watching HD programming on TV. I finally got out of the house before midnight and made my way into the city. Starting late I stopped off at the Pizza place to pick up a bottle of water to drink before heading into Splash. I got a drink downstairs and then said hello to downstairs lounge DJ Brenda Black whom I had first met 2 weeks before. I chatted a bit before leaving before I wore out my welcome and heading upstairs. I hung out with the crowd for a bit before heading back downstairs to go to the bathroom and on my way back I spotted Tres and said hi to him and his friend before heading upstairs to say hello to Rob. They were both heading over to Krash so I told them I would see them tomorrow and wished them a good night. After dancing some I headed outside for some more water at the pizza place and spotted Mike. After we chatted for a bit we wished each other good night and went our separate ways. I did not stay out too much longer as Rob and Tres seemed to have the right idea about Splash dying down a bit too soon this night. (I don't even remember the name of the upstairs DJ) A lot of people have been spending the Friday out in Long Island or other vacation destinations.
I got a taxi and was able to get back home before it was too late and got in a nice deep sleep in preparation for my Saturday.

Saturday I awoke and did different things around the house. Russ returned from Atlantic City and spent most of the late afternoon resting from his Friday Night out. After dinner I got ready, cleaned up and dressed before it was time to go after 11pm. I headed down the street and made my way over to the car service and had a driver pull up in a few minutes to take me into the city. The ride in went through the usual traffic but I got into the city, over to the west side and up to 18th street. I walked up to front of the club and after saying hello to Derek I headed inside Roxy, said hello to Iyesha and then inside. The crowd was slowly filtering in and DJ Hector Fonseca was keeping the crowd on edge with some electro-house before he finally segued into the good songs after 1am. We heard Madonna "Come Together", Hector's own mixes of "Discoteka" and "Sex Secret". The night only got better and I split my time between dancing with Rob and Tres on the dancefloor and times on the stage and the speaker at the high points. I also hung out a bit with Duane at the front bar and got my last drink of the night from Jose before I danced some more on the two speakers in front (had to guard my drink like a hawk as someone actually tried to walk off with it) before 4:50 am rolled around and it was time to head home. I was able to get a taxi right on 18th street and climb in and head on home. The ride home was quick and easy and I got home pretty fast.

Sunday I awoke to delivery breakfast and was able to enjoy a nice slow afternoon before it was time to cook dinner. The previous week I had gone shopping for the fixings for a nice sunday dinner and and after some prep time and cook time it was time for a dinner of eggplant parmigiana and thin spaghetti. Dinner came out great and I was able to put away the leftover eggplant for eating on another day. I spent the evening watching DVR programming and preparing to rest up for the following week. I think the weekend was mostly successful but still have some summer left to look forward to. Next weekend - Road Trip. ( Yay! )

08/11-08/13 - Party over Here, Party Over There, Party All The Time

Friday was a vacation day spent and Russ worked in the morning and picked me up around noon so we could head out to the Hamptons where Bruce and Jodi and the twins had invited us out for the day. The traffic was bad in Queens but after passing the last broken down vehicle in the middle lane of the LIE it was full on out in the HOV lane heading out far on the Island. We got off the highway and then got onto another one for 10 more minutes before heading down past Old Country Road and the King Cullen and drive for 10 minutes down the road to a gated house away from the road. We parked the car and said hi to all who were already there. Jodi, Bruce and Jodi's brother his wife and their kids (a lotta babies in the house). My first time at a house in the Hamptons and we enjoyed the setup with the kitchen and living room on the second floor off of the outdoor deck with the grill and table outside so we could eat appetizers under the table umbrella. We never did go into the big pool out back but we watched the kids play with the water in the kiddie pools and all the trouble they could get into with plenty of water. Pretty soon more people arrived including Dr Kirk, Sky and Jade. Jodi's parents and plenty more houseguests that ate, drank and were very merry. As it got darker the party moved into the house so we could still see each other and to get away from the flies and mosquitoes. I discovered I could make the most interesting drink from a little vodka, Sprite Zero and Cranberry juice that I was totally soothed by the time it was time to go home. The kids were downstairs watching "The Incredibles" until they fell asleep. I caught the end of the movie on the projector screen myself and then it was time to head back into the city. Russ and I, along with Jeffrey headed back down the LIE listening to the newest mix CD "UltraMix Fourplay" and arrived back in the city by midnight. We dropped the boys off at the Smith Street station and then back to the Slope for us.

Saturday we awoke and got ready to start the party up all over again. Showered and cleaned up and fully packed for the day we got back into the car and once again over the BQE and then the LIE but this time we got off in Queens on Main Street and headed over to hang with Hal and the rest of our softball buddies for Hal's 50th B'day. When we arrived we say Jimmy and Ty had also pulled up so we all walked in together. Plenty of family and friends were already in attendance we said a ton of hello's before digging into the food and having some hot dogs. The tequila and mojito's were flowing and we listened to Dance and Disco hits before I was finally talked into going into the pool. I had already changed into my suit so I just had to stow my sunglasses and hat before getting into the pool and playing referee for the girls vs. boys pool volleyball. The girl(s) were very good and the boys lost 22 to 13 but after that fun was over I climbed out of the pool and rejoined the party. As it got later and later the drinks took their toll on the different party guests and other guests determined to return to the city sooner rather than later. We said goodbye to Dave, Rick and Rich and I changed back into my street clothes as we hung out some more before Russ had to return home to BK as he was visiting with his son the next morning. I walked Russ out to his car and said goodnight and then headed back to hang with Donnie and Billy as we finally said goodnight to Hal, The Jimmy who was making sure Matt was sobered up before he headed back home. Billy and Donnie drove Ty and I back into the the city and dropped Ty off at Gym Bar before we headed over to Ty's Bar on Christopher Street. I changed to my night clothes in the back seat and we found a spot around the corner from the place and then headed over to Christopher street. The bar was not one I had been to before and I found the crowd of wannabe bears very not racially mixed but they were still friendly enough and I enjoyed my Stoli Orange and Red Bull as Donnie enjoyed his Absolut and cranberry and Billie had a water (the designated driver). After we finished our drinks we headed back to the car and they dropped me off over at Gym Bar so I could have a few drinks before I headed over to Roxy. My first can of Rockstar I had from the front bartender and then Ty got me a Rockstar and Stoli Orange. I chatted up the DJ and gave him a gift CD "Summ Diva Madness" and chatted with friends and passed the time far faster than I would have thought before it was time to head out and over to Roxy.

I went to the ATM first and then walked back over to Roxy with my backpack of the days changes of clothes (2 costume changes, 3rd outfit in effect). On the line I spotted Mike F, Benny and Robert on the line and said hello to them before saying hi to Doorman Derek and heading inside. All of those times I talked about people traveling with their life on their backs in a bag, well I was one of them tonight. I laughed over it with Iyesha as I checked my bag and then headed inside to hang with my friends. The group split up at first since Benny wanted to check out the upstairs bar as I said hello to the Steve and army boy and went to barman Louis for my drinks. He made my drinks nice and I was able to locate the boys on the floor and reunite the gang as we all danced in front of the asian section. I had already danced on the speaker but when I heard the Mike Cruz mix of "Glamorous Life" I headed for the stage and made my way to the front corner. I was able to avoid hitting any of the boys onstage with my lights and fended off a light admirer with a firm "no touching the lights, sorry" before returning to the boys on the floor. Mike and Benny left around 3am and I was feeling the weight of my full day of partying so I only stayed until 4:05am myself. After I made my way outside and over to 9th ave. I was able to flag down a taxi pretty easy. The driver was on his way back to the depot in Brooklyn and I was on my way to Bklyn. A perfect match. I got home quickly and with no drama and was able go to be tired but happy.

Sunday was a day for rest so we watched TV and DVR programming after delivery breakfast and then for dinner it was KFC all the way. Dinner picked up and enjoyed I remembered I had "The Aristocrats" on the DVR and showed it to Russ. I had caught the end of the show the previous week but wanted to catch the whole show with Russ and it was very funny. I even picked up a new joke (The Priest, the Monk and the Rabbi) that I was able to tell at work the next day. A great weekend and I definitely made use of the 3 days. Until next weekend as the summer draws to its end, we will keep up the fun and I will do more work with my music and website to keep it interesting. Always a good time.

08/04-08/06 I'll be home for Dinner, on Sunday

Came home had dinner and cleaned up. Russ was invited to club in Bklyn and so I headed down the street to the car service and made my way into the city. One of the nice drivers left me across the street from Gym Bar so I made my way inside and got myself a drink of Rockstar and Stoli Orange. I then headed to the back and said hello to DJ Smokey. We chatted for a bit and I gave him a copy of Vuelta De Verano which is my newest Latin beats CD. After watching the boys play pool for a bit I headed over to Splash and listened to DJ Brenda Black downstairs and the usual crowd upstairs. The night was good as I hung out for a bit with Shawn and Rick and also met 2 nice guys from Queens downstairs. We chatted for a bit and then they left and then I went back to my friends upstairs. Stayed until 4am and got a taxi right out front with no problem. Back to BK and a night of sleep.

Saturday came without too much fanfare. And then in the afternoon it was time for furniture shopping. New Home Furniture over near Costco and we found new chairs for the Dining Area, a new bed frame and a glass front cabinet with drawers for my CDs (a nice size break front). After assuring that delivery would be on Sunday Afternoon it was time to go get some lunch at Wendy's. After returning home and watching some television the evening came on slowly and I continued setting up CDs and searching for new pop songs on iTunes. As the night finally rolled around I changed my clothes and got ready to go out. At first Russ was not going to drive me into town but then decided he could hang out for a little while and we headed into Manhattan in the Murano.

The ride in was cut short as we realized we would not be able to get inside if Russ did not have his ID. After he went upstairs and retrieved his wallet we headed on into the city. The traffic was bad over the Bklyn bridge so we headed over the Manhattan bridge and across Houston St. just like the week before. Once we got into the neighborhood we circled for a bit looking for parking and when we gave up on street parking headed into the lot next to Roxy. After finding out they were gouging SUVs for $30 I said we could do better and we headed to the next lot and paid just $25 dollars (it is the principle of the the matter). Anyway we got inside after I said hello to Derek and handed him a copy of the Vuelta De Verano CD we headed inside and we took in the crowd. The place was not too packed and Iyesha had already let me know the back bar would be closed until September so the place got nicely packed at the front bar. Rick and Shawn were also there and we all hung out for a bit on the far side from the entrance and chatted a bit. We all planned on having dinner sometime soon. Just have to call and set up a date that is good for everyone. DJ Eddie Elias had his crowd of fans from Spirit and the beats were ok but except for a few hits late in the night it was not my usual musical fare but I did get in some good dancing before it was time to leave. Russ left first around 1:30 and I talked to Iyesha some before heading back inside and getting the end of the my evening in. I mark the night as a success and I stayed until almost 5am. I got a taxi over on 9th ave and headed home to Bklyn for well deserved rest.

Sunday was time for delivery breakfast and then the furniture delivery guys arrived and made a whole lot of noise and moved a lot of stuff setting up the bed frame. After that was over (nosy neighbors looking in the front door while we got new stuff) it was time to head up to the roof and cook some steaks for dinner. We commented on all of the new construction going up in the neighborhood and even in Manhattan and enjoyed the pasta salad and potato salad from Fairway along with the steaks. Another satisfying dinner. Back in the house it was Sunday night programming and then late night programming before it was time for bed.

It's going to be a long week (4 whole days).

07/28-7/30 - End of a Season and beginning of the End of Summer

Friday
Hung out after work with the work buds at Ole and had just one drink and talked some before saying goodnight to Brenda, Doris and the rest of the crew and heading back to BK. Had delivery dinner of Pot Roast and mashed before catching up on some DVR programming and playing Diablo before going to bed.

Saturday
I awoke and showered and got out the hardball shirt and the Old Navy shorts and made sure the sneakers were ready as I made ready to hang with the Softball boys. The new Amazon delivered chair was carried down by Russ and we piled into the Murano and headed over to NJ. We did not have to pick anyone up, just make our way through the traffic near the Holland Tunnel and then on and up the West side and into the Lincoln Tunnel. The ride to Bloomfield NJ was uneventful and we were parked next to the fields in no time. We walked on to the fields and watched the end of the game that was in progress before the rest of the Buddies arrived and then it was time to take to the field. The first game against the Expos went downhill quickly and the team finally ended the game before the last inning. A bad loss but then we made our way across the park and played the Barbarians who the team beat with little drama and put the team in a better mood. After a short break it was onto the field again and we played the Rage. The team started out well but couldn't hold onto the lead and then finally the game was overrun and we were too far behind to come back and win again. The team was out of the playoffs but we were still a team and we left the field vowing for better next year. We even got an invitation to Hal's pool party in a few weeks. After making sure everyone had a ride back home we headed back to the city to have dinner, clean up and chill out before the evening came. The Jimmy arrived at 10:45 and we headed out at 11:08.

The ride into the city was changed only a little as we took the Manhattan bridge to avoid some traffic and then left Canal Street as that too was overcome with cab traffic. We crossed town at Houston and then made out way to the West Side Highway. The easy parking spots were taken but we find a nice spot in front of the Spike building and I made my way over to 18th street and
Roxy. I said hello to Derek whom I had not seen in almost 3 weeks. We chatted for a bit and then I gave him a gift CD (Ride and Rock) before heading inside and looking over the crowd. Peter was in residence but not on the decks when I first came in and I said hello to Jose, Ayesha and Louis before heading back to the front bar and hanging with the boys for a bit. DJ Peter Rauhofer started off the party slowly and then built his Roxy Classics to a crescendo that had all of the floor cheering. From Wonderbox, to Monica, to Ceevox and much more we had a grand old time hanging with Dwayne, Troy, Michael and even Lisa Bonelli and Will visiting from Europe. From the dancefloor to the Asian section speaker to the speaker across from the stage to the stage itself (to "So Gone") and watching Kevin Aviance with two separate performances the evening got better and better and we stayed until 5am. Russ was able to get us a car over on 9th Ave and we were headed home to BK in no time.

The Sunday was spent watching TV, moving music around and trying to stay cool. After delivery Breakfast in the early afternoon by the time dinner time rolled around I still was low on energy but was up for a drive so we headed down 4th Avenue and picked up KFC once again. With dinner over it was more television and languorous thoughts before it was finally time to head for bed and sweet dreams.

My friends will still be there the next time and I for them.

Time to take what is special and make it more so. I will start to believe in something special. Myself.

0715/0723 - The Windy (Hot and Rainy) City and So Many Games to Play

I went to work a little early so I could leave early and was able to get home fairly quickly. I had already spent two days packing and making sure I had everything ready for a week away from NYC and ended up leaving my hat at home (thank goodness I packed 3) but remembered most everything else. I was dressed a little more dumpy than usual for travel as I felt my new Steve Madden black sneaker shoes and my higher than usual zip-off sweats matched with white socks made me seem a little short bus underdressed. I was still snarky though and commented on my fellow planemates and the horrible service from American Airlines and the shoddy state of their Laguardia terminal. They also got on my nerves acting as if my ipod was going to make the plane crash. I know that phones are bad for ground cell towers but my hard-drive music player is not going to attract lightning to the plane. Anyway, we landed in Chicago and after retrieving the luggage we made our way to the curbside to get picked up by the Hertz bus for the ride to the Gold club car area. I think for Gold Club service we should have had a more interesting car than a Taurus, but that's just me. We used the Yahoo Maps directions to get to downtown from O'Hare and we found the place pretty easily. Despite lack of special amenities and very slow wireless connection (what am I sharing with all of the guests anyway, an ISDN connection?), the rooms were clean, the staff very nice and the water pressure in the shower was outrageous. The Jimmy was already in city with Stephan and we met up with Ty and Moose and after dealing with the crowds on Halsted we made our way through the neighborhoods and finally parked near The Prop House. The drinks were strong and the crowd was grooving in the Hip-Hop room and we hung out for a while before Ty said goodnight and we said goodnight shortly after. Stephan drove us home to the hotel and we finished the night with sleep.

Saturday
We had a rather sad breakfast at Kitty O'shea's (very generic burger and fries) and moved on to hanging with the rest of the crew for the day, Donnie and Larry before heading out for a taxi and making our way to Wrigley Field to see the Mets play the Cubs. After first sitting in the wrong seats and getting kicked out of our section we picked up some lower quality food products (mushy bun hot dog with no taste) and then returned to our section, found our real seats and kicked someone out of the section with the help of the usherette lady. Sadly we did not see the NY Mets win as they got beaten badly but at least they got their revenge the next day (2 grand slam homeruns). We left after the last strike and we made our way out of the stadium and through the crowded streets. We took pictures of the outside of the stadium and waited for Alan while also people watching and reading the funky T-Shirts for sale ("Cardinals take it up their Pujols", and the like). After Alan arrived we saw the nearest train station was mobbed so we made our way the 5 blocks to the next station and waited with the other passengers for the next train. Of course the first one to arrive was packed. We were able to fit on the next one however and squeeze in. The ride on the El was long and boring, (thank goodness for my Ipod Nano) and then Alan made us get off 3 stops early (Lake instead of Harrison) so we ended up having to walk a little farther than normal to our hotel. The rest of the crew left without us so after storing Donnie's bag in Larry's car we all piled into a cab (5 of us) and rolled over to Soldier Field.

The place looks like a spaceship landing on ancient Rome. Very bad design and use of space. We saw Team NY outside but had arrived too late to march with them ourselves (no coordinating shirt) once inside it was clean and bright and we were able make our way to the spectator seats and watch the teams from all over the world and US file in. The largest contingents were of course California, Texas, New York, and Chicago. We stayed through all of the arrivals, dance routines, speeches and saw Megan Mulally, George Takei and Stacieann Chin all give speeches. Russ and I left after we saw Jody Watley perform. We left out of the wrong end of the stadium so ended up walking through the weedy areas and then the suburbs before finally hitting a main street that we could catch a taxi on.
The ride was only 11 blocks but thank goodness we did not have to walk any more.
We needed to save our energy for later.

We got back to the hotel and then fell asleep. I awoke less than an hour later and woke up Russ and then we cleaned up and got the rental car and drove up Lake Shore Drive towards the Official opening party at Aragon Ballroom. The place did not seem impressive from the outside and seemed not busy at all (we arrived around 2am) but once up the long hallway and up the stairs we were greeted by a room full of people danciing and one of the most impressive laser lightshows I've ever seen in one room before. The lights over the dance floor were three stacked rings festooned with lights and around the stage were green (most impressive), red and even blue lasers. The lights matched the beats as DJ Brett Heinrichsen spun an arousing mix of familiar tunes (of course he played "Stroke" and Madonna and good selection of songs that kept the guys moving. The drink cutoff was 3am and we had to then make do with red bull and bottled drinks until we moved to the front of the dancefloor, danced near the stage and then left around 4am. The car was right across the street in the lot and we made it back to the hotel without incident.

Sunday
Met the team at Spin, hung out with the girls and guys for a bit and had a burger before heading across the street to Sidetracks for a 5 min wait and then inside to get a drink. The group split up at that point with Ty, Stephan, Kevin and I heading for a whirlwind tour of the fringe bars of Chicago. After a lengthy drive we ended up on a comparatively quiet block (compared to Boystown) and walked into Jackhammer. The doorman was wearing neck to knee black rubber (like the man on Little Britain but more butch) and we witnessed the shadiest talent contest ever. After the boy drinking his daquiri on stage and showed his talent of hairy butt booty shaking finally won. I think he won only because the rest of the people on stage were so lackluster and then we watched the drag queen emcee lip sync to Cher before the loud music came back on. There was only one person dancing on the dancefloor and we settled in for our one drink minimum and then from the back came a rather disconcerting vision. A little person in leopard print manties (really tight girl underwear on a man) was making his way toward us from the back of the bar and heading toward us and the door outside. I could not get any words out and Ty refused to offer any kind of explanation but when the guy passed us and looked over at me I gave him a Thumbs Up and "You go!" Anyway we said goodnight to Kevin who lived not too far away and Ty took us to the salvation of our night and the afterhours spot that was Charlie's. Thank goodness for their 2am switchover to Pop Dance music and the crowd that was so excited to be there you thought they were giving away money. We stayed there for an hour and a half until 20 minutes till close with, last good song by Nick Lachey.

Monday
Saw the basketball players at the hot sweaty (no A/C) gym and then had dinner at Giordano's

Tuesday
First Games. 1-2 record. And then after part of team went to beach and Russ and I walked through the park and saw the fountain we had the team dinner at Speakeasy (got ridiculously lost first but finally wandered in, I was so mad I was cursing, gotta have my own directions) and the team finally came to realization that Jonah really does have Asperger Syndrome.

Wednesday
1 Game
Then night out at Sidetracks for the Bear Party and then stayed there for hours and hours as more friends came and more drinks were served. Finally we escaped and had a late dinner at Clarkes.

Thursday
We won our first game against the Amazing Greens (played them twice, the only team we beat the whole tournament) and then lost to the Hunters (The same team beat us 3 times) It was a crazy sense of Deja Vu and it seemed there were only the same teams in the whole tournament. What was strange also is that we never did find out who won the Gold, Silver and Bronze for Softball. (Really, no one we spoke to knows who won). Anyway we went back to the hotel, cleaned up and then hung out some more at Sidetracks and then hopped in the car with Craig and Steve to go to Charlies and had the only time trying to separate Steve and 2 squads of cheerleaders who just could not keep to their own space. I told the rest of the guys about themselves when the finally arrived and Russ had to leave early get the car from 3am parking. The rest of us left just before 4am and retrieved the car before heading back to the hotel.

Friday
We hung out some more watching the Basketball finals and the watched the NY Warriors get beat down by the SF Team who had the guards scoring shots all over the place and a strategy to keep the NY Team back on their heels and never able to recover from being down by over 15 in the first period. I say it was bad coaching as the coach kept some people in the game for far too long and never let some other players off of the bench. Anyway we said hi to everyone after the game and then headed out in the rain and had dinner in Chinatown. My pepper steak was burnt and the chicken wings were enormous but I filled up on the chicken and then we hung out with the guys for a bit at Sidetracks before going over the Gym sponsored party at Metro. The party was a bust. It was too far from Boystown (past Wrigley Field and a ridiculous number of straight clubs, Location, Location, Location) and it was 45 dollars to get in (WHAT!!). Thank goodness I already had tickets. I have no idea what the organizers were thinking but I guess they should have figured out a better way to get everyone there at the same time as everyone who came in except for EB left after they saw only 11 other people in the place. By the time we arrived around 12:30 am there were at least 35 other people there but a lot of people left after the first run through of the photo montage on the screen over the stage. Plus the managers were kind of mean to me with despite me standing right next to EB they only gave him the free drink tickets (he gave them to me anyway as he already had a drink in hand both times). After the party was over at 3am we went to the straight club (Smartbar) next door to use the facilities (thank you Security Guys) and then shared a taxi back to the hotel. EB is a cool dude and we became best buds with plenty to talk about and even gave a guy who came to town from San Fran directions as he planned on being a volunteer for the games and moving to Chicago for the next year but needed someplace to go for the night (to the dorms). At least we still have tomorrow.

Saturday
We awoke to find out that the closing ceremonies were not at 6pm but a 3pm and we called and cajoled the rest of the team with the schedule before convincing the Jimmy to go as well. After the everlasting train ride on the Red Line (the train stops for no reason we could tell and there are no announcements as you just sit and hope the train moves again, the ride was twice as long as it should have been). We finally arrived at the stadium and found seats in the same section we sat in when we watched the Cubs and Mets. The Closing ceremonies were much more interesting than the opening and we had more bear and frozen drinks this time as well. Cyndi Lauper was excellent along with rifle jugglers and Kristine W. The crowd spilled out onto the streets when it was all over and we walked down to Boystown and hung out at the outdoor BBQ. It rained but EB and I had good seats next to the tree and then bar pulled the awning down over us and we stayed dry a little longer until the rain stopped. We hung out with the guys and boys for a bit before Russ and I bid all our friends goodbye and headed back to the hotel to clean up and ordered dinner delivery. More time playing Diablo on the laptop for me before dinner finally arrived and then I was nice and stuffed as we rested up a bit before our final party of the weekend. Once more over to the Aragon ballroom and the spectacular lightshow they set up. This time the flag dancers were on top of the raised platforms with the best back and black lighting and featured Performer Circuit Mom made her way up to the stage and performed to "Ain't No Other Man" by Ms Aguilera. The DJ was Manny Lehman and he made sure to keep the energy up despite the fact I myself was feeling the weight of my week long spin of parties and hanging out. Russ left at 3am and I stayed till 4:30am myself hearing hits by Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Nelly Furtado and a truly energetic mix of the theme from "Brokeback Mountain" I really missed hearing his mix of "Jump" by Madonna but he probably played it before I got to the party. My taxi back to the hotel was waiting right out front and I got back pretty easily. Thank goodness I had already packed my bags earlier in the day cause I just needed to sleep.

Sunday,
We woke up, checked out (had to wait till the last second to shower as there was no hot water pressure for about an hour) and had breakfast at Blackie's for the second day in a row before heading over to the airport. Back onto the ghetto airline of American Airlines (everything else is ghetto after taking Jet Blue) and all I wanted to do was sleep. I woke up an hour later to look at the magnificent view of the NYC skyline as we flew into Laguardia and was surprised that we fly all the way out over Long Island far enough to see the Nassau Coliseum before getting into our holding pattern lane and landing at the airport. We picked up our bags, caught a yellow taxi and we were home in no time at all. We got into the car and picked up some KFC for dinner (everyone seemed to be there, I guess its the thing to do for Sunday Dinner). And watched Sunday eve programming before turning in for a well deserved rest after the whirlwind week of vacation. Well deserved but now its back to real life. Oh well, at least it was a lot of fun.