01/20-01/21 - Back in NYC - Dive Headfirst into your party

The Chelsea kit shirt (named for the London footballer team), L.O.G.G. cargo pants and the usual accouterments and we were ready to go. Russ was wearing his Arsenal Jersey for player Henry. After Russ and the Jimmy finished playing backgammon and we piled into the Explorer and headed into the city. A quick hello to Ty and then right to the parking space on 20th and waiting. I played Tetris on the DS until 11:45 and then it was time to head inside.

A quick hello to Derek and we were inside Roxy and ready to hang. I ran into Eddie who had not been out since I hung with him and TJ at Crobar. Erica and TJ showed up shortly after and we had our drinks and got the party started. Russ ordered the Jimmy and I a shot but I made sure we did not get any more besides the regular drinks. In short order we said hello to Rick, Pat, Shawn, Rob, Octavio, Tres and Dwayne and even took pictures. The party name was "Maneater" (hence the picture) for the Nelly Furtado song and even though she did not show up before I left I definitely did not feel cheated. DJ Peter Rauhofer kept the music and mood very good. Due to talking and hanging near the bar I did not start to really get my dance on until after 1am but I once I did it was all good all the time. An unexpected turn of Wonderbox and "Turn Me Over" along with hits by Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake and Beyonce. I did my final dance on the speaker near the door then stepped down and left feeling very good at almost 5am. Both magazines and coat in hand it was out into the night.

Sunday was recovery but despite a standing invite to the office buds to watch the HD, Russ and I ended up journeying down to the East Village and watching the end of the Bears/Saints game and the beginning of the Colts/Patriots game at a local pub. The wait was bad and the crowd was drunk but once we were seated we were happy with the appetizer chicken wings but the hamburger afterwards was raw in the center and not as good as the scarily shiny bun first suggested. After dinner was over it was good night to the boys and the drunk people and back to BK.

At least once I was home I got to see the end of the Colts/Patriots game and see the Colts finally jump that hump. Yes it will finally be Peyton in the Superbowl. See the teams in February.

So,
its back into NY for the party and boys are all right.

Until the next one...

London - 01/12-01/15

London (Yay)

Do's and Don'ts

Do get your Gatwick Express ticket at the Money Exchange counter to avoid the line at the ticket counter.

Don't expect to get through customs in time for a connecting flight unless you tell the staff to rush you through the line.

Do get something to drink outside of the terminal (the drinks in the terminal are twice as expensive as water or soda on the street).

Don't try and throw out any trash in the airport or on the train (there are no trash bins anywhere).

Do verify the street signs immediately upon leaving the Underground (tube) station to find your way to your hotel.

Don't use directions (left or right) for street directions as the streets merge and cross in twos, threes and fours.

Do get out and try the food that the locals have to offer (authentic English cuisine).

Don't order the hamburger unless you are a fan of the school lunch burger (premade patty microwaved and dry and tasteless).

Do get out and walk around and see the sights

Don't spend all day recovering from the 5 hour time difference and give in to the effects of Jet lag (Don't just sleep, get out and see stuff).

12/30-1/01/07 - Happy Happy New Year

Saturday Night

2 cans of Enviga and it was out into the night, riding into the city in the rented Mazda. (No Murano this week, the regular car returning soon) and arrival at the club just after 12 midnight and onto the short line at the cashier window. Once past the ticketing and coat check it was on into the party. Russ was not staying too late and I still had to look forward to another night of party on New Years Eve. I still came in on a really great party at Roxy with DJs Offer Nissim and Peter Rauhofer set to put on a marathon set for the people and get the crowd going. DJ James Anderson had the warm-up set before 1am when Offer Nissim took to the booth and the crowd was already in a high energy mood and the music was already great. However the crowd knew who they were there to see and when Offer appeared in the booth there was a surge or people onto the stage in front of the DJ booth and at first I was concerned for some sort of imminent collapse but knew the crew of the place had made a lot of changes since the last time to make sure no drama of that sort could occur. I had seen my friends on the dancefloor and joined into the vibe of the party, enjoying new mixes of "One Night Only" and all of the hits we associate with her remixes plus enjoyed the movement of the crowd and great beats. Everyone was friendly and I enjoyed myself immensely. Despite drama in the bathroom (too much pushing and not enough urinals) I enjoyed myself all the way till the end. Peter Rauhofer did not come onto the stage until around 5am and despite the desire to hear the newest remixes and stuff I had not heard, as well as the great mixing that Peter does in the late hours I knew I had to go before it was too late as I had even more partying to look forward to in less than 16 hours. Another quick visit to the bathroom before I headed out into the night (as quick as possible as something bad happened in there, something so horrible the smell still brings tears to my eyes and curse words to my lips as I wanted to grab the person responsible and bring them to security, but I digress). I left the club shortly after, got my ipod nano out and listened to workout music as I quickly flagged down a taxi and headed home to Bklyn.

Sunday
Could not stay asleep too long (those doggone Red Bulls) and was up for delivery breakfast and endeavoured to stay hydrated and healthy for the rest of the afternoon. Football and HD programming for the afternoon before it was time for dinner. Since I had skipped the chicken caesar the day before I was looking forward to the chicken salad for Sunday night dinner. Of course I still had a few hours to go before going out so it was time to clean up, get dressed and get ready to head into the city. Since we could not schedule a pick up we called at 8:40pm for a car at night and got a car right away. At 8:45 pm we were dowstairs and heading into the city at high speed with one of my usual car service drivers. We got to 28th street in just over 16 minutes and after a stop in the corner store it was over to the line wait in front of the bar. In spite of the mean words from the doorman about dressing up for the evening (my sneakers cost twice as much as the ones he was wearing) we were waved inside and checked over by security before we got our tickets and headed inside. The place was open in both rooms and Mike was on duty at the main bar and we were all good. Of course I did have to head back outside twice, once for Gary and again for Nathan but then once the whole squad was inside the party was really underway. Despite my stomach trauma I still had a good time,took great pictures and watched the boys talk to a whole lot of girls. DJs Chus and Ceballos took to the decks around 1am and the mood of the party got even higher as the dancefloor got more and more crowded. Russ decided he was leaving the party around 2:30am and then texted me from outside that it was raining. I stayed on at the party a little longer and after taking more pics and not being able to find anyone else and feeling the finality of party time of the weekend coming to a close I stopped by the mens room (no telling how long till I got home) and then picked up my coat at coat check and headed out.

Of course the rain was plenty cold and it wasn't easy to wave down a taxi outside at all. All the way over to 9th street, then down to 23rd then over to 7th avenue there were no taxis to be had and so almost half an hour after I had left the club I was down into the F Train station and getting a single ride ticket headed to Brooklyn. The train came pretty soon and I got back to Brooklyn pretty easy. Waiting for the R train in Brooklyn though meant I had to deal with the wind in the tunnels while wearing my rain soaked Columbia. I was cold. Once I got to my street it was a run through the streets to my house and a quick strip of all of the wet clothes. Russ was still awake but went to bed soon after my arrival. After a nice Airborne Hot toddy I was ready to go to bed myself. New Years celebrations over it was time to take a day to recuperate. I'm looking forward to it.