a history of me

Last night I went down to Chelsea to attend a rooftop party where my friend Mike works. He was DJing the party (for a sweet hourly rate) and I always enjoy his work. The party was kinda odd, though. First of all, the building has both business and residential tenants, so the crowd was a mix of working adults and families with young children. That meant Mike wasn't going to play anything with risqué language and that sucks. These also happened to be very rascally children who ran wild, stuck their hands into the available food and threw plates like frisbees. Thankfully there was an ample supply of wine so I was able to wash away my irritation.

Before the sun even set I had a decent champagne (I think) buzz going. I made two audioposts from the party: one with actual content and a second with just music. I guess I had more to drink than I thought but I went to great lengths to eat only fruits and vegetables. It was extremely difficult because there was an entire table of glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts!

The weather yesterday was perfect and the rooftop was very spacious so I never felt the least bit uncomfortable. When the fireworks finally started around 9:30, we could see them although our view was partially obstructed. Fireworks are always cool but I find they get old pretty fast. After twenty minutes or so Mike and I had the same feeling: when will they stop already? The party ran for another hour before we packed everything up and moved on to the "afterparty." A few more friends of ours turned up in the waning minutes and we invited them to come along.

Unfortunately, by the time we reached the Lower East Side location the "afterparty" was completed destroyed. The few remaining guests looked positively exhausted. You'd think they had spent the entire evening lifting weights or something. Mike and I along with Allan, Lana and Renee hung out there a little bit but soon decided to hit the streets before we fell asleep ourselves.

Our first stop was a nearby pizzeria: Rocket Joe's on Delancey near Allen St. I immediately caved and ate two slices. I'm ashamed that I couldn't resist but I am proud to say the pizza was delicious and reasonably priced to boot. We hung out there for a while, talking and eating.

A very pretty restaurant across Allen St. beckoned us to investigate. We crossed over and entered Congee Village, an impressive looking Chinese joint. We opted to chill near the bar and, feeling tipsy already, shared two pots of Red and Green Tea. I never had Red Tea before. It was quite dark and had a "heavy" taste to it. Green Tea was lighter in comparison (both in taste and in hue) but it was very bitter, more so than the cold Green Tea I've been buying lately from Japanese markets.

While sipping my tea and admiring the decor, I noticed the bar had the full line-up of Johnnie Walker scotches: Red Label, Black Label, Green Label and Gold Label. Renee then pointed out that on the next shelf they had the fabled Blue Label. That's the oldest (and most expensive) of the five. We all wanted a taste but we acknowledged that we could ill afford to buy around. Instead, Mike ordered one shot ($15!) in a glass and we all sampled it. I thought it was very strong but some of the others said it was "smooth." I guess I'm not a very good judge when it comes to hard liquor. It all tastes like death to me.

Once Congee Village began to lower their metal screens we got the hint and moved on. Everyone else returned to Brooklyn and I walked up Allen to 1st Ave to catch a bus. The buses don't run very often after 2 so it was a bit of a wait. I ended up walking all the way up to 14th St. rather than stand and wait at the relatively dark corner of 1st & 1st.

Big step this week: I must buy my plane tickets and formalize my arrival plans in Japan. Still no progress to report on finding work though.