Thursday, December 28, 2006

zephyr in the sky at night i wonder

well edna and johnbrown's holiday party last night was a huge success. what a good time was had by all, and according to johnbrown, it (the party) raged until nearly 3 am but luckily i was gone way before midnight. chalk one up to some self-control and good judgment.....what's that? i (luckily) was diane free this am, but i hear she made the rounds with several other party-goers including bret anne, who may just have ended up at the 'tic. (let me quickly put on my surprised face)...hehe

the food last night was nothing short of amazing. that johnbrown is a damn fine cook, and the grilled chicken on skewers with the satay peanut sauce are near perfect in my book. i spent much of the night crowded around the table (and the bar) and that was just fine by me.

so nice that eric's entire family came to the party last night. they sure are down with the gays, and are such delightful people. in fact, i looked around that party last night and realized how incredible genuine and very good looking my friends are. i guess you could say i am blest.......
what a cute couple..... Posted by Picasa
and then there was evans...... Posted by Picasa
mark seib, the assistant, and myself Posted by Picasa
Edna and the entire McNaughton family were in attendance... Posted by Picasa
anthony, looking great as usual, and a very thin cliff Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

heaven holds a sense of wonder

despite being on call Christmas and spending nearly 8 hours doing double FUPA duty, i still managed to make it out to scarietta and spend some time with the family on Christmas day. as you can see, Carter isn't sure if he really likes his new UGA hat. but i had a good time, spent some quality time with Molly-Catherine aka beatrice-elizabeth, and of course enjoyed my mom's cooking immensely. next year, i have made a promise to myself that i will not be on call, which of course means i will [hopefully] be in a new job.

tomorrow night should be big fun. johnbrown and eric are hosting a holiday cocktail party over on 5th street. only this year, i plan on walking to said event and will not make an appearance as Ptown barbie.... Posted by Picasa
 Posted by Picasa
my visit with becky and her new lover, Andy, was really special. they arrived sunday night and we had drinks at my condo and exchanged gifts. i think she really liked her Borghese gift set, but i was really blown away by her present to me. It is a painting by one of her favorite artists in Charleston, Carol Mcgill. The painting is of the various bridges in Charleston, in the exact colors of orange I have in my condo. (now i have no sense of decorating, so i owe all the credit to her).

we later joined joel and brad over at the H&H ranch, where dinner featured beef tenderloin, gnocci, and joel's signature winter salad. of course, being on q2h feedings, i went back for a second helping. wine was served and we had time after dinner to really get to know Andy. of course i liked him from the beginning as he introduced himself using his first and last name, a subtle southernism that i picked up, letting me know this boy has manners. and becky is so deserving of a handsome, genuine guy in her life. i can't think of anyone more deserving. Posted by Picasa

Sunday, December 24, 2006

all about potential, dollface

yesterday's outing for wrapping paper was a success, despite all of the procrastinating last minute shoppers. i found exactly what i needed at Target, and let me tell ya, there were gaggles of queens up in there just tearin' it up on some credick cards. oh the gays....

i awoke this morning feeling slightly anxious, craving something with an "X" in it. I'm still on call, and i still have to wrap all of my gifts. plus i have company coming in a few hours so there are toilets to clean. cause' a dirty toilet just announces that you are low class.

for last minute stocking stuffers for the lady on your list , let me suggest a tub of tussy.

Friday, December 22, 2006

you were working as a waitress at a cocktail bar

it seems that the holiday season has kept diane real busy. she made all the rounds in midtown this morning. let's figure out why...

i was really looking forward to my dinner date with Dori last night (she's the incredibly beautiful woman pictured above, by the way). we worked together for years at piedmont and now she works for one of my very good friends at Abbott. after catching up chez moi, we walked over to Ecco for dinner. and after finding out the wait for a table would be well over an hour, we were lucky and grabbed a table near the bar. the food was really good, this being my first time dining at ecco. we had the tuna crudo and mussels to start. they mussels came in a cream sauce with potatoes and leeks and were simply divine. (even better than the mussels at carroll street cafe). and we split the risotto with wild mushrooms. perfect. i love the atmosphere in ecco, it's warm and cozy and very romantic, and i was with the most beautiful woman in the place.

then it was off to Blake's to meet up with friends where it seems everyone was out to celebrate. the greats, the near-greats, and the junior league were all in attendance. even the drag queens (what? at Blake's?), which still make me very nervous. (is there something fundamentally wrong with a large black man dressed in a red feather dress doing a drag number to christmas songs? let's discuss). BJ and yoga Jason (who I must say complement each other so well) were set on getting me and Dori drunk. mission accomplished. thanks.

somehow we ended up at Wetbar (without taking the shuttle) where we were joined by the Mayor and Ty. and I was soon drinking water. you see, i had to work today unlike the other drunks in that place. dori and i left at a respectable hour, walking back to my place in the light rain and crashed. i woke up to diane hitting me on me on the head with one of those plastic fisher price mallets. i left her in bed for dori to entertain.

i'm really looking forward to a quiet weekend. i have presents to wrap (yes, i finished all of my christmas shopping yesterday in less than two hours). Beck-yay comes into town on Sunday and I am looking forward to dinner with her and Andy, her new boyfriend. looking for last minute stocking stuffers, I told mom I wanted a fleshlight. though i don't think you can buy them at home depot. Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

somewhere along in the bitterness

geez this week seems to be flying by, and i know exactly why. as usual, i haven't finished my christmas shopping. in fact, i think i have only purchased a total of two gifts. sometimes i think i set myself up for this stress, knowing that i do operate well under a short deadline. and the fact that I am on call this entire weekend is enough to make me get this job done by friday. we shall see.

all this and work is driving me crazy. if i have to hear one more person answer a question with a question i may just go postal. I am so sick of hearing "I don't care, I will do anything my team leader tells me." give me a break, are you not an adult and entitled to having an opinion for once in your life? my thoughts of a new job are heavy on my mind, and my mom keeps asking me what i want for christmas. (i finally told her to stop buying me clothes, as she tends to buy me things that my dad would wear. very nice and quite expensive, but I am 31 not 67 and I don't usually hang out at Opus 1. but maybe i should consider it?) so i thought of a perfect gift this year..... a new interview suit. and i am not talking one of those liquidated K&G ghetto suits, I want a nice one....from bloomingdale's.

so wish me luck as i battle the traffic tomorrow afternoon and throw myself into the thick of last minute shopppers desperate to find that perfect gift. But I have an advantage.....and it comes in the form of a list and a xanax.

It's not a problem, cause it was free....

Ms. USA, Tara Conner keeps her crown!!

Monday, December 18, 2006

and i would have stayed up with you all night

I really should have gone with the boys to High Hill Lodge this weekend. shouldawouldacoulda.

Friday night was a lot of fun. after a tiring 14 hour day at work, i made it home just in time to grab my headphones and CDs and head over to Midcity Cafe. and soon enough, the place was packed with over twenty of my friends there to support me. that means so much to me.

this time, Jefferson and i took turns at the decks, each spinning about 45 minutes. he has such an impeccable taste for music, and it really is cool to be able to spin alongside someone who shares such a passion for music. we complement each other.

now what i wasn't prepared for was the telephone conversation with tim on sunday morning. talk about making a 180 degree turn in a matter of two days. here i was thinking that we were having a good time, and to be honest, it has left me very confused. and i may never fully understand. i can only wonder why he would put so much effort and time into making plans with me, texting me, etc only to withdraw completely??

joel and brad's cocktail party saturday night was big fun. the bartender poured the strongest drinks (even when I asked several times for a "light skinny"). soon enough, people were trashed including an ER physician that was giving me the creeps. but it was fun to catch up with my ptown group. and damn if yoga jason didn't look his best!

the boyscout picked me up yesterday and we met bret, trey, and Holly for a late lunch at neighbors. the weather was so incredible that we felt the need to be outside.

cut to blake's.............another story for another day.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

I'll Lick your ice cream, and you can lick my lollipop

if you are a fan of Thai food like myself, then you should check out Spoon. located on Marietta Street in west midtown, this relatively new restaurant offers affordable thai cuisine in a really cute and cozy setting.

for starters, the nam tok beef salad comes on a bed of cabbage and purple onion and is really good. last night, i had the pad kraprao with beef which was a safe choice as it wasn't too hot. (i learned last time that I am not really cut out for a 3 chili pepper entree, especially on a first date. sweating at the dinner table is not pretty). if you like spicy, try the spicy mixed seafood. it is excellent but very hot.

if you know anything about house music, then you have probably heard of Sandy Rivera. This Puerto Rican born DJ who now resides in New York began playing records at the young age of 13. Sandy cites his musical influences throughout the years to come from disco, rap, hip hop, soul and pure house music. He has even released records and remixes from several different dj guises including soul vision, the committee, and Kings of Tomorrow. His hit released under the latter name KOT called "Finally" featured Julie McKnight on the vocals and was definitely an Ibiza anthem back in 2001. I even own that classic track on vinyl.

This year, Sandy returns with a new track called "Lollipop" that is nothing short of pure fun. It has that perfect "sassy black girl beat", an element that johnbrown finds essential to getting down and dirty on the dancefloor. call it the "milkshake" of 2006 if you will.

check out a sample here.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

when i was a young boy i tried to listen

there are few djs that can really impress me on a regular basis. but Kaskade is definitely one of them. and last night he surely didn't disappoint. we arrived around 11pm only to find out it was the annual Santa pub crawl, and you guessed it, it culminated at Eleven50. as i entered the club i was bombarded by nearly 150 overserved santas in full costume. it reminded me of a scene (or is it nightmare) from A Christmas Story. but as chris robyler remarked, "john, these people are not in it to win". and sure enough, an hour later, me and my posse of 30+ managed to run off the drunken Santas and we took over the dancefloor.

the opening dj, Rachel, was very good, though her mixing was spotty at times. however she did end with an excellent mix of Coldplay - white shadows.

shortly after midnight, Kaskade took over the decks and for two and a half hours he played a fantastic set. it was progressive, it was funky, it was house. and the man knows how to read a crowd. he would play harder and harder, then bring it right back up by throwing in one of his signature remixes such as "everything". his passion for music and love for dj'ing is apparent in his face and the energy that he exudes. This was my 4th time hearing him out and each time has been a unique experience.

I got to spend some quality time with Arjan, and i honestly think he enjoyed the show more than he expected to. :)

best music i have heard out this year without a doubt. Excellent Job Ryan!

Here is what i remember:


Kaskade - stars align
David guetta vs. the egg - donÂ’t let me go (walking away)
Kaskade - be still
Bob Sinclair - world, hold on
Chris lake - changes (dirty south remix)
Eric prydz - proper education
Pete heller - big love (original I think, pure classic!)
Depeche mode - I just canÂ’t get enough
Kaskade - steppin out
Kaskade - in this life
Kaskade - everything (kaskade's big room anthem)
Late night alumni - empty streets (kaskade remix i believe)
Fedde le grand - put your hands up for Detroit
The creeps - freaks (vandalism remix)
Roger sanchez - lost (d. Ramirez lost in rave mix)
Kaskade - itÂ’s you, itÂ’s me (ended the night with this track)
David morales - here I am (kaskade remix)
Aaron smith feat luvli - dancing
Michael gray - borderline
Supermode - tell me why
Milk & sugar - stay around for this
Kaskade - all you (played near the end, i suspect this will be the next single to be released)
Cicada - the things you say
Evermore - itÂ’s too late (dirty south remix)
Toby neal - do you want (my love)