last year of the twenties

i made it through the birthday weekend and came out a-ok. 29 to some may seem like a milestone... last year of a decade (or an era). but i'm thinking of it as 1 step closer to 30, which i'm actually looking forward to, believe it or not. the twenties have been tough (and yes, completely fun), but from what i've heard from my older peers, is that the thirties are great (when you figure yourself out a bit more, are more comfortable with life, career stuff becomes a little more clear and sex life: watch out!). not that i'm putting place markers on ages, but sometimes, you just can't help it.

my friend sara from LA came out for the bday weekend which was really sweet. made me happy to have a good friend in town for the occassion... since most all of my NY friends happened to be out of town this weekend and it could have been a pretty lonely birthday. i didn't really plan anything big... just meeting at my favorite little bar in brooklyn for drinks and dancing. what more could i want?

the day was lovely... sunny and relatively warm. sara and i started the day with yummy breakfast then did the token walking all over the LES and east village for shopping, then over to the west village for the magnolia's bday cupcake. perfect day if you ask me. back at home for a little snooze, then chinese for dinner and off to the bar.

a handful of people showed up. we got drunk and danced and that was about that. nothing major, but it was nice.

the real party was last night though. lucy had gotten tickets for the body & soul reunion party. i was feeling pretty darn after boozin it up saturday night, but since it was a "tea dance" (late afternoon into early-ish evening) i thought i could muster the energy. we met up at 8 and headed to the sold out club.

it was insanely packed. apparently they were closing the club, arc, where body & soul had held a residency for years. also, the night had been finished for over a year (i believe) so the regulars were out to support, as well as every other music/dance/club enthusiast in NYC. and let me tell you, there was every kind of person imaginable in that room. old, young, short, tall, fat, skinny, black, white, asian, latino, gay, straight, crazy, normal. i mean EVERYONE. as i toked on some insane shirtless funny hatted gay man's joint, lucy told me to check out the 40+ dude wearing a t-shirt tucked into shorts with white socks and tevas! it was too much! but the main theme was everyone was enjoying themselves to the nth degree.

you could just feel that energy swarming through the place. i felt like i had taken the best E of my life as the lights would go down, the smoke machine filled the room, the sirens went off and everyone began to scream and clap when a song got intense. i don't know if old E chemicals stay in your body, and can be released again or if it was just a "contact high" but whatever it was, i felt so damn good (could even FEEL that something coursing through my veins and it gave my goosebumps).

needless to say, my lack of energy replaced in a matter of songs. and i must admit, the music wasn't something i'd necessarily listen to at home (some of it, sure, but most of it not), but i was grooving to some hard house shit regardless. the vibe in the joint was too too good not to lose your shit.

i think the highlight of the evening was when joe claussel played an extended version of "do i do" by my all time favorite stevie wonder. before the song came on, the lights went out, then a HUGE blast of cold air filled the room, the lights faded up to blue, the siren sound came on and then STEVIE! the place went nuts. and joe was just working the EQ's... like a freaking conductor infront of a giant orchestra. oh god, i loved it!

thank you body & soul. thank you for making me love NYC that much better... knowing that there are that many of us in the city that can create that kind of special energy in a room with good old fashioned music and dancing!