above: me at the town crier on new year’s eve – don’t worry, it wasn’t as dismal as my facial expression makes it out to be.
and on another note, i have no idea why my face is so discoloured. perhaps i’d gotten into a drunk fight i just can’t remember.
oh well.
nellie and i were supposed to go to a ford mustang concert to celebrate new year’s eve, but we found out that it was a 21+ event and i couldn’t get my hands on a reliable id, so that plan ended up falling through.
however, i wanted this new year’s eve to be memorable, and i didn’t want to stand in the cold at nathan philips square once again, so i was determined to find something to do.
discussions were held and plans were made and soon we’d decided to go to the town crier and visit courtney later in the night.
but before that
i got some crepes on queen st. with elaha. she’d lost her debit card (once again) and it was a small, delicious ordeal.
and then we went back to my place to wait for nellie to arrive.
she was already tipsy by the time she found her way up the stairs and through my GIANT front door, the size of which she never fails to point out.
we equipped ourselves with our coats and a flask, and after making some arrangements with my parents we were out the door and making our way to john and adelaide, where the pub sat situated in the middle of toronto’s clubbing district – right by jack astors and the scotia bank theater.
the first thing i noticed when i walked into the pub was how professional coco looked behind the bar. she was all busy bee and whatnot, filling glasses with selected poisons and warm intoxicants (and maybe a couple of mixers here and there for the weaklings).
i decided to say hello to my dear friend as elaha and nellie found seats, and she made me a rum and coke.
i made my way to our table, and although the plan was to order all our drinks from coco because she wouldn’t card us, we had a server who carded us anyway and i was sent into a miniature panic as i was forced to play out my back up plan.
i handed him the health card my parents found that belonged to some asian man who looks nothing like me and he accepted it as valid proof of my age.
i couldn’t tell if he was racist or maybe just being nice.
i can’t wait until my birthday this saturday, past which point this whole id hassle will never be a problem in this province again.
there will be no more small panics or little worries resting at the back of my mind.
it’ll just be a wait in a line and the open night ahead.
we ordered our drinks and they came, and after a while a group of third and second year university students piled into the couple of tables beside us.
they immediately caught our eyes, being the only other people remotely close to our age within the immediate vicinity.
nellbot went into seductress mode and it was all smoldering glances and legs on the table from her.
however, it turns out they were mostly boring and lame – even if they were kind of cute – and we were stuck having to entertain them for the entirety of the night.
i’d gone outside for a smoke with elaha at one point (she kept dropping her cigarette like a biddy) and this british guy with a suitcase asked me if the bar was open. i said it was, and then he asked me if he could bring the suitcase in.
i did not own the bar; i did not know their luggage protocol.
but i said yes anyway and he and his friends went inside.
midnight snuck up on us. there was none of the counting down from ten business. we were too preoccupied with inebriated discussions with strange men to pay any attention to that. there were just the loud hollers and cheers that we joined in on as soon as we realized we had found unknowingly stumbled into the new year.
i checked my phone and it was exactly 12:00.
as i’d arranged with my parents, i headed home to eat our new year dinner, but i was already kind of tipsy so, like nellie earlier on in the evening, i’d stumbled up the stairs and through my GIANT door.
my whole family knew what was up, but it was alright because at least i was home.
and after the dinner, yodit came knocking round and asking to use the bathroom.
and then she joined me as i headed back to the pub.
i returned to a scene similar to the one i had left, only the group of stranger-men was smaller – the better half was left behind.
i introduced yodit to the crowd and soon we were back into the swing of drink and conversation and it was all very cozy and hazy and nice.
apparently nellie had almost gotten into a fight with one of the stranger-men.
his name was wes and his sister bre can apparently FUCK YOU UP because she’s some crazy skank or something.
whatever.
i went to the bathroom at one point and british luggage man from earlier walked in as i was washing my hands.
he told me that i shouldn’t be downstairs ‘where all the banter [was].’ instead, i should go upstairs to where the real party’s at.
he said i was missing out and that i should maybe find my way to him later on.
and i told him i’d make sure to let all my friends know, and that maybe we’d join him later.
we never did, and i never went upstairs, and now i kind of regret it.
maybe i should’ve been a little more adventurous and seen where it got me.
instead i went over to the bar and to a tired coco and asked for a gin and tonic.
we talked for a bit but she was a busy bee and had no time for my little shenanigans.
we left shortly afterwards and headed to frans for some late night chow.
it took a while to get seated, but we were next to some hilarious virginal black man named roger, his sister and his lady friend.
they provided the entertainment during our meal.
roger started to choke at one point and all his sister said was:
“don’t choke now, i ain’t gonna save yo ass. i’m just gonna be like, NIGGA DOOOOOOOWN.”
we all laughed.
courtney joined us later on and after we were all good and stuffed, we said our goodbyes and parted ways.
it was a pretty good night overall, and although it wasn’t necessarily a ford mustang concert, i had a wonderful time.
strangers always make everything better, unless they’re the scary kind with knives and a sick disposition for young flesh.
last year i spent new year’s eve at jp’s apartment getting high and watching the ring.
i think this year may have topped it a little bit.
good omens for 2012.
and i have my secret list of divine resolutions that i plan on fulfilling.
so here’s to the year ahead.
hopefully the world will still be mostly intact by the end of it.