I love New York

Sorry for the silence. I ran off to NYC on Wednesday without saying goodbye. God, I love New York. So much so that I almost bought one of those "I (heart) New York" t-shirts. My trip began with a train ride. My companion was Jean Rique, a friend from high school who I hadn't seen in about a year. I wasn't really sure how we'd get along after so many years, but we had a great time.

Once we got to NYC, I cabbed it over to my grandma's and got dolled up for dinner. Dinner was fabulous and my flirtation with the waiter, which has been going on for years, ended with me giving him my number. He never did call, but getting asked out is my favorite part of the whole dating ritual so I was satisfied.

Anyway, after dinner I ran back to grandma's to change out of my dress and into my cargo pants. There were no available cabs in sight so I walked the avenues and streets to the nearest subway. Once I got to the East Village, I met up with Lynn and Christina, two lovely ladies from college who I'd barely seen since August. We decided that the night's festivities would not be complete without a trip to Meow Mix, a fabulous lesbian dance club. The music was great and the only person who grabbed my ass was Lynn.

So that was Wednesday. Thursday was pretty nondescript, although there was a photo of my dad in the business section of the NY Times. Friday, my grandma and I went to see Calendar Girls and, believe it or not, I liked it more than her. After that I scoured the city for kangaROOS with my friend Ethan, a wonderful guy I met in Mexico. Sadly, I learned that ROOS, while reminding me of my childhood, are the most uncomfortable shoes ever. Lucky for me, Ethan took me to this great shwarma place, Village Shwarma, and all my sadness left me.

Once we were full, Ethan and I went to Cosi to find Prince, my only born and bred NYC friend. Just after we showed up at Cosi, two British guys Prince had met the night before at Thirsty Scholar showed up. Next thing I know, Ethan and I are drinking beer with Andy and John from Manchester. Ethan got tired and skipped out, leaving us with the tab (he apologized later but it never was a big deal).

Prince wasn't off work until 1 am so Andy, John, and I decided to have some fun. We headed over to Liquids, a chill lounge in the East Village. Once we got there we learned that Liquids had been replaced by Jack Rabbit Slim's, a dance club with pole-dancers and scantily-clad bartenders. I've met my share of bad British dancers so I was pleasantly surprised by the moves my new friends had. Plus, they were great guys. Andy even told me I reminded him of Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That boy knows the way to my heart. After that and the fun magic tricks he was doing for me, I could have kissed him... all except that he was so drunk that there would have been no fun in that. Prince showed up and we danced some more. Prince is my favorite dance partner ever. We danced so well together that Andy asked how we did what we did; he said we fit together perfectly (Man, I loved this boy. Too bad he lives in Manchester.).

After a bit more dancing, the crowd started to disappear so we headed to 119 to meet up with some of Prince's friends. While it was a chill bar, I was ready to go home. I rebuffed some advances from two guys who turned out to be roommates and then, when everyone finally decided to call it a night, I offered to share a cab with the British boys. When we got to their street, Andy turned to John and said, "So how much do you think our guide is worth? 15?" I insisted that I would pay for the cab but finally took $10 from them when I saw the cabbie was getting impatient. In the last few minutes to my street, the cab driver said that those two men seemed very nice but that I am beautiful and attractive so I need to watch out for strangers. I assured him that I normally do not pick up random men in NYC, wished him a happy New Year and walked into my building. 4:25 am. A day well-lived.

P.S. Sally, I totally forgot to get your number before I left for NYC and I didn't have e-mail up there. I'd love to see you next time I'm up.