can this really be happening?

So Darling and i went on a pseudo-date last night. i call it a pseudo-date b/c we met for drinks around 10 pm. there was no dinner and it's not like he shelled out a lot of cash so it doesn't count as an actual date. not that monetary wealth is a necessary identifying marker of a real date. however, if he had gotten access into the apartment that night he wuold've gotten all the benefit w/very little effort. hence, he did not.

originally Pal & i were supposed to go to see a preview screening of The Breakup. unfortunately that fell through so Pal decided to go to the Pearl Jam concert at Meadowlands Arena instead (she'd already had the tickets but was going to blow it off for the movie). Douglife had bought the tickets and had harassed me to buy the remaining extra ticket from him yesterday at a significantly reduced price but i just wasn't that interested. i listened to Pearl Jam in high school and still like them today but just don't love them. plus i'm still broke so i couldn't really afford it.

so none of my friends were in hoboken and it looked like it was going to be a quiet thursday when Darling called and offered to meet up. he picked me up and we went to Green Rock where we ran into Doogie (one of Pal's ex-fling things, given the name b/c he occassionally looks like Doogie Howser, M.D.) and then moved on to Mile Square (my favorite quiet local). overall the pseudo-date was fun.

the thing is, whenever Pal asks me to go somewhere w/her & i decline, i almost always regret it the next day. this time was no different. i called Pal this morning and i knew i (sort of) regretted not going to Pearl Jam. first off, Mang had met 2 guys the night before the concert who were also going that day. so Mang, being the ballsy girl that she is, emailed them the next day and asked if she & Pal could hitch a ride in their car so they wouldn't have to take the bus. and wouldn't you know it? they had just enough room in their car for 2 cute girls! of all the luck...

i guess i should've known then that this concert would be off the hook for Pal & Mang. turns out they showed up @ the concert and never even made it to their seats to meet Douglife & Jew. they got approached by some guys who had gotten their own private box and was asked to join them b/c they had too many "dudes" in their box. so Mang & Pal got to hang out in a private box and drink & eat for free. of course, Douglife & Jew ditched them at the concert so Pal & Mang had to take the bus back to the city but they had no cash to pay for the bus so they kept bugging guys to lend them money for the bus.

that's the story so far. Pal had to leave for a meeting @ 10 am so i haven't gotten the whole story yet but i'm sure i'll hear it later.

Hangover City, Population: Me

I wish I could take credit for the title of this post, but it's been a running joke that Douglife started a while ago after a night of binge drinking. I still find it hilarious...

Saw Debs yesterday which was fun. We went to Hale & Hearty for lunch, my favorite soup and sandwich spot. Had an amazing Sweet Corn Chowder (which burned my tongue. It's actually still a bit numb right now) and Turkey and Brie sandwich. She just started a new job in the city working for MediaCom. The job sounds fun and glamorous and very much like The Devil Wears Prada sans crazy bitch boss. MediaCom's even located right next to Smith & Wollensky which is where Miranda orders her bloody steak lunches in the book. We talked about her new job and discussed possibly moving in together in Brooklyn. It'd definitely be nice to live with someone I knew before I lived w/them.

Went to Oddfellows last night w/Pal and Douglife to celebrate my pre-birthday/vacation/new-found health. Oddfellows has great New Orleans food and do a good happy hour from 6-8 pm and on Wednesdays they do $4 Hurricanes all night long and karoake starting at 9 pm. Pal and Douglife live for the karaoke. We showed up around 9 or 10 pm after meeting up at Pal's apartment. I hate it when people take karaoke so seriously!! You know, with the eyes-closed-singing-Celine-Dion crap. Gimme a break... Of course Pal, Douglife and I all suck so we completely ruined the atmosphere (meaning we made it more fun). I was itching to play pool (although I am notoriously bad) and got Pal to play doubles w/me w/some guys we met. I was surprisingly good which just goes to prove that alcohol always improves your skill in any game.

Woke up this morning extremely hungover. Still have an insane day ahead of me since I've got to get to the airport w/Ahjima for the start of our vacation. I better hydrate myself quick or else that 17+ hour flight is gonna be a nightmare.

now MY wallet is missing?

Went for my first big night out since contracting bronchitis about a month ago. Pal and I headed to happy hour in Hoboken. You always know it's gonna be a big night when you're taking shots at 6 pm. We started at the Shannon Lounge where there's happy hour from 4-7 pm (although the deal's pretty stingy if you ask me). The place has definitely shaped up a lot since the renovation. It used to be a real hole-in-the-wall but now it looks like a decent local and there seems to be a nice pool table in the rear. I met a guy (whose name I can't remember) who was introduced to me w/the tag line "he's got major yellow fever" (and he was a very white guy). Yea, great buddy. We talked about my upcoming trip to Taipei and Hong Kong and I received a huge shocker. The guy mentioned the Taiwan series Meteor Garden!! He said he really liked it and was currently watching part 2. I have to admit I was pretty excited about that.

Pal and her co-worker decided to head to Rothko for a monthly hip hop karaoke event her work attends. I stayed behind w/Pal's roommate, Mini and we continued the night. Eventually we left Shannon Lounge and headed towards Nine, which seems to be Mini's favorite place. I def don't mind Nine and I enjoy it but I always feel like it's for the Hobokenites who were too lazy to be bothered w/taking the PATH into the city to go to an NYC lounge. I remember having a really nice convo w/the bouncer on the 2nd floor, but after that the night comes to me in gaps.

I don't remember exactly how, but we arrived at 3Forty Grill next, another of Mini's faves. I don't recollect arriving or checking my coat or anything. What I do remember is talking to 3 random girls who looked like they were having a boring girls night out and falling on my ass. I was talking to Derek, glanced behind me and, I swear I saw a seat behind me, sat down. ON NOTHING. So yea, I fell flat on my ass. After that Mini wanted to go home w/the guy she'd been talking to all night so we headed back, although Westchester and I stopped for Blimpie's before going home.

I woke up this morning w/a gigantic hangover and putted around until 2 pm upon which I prepared to go to a doggy birthday party and realized my wallet was missing. Now I'm a pretty big slob in my room and I tend to throw things around so while I searched my room I called Ahjima to laugh at the irony of it, never thinking it was really lost. After about 45 minutes I really became panicked. Ultimately I called Bank of America and cancelled my ATM card and then called Mini to find out the last place we went to (that's how I found out we had actually been in 3forty Grill because I hadn't been sure if we'd gone there or Trinity. Both places have very similar interior designs). Luckily for me, it turns out that during my wrestle w/gravity last night it had fallen out of my purse. So I trudged over in the rain and ecstatically picked it up. Phew, crisis averted.

So I debated about taking a cab over to Jersey City for the doggy birthday party. Nobu i s officialy 1 year old in human years (7 in doggy years). He's Uncle T & Auntie V's psuedo-child, or practice until they feel like having the real thing. I bought him this amazing dog toy called Kong. Such an ingenious invention. Uncle T & Auntie V prepared some amazing food, which was great cause I was starving. Nobu was adorable and really excited about all the attention and people to play with. He's such a cute dog and really sociable.

Ok, so off to dim sum tomorrow w/Kiks and Bubby at Jing Fong in Chinatown tomorrow. I'm gonna be such a heffer by the time I get to Taipei....