NYE in D.C. - A Photo Essay (Part 1 - It Starts)

i usually don’t make a big deal out of new year’s eve; mostly, this is because new year’s (much like my birthday) seems destined to suck. also, I have found that my personal new year’s eve seems to be Oct. 31 – for whatever reason, that’s when my year-long cycle seems to end, ready to start again on Nov. 1. but this year was different, and thank heavens for that. my friend c came up to visit me and we decided to go to d.c.’s official “downtown celebration” event. It was a little pricey, but it included open bars, food, a chance to dress in a theme, and – most importantly – cowboy mouth.

first up: costume design. the official dress code was “creative black tie”; they equated this to what you might wear to the mtv music awards – formal, but funkiness was encouraged. no problem. c and I headed out to the malls and such in search of appropriately fabulous attire. We weren’t exactly sure what we were looking for… we figured maybe an ethnic theme, like Chinese or Indian, or a period theme, like 20’s or 50’s. after combing potomic mills (the nation’s largest outlet mall), we found ourselves at a loss. we really didn’t want to spend a lot, and we also didn’t want cookie-cutter formal wear. then we stumbled across a random kiosk in the middle of the mall. a lovely woman of indeterminate asian decent was selling a mix of Chinese and middle eastern clothing and accessories. c found a lovely read Chinese dress, and I found a fantastical black scarf-like thingie with bright pink embroidery and sequins. and so we had our themes: c’s was “asian” and mine became “bollywood.” c found a pair of kick-ass black and gold heels, gold jewelry, and a sparkly red flower to wear in her hair. oh, and a fan (hey, we're all about props). i found a pink corset, long black skirt, and silver jewelry. we were set.

c, the asian princess me in my bollywood finery

a creative jacket choice (the only)

of course, we were two of only four people (out of a few thousand) who new how to interpret "creative black tie." everyone else was wearing general mall-bought cocktail-wear. i mean, there were a few really fabulous formal dresses and some equally fantabulous shoes, but for the most part, it was a sea of unimaginative party-goers. (sidebar: while there were several amazing shoe choices, not one of the girls who chose them could walk in them. they all walked around like truck drivers, or like first-time stilt-walkers, or 5-year-olds playing dress up in their mother's shoes. just disgraceful. it's not that hard, people. and if you can't walk in them, don't wear them, the end.) so we stuck out, but it's not like we're not used to that. it was a good kind of sticking-out, anyway, because people came up to us all night, telling us how awesome we looked and how hot we were. always good for the ego...

a pre-party starbucks (note the wristband)

apparently - and we've noticed this before - when c and i are out in public together, we seem to attract the freaks. seriously, it's like we both have one-half of a neon sign that says "come talk to us, freaky people!" that combines and lights up when we're together. it's like the bad wonder-twin power. it started in line. when we arrived downtown and parked, we found ourselves almost two (nyc) blocks away. seeing as it was below freezing, and we were wearing skirts and heels, we took a cab to the hyatt. yes, my friends, we were those people. we entered the hotel, picked up our event tickets, went through the registration - where they proceeded to brand us with a florescent orange wristband (really? it's black tie and you're just going to ruin the effect with day-glo jewelry?) - and had a pre-party starbucks before we were let in. as 8:30 approached, we went to stand in (a ridiculously long) line to head down the escalator to the main party areas. enter becky.

becky was a pert little 23-year-old who had obviously been to a very generous pre-party. she started by telling us how hot we looked and how no one else was as creative as us (well, duh), and insinuated herself in line with us. of course, she hadn't gotten her wristband yet, so she needed to be in another line altogether, but it took a while to convince her of that. becky had apparently come with some neighbors of hers, and although she was technically there with a guy, she had somehow found him lacking and had ditched him. before they had even gotten in to the party. we lost her as we went downstairs and she had to get her

wristband, but she appeared behind us in line for the coat check. she then - rambling drunkenly - proceeded to follow us around while we were checking out the venues. there was a sports bar/karaoke bar, a ballroom set up to be a club, a comedy room, and the stage venue where cowboy mouth and two other bands would perform. set up in both the stage and club areas were buffets of nibbly things, and bars were set up throughout the three (yes, three) levels of the hotel that were being used. halfway through the club area, and heading into our second drinks, we somehow lost becky, and i can't say that i was that sad about it. i mean, she was completely entertaining at first, but after a while, it kinda felt like my annoying little sister had decided to tag along. anyway, with that presence gone, we decided to hit the food tables and chow down.

to be continued....

c and becky, in line