perfect sound forever

last nite

Did you ever have one of those nights when you stayed out entirely too late, made out with a really cute guy nonstop, danced your ass off, and cursed the fact that you had to go to work the next day? Last night was one of those nights.

It was GOOD.

cruel summer

I had a pretty brutal realization the other day. Even though last August I was without my best friend, this is the first full summer that she's not in NYC. And it's really hard.

It sucks.

When you live with someone for seven years and share a lot of common friends and interests, you have this safety net. You've automatically got this person who can count on all the time. Whether it's to read a freelance article you're working on and critique it honestly, to give you dating advice, or even just to accompany you to a party.

You're almost like a couple, and there's this give and take. I go the Sleater-Kinney show no one else will go to with you; you come see Stephen Malkmus with me. You're dating a new guy and you want me to hang out? Sure, but please come with me to this party where this cute guy is going to be.

It works out pretty well.

I'm used to being part of a dynamic duo, but for the past year, I've been pretty much a solo act.

Now besides best friend moving away, last summer was also notable in that another one of my close girlfriends had moved away in the spring, and that I got into a huge fight with another friend (over a guy) and we stopped hanging out.

As a result, I've pretty much hung out with my guy friends and their girlfriends. And my neighborhood girlfriends. All of them are nice and fun to hang out with.

But they're definitely different kinds of relationships. There's no dependability. For instance, when I was into Coffee Guy, there were occasions when I would literally BEG all my girlfriends to come to this weekly party his friends threw--because aside from him, I didn't really know anyone, and would feel awkward showing up alone.

Not a single person could spare an hour from their schedule to come with me. Not once.

Wake-up call.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not the kind of girl who can't be alone. I love my "me" time, and I love being in my apartment by myself, reading a magazine or listening to records. I am comfortable going to a restaurant, bar, and movie solo.

It's just that sometimes, you would like to be able to count on a good girlfriend.

Beach Club Kickoff

Last summer, my group of friends started an institution known as the Sunday Beach Club. Every weekend, we'd pick a beach in the NYC vicinity and meet up there. Some of us took cars; others took the subway or Long Island Railroad, or a ferry, depending on where we were going. Any which way to get our sun on. Long Beach was a favorite destination, since it is so accessible.

This year, Beach Club is kicking off with a bang--on Saturday, we are headed to the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island. This annual freakshow by the sea is great for people-watching. Plus, hot dogs, and Cyclone, and beers--oh my!

Jekyll & Hyde

Any regular readers of this blog know about my ongoing saga with M. The update is that M. and I have been just friends for a while now. He started dating a friend of mine recently and so I decided, to live by that high school motto: "Chicks before dicks."

Especially considering all the boy drama that happened last summer, and basically ruined my relationship with a close friend. (Don't worry--we are trying to reconcile.)

This Saturday she was out of town and I ran into him in a bar in Williamsburg. On one hand, we had a very cool conversation. I was upfront and honest about my whole two-plus-year obsession with him. I told him how insecure his hot-and-coldness made me--and how it pretty much meant I had to imbibe liquid courage to even hang out with him. I told him that it hurt my feelings when he said the time we made out was bad (too much liquid courage = no makeout skills). I even dragged my poor friend Angela into it--I introduced her to him as the person who after our one horrible date asked me, "What do you even LIKE about this guy, anyhow?"

I thought it was a pretty good opportunity to get a lot of stuff off my chest. It felt almost empowering to be able to be completely honest with him, instead of playing the too-cool-to-care game.

On the other hand--I don't know if it was all the "sharing" or just the fact that L. was out of town--it was weird because he tried to get me to come home with him. Several times. (The first time, I believe his words were, "Why don't we just leave now and get it over with?"--which, with his Southern scoundrel delivery, sounded a lot better than it reads here.)

Nevertheless, I declined.

What the hell is going on?

Greetings From Hotlanta

This Sunday, my friend P. from Atlanta came for a visit. We haven't seen each other since 2001 (I believe), right before her wedding, which I unfortunately had to skip because of a family crisis. Now P. is the mother of a very cute baby girl, making a living as a freelance magazine writer. We have the sort of friendship where no matter how long it's been since we've last been in touch that we can pick up as if it we were hanging out regularly.

So we walked around the East Village and L.E.S., got margaritas to go, bought some records from the drunk guy on the street who was selling them straight from the crate (Bangles and Go-Gos), and returned home for happy hour at Chez Fi. After that, we met up with my friend J. for--what else?--karaoke at Sing Sing. Late night burgers and fries were consumed.

Monday, P. had an interview with a fashion designer, but we met up at the Glameteria for lunch. (She got to see Coffee Guy!) It was a little on the early side, so she missed the fashions on parade that are a part of working here.

All in all, an eventful and fun visit. We talked about taking a trip to New Orleans at some point. P. has some ties there, and I have always wanted to go--and now, post-Katrina, am more interested than ever. I think that would be a fabulous trip. Kind of Thelma and Louise without the murder and law evasion.

DJ Yours Truly

Another benefit of the job revolution is that I've found time to get back to an old love of mine: DJing!

Back in college, I DJed at this bar called Darwin's. If memory serves me correctly, I played for the Saturday night crowd, which meant drunk sorority girls and hits, hits, hits. At the time, the most frequently requested songs were Nine Inch Nails' "Closer," Gabrielle's "Dreams" (which had a revival of sorts when it figured into Magnolia), and "Janet Jackson's "If." I also remember relying heavily on tracks from the Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction soundtracks.

My, how times have changed!

These days, my pals Aaron and Josh host a biweekly party in Williamsburg. They call it Fuck Your Mixtape. (I like to call it Frenemies Unite, because that's what Aaron and Josh used to be. Two guys who hung with the same crowd, but always had some sort of beef/competition with each other.) Anyhow, I've been guest DJ a few times, and I love it! I absolutely forgot how much of a rush it is to get a crowd going.

It's also a fantastic excuse to buy new records. Some of the gems I've played on recent nights:

"Deceptacon" by Le Tigre
"Back on the Chain Gang" by The Pretenders
"Run" by New Order
"Baby C'mon" by Stephen Malkmus
"Sing Me Spanish Techno" by The New Pornographers
"The Glamorous Life" by Sheila E.
"Tenderness" by General Public
"Kids in America" by Kim Wilde
"Lips Like Sugar" by Echo & the Bunnymen

More later. Summer hours. Must buy more vinyl. If anyone has a lead on where I can find the first Stone Roses on record, post. XO!

PS: Chrissie Hynde is so fucking cool.

Summer Fridays

One of the great things about my new(ish) job? Summer Fridays! We get out at 12:30 every Friday. Can you believe it? What a different summer this is going to be!!!