still-sound 136. New year

Last night I celebrated New Year at a club in West Hollywood.  The last time I saw the new year in, at a club, was in 1998.  It was in London at a party called Duckie.  The djs were called The Readers' Wives and played Trash by Suede as the first song of 1999.  Since then, all of my December 31sts have been marked by a low-key affair or sleep.  Until last night.

The club was called Rage and the party was called GAMeboi.  It's geared to Asian guys.  Rob was planning on going with some friends.  It's not normally what I'd consider 'my scene', but hell - new year, new Steve...  I sprayed myself liberally with a perfume that smells like shampoo in preparation.

The atmosphere was fun like a school disco.  I was familiar with most of the playlist since I listen to KIIS FM in the car when KCRW and KJAZ get boring.  The dj played a countdown of the best songs of 2012, with number one revealed shortly before midnight.  It was Gangnam Style by Psy.  The overwhelmingly Asian crowd particularly appreciated the selection.  I unexpectedly filled with a Han Guk pride myself.  It's not the massive strides in economic progress seen in Korea in the last few generations or the high levels of education achieved by its populace...it's the guy dancing like a horse, rapping badly to a pop song that has me chuffed.  At midnight, confetti floated down from the ceiling.

Glow sticks seemed to multiply within the crowd creating a lightshow on the dancefloor.  Everyone knew to hold it up and shake it in time to the rhythm.  I was never offered one although I secretly wanted one. When I found Rob again in the crowd, he was holding a glowstick up in the air.

By the end of the night, four strangers had spoken to me.  They were all white girls (the minority in the crowd).  They all said the same thing, that they liked my moustache.  Two had asked me if it was real.  (I get this a lot).  I was the only person in all of Rage with a moustache.

At two am, Rob and I left the club.  Rob took his glowstick with him.  We walked into IHOP and I ordered scrambled eggs with sausage.  I was given eggs with cheddar and a side of bacon but pretended that it was the correct order to avoid having to wait any longer for the food.  I ate it very quickly, with two pancakes soaked in IHOP syrup.