jello-shots for the bride-to-be

last weekend i had the bachelorette party of a girlfriend, whom i shall refer to as Mrs. Doctor (trust me, she wouldn't want it any other way!)
due to conflicts and what-have-you, i have only been to three other bachelorette parties in my life: that of bridesmaid Sam; Mrs. A and my cousin's wife.
the parties of Mrs. A and the cousin both involved drag queens, with varying degrees of success. (the cousin's party was at the lower-key Lips, while Mrs. A's party was a wilder time at Lucky Cheng's, including a lap dance with acrobatic skills unlike any i have previously seen.)

ah, the phallic-shaped straws at Mrs. A's shindig. a bachelorette tradition!

both Sam and Mrs. A had parties ending in karaoke (at Tracy J's Watering Hole where--pre-Thurston--i had an ever-so-brief dalliance with the KJ*), although Sam's started out at Hunk-o-Mania, which was everything the name implies.

anyway, this last Saturday was also a ton-of-fun. the b-party began with a mini bar crawl-- Mrs. Doctor started out at her apartment with various bridesmaids and her maid-of-honor (also a law school pal) and then headed to the first stop: Tortilla Flats, in the way-West Village. the idea was that the 1st apartment-gathered-group would stop off at bars along the way to dinner and pick up the rest of the guests. our instructions were to be at Tortilla Flats at 7:15pm sharp, and have a shot ready for each of us and the bride-to-be. i, of course, was late for my arrival time and rolled up just as Mrs. Doctor and her crew arrived. happily, the rest of my group got a pitcher of frozen margaritas and there was time enough for me to down a bev and also chip in for my share of the bill.

the group (at least eight of us now) then headed to Automatic Slims, where more girls yet were waiting. all of them, apparently, on time. (show offs!) then, en masse, we went to Matsuri, where we had a table for 17 or so and a *ton* of food. surprisingly, there was more than enough for everyone. the first course was assorted sushi; 2nd: shrimp and veg tempura and miso-glazed cod; 3rd: steak (teriyaki, i think); dessert: yuzu creme brulee or warm chocolate cake. anyway, the food was great and plentiful--as is often *not* the case with large, family-style dinner parties. (huzzahs and kudos to whomever picked the venue.) and the wine flowed like water. and the water flowed like water too as we had carafes on the table. this is something i wish all restaurants did--waiting to snag a waiter for something as basic as water can be a pain in the ass. (even i, entitled lazybones that i am, am happy enough to pour my own water.)

and what to do after dinner? karaoke, mais oui! we headed to Encore, which is on 6th Avenue in the 20's. to say the KJ at Encore was self-indulgent would be the understatement of the millennium. this guy took himself *way* too seriously as he belted out Mr. Big and Cyndi Lauper classics... (the sunglasses indoors and the Lee Hotti hair were just gravy).

we quickly found out that the KJ was playing it like Charon** and pocketing a hefty fee for the "favor" of getting to have a turn at the mike. (about $20 per turn). Mrs. Doctor's bridesmaids ponied up the required ducats and the pink-boa'd Mrs. D took the mike, accompanied by some friends for a rousing rendition of Time After Time. unlike Bucky Covington, no one can accuse the bride-to-be of swallowing her words--she belted that song like she meant it.

sans permission, i shan't out the bride-to-be's backup singers.

for some reason (perhaps in part due to the jell-o shots so classily provided by a shot girl), nostalgia or convenience, Mrs. Doctor decided that Brother Jimmy's was the next destination. ah, BJ's-- the stomping grounds of 20 year olds and other fans of theit jumbo drinks. i spent many an under-age night at Brother Jimmy's and, upon our arrival at the Upper West Side location, i found that the kids were still there. moths to the flame and all that. i felt old. but then i saw the Taylor Hicks look-alike that the bride-to-be was dancing with/near and felt young again.


he looked much more like T.H. when i was drunk. mostly his gray hair (grayer in real life) and jerky dance moves were what evoked the spastic Taylor. (sorry, Tiger!)

anyway, it was a fun night and you *so* wish you were there. really, you do. because i never got a chance to sing my karaoke pick of the night. any of you who have heard me sing must surely long for the occasion where you could be with me in a karaoke bar and *not* have to hear me desecrate one 80's tune or another. i only hope that my bachelorette party goes as well. except for the me not singing part, of course.

---

* that's Karaoke DJ to all of you cool enough to *not* know that prized but of information. oh, the shame! and, truth be told, i met him *at* Sam's b-party. by the time Mel's party rolled around the bloom was off the rose, however, although KJ and i did manage to perform a rousing rendition of "Summer Nights" from Grease.

** of the River Styx-- not to be confused with Cherone, Gary of the band Extreme.