Tuesday, November 8, 2005

WEEKEND UPDATE.... FINALLY

I was pressed into service on Monday night so I am only able to update the blog now. There's a lot to catch up on so let's get the ball rolling.....

SATURDAY

I spent the day getting ready for the big wedding bash at the CENTRAL PARK BOATHOUSE. Now while I was looking forward to the festivities, I surely wasn't looking forward to wearing a penguin suit. I am very uncomfortable with tight-fitting collars and ties and having to wear a black tie and tuxedo was the ultimate in suffering. But to be able to attend the wedding of a guy whom I consider one of my very favorite people of all-time, I'd go buck naked if I had to. I wouldn't miss it for the world.

So I get to the church at precisely 3:30pm, the time of the wedding and thinking that i'm late, I high-tail it up the stairs and dart into the church; It turns out that I wasn't late at all. I run into the members of the groom's party. Among the group was my roommate FRENCHY, and the first thing he said was "where's the tux?". I told him not to worry about it; that i'd be ready for the reception (I wasn't going to wear the penguin suit any longer than I had to). A few minutes later the service begins and of course, it's a beautiful ceremony. The bride was gorgeous; the groom, snazzy and nervous (as he should be- he's taking the biggest step of his life!). Everything went without a hitch and the service went smoothly...and quickly, a perfect combination.

After the ceremony I had about two hours to get back to the bar, check on things with the day bartender, go back to the apartment, transform into THE PENGUIN, and get to Central Park by 7pm. A lot of running around, but surprisingly, no problems. I get to 72nd Street and 5th Avenue and immediately look for the shuttle bus that's supposed to transport us to the BOATHOUSE. However, there's no shuttle bus to be seen. So I decide to begin walking into the park. Mind you, I'd never been to the BOATHOUSE, so I am basically walking aimlessly along the road, hoping to see a building that resembles a boathouse or signs of human penguins walking about. Luckily for me, the walk was about five minutes or so and I found it right away. Once again, smooth sailing. There must have been a full moon or something- nothing ever goes that smoothly for the SWANFATHER.

I get inside the BOATHOUSE and I immediately run into a group of people I know. Relief. I grab myself a cocktail and begin to mingle. Soon after, the guests began arriving and mingling about in the cocktail room area, right off the pond. I have to say that everyone was impressed with my attire and I was pretty impressed with myself. It was a beautiful night and being outdoors having a cocktail felt really nice. The guests got a bit of a surprise when in the middle of the cocktail hour, fireworks began shooting off over the water. Talk about unique! Everyone got a real kick out of this. Soon after, we went into the reception room and the festivities really kicked into high gear. Open bar all night long, a live band cranking out great tunes, from the oldies to some pretty good renditions of today's hits; At one point I was out on the dance floor, shaking my money-maker when I had to suddenly cut it short because my pants were about to fall down to my ankles. The food was awesome! Overall, probably one of the best weddings I'd been to in a long time.

Afterwards I headed back to the bar to check in on things and to warn the staff that the wedding party would be invading the bar after the reception. I wanted them to be ready to serve a pumped up crowd. Soon afterwards, I snuck away to the apartment to get out of my penguin suit. As soon as I got back to the apartment, I ripped the penguin suit off and got into more comfortable clothing. I sat down for what should have been a minute....next thing you know, i'm snoring, out like a light. I guess I'm not as young as I used to be...

SUNDAY

It's Marathon Sunday. Now this is sort of a weird day as I usually don't get busy until later in the day. Most of my regulars are usually uptown, attending Marathon parties and such, then making their way back downtown and stopping in later in the day. It was also an unsusally beautiful day and believe me, if I didn't have to work, I'd be outside too. So the early part of the day was pretty slow. I had AFRIKA BAMBATTA, THE WHIPPET TWINS and a couple of members of the PEANUT GALLERY to keep me company. We kept each other amused for most of the afternoon. A few other members of the "flock" drifted in and out throughout the afternoon, but nothing like the typical Sunday hi-jinx we're used to.

At around 5pm, folks started to drift in for the post-marathon party. Soonafter, FIREGIRL and SEXY BLONDE arrived to take over the bartending duties for me. With the party expected to be hectic and with me being a bit "tired" from the festivities the night before, I thought it would be a good idea to have some reinforcements on hand to keep things running smoothly. It turned out to be a good call on my part.

Up until that point the post-marathon party slowly moving along. As each runner walked into the bar, they were greeted with cheers from the people in the bar. While this was happening, the crowd steadily grew until all of a sudden...BAM! Out of nowhere, what started out as a sedate, mellow affair, turned into a loud, festive and rockin' party, complete with lots of dancing, drinking and cheering. I'm not sure when the transformation took place, but when it did, it did so quickly. It was actually pretty cool to see everyone having such a good time. At around 9pm, members of the ACHILLES RUNNING CLUB came in and immediately joined in the festivities- they didn't miss a beat. People were walking by the bar and peering in, wondering what the heck was going on- it was that loud and fun.


The festivities continued until well after midnight. So while the day started out quietly, like a lamb, it went out loud and proud, like a lion. Not a bad way to end the weekend.

MONDAY

Today I found myself up early, knowing that I had a few choice errands that I wanted to get out of the way quickly so that I could have the afternoon for myself. I had to return the penguin suit; there were things at the bar that needed to take care of; I also had to at some point, go to MADISON SQUARE GARDEN to claim hockey tickets that i'd won last week (I have a unique habit of winning radio contests and scratch offs; call me crazy). All told, I got most of what I needed to get done and then...I GOT THE CALL.

It seems that my Monday doorman asked for this week off (he was going away for the weekend). I told him that i'd get someone to cover the shift. Of course, with all of the things on my plate, I totally forgot about it. So when I got THE CALL from FIREMARSHALL ED, I freaked! I could have made some calls to bring someone in, but it was last notice and my own fault for not taking care of it earlier, so I bit the bullet and pitched in for the night.

The night itself was relatively peaceful; a nice crowd was there for the NEW ENGLAND/INDIANAPOLIS football game. There was also a large contingent of Brits hanging out in the back area of the bar, watching a soccer match. Some highlights:

*Being amused by a couple of guys from Slovokia who were trying to get the attention of the same girl, who in turn, had a crush on the bartender. (She ended up leaving with the two guys in a taxi...hmmm)

*Getting into a shouting match with some girl who wanted to leave with her bottle of Corona, at all costs. (I think she said F*** YOU about six times at the top of her voice within a 60 second blitz while her equally drunk boyfriend stood idly by)

*Observing a group of skater-boys staring at a computer geek who was trying to breakdance and shaking their heads.

Other than that, pretty low-key. As soon as the game ended, the bar pretty much cleared out, leaving the staff and I to ourselves while I bored them with stories about my high school years. Exciting stuff.

So that was the weekend in a nutshell. I'd go on, but I'm pretty beat and you are probably bored to death by now. DOLLAR DRAFT MADNESS continues tontie with $1 Bud/Bud Light MUGS all nite LONG!!!

Today is ELECTION DAY- DON'T FORGET TO VOTE! EVERY VOTE COUNTS!

NUFF SAID