The Show Must Go On

Forgive my usurping the title of one of the song titles from Pink Floyd's The Wall for this post; it just seems that tomorrow night's festivities are approaching at lightning speed and no matter how many of these BoogieFests we throw, there always seems to be some hesitation to insure everything is right, every 'i' is dotted, every 't' is crossed, and every random piece fits in somewhere.

Ahead of the party, I made sure all the pics in the camera were moved over to the PC and to the HoB Flicker site. The newest set is comprised of some dreary pics I've taken over the past week or two while out and about downtown, on the West Side as well as a few in Chinatown (I didn't have the heart or the constitution to take pics of the live fish markets or the people with goiters the size of footballs -- not yet, anyway).

On top of that, and to return to the topic of the incoming party, we have a bunch of people who are in the process of coming in by plane, train, bus and/or car. On top of that, there are hotels, arrangements to stay with friends, clothing/cleaning issues, scheduling conflicts, the procuring and payment for the birthday cake for the co-host, my friend Jon (aka The Grand Poobah), and a variety of other miscellaneous items popping up in my collective neurospan. All things considered, this endeavor -- like its predecessors -- always winds up being a huge hit for everyone, including me. It's always fun seeing, hanging and partying with friends -- but just focusing on all the details and making sure everyone and everything is addressed and satisfied and ready to rock never fails to keep me guessing until the (and throughout the entire) event.

This time, I've attempted to Not Worry. For the most part, everything is clicking -- the music's ready to go, the wardrobe is ready to go, the camera's ready to go, the people are ready to go, the cake is prepped and ready for delivery -- nothing is out of place. It's sort of unnerving, really -- things shouldn't be going this smoothly. I guess, if nothing else, Kaia not being here to ground me and to remind me what's really important -- a random kiss in the living room, her holding my hand on the way to or back from Eli's -- are "real." All this other stuff -- the party details, the 125 or so guests, their flight info, the hotels, the taxis, the plans, the miscellaneous bullshit -- that's all secondary.

Of course, none of that is secondary -- and the irony is, of course, that since Kaia's not in for this particular shindig, all of that surrounding her is, this weekend, unfortunately, imaginary. Except that, for me, as much as I am looking forward to hanging with my friends -- both old and new -- I'd trade it all for a weekend with her here.

Oh well...I 'spose if it were perfect I wouldn't know when to appreciate it ;)

Well, as they say in close-quarter combat, I'll be sure and update you all from the front, or at the very least, once the siege is complete.

Keep an eye on the Flicker site for party pics -- I'll announce them here, but in the event that I am not mentally able to put together a coherent semblance of a typical HoB wrap-up/post, they'll appear before I do.

And now, without further ado...