The greetings, shaking hands and hello, were casual–cool, collected.  There is nothing like walking into a new scene and people begin eyeballing you, sizing you up and trying to deduce your persona, but not allowing these preconceived notions–especially the negative ones–gain the upper hand.  If someone were to come barreling in with the party mode agenda, announcing a greeting similar to What’s up, bitches?, they are already a walking assumption.  I simply came in, smiled and said hello.  It was asked, “Are you ready to do a shot of Jager?”

Um.  Uh, yes.  Sure.

The story behind the roommates’ Jager shot isn’t something anyone would expect, because Jager shots are often associated with copious amounts of binge drinking stints.  Let’s take the famous Jager Bomb.  Luckily, that cat piss beverage that is commonly known as Red Bull was not involved.  In short, the shot represented camaraderie and friendship.  They do a shot before an event or an evening which may involve a plethora of friends.  It started out almost as a jokingly Why not? shot, because all the roommates were actually together at one moment.  Jager was what they had, and Jager is what it will forever be.

Moments later, Let’s do another shot!

It was going to be that kind of evening.  My mind finally snapped back into working mode after an idle lull since driving on the George Washington Bridge.  My waking time as 6:30 AM for a day of working and driving.  Fun mode was finally kicking in, but my mind was telling me that payment be felt tomorrow.  The walk to Astoria’s Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden was refreshing; the air woke me right up.  The notion that Syracuse needs something like this:  a pub with a large enclosed open-air venue.  The initial bar felt very European to me, tiny with levels to compensate for the lack of space by the bar.  In the garden area, food was readily available aside the beer.  The beer list celebrates over 10 drafts, including many European varieties, but my expectation was more.  After all, a big venue should have an extensive beer list.  Taking a look at the menu for food and beer, everything was very reasonable.

There was a stage in the middle of the setting, but there wasn’t live music being played that night.  The stage, which is amongst the tables and tents, is an ideal setup for entertainment.  As stated, it would be a perfect venue for Syracuse.  Granted we do have many beer-related events in Central New York, but they are simply events.  The closest thing Syracuse has is Coleman’s Thursday Block Party, but that is seasonal and during the middle of the week.

Wait.  Pause. There is question as to why this was just written.  Think, Chris.  Open air venue in any part of New York state is going to be seasonal.

John’s friends, Jen and Erin, were having a birthday party, and the gathering was in back of the garden, but it was not separated.  Erin created a Love Actually moment for her friend and roommate, parodying the signs Andrew Lincoln had used in the movie.  I was going to mess around with the image, whiting out the card and writing I love you. Let’s kill some zombies, but I decided against it.  Let’s preserve the integrity of this romantic comedy.

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It was a nice touch.  Before I spoke to Erin, I had a chance to talk to Amanda.  Both perform improv, and their personalities showed this.  So, now would be a perfect time to give a shout out to The Peoples Improv Theater.  I haven’t seen a show, yet, but it will happen down the road.

Joe and Justin showed up after a few minutes.  Joe said dryly and comically, There’s a face I haven’t seen in 12 years.  Which is probably true since I did skip out on my 10-year reunion.  Justin was there as well, but I have seen him a couple times since our high school graduation; he’s the guy I have known since first grade.  Cory, a college friend of John’s, was also present.  I had the privledge to buy a round.  We clinked glasses.  We smiled and joked as the night went on.

There were a few reasons for my not attending.  For one, I did not feel like there was purpose in my life.  The only thing I had going for me was starting a great new job and being in a relationship.

However, my ex disapproved of anything and many of the people who went to our high school.  She often utilized the words incestuous and weird often, and they were sometimes used together in the same phrase or sentence.  Plus, it would have been difficult to introduce her to people, because I never could seem to get the introduction right.  This would follow with insecurity and assumption that there was something going on or had gone on (yes, in the way distance past), and that would be followed with my redundant explanation which was also never good enough:  There was only one girl I dated from our high school, who is someone I haven’t seen in more than a decade due to her being bitch to me.  There is nothing to worry about.  We’d argue the next morning about it, because someone would bring it up as a jab at me. It would annoy me to the point of pissyness, and then we’d argue.

On that note:  to hell with it.

This brings me to the women of New York.  Well, they are a different breed.