On Thursday night I headed down to the basement of The Annex to say hi to Sarah and Karen and do some dancing! ˆ karen ˆ sarah ˆ

Lizzie was still in town visiting but "Party Grant" was nowhere to be found! Booo! ˆ lizzie k ˆ

On Sunday night we had a Cranium party at my place! Here's Meredith getting the cards all set up! ˆ meredith ˆ cranium ˆ

Grant decided to take the Cranium sculpting clay and use it to ... ˆ grant ˆ clay ˆ cranium ˆ

...aid in his impersonation of Siege! Hahaha. ˆ grant ˆ siege ˆ clay ˆ cranium ˆ moustache ˆ

Check out the 'stache! (And the hand on top of his head is supposed to be Siege's mohawk. Hahahah) ˆ grant ˆ siege ˆ clay ˆ cranium ˆ moustache ˆ

Hahahaha. ˆ grant ˆ siege ˆ clay ˆ cranium ˆ moustache ˆ tongue ˆ

Afterwards, Grant made his French-face (aka "What eez zee poin?"), which spawned a whole conversation about the other types of things that characterize different stereotypes. So we decided to have everyone try to represent their heritage in a photo! ˆ grant ˆ clay ˆ cranium ˆ french face ˆ

Meredith showed off her big Jew-nose. ˆ meredith ˆ jew nose ˆ

Niki repped for Kali Durga. ˆ niki ˆ

Lizzie was there! I don't remember what her background is...maybe she's acting tough because she's Italian? ˆ lizzie k ˆ

Katie rocked hair-braids for Scandinavia. ˆ katie ˆ

Siege got Cajun-violent! ˆ siege ˆ cajun ˆ

Grant acted uncomfortable for England! ˆ grant ˆ uncomfortable ˆ

And since I'm total mutt of like 10 different nationalities, I acted loud, drunk and ignorant FOR AMERICA! Fuck, yeah! ˆ me ˆ

On Wednesday night I went out to celebrate Rachael's birthday! Here's the birthday girl with Emily. (I've known both these girls since 1993!) ˆ emily ˆ rachael ˆ birthday ˆ

Happy birtday, Ray! ˆ rachael ˆ

Meredith and Emily! Pretty! ˆ emily ˆ meredith ˆ

On Thursday was my old company's summer party! Here's a whole bunch of us getting ready to leave the office at noon... ˆ hafeez ˆ ian ˆ john merlino ˆ mike db ˆ cci ˆ

...to head to Dave & Buster's in Times Square for a day of food, drinking and arcade games! Woooo! ˆ cci ˆ

After a huge buffet and a two-hour open bar, we were split into teams, giving unlimited passes to the arcade and told that the team to earn the most tickets in the next 90 minutes would win a big prize! ˆ pete chen ˆ cci ˆ

Nobody loves them some arcade like me! ˆ me ˆ

Kevin and Avelino! ˆ avelino ˆ kevin r ˆ cci ˆ

Mike Montero playing drunk ski ball for tickets! ˆ mike montero ˆ pete chen ˆ cci ˆ

Ha-ha-hammered! Woooo! ˆ mike montero ˆ cci ˆ drunk ˆ

Hafeez decided to try out the horse-racing game to win some tickets. ˆ hafeez ˆ arcade ˆ cci ˆ horse ˆ

When the horse-racing game seems fun, you know that you've had too much to drink! ˆ arcade ˆ horse ˆ

Eric Stralow manning some fighter game. ˆ eric stralow ˆ arcade ˆ cci ˆ videogames ˆ

Pete playing that totally awesome virtually-reality gunner game that I love. ˆ pete chen ˆ arcade ˆ cci ˆ videogames ˆ

Action shot! ˆ pete chen ˆ arcade ˆ cci ˆ videogames ˆ

Ian tried it next. ˆ ian ˆ arcade ˆ cci ˆ videogames ˆ

He found it's helpful to pretend that you're pooping! ˆ ian ˆ arcade ˆ cci ˆ videogames ˆ

Ben and Rush facing off at hoops! Winner gets the most tickets! ˆ basketball ˆ cci ˆ

Here's Dan Cowgill helping me show off how many tickets I'd just earned for my team! ˆ dan cowgill ˆ arcade ˆ cci ˆ tickets ˆ

Awwww, yeah! ˆ me ˆ tickets ˆ

As the time for the big ticket count-off approached, I decided to adorn myself with them so all the lay-dees could see my ticket-earning potential! ˆ me ˆ tickets ˆ

Levi joined me in showing off his ticket-sexiness... ˆ levi ˆ cci ˆ tickets ˆ

...then passed out. Hahahah. ˆ levi ˆ cci ˆ passed out ˆ

Alelino, Kevin and Dan were all on my (hard as nails!) team! ˆ avelino ˆ dan cowgill ˆ kevin r ˆ cci ˆ the bird ˆ

Whenever alcohol and competitions are mixed, you can be fairly sure that sooner or later some arm wrestlin's gonna break out! Mike Montero was making excuses about why his team lost and it turned into Phil challenging him to some arm wrestling! Mike felt pretty confident going into the match, but Phil immediately took a strong lead! ˆ ben sun ˆ mike montero ˆ phil modestin ˆ arm wrestle ˆ cci ˆ

Here's Mike getting ready to administer a wet-willy to Phil in hopes that it will sap some of his strength! ˆ ben sun ˆ mike montero ˆ phil modestin ˆ arm wrestle ˆ cci ˆ

The wet willy seemed to only FUEL Phil's rage, and he pinned Mike a few seconds later! ˆ ben sun ˆ mike montero ˆ phil modestin ˆ arm wrestle ˆ cci ˆ

After Mike lost to Phil, a lady that we all work with (I forget her name) decided to challenge Mike to a match! Everyone started teasing Mike and the ENTIRE company gathered around the table to watch. Mike is the king of shit-talking and knew that if he allowed himself to be defeated by a girl, he would never hear the end of it so he started really psyching himself up. Mike got himself so pumped up that when the match started he almost threw the lady out of her seat. (Which was probably the funniest thing I've seen in like 5 years). Here's the pic I snapped (of the lady yelling and almost getting her arm broken) right when we yelled "GO!" Hahahahaha. ˆ mike montero ˆ arm wrestle ˆ best ˆ cci ˆ

Waaaay later that night (after I'd gotten a chance to sleep off my afternoon-drunkeness), I went to the Annex for a dance party with Sarah... ˆ sarah ˆ dj ˆ

...and Karen! ˆ karen ˆ

Karen was wearing her sexy-ass wolf shirt (which, incidentally, is the same EXACT shirt kids in my high school used to mock Eric Witzling for wearing back in 1992. If only they'd known that he was a fashion GOD fourteen-years ahead of his time!) ˆ karen ˆ wolf ˆ

Remember crazy Brandon that invited Grant, Jake and I to come and party in Budapest when we were on vacation in Europe? Well, he emailed me to tell mehis friend Kinga was coming to New York for the first time and I promised to take her out. So Meredith and Kinga came out to dance too! ˆ kinga ˆ meredith ˆ dance ˆ

Yay, dance-party! ˆ kinga ˆ meredith ˆ dance ˆ

Meredith & Jared! ˆ jared ˆ meredith ˆ

Kinga and Paul. ˆ kinga ˆ paul hanley ˆ

Lauren and SmellsGood Gina BonJersey. ˆ gina bonjersey ˆ

Snuggling up with the ladies! ˆ gina bonjersey ˆ jenny ˆ me ˆ

On Sunday afternoon, Grant came over and showed me how to use a knife to saber open a bottle of champagne! ˆ grant ˆ me ˆ champagne ˆ saber ˆ

I understood the basic principle, but was unable to get it to work the first few times I tried. (I've since gotten it down cold!) So I handed the bottle back over to Grizz and let him show off the magic! ˆ grant ˆ me ˆ champagne ˆ saber ˆ

Voila! He did it! He did it! (How awesome is that clean break?) ˆ me ˆ champagne ˆ saber ˆ

Champagne makes me both sleepy AND cranky. Fast forward to this awesome photo Meredith took of me trying to read-away my wine hangover. (I highly recommend the book I'm reading: The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwarz ˆ me ˆ book ˆ cranky ˆ

On Tuesday night I went to see a band with Sarah. ˆ band ˆ

I have no idea what band it was. Sarah, any idea? ˆ sarah ˆ

On Wednesday night I went over Tinny's house to hang out. Her birthday was coming up and she'd just received her mom's gift in the mail! The bad news was that it wasn't exactly her style. The good news was... ˆ leigh ˆ nightie ˆ pink ˆ

...pink is totally my color! (If you look closely you can totally see my nips playing peek-a-boo!) ˆ me ˆ cross dress ˆ nightie ˆ pink ˆ

And it totally showed off my guns! ˆ me ˆ cross dress ˆ gun show ˆ nightie ˆ pink ˆ

All of the gender-bending left Edie confused. Hahaha. ˆ edie ˆ

On Thursday night I went out to go dancing at Sarah and Karen's basement party in the Annex (by the time I got there, it was kind of deserted). ˆ dance ˆ

But I ran into Karen M, Karen L, their blond friend, and Natasha and we ended up hanging until the wee hours! ˆ karen landes ˆ karen marsala ˆ

Friday night I went out with Amanda and this is the only picture I took. (???) ˆ amanda ˆ

Meredith and I finally decided to take the plunge and move in together! We expected a long and tumultuous apartment hunt, but we hit the jackpot on the very first place we looked at! On Saturday afternoon we were given the keys and headed over to scope the place out and prepare for our move a few days later! Here's Meredith kicking back in our brand new "holy shit we're living together" bathtub! ˆ meredith ˆ bath ˆ

Later that afternoon, we hopped on the subway and headed out to Brooklyn to attend... ˆ meredith ˆ

...my friend Amy Albano's going away party! After almost 10 years in NYC, Amy (who I've known since middle school!) had decided to move out to New Mexico to attend grad school. (But much like my ill-fated move to San Francisco, she ended up back in NYC less than four months later!). Our friend Jen that hosted the party is a baker! Check out the amazing cake she made for Amy! ˆ cake ˆ

Here's Jen and Vivian, both whom I grew up with! (Vivian grew up in the house behind me and I've known her since I was four years old!) ˆ jen hoche ˆ vivian tjoa ˆ

Meredith has wonky eyes! ˆ meredith ˆ wonky ˆ

Later, later, later that night, I went to MisShapes to wish lil' Miss Leigh Lezark a happy birthday! ˆ leigh ˆ birthday ˆ misshapes ˆ

Awwwww! Who's a lil' birthday elf? ˆ leigh ˆ me ˆ birthday ˆ misshapes ˆ

Lawrence and Mandy were there! ˆ brother lawrence ˆ mandy ˆ

Ellen was there (but for some reason, I only have pictures she took of me with her dog)! Here's me with Piper (in the only shot where her tongue's NOT sticking out. ˆ me ˆ piper ˆ dogs ˆ

And the tongue comes out on take two! ˆ me ˆ piper ˆ dogs ˆ

Birthday vampire attack! ˆ leigh ˆ ugly face ˆ vampire ˆ

On Sunday I went over to Geordon and Greg's apartment for Leigh's birthday party! (See? I'm not the only one who calls her Little Miss Leigh! Hahaha) ˆ leigh ˆ birthday ˆ

The party was held in their apartment building's backyard garden. ˆ leigh ˆ backyard ˆ birthday ˆ

I made a beeline for the birthday girl and gave her a present! ˆ leigh ˆ birthday ˆ

Yay! Let's hear it for the "Grow your own Scary Ghost Plant" kit! Hahaha. ˆ leigh ˆ birthday ˆ

Here's Geordon bringing out the "Happy Birthday U Big Bitch" birthday cake! Hahaha. ˆ geordon ˆ leigh ˆ birthday ˆ cake ˆ

Make a wish, Tinny! ˆ leigh ˆ birthday ˆ cake ˆ

Me and Sarah. ˆ me ˆ sarah ˆ

Sarah is the queen of the Wonky Eye! ˆ sarah ˆ wonky ˆ

I do try my best but I can't hold a candle to her. ˆ me ˆ wonky ˆ

Usual suspects: Alexis and Gordon ˆ alexis ˆ gordon ˆ

Andrew Borin, who gets bonus points for his non-ironic of a Bob Seger shirt. (Homeboy knows all the words to the proto-rap song "Top That" from the 80s movie Teen Witch to boot!) ˆ andrew b ˆ

Edie was there. ˆ edie ˆ dogs ˆ

So was Piper! ˆ piper ˆ dogs ˆ

And they both ran over to wish the birthday girl a happy birthday! ˆ edie ˆ leigh ˆ piper ˆ dogs ˆ

Later that afternoon, Alexis and Leigh were up on the fire escape... ˆ alexis ˆ leigh ˆ fire escape ˆ

...and they sneak-attacked the party with a water balloon blitz! ˆ alexis ˆ leigh ˆ fire escape ˆ

I got nailed. ˆ me ˆ wet ˆ

Sean Dack and Piper! ˆ piper ˆ sean dack ˆ dogs ˆ

After Leigh's party, I walked a mere three blocks to head up to a rooftop party to wish Mike Cohen a happy 35th 34th Birthday! ˆ mike cohen ˆ birthday ˆ cake ˆ

Year 34: Take Two! ˆ mike cohen ˆ birthday ˆ cake ˆ

Grant was there!

Q: How do you make a Golden Girls shirt even gayer?
A: Cut the sleeves off! ˆ grant ˆ golden girls ˆ

Fatty was there classin' it up by drinking Smirnoff Ice from a champagne flute! ˆ fatty ˆ classy ˆ

Meredith (who's also a classy broad) hopped right on the Smirnoff Ice train. ˆ meredith ˆ

When someone busted out a bottle of bubbly, all eyes were on Grant to show off his new sabering skills! ˆ grant ˆ champagne ˆ

Here's a vid of him in bottle-top-chopping action! ˆ grant ˆ champagne ˆ saber ˆ video ˆ

Just because there's champagne doesn't mean Fatty's gonna give up his Smirnoff Ice! (PS - Check out Grant in the background giving Fatty the "Flying L for Loser." Hahahah) ˆ fatty ˆ grant ˆ

Immediately afterwards, Grant made history by attempting the first "flying brain!" Alas, he wasn't able to get his nuts out in time. Hahaha. ˆ fatty ˆ grant ˆ meredith ˆ

Of course, this led to more jumping action shots! Meredith did the jumping jack while Grant went for the more difficult David Lee Roth version ˆ grant ˆ meredith ˆ dlr kick ˆ jump ˆ

Grant tried to brain Mike, but his shorts were too tight! Hahaha. ˆ fatty ˆ grant ˆ mike cohen ˆ

At this point, the champagne flutes have been cast aside and the Smirnoff Ice is being consumed straight from the bottle! ˆ meredith ˆ

Which means everyone was drunk enough to play SHAKE FACE! (Which is where a person relaxes their face and then shakes their head back and forth as hard as they can!) Here's Fatty's shake face! Take one! ˆ fatty ˆ shake face ˆ

And take two! (Homeboy really knows how to relax them lips!) ˆ fatty ˆ shake face ˆ

Grant's shake face! ˆ grant ˆ shake face ˆ

Meredith's shake face! ˆ meredith ˆ shake face ˆ

My shake face! (Not very good at all. Boo!) ˆ me ˆ shake face ˆ

Birthday Boy's shake face! (Did you ever imagine that THIS is how you'd spend your 35th?) ˆ mike cohen ˆ shake face ˆ

Niki was there but she refused to do shake face! So here's a picture of her laughing at us for being idiots! ˆ niki ˆ

Talk about a perfect Sunday! We ended the night with ANOTHER Cranium party at my apartment. Here's Siege making Grant his puppet bitch in a rousing round of Sideshow (where you have to get your team to guess a clue by using your teammate's arms and legs to act out charades!) Happy July 2006! ˆ grant ˆ siege ˆ cranium ˆ puppet ˆ