A Bunch of Zeroes....

Ugh...oh god...this winter almost had me in its clutches! The dark afternoons and bare trees and grey skies and the only thing to look forward to (the month and anniversary of my birth...hello...!) still weeks and weeks in the distance. And I was almost susceptible to it, you know...giving into the angst and dwelling on letdown. How tiresome to be tired all the time. And how insufferable to wallow needlessly. So, it's winter and it's frigid and we are wearing our Uggs 'round the clock...big deal....there is so much ahead...spring shoes await us. So I am back....and ready to cover the goings-on...

It's a big year my friends, this Zero year and all the milestones it brings...and the celebrations have already begun. Of course there was Ellie and the countless celebrations of her 10 years...we not only

had a girls' day in the Big City, and sang Happy Birthday while ringing in the New Year with our inner circle...I also took her to see Bye Bye Birdie which starred the perennial hero of the tweener set (thanks to Nick at Night), John Stamos (aka Uncle Jesse)...and to her, we might as well have been seeing the Beatles live on Ed Sullivan. Afterwards she and I met big sis, Cath, at A Voce over on 26th Street where the restaurant manager randomly took a shine to me, purportedly because we shared a last name (not Rittereiser, by the way...which would be far more unique and interesting, but he claimed my other, more generic and ubiquitous surname is what bonded us...)...and so, because he liked me, and I suppose because I smiled big and batted my lashes, he promised us a special

table. So then, the lovely hostess led Ellie and I to a little hidden, dark corner behind the bar and out of sight. I can only do justice to the table's true personality by calling it the "Affair" table...we could see everything in the restaurant, anyone coming our way, but no one could really see us without trying, no one could possibly find us a distraction...I was kind of wishing I had something to hide while there, but alas I was with my ten year old....we sat back and enjoyed the view, only later noticing that there was a display of wine behind our heads labelled "Rendezvous." Yum...that sounds delicious!

And while this was all fun and delightful and we enjoyed the amazing orrechiette with wild boar ragu and perciatelli with anchovies and braised pork and Tuscan doughnuts and chocolate hazelnut mousse...this dinner at the "Affair" table at A Voce was not the final celebration of my firstborn's entry into double digits...oh no, the piece de resistance still lies ahead...3,000 miles away, in a town called Bel Air....

But I will get to that another time....because right now I have to tell you about another Zero year celebration...the "blankieth" birthday of one of my bestie Wyckoff Moms, Susan M....ok, so she is the first of my close girlfriends to hit the mid-century...and not only that, Susan is definitely the go-to big sister and voice of reason in our group...when one of our kids is bleeding, we call Susan for advice...when we feel slighted or confused or want clear cut guidance, we call Susan. And she has a million stories to tell of growing up in Brooklyn and of the bizarre characters she and her extended family have encountered in their years there -- the friend who had the Budweiser floral arrangements at his funeral and the Irish tenor hunting down her Dad after 30 years and the Irish Witch stuff, her deep insights and psychic abilities and outlandish but ever present good luck. And I could listen to her all night long...in fact, a few years back we hit the beach on Longboat Key together and she entertained me from well before noon until after dusk...and I could have sat there with her for another 7 hours. There is nothing more I love about Susan than that.... So of course this "blankieth" birthday called for a night out...a special event planned by our friend and Susan's Brooklyn soul sister, Dana...18 suburban ladies ditching the kids and the guys for the night...dinner and drinking and dancing among the twenty-somethings and tragic hipsters at One, in the Meatpacking District.

I know...it is hilarious to imagine us in the dark corners with the club music pumping and shot girls in micro-dresses circling the low tables...I mean, don't get me wrong, our group can deftly navigate just about any setting...chic restaurants and dive bars...Big City offices and crusty old suburban Country Clubs...we fit in any one of them (you know, I did my part to embrace the Meatpacking look in my dark wash toothpick jeans and my brandy-new 4-inch stacked python Tory Burches...). And so...ok, so even though the youngest among us (Chris...) out-aged the next oldest person in the joint (the bouncer) by no less than 10 years, we were going for

it....and we did. And it was loud and dark...but we laughed our a**es off as always, Suse and me and Kathy and Wendy down at one end telling our most ridiculous stories to one another (Charlotte Russe...that's all I am going to say, Kath...)...and toasting our guest of honor, who gave a great speech about being blessed by having a lifetime filled with wonderful girlfriends...and we were teary and giggly over our molten chocolate cake...and mingling and chatting with our surrounding pals... And so, after the chopped salad and the skirt steak and the prosecco, we were drawn to the music and the thickening crowd...and we wanted to be a part of it. So we settled the bill (the alcohol charges quite a few hundred more than the food bill...whoops!) and abandoned our tables (which, I might add, were broken down almost immediately to accommodate the club's "bottle service" customers...for you geriatrics, this is the exercise in which after 10 p.m. a group of four can sit at a table only if they purchase a bottle of premium alcohol for no less than $375...and as a bonus your party gets some mixers for free...such a deal! We actually watched as the bouncer (not so) politely removed a group of young ladies from the table adjacent to ours)...

This process didn't faze us, and we shuttled to the center of

the floor in front of the DJ booth where we were surrounded by the Meatpacking brethren of the Jersey Shore cast...but younger and with less fist pumping...so a few black-clad couples were making babies on the window ledges, to each his or her own...as long as the clothes stayed on I was cool with it... And in a circle we danced, you know, getting our "Snooki" on...and Pina snapped pictures...and Jen and Teri and Chris showed off their moves...and I tried to converse with Wendy but just ended up screaming in her ear to no avail...and then Nancy was propositioned by a nineteen year old while the only naturally grey guy in the room winked at me...of course. This was about the time my little teal point and shoot digital camera busted and went schizo right in my hands. And all I could think was: what if all the shots are gone? what if I can't share them with all of you....Dammitall!! But as you can see...the problem was short-lived...praise Jesus! Or Susan's Irish Witch luckiness.

All right, so it was already past 12:30...our chariot was awaiting... I looked at Suse and gave her the high sign, my prosecco buzz long ago worn off and my dance moves suffering as a result. We said our goodbyes...gave special hugs to our hostess, Dana, and our birthday girl, Susan...I grabbed mine and Suse's coats and off we went...away from the twenty-somethings and hipsters...back towards the kids and the green lawns and the serenity of our bedrooms, just 16 miles west... And as we crossed Little West 12th Street, we remarked on how Susan's toast was spot-on...how lucky we are to have so many moments in life with great women...good friends, together as we all head towards the next phase in life....and just knowing that can perk up anyone's drab winter blues. It was a really fun night...a fitting tribute to Susan...the first of our girls to hit the mid-century....

And as Suse and I pulled onto the Westside Highway, it suddenly occurred to me....wait, if Susan's birthday bash is over...that can only mean that my birthday is that much closer....YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess it's not that bad though....after all, I'm only turning 21...

missed you....Suz

Photos:

1. Winter vista -- outside my bedroom window....well, actually not really but you get the idea...

2. Dreamy Uncle Jesse has a monkey on his back...

3. Enjoying a secret rendezvous at A Voce with my best gal and favorite date, Ellie...

4. Me and Susan as the celebration begins...

5. A beautiful sight...ten minutes in and I was already double-fisting the prosecco...

6. Me, Nancy and Suse... not quite drunk (or high...or young) enough to hang with the "bottle service" posse...

7. Big sis, sage, raconteur and mid-century hottie, Susan, toasts her milestone...

8. & 9. The ladies enjoying the cocktails and the dance floor among the barely legal throngs...

10. Kathy, me, Wendy and Suse, striking "The Pose"...feeling lucky to face the Zero milestones ahead with beloved best girlfriends...