Take last week for example. Da Jel and I plotted to take the 3 am Party Bus from Taksim back to Büyükdere. She had found a Party Bus that left from a different stop than the Party Bus that I discovered last month with Kate.
Anyway, we had it all planned out and were chilling and keeping warm, and dry, in a pub until it was time to hit up the Party Bus. Oh yea, it was pissing rain so bad. I mean SO BAD...
Granted, we left a bit late, but figured we were on track to make the bus- I was at least since I didn't really know where the bus stop was. It is pissing rain and we are soaking wet and nearly breaking out in a sprint the last 100 meters and there we saw it- the Party Bus... en route already without us on it and way too far away to try to catch its attention... Sadly we had to alter our plans. It sucked. Sucked as in like 35 Turkish Lira sucked... Yea, we had to take a taxi after our short dolmuş ride to Beşiktaş...
Last night I was on a mission to catch the Party Bus. As my lungs couldn't take the smoke-filled, stagnant air any longer, I left our party HQ for the evening, Peyote:
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| #sickboyorganization with #artdiktatör and #Robotat |
Checking the time, I saw that I was going to have to wait a while as I was navigating down the narrow, winding staircase. As I got to the bottom I heard some progressive house and saw DJ Caner. Immediately I joined in- especially as it involved (mostly) fresh air. Man the memories start to flood back of all the fun dance parties on Maui over the years. Nothing like spinning into that trance state and just f*cking grooving in a pure state of bliss. Yea, you know what I'm talking about- most of you anyway :)
I got to the coveted bus stop with ten minutes to spare. The line was HUGE. It was a total after-party scene and hilarious at that. All the different tribes of people present each had their own scenario going on. Most were in a state of slight dysfunction due to inebriation.
Finally the bus came and there were already a lot of people on it... WTF I'm thinking, as this is the beginning of the line. Obviously some people discovered it is much easier to wait where the bus comes out of the secret hole so that they can get a seat. I could tell that I would have to fight my way onto the Party Bus because I just knew that some wouldn't make it on.
Our journey starts on the sardine-packed Party Bus. Everyone is laughing. I am standing in a fairly mellow spot with my (requisite) head phones on. There are about 4 different conversations going on that I am privy to as well because, somehow sharp hearing is my superpower for the journey. Again, hilarious.
I was just hoping that everybody would get off at Osmanbey, Şişli, or Mecidiyeköy- where most of the cities denizens seem to live... But they didn't. The Party Bus was packed all the way to past Levent4. I finally got a seat and tuned out for the last stretch.
Büyükdere was a ghost town at 3:30 am. The air was cool and crisp, but a hint of spring hung thick hovering over me. The Bosphorus was sparkling as the stars were falling into the water. I could see the vibrations or pulse of the atmosphere as the lights danced atop the water in dreamscape formations.
The çai meyhanes that line the Bosphorus were devoid of most of their regulars. There were still a few good old boys hanging, talking and doing their typical boy-club thing that they do. They always look up at me strangely, as this short-cut is popular in my wanderings. Usually I'm coming there around 10 pm after yoga class, or after my runs in the morning, so usually I'm wearing my workout gear. They always look up and study me quizzically, which I don't mind, or have just gotten used to. The only time I am actually a patron of this particular çai meyhane is when I'm in the company of the Büyükdere Club Kids, aka Steve-0 and Ed Shread.
So I always instinctively scrutinize the mehane whenever I walk by in case I see da kine so I would then go and chat them up. Of course, at 3:30 am it looks strange if you are looking over all the patrons because all the patrons, basically, are watching you, if you remember, in a weird way, that just gets to feel 'normal' after a while and then you kinda forget about it- the weird way they are looking at you...
So, the story ends here with me getting home without a hitch, really. What really surprised me, though, was how I absolutely STUNK of cigarettes. No wonder my lungs wouldn't, couldn't, take it any longer at the club. Of course, the club, Peyote, is tragically cool so one tolerates the low ceiling and relatively small venue space because their lineups are usually alternative and interesting and artsy.
Stripping off my cigarette-infused fabric and seeing (smelling) the pile on the floor was nearly suffocating... I honestly felt bad about putting the heap into my dirty laundry basket- it's like the other dirty clothes inside didn't deserve having to tolerate this batch... In they went and in I went into the waiting hot shower. Man a hot shower feels good after a night of party/dance/walk-in-rain (oh yea, it was raining again too, but not like last week), etc.
I slipped underneath the crisp cotton sheets and slid the goose-down comforter over me and grabbed my computer while the kitties adjusted themselves onto me now. A little bit of da kine and an episode of Freaks and Geeks and I went into lounge mode, only to be interrupted by the not-so-subtle hint of sunrise...
Crisis-mode starts up instinctively and immediately. It flushed over me and BAM, less than a minute later I am hoping to go into deep slumber.
In other mundane news:
school is cool
yoga is becoming sexy again
running is a high
da kine will always be da kine
the Kovan bakery in Osmanbey ROCKS
popcorn Jelly Bellies aren't so bad after all
And on an ending note, I'm absolutely DYING to look through all my spring/summer clothing that has been stored away for the past few months. This. THIS consumes me. I am trying to hold out, but I'm just so damn excited about wearing slinky clothing once again and seeing my body after a winter of hibernation... It's been a long time since I've looked at all my bikinis and I can't wait to be in them ALL again soon. Damn I miss the f*cking beach lifestyle. I realize every day that I live without the beach that that is what I'm all about really. I guess missing that lifestyle is the challenge for me now. I have willingly severed ties. It is an interesting experiment. I know that a beach is my destiny. I know so deep down that it's not even a problem I guess is what I mean to say.
Okay, It's now 12:15 pm and I'm still in bed. Earlier I pulled open the curtains when I went downstairs to make my brew and saw a brilliant, sunny winter day unfolding- a bit windy it seems though. This has been a pretty mild winter here so there isn't much to fuss over. I think I'm doing pretty good for experiencing my first winter in a few years. I could even deal with a snowfall or two again.
I feel like I am getting the clothing and layering thing down to some degree lately. It seems that in the past 2 weeks, or since the semester began, that I am finally getting it down. I mostly notice this on my runs. On Friday's run, it was still pretty early so I moved onto my light long-sleeve running jacket and beanie. It worked well and my entire run was just sweet. Yesterday it seemed a bit colder so I switched to my new running jacket- with the puffy chest part. That also worked well, although I had to alternate with taking off/putting on my beanie. That run was super sweet too. What will today bring? It does seem windy, but I can tell already that sunscreen is a must :)
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