For those who've been waiting for details,......
SO…..!
Some of you have been wondering aloud (see, I really DO read my blog!) about whatinnaHELL went on/down/etc. recently whilst I was in New York. A good and apt question!
Simply put, I feel it is a beginning to The Next Phase of my life. Especially musically.
And I don't say that lightly - I come to that conclusion after a LOT of thinking and discussions and other stuff (hell, I almost felt like going as far as divining some goat entrails but discarded that - way too messy).
(Everyone reading here leans closer to the screen and practically [or, literally] YELLS at it, "SCREW the philosophical crap you jerk!!! TELL US WHAT HAPPENED, DAMMIT!!!")
So, yeah. Okay. Details.
Wednesday night at Ab 4th was a LOT of fun, even without their (now-discontinued) regular karaoke. Many wonderful people showed up, some whom I'd met before, others, not. This time around, much probing and pointed conversation was going on all around the space where we were. I think the martinis helped loosen tongues a bit, but that was completely okay. It was a very fun evening, ESPECIALLY factoring in the Nanook-of-the-North struggles some of us had to take just to get there from the nearest subway exit on Christopher Street!!!! It's been awhile since I've had to crawl over tall ice-encrusted snowdrifts. I've got plenty of amusing pictures, too. =;>)=
Thursday we had another great night out at Dinosaur BBQ up in Harlem (right on 12th Avenue and 131st Street, next to Riverside Drive - if any of you get the chance to visit it the next time you go to NYC, I HIGHLY recommend it, BUT----!!! Get a reservation FIRST. Otherwise, you may wait as long as 2 hours before getting a seat!!! It's THAT popular. This night, there were a few attendees from the previous night, and several others who were "new". The food and conversation flowed like water (not too many people had booze with their meal, which was totally fine). After that, I left when the rest of the group did to travel back downtown to the East Village, to a tiki bar known as Waikiki Wally's on East 2nd - some of my friends (a few of whom I've "known" virtually through the internet for 7 years) who are part of the web-radio station Luxuriamusic.com (which I've been supporting spiritually and financially for several years myself) who are part of the whole New York area Lux-contingent were going to be all in one place at the same time, so I was NOT going to miss out on a chance like this! Once again, like the previous night, the liquor flowed like water and most of us were appropriately tiddly by the time it was time to call it a night.
The one big difference this evening was this: My friend Anita Serwacki (& her husband Joe, one of the head loonies at The Onion) were not keen on my idea of taking the subway back to the YMCA in Brooklyn where I was staying, especially since it was around 1:30 or so, plus the wind had come up, the wind-chill was BRUTAL, etc. etc. etc. They prevailed on me to get in the cab with them instead of heading for a subway station; on the way over to Brooklyn, Anita basically rejected my plan to have the cabbie drop me off at my place, instead INSISTING that I would come home with them because they had a spare bedroom and (knowing my fondness) FOUR cats. So, basically, I agreed - and I'm glad I did, because not only did I get a "good-night beer" out of it and stay up for another two hours blabbering with Anita, I also made friends with all their cats (2 of whom spent the night with me on the bed).
In the morning, I got up, broke my fast with them, and took the subway back to the Y. I took a short nap, then changed and went into downtown to catch the opening day's showing of 'Ghost Rider' (which I and several NFCS-ers helped record the soundtrack of). I was going to catch the 7:30 showing, but that one and the 9:30 were already sold out by the time I got to the Lowe's 13 on 42nd Street near Times Square, so I opted to have a short but filling dinner at the Pax Café just a few doors down and catch the 7:00 show. That worked out fabulously.
The film is a VERY fun and MOVING one (to me, anyway, due to some of the aspects of the storytelling including the love story angle, plus the line Nick Cage repeats many times over, "You can't live in fear", something I truly believe myself). If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend catching it. Even paying the Noo Yawk price of $11 bucks (ow) didn't really hurt (ouch) all that much (ooh). Plus, actually HEARING my own voice come thundering out of the wonderful sound system in the theater didn't hurt none, either. That had me VERY teary, several times. It's an experience I won't soon forget.
Then Saturday night, GypsyGirl1974 (whose real name is Nadine, for those who don't know) had set up reservations for dinner at the Manhattan Ruth's Chris Steak House on West 51st (they aren't out in Berlin, and this is one of her favorite places to eat whenever she comes to the States). I hadn't been to Ruth's in awhile (and never before in NYC), so this was a decided posh treat for both of us. We took a cab from Valkyrie NYC's place up on Broadway down to the general vicinity, and walked a couple blocks among the semi-melted slush and ice patches; we were both dressed for A Night On The Town (I was all in black with seriously creased pleated trousers and a serious turtleneck - and of course, both were black; she was in a lovely opaque mesh dress with interesting velveteen patches all over it and some new stiletto-heels - and yes, she WAS hot).
We were both glad she'd made rezzies, because the place was PACKED; after we had put our coats and my hat in the coatcheck room (such a wonderful tradition!) they told us things were running behind, so would we mind waiting in the bar? Not at all, we said! Even though that was packed, too (not even an empty chair nor decent little space at the bar to stand at!), we noticed a small table where a 4some was about to leave, so we hovered close by until they left, and presto - seats! Our barroom waiter was a very attentive young guy (I think we tipped him VERY well, because he deserved it). We were going to just order something to drink when he asked if we wanted to hear the specials (we did). He only got to the second one and it was a done deal - two house mojitos, por favor! Just the perfect thing. These were not exactly as good as, say, those which I sampled in Miami last year, but still, they were pretty damn close.
So, we sat there in this quintessential New York-style piano bar (the pianist played all sorts of classic Broadway show tunes and jazz ballads, the crowd murmured, glasses tinkled,….. it was a real movie-esque kind of thing). We talked and talked and talked and….. talked! A charming, dangerously refreshing conversationalist, this lady is - I was entertained and enthralled.
By the time we were nearly done with our SECOND mojito, however, we were beginning to wonder how much longer we'd have to wait (see, they just said they were running behind, they didn't say HOW much behind!). Luckily, when we asked our waiter, he came back and said they were JUST about to call our names - and the hostess was right behind him, so we were whisked off to the dining room.
We were thinking about maybe having an appetizer, but…. Nah!!!
We were there for THE MEAT. (And the garlic mashed potatoes and creamed spinach, too. OH yeah.)
So she had the filet mignon with shrimp (dang, those were tasty!), and I had the Noo Yawk Strip Steak and a glass of Knob Creek. Ooooooooooooo……………hhhh!!! YUMMayyyyyhhhh. For dessert, I went with the rest of my bourbon and an order of raspberry sorbet (VERY smooth and dense), and she had the crème brulée (which we shared, 'cuz that was a BIG sucker). Needless to say, we were two VERY full, very happy people when we left there. We took a cab back uptown where she was staying (because it was still only like about midnight or so - heck, that's early! - and Philine and Diana her roommate were still up).
We then went inside for several hours of fun conversation with the other ladies; at one point, Philine made a KILLER pear martini (with her pear-flavored Absolut vodka and some fresh pears she pureed). After that, the conversation kind of….. drifted ….. into…… the…… um,…… Erotic Zone……
(Gee. Wonder why? *shrug*)
I found myself discussing, among other things (in highly detailed, graphic terms), the benefits of vaginal and anal lubricants, and whether or not it was true men could change the taste of their semen to something more-palatable (than "warm salty jell-o" as one lady put it) by eating "a lot of fruit" (well, it CAN be done, but… it takes time).
Again, when it was time to break up for the evening I was prepared to go and walk about 5 blocks south to catch a train back to Brooklyn, and yet again, I was…
O v e r r u l e d.
sigh….
=X>)=
So it was the couch for me.
All in all, I had almost more fun, more food, more booze, and…. fun than anyone deserves a right to.
But I went to enjoy myself, and I certainly did.
I am glad I went.
There, izzat enuf deets for ya????
=>;>)=