October 17th - Professional Relaxation @ Aja

Sweet Jesus, it is cold out here. Winter has unofficially arrived in Northern Georgia on much earlier terms than expected...or so it seems. Perhaps, I'm late. All I know is that last night when I ventured out after what seems like a migthy long reprieve from Atlanta nightlife, I was wearing a trench coat, military boots, a scarf and fingerless armwarmers. I should have had on some ear muffs as well.

Despite the chilly weather, it was good to be invited to another Professional Relaxation shindig being held at Aja just around the corner from the absolutely fabulous Lenox Square mall in Buckhead. The feeling seemed to be shared by many. Doors opened at 11:00pm. Upon arrival at 11:30pm, the place was packed. The last time I ventured out to one of these events, I had arrived way to late and the party was pretty much wrapping up. I guess the key to enjoying these events is early arrival, realistic expectations and extremely casual attire. In comparison, the experience was like night and day. Last night's draw was the swanky Asian themed bistro, $5.00 cocktails courtesy of Smirnoff and the MC stylings of Biz Markie. Additional perks included the fact that I did not have to wait in a long line outside and free coat checking. OutPast30 Lady loves the little things.

Upon entering, I checked out the scene. It was so nice and toasty, which is probably why some of those typical young women decided to take a chance of wearing little get-ups that consisted of a scant yard's worth of material. I'm getting old. What happened to the days of understated sexy dresses baring a little cleavage and calves instead of navels and snatches? I digress. There was a sinfully large amount of people waiting to get a drink at the bar. So many people were crowded at the second bar, that I didn't even know a bar was there. I was hoping that there was another bar available upstairs, but that was reserved for a private party who was just sitting in there watching a stupid football game. I guess the game wasn't stupid. I just hate waiting for drinks or anything else for that matter. I figured I should check my makeup in the bathroom before shouldering my way to the front of the line at the bar downstairs but I changed plans after someone had apparently dropped "the bomb" in the bathroom. TOXIC.

I don't think Aja was expecting such a large turnout. I have to give it to the folks that promoted the party. It was jumpin'! There was barely elbow room on the dance floor and I do believe those actually dining at the restaurant had to be in a state of shock. The wait was terribly long at the main bar because there were only three bartenders taking orders. One of those bartenders was also handling VIP requests. The would-be lushes waiting for service lacked patience and were downright nasty at times, but I had to laugh at the guy next to me trying to get the bartender's attention. He did so by rattling off a string of random names in a pleading tone. Joe, Bob, Sammy, Nick, Brad, Chet, Steve. I've never felt so empathetically toward a barkeep, that is, until he served me that wack ass Long Island. I ordered two drinks so I wouldn't have to come back. I must have looked crazy standing there sipping off of two different drinks at the same time. However, I had to get my hands free to take pictures and throw my hands in the air once Biz Markie got on the wheels.

Biz was all the way live, spinning a very sweet mix of 90's and current crowd pleasers such as Mos Def's Ms. Fat Booty, Beyonce's Diva, Jamie Foxx's Blame It, The Fugees' Killing Me Softly and Beanie Sigel's Rock the Mic. I could have worked up a pretty good sweat, twirling around like a mad woman on the dance floor but it just didn't feel right to stay that long. I was, afterall, without the delicious company of my Sweet Sticky Thing and the whole goal was to dance off some stress before returning to his side. While he has been recuperating from an illness, I've been worrying the hell out of him by worrying so much about him. Since we both believe in the healing properties of hip gyration, he sent me to dance for both of us. I spent half my time on the dance floor furiously texting him like a crack-addicted teen with hydraulic digits. Keep us both in your prayers.

Yep, I'll go to another one of these things. Many thanks to Emecka and Professional Relaxation.