Ring Ting-a-ling a Holiday Blahg!
OK, I’ll admit it I am one of those people who gets kinda down during the holiday season. So, as we roll uncontrollably into Christmas 2007, I need to keep my inner-grinch in check. I have a tendency to sneer at the holiday cheer.
New York City at this time of year does look beautiful. I would even go so far as to say it is at its urban best. The windows, the trees, the lights, the smell of the roasting chestnuts–and for me personally, it is very nostalgic. As a kid I spent countless Christmas vacations here in good ‘ole NYC with the grandparents going to shows, festive dinners and the annual pilgrimage to FAO Schwartz (when it was still in the original location), but somehow I still grew to resent the holiday. There is just something about the gross commercialism that sticks in my craw. I definitely feel like Charlie Brown in that scene at the Christmas Tree lot–searching for something that doesn’t drip of hyperbolic consumerism. Good grief.
So I have trained myself to concentrate and focus on the really good things about ‘the season.’ And for me that is friends! Good friends.
I was lucky enough to spend some quality time with some pals at the recent Instinct Magazine 10th Anniversary Party. The Hell’s Kitchen venue (HK’s) that hosted the party was filled with cute boys (Hi Dr. Frank!) and beautiful girls.
But what really made the evening special was the chance to hang out with friends. Sara, Ben, Dave, Jennie, Chris and of course my dearest ‘gal-pal’ EIC of Instinct, Mike Wood.
We drank, ate meatballs (well SOME people did) and carried on. However, once our gang finished off the free vodka (It was my ONE night of the month to drink hard alcohol) we made our way to Vlada, a toney midtown watering hole just a few blocks away. There we met up with a group of other folks coming from an altogether different gay gathering. It was like solar systems colliding, creating a new energy that was unexpected.
Great music, great company, a funnier than shit drag show–what more can a boy ask for? The holidays were off to a rip-roaring start.
So for me it reiterated that it really is about the company I keep. Here are a few shots of our here! Night Out. Enjoy.
Now if we could just figure out that ‘peace-on-earth, good will to man’ thing!
