For the past say…7 or 8 years I have gone to an annual BBQ in Grover Beach, CA. Richie always hosts an amazing party 2 blocks from the beach at his home. I remember when his back yard was just a mass of dirt and dead grass. And over the years he has made his backyard his own private paradise including but not limited too tiki torches lighting the path from doors and gates to the lawn, a garden, a jacuzzi and a ginormous bbq pit with a hand made table at the perfect snacking and leaning height for any social occasion. The trees are tall and beautiful enough to shade you and keep you cool and the bon fire pit, yes he has one of those too, keeps us warm after the sun sets. On a few fourths we had karaoke and rocked the entire neighborhood. People bring their kids and beers to share, their husbands, wives, girlfriends, brothers, uncles, cousins, best friends and everyone else and its actually an honor to be invited. 7&7’s are had, all. night. long (echo all night…all night) until the sun sets and some of us stumble the two blocks to the beach and sit on the sand and watch the pismo fireworks from grover beach. In addition to those fireworks people are setting off their own. It’s a mass of bodies only lit by fireworks and the moon. Some people bring lawn chairs, most of us just sit right on the sand minding where we place our zories (most people call them flip-flops – they are zories!…ahem) and occasionally switching from sitting indian style to legs stretched out. After fireworks, some people go home, others go back to Richies. Depending on how drunk I am I have passed out in the backyard, on a couch, on the front porch, on the lawn or have had a designated driver. There was one year where my phone died and I kept calling boyfriend jenn only to drop the call after I slurred the words “will you come get me?” Good times.

Sunday July 4th in New York came faster than I thought, marking my 2 months here. Still in an adjusting phase to where everything is and without any Richie BBQ plans I took a mini shift at the green apron making it a 7 day shlepping week, shrug. A couple days prior Ro said a couple people might come over for drinkies and fire works on the roof, so I had that to look forward too. I woke up on sunday, to the heat as usual since I moved here. Peeled my sweaty sheets off my body and drank some water. I had some cereal and got dressed for the green apron. I texted Richie and told him I was going to work and after would purchase the makings for 7&7 and wish I was there with everyone. He texted back “cheers” Oh good. =)

The Green Apron in Macy’s on the 5th floor is one of the 2 smallest of the 4 that reside in the building. There is no place to sit, it’s sort of an “express” stop. People come in and get their beverages and continue shopping into the petite section or shoes. Lots and lots of shoes on the fifth floor. And Macy’s on 34th street is a tourist attraction. I don’t have any “regulars” that I can get used to. Well, a few employees here and there but for the most part the people that come up to the counter speak a different language. French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish – all of whom know very little english that the “common” language we speak is a made up version of international sign language. I sometimes wish I had people on camera with how they describe wanting something hot or cold or ice blended, or coffee or not coffee. At the end of the transaction I typically help them figure out what coin they can use and gesture to the end of the bar, where their drinks will be. They are, for the most part, thankful. The only people who seem to be completely pissed or put off by me are the ones that ask if I speak spanish, and when I say no they just look at me like “well…why not – you look like you do” I don’t take it too personally but it is already getting a little old. The Fourth of July would be no different. If anything it was busier, with more travelers and most of them asking where and when the fireworks were. I honestly didn’t know. I knew Macy’s was doing…something..but we don’t get told about stuff like that. We don’t work for Macy’s, we work IN Macy’s. So the best I can do is say “try asking a Macy’s associate” and they look at me like “but you WORK HERE” and I have to shrug it off because they won’t understand too much more than that anyway.

At any rate. The shift I accepted on sunday the 4th was from 1pm – 5pm. A cute, mini shift. Busy, busy, busy and then time to go home. Got home to the oven that is our apartment and took a luke warm mostly cold shower to attempt to cool down. I had Ro pig braid my hair, waxed her brows and mine and she paid me with a cocktail. A strawberry mojito.

Its kind of one of the best set ups I’ve ever had. A bit of wax here, a bit there and I get drinkies. hehehe.  Ro had curlers in her hair, super cute and although I didn’t nab a pic of her sporting them, I got an after shot.  Her hair doesn’t hold curl very long, but it was so pretty, so I took a pic.  heheheh. she wore a dress too.  Now, i understand dresses can help keep the temperature of your body down cause you’re not all covered and constricted, but I just can’t seem to sport them very well.  Yes, I have dresses – I rarely wear them.  Ro, can sport a dress everyday, and their cute and not annoying.  You KNOW the dresses I’m talking about on those skipper dolls, they’re annoying.  No Ro though.  So.  Good.  Glad we understand each other.  Antoan could practically smell the fun once Ro and I started sippin’ on our cocktails and he emerged from his bedroom and immediately wanted one, of course.

After drinking a couple of these I went to the store and got my standard 7&7 that Richie and the boys introduced me to years ago.  SOME thing had to be the same.  =)

People started to appear and the sun began to set.  Everyone was snacking and drinking

and hanging out in the living room. I took as many pics as I could until my battery died.  And my new camera is not one to just replace the battery.

It charges.  This is great because it saves money, but if it dies I can’t replace it and keep taking pics, I have to charge it and wait.  Shrug.  Eventually it was dark and the fireworks were to begin at 9:20.  We all trekked up two more flights of stairs to the roof.  This is when my camera died.  So I went back down stairs and plugged the battery in and went back up stairs to watch the fireworks.  They bright, but in the distant.  It was nice outside, still very warm but a nice

light breeze.  Everyone stood and chatted and watched the fireworks, then chatted.  And after what seemed like at least 30-45 minutes later we all made it back down the stairs and inside the oven that is our apartment. Pizza was ordered and people were still drinking and now we were dancing to Lady Gaga in the kitchen.  Rabekah Pearl came over.Hadn’t seen her in a couple years, since Lightning in a bottle – she had met adam-from-the-band-i-brought-home.  hahaha.  sigh.  Anyway.  She came over and we drank, and chatted and I found out she lived in I

taly for a year.  Dude, I’m envious all those far away adventures people are having.  Some day.  She also said I was funny, like comedian funny.  Go figure.  I’m only funny in the moment and only to my friends and family, strangers would just think I forgot my helmet. . .

At some point Ro & I for some reason went into her room and she showed me she still had her top from my wedding.

I tried it on over my tank top, couldn’t even zip it halfway up.  So I made other people try it on too.  They didn’t know why, or what I was doing, but they, the men, all played….

Matt was my personal favorite.  He put his arms through the straps no funny facial expression or questioned look and he raised his glass and posed.  Antoan wouldn’t play, neither would his friend Kenny.  Boo on the both of them.  BOO.

By the end of the evening I was nursing pina coladas and stumbling to throw trash away and do dishes for fear of waking up to a kitchen completely covered in cockroaches. . . It felt like 4 am and I was thinking about my alarm going off at 8am for work.  But alas, it was only midnight.  I cleaned up a bit after everyone left, Mattie and Ro helped and we all went to our bedrooms and slept.  Well, I tried to sleep.  It was too hot…but I laid there and could feel the alcohol making me more drunk, then coming out of it into a hangover just as my alarm went off.

Awesome.

Work the morning of the 5th was done in slow motion and things that were not that funny were hilarious and I was done by 2:30.  Thank goddess.