12/23-12/26 - Fun for Everyone, since it is The Season After All

I left work and made my way home for another 3 day weekend. All my shopping was done for the season so I was home with no stress after shopping at Target before heading home. The transit strike was over so the PATH trains were finally free of the overcrowding I had not enjoyed the past 3 days. I got home rather quickly and then settled into the usual Friday ritual of cleanup, washing up and getting ready to head out. The Jimmy arrived around 10:45 and after catching up on some Football and Basketball stats we all headed out into the night.

Lisa had been true to her word and even though we were not all on the list (just me), all 3 of us were still able to head inside and get in for reduced rate. Even though we were there early we did see Lisa who was nice enough to buy us each a drink and we enjoyed a great start to the night with DJ Eliot DeHoyos and later segued into DJ Glen Friscia. The DJ downstairs was some random reggaetton song playing person and we did not spend too much time among the kids who were hanging out in the very well lit downstairs. We hung out a bit with Joseph, Duane, Stephen K. and more of Lisa as the night progressed and generally had a good time. I took pictures of one of the performers and had my picture taken with her later near the back bar. As it got later into the night Russ and I called it a night around 3:15 and headed out front to flag down a taxi. We were able to return home with no stress and get ready for the next day.

I had meant to get out to the gym on Saturday but as we waited until the mid-afternoon football game halftime, after walking up the street to the gym we found the gym on Christmas Eve closed at 3pm. It was a nice day outside but it was just a walk outside as we cleaned up and prepared for our long drive out to see Ernesto and the peeps out in LI. 3 accidents, mall traffic and almost getting lost (we did not go far enough) we finally arrived after an hour and 40 min. of travel. We ate, sang karaoke (including Nat Cole and Blondie) and hung out with the many friends and neighbors in attendance. When it approached 9:55 we finally had to head back to the city and we brought back two new friends who lived on the upper west side and needed a ride back to the city. We discussed all of our different professions and life in the city and made the trip back into the city far quicker than the trip out. After dropping the boys off in downtown Manhattan we headed back home and I did the costume change to prepare to go out for my after midnight arrival. Russ decided to stay in so it was a solo walk down to the taxi stand and then heading out to the city with my own driver. Despite almost losing $20 dollars in the back seat I found it before too long and was able to get out of the taxi and head on over to the line in front of Roxy. Doorman Derek got us inside before too long and I picked up our even tickets for the following week as well before making my way inside.

Barker was away but he had wished me well and Matt was there to make sure all of my bar wishes were fulfilled. The DJ of the Eve was Meritt and he made sure to get us worked up so that by 12:40 even the crowd was sparse it quickly filled as the beats got better and better. He even played the Celeda Peak Hour mix of "Let the Music Use You Up" which got me up onto the speaker in the asian section and plenty of people onto the dance floor. The back bar was closed so the main crush of people was concentrated into the front. I was determined to enjoy myself so I hung out with pictures with D and his friend as well as Erica's other half who was nice enough to take pictures with myself and Sam Champion who I talked with for a bit as he had not been out with the crowd in over a year. I also took pics with Erik Rhodes (from Cross Country) and even made an appearance in the DJ booth and took a picture with Mitch Amtrak, Lighting wizard extraordinaire. (I always wonder what Liz Liguori would be able to do with the light board of Roxy, we will have to wait and see). My promise to myself of a guaranteed good time was definitely fulfilled music wise, friend wise, even picture wise and I was able to go home at 5am a happy person. I picked up a taxi right on the corner of 18th and 10th and the driver was sitting there waiting for me to walk up and get in. I got home easily and bid the night a happy close.

The next morning at 7am I awoke on the couch in my livingroom (I guess I was so tired I did not make it to the bed). I then got up, finished undressing and went to bed. I proceeded to stay in bed and not get up until 1:30pm. We hung out in the house a bit before heading over to NYC in the rain to catch a showing of "Chronicles of Narnia" Thankfully despite the crowded theater the kids in attendance did not get too antsy until near the end of the film. The movie of course was much better than the cartoon I saw when I was little and I was happy with the way it traveled to the big screen. After seeing the movie again I enjoyed the fact that the religious tie in had to be REALLY read into as it was not an obvious thing at all and the movie was as religious as any other kids movie, which was to say hardly at all. I liked it. We headed back home but could not find any place that was open for dinner so I ended up cooking. The chicken breast sliced into tenders along with the vermicelli in garlic sauce and the corn all came together into a great dinner. Being off on Monday was a good thing so despite the repeats on TV I was able to watch DVR programming and movies to pass the time during the night. Russ went out and picked up some ice cream from Baskin and Robbins and we were able to eat some ice cream and chill out for the rest of the eve.

I felt fine awoke the next day and dug into my cold cereal and relaxed for a bit before heading down the street to pick up gift bags to pack all of the gifts we were preparing to bring out to NJ and Russ's family. The trip over to NJ was easy and we were able to get over in plenty of time to have some hors d'oeuvres and help with the potato latkes. My knowledge of all foods fried held me in good stead as we prepared this last dish before we all sat down for dinner. We hung out for a bit more and then it was time to exchange all of the many gifts. Of course the youngest kids got the most of course but everyone else was happy and we were able to get back home without any trouble. Now we were finally preparing to start the workweek after another long weekend. One more to look forward to next weekend. More fun to come...

12/16-12/18 - New Fridays, Fun Saturdays, First of 3 three-day weekends

The weather has finally stopped getting into the deep winter freeze. Those days in the 20's are totally busted in the month of December. I expect it in the heart of winter like January or February but I was very happy to see the days head back up into the 40s and such. I was looking forward to the first of 3 three day weekends (and 4 day workweeks) until January. I was able to get home pretty easy for a Friday night, tested the bluetooth headset with flying colors to leave msgs. I got home a little later than usual as I slept through my train stop and had to take the train back in the other direction. I finally made it home and unloaded my bags and was able to chill a bit. Russ had ordered The delivery dinner arrived and I was able to tuck into a nice batch of Pot Roast and mashed potatoes and with gravy and carrots. I then cleaned up a bit with a haircut and shower before picking out a nice outfit to go out. The Jimmy arrived a little late (around 11) but we hung out for a bit and then we all headed out at 11:35.

The traffic on the Bklyn bridge was pretty tough so we took the Manhattan Bridge instead and then drove up the east side a bit to Houston street before finally making our way over to Hudson street. After circling a bit for a spot we found one not too far away but also noticed that the bodega on the corner of 8th and 18th was closed for good (no more gum and Tums). We made our way up the half block and into Gym. I had brought along my unwrapped gift (Connect Four) and handed the box to Rick who told me to speak to Jorge at the bar so he could enter me into the Raffle. I spoke to him a little later at the bar, very nice and he entered me in the raffle and wished me a good night. I talked in the back with DJ Smoky for a bit who was feeling a little fatigue after having worked the day before at a corporate event. We hung around for 2 drinks and then as the place finally cleared the initial crush we stepped back out into the night and retrieved the car so we could move onto the next spot. We didn't have tickets this time for Krash but we went anyway and after dodging a few garbage trucks on pickup we found a spot and then headed up the street. At Krash I do not have high expectations but at least the bartender is nice to me and the music started out pretty good but then got stuck on some kind of beatmix reply before and after the performance of Pepper Mashay. She gave a good performance but we had to leave before it got too late. At least next time I will be on the list as Lisa did me the solid and got my phone #. We said goodnight to the Jimmy and headed out to flag down a car ride on 5th Ave at 3:15am. The ride home was uneventful and all good. Another nice friday spent out and about.

Saturday I was up for a gym visit but we also had some errands to run so we headed further out into Bklyn and when it was time for the gym I found myself at the NYSC near Carroll Gardens. At first the gym seemed kind of small but then we realized that it was broken up into two floors and even the locker room had two levels. It had a funny smell in the place though and it was very cold so I was glad to finish up and then head out to pick up some lunch at KFC. After an afternoon of rest and quiet it was time to prepare for the evening. Dinner was ordered from Friends Italian and it was straightening up and a cleanup then I was outfitted in the new Akademiks powder blue and I was ready to head out with Russ into the city.

The ride in was quick and after a short wait on the line we were inside and ready to hang with the crowd. I quickly got the necessities out of the way first and gave my gifts of appreciation to Barker and Matt They liked the shirts and the usual CDs and even though they felt it wasn't necessary I knew that for me it was. The DJ at Roxy this evening was Manny Lehman and there was a nice crowd in attendance from the very beginning. As expected all of the hits, plenty of dancing, more drinks and no extraneous drama. Russ decided to leave around 3 and I stayed until 4:15 myself. All of the usual hits, (Suzanne Palmer, Jamie Sanchez with Stroke and as well as Rihanna) and I would definitely term the eve as a success.

I awoke the next morning and knew not how I had arrived at home but I appeared to have arrived safely and with no injuries. Russ had his theories and I had my own as well but as there was no APB on the web or on NY1 I felt I had no misdeeds to worry about. Late in the afternoon we travelled to the storage facility and retrieved part of my mothers PC but could not find the CPU. We apologized when we saw her out on SI later and she told us it was inside one of the green storage containers. So that would be retrieved next time. In the meantime I played Animal Crossing DS with Gigi and listened to Ian playing Mario Kart DS. The Oven Stuffer Roaster dinner was great along with all of the usual side dishes. We stayed until around 9pm and then headed back to BK after the usual goodnights. I didn't have to work the next day so I watched DVR programming until it was time for bed.

Monday was spent watching DVDs and toons and spending a lazy monday at home. I needed it and it was definitely appreciated. Of course now we had the transit strike to look forward to. At least it's a short week. Until the next one.

Dec 4,11 - 2 Weeks, 2 Weekends, 2 Nights of Fun

Friday on the 3rd I came home from work and messed with the PC and watched DVR programming, I was not in the mood to run out into the rain (for once) and so I was just focusing on spending one night out (Sat Nite). Russ was at an office holiday party so I ate delivery chinese (pepper steak) at work before coming home. The house was quiet and I was happy to just watch TV and play Advance Wars on my Nintendo DS. The night went by quickly and I did not stay up all that late (3:00am).

Awoke the next day and ate cereal (Trix and 1% Farmland Dairies Milk) before getting dressed up and heading out to the gym. After the workout Russ and I walked back up the street and watched DVDs and movies until dinnertime. The delivery of chicken Ceasar salad was very welcome and we rested up and waited to get out at the appointed time.

We left the house around 11:20 and made it into the city and parked right at our favorite spot. When we went to turn into the parking spot of of 23rd onto 10th ave we had a car right behind us so could not back into the spot. We went straight on 23rd but the car behind us turned and went the wrong way down the one way street. (Crazy). But we did not linger long enough to see if the driver caused an accident but quickly made the 3 right turns back onto 10th and found our parking spot. We tried to save a spot behind us for the Jimmy but another driver found that he could fit behind us if we moved up so the Jimmy parked elsewhere. I headed in ahead of Russ while he waited to meet up later. Once inside I made my way through the crowd and looked up at the booth at guest DJ Offer Nissim. Offer made sure the crowd was into it right away and as the energy built in the crowd she was right up there clapping hands and dancing with the crowd. I made a couple of appearances on speakers starting out on the speaker across from the DJ booth in the asian section and I had a great start to the eve accept for a strange interlude with a guy on the speaker. He had stepped down off of the speaker when I first began dancing but I was waiting just a little bit longer to step down myself and he returns to the speaker and tells me that he "let" me have the speaker to myself and now wanted the speaker to himself again. I told him I would not stop him from dancing but I wasn't about to leave yet and despite his continuing to stand in my face and make demands I calmly drank my bottle water and let him yell in my ear before telling him to go ahead and dance. I stood at the back of the speaker for a bit but when he saw I did not get down he left himself and he went to another speaker closer to the back. I only stayed on the speaker for another few minutes myself before heading to the back to get another drink from barman Barker. Later on I was dancing on the speaker next to the stage and the speaker stalker looked past the decorations to see if the speaker was occupied (it was) and he moved on. The occasion of the eve was Tony Moran's birthday and the place eventually got very packed and we continued dancing all the way to the peak, the signature sound of Offer Nissim and "The First Time". I danced on the stage for that one and after first DJ set was over we saw the stage performance of Kim English. I don't remember the song she sang, it was good but then we were into the second part of the night with DJ Tony Moran. The music stayed high energy and the crowd was still packed into the place as we continued to hang out until 4am. We made it home safely and I went to sleep to await the next day.

After delivery breakfast Sunday was spent watching DVDs and DVR programming until we headed out to KFC and picked up dinner (no baked chicken avail, just fried chicken strips) It was good and we spent the rest of the night watching Football and Fox programming and then the season finale of "Curb". The weekend was all is well that ends well and the following week was something to look forward to.

Friday the 9th I decided to not go out because it was cold and rainy and just stayed indoors watching DVR progamming and playing Animal Crossing DS. It was cold and rainy and despite a party invite from Dante to visit a bar on 23rd Street I stayed in where it was warm and dry.

Saturday was the day Russ was finally over his old laptop and decided he was in the market for a new one. We popped the new Pop CD in the player and took the ride into the city. We were able to find a parking space just 3 blocks up from the gym and that is where we made our first stop. I had to buy another lock as I had forgotten mine again. After picking one up at Duane Reade I met up with Russ in the gym and we went our separate ways to different workouts. When I still had two more machines to go we met again and he headed off to J&R Computer to pick up some stylus for his Palm before the new laptop purchase. We met up again in front of all of the laptops and looked them all over before deciding on another VAIO. While Russ was waiting for it to come upstairs from storage I picked up some more Printer Ink cartridges for my disc printer and dealt with the inconsiderate cashier (she was making some random phone call before her co-worker told her to get off the phone and deal with her customers) and then I headed out of the store on our way to have a nice lunch at Wendy's. The grilled chicken and side salad was great as usual and then it was back over to the car. We put the bags inside and then made our way back to BK. The afternoon was spent resting up watching Mr and Mrs Smith on DVD before it was late enough for delivery dinner. The chicken caesar salad from Friends was great as always and I was all set and ready after cutting my hair and cleaning up in preparation to go out. The new powder blue Akademics shirt on and all of the accoutrements in place and after the arrival of the Jimmy at 10:30 we were all set to leave just after 11pm.

The ride into the city was quick and despite some traffic at the Brooklyn Bridge and across Chambers street to the West Side we made it up to 20th St. on the West side and found a nice spot before heading back down the block and making our way into the
Roxy. After saying hello to the door staff and getting our IDs scanned in the machine before heading the cashier and then coat check. Once inside I headed to the back and said hello to Barker and Matt and my first bottle of water and then headed back to the front to give a gift CD (Pop to the Beat) to Cathy and then heading back to the back bar to get my first round of drinks. After hanging out and listening to the beats of DJ Paulo I was moved after a bit to make an appearance on the speaker in the asian section and this time I did not have to argue with anyone and after a while even pulled people from the dancefloor onto the speaker and danced for a bit more before heading back to the back bar to hang with the guys. Later on we were joined by Fitz, Chris and Donnie who had been hanging in the city for a while after the BASL Christmas party. DJ Paulo kept the beat moving and I made a stage appearance right in front of the booth as the light guy and the DJ conspired to whip the crowd into a frenzy and keep the crowd into the party deep into the night. We ended up staying at the party all the way to 4:30am and riding home in the Jimmys car as he was staying in Manhattan. We headed outside with Donnie and then said our final goodnights before heading back to BK. We stopped at Mickey Ds and got breakfast before heading back home and after a quick nosh we called it a night.

Sunday was spent just hanging out until late in the afternoon, having a bowl of chicken ramen noodles for lunch and watching football. Before it got too late we headed out to Pathmark and picked up fixings for dinner and replenished the house stock of bread, milk, juice and the fixings for dinner. We headed back home and I cooked a nice dinner of baked herb chicken, mac and cheese and stove top stuffing. We spent the rest of the night watching more football, the Simpsons and some HD cable programming. We left briefly to pick up my brother at the bus stop on 86th street as he was going to meet my sister at my house because they both needed Metrocards to continue to go to work in the coming weeks (that is if we don't suffer a transit strike). Russ turned into bed early but The siblings stayed watching TV, playing Mario Kart on our DS and then watching DVR programming before leaving just before 12am. I watched a few cartoons on the Toon network before turning in myself and calling the weekend over. Another fun time the final 2 day weekend I will have for the next 3 weeks (color me happy as a full pig). Until the next time.

11/23 - 11/29 - Give Thanks, Go Travel, Have a Good Time

Wednesday night was the beginning of my long weekend, too much last minute projects meant I could not hang out at Ole with Saroj and Liz but they did forgive my explanation and do not plan on haunting me when I return to work the following week. I finished up around 6pm (not too early a dismissal, but I'll take it). I stopped at Macy's to make sure I had something to wear to Thanksgiving dinner that I had not worn before (clothes horse that I am) and headed home in the wind and coolness to make sure my delivery dinner was consumed before it got too late. Russ and I watched DVR programming before Russ decided his 3 day week had caught up with him and he decided to turn in and catch some Zzzs. I watched some DVR programming and messed with CDs on the computer for a bit before getting highly bored and trying to figure out what I was going to do with my first night of vacation. After watching a repeat episode of "That 70's Show" I finally decide that I could have fun for 3 hours and sleep another 8 and that would get me till noon the next day. I had already accomplished the haircut and shower so the getting ready was done quickly and I was out and headed for the city at 12:50am. The DJ at Roxy for the Thanksgiving Eve party was Junior Vazquez and I decided I was going to surprise Barker (I had originally told him I was going to be away for 2 weeks) and welcomed him back to the front bar. He said that not as many people had arrived and were tipping for drinks so the night was just mediocre for him but saw him smile a few times at jokes with Matt and myself and the eve was time well spent to get me wound up for vacation and ready to sleep before Thanksgiving. The music was good with hits both old and new as well as a some "Low Frequencies" thrown in for good measure. I stayed until 3:15 and headed back home after snagging a taxi right on 10th ave. The ride home was quick and painless and I was fully ready for a night of sleep and the meal the next day.

Thursday I stayed in bed until around noon and rolled out and got myself ready to travel to NJ. New blue TH dress shirt donned, Eddie Bauer cargo pants and Lugz as well, and I was ready to travel across NYC on my way to NJ. The ride was nice and fast until we rolled up on the West side and Holland Tunnel traffic. This caused a holdup for like 25 min, and then a journey across Manhattan to Centre street to get around the backup held us up some more before we were finally able to re-cross Manhattan above the tunnel traffic back to the west side before heading up to the Lincoln tunnel and making our way across to NJ. The ride past Giants Stadium took no time at all and even though we were a little late to dinner (turkey already carved) we arrived in plenty of time to have something to drink and sit down for dinner. The family was in attendance and we were ready to tuck into dinner. The food of course was great, the family always fun and friendly and despite some minor family differences in the kitchen we all had a good meal and a great selection of desserts. Returned from NJ and slept off the food. Printed out the packing list for summerwear and put all the necessary clothes into the luggage. Besides the clothes I always bring my own shampoo and soap as well as all of the necessary accoutrements for life out of a bag. I finally fell asleep after setting all of the alarms and making sure the bags were packed (both checked and carry-on).

The next day it was awake at the crack of dawn to make sure we arrived for the Jetblue flight at 7:30am. Originally it was so early because it made sure we would arrive in FL in time for the Friday games in the softball tournament but now I just decided to not pay extra to change flights and I could probably catch a nap when I arrived in FL. The morning was downright frigid and it was a perfect time to fly into the warm and leave the city for a long weekend.

Jetblue flight of course was great even though for some inexplicable reason they got rid of the snack mix (only the blue chips for me, so sad). After arrival we rented a Dodge Sebring convertible (silver) and enjoyed the panoramic views driving down from Ft Lauderdale to Miami. The directions from Yahoo Maps were fine and we we arrived at the Hotel Villa Capri with no issues. Across the street from the hotel was a Denny's and I was one happy tourist from that moment on. We dropped off the bags at the room, rested a bit and then had a nice lunch at Denny's, burgers for both of us.

The rest of the day was just resting and waiting for the coming nightfall so we could journey down Washington Ave and hang out on the clubbing strip. The club for the eve was Twist but the music was boring and the crowd very laid back. The bartenders were always nice in the garden bar but the smokers in attendance meant that I could not stay in one spot for too long. From the video room to the dancefloor to the outside and back again. Nothing special for a Friday night and it was a taxi ride back to the hotel and time to sleep.

Saturday was spent searching for someplace to buy a bluetooth headset. We thought we had found the Best Buy but following the Google Maps directions I found nothing but getting lost in the wilds of Miami and spending a frustrating afternoon before finally finding a sad sad Niketown in some ghetto mall with upscale shops. Poorly laid out, dangerous parking lot (for cars and people) and we returned to Miami Beach empty handed. Dinner was a little better at Outback Steakhouse and we listened to the Outback soundtrack (same one I heard during the Summer in the Vegas Outback) with some new Christmas songs for the season thrown in. The website for the WhiteParty was no longer selling tickets so we just decided to make our appearance the next night and hope for the best. We were supposed to be spending our Saturday night in North Miami and visiting the deep dark ghetto to see Boi club. Right away after making the wrong turn off of the highway, a left instead of a right we turned around and were greeted by an angry streetwalker striking a pose in our headlights as we U-turned and hightailed it back up the road to the club. We parked in the lot around the corner from the club but found out that the club was not going to be open for another 30 minutes. We moved the car to the lot across the street but then after deciding we did not have anything to do for 30 minutes and that we didn't want the car stolen when we went inside the club, we decided to head back to Miami to the familiar and spend another night in familiar environs of downtown Miami Beach. We made it back to Washington Ave and the same parking garage as the previous night and walked the six blocks up to 11 ave and club Twist for another night. Just like the previous night we were bored and and only slightly entertained by videos and lackluster music selection for a Saturday night. A few drinks later, some music videos in the video room and we returned to the garage lot and picked up the car to head back up the road to the hotel.

Sunday, after a Denny's breakfast we went back to the wireless hotspot on Lincoln Road and went onto the actual Best Buy website to find the closest one to where we were in Miami and found pretty good directions past the airport and and on two highways and then it was right there where it was supposed to be. We bought bluetooth headsets and more SD memory for Russell's phone and then a quick side trip to the Target and then it was back to Miami Beach to pick up dinner at Van Dykes. The dinner was nasty, it was supposed to be a nice Turkey dinner with the fixings but it was just some reconstituted meat that was supposed to resemble Turkey. On top of that the Giants lost on the monitors over the bar and it totally ruined some of the effect of my later outfit of my Manning jersey, but despite the bad review we left the croweded Lincoln Road area and returned to the Hotel. We rested up (playing Advance Wars on the Nintendo DS for me) and then as the watch alarm went off at 10:30 we prepared ourselves to head out for Sunday Night and leave the Miami Beach area and head across the water to the area around the American Airlines Arena. I thought it would be easy to find but the dark streets were not as inviting as the daytime streets and we were momentarily lost but for the party light machines and the spotlights in the sky helping us find the place. We found parking real easy and walked over to Metropolis and bought our tickets at the cashier and even decided to foot the bill for VIP ($40 a person and open bar the whole night) I figured the value spoke for itself so we bought our tickets and VIP access and headed inside the club. The space was spacious and still mostly empty at 11:30pm and so after finding the VIP section we chilled out for a bit on the couches, took some pictures next to the Egyptian motif sarcophagus and listened to the opening DJ playing some upbeat tunes getting the room ready for later in the night. I finally climbed up on my first speaker to dance to Altar and "Sexercise" and was even on video with the crew shooting event film for the whole party weekend and the place filled up nicely. The performers took over the stage and seemed to make an appearance over and over with just 10 minute breaks before another performance. At least the music was uninterrupted and Peter Rauhofer took over the reins of the decks at 1am and the party truly was begun. We saw a whole troupe of our New York friends including Troy and they all said they had a good time at the Beach Party. We had missed all other parties and decided to save the best for the end of the weekend. The music by Peter was excellent from Suzanne Palmer, to Madonna to all the beats a kid could eat and good music too. I was back to that VIP open bar all night and was plenty happy with the night by the time we left at 4:15am. Nice club, from the bar staff to the eclectic layout to the crazy towel service (with actual towels) in the bathroom. It was all good until we left and proceeded to drive in the wrong direction and then have to pay a toll to head back east and Miami Beach and our hotel. Good Night Miami Beach.

Sunday we had another Denny's Breakfast and then hung out for a bit on the beach taking a few coastline pics before finally heading back in and chilling out for the afternoon before heading back down Washington Avenue and dining at Sum Yum Gai for a great dinner before chilling out for a bit and then Russ drove me down to the BankAmerica ATM and I took out 10 tens before heading back across the street and spending my final night in town at Twist. I did not have high hopes for the night after the bad Friday and Saturday but after a slow warmup the DJ proceeded to kick the party up a notch and the music became downright drool worthy. I have not heard so many good songs played back to back in a very long time. All of the best of DJ Paulo and Peter Rauhofer and I was totally in sync with the beats and enjoyed myself for a solid 2 hours before finally leaving at 3am and heading back to street level and flagging down a taxi heading back uptown. 20 blocks later and I was out of my taxi and into the hot hotel room. Russ had left the window open to cool the place off but it was just noisy and humid. I was too tired to do anything but clean up and fall asleep and wait for daybreak.

At 8am the music came on around the pool so Russ closed the window and thankfully the noise was abated and the air in the room did not seem so stuffy once the window was closed. I guess they fixed the AC overnight. Anyway we were ready to go by 11 and after a quick drive downtown (Russ had to be reminded we had to fly out of Ft Lauderdale and not Miami) and we hightailed it on the highway HOV lane back to to the airport. We made it through rental return and airport security and to the italian eatery with the all caribbean staff and then we found out the flight was a little late. All that rushing back to the airport and the flight wasn't even boarding yet. We waited a bit in the airport reading novels and papers and then it when we got the all clear we were ready to board. We ate our italian food (penne and red sauce for me, a panini for Russ) and then had a pretty nice flight back to NYC. We retrieved our luggage and caught a pickup from Castle Car service and our driver Angel and we were back in Park Slope in no time. We returned to the house and the thoroughly and nicely preserved Thanksgiving meal that had been so thoughtfully prepared six days before and after 2:20 in the microwave was ready eat and oh so good to come home to.

The days of vacation were over but its back in NY. 3 Days to go to next weekend. Can't wait.

10/18 - 10/20 - All Today's Parties, All of the Friends you can Find.

Friday started earlier than usual. It was Dan's B'day at work so we all decided to go downstairs to the infamous Ole and have a few swigs to celebrate the date. Mon, Dan, Bruce, Candi, Tanya, Vilma, and even Terry made an appearance and we all got a few proper drinks before we had to head home. We chatted and chilled and generally had fun getting our own drinks at the bar (table service only to bring chips but no waiter for us) and talking about all kinds of health issues (staying young), wild mess news (lady in india with eye missiing after ant attack at hospital) and various other sundry issues until it was time to leave around 8pm. I made my way back upstairs for the brief goodnight and to make sure I was all computer shut down and then I hurried down the street to the PATH station and was able to just make the train back to NY. Mon thought that I was going to miss the train and was leaning out of the doors to see if I would make it (I did) and I triumphantly marched through the connecting doors and we rode the rest of the way to home via PATH and MTA trains. We discussed hospitals, books and music and looked forward to hanging again soon (December maybe?). I got upstairs and had my nice steak dinner from Jacks waiting (I have to tell Russ that my standing order should be changed to the pot roast. The steak is always undercooked but the pot roast was so fly the last time, must remember this). Anyway after dinner and making sure that all of CD burning issues (gifts to give) were all done I did my usual Friday ritual of the haircut, shower and wardrobe setup before making my living room entrance. Russ and the Jimmy were already hanging and watching basketball before I made my appearance. We reminisced on the fact that one year ago today we watched the infamous Pacers-Pistons brawl which led to many a suspension. We had seen the whole thing live and in living color and I still remember that final blow to the spectator who thought he could fight with 6+ basketball players on the b-ball court floor. (He got knocked the f*k out). We were leaving early however to make sure we got to the place in time, before senor Brett went off duty.

The ride into the city was very quick as the cold weather (below 40 degrees) seemed to be keeping the faint of heart in their homes. Once in the city however the total lack of wind meant that it actually felt kind of nice. We found a nice convenient parking space right on 18th Street and walked around the corner and right into Gym. Once past the new door security we waited patiently for the throngs to part and we got the Brett's attention. It seemed that all of the boys had turned out to wish him well. I gave him his gift CDs (all three, R&B, Pop and the new dance mix "FallsPeak") and we took pictures to commemorate the occasion and much celebration ensued. We hung out with Scott, DJ DeMarko and plenty more who had all turned out to wish the Brett well on his final night of bartending (best wishes on your new sales adventures). I also headed to the back to chat with DJ Smokey who traded CDs with me (I gave him the Pop CD and he gave me his Chill Out Mix) All was well with everyone and we even met a new buddy "Owen" who after our rocky first meeting (he told me after ordering his drink "But I'm not talking to you" when I gave the beginning of my running commentary after ordering drink. Through sheer persistence I broke through his chilly demeanor and I ended up pulling him into the flow of conversation with all of the entourages of Brett and I. Russ and the Jimmy finally had their fill of the bar at 1am and proceeded to come back and drag me away from the crowd. I said my goodnights and promised to drunk call Brett to give him my email address (I didn't, I just sent him an email) and with my newly retrieved Columbia wrap I headed outside and the three of us made our way to our next party destination. Lady Lisa was nice enough to have given us three passes to Krash so we decided to step the party up and head over to 22nd street. We found parking on 20th Street (across from Avalon) and made our way past the throngs of party girls having drunk people conversation and headed in the general direction we originally intended. The line was mercifully short and we made it inside in time for the search and cashier charged us only $8 each (Thank You Lisa) and we split up briefly (me to coatcheck and Russ and the Jimmy to the bar) and then quickly reunited to take the evening in the place in. The DJ to start our evening was none other than DJ Merritt, one of my favorite Roxy DJs who was keeping the feets moving and making sure we had a good time in the upstairs. Owen and I danced to some spanish music before I decided one merengue was enough and headed back upstairs. We said hello to Joseph and Duane whom we chatted with for a bit before heading back over to the bar. I didn't get hot enough to take off my shirt but I did dance with hands lit between the stage and the giant speaker box for one song and then later just as it was time to go the DJ Glenn Friscia put on Mariah and "We Belong Together" I went up on the tables on the side of the dance floor and found they were not as solid as they appeared. However, due to high alcohol content, ridiculously focused concentration and utter disregard (despite warnings for nearby seated patrons) for my own safety, I danced out the whole song jumping between the two end tables and spinning the lights in my hands in time with the music. It was almost with relief that I stepped down when the song was over and we said our good nights to the Jimmy and headed over to 5th avenue to pick up a taxi. The driver brought us back BK quickly and we were able make the trip back in no time. Friday Night, out like a light.

Saturday I awoke and began watching sports TV but eventually with the arrival of delivery breakfast (they forgot the bacon) I was able to enjoy my eggs and prepare for the rest of the day. Russ had to visit with his family up in Westchester so I decided to ride-along, listening to songs on the CD player and then once arrived I stayed in the car and caught up my reading (finally finished reading "Revelation Space" by Alistair Reynolds and began reading "Pretties" by Scott Westerfield. Very nice to read some readily accessible sci-fi after the first book took so long to get into. At least it ended well but a lot of the beginning of the book was kind of extraneous (sorry to say since it was a good book). After about an hour in the car I was re-joined by Russ and we headed back to BK and a scheduled visit with the gym. The place was a little more crowded than usual but then again I usually try to go to the gym in the slope as early as possible to avoid the crowds. I got through the workout with no issues and only 2 waits for machines. Workout taken care of it was back home to chill out and watch DVR programming. Finally around 8pm it was time to order dinner from Friends Cafe and enjoy a nice chicken caesar salad and prepared myself for the rest of the night. After the shower it was determined that the gift CDs, wallet, lights, and mints could not all fit into the new A/X pants (pockets not big enough, pants not loose enough with me in the pants too) so it was back to the standby black paramedic pants, along with the baby blue Russell Athletic football Jersey and I was all set to head out. Russ felt not fully recovered from the night before and we had no firm commitments from any other friends so it was out into the night by myself.

I walked down the street to the car service and within a few minutes I had my driver taking me into the city. He was a regular that I had ridden with before and he knew his way into the city with no stress, across the Manhat Bridge, across town on canal street and straight up the west side. He let me out on the corner of 18th street and I crossed over and got onto the short line in front of Roxy. A hello to doorman Derek, an ID scan by the security guy and then it was inside for me and onto the cashier and coat check. I walked up to the front bar but immediately noted the absence of Barker and Matt so after saying hi to a few friends I headed to the back bar where my boys were holding court. I handed over the gift CDs (even gave a third gift CD to their fellow bartender when I could not find another to appreciate the "Pop to the Beat" Rock/ Pop compilation I knew my usual bartenders would appreciate. But onto the music I myself was very happy with the mixing by DJ Manny Lehman who appears to have gotten the upbeat and in tune playlist down pat as I was shirtless by 1:05 and had hands lit by 1:15. I started off dancing in the asian section speaker to Rihanna and later on returned to the speaker again for Jamie J Sanchez and the percussion mix of "Stroke". It happens to be one of Manny's favorites from his very own double CD set but it is a not so oldie and a goodie. I said hello to the few of my friends that were in attendance including Stephanie, who was making a visit since she was in town (sans the silver sneakers) and we said our hellos as we hung out near the back bar. I also said hello to Shawn and Rick who were there at the back to get drinks from Barker also. I also said hello to Owen Hawk who was hanging out at the back bar with his friends and waiting for the live show to start in support of his friends. Around 2am I was on a speaker next to the stage awaiting the live show that was supposed to happen moving my shoulders to Mariah Carey as I waited for the lights to shift on to light up the stage. When the lights did come on I found it was bad lighting to take a picture so I ended up taking a pic with the Safefy flash (time lapse) and then just recording as a movie. The show was the usual dancing in as little as possible for blue movie actors Matthew Rush and real life steady Ethan Kage. After that was over I returned to the back bar to get a drink and spent most of the night alternating between Red Bull, bottle waters given to me by Barker and the usual drinks of Red bull and Mandarin. The back bar had run out of soda so my drink was one of the few that could be assembled with no problem with no seltzer or soda from the dispensers (just the bottles of juice, bottled bear, bottled water and red bull). I will mark the night down as a success as I stayed and partied until I ran out of steam around 4:15 and decided to leave before I came to a complete stop. I did get to take a souvenir pic of Barker and Matt before I left (esp. since with vaca ahead I was not going to see them for like 2 weeks). I retrieved my coat and was outside to pick up a taxi before I realized my light on my calf was still turned on so I clicked that off before crossing the street (maybe safer with the light on?) but since Matthew and Ethan were in the middle of the street trying to get a car unsuccessfully I was not even going to attempt a pick up on 10th ave. Of course as soon as I get across the street I stop for a moment and watch the fight on the street that included 1 drunk girl, 2 drunk guys, a sober guy vs. a foreign dark haired drunk guy who at the end of the fight was knocked down in the street and told to keep walking. I like how the police say they have increased police presence on the street around 4am and yet people can fight in the middle of the street and not a cop can be seen for blocks and blocks. Anyway I continued down to 9th Ave and was able to flag down a car for myself and the two boys waiting next to me (we actually got 3 cars but released one of them out the goodness of my heart). My driver happily acquiesced to take me to BK and I was returned to my own familiar environs without too much trouble. One $16.40 dollar cab ride later I was home and happy to be able to turn in one happy party person. Nice.

Sunday I awoke nice and late. Russ had already eaten breakfast so there was no rush but eventually it was time to head out of the house and pick up a meal in downtown BK. We ended up going to the White Castle and I decided to try one of the new Roman burgers (with a tomato, supposed to be nice on a burger but not when the tomato is overripe and nasty) Thank goodness I also got 2 double cheeses and a bacon burger. I did not have to go hungry but I did have to throw out that Roman burger after one bite. We returned to the house to eat but after watching some television it was time to to go grocery shopping. There were no 2 liter coca cola in stock but they did have the orange juice, milk, cereal and dinner fixings. Back in the house shortly after 7, dinner was underway by 7:30 and I was relaxing watching football and then the fox block. Dinner was finished by 8:45 and we dug into the baked chicken breasts, stuffing, garlic rice and niblets corn like it was going out of style. Very good chicken and then it was on to more TV and the decompress that is Sunday night. After watching plenty of TV including "Curbed" and "Boondocks" which left the night on a high note. I indulged myself in a nice treat of Trix and milk before watching some DVR cartoons and turning myself in for bed.

We await the time off for next week and the warmer weather down south. Let's keep it hot (or as hot as we can stand it).

10/10-10/13 - Put the Weekend on da Replay.

This week ended early. With Veteran's Day on Friday we only had to work until Thursday before getting the release of going home to enjoy the weekend. I got home to a nice italian dinner ordered from Friends, an order of Penne a la Vodka topped with grilled chicken. Russ was staying in for the evening so when it was late enough (11:50pm) I journeyed down the street to the car service and began the trip into the city. For some reason my driver felt it was his duty to tell me that all of the problems in the world could be traced back to Jewish people. From the tumult in the middle east to the fact that jews were buying all of the real estate in Brooklyn. It is truly sad when people spout blind rhetoric that has truly hateful roots to it. I actually had to tell the driver that two of the newest large real estate acquisitions in Manhattan were by Arab investors purchasing buildings in midtown. I just mm-hmmed and interjected when necessary and got to where I was going. I let the driver drop me off at 14th street and 6th Ave (watched some poor girl trying to flag down a taxi for herself and a friend as the friend was held up by pizza place employee as she let loose her dinner in the street). I avoided such issues by spacing out my drinks (never out of control before midnight) and picking up some Tums on 14th before heading up a few blocks to 17th street. I didn't want the food repeating on me and then getting infiltrated by the alcohol. Ray met me at the door and gave me a wristband (it was college night tonight at Splash). And then I was inside and downstairs at the coat check. After checking my wrap and picking up a drink at the downstairs bar from a new bartender (wearing gym shorts and baseball socks) I headed upstairs to the main floor. To start off the evening it appeared to be kind of depressing, a very lackluster crowd, music was unfocused. But as we approached 1am and later the crowd began to build and the music got better. The fat boy in red gym shorts, white tee and no shoes finally left the stage for good and DJ Billy Carroll started to pick up the pace with familiar but faster paced than usual lyrics and beats. It was too cool to go out for bottled water after I had entered and I had also forgot to bring Altoids with me so I ended up getting a minty shot after 2 drinks. I danced on the stage twice and only had my hands lit once but nothing truly inspired or energetic but it was good enough the keep the crowd into it. I stayed until 3am after one more drink and after making sure I had thanked the DJ in person when he came down to the bar to get some drinks for his entourage. After retrieving my coat from the coat check I headed outside and got into the waiting taxi in front of the space to take me back to BK. After writing down the trip start point and then headed downtown I was able to lay back and listen to my ipod and wait to arrive back in the slope. The driver made all the right turns and listened to direction well and I was back at home in short order. As I arrived home I wished the cab driver well and headed upstairs to go to sleep. The weekend started early but well.

Friday was mostly spent watching DVDs and DVR programming. Finally saw XXX-State of the Union with Ice Cube. The movie was definitely entertaining and had a lot more entertainment value than the first one. The stunts in the first one were a bit over the top. The sequel had stunts that were still outlandish but at least were within reason, as things anybody would do in the same situation and not only the extreme sports fan. We also watched Unleashed with Jet Li and were surprised that the movie was very good and was both funny and very watchable even in the slow parts. Lunch was picked up from the Italian sandwich shop on 7th Avenue but the sandwich had too much bread to eat more than half of it. The rest of the day passed pretty uneventfully until Russ had to go and get someone out of police custody (evening arraignments on a court holiday). I decided to do the ride along, listening to my newest R&B mix (Beats of the City) and just hanging out in the car until Russ returned for the dinner break. We headed uptown and to the west side and did a short parking spot search before parking on 24th street and walking back over to Dallas BBQ. There was a bit of a crowd inside at 9pm on a holiday Friday night but the wait was only 15 min for two people. We passed the time commenting on the other diners and staying out of the way of the fast moving wait staff, fully laden down with food of all kinds. We heard our table called for before too long and we were seated and ordering our food soon after. We had a great meal, I had the ribs and chicken combo myself and Russ had the Shrimp and chicken combo. The food was good as could be expected but I stayed away from the texas size drinks myself for this eve in preparation for later. We left BBQ to head back down to the court for Russ to finish his representation but I stayed in the car, read some my latest Sci-Fi Novel "Revelation Space" and listened to a greatest hits selection of some of my CDs on the booming car stereo. We were finally finished with court around 11:50 but it was too late to do much else besides return to BK and spend the rest of the night messing with CDs and watching DVR programming. I finally turned in around 3:30am and bid goodnight to my Friday Night.

Saturday I got up to prepare myself for the rest of the day and despite just having vitamins and milk before heading out to the gym the workout went well. I only had to wait for machines twice and the people were not too mean to move on after they had finished with the machines. After the workout was over and I headed back to the house and made myself a chicken sandwich. The chicken was leftover but oh so good and while munching we watched "The Warriors" on DVD. The movie was good but Russ had it turned off halfway through the pic so he could catch some rest. I went ahead and moved on to more music mixing and watching DVR programming before it was time to order dinner. Jack's Fifth Avenue delivered a great Pot Roast and veggies and mashed that was all good for dinner time. I made sure to have some copies of my newest R&B mix to take with me to the club for gift CDs and then it was time to clean up to get ready to head out. I did the haircut, shave, shower and all things necessary for a night out. The Jimmy arrived at 10:40pm and we all hung out for a bit and chatted seeing as we had not all been together for a hangout for about a month. We were all set and ready and headed out at about 11:04pm.

The drive into the city was quick as we decided to take the Manhattan Bridge and cross town at canal street. The trip up the west side was quick but we found no parking spots in the usual places. We ended up looping back all the way from 23rd street back down to 15th street before finding a nice two spaces right between West Street and 10th Ave right on 15th. We verified the spot was legal and then headed up the street and inside. Once again we went through the ID scanner at the front door but even with the new ID fresh from the DMV (nice hologram) it was a quick once over and we were quickly headed into Roxy. After cashier and coat check we were inside the place and giving it the once over. Barman Barker and Matt were both at the back bar so I hung out in back for Barker's return from the offices before I got my first drinks. The DJ for the eve was DJ Paulo who seemed somehow bigger (more worked out) than I remember. Somehow I remember how the DJ fills the dimensions of the DJ booth and realized he must be a big dude. Anyway the party was underway by 12:35 and I found myself up on the speaker for my first dance appearance at 12:45. The music was just on point, energetic and a lot more vocal than I expected. I decided I wasn't going to light my hands until after 1am but ended up dancing the one set past 1am and totally getting overheated during the remix of Rihanna and "Pon de Replay" which I was just happy to hear as it is on my next full length peak hour dance mix. Anyway I was happy with the music all the way through the night, so much so that I actually had to walk outside to cool off not once, or twice but three times. All the way down the back stairs to the outside smoking area (only once to retrieve Russ and The Jimmy) and even started talking to the security guy (dressed in his fur collared overcoat) and told him I was just enjoying myself so much which is why I needed to head outside to cool off at different spots during the night. As the eve progressed I said hello to Erica and her entourage, talked to Bob H who told us he had done another comedy show in which he totally nailed the performance and got much accolades. Me myself I just took the time to go up onto the stage and dance a little in front of the light guy and the DJ, right behind my friends Erica and my fellow speaker dancer (the one with the baseball cap) I always forget his name but I danced behind them for that once dance but returned later on to light up the stage once again. We ended up staying until almost 4:30am and even returned to the back bar to say goodnight to Matt and Barker. They both enjoyed the CDs as Matt gets to listen to them on his drives back from Philly every weekend. Once outside there were no taxis to be found on 10th ave but once over to 9th ave we were easily able to flag down a ride and head back to Bklyn. The ride back was nice and quick and we were able to get back to BK pretty quickly and even find a sheet from the NY Post for the lines for the games on Sunday. Once upstairs and in the house I was still feeling the munchies (dinner was like 9 hours before) and I decided to make myself a chicken sandwich. Even though I was in no condition to be slicing chicken breast I found myself visualizing doing myself some damage and then not a minute later I went ahead and hit my finger a glancing blow with the knife. At first I thought I just brushed the skin but of course those darn Sabatier knives had dealt me a nice cut on my left index finger. A few well placed slices later the chicken sandwich was made (Russ decided to make himself a PBJ sandwich, totally foregoing the chicken altogether) The sandwich was good and I was able to decompress and head to bed satisfied both mind and body.

Sunday I awoke to delivery breakfast and after finishing up the viewing of "The Warriors" on DVD and the special bonus features it was on to watching football. I split my time between the TV in the living room and the computer in the office making CDs and making sure I was prepared to head out to our dinner invitation. Moms had invited me out to dinner out in Staten and I was able to premiere the new CD Mix "Pop to the Beat". My last mix was all about the Rap/R&B and the new CD was all Pop/Rock and just as good. Unfortunately the storage facility as closed so I was not able to pick up my mothers PC before heading over to the house but of course she was still happy to see me. The house was mad heated from the oven and stove and I opted to open the front door to let the heat out. Ian, Iana and Gigi were all there as well. Ana had stayed home to take care of her sick baby daddy and we while we did miss the sis we were happy to be able to dig into the nice spread of Cornish Hens, macaroni and cheese, stuffing and collared greens. After dinner I let my clock wind down and I napped through some of the football games playing on TV until it was time to make the trip back to BK. We let Gigi come outside to take advantage of our better parking space and bid good night to all before getting on the road again. On the way back we opted to head over Mickey Ds for the dessert while it was still sooner than later and we picked up the Mcflurries before heading back into the house. I watched the Fox block, DVRd "Curbed" and "Boondocks" and prepared for bed. The night wound down in the usual Sunday fashion and I was ready to turn in before it got too late (around 1am)

Another great weekend, a lot of work done on the PC and with my music and plenty to look forward to in the coming week(s). Always a good thing.