My PHILONYE Has a First Name

Wow. I don't even know where to begin with my PHILONYE recap. I'll try to come at it from the "I don't even know what the hell PHILONYE is" angle, for my readers that aren't from the northeast. So, PHILONYE stands for Philadelphia on New Year's Eve. Which is where I went. Basically, my boyfriend Tom and his friends get together in whatever city for a New Year's bash. I think it's a great idea. I have never spent New Year's with my friends- opting instead to play poker in rural Alabama with my family- but this idea has merit. Especially with Tom's friends...many of whom are hilarious.

So, Adina and Mr. Anonymous live in Philly, and elected to host this year's event. And thus PHILONYE was born. And there was much rejoicing. And drinking. Originally I was slated to arrive on Friday night, stay with Adina and Mr. Anon, and then Tom and his Bostonian contingent would arrive on Saturday. I was not a fan of this idea because 1. less time with my boyfriend and 2. as much as I love Adina online, hello I've never met her. What if she's totally nuts?!? Lucky for me, she is as hilarious as her blog leads you to believe. Also, she and Mr. Anon are the cutest couple ever. Because they are great. Also, they are very compact. Which I think adds to the cuteness. Seriously. They are tiny. And they are great hosts. I walked in and was greeted by the sight of many many bags of chips, hummus, 2 cases of beer, and cookies. Mmmm cookies. Well played, Anonymouses. So we had snacks, and played Scrabble, and Tom and his truckload of people arrived Friday night! Woo!

Everyone came over and I got to meet the whole gang (with the exception of a few that didn't arrive until New Year's Eve.) We did the "whoever is holding the bottle of sauvignon blanc has to introduce him/herself and then take a swig of wine" introduction game (being played by our hostess above.) Mmm...swigging wine. Classy. So we quit playing Scrabble (which was great cause sweet baby Jesus I was getting stomped) and moved onto what could probably be named the official game of PHILONYE. Mafia. I really enjoy playing Mafia, although I do find it kind of stressful. I love to just be a townsperson. That way, my existence doesn't really matter. Also, I find it much easier to be convincing when I'm being honest. The lying kind of stresses me out. Of course, maybe I would be more convincing if I was wearing a piece of tape labeled "Definitely NOT Mafia." :-p That first night of Mafia followed a pretty basic formula. First, kill off Justin. Then kill off Tom. Justin because otherwise he will continue to yell and Adina has neighbors. Tom because apparently that is what they do. Tom's default position was killing off Adina. But Adina wasn't wearing flannel, and thus tended to fare better with survival. So the first night was basically Mafia all night, then everyone left except Tom, Donny, and I who stayed at Adina's. Poor Donny ended up on the air mattress. At least until he rolled off in the middle of the night and ended up sleeping on the floor.

The next day, we set out to find the hotel we'd be staying at the rest of the visit. It was thought to be nearby. And depending on who you asked, it was. Ask Thomas, and he'll say it's not that far. Ask me, who is walking the 2 miles at 3 AM in 40 degree weather, and I will say "OH MY GOD WHY THE HELL ARE WE WALKING?!?" Because I live in Alabama, and we don't walk. And we don't have 40 degree weather. However, Adina was kind enough to lend me a pair of tennis shoes for the visit. Which was pretty much a necessity, because if left to only the pair of boots with 2 inch heels I brought, Tom would've been carrying me around Philadelphia. And then we both would have needed wheelchairs. So again, Adina = best hostess ever. Later that day, we met for sushi. Woo! Man I love sushi. And Tom ate some, even though he calls it "bait" and there was much happiness. We later returned to the apartment and played, you guessed it, Mafia. Also, at some point we played taboo (which I suck at), scattergories (also suck), and some drinking game (shockingly enough, still sucked. Although most of that game is luck of the draw I think.)

That night we went out to an Irish pub for dinner. And the food was awesome. Also, John created the greatest invention ever. We ended up needing two tables to accomodate the entire group since there were almost 20 of us. One table played drinking games the entire time, and on more than one occasion people at my table turned around to see who was making out with whom. I was too lazy to drink that much. I also knew that I had a 2 mile hike back to my hotel. So I stuck with a single beer. My table was more concerned with eating. I think we were all starving. I couldn't even be troubled to look up

from my menu for a photo. We went straight from the pub/restaurant to the bowling alley. Of course, when we got there it turned out to cost an ungodly amount, and we would need multiple lanes for all of our people. So we played some foosball. And then we walked back to the apartment. And then we played Mafia for 3 hours. It was insane. And we walked back to the hotel. At 3 AM. In 40 degree weather. For 2 miles. I complain a lot, but in retrospect it wasn't really that bad. I know to bring a hat for next time. Also, I know that if I move to New England, I will die. Useful information. Really though...I had gloves, I had a scarf, I had layers. I'm just a big pansy. As Tom so kindly reminded me. Jerkstore. :-p

So finally it was New Year's Eve. And what better way to spend the day in Philadelphia, than by playing Pit all day? Really. What could beat that? The answer is nothing, because Pit is awesome. I'm buying it and taking it to my sisters...because it's great. We played Pit all day, and then it was time to go out for New Year's. First we were going to have dinner at a Thai restaurant, and then we'd make our way to a pub for drinking and dancing the rest of the night. Let me tell you a little something about going out in the northeast. I was not dressed for it. In Birmingham, we go out in halter tops or something similarly skimpy. That is just how we roll. Because even when it's cold here, it's not that cold. And no one looks at you like you're crazy when you roll into a bar in February wearing a tube top. Unless you're chunky. And then you're just crazy for wearing a tube top. So, I brought two halter tops for New Year's. And it was 40 degrees outside. "Tom, I don't know, should I wear this? Most of your friends seem to dress pretty conservatively. Also, it's like 12 degrees outside. I don't want to look nuts." "No, it looks great, other people will be dressed like that, you're fine. Just wear a coat." Oookay. So, me in a silk halter top. Then a coat and scarf, and gloves. I should have known I was going to look like a freak. Also that I was going to freeze to death and die in the street. We get to the restaurant for dinner, everyone's taken their coats off, and there I am. The only person not wearing a sweater. And I'm not just not wearing a sweater, I'm wearing a shirt that doesn't have a freaking back on it for cripes' sake. Ugh. So, I finally took the coat off, because it's hard to eat Thai food in a coat. I looked crazy. Also, I was cold. Lesson two in dressing for the northeast: wear a shirt. Also, never ask your boyfriend whether you should wear less clothing. You're not going to get a good answer.

So, we finally ended up at the bar and it was a blast. I think the best story of the night was Mo's. The ladies room had a really long line, so some girl suggested to Mo that they go use the men's room. They walked right in, and although the girl offered to share a stall with Mo, they ended up in different ones. Thank God. Because a minute after they go in, a bouncer comes in yelling that she has to get out. The bouncer kicks the girl's stall door in, grabs the girl and tells her she has to leave. She asks to retrieve her coat and he tells her no. Mo is still in the next stall undetected, although i'm pretty sure she was glad to be in the bathroom. I would have wet myself. She waited a couple minutes, then snuck out of the men's room without incident. So she came the closest to getting kicked out that night. A close second to the couple in the group that actually did get kicked out last year for another restroom incident. Luckily they nipped that in the bud this year. "NO PASSION!" was their mantra for the night. ;)

I will report that our hotel was right next to the Rodin museum, and the museum where Rocky ran up the stairs in those stupid movies. (Man, I hate Sylvester Stallone. Also, I hate the name Sylvester.) And we did not do any Philadelphia-related activities while we were there. I ate no cheesesteak (good for me, since I'm a vegetarian), I saw no Liberty Bell (because who cares about some bell? I don't), I didn't go into any museums (although I did want to go to the medical museum. The sign on the front called it "disturbingly informative" which I'm totally into), and I didn't buy any souvenirs. I went up there to do one thing- have a great time- and all I can say is mission accomplished.

I can't wait for next year :)

*Thanks to Donny and Felecia for posting their pictures. I stole them. :)