R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Feeling like ‘da bomb’ this past Friday is an understatement! Well, not really, it was pretty lame and funny actually, but staying up until a whopping 3am was nevertheless refreshing.

The highlight of the evening/night will probably go down as my coolest moment in history. After dinner, and a couple of unsuccessful attempts of finding the right spot of the evening, I remembered about a place whose owner I know through a friend of a friend. And so we grab a taxi (or more like fight for a taxi in the monsoon of a Friday that took over NYC that night.)

We pull up next to ‘the place’ with no line, but people hanging out or smoking nearby. Mind you, I have never been a fan of night clubs, or waiting in line to be facecontrolled, or not waiting in line after being facecontrolled, or generally waiting in line to get into any “hot/new/chill/popping” place.

Nevertheless, the velvet rope was there. This magical velvet rope had the power to stay closed, or be opened at the total discretion of a scrawny wannabe with a clipboard and a pretend guest list.

And so my star moment went something like this…

Guy at the door with a clipboard and a pretend guest list (the Guy): “Hey guys, can I help you?”

Me in my cute rain day outfit with rain boots and umbrella on a side(Me): “Hi, we just wanted to come in to hang out and have a drink.”

The Guy: After a two second pause (supposedly face controlling) “Sorry we have a private party here tonight.”

Me: “Private party, here? Really?”

The Guy: “Yeah, sorry.”

Me: (Thinking that this must be one of those facecontrol moments, which of course has nothing to do with me and my cute rain day outfit, but nevertheless the moment when I must redeem myself because I draged my friends all the way from the west side to get here) “Hmm…is Mike here?”

The Guy: (After processing the magic words) “Hmmm…you know Mike?”

Me: (Pulling out my iPhone to text Mike.) “Yeah, I know Mike.”

The Guy: (Looking at my iPhone about to text Mike.) “How do you know Mike?”

Me: “He’s a friend of mine.”

The Guy: “Hmmm…why don’t you guys come in.”

Me: (putting away the iPhone) “Cool, thanks.”

The Guy: (Pointing at some loner who was standing next to us) “Is this your entourage?”

Me: (Did he just say ENTOURAGE?) “Oh no, its just the four of us.”

And that’s how that was done!

Private party my behind. We were totally facecontrolled. How lame (of the wanna be with a clipboard and a pretend guest list)!

This was also the moment when I gained a whole other orbit of respect from a friend I know for at least a decade. I am not making this up, she told me herself. The free drinks that I got from the owner was also a nice touch. Thanks Mike!

So friends, amigos y amigas, beware. I know people! :)

Serenity Now!

Remember that time, back when there was always some event or activity or person to be soooooo excited about? When you added those extra “o”s because it wasn’t just exciting, it was soooooooooo exciting!

So and so’s birthday is next month, PARTAY! Drinks after work, 4:59pm, time to GO! Can you believe I met HIM on the train???

I recently realized that even though celebrations, outings and happenstance encounters are still a big part of our lives, what keeps us going, laughing, smiling and what keeps us checking our calendars regularly. That “sooooo excited” feeling, has somehow transformed and has been substituted with “life is good” feeling. The excitement has certainly gone down a notch or two.

Am I wrong?

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It is only natural that when you’re young, you can’t get enough of everything, all the new places, things and people to see, touch, eat, smell, meet, kiss and travel to. When you’re no longer young but young-ish, and slightly wiser (let’s just say for argument’s sake), it’s not about what’s next, but more so about now, while keeping the eye on the next.

Don’t get me wrong, we still plan, expect and look forward to. Only now, those feelings lack that immediacy. Is it because most of us have already felt some drawbacks in life? Have we learned to expect more cautiously? Or is it because we can feel happy and content even if life hasn’t turned out exactly how we thought it would?

- How do you make God laugh?
- You make a plan.

So it’s almost as if we’re experienced enough to know that this PARTAY is not the end of, or the top of, or the best of, or most exciting of life’s bestest, most beautiful, meaningful or precious moments.

My life is not perfect, but life is good. All I ask is a peace of mind and some LOL moments, no matter where, when or with whom.

Happenstance and serenity! (Just because I like those two words)