Youth recaptured...?

*** A Very long post - read it at your own risk! ***

Going out on a Friday and Saturday night has been taking a toll on me...so imagine "my" last week where I celebrated my brother's birthday 3 times...dinner on Wednesday and Thursday night...clubbing on Saturday night. Went to watch "My best enemy" (Italian Film Fest) on Friday night. K&H's engagement party before clubbing on Saturday.

I have also been feeling as though i have been chasing down a million and one things just to complete one milestone. I do that for a day job, i shouldnt have to feel that way on the weekend!

Let me start my story by skipping the dinners...we started late, I ate, it disrupted my training for the JP Morgan run.

Allow me to begin from Friday. The day was restless, I had booked "Let's Do Lunch" for L and I at the Summit for 12:00 noon. Then i was having company drinks at EQ from 3:30pm. So, my arvo was pretty much a ride off.

I met up with my "Alterna-date" to catch "My best enemy" at 5:30pm. Everything was actually going well. The movie was hilarious as well as heartfelt and dramatic in all the right places. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in catching a flick during the Italian Film Fest, which is now on at Palace Theatres at either Oxford Street or Leichhardt.

After leaving the cinemas, the plan was to drive to Balmain for some pizza (keeping in tune with the whole Italian thing)...but as we walked along Oxford Street back to the CBD I tripped and ripped my thong/sandals rendering it unwearable. My favourite pewter coloured ones that goes with almost every outfit...that happens to jazz up anything casual and makes it slightly dressier...the pair that i bought on my SG/KL Christmas holiday last year.

I was devastated.

It was going to be my signature item this summer, because it has been copied left right and centre and is now sold across all shoe stores in Sydney, just not in pewter. It is the summer "IT" thongs...and i had purchased it a year ago and will not be able to find it here although there is a plethora of variations to choose from.

Fortunately for me, there was a bargain store still opened and i begged the guy who was going to close shop to allow me to buy another pair of thongs so i could at least walk to the car!

I ended up with a pair of fluro orange rubber thongs. Enough said.

My alterna-date, albeit was trying to make me feel better, instead had made me feel snipey and really really sour. He basically told me that my shoes were going to break anyway...any minute now...so i shouldnt be upset and be grateful that i could buy another pair of thongs when i did! I was flabbergasted! My shoes were not on the verge of falling apart. It was in good condition. The treads on the soles were still visible. And although i had wore it a bit during last summer, with the amount of shoes i have, common sense will have you know that i didnt wear it every day!!!

They werent even scratched!!! (Which i tend to do with every leather or faux leather thong/sandals/shoes I own)...

I am pmsing too, so added with his accusatory statement, i just didnt feel like dinner anymore. All i can say is that i was lucky to have had a packet of Twisties while watching the flick. While the alterna-date only had a choc top. Which serves him right!!!

The week had started to take its toll on me.

Thursday morning, I got told off twice (by the "Devil wears Prada" like manager) before it was even 9:30am and it wasnt even my fault. Wednesday and Tuesday things were pretty sh!t too...so throughout the week, i had accumulated a lot of angst.

The incident with my favourite thong/sandals was just pushing me over the edge.

Saturday was just crazy. I had to wake up early, drive my mother to her boss' place and deliver some dresses she had completed. Then we went grocery shopping as we always do, had yum cha while waiting for 9am to tick over. Went to the bank so we could cancel the home insurance and got told that i had to write a letter for them so that they could fax it to the insurer and cancel it for us. Dropped into an asian bargain store so that i could buy some of those disposable plastic shot glasses as i was making some champagne jelly shots and vodka jelly shots for K&H's engagement party that arvo.

After that, i took my mother to the local markets and bought 2 pots of carnations, 1 for K&H and 1 for mum. Left it with the stall owner, as we were going to roam around the markets a bit more. I bought a replacement pair of shoes for my gold open toed ballet flats. The ones i currently own have been really really...well, worn!

I then went to a stall that sold all these gorgeous dresses, they even had one of the dresses i bought in Melbourne where i paid $40 for, while here it was only $20. I was shocked that i could have saved some money had i only waited less than a month to buy some here in Sydney. So, what is a girl to do? I needed the retail therapy anyway!!! So, i bought 3 dresses, after deciding from 7. Fortunately they had my sizes too. They are all white. White with blue trimming. White with black trimming. White with floral prints! *LoL*

I decided that i would wear the white with blue trimmings to my brother's party...so, instead of going to the gym after all that shopping, I spent all of my afternoon trying to track down these white open toed Urban Soul heels i had bought a couple of years ago. As the dress was a touch retro, the shoes would have been perfect for the outfit.

But this was all after i rushed from the markets to the local Wooleys so i could get some sparkling wine and drinks for my fruit punch (also for K&H's party).

Cutting it really close as i had planned to get to K&H's by 3:00pm, I had finally located my shoes by 1:00pm. But i still had to pack everything and shower and get dressed. I also had to wash my hair...and its still long...i havent cut it like i had planned to. In between getting my dress ready, packing some make up, packing my shoes, remembering the caster sugar for the jelly, grabbing half the strawberries from punnet and putting it into a container so that it doesnt get smooshed...I managed to wash my hair and shower and get ready without forgetting a single thing before a friend arrived to pick me up! I even remembered to bring the pot plant for K&H.

See, I had to pack everything because D was driving me there, and my brother was going to pick my up and drive me to my lil brother's party at Roof Bar. K&H's party was a BBQ that was suppose to be a cocktail inspired thing...so i thought my dress would suffice if wore with sandals as i would be barefooted in the house most of the time anyway, and then for clubbing i trade the sandals for heels.

The BBQ was a blur. I remember making all the 50 jelly shots and then blending the drinks for the punch. While T had helped me chop the fruits to put in the punch. Then people started arriving and i think i had one too many cups of my own punch which was laced with passionfruit flavoured vodka along with the sparkling. I really need to stop drinking vodka!!!

Then a high school friend I havent seen in a long time arrived. We caught up over water! *LoL* I think he was preparing himself for a long night of drinking, but thanks to him i sobered up before my brother's arrived. The water also helped me for the long night ahead...

So, my friend and i caught up...he is currently finishing his PhD. And he was telling me about how much he isolates himself when he has a girlfriend and we also chatted about what makes a really good executive...i'll write another post about this later, as its pretty insightful in itself.

Basically, as we chatted it was nearing 9:00pm and i had told my brother to pick me up by then.

9:00pm comes around and just like Cinderella, i quickly say good bye to everyone and make a dash out of the house to the horse and carriage that awaits me at the end of the driveway.

We got to the CBD in record time. Problem was trying to find parking before 10:00pm on a Saturday night near the club, was not going to be a small feat.

After driving around and around for about 15-20 minutes, we located a spot on College Street. While walking to Roof Bar i told my brother that he will have to go back and get the car later and pick me up from the bar, cos being the princess i am, i wasnt going to walk back with him...and my sister in law agreed with me!

A little bit about my little brother's 19th birthday bash and why 1 x 25y/o and 2 x 30y/o were attending...

My older brother and i never get invited to any of my little brother's birthday soirees. Never. So, as this was the first time he has ever invited us, we thought we should go in support, or as chapperones, however he wanted to see it as. But i personally took it as a compliment, because i am finally "cool" enough to be part of his world. I also wanted to check out his new gf...and his ex was going to be there too! If not for support, i was going there for the potential b!tch fight and gossip.

Yes, i know, im the best sister in the world!
;p

His ex was there with all his friends when we arrived and they started to line up. And here i am, noticing that nothing has changed! The clubs still make people line up forever just to generate a crowd before they start letting people in, even though it is empty-as inside...

His new gf was running late. Hmm...im not impressed.

While we lined up we were joking about how these "kiddies" should respect their elders (us) and let us in first! My older brother and i were joking about whether we would be asked for our ID's. And to both our suprise, the bouncer asked for it. From all 3 of us. I hadnt bothered to get my license out...and in my shock i fumbled and tried to explain to the bouncer that i was too old for this!!!

He told me to take it as a compliment. And then he looked at my date of birth and told me that i wasnt old! *LoL*...was he flirting with me?!
O_o

I gotta say one of the uplifting things about being surrounded by so many young asians is that i felt mature and taller than almost 80% of the people there (boy or girl).

I also noticed the destructive behaviour of almost all that were there.

They drink like there is no tomorrow...not to enjoy the taste. But simply to put themselves out of misery from something they have been trying to get away from. The girls especially were out of control.

Although I talk about how crap drunk i feel, i was no where near as tipsy as those girls. Because (1) i actually eat food versus just gulping air and (2) i drink heaps of water, while they probably drink more fizzy drinks that the plain old H2O and (3) they dont know when to stop.

My older brother must have started to worry about his own girls...what will happen in future...because what he was seeing from these teens, he was soo not liking it!

But then we had some of my little brother's complimentary champagne, cos it was his birthday...and then we loaded up on alcohol!

Its funny, i have never seen any of my brother's dance, except at family weddings to dodgy asian band cover songs...so it was a shock to the system to see both of them dancing to hiphop. *LoL* Especially my older brother who doesnt do the "dancing" thing!

And then what was even weirder was watching my little brother and his gf kiss! Like oh my gosh...i needed to rinse my eyes out with dettol! I told my older brother while we were on the dance floor that they were kissing and i told him not to look unless he wanted to go blind...but does he listen? NO! He was staring at them like he was staring at the sun. He knew he had to look away, but couldnt help it!

*RoFL*

His ex gf was so tanked to a point where she was really talkative and was suffering headspins, and since i have gotten to know her better and she is my supplier of Veronica Mars episode, i have a soft spot for her. So, i kept her company when her friends were missing, and since the new gf has left a really bad impression with me, i was keen on showing the new gf where i stood.

To say the least, the new gf is the type of girl who opens her mouth and is extremely loud because she thinks really highly of herself. I personally believe that my lil brother is going out with her because he knows he is good looking and she is the girl that all his friends think is hot and she wanted to go out with him. So, why not...well why not is that this new gf made it clear her intentions while he was dating his ex. To me, thats low when you know someone is taken.

While i observed her i noticed how she is the centre of everyone's attention and she doesnt ever try to look around to see if my brother is with another chick or what. Not that my brother is that, like that, low! And its not because she trusts him...its because she is too busy talking to whomever to actually care. I dont think she cares about anyone but herself.

When i told my lil brother that the MC who i asked to say "Happy Birthday" to him had tried to chat me up, his new gf made this long and elaborate comment that transformed her from this asian girl to an asian girl with the fake version of the attitude of an African American woman! See, African American women can carry it off with their special kind of flair...small asian girls just can't cut it...and i make no apologies for saying so.

I felt like she was just fake. Her hair was dyed and straightened...completely fake. Her attitude and when she speaks to you, completely fake - nothing sincere at all.

But enough b!tching about my brother's current squeeze.

While i was organising my Saturday night, most people wondered if i was trying to recapture my youth...hanging out with my little brother and his friends.

I dont think i was...i knew what to expect. I have literally been there and done that...and quite frankly, i knew that i wouldnt enjoy it without some alcohol. I went prepared!
=P

My little brother's ex asked me if it made me feel younger while i was dancing with her, and no, it did not make me feel younger. It was cool that i got heaps of compliments for the dress i was wearing, and a lot of guys must have assumed that i was younger than i really am, cos they were checking me out. One of my brother's friend, without knowing that i was his sister started dedicating some of his dance moves to me...either he thought i was the token chick or he was extremely tanked...i think its the latter! *LoL*

What Saturday night...both the engagement party and the interlude at the club had confirmed for me was the fact that i am older. Give me a house party with a group of wonderful friends any day. I dont want to go to bars or night clubs...even though its non-smoking these days. I really would prefer to play cranium with a glass of wine and acting all silly in the comfort of someone's home.

I dont need heady nights out flirting incessantly with some stranger(s). I would much rather sit around and laugh about some of the stupid things we use to do when we tried to flirt with strangers.

I wasnt trying to recapture anything.
I was honestly there for my brother (+ the gossip factor).

I knew all along - I have matured.

My friend P, had noted while at K&H's party that he thought it was weird. He always believed that i was the life of a party...that i enjoyed being at the centre of it all...but he observed and noticed that i would go to the rooms where there were less people and would walk away from the crowds.

I have noticed that too.

When i was in my early 20's i would agree, that i was in the midst of it all...but now i prefer being outside of the square.

I prefer quiet, calm spaces...unless its the kitchen...then it should be noisy...and i believe that food brings people together. But at house parties...I prefer speaking to one or two people and really giving them my full attention.

I guess i'm preferring the "grown up" choices.

Saturday night was a turning point for me...especially because i was still awake for the change of Daylight saving. I was just dropped off home by my older brother. It was 2:30am and at that instant i had lost an hour.

For as long as i can remember, i have always slept through the change. And since i was awake this year, for the first time ever...its left me a bit dazed...maybe it was the emancipation...or it could have been the alcohol.

I really should stop drinking.