When My Worlds Collide

Friday night, in celebration of my sister being in town with two of her closest friends, I decided to gather some of my favorite people in the City to dine with me and the girls at my favorite tapas restaurant, Sala (Bowery @ Great Jones). The evening went better than expected and just as I had hoped. A few hours full of warm goat cheese, cool sangria & random conversation.

In addition to the three visiting Bama girls and myself, the table was rounded out by four of the most interesting people I’ve met since moving home over three years ago.

R.S. dates back to Miami, after which we made the trek here together and pursued our big city dreams simultaneously with the help of many happy hours (aka bitching sessions) at Verlaine. My love of Crasians began the day I met this fabulous fellow lush.

J.K. has been my most loyal confidante on Fantasy Island ever since our paths first crossed a few months after my arrival. His couch was my safe haven for months between Harlem and Alphabet City, and it’s quite possible that I would not still be here if it wasn’t for his generosity.

K.H. has become my rock in my professional life over the past 2 years, and the thought of losing her to her dreams in just a short while is not something I’m ready to accept. But my love for this future rock star could never waiver after all we’ve endured together at the hand of the Jews.

S.R. is my newest friend and cohort in the game of gay here in the city that never sleeps and will always fuck you when you least expect it. We share an obsession for hot boys and unhealthy food and both have a soft side that we hate to admit we possess.

An eight-person reservation made with both hesitation and excitement. An evening made only slightly awkward by my sister’s refusal to ingest alcohol and my refusal to be anything but obliterated. Another summer in Manhattan – the first for some, the last for others. I’m not sure how many more I have here; all I know is that it’s great to have friends that you know you can count on and that you feel strongly enough about to do anything for.

This may have been written with 2005 Sauvignon Blanc on the brain, but that doesn’t make it any less true. It probably makes it more so.

Cheers to Spanish tapas and its power to bring people from all different backgrounds together for a night of celebration in honor of the visiting Southerners and the hosting birthday boy! 21 for ever :)