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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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