Typical Night Out In Manhattan?

Saturday night I spent 2 hours at SPiN New York with my friend. It's a trendy ping pong club on 23rd and Park. Actually, it has a super interesting crowd from older folks, to scantily clad women looking to meet men, to people would can afford blowing $20 on a half hour of ping pong. We weren't at our table for more than 2 minutes before we got hit on by the table next to us. A group of guys were closing out, visibly drunk despite it only being 9:30 and there for a bachelor party. Great. We played doubles. I was lucky enough to have the well-behaved married guy on my team whereas my friend had to avoid getting groped by her drunk teammate. After twenty minutes of wild playing, they left leaving us open to receive more male attention. An older, slightly creepy guy sat on the couch next to us watching us play and cutting into my friend's personal space. Two drinks and an hour and a half of ping pong later it was time for us to move on. But not before I had a quick Susan Sarandon sighting!

We headed to Norwood, a gorgeous private club on West 14th street. I'm kind of in love with the place. You could easily walk right by it without knowing its a club. It's in a brownstone with multiple (almost hidden) rooms, antique furniture and Victorian décor. I look forward to going back during the week when the majority of members aren't on vacation. And the crowd was just as interesting - a friendly, down to earth DJ, Kris Kross' long lost brother, and an L.A. type who could easily be mistaken for Seth Rogen. So while I was there, I figured I'd try and make friends. The Seth Rogen guy and I struck up a conversation while on line for the bathroom. I learned that he recently broke up with his girlfriend and was just getting back in the game. He managed to slip in that she lived across the ocean and they'd see each other every 3 weeks in different places around the world. Okay - way to slip in that you're loaded. His friends were leaving and he asked if I wanted to join them. I figured it was either that or go home so told him I was in. The group stood outside trying to figure out their next move. There was some confusion and suddenly the two of us found ourselves alone. He asked if I still wanted to hang out downtown and I said maybe - he seemed interesting and I wouldn't have minded just TALKING to him. Smooth operator that he is - mentioned we'd be better off drinking wine on his roof rather than hitting another bar. And on that note, I told Mr. Smooth that I was heading home. Peace Out.

So the night ended with me at my local pizza place and a 25 year old from Westchester thinking he was cool and harassing me. Can't a lady eat her pizza in peace?! And there we have it folks - a typical night out in Manhattan - drunk bachelors, creepy old men, celebrities, trendy clubs, rich, insecure men trying to entice the ladies with their wealth, and drunken boys from Westchester.

Cheers!

Weekend Update

Had an amazing weekend. Worked late on Friday and stayed watching Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy. Then actually got up early for the gym, and spent all day Saturday walking around with one of my absolute best friends. It's so relaxing spending time with someone I feel completely comfortable with especially since I've been meeting lots of new people lately. We walked through Park Slope, mostly Northern but I don't know the area enough to say for sure. Ran into the kids I babysit for who were a bit confused to see me. Then took the train to Downtown Brooklyn and walked through Cobble Hill and Carrol Gardens. Good times had by all. Saturday night, I met up with a friend at Solas and was stupid enough to have 3 of Allan's ridiculously strong drinks. I felt queasy around 6am this morning but somehow it subsided by the time my parents got into the city.

Today, I went to brunch with the folks, then we sat in the Tompkin Square Park doggy park for a good hour. I spotted my favorite singer, Sia who was with her dog. AND, Dr. Lisa Cuddy from House. I had my camera and walked over to where there was some serious doggy "action," then made a joke about doppledangers.. that she laughed at. Just as we were leaving, my parents wanted to know what kind of dog Sia had. I finally got the courage to talk to her and she was super duper nice. Told her one of her songs was actually in my head when I saw her.. and she seemed to appreciate that I was a fan. She has two dogs, one who's three-legged and another who needed to go to "rehab." Okay, I know, I know.. if I move into Brooklyn, I won't see celebs on a daily basis, but I'm so okay with that! My day ended with an awesome loft party in Williamsburg for a college friend. I met a ton of super cool, artsy, interesting, sweet people and took some good pictures. Also got a lead on finding an apartment.. hmm. Okay, so maybe Williamsburg isn't that bad after all.

Peace and love.

Celebrity Filled and Productive Saturday - Recap

Fortunately, it did not rain yesterday. Instead of spending a lazy day inside as planned, my day was productive and action packed. I started off by heading downtown with the intention of buying certain unmentionables in Soho. After taking 10 minutes to cross the street against the crowds and entering the store, I realized that was the dumbest idea ever. So I went back to the quieter, less insane NoLita and had a sandwich at MJ Bookstore. Great, relaxing spot with excellent food. Just make sure you get a table first. And I discovered these beautiful mugs called Miam.Miam Moda which I'm sooo buying for my next apartment.

After lunch, I walked back up towards my apartment holding my camera, determined to get one decent shot. On Bleeker, approaching the Bowery, I noticed a swarm of activity and eventually realized I was walking directly across the street from Rachel Bilson. The swarm of activity was actually a swarm of paparazzi. Not wanting to be one myself, I played it cool, sometimes even walking in front of her. We were heading in the same direction anyway. I eventually removed myself from the insanity and lost track of her whereabouts.

After months of not going, I finally went to my weight lifting then spin class at Crunch with my all time favorite teacher Carl. I'm surprisingly not in pain today even though he made us do 100 push ups. I thought he wasn't serious when he was telling us to do them. Holy crap. Did 20 manly and about 60 girlie push ups in between moments of inactivity where I was willing my arms to work. Yeah, during spin, I was sweating Carbernet Savignon. On the way home, I stopped off at Whole Foods for grub and money, hoping that people would find my post work out, sweaty and flushed cheeks attractive. Then still in a post workout daze, I chilled in Union Square, where I caught a dance off - inspiring! And back to St. Mark's where the day portion of my perfect Saturday ended with a bang. The Brothers Moving was playing in front of the old Kim's Video store. Obviously had to do some research to get to that point and bought their CD. They're 3 brothers and one other band mate from Denmark.


As my roommate pointed out, it's unlikely I'll experience this kind of day while living in Brooklyn but I'm still set on my decision.

And for the evening portion.. I met up with friends at the Annex. I generally try to avoid the LES and any place with a cover. The bar sort of looked like any other bar in the LES but super duper dark. Like dark to the point that if I ever go again, I won't put myself together. In fact I'll look grungy, where a hat and hope people mistake me for a celebrity. Oh- speaking of celebs, Winona Ryder was there. She's tiny. Maybe tinier than Rachel Bilson. Agnes Dynes was there- the blonde haired super model (do they have super models now?) and Michael Pitt was there. Exciting stuff. I'm sure there were a shit ton of other celebs there but it was so dark. Oh- so maybe that's why they hang out there.

The night ended at the pizza joint on Second Avenue. I know, I know. I shouldn't have. Since all the other tables were taken, these two guys (who I learned were Swedish) sat with me. I also learned that Swedes speak a dialect of German that the Germans don't understand and isn't a written language. And that not everyone living in Zurich is rich despite all the banking. Hmm... sound familiar. So over all, a very interesting day. I'm now looking forward to my uneventful, rainy Sunday.

Cheers!

TV

It appears that my cable isn't working. I haven't checked it in an hour.. am sort of avoiding bad news. Maybe it's God's way of telling me to read a book. But every time I try and read, I get sleepy. It's too bad I'm too tired/ lazy to do all the stuff I've been meaning to do but haven't had enough time. I'm keeping the schedule of a cat. Sleeping 17 hours a day.. okay. Maybe that's an exaggeration.

Just saw the latest episode of Ugly Betty online. I'm totally in love with her new love interest. Completely adorable. Totally my taste. Did some research on him but the guy, Daniel Eric Gold, doesn't have any information about himself on IMDB. Don't know where he's from, how old, if he's gay or straight. I'm still searching. Maybe once he's a regular on the show, they'll put more info. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing more of him.

Aside from sleeping, eating, drinking, sleeping, and watching TV, I also bought things on Amazon. I had a $150 gift certificate from various sources. Believe it or not, it actually took me about an hour to figure out what to buy. I bought a coffee maker, a few books, a Klean Kanteen to compare to my Sigg bottle. A portable coffee mug, and few other odds and ends. It wasn't enough for me to buy big ticket items like a new camera or photo gear but still a lot of money. I'm looking forward to my coffee maker even though it will mean limiting my stagnant relationship with the cute Mud truck guy. I suppose I can go once a week.