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 .