Hasa Diga Eebowai

In late October I made my way to New York City for a weekend to meet my friend Tom who was in town to attend a conference. 

We decided to hit the town following a wonderful dinner at The Turkish Kitchen. Our first stop was Employees Only, a speak easy prohibition throw back bar, recommended to Tom by a conference colleague. Having read some reviews about the establishment online, I was hesitant to think we would  enjoy the place or more importantly the clientele that frequented the bar. Upon arrival and getting a good look around we quickly agreed....one drink and we would leave. There were way too many 'glasses', people sporting eye glasses for fashion instead of function, for our taste. 

Later in the evening we made our way to the St. Regis hotel, where the Bloody Mary was created, to taste the famous drink. While the hotel and ambiance were beautiful, the drink itself left something to be desired. 

In need of some music and dancing I pulled up Yelp to search for some local recommendations. A place called Touch had some decent reviews so we made our way over. We exited the cab to find a near dark establishment. While others might have turned away thinking it was closed, Tom and I walked in like we owned the place. Once we were through the entryway we were quickly met by various men dressed as women, in gorgeous gowns and full makeup yet minus their wigs, cleaning up. They came screeching to a halt and asked if they could help us. "Yeah," we replied, "is this Touch?". We were then informed that it had not been Touch for about two years.....thank you Yelp! Trying to make the best of the situation we asked if they could recommend a place for us to get a drink at this hour. They pointed us in the direction of a Russian gay bar a few doors down. Who knew that gay bars segregated themselves based on ethnic groupings. 

We entered the bar and asked the bar tender for two glasses of their best vodka on the rocks. Up came a homemade bottle that was tucked underneath the bar, apparently the good stuff was not on the shelf. After ordering our drinks at the bar we were greeted by our waiter for the evening, Moon. Moon was a gem who tended to our every need. I'm not sure what won him over quicker, my well groomed eyebrows or my hair. If you ask Tom though, he would say it was his custom fitted dress shirt that sealed the deal on the good service we received.  The verdict is still out. My only wish for the night was that someone would land on that Moon, he deserved a nice guy.

Not too long after finishing our first drink, the staff from the drag bar formerly known as Touch joined us for the night. Basil, his boss and a few other boys treated us to some vivid conversation for the remainder of the evening. At one point I overheard Basil's boss say"I can take 11.5 inches" and I inquisitively asked, "in the ass?!" He replied,"oh no girl, NO ONE can take 11.5 in the ass!!". With that question settled I was left wondering....was this the sort of guy who dated guys who measured themselves or was he the sort of guy who measured his partners. Neither option seemed desirable, but you have got to love that he didn't short change himself, he was very adamant about the .5 with the 11. 

We tapped out about 5 am, saying goodbye to the BOYS, and made our way home. A mere four hours later we found ourselves in the harsh sunlight of a gorgeous Saturday in New York City as we made our way to see The Book of Mormon. For a moment we were a bit touch and go, what the hell were we thinking staying out so late the night before seeing the hottest musical on broadway. But to steal a line from the show, "Bitches clam up so you better man up!" and that's just what we did. The show was fantastic and lived up to the rave reviews I had read online. We exited the theater singing the catchy tune  "Hasa Diga Eebowai"... you'll have to see the show (or just look online) to find out the meaning :)

We made our way over to Times Square and opted to pick up tickets to see a comedy show later that night. Laughter really is the best medicine and how do you pass up the chance to see live stand up comedy in NYC on a Saturday night ?!

Following the comedy show we found ourselves back in Times Square to walk around, take in a hot chocolate and people watch. We came across some street artists performing portrait sketches of tourists. This one man named Yumi, from China, was just fabulous. As we stood watching him, his partner called to Tom, "hey you, big guy, I make nice picture of you for just five dolla". Tom declined the first solicitation but finally succumbed to the pleas....which I had joined in making as well, by the fifth go around. So down sat Tom to have his portrait done as I watched on. Midway through Tom's sitting Yumi had finished with his client and asked if he could sketch me....only twenty dolla. It was Tom's turn to egg me on, so down I sat to have my portrait done. About half way through my sitting a crowd had gathered to watch Yumi work. And there was Tom, unrolling his sketch, saying"I get this piece of shit for five dolla and you're getting a master piece for twenty dolla." WTF?!

We called it a night about 1:30 am and said goodbye. Tom would be flying home in the morning and I would make the drive back to Pennsylvania. It was a banner weekend of all things cultural, all things New York and all things randomly fun that happen when THE BOSS and I get together. 

A twenty dolla sketch.

A five dolla sketch.