ExposedNYC

Ah, back in the breathtaking humidity and cement surroundings of NYC. I can now sit in a superbly air-conditioned Starbucks (because I just bought Verizon Broadband internet access, and can write ANYWHERE! Loving it already!) and make good on my promises of stories from a pseudo-vacation.

I was counting down the minutes last Tuesday, when I was getting off work just as the after-work crowd made it apparent that Tuesday, July 3rd was the new Friday, and loving that I didn’t have to stick around and deal with it. I raced home and set my sights on the goal I had been voicing all week- arriving at JFK for a 6:45am flight just barely sober enough to make it through security, but intoxicated enough to maintain a deep sleep through the whole flight.

My night started with an dinner invite from a girlfriend, which turned out to be a birthday dinner for one of her BF’s friends. I felt a little intrusive at first, but perked up when the birthday boy (lovingly nicknamed “Beefcake” by the gay couple at the table) walked in the door. After being charmed by his candor, dimples, and law school education all night, I was stuck with the reality that he was just in town visiting. Typical luck.

So, my girlfriend and I left dinner, a few glasses of wine in, and headed to a rooftop party being thrown by my friend Spike. The last time I showed up to one of their shindigs more than two hours in, alcohol was running low and the boys were barely standing, so we picked up some rum and pineapple juice (which somehow sounded festive in the warm weather) and climbed the stairs.

I had been half right- the boys were already pretty buzzed, but the full bar was still well-stocked. We added our contributions and marveled at the red, white, and blue décor totally telling of their former frat boy affiliations, and further confirmed when half the hosts broke into a rendition of “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling”.

Her boyfriend got off work and met up with us just as the party was winding down, but I had hours to kill so I talked them into heading to another bar. We jumped into a cab intending to track down “Beefcake” and the gang downtown, but every cell phone owner we tried was either too intoxicated or preoccupied to answer. We settled for a quick round of shots at a lounge I used to frequent, followed by beers at a nearby Irish pub.

I kept a close eye on the clock, knowing I needed to be home in time for my ride to the airport, and starting to worry that I may have overstepped my goal for the evening. I had packed previous to leaving the house, but had to throw a few last minute amenities in before departure. I knew I would forget something, and just hoped it would be inconsequential, and not underwear, a phone charger, or my purse.

I also neglected to account for that pesky security alert plaguing airports around the world right now. I thought we had left sufficient time for traffic, but the bottleneck checking cars during holiday travel left me nervous. I prayed silently that I wasn’t slurring my speech while checking luggage, and had a momentary panic attack when security pulled me aside to inspect my laptop, but eventually I made it. And let me tell you, I have never slept so soundly on a cross-country flight in my life. I’ll take a night on the town over No-Doze any day.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 9th, 2007 at 12:06 am and is filed under A Few Drinks In, Disappointments, Girlfriends, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.