Pride Weekend recounted (Part 2 of 2)

Yeah yeah, it's 2 days past Pride and most people don't care anymore. I'd meant to finish this yesterday to be somewhat timely but I didn't. So now, here is the conclusion of my Pride weekend.

Adventures in Automobiling with Frank
I'd awakened around 11:30PM on Sunday evening. I'd slept hard and was refreshed to face the morning. I started preparing. Frank had agreed to pick me up at 1:00AM. Showered, primped, primed and ready, I was downstairs when Frank pulled up at 1:15.

We headed directly into the city, no fiasco as last week or so I thought. It dawned on Frank, "Tomorrow's Monday. Where am I going to park the car?" Things went downhill for awhile from there as I had to endure Frank's insane driving for the next hour plus. Several times I'd said, "Put it in a lot, I'll pay." but Frank stubbornly didn't listen. We traversed all around Chelsea, down in to the West Village and into the East Village. No parking. None. Nada. Zilch. So what did we do? We put it in a lot in 10th Avenue. I truly don't understand his mentality. It didn't bother me a great deal. We weren't rushing to the club. Turns out, Frank's stubborn nature was a blessing in disguise.

Disclaimer for Richard - Do not read the following. I don't want you to hate me as it contains an account of a night out clubbing and will involve glowing remarks about DJ(s) and the music she/he played. No apologies here.

We'd arrived at Spirit at 2:45-3. Walking in, the club was empty, aside from the 20 people or so that were already there. I was flummoxed. This didn't bode well and boded a lot worse than I'd anticipated. I can't have imagined if Spirit did open at 11, if anyone was here.

I waited for Frank's comments. "We should have gone to Alegria!" he said. I shrugged, I didn't care. It was about that time that Tracy Young took the decks and proceeded to rock the room. This, I did not anticipate either. She quickly took us on a musical journey of her own and it was an absolute blast. Frank and I were both shocked. Some nice dark beats and none of the circuit fodder I initially expected from Tracy, a genuine surprise.

The club filled slowly. Then around 6-7AM, the club filled fast and almost to capacity. Junior had somewhere along the line taken over and continued to rock the room and push the crowd into a greater dance frenzy. Junior was an absolute treat this party. He was mixing, blending and throwing some serious, serious energy out with his music. It was indescribable. I knew I'd made the right decision to come here.

I'd watched my "deadline" come and go, without a thought. I wasn't making it to work today.

I ran into a few club friends and made some of new friends. There were these two boys, whom I thought were conspicuously dancing around me. One was "eh" but the other wore glasses and bookishly cute. Really cute. I'd had a chance to talk with them in the smoking area. They were from out of town, French to be precise, visiting for Pride. the cute one was Stefan (mmmmm Stefan). We chatted for a bit and parted. Ironically, when I looked for and found Frank, he was talking to them. So Frank and I ended up hanging with them. They soon left. Sigh. C'est la vie.

Frank, I could tell, had this look about him. Pretty soon, it was "I'm done." I let him leave around maybe 12-1. I stayed dancing and hanging. No more cute boys to talk to... except for the stalking crystal queens. Yuck. I'd left at 3:00PM, tired and contented.

That night certainly made up for my lackluster Pride and I have the swollen ankle to prove it. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

Pride Weekend recounted (Part 1 of 2)

It's been a few days since my last post. I've got some catching up to do.

Pride weekend 2005 wasn't the whirlwind weekend I usually line up for myself. Former roommate and BFs cousin scheduled the christening of her newborn daughter for Sunday. Also hampered by my sprained ankle, I had little hope that the celebrations would be satisfying and rewarding. Sigh.

Saturday, I hit Riis Beach in Rockaway. It was a nice drive but I was annoyed with the driver of the Lexus in front of me that felt he had no obligation to signal any of the turns he was making. Lazy ass. Onward, I met up with friendgirls A and M. We hung out, chatted and walked in to the water. The coolness of the water felt good on my ankle but the pounding surf pushed me around too much. I pushed my ankle to quickly and made it sore again. Dang.

Upon getting home and icing my ankle, I re-evaluated my Pride agenda. That evening, I had hoped to meet up with Diego for some Pride-centric drinking. Much to my regret, I called him to say, that I wouldn't be able to make it. He said he'd be back in the city another time and we'd meet up then. I wonder if he remembers speaking to me since he sounded drunk on sake?

I'd begun to seriously doubt if I'd be going to Junior's party at Spirit. I'd called my manager to say if it was okay for me to go into work on Monday (I'd scheduled to be off), as it seemed my plans were falling through. Rather than have a mediocre and painful time, I'd eat the $50+ ticket and not lose a day of pay. Believe me, I didn't think I'd be missing much. Junior was "eh" the last time I heard him. I'd mentioned that I may miss the party to Friend Frank and he was upset. It was I who'd told him to get a ticket for Junior and he was going to hold me to attending, even if it was for a little while.

Saturday Night = BUST!

Sunday was a gloriously hot, perfect day for a parade and pier dance, neither of which I was going to. The BF and I drove up to Westchester with the In-Law, BFs mother for AE's christening. It was a nice affair. Nothing traumatic/dramatic to speak of, a gathering of family and friends for a blessed occasion. First, we stopped by A and S's house before heading to the church and then to the reception. The reception had plenty of food and drink but every one was a little bit ornery. The room we were in, didn't have the greatest circulation. The air was hot and stagnate.

This made the In-Law *start sarcasm* an extreme pleasure *end sarcasm* to drive home. I'd also been bamboozled into driving home. BF drove there but drunk himself silly at the reception. Pulling the car up, In-Law yanked on the passenger door with all her strength (not once, not twice but three times) before I had a chance to unlock it, letting her in. This did not sit well with me. I heard my inside voice start to say "Did you break my door handle?" and before I knew it, I was saying it. BF was shocked but uncertain of what I said. In-Law didn't hear clearly either and thought I said she closed the door too hard. I let the subject drop. BF confirmed later what I said as soon as his mother was out of the car.

Door slam.
What was that thing about the door you said?

Enroute home, we drove through the city down the West Side. Robocub had sent a text saying he was at the Pier Dance. Traffic was heavy coming down to 14th Street and Christopher Street which made the trip laborious. True, we could have found a faster way, but I'd wanted to drive by the Pier Dance to take a peek even if it was at 25mph. We rolled down the windows for a moment to hear the music. Dang. I wish I could have gone.

Upon getting home, I immediate went to bed for a disco nap. I wanted to get to the party as early as possible with the thought of leaving as early as possible, if I decided to work. It was a restful nap, largely because I wasn't excited/anxious about going out. I wish I could do that all time. The night was laid out before me in my mind, but things have a way of changing.

PS: Again, not a JMG ending but an intermission for my reader(s).

Cue intermission music.

"Tall and tan and young and lovely, The girl from Ipanema goes walking, And when she passes each one she passes goes "a-a-ah!"

I'd much rather be dancing.

In my boredom, I decided to do something geeky and cool. I extended my wireless network to the front of the house with my Airport Express, which I'd been sadly underusing. As I write, I'm sitting on the front stoop, tapping away.



It's a nice night for it. The air is breezy and cool as I watch the cars whiz by on the street. Being a main thoroughfare, there are so many cars making the corner pretty notorious for traffic accidents. With all the cars, who needs a radio? Queen's "Radio Ga Ga", heard from a bright yellow Dodge Ram pick-up.

Gotta love summer in Brooklyn.

On my forced hiatus, I've responsibly reported home to continue resting my injured ankle. Truth be told, it's 100% better than it was yesterday which makes me a little nervous. How is it possible that my ankle is near pain-free? I'd gone the day without pain killers yesterday but today I'd popped three Tylenol® before heading out to work. It makes me question how much pain is being masked? or rather in Tylenol's case, how much higher has it elevated my pain threshold? The Tylenol is moot at this point, seeing as I'd taken it this morning and it's well past it's pain coverage time. It could be that I didn't hurt myself nearly as badly as I thought or I've wonderfully developed a mutant healing factor for which I'd say, "Why's it taking so long?"

Regardless, I'm not doing anything to aggravate my ankle or set back the healing progress. That is until Sunday night.



Which reminds me,
Happy Pride to all my brothers and sisters.

Be safe, be proud and be well.

Hobbling.

I twisted my left ankle last night, badly. Today, I'm limping around. Every time I stop, it stiffens up. It then takes about ten steps to reacquaint myself with the pain and get moving again.

This is what I get for being distracted when walking down the steps into friend O's apartment. It was a Bugs Bunny moment. One second I'm up, next I'm on my ass. If only I hadn't studied gravity.

Pain.

It didn't stop us from carrying on with our plans, to grab drinks. I managed to motor over to "g" from Union Square Park. Pain. We had a quick drink but O wanted to check out Secret on 29th between 10th and 11th. So we hoofed on over there. Pain. Secret is a cool space. It's the new bar from the owner's of Hell, formerly down in the meatpacking district. Secret is off the beaten path. We nearly missed it. It was empty when we arrived, but then it was only 8:30, way too early for the city crowd. Pain. We had a few more drinks there as the bartender, Enrique, chatted with us and gave us a shot. He had a shot as well, I told him I wouldn't do it unless he did. It was a lemon drop. Shudder. I don't think he made it right but it made me feel fuzzy. Pain. Enrique was cool and cute. I'll be back at Secret again.

Lastly, O dragged me along to glass on 10th Ave where P was having a cocktail party. Pain. I grabbed another drink and before I could finish it, I'd concluded the pain was too much to bear. O felt badly but asked if he'd be a bad friend if he didn't go back with me to his apartment so I could collect my bags. "No," I said. I felt foolish for having hurt myself anyhow. I hopped into a cab and headed back. O's BF was at the apartment. I chatted, he inspected the swelling on my ankle, I promised not to sue and I went home.

Pain.

Boobs, Three Fingers In, Haiku, Bathhouses… oh and gay sex.

Last night, in recognition of Gay Pride, WYSIWYG Talent Show at P.S. 122 June installment gave us "I Love a Parade! Even Gayer Tales of Extremely Gay Gayness." It was a raucously good time.

Six gay bloggers recounted stories of sexual realization, coming out, exploration, maturation and sex, good old, down and dirty, balls to the wall sex. It was all about the GAY, man-on-man, woman-on-woman and the one off gay man-on-gay woman, thanks to a magically "filtered" cup of coffee.

Blog pal, Joe read again last night and did a fantastic job in keeping the audience rolling. He worried that he'd be too dirty but the girls one upped him on that. Tsk tsk, next time, no holds barred Joe.

This was my third WYSIWYG and most enjoyable thus far. I'm certain I'll be attending more. Seems I dodged a bullet by missing the last WYSIWYG after which they deemed it necessary to install a timer. While the timer went off, fortunately, nobody had any qualms at allowing the readers to continue. Good times.

Jaunt over to WYSIWYG for links to all the performers' blogs.

Every NYer should also check out Andy Horowitz at andyformayor.org. Read what he's got to say and decide for yourself.

Afterwards, it was the Phoenix for a few beers as did a lot of the WYSIWYG audience and performers. Originally, it'd been only our immediate blog circle going to the Phoenix but the whole WYSIWYG crowd was more than welcome. Especially since everyone was pretty queer. It was great everyone showed face. I was joined by Dagon, his friend Jason, Eddie and Joe. I sat next to Jase during WYSIWYG but he played responsible and headed home. Maybe next time.

Our little crew left Phoenix around midnight. I headed home and they headed to Nowhere Bar for "Big Lug."

It was a thoroughly good night.

WYSIWYG

It's that time of the month again. WYSIWYG is tonight and it promises to be a good one. If you haven't gotten your tickets now, you're SOL.

Don't get me wrong…

…I love Friend Frank. Well, not the driving part, he's just nuts. I'm "Driving Miss Daisy" compared to his "Fast and Furious." I prefer to be "late evilBuddha" as opposed to "THE late evilBuddha." I thoroughly enjoy it when Frank and I go out. As I think about it, I was feeling needy this weekend, that's why I was bitching. Coming down on Saturday morning got me mentally twisted. Usually I'm okay with Frank doing his own thing but I was lazy and didn't feel like "working" so hard to entertain myself. I'm a Leo, I require a fair amount of attention but I'm pretty self-sufficient in terms of finding gratification.

For those that read my last two posts, Thanks. I'm a wordy son of a bitch. I nearly lost patience writing them after the first one.

Can't always have it all (Part 2 of 2)

I'd had one my worst club experiences to date. Friend Frank inconsiderately made me wait too long, putting me into a bad mood to start the night. I had to suffer a foul odor wafting through the club and I'd lashed back at the asian mosh pit. Lastly, I was prematurely ejected, as was everyone else, from Spirit. I never got my dance on. I was more than beside myself.

I'd suggested going to Discotheque, even if it was for an hour. Frank refused. I wasn't in any mood to argue.

We had a long drive ahead to Fire Island but it wasn't time to wake Frank's friend who'd be riding with us. Neither of us was in any condition to drive.

The outlook was bleak.

We collected the car near the club and drove down into the Chelsea, parking and hanging out like vagabonds. It was surreal as we watched other clubbers meandering around. Some knocked on the car window, to acknowledge us, which I found odd.

"Call E and see if we can crash at her place for a bit." I said. So we did. E was cool, kind and patient. She packed while I collapsed on her floor. Her roommate was accommodating too. I wasn't too clear headed, but I believe he held onto my handshake a bit longer than necessary.

After Frank and E grabbed a cup of coffee, we were on our way. I'd thought E would drive but Frank was driving. I sat in the back seat, just trying to relax. If Frank drove like a maniac "straight", he drove like a mad man not. In the back seat, I was imagining the crushing of my body and of bones breaking. Not good. Fortunately he's a confident and capable driver and we made it to the Sayville ferry in an hour or so, in time for the 9:30AM ferry.

I swear, I'll never put myself in that position again.

An inauspicious beginning to the weekend.

Fire Island

We went directly to the house at Cherry Grove. All I tried to do was relax again. It was a nice day, far to breezy for the beach. I stayed on the deck, taking the sun and going inside when it got too cool.

Later, stopping first to see E at the Tides in Cherry, we headed over to the Pines for Low Tea around 6PM. We jumped right into the crowd and found some of Frank's friends, which have become my own. Plenty of eye candy with lots of handsome men and cute boys there, perhaps I turned a head or two. Hey, one can wish. I grabbed a few beers for myself and few drinks for the others, dancing for a few songs. Frank disappeared. Figures. I was content with dancing with the men, some being very friendly, some just dancing alongside and brushing as they do. Say hi. I won't bite, unless you want me too.

From Low Tea, it was on to High Tea where I ran into more friends, M and Trevor (mmmmm Trevor). I stayed there for a bit and one more beer. More handsome men appeared. Some friendlies as I had one Brazilian man grab hold of me as he asked my name. Presumptuous of me but he was wearing a Brasil football shirt. Pretty forward. By 9PM, it was time to make my way back to Cherry Grove. I'd had a great time at Tea. I walked along the beach and avoided the Meat Rack. It was a beautiful night, as the moon glistened on the water. I love being on the beach at night.

Arriving back at the house, Frank was nowhere to be found. I rested again and ate with his housemate, also a friend of mine, his guest and his guest's friends. Frank strolled in and laid on the couch to sleep. I eventually retired to close my eyes and hoped to finally get some sleep. I'd made an unspoken deal with myself, that if I managed to fall asleep, I would not be going back out again to the Pines and the Pavilion.

Frank reawakened at 1:00AM and woke me too. I'd managed to sleep and true to my word said, "I'm not going." Frank went out alone and I happily went back to bed.

It was a restful night of sleep. I awoke when Frank returned home at 8:30. I cleaned up and grabbed a bite to eat while Frank slept, of course, I was a prisoner to his schedule again. He got up and wanted to hit the beach and I wasn't so inclined. However, he found some friends and walked over to the Pines. Our departure at 3 had now turned to 4. Repeat after me, NEVER AGAIN. Well... maybe again... just not with Frank and his car.

Frank did not fail to be the crazy driver he was. The ride home was again fast even though he missed a few turns, but it worked out since he managed to bypass all the traffic hotspots.

Not quite the exciting fun filled weekend I'd hoped for but all-in-all, a relaxing weekend even if I had to deal with Frank's nonsense.

Can't always have it all (Part 1 of 2)

I had high hopes for this weekend. It was to begin with Steve Lawler at Spirit and complete with a weekend in Fire Island. Fun, sun and plenty of dancing was the plan. Not exactly was what I ended up with.

Friday was like any Friday before going out. I'd get home as quickly as possible from work and I'd try for a nap. It never works out since I'm so excited to be going out in the first place. It was at a crucial point as I was drifting into sleep when on the street a large truck screeched to a halt, vibrating everything in the house and waking me up for good. So no nap occurred. The BF got home before friend Frank was to pick me up at 12:15. I'd be leaving from the club and heading out to FI and this gave me a chance to say goodbye to the BF for the weekend.

Frank showed up at the appointed time but we needed to go back to his place. He hadn't packed for the weekend. WTF!?!?! Meanwhile I was to figure out how to print his ticket for Lawler. His printer wasn't working and earlier, he'd tried emailing it to me and I was getting an email in eight parts, each registering a virus.. Long short, we were at his house for an hour and a quarter, the printer was shot. I had to send his ticket PDF through my personal account via web mail to myself, to print from my office (which only took 5 minutes tops!!)

Never again will I be held hostage to someone else's timing. Friend Frank has always been notorious but I've managed to avoid it by scheduling a meet up time.

We didn't arrive at Spirit till 2:30AM and I was quietly smoldering inside. At the entrance, Frank realized that he'd absentmindedly left his cigarettes in the store we were just in. "I'll see you inside," was my reply. I'd had enough of his antics for the night and at this point, I'd started to question if I wanted to go to FI.

Grabbed a quick drink and bottle of water, I went by the entrance and waited for Frank to come in. Once he did, we hit the dance floor.

This was an uphill struggle to get in the right head because Frank had put me into a bad one. I'd danced, I bopped, but couldn't get into the music. Lawler was throwing down a mean set but I was ornery. An asian couple doing their arrhythmic idiotic sway dance had been knocking into me. When they clocked a head into my lip, I shoved back, exclaiming "Enough!"

My night was not going the way I'd like.

The music was good, but my head still was shrouded in black. I was THAT annoyed. Add to that, at one point, a horrific smell wafted through Spirit. It was nauseating. I had to leave the main dance area. It was like someone crapped their pants but the scent faded fast.

By 5:00, I was starting to groove with the music and having a good time. Unfortunately, an hour and a quarter later, the music stopped and the lights came on. Spirit was closing. WTF!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! This was not good. People hung around for a little, most in disbelief like myself but Lawler did NOT return to the decks. WTF!?!?!?!? I'd heard the bathroom attendant remarking that the club counted too few people remaining, about a hundred. I walked out in shock. We weren't ready to leave. We still had an hour and a half before we had to pick up Frank's friend to head out to Fire Island. What would we do?

(To Be Continued)

No, I'm not continuing for dramatic reasons, just not in the mood to write all this down just yet. Tune in later.

Hopped Up.

I'd spent the entire morning, slightly beside myself. I'd had every intention of hitting the gym this morning for a run. Prior to boarding the N train, I drank my orange juice and popped my three Thermo-Burst™ pills. By the time I arrive at the gym, my metabolism would be whipped up into a frenzy and ready to unload on the treadmill.

Leave it to the MTA to thwart my plans.

My train was going local, then it wasn't. Maybe. Then it did but only after sitting in the station for 15 minutes. I don't know why, but I was unaware of the passage of time. It might have been I was fixated on the PSP and Lumines.

By the time I'd arrived at my stop, I was pretty spacey and it was too late to hit the gym. Grrrr. I'd have to go later and I was virtually bursting from my skin. Of course, I, of infinite wisdom and intelligence, got an iced coffee without thinking.

Buzzing would only mildly describe what I was feeling.

At noon, an impending shit storm of work forced my manager to say, "Go now while you can." He didn't need to tell me twice.

So after a quick run, workout and lunch, I feel normal. Whew. I do this far too often, eventually I'll learn, hopefully, not as I watch my heart extricate itself from my chest.

Past few days, I've been a little under the weather. The shift from hot humid to cool humid had incited a bit of chest congestion. This made me a little less robust and hard to breathe. Diminished lung capacity sucks. Also felt weak as if I was fighting an infection. That really sucks considering the weekend I have planned. It's been lots of sleep and making sure I keep warm.

The outlook is good. I've mended as much as I could. No rest for the wicked as it were.

All systems are GO.

Posting will be light, seeing as I don't intend on being anywhere near a computer of my own this weekend.

Later for now.

Holy Great Movie, Batman!

Last night, the BF and I ran out to see "Batman Begins." Me thinks the BF is a bigger fan than I, if you could believe it. He was virtually jumping up and down at the prospect of seeing the movie, insisting that we arrive über-early to ensure a good seat.

The movie is a contemporary interpretation of the origin of Batman. All the previous movies touched on the basic origin elements, Bruce Wayne's encounter with the bats in what is to be, the future batcave and the killing of his parents. The events leading to these milestones are slightly different in "Begins" and unless you're a stickler, are forgivable. The gist is there.

What makes this movie better than the last debacle "Batman and Robin" is the subtlety and that "Batman Begins" is wholly Batman centric much like the original "Batman." However, the villains aren't mugging for screen time or grotesquely gregarious as they were in the "B&R." They've been relegated to the shadows as they should be, where they thrive and keep you guessing. Scarecrow and Rahs are both imposing and effective.

Character actors, Gary Oldman, Rutger Hauer, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are all understated but impactful. If I dare say there was a weakness in the entire movie, it was Katie Holmes. I didn't give a crap about her.

The story paced well and the movie was shot very dark which made for the perfect feel.

Being a tech guy, let's talk about the gadgets. They rocked. They certainly went out of the way to rationalize and explain the gadgets, making them all feasible with today's technology. The body armor was awesome. I want me some. I was iffy about the new Batmobile as it was a bit blocky. But this machine was not about finesse as it was about brute strength.

All in all, I highly recommend "Batman Begins." It's well made, action packed and fun, even if I'd like to slap Katie's side-talking mouth straight.

Sweet Weather Break

Exiting the bedroom this morning, the stifling, warm air in the outer rooms of the apartment struck me. Ugh. Awful. Only the bedroom and home office are air conditioned, so the rest of the space is NOT and and made me NOT look forward to another day at work. The AC is lackluster in the office. I tire of being moist and sticky, and my arms sweating against the desk. Yuck, yuck yuck. Totally unsexy.

However, as I showered, a cool breeze blew through the open window. Is that from outside? I reserved my giddy self until I stepped out the front door, just as a humidity-free wind hit me.

Wow. Awesome.

This weather has pulled my spirits up. Not that I was down. I was beaten down by damp, muggy and generally horrible air quality. It hindered me from doing anything, including blogging. But as you can see, that's no longer the case.

The office is bearable thankfully. Of course, I'd much rather be outside. Whoever can, get out when you can. It's too nice to pass up.

Work has abated as well, so it shouldn't be an issue for me to catch "Batman Begins" tonight. Pretty excited about it and really looking forward to it since co-worker E reports, "It's good." E had seen the midnight show this morning.

Hope the rest of the week moves quickly. I've got Steve Lawler at Spirit, Friday night and heading out to Fire Island directly afterwards. It's going to be a long weekend.

All good.

Discotheque Danny

Sunday morning, Danny Tenaglia spun at Discotheque. It was a party highly anticipated by his fans like me. It'd been a while since he'd played New York and I'd been in need of hearing a musical journey, only he could provide. He did not disappoint.

Having spent much of Saturday resting, out in Staten Island (nothing greviously entertaining to report. I got wet, I sunned, I napped and I ate) I was ready for some dancing. A disco nap from 12:00AM to about 3AM was good, restful. I'd gotten up a little too early but I was anxious. Showering and preparing, I was out of the house by 5:00AM. Jumped into AutoLove and headed into the city. Traffic was light at that hour so I breezed into Manhattan.

Parked, I headed up 6th Avenue, past Heaven. It was amusing to see the college-aged twink boys milling around in front of the club closed. The remnants of yet another "Kurfew", "Gay College Party", "Detention" or whatever, I don't know. (Actually, it was the "Buns-n-Wieners" party. Yikes!! ) They looked dazed and lost. There were some older "admirers" hanging about. One leered at me as I walked by. I paid him no mind.

Turning the corner onto 19th Street I was concerned to see, even from half a block away a crowd in front of the club. Discotheque, for the unfamiliar is a small venue. For the older homos, it's the old Champs space, remember a wanna be gay sport bar/dance club circa late 90's? Nothing like a sports bar per se with games playing on monitors, but sports miscellanea hanging on the wall, a faux boxing ring/stage and go-go dancers in sports equipment and uniforms. Anyhow, it was and is still a very small space, a couple of hundred people could fit comfortably but any more, it would be a deathtrap.

I was early by all accounts, Danny had only started spinning at 5 and it was only 5:30. I took my place in line and waited. Behind me, had to be the whiniest guy ever. "Where's Chris? I hope he comes out so we can get in. Why's this taking so long? Wah wah wah." This was unbearable.

I waited for about 15-20 minutes before I made it in. Seems that Discotheque hadn't even opened (re-opened?) when I'd arrived. I walked in and the club was just starting to move, but it was pretty empty. Danny was warming up as I said hello to a few friends. There were some glitches in the sounds system as it looked like Danny was intently trying to fix. I hoped this wasn't a portent for the morning. With a tweak here and there, Danny pumped up the volume and we were on our way.

And what a way it was.

When the sound system kicked in, an aural cocoon surrounded me. Discotheque was small, but the sound system was fantastic. Danny played just as I'd expected, nice chunky beats with driving drums and rhythms. The best part, I couldn't identify a single song. All I did was dance, and enjoy the journey. Danny had built it up the music slowly, a nice controlled burn as I thought and slammed us with some unforgettable beats. I hadn't dance like that since his last party. It was a morning roller coaster ride, where he took us to peaks to bring us down some and back up again. Not many breaks to be found and when he brought them, even I was thankful for the momentary reprieve.

While on a DJ "break," Danny walked by my spot where we kissed and hugged hello and gave a mutual "It's great to see you." That was a especially nice. :)

The crowd never got as bad as I'd seen at Discotheque previous times. There was always plenty of space to dance. I'd run into some of the "boys" which I normally see out and about. They looked as if they were tying another one on and had come from another party. One looked liked he was having a really good time and didn't know it.

There were a handful of dance admirers, most of which I paid no mind. However, one guy was extremely cute and nicely fit. He danced well to boot. I enjoyed myself, watching him. No, nothing came of it since we'd never spoken. These parties are mixed so you could never be too sure if the feeling is completely mutual or it's the "substances" doing the talking. Still, there was a lot of mutual admiration going on, but I wasn't of the mind to make an overture.

Sigh. Oh well.

The party ended around 3:45PM as Danny announced he was being shut down by the club. I walked out and was pretty well spent. I'd drenched my clothes in sweat at least twice, so I was really in the mood to head home and shower. Of course, Danny reminded everyone that this was only part one of the day. It was the Puerto Rican Day Parade on Sunday and he was also going to be spinning at a parade after-party at Show for Rob Fernandez's Asseteria parties starting at 11:00PM. I had to work today, there was no way I was doing it. But still, sigh, it would have been fun to go…

…and maybe that guy was there.

Double-sigh.

Found at Dentist's Office, reading "New York"…

I am so getting this.

You can check it out here.

Heat addled mind.

Gosh, it's a scorcher out there. My little weather widget reports that it's 85 degress in Brooklyn but it feels so much hotter than that in Manhattan.

Weather like this, I would love to be frolicking somewhere half-naked on a beach, by a pool or in a park. Alas, it's a work day and I'm stuck in the city, fully-clothed. The air quality sucks and sweat comes with the slightest urging. Indoors is the best place to be, but it's only marginally better.

The office is in the between stages of construction or rather an interrupted stage. They had big plans but they changed. As a result, there isn't a real air conditioning system. All we have are ceiling fans and two mobile AC units, which aren't great but they're doing enough to keep the space from becoming stifling but only just.

Earlier, I'd felt like I'd succumb to the heat. Trying to work and sort out some mathematics is tough especially when the heat is making me drowsy. To top it off, coupled with having not eaten anything, I was easily confused and couldn't sort out my thoughts, totally frustrating. Oy. Took a walk at lunch, to get a haircut and grab a bite, that straightened me out.

Now, I've got no work and fighting to stay awake in the boredom and heat. Double Oy.

"How do you measure, measure a year."

This morning, my mood has markedly improved from yesterday overall. Even when I discovered that Ninja Bird Feeder had struck once again, I wasn't overcome with anger. Albeit I've committed to wait for NBF tomorrow morning. He/she strikes between 7:30 and 8AM . I HAVE YOU NOW. *insert evilbuddha laugh here*

Anyway, my mood is good, thanks in part to Crash, for pointing out that the trailer for Rent: The Movie was out. Like him, I must admit to feeling a swelling of emotion watching this. It'd been a long time since I'd seen the original play and I had the fortune of seeing the original cast. It's one of the few contemporary plays I've seen that is pertinent to me.

The trailer has "Seasons of Love" playing in it and it has brought me back to listening to the cast recording of the musical. Yeah, how gay of me, listening to musicals. But who cares? On the train, I was bopping to "Out Tonight" Daphne Rubin-Vega. Quite a rousing song. It got me going and elevated my spirits. Makes me want to go dancing. Oh wait, doing that this weekend with my man, Danny Tenaglia. Joy.

The rest of the Rent soundtrack is awesome with lots of touching songs. It brought back plenty of memories. If you haven't seen the play, I highly recommend catching the movie. It has the original cast, well most of them, Daphne was too old for a 19 yr. old Mimi. Don't know who's in the Broadway production these days, but still, support Broadway. Watch a play. :) Have fun.

It is refreshing how movies are back to pilfering Broadway for new material, especially musical Broadway. Previously, we've had Phantom of the Opera. It was a great movie production and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. By taking Broadway to the movie theater, it makes the stage more accessible to the masses but it can never replace the experience of live theater.

Broadway is doing the same by pilfering the movies. Spamalot is based on Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is based on the movie of the same name and recently, you have Wicked, based on The Wizard of Oz. Watching the Tony's on Sunday night (tres gay, I know) I saw a great performance by Norbert Leo Butz from DRS. He was fantastic and seems rightfully deserving of his Tony. I definitely have to catch the show.

Even TV isn't safe from stage. You had in limited run "The Family Guy On Stage." That has to be hilarious but I don't think they'd Stewie justice. Or could they?

Stewie: If I choose to make stool in my pants right now, you're the only one here to change me. What do you think of that, hmm?
Brian: I'm not going to change you.
Stewie: What?
Brian: I said, I'm not going to change you.
Stewie: You can't be serious. Well, what if I make a fudgie? Well, I just won't. I just won't that's all. I just won't. Blast! I just did.

Rats with Wings.

In the past few months, some tree hugging hippie jackass has decided the local pigeons around the area are his/her pets. Taking the time to feed them, throwing bird seed down about 20 feet to one side of my driveway. Being creatures of habit, the pigeons have grown accustomed to finding food here. They've been perching on and around my building or the crisscrossing cable/utility wires nearby. This has made the immediate area in front of the house crap-fucking-tacular.

I swear this person feeding these pests, is a ninja. He/she slips in without anyone seeing and spills seed all over the sidewalk.

It happened this Saturday. I'd gotten home around 2PM from tennis and lunch. The sidewalk was clean. I'd gone up to sun on the roof and noticed the pigeons hanging about. I chased them away and having some further fun, I pulled out an old SuperSoaker®. I nearly grounded one with the first shot. From the roof I noticed the sidewalk was littered with birdseed. Raging, I went downstairs and swept the seed into the street and once back upstairs, printed signs which I hung on the tree and street pole, reading "DO NOT FEED THE BIRDS HERE!" I posted a message on the apartment building next door that asks if anyone was spotted feeding the pigeons, that they'd be told to stop. No hostility. Yet.

No recurrence of feeding on Sunday. It rained last night and my signs fell. This morning, I walked out of the house to find the sidewalk again, littered with birdseed. WTF!?

I've been seething all morning.

Searching the internet to find any ordinances in New York that prohibit the feeding of pigeons, since they are creating a public nuisance and potential health hazard. Nothing on the books, but there is a vague reference to being allowed to kill pigeons if they're damaging property. Also, I've found an interesting idea, I can get a trained hawk. That would be cool. I'd name it Killer for obvious reasons.

But no, I will get to the root of this problem and I WILL get to this person. Pigeons are NOT pets. They NOT cute and as far as I'm concerned, they are vermin. When, not if, but when I catch this person, oh the hate I'll unleash.

JUNE-IOR

Hmm.
Well.

I can definitely say I danced and had a pretty decent time.

I'd gotten to the club around 3:00AM and the crowd was very sparse. It never got crowded throughout the morning which surprised me. I figured more people would give Junior and Spirit a chance as opposed to Hex Hector at Roxy. I could be mistaken or the low attendance is indicative of what happens in the summer, when everyone abandons the city for their summer shares.

Incidentally, some of the usual cast of characters for Junior's parties weren't there. It made Spirit much more comfortable to dance. Except when you get your "admirers" who purposely dance close to you, that is incredibly annoying. Some of them were the ugly people. Why is it the ugly people step to me? Like I'm ugly or something. Makes me a little depressed. The ones that aren't ugly, were scary anyway. They don't say anything. They hover and stare. They'd fall into the freak category then. There were some cuties, but it seems that I'm too damn intimidating.

Ran into a few club buds. I hung out with D & R, both of whom I was surprised to see again.

Now about the music, it was really a chore to dance to. I'm accustomed to a greater sound density than what Junior was offering last night. It was a lot of banging with no back beat. He had lots and lots of breaks and there was never a back beat to bridge from one song to another. I think I've said this before. Regardless, I spent a fair amount time standing around on the dance floor waiting for the music to go somewhere as opposed to banging about in a break.

Junior started to throw some serious beats towards the end. Junior was going till noon but I was pooped by then and left at 9:45AM. It was a lot earlier than I thought.

Some notable tracks (updated, thanks to the JVM messageboard):
Razor n Guido - "Do It Again"
Madonna - "Die Another Day"
Madonna - "Deeper & Deeper" (Junior's Earth Mix)
Madonna - "Mother & Father" (Petah ROOHUFFER Re:invention Mix)
Michael Jackson - "Bad" (Oscar Velazquez Mix)
Vernessa Mitchell - "Love Will Find a Way" (Junior's Mix)
Gladys Knight - "My Imagination" (JV Mix)
Ellis D - "I Like It" (Bongo Massive Mix)
Vernessa Mitchell - "Troubles" (Junior's Sunday Morning Mix...intro only)
Mary J. Blige - Your Weeping Child.
Thelma Houston - "Don't Leave Me This Way 2005" (Junior's Mix)
Gwen Stefani - "Hollaback Girl" (Escape & Gomi Mix)
Rob Thomas - "Lonely No More"
David Gray - "Babylon" (Junior's Tribacoustic Mix)
Kim English - "Unspeakable Joy"
Vernessa Mitchell - "This Joy"

Side Note:
Do NOT watch "When Boys Fly" after a night of dancing and partying.
While it is an interesting and prevalent documentary style movie from TLA Releasing, it's a DOWNER.

Mundanity

Apologies if anyone has been waiting in BATED breathe for my post. Of course, I would never deign to be that self-important. Alas, here is a post filled with the "ho-hums" of my Clark Kent-esque identity. Yes, my alter-ego, the one making a living so that I can dance and party like a blogstar, has been very busy. The company I work for, pays me for a reason. It has kept my mind distracted from important things like, blogging, robots and video games.

Acquisitions have been extremely light this week. There weren't any DVD releases that I had to have. Moonlighting did come out, not that I'd had interest in it. But I know because my former co-worker is a fan and was excited about it's release. He's been torturing me on iChat with snippets of the Moonlighting song.

Some walk by night
Um.
Some fly by day
No.
Nothing could change you
Stop.
Set and sure of the way
GRRRR.

Riding the wave of video game play from Memorial Day weekend, I broke out Soul Calibur II on the Xbox. I'd finished the primary missions when I'd first gotten it but left the extra missions undone. They are fricking hard. It's going to be a test of my will and patience to see if I can do them. I'm lost on the controls from playing on the GameCube.

I bought Jade Empire for the Xbox which has been reviewed very highly. The gameplay is reminiscent of Untold Legends on the PSP, albeit on the Xbox console. It's an action RPG. I'd played 15 minutes into the game and encountered a bug whereupon my character was trapped on stairs and unable to move, while enemies were attacking. It was tres frustrating. After defeating the bad guys with some area attacks, I regained my mobility and died in the next encounter before saving. GRRR. Not to be discouraged, I'll chalk this incident up as a one time occurrence and give JE another try tonight.

As if fate was telling me to stop spending frivolously, my AMEX card snapped and cracked across the magnetic strip today. A replacement is on it's way but I'll have to hold out on the spur of the moment, instore purchases. Doesn't stop me online. I've got my number memorized. Sad.

A minor PSP Update
I'd finished Untold Legends a few weeks back and have yet to fill the void on the PSP. Smart Bomb is an interesting game, but is annoying as shit to play. Speed logic puzzles are NOT fun. Rengoku is an utter disappointment. The controls are clunky and the gameplay is bland. I've gone back to playing Lumines which has been surprisingly satisfying.

Besides that, I've managed to make it to the gym 6 times this week. It's a good start to the summer season and I hope to pack on a few pounds of muscle by midsummer. Doing my cardio also, which bores me to tears but must be done.

Groan.

AutoLove, my VW Passat, hit the 5K mark this past weekend. Took her into the VW service center for the 5K service yesterday and picked her up this morning. The VW service rep was most helpful, but I'm biased since I think he's cute as hell and I'm crushing on him.

The weather right now is miserable and I've decide to hang home tonight.

Looking forward to the rest of the weekend. Party tomorrow night and then out dancing till the next day. Doesn't get any better for me. :)

This Month's Outlook - Busy

With a high probability of dance. :)

June, being the month we welcome summer, is the month where I begin to take leave of my senses and responsibility.

Working for the weekends and all the treasures they may hold, my restlessness is boundless during the week.

June is usually a flurry of activity, culminating with Gay Pride.

A couple of things bouncing around in my head at the moment and being penciled into my schedule are, in order of appearance:

Saturday, June 4th - I bought my ticket, thinking it was a Friday night party. Being Saturday, it'll be a nutty night, given that it's an alternative from Roxy and most 'mos will opt to try something different. Roxy is T-I-R-E-D. It'll be one long night seeing as I've already got a party in Brooklyn. I'll head out from there or head home, relax and then head out.

Saturday, June 11th - (Technically, Sunday June 12th) I nearly forgot about his one. For shame. It's been a little more than a month since Danny played at Spirit and I'm about due to get me a fix of Danny. While Discotheque isn't the greatest venue, it's small... yet intimate. Very appropos for Danny.

Friday, June 17th - Looking forward to this party. Lawler was good with Danny Tenaglia at Roxy, many months back. But I'd like to hear what journey he'll take us on, on his own. Friend Frank will be attending with. We'll be partying it up Friday night and heading out afterwards to Frank's house in Fire Island. So who knows what other parties we'll be attending. :) Going to have to check the schedule for the Pavillion. But no matter, we'll make the best of it.



Not everything is about clubbing and dancing.

Tuesday, June 21st - Well, I can't really say that there won't be any dancing. It will be a bunch of homos. Most of the blog buddies will be attending. Joe will be reading. YAY! Aaron is on a month long vacation, so I'm not sure if he'll be back by then. Who else wants to come with? Get your tickets here. Beers to follow at Phoenix. :)

As for the weekend of Gay Pride, Victor Calderone is doing another Evolve party. It's the Pride version called Light, same party as last year. I had a good time and the crowd was alot of fun. It's on Saturday, June 25 and I'll be missing it. I've got a christening on Sunday, so any Saturday night parties are nixed. I'm not totally heartbroken. Attending the Evolve parties was great, but by the end of the last one, it felt cookie-cutter like Alegria, from which I've taken an undetermined hiatus.

The only thing different with the Pride weekend party is the crowd, entirely GAY! The dynamic of the party will be much more celebratory.

I won't be dancing it up with all my gay peeps. *groan* I could probably use the rest by then anyhow. I'll be keeping an eye for whatever else is happening Friday and Sunday nights, besides the Pier Dance (hello, can you say deathtrap?). I could completely blow off Pride, unless there's a suitably exciting party on Sunday night or a certain blogger from DC pops in to visit. Maybe then I can be persuaded. :)