January 2011 ---Here's looking at you, Joan Wilder?

JANUARY 2011


I have been gone a long time.

There is no excuse. One good one could be the fact that I haven't had Internet Service at home for about 10 days. How have I survived? I don't know. Thank goodness for my iPhone. Add to that the fact that I have just basic cable, you can tell I am screwed. I thought maybe I would do some writing on my laptop to post them when I do get Internet Service. But I have just been taken over by life and its attendant difficulties to coordinate some thoughts on paper.

The month of January was full and fast. Filled with events.

One of them being holed up at home due to the winter storm. It snowed ever so casually on a Sunday night and for the next week, we were holed up indoors, unable to drive out. They termed it... Snowpocalypse 2011. I called it Peace of Mind, 2011. What a better way to start the year. Inasmuch as I like to go out, I love to stay home and enjoy the comforts and peace of mind of my own space and not having to deal with once again, life and its attendant circumstances.

In that time, I travelled to Raleigh, North Carolina, had the pleasure of dining with the North Carolinians - who by the way, packed a few restaurants heavily for a Thursday night in January. I guess they take dining out pretty seriously over there. Or maybe there's nothing else for them to do with their time.

I RSVP'd for a couple of events but couldn't make it, either due to weather, despair or just sheer laziness. Some that I did end up going to were pretty much filled with the same Atlanta crowd - self-absorbed, self-conscious folks. It kinda made me wonder, why did I bother? Then, I got reacquainted with my DVD player. What a thrill that one was. 

On the 16th, I attended 42 Below Vodka Cocktail World Cup 2011 hosted by 944 Magazine on a night that also happened to be Golden Globes night. This was basically a mixologist competition with free nibbles and open bar vodka cocktails. Such a nice set up you'd think it'd be filled with people. Not so much. As you can see from the gallery, I was not actually pictured anywhere. Once I had my fill of the Vodkas that I could handle for a Sunday night, I went home. I chatted with one older lady who thought the event was a dud as well then asked me to stop being such a wuss and  asked that I go out more (I found that rather ironic). Despite the lackluster thrill of the event, I don't regret attending, there's only so much you can do on a Sunday night to pep you up for the week. This was a fine starter.

Then, on the 25th, I joined a couple of ladies from my Girls Night Out Meetup for the 5 year anniversary of Mood Lounge. Considering how close Mood Lounge is to my home, I really have never actually been there. It's located in between somewhat of a residential neighborhood. The actual building looks like it used to be someone's home, converted into a lounge/nightclub. I kept thinking perhaps, they got tired of paying the exorbitant mortgage plus city taxes and just decided to party it up in here. Who knows? This event also had free food and booze. I guess, in this economy, it's my way of partying on a budget. When you think about it, if I really spent money all the times I've been out, I would run myself to the ground. 

My rating for this event was a Meh!! I ran into the same faces from several places ago, and I ate some pretty horrible hors d'oeuvres. The drinks were strong but held not that much variety, there's only so much you can do with Vodka and Rum and loads of ice, thanks to the bartenders. If not for the advice of a fellow patron, I would never have been able to think up the most amazing concoction. See, why you should talk to people, ask them what they're drinking, you can get some out-of-the-box ideas from them. As the night wore on, we had go-go dancers, a very unimaginative DJ, and a bongo player who actually went well with the music. And the place, for a Tuesday night, suddenly got so packed. As I left there was a crowd of people just begging to come in....begging. I kept thinking, It's Tuesday night, isn't it? I know the economy is bad, but seriously it's still Tuesday, what are we celebrating, the fact that it's a Tuesday?

To close the month off, I used my Groupon to liven up my Saturday by going to this ever popular Latin nightclub/restaurant, some place Atlantans like to call Loca Luna. This was awesome. Just exactly what I've been missing. There was good food and cheap wine, thanks to my half off Groupon, and when it wore off, in came friendly people to buy me some more cheap wine, plus there was so much dancing.

I have to tell you this about Latin people, they don't hold back. They are not pretentious, not egotistical, not self-absorbed. They just like to let it all hang out and have fun, salsa till the sun comes up. And after the week/month I've had this was just the perfect way to close it out. It made me feel alive, free like Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone (one of my all time favorite movies) and bemused. This time, no one batted an eye at the fact that I came alone, in fact there was a whole crew of single people and we all danced and drank together. As the night wore on, I said, thank you to Groupon and thank you to me for having the gumption to come out on this lowly Saturday night. I needed that.

So that's where I've been for the past month. I regret that I don't have any pictures but I hardly ever really break out my cellphone at these sort of events, don't want to seem like too much of a newbie. It's been sad, it's been lonely, it's been depressing, but in all that, it's been trying to make the most of the me time life has dealt me and I would say even though it's been all about me, it's been one hell of a good time. What can I say?