#21 Get bottle service at a NYC night club and dance the night away

NYC is well known as having an incredible nightlife. When I first moved here, I used to go into the city every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night and party til 4am.  And then, that started to get old (or maybe I started to get old...)

So this challenge #21 Get bottle service at a NYC night club and dance the night away started out as a way to let me relive my younger years and get crazy and dance til dawn.

I started by searching for the perfect place to host a party.  I enlisted friends to help give me ideas or to put me in contact with promoters. I researched night clubs in the Meatpacking district, I looked at roof top bars and clubs, and I even investigated renting a hotel room to get access to the hotel's posh club.  At the end of the day, I kept getting the same story - either no response, or "girls only".

I got fed up.  NYC is awesome, don't get me wrong, but the snooty, silent treatment I was getting from these clubs was way too rich private high school for me.  I had enough.

With a week to go before my birthday and still no plans, I tweeted: "I need to figure out what I'm doing for my birthday?!?!"... And one of my followers responded with "Whatever makes ya happy :-)"

Huh... novel idea, right??  Do what makes me happy!  But, the reason why it's novel... is because it's true.  I was getting caught up in the whole challenge of "I need to do this because it's the cool thing to do and everyone else is doing it and they'll expect me to do it, and plus I said to the world through this blog that I was going to do it!" instead of focusing on what's actually going to make me happy.

So what makes me happy?  Easy - a great meal, good friends, and dancing the night away.  Also, a short walk home on tired feet ;)

So I decided to do dinner at one of my favorite places in Hoboken - 3 Forty Grill - and then dance at one of the most fun bars in Hoboken - The Shannon. 

The great view of the NYC skyline, right in front of 3 Forty Grille

As you can see, I wore my Grecian goddess dress, which I bought SIX YEARS ago in LA while visiting my great friend Marcia... in fact, I actually bought it on my birthday six years ago and wore it out that night to the clubs and danced then, too!  This dress has since become a staple of any Girls Weekends :)

But I digress... back to my birthday dinner!  Dave and Katrin, Cindy and Chris, Ellie, Jon and Fran all joined me for an incredible meal. We ordered the Crab and Shrimp Nachos as an appetizer (SO FREAKING YUMMY!!!), and I had the Steak Salad as my entree (SOOOO GOOOD!!!!).  3 Forty Grill is known for their martinis, and I had two - a peartini and a Key Lime Pie martini, which had a graham cracker crust and which was almost as delicious as the martini I had in Key West!

My roommate and I!!!

For dessert, I received a complimentary brownie with ice cream and a candle, and my friends sung happy birthday to me... Awww!!!

After dinner, we went to the Shannon for dancing.  I ordered a round of Bud Light bottles (that counts for "bottle service", right??), and I danced.  And laughed.  And had fun.  And danced again.  I had a great time!
Now, the story of the night happened when we were on our way home.  Enter two key players in this story, Joe S (a friend) and a boy who will be known only as "Ellie's Stalker."  He's not dangerous - he's just crazy... not in a mental health way (or maybe he is, who knows).  Regardless, Ellie is not interested in him and has made that pretty clear... but he doesn't seem to get the message.  (Poor guy, we've all been there, right?)

So here's the story: Ellie and I decide to leave so we can get away from Ellie's Stalker.  Ellie's Stalker asks Joe S where we live and Joe S (GUILTY!) informed him of the cross streets... and then apparently Ellie's Stalker races out of the bar and sprints to said cross street.  Now, the bar is a good 10 minute walk away from our apartment, and we had about a 2 minute head start... but we were walking.  This guy apparently ran.  Thank goodness Joe S thought it prudent to shoot a text message to Ellie to warn us of what was coming our way...

As we got closer to our apartment, we discussed ways we could avoid Stalker (walk two blocks east, then two blocks north, then walk two blocks west and then 1 south to our apartment?), and, as we were figuring out our course of action, we walk past a big, tall dude who overheard our plight.  And you know what he did?  He offered to walk us home.  Awww!!!

The good Samaritan that walked Ellie and I home...

Good thing this guy offered to walk us home, because, as we passed the cross street that Joe S had told Ellie's Stalker about, HE WAS THERE, WAITING FOR US.  Cray-cray.  He was literally leaning against the wall of the pizza shop, just chilling. 

Because the big Good Samaritan was with us, Ellie's Stalker decided not to approach us with such a big bodyguard walking us home!  Smart guy, even if he is a Stalker.  We made it home safely, and Stalker did not follow us, but we were slightly tipsy enough to be freaked out... so, after entering our apartment and locking the door behind us, we applied the chain, and also moved a few things in front of the door.  Because (clearly!) using the deadbolt and applying the chain wouldn't be enough to stop one crazy guy.  We had to put chairs in front of the door, too... LOL!

So at the end of the day, did I get bottle service at a NYC night club?  Nope.  Did I do what I wanted instead of what I felt I should do?  Yup.  Did it turn out to be amazing?  Yup. You gotta do what makes you happy, my friends... including avoiding crazy stalkers ;)

I'm a happy girl!