Obi-J

Amy and I got back into Oakland around 1:08am this morning. I’m rather blurry-eyed and have a sinus infection from the couple cigarettes I smoked last Saturday (I swear I’m never smoking again). My brain isn’t too sharp, but somehow I have to get some work done.

At some point today I’ll do a brain dump of the last few days & nights in NYC. Thankfully I took almost 600 pictures while there to help me remember all the madness. Every minute was amazing, but I’m mostly happy that I got to hang out with so many old and new friends.

After a couple of days of suprisingly enjoyable work on Long Island, I’m back in Manhattan staying a my friend’s place at 38th St and 6th Ave. Amy made it safely into town this morning and is now sleeping off the jet lag. I probably should be sleeping, but like I’ve been telling most people, I’ve been functioning off about 3 or 4 hours of sleep, and last night was no exception. I tried laying down for a while, but I’m in New York, and what’s the point of sleeping when there’s so much to do.

I went down the street to get breakfast, going to a place that Amy said had good eats, but let me tell you, despite the appearance of the place, it was some of the worst food I’ve ever eaten. I didn’t sweat it since I normally don’t eat breakfast, but then I tasted the coffee. YUCK! I’ve only had one decent cup of coffee since I’ve been here. That being at Les Halles, and I’d almost consider taking a cab over there just for the java.

I came back to the apartment and watched TV for about 10 minutes before I was pretty bored. So I went out to just walk around the neighborhood and see what’s up. But it seems to getting colder and colder as the day progresses. Bitingly cold to the point that I only had the tolerance to walk about 8 blocks. The weather report says it’s currently 28, but with the windchill it’s more like 10, maybe less. And for someone who’s used to 60 and sunny, it’s pretty hard to take.

Anyway, I’m just talking shit, and am about to go wake Amy up because otherwise I think she’d sleep all day. Tonight we’ll hopefully head over to Hit the Breaks at the Sullivan Room, and most likely meet up with a fellow hooper Stefan. It’ll be a nice change of pace since I haven’t had my breaks fix for more than a week. And lemme tell ya, that’s just way too long.

Last night was another solid evening in New York. We began with dinner at Les Halles up on Park and 28th. Strauss, Leo, Ian, Greg and I had a 3 hour dinner at the french bistro, with the highlight of the meal being the two creme brulet (sp?) brought to us by our server and friend Tim. Also at dinner we were in the presence of the one and only Jude Law eating a couple tables over from us. I immediately texted Christie since she’s absolutely in love with Mr. Law, and I think she almost pee’d herself. I didn’t get a picture because that’s just a dick move in my opinion.

After dinner we went over to Underbar, which is a chic underground lounge, meant for those either warming up for a late night, or those who don’t go out to rage, but still want a place to hang with friends and have a cocktail. I’d been carrying around the hoop I brought, slung around my shoulder like quiver full of arrows. Before I even took my coat off a couple of women came up to me asking what in the world it was. This was probably the tenth time I’d gotten that question, but it’s always fun to keep them guessing, then pull it out and assemble to show them that no, it isn’t a weapon or bong or instrument, but simply a hoop. After a drink and a number of requests, I attempted to hoop in the oh so small entryway. This small space and lack of funky beats made it rather hard to find a groove, but it was two minutes of joy for me, and those few who watched.

After Underbar we headed to a Karaoke joint that was being hosted by another of Strauss’ friends Justin. The place was nearly empty, most like due to the holiday weekend and the 6 inches of snow that was currently falling. Karaoke was definitely a good time, and I was rather impressed with Strauss’ rendition of Patrick Swayze’s “She’s like the Wind.” The song of the night was taken to task by Paul, and busted out a nearly perfect Radar Love, with a little improv in the instrumental sections.

We closed the place down around 3:00am, and made the move to Marquee, joined by Sam, Justin, Clay and Paul. Marquee is purported to be THE place to be in New York. Ordinarily I wouldn’t choose to go, but when you’re friends with someone who’s basically part owner of the joint and brother of the guy who started it all. So it made far easier to get past the velvet rope that usually keeps out non-quality people like myself. Marquee was a gorgeous room, and I was happy to see the 30 or so people dancing amongst the sectional couches that surround the dancefloor. Strauss informed one of his friends/waitresses that I had a hoop and she was quite excited to give it a try. Unfortunately, the place had no room to really give it a go so it ended up just being used as a way to create an intimate dancing circle. A few minutes later the room thinned out, and near the back there was room to try out some vertical hooping. I got about 14 seconds in before the bouncers cut me off. It was totally understandable, but I bet if I were a gorgeous lady I would’ve been given a little more time. But oh well, I can at least claim to be the first person to hoop in the hottest club in the city. Not that that really means anything.

Marquee closed around 4:00, and so we hailed a cab and headed to the Cafeteria for some early morning eats. I ate part of an omlette, but wasn’t really hungry, but I haven’t been eating a whole lot since I’ve been here, so I thought it a good idea to put something in my stomach. After breakfast the alcohol everyone else had been drinking was taking it’s toll and most were ready to crash out. I had but two drinks the whole night, and I still felt pretty hyper despite it being 6:00am. But ya need to sleep sometime, so we headed home and crashed out on the couch for another night.

My first 24 hours in New York have been awesome thus far. Strauss, my old roomate from college, has been an amazing host, and his couch is more than comfortable. Last night he took myself and Gary, another college roomie, to the bar he’s managed for the last four years. Gary and I hung out at our own table with a bottle of Jack and proceeded to revel in the golden lit room. After a few too many cocktails I put the glass down, and got up off my ass and danced off the alcohol stupor that seemed iminent. Gary took off around 2:00, but I had promised Strauss I’d close the place down with him. So I danced for the next couple hours and shared a few moments with the few others in the place who “knew” how to get down. It was fun, but mostly I was, and am, happy to be with old friends.

Today we cruised around the village, and I finally got a chance to show Strauss what all this hooping talk was about. Most people don’t get it when I attempt to explain why I have this black in yellow thing that looks more like a weapon than a toy. So, here I am in front of the cube. Can you tell I’m excited?

At this point I have very little idea what’s going on, but I really don’t care as I have a date with a plane, and then many more dates with old friends. It’s almost as if I’ve been swept up off my feet on the way to a late 20-something homecoming. Ahh, whatever, the batteries are charging, and I’m letting go of all expectations. Whatever happens will be amazing and I’m ready for it all. So for the next week I’ll be off in a whole different playground, but the big apple has always felt like a second home. But just so you don’t think I’m running away forever, here’s a little taste of how much I love it here, and why, even before I leave, I can’t wait to come back home to San Francisco/Oakland.