Nil by Mouth

On The Out

Last night was probably my first real nyc night since being back. “Real” meaning it included all the key ingredients that normal nyc partiers take for granted. There was first and foremost the spending of ridiculous amounts of money. I’ll just blurt it out here: $55 not including subway rides and the bandaids that an emergency summer sandals situation required. Just so you know, this paid for only 4 drinks in the course of the night. The rest was car fare, door charges, and a priceless stop at the Brooklyn Diner for cheeseburgers and disco fries at 4am. (Damn that place is buzzing at 4). There was the stuffing of five people into the first car service, then later laying on a hood of a car in Williamsburg contemplating how to summon an open taxi. There were two very mellow brooklyn bars. At rubulad, where i hadn’t been in nearly two years, there was the hottest (not slang cool-hot, like crazy ass heat-hot), sweatiest, most stifling dance floor i’ve ever encountered. There was a packed roof dotted with acquaintances i hadn’t seen in pretty much exactly a year, and there was me trying to be jolly and witty and light, but not really remembering where i left off with most everyone. And then i think i got straight-dissed by an old friend, but i can’t really be sure. In the time of nearly a year all sorts of friend dynamics change. In addition to that, i have a crappy memory so it’s doubly hard to figure out exactly where everything and everyone is supposed to be these days.

There’s another party tonight where i expect to run into even more long-lost acquaintance-friend-types.. so who knows. It all does make me a little bit anxious. Speaking of long lost, in the past week i got 4 e-mails from long-lost friends and/or “things”, two of whom have just moved back to nyc after absences even longer than mine. It may be nice to compare notes, though i’m not sure either of them had lives as firmly entrenched here as i do (did?). In a way i’m still wandering in the desert when it comes to figuring out various social circles. I can only just let it all resolve itself though, so i’m not gonna sweat it all too much. All my sweat’s been earmarked for the heat anyway. Or for tennis, which is far and away the best part of life right now. Yesterday i had one of those games where i was totally “on” and kicking ass. It was too bad i wore out my partner after an hour and a half cause i could have played well into the night. But in nyc the night’s made for parties not tennis, isn’t it?

• Jun 29