Leaving The Apartment

You know I don't like to leave the apartment much on weeknights, and if I do, I'm definitely not going to imbibe.

Well, this week I've gone out twice, and it's not even Thursday!

Tuesday night, I went to check out my new friend Mark Rapp, who plays the trumpet and some other instruments. He came to my photography show a couple weeks ago through a mutual friend, so I thought I'd repay the visit.

He typically plays his own stuff, but Tuesday he was more of a side guy backing this other cat who might have some anger issues. But Mark is pretty skilled, and tho I'm hardly an expert on trumpet players, Mark's certainly good enough that I want to see him in more of a front role. Plus he's my new friend, and of course, his girlfriend is delightful, which tells me she must have some delightful friends of her own.

So Mark's producer, Marc, is our mutual friend, and Marc has some good contacts, including one who hosted his own movie screening at his penthouse apartment in the Murray Hill neighborhood on Wednesday night. I hate to be rude, but the social occasion that preceded the screening turned out to be all that I was interested in. I won't go into detail about the content of the movie, since it hasn't been released yet, but let's just say I was OK with leaving at about 10 p.m., just after the party quieted and the screening began. I was content because I'd had a few drinks, made some new friends and passed my card along to Mintu, quite possibly the most beautiful Asian gal in New York City. She and some others began calling me "Kitchen Greeter" because, well, I was greeting everyone who walked into the kitchen. My sincerity was such that nearly everyone asked if it was my party. In this million-dollar penthouse with lots of glass and a sexy rooftop, I had to tell them all that it was not my party, and no, I'm not in the movie industry either.

But Mintu -- and others sharp enough to conclude that some humble men like to downplay their power by saying what I said: "No, I'm actually the head bus boy at Denny's over at 43rd and 3rd" -- seemed like good people. Sometimes, these men are just trying to be modest and not want to brag about what they really do. Others like me have jobs whose lack of importance rivals those of men who really are head bus boys at Denny's restaurants.

If you read my Friday entry, however, you know I'm quite adept at guessing the specific nations of origin, but quite frankly, I've met so many Asian gals lately that I didn't even pay attention to her ethnicity, and I was too busy charming her with stories about how boring my life is.

Do you remember the season of "Entourage" where Eric dated Ari's secretary, the thin blonde girl with the short haircut? Mintu was an Asian version of her, so that's pretty hot. She also had an accent that wasn't Eastern. It was European and she was just plain brilliant.

Nonetheless, despite my disdain for forced networking situations, this event was actually quite worth it, and I look forward to reuniting with some new friends again soon.