The Secret

Sunday afternoon started out innocently enough - but it soon became the most crazy/random night of our lives so far in New York.

Aries & I met at 6pm for a drink at The Standard Biergarten. We had a few weak mojitos and decided to grab a quick bite at the new Gansevoort restaurant, Carte Blanche. Over chicken meatballs and cucumber martinis, a plan was formed. Maybe it was the balmy summer evening or a sense of a life without consequence, but soon Aries & I had that mischevious sparkle in our eyes. Our very obviously impared waiter regaled us with stories from his first years in New York for over 45 minutes, while I texted my contacts to see if we could find a little herbal refreshment.

The texts came back - they couldn't help us. Aries, being the more charming of the two of us, sweetly asked our waiter for guidance. Unfortunately, he was fresh out. (His tip did a nosedive after that!) Determined, we pressed on.

Aries and I tried six places including The Spotted Pig, The Jane, Employee's Only... we thought the bartenders might be able to help, but no luck. Soon, we had made our way from Meatpacking down to Greenwich. We stopped in a dive bar for a fortifying shot of Seagrams Sweet Tea Vodka (yum!) and continued our quest. While walking down a random street, we spoke loudly of our dashed dreams. No sooner than I had said defeatedly, "Guess I'll have to take a Xanex instead" did our knights in shining armour appear.

"Xanex?" the man said. He was standing on the streetcorner outside of a shop with his friends. We explained our predicament. Their eyes lit up; they could totally help us. Giving each other a glance of solidarity, Aries and I entered the shop. We both felt at ease with these guys and as we passed it around, we got to chatting. One guy told me he was raised by an adventure junkie - he swam with jellyfish at age 7, sharks at 9. His father was always pushing him to be tougher, and as a result he very rarely feels afraid. The owner of the shop and I chatted about what a great feeling it must be to be your own boss. It was a lovely, relaxed evening. I kept thinking it was like that book, The Secret, that I never read. We believed it would happen - and we reached our (albeit minor) goal.

Aries & I decided to go around 11, after all - it was a school night. After being sworn to secrecy, we started to leave. I looked over at Aries and realized that her face had gone totally pale, even her lips were white. As we were walking out, I turned around to talk to her and see if she was ok, and I realized she wasn't responding. Suddenly, she sank to the floor and completely passed out.

My mind went blank. We all hunched down over her, completely silent. I remember thinking to myself that I should wait before I began to panic. I looked up and locked eyes with the owner; we shared a calm stare. Within five seconds, she was awake again. She sat up slowly and I told her not to worry, she was only out for a few seconds. She kept saying that she'd never passed out before - I'd never seen someone pass out before! We both went outside to get some fresh air and gather ourselves. The men were really helpful, bringing us water and making sure she was feeling better. We figured out that it was probably a mix of the insane amount of walking we did, combined with heat, dehydration, and a little too much of a good thing.

When Aries felt stronger, we thanked the guys profusely and I put her in a cab.

At least now, they'll never forget us!


*scorpio*