Happy Forbidden Birthdays!!

On Thursday night, I turned 28 years old. On the exact same day, Darren turned 27 years old. In celebration of our birth, we got together with a bunch of our good friends and all headed out for an evening of fun and adventure. The plan was to rendezvous at Daddy's Lounge and then walk over to my friend Spanky's club, Forbidden City, for some forbidden fun... and, of course, to get hammered in the process.



My brother met up with Ingrid and me early on at her house. Being the responsible adults that we are, we phoned a taxicab from Ingrid's house but what arrived was an old Toyota Tercel with no meter and a husband and his wife holding a Thomas Guide in her lap... interesting. The fare? $7.



My brother and I struck this pose when we arrived at Daddy's Lounge. This was shortly after I got irritated with him wearing the same color shirt as me. I find it strange that I look shorter than him in this picture, given that I'm 6'0" and he's 5'10" (and yes, I needed to point that out).



We were among the first to arrive and quickly secured an area for our friends.

All I need in this life of sin, is me and my girlfriend... and my Heineken.



My bro was lovin' the scene... and the drinks of course.

We gon' party like it's yo' birthday. We gon' sip Bacardi like it's yo' birthday...



Jake arrived a little later and for some reason I was overjoyed to see him.

Let's get retarded! Let's get retarded in here!



Jake's friend Dana, who just moved here from Florida, also made it out to join in the festivities.



Of course, Brooke was there and kept talking about buying me a drink for my birthday, but I never saw it.



Sperbernator, Evereth and Natasha showed up in full force as well...



Jake threw Saul into the mix as well as into his own game...



But quickly removed Saul from his evening recipe... Time to get things cookin'!



We were deep... and getting deeper by the second. I felt so loved.



We had the makings of a great night out and none of us were in the mood to disappoint.



Ingrid got Darren and me some glow in the dark thing you put in your mouth as a little birthday gift. It was somewhat unnecessary for Darren whose mouth already glows in the dark, except shortly after those rare instances where he brushes his teeth.



In turn, Frosty presented us with these shirts for our birthday. That's Jeep (from Popeye) on the left and Destro (from GIJOE) on the right. Can you see the resemblances?



And the gift-giving didn't stop there... Ingrid got us three shots of our favorite beverage for the two birthday boys and her to enjoy. What an awesome girlfriend!



Just before downing them, Darren and I said we wouldn't drink any more than that... we lied.



What a perfect gift for a Jeep... pure gasoline.



After Daddy's Lounge, we headed to the nearby Forbidden City for some drinks and dancing. On the way there, I snapped this Reservoir Dogs-like shot of the crew. Starting from the left there's Haji (Mr. Green), Frosty (Mr. White), Enrique (Mr. Black), Ingrid (Ms. Gold), Shawn (Mr. Blue) and Darren (Mr. Brown).



Okay, I guess we all weren't wearing black suits and ties, but you get the picture.



Jake wanted to get in the Reservior Dogs spirit too, but his entourage didn't oblige. I guess we should just call him "Mr. Clear".



When we finally arrived at Forbidden City, Spanky met us at the door and flexed his power by hurrying us ahead of a line of irritated party-goers. Too bad he didn't have the power to make my cup magically refill...



We were all settling in quite nicely and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.



It turned out Dub magazine was at Forbidden City as well as DJ Lady Tribe who's the really unattractive one in the white shirt.



And just for Darren's birthday, there was a go-go dancer... who Darren has absolutely no recollection of...



Spanky reserved a VIP section for us because he knew we would all eventually be Very Intoxicated People. And along with our glow in the dark mouthpieces, my girl got us some awesome birthday glasses which I circulated and demanded that people put on...



Brooke was game.



So was Enrique.



"What?!!! Wait a minute!!! There's another one?!!! Why didn't anyone tell me?!



Excellent!!!



Of course, Ingrid was a good sport too. (Gentlemen, please note that she's inadvertently doing a Shocker with her left hand)



I had never really had a birthday party before, and was thrilled to be there with so many friends. Thanks to all of you who came out!



Early in the evening, I ordered a couple bottles of Absolut for our table and along with the vodka came carafes of various juices and Red Bull for mixing... as well as for posing.



After realizing that we didn't look so tough with carafes of juice in our hands, we quickly put them down and made these cool poses instead. Ummm... yeah. Much better.



With the drinks flowing, people's inhibitions dropped and although he knew I had a girlfriend, Monkey-Lite leaned in for a kiss. I had to let him down easy and told him that I'm straight...



I think Ingrid has a sad look on her face in this picture because she wanted to wear the glasses, but hey, it was MY birthday, not hers, and I was going to wear them, damnit!



And wear them I did.



Even if they were only on my head.



Darren's younger brother Lil' Kev was there and graciously posed for this picture with Big Kev.



We were stylin' with drinks in hand and having a blast!



Bunny ears, Jake? Geez! We're not 5 years old anymore... as you should clearly be able to tell by the glasses I'm wearing.

By the way, at some point between this picture and the next one, that glow-in-the-dark stick in my mouth exploded and I began spitting its glowing contents from my mouth. It was cool. Again, we're not 5 years old anymore, Jake.



I think the glow-in-the-dark chemicals made me temporarily insane... That, or the vodka Red Bulls I was drinking.

** A very special thanks goes to Haji for not only searching for, but locating and driving both Ingrid and me home at the end of the night. Thanks, Haj!



After running around and taking pictures with everybody in my birthday glasses, I turned the camera around to take pictures of others... First victim: My beautiful girlfriend and our good friend Ari.



Next was Darren and his brother. And if you don't know either of them, please allow me to clarify. Darren is the one that looks like a Jeep and has a funny-looking elf ear. Jeep! Jeep!



Jake was obviously saddened by Natasha's recent departure from the firm. Of course, Natasha was clearly happy to have escaped from the corporate shackles.



Frosty and Enrique work together and play together...



"Go Kevin, it's your birthday!"



"I didn’t get it from my grandma’s book upon the shelf. I didn’t get it from a magical and culinary elf..."



It was wonderful to have so many of my friends in the same place at the same time.



Throughout the night there was a lot of whispering going on between these two and it's still unclear to me exactly what information was exchanged, but something tells me it couldn't have been good.



Jake kindly purchased us all shots of Jägermeister, which Brooke apparently couldn't wait to get her hands on...



Later in the evening, my good friend from high school, Henry, showed up, who I haven't seen in years.



More and more people kept trickling in, including Darren's friends Rachael and Lisa.



It was a night filled with surprises, including Frosty getting a hug from Lisa.



And there were more than just birthdays to celebrate, as Darren spotted Frosty spitting some game. Mission accomplished for Frosty!



A birthday kiss for Darren? Mission accomplished for Darren!



Calm down, mac-daddy... it was only a kiss on the cheek...



As I said before, the night was full of surprises, and the next surpise was this cake that Ingrid got for the birthday boys. I was so taken back by her thoughfulness that I nearly fell on it. Thanks you, Ingrid for the cake. And thank you to whoever's hands are in this picture for pushing me away from the cake.



Of course, Ingrid had to sprinke the cake with a little of her own special lovin' and included these trick candles. But I couldn't be deterred on my birthday and tried putting them out with my tongue...



"Ouch! Fire is hot!"



No need for utensils when you've got hands... "Mmmmm. This ribbon tastes good."



Darren proved that when it's your birthday, you don't even need hands to enjoy your own birthday cake...



Ingrid followed in the footsteps of her man, but with slightly more tidyness than me.



The cake had a Kahlúa center and was soooo good! Yet another pleasant surprise.



After the cake, I gave Ingrid what Jake has dubbed a "Thank you lick." I like to think of it as a "You're awesome lick."