THE PARTY

A little taster ...

My good friend Rana and I (I'm in the denim) putting up the ridiculously long paper chains that Shark made for me as an insomnia cure.

Shark to your far right, Blondie J with the amazing booty shorts, Jaydee in the dress and my dad sauntering past.

Bondie J, in probably the best outfit ever.

Here you can appreciate the back of Caitie's dress and the sweet spread we laid on (3 types of punch + 4 goon bags anyone?).

And my favourite gay boys arrive.

The amazing Clara! Who has the best mane of hair you've ever seen. We're going to go watch Where the Wild Things Are today, and I think I'm going to make wild beast mane jokes the whole time ;)

McFly, Sam, Andy & me looking skeazy/drunk (which I was).

McFly, just the best.

My backyard mid-party feat. Sam in the bottom right-hand corner sitting amongst Castle and Castle-associated kids. And you can just glimpse Joanie in the top left-hand corner with all the people I used to go to parties with during my Cherry days.

All in all, a successful night. Everyone said they enjoyed themselves :)

IT'S MY PARTY

And I'm definitely not going to cry, it's going to be fucking amazing!
I turn 19 this coming Monday, so I'm celebrating on Friday with 100 of my favourite people.

The things I'm most excited about:

1. Everyone has to wear denim (otherwise I wont give them a free shot). This idea arose from McFly always giving me shit about "wearing weird peices of denim". I figured I could wear a whole lot of "weird denim" and so could everyone else.



2. I am going to wear a Texan Tuxedo - of which google has disappointingly few photos, or else I'd share one. Rest assured that it's denim from head to toe. I'll take a photo of myself and share on Saturday ok!



3. There will be 3 types of punch, one of which will be predominantely full of Stones Green Ginger Wine.


4. Shark will be mixing said punch as she is a competent bartender.



5. I will be doing nothing at all past 8pm as I will be getting irretrievably shitfaced :)



6. That excludes dancing for 4 hours, as that is exactly what I intend to do. You have no idea how much time I have put into finessing this playlist. CAN'T WAIT.



7. I'm going to take a million photos (both film & digital, because I'm obsessed with disposable cameras) and POST THEM HERE. Sans faces though I guess. I hate this anonymous stuff sometimes.
   

Ps. The reason I love disposable cameras is because of the COLOURS:

Neuroticism

So this whole Sam saga has just reminded me that I am an obsessive person.

Hi, my name is Grey and I am neurotic.

No, but seriously. I get bored unless I have something to focus my energies on. People are of course the most satisfying thing to obsess over, because they think and talk and change every day and they can obsess over YOU. However, in light of my current circumstances, in which I irrationally became obsessed with Sam despite the fact that I don't even like him that much (we don't click and I know it!), I clearly need to obsess over people less. People obsessions just end in me or them getting hurt. Usually me. So, things and activities are needed.

As a consquence of this new conviction, I have come up with a list of things to get me through the summer:

1. Exam study (until the 12th)


2. Reading Jane Austen books (right now, Pride and Prejudice *swoon*)


3. Makin' sweet music (aka playing my guitar somewhat tunelessly in my room in preparation for starting a band with my friends. This will undoubtedly end up being a couple of "jam sessions" while we're drunk/high and think we sound amazing, but actually sound awful)


4. Reinventing myself (which I get the urge to do once a year, this time it's going to involve black lipstick and many lengths of industrial gague chains)


5. Writing a play with my friend Shark about the few months when we both worked at a gay bar while underage. Might have to make a retropost about that soon.


6. Maybe finally writing this book I've been talking about FOREVER


7. Going out on the town with my similarly single friends; drinking, taking drugs and making jokes about people and/or obsessing about them from afar (which is far less damaging than up-close). So really, a summer dominated by moments like this:

That should do the trick, right? *Tugs at collar nervously*

Probably not. Already obsessing over finding someone new to obsess about. Also still obsessing about the possibility of no-strings-attached sex with Sam when I stop caring about who he sleeps with (not too far away).

UH OH!

Fake Fur & Secret Admirers

Yeah, I'm procrastinating to avoid exam study.
Don't judge.
But seriously, Introduction to Regression just isn't looking too appealing, especially considering I did it all in high school.
So here comes the story of Saturday night!

Saturday
Where did I leave you after the story of Friday? Oh that's right, I'd just gotten off the train back from Nokle's house with McFly after he told me some things he probably didn't mean & went to meet The Girl.
Well, I went home, showered and ate and did other boring things you don't really care about.
The more interesting part comes at 5pm when Shark arrived at my house, arms full of dresses, pizza and makeup.
Clearly all very important items when preparing for a 21st.
The theme was ultra-formal so we got all glammed up, me in a backless champagne number, draped with a fur (fake, of course) which I'd picked up as a lark years ago. Our good friend Kate arrived at mine and we got the pre-party underway. Ok, it wasn't really a pre-party, unless you count sitting around in formal wear eating pizza & drinking Passiona as pres. Which I do not.
Just to make us feel even more like we were on our way to the befores for some boy's school's Year 12 Ball, Shark's mother offered to drive us to the party, which of course we accepted, considering it was a good half hour away. Only problem was, she wanted to leave as soon as possible (you know how early parents like to be at home & comfortable!).
So we arrived literally 5 minutes after it started.
Here's where I put an imaginary gun to my head and pull the imaginary trigger.
I really did not know enough people at Aleks Duke's 21st well enough to be there at 7:35. Oh well! Shark certainly had a good time, mingling away with all the uni kids she knew through doing plays last year with the uni Dramatic Society. Ugh.
Pity we were pretty over-dressed as well, at least the fur kept me warm!
Kate and I spent the better part of the first hour swapping stories about our love lives; me telling her about recent McFly developments and the ongoing search for the Secret Admirer, and her letting me in on the goss about her new boy Kamil (!!).
Thankfully there was a bar tab, so we got right into the red wine & champs.
I was really waiting for the Castle kids to get there though, so I was pretty happy when McFly, Charlie, Andy, Max Dunkeld and his girlfriend Lucy-Grace rocked up.
Highlights of the party:

• Hilarious stories about the shady/drunken past of Aleks Duke
• MORE teasing from Charlie about the identity of my secret admirer
• Free wine
• Talking Kate into taking her first ever drag of a cigarette (sorry baby! I usually hate smoking, I don't know what came over me)
• Having Shark talk me into calling Dan, the guy I lost my virginity to while he had a fiancee (I DIDN'T KNOW) and was my boss. It was because she wanted him to hook us up with some pills. Apparently he is more likely to give them to me than her. Probably true, as he still wants to sleep with/date me. Ugh, horrible.
• Shark managing to elbow my in the face during a rather unfortunate turn on the dancefloor; my nose & front teeth still hurt today :
• Driving out & away in the direction of Slew with my favourite two Castle Kids, Charlie and McFly.

Slew was pretty average this night. It may have been because it was a Saturday, and Slew is NEVER as good on Saturdays as on Fridays. Fridays = indie kids dedicated to the scene; Saturdays = electro/miscellaneous characters who come because there's a connecting door open on Saturdays between Slew and Washington, a mainstream electro lobbers' heaven right next door. It also may have been because I was utterly and completely sober by the time we got to Slew, while pretty much everyone else was on something (as per usual).

The only real news to report here is the identity of My Secret Admirer.
Charlie finally caved and told McFly who confirmed that it was who I thought it was: Sam.

When asked what I thought about this, I was kind of lost for an answer. Sam is lovely and cute and totally my type, but I'm not sure if I like him enough to lead him down the garden path, or so to speak.
It doesn't help that McFly is trying harder than ever to ensure my allegiance now he well and truly knows about my yen for him. He's been messaging me about random things/to hang out all week (something he never did before)! The thing about McFly is that no matter how much I tell myself he's an asshole who only wants me to like him because of some deep-seated insecurity, he remains the most attractive man I have ever met in my life. And I feel so comfortable and right with him!
However, I have decided that maybe it's time to turn over a new leaf. Things with McFly will never be any better than they are now, and they're pretty shit at the moment. Let's just see how this Sam thing pans out, maybe if Charlie's right about him liking me we could have something fun :)

Your flattered & somewhat excited blogger, Gray.

Getting to Know You

Evening, Morning, Afternoon.

This is your blogger Gray, posting for the very first time. We decided to start this blog in order to keep a bit of a record of our adventures & to give anyone who may read about them an interesting few minutes (we hope!). So please, dig in and enjoy. I'd like to start this off with a bang, so here's the story of my weekend:

Friday Night
WHAT A DOOZY kids. Really.
Friday started off horrible, cold and rainy. I was quite prepared not to go out at all (but when has that ever happened, right?).

To kick things off, Blondie J came to my house for some chats & shops - also to avoid uni study, seems like a normal Friday already. She talked me into going with her to Jaydee's house to watch a few movies with them & Cat. A grrrly night in. I was meant to go to a party with the Castle kids (necessary backstory: 3 of them live in a house together, known as "Castle" & they have an extended group of friends who all hang out together all the time, also known as Castle. Total scene queens and fun as. I have come to be not one of them, but a Castle acquaintance at least. And I have never known any of them to do anything by half measures). However, the Castle party got cancelled & so they were all just going to go hang out at Castle instead, I decided I might go over there later if I wasn't too tired. SO Jaydee's it was.

We got out Sleepless in Seattle (which I had never seen! How that's possible at the age of 18, I don't know either, cats). Sooooooooooooo mooshy & ridiculous. But fun.
Then I got Blondie to drive me home so I could decide from there (nb. Castle is a mere 5 minutes walk from my house, how convenient, right?). I arrived home to a slightly drunken step mother who had been out on the town with an artist friend of hers. I was still vacillating between calling friends and staying home, so she pounced on the opportunity and convinced me to go out for a drink with her. I suggested that we hit the best oldies bar in town, College (so ironic, love it), at which a good friend of mine, Shark, works. She is beautiful & so always complains about the fact that her tips get pooled at the end of the night (HA).

So off stepmum & I go for a couple of vodkacranberries (the poor man's cosmo) with a little extra vods from Shark (thanks ma cherie). SM complains about the lack of any "men she finds cute - AT ALL" and all I can do is reply, "Well what did you expect, it's a 40+ cruising ground, seriously??". As I started to get a bit liquored (thank you SM for not finishing your drink, thank you Shark for giving me a nearly-full beer that would otherwise have been doomed as "spillage") I of course decided that the night was yet young and ready for the taking so I messaged the adorable Sam. The S man has recently been adopted by Castle after breaking up with his long term girlfriend, as most of their mutual friends still hang out with her *awkward*, and Castle love him for his style & his allnightlongparty(butquietly) attitude. In short, he is lovely, and by far the most reliable of everyone who hangs out at Castle, far more than the beautiful but impossible McFly who I had been talking to about hangouts earlier.

A hop, skip & a jump later and there I was, bottle of red in hand, at Castle. All the crew were there, about 10 in all. I said hi & took a seat out on the back porch in one of their nice, unsteady plastic chairs (I was really gunning for the wheelchair they have, but it had been rained on). Pleasantries & chitchat about snuggies & pug dogs out of the way, it was decided that everyone would stay in (given the awful weather) and drop a pill. Thankfully there was a spare so I could have one (oh, how lucky I was). Just as it started to kick in, Charlie, everyone's favourite Brit, suggested that we go out & hit the town. I agreed, not wanting to waste a good high. I mean, I enjoy staying in & having a gab with friends, but this shit was proving itself to be STRONG and I just wanted to dance! Something that would be ohso against the rules at Castle (they're a little too hip to do something like that). I found myself thanking my lucky stars for Charlie & his initiative because I was in the happiest, loved-up place of my life. I kept giggling at C while he was changing the music in his car. Just before we arrived it occurred to me that if I felt like that, he too felt like that and ... WAIT A SECOND HOW ARE YOU DRIVING???? "Oh don't worry Gray, I'm not as bad as you ... this is like a Friday night ritual anyway, I pretty much go on autopilot."
Right you are Charlie. We do go to the same place every week.

So I've gotta tell ya, our favourite club/bar Slew is a bit of a blur. Although we were there from at least 1:30 to 4am.
A few highlights for you all:

• DANCEDANCEDANCE
• Smokesmokesmoke (horrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrible)
• Seeing my friend Bella who is SUCH a smouldering beauty wearing furs & running with her to find some gum.
• Hugging Charlie on the dance floor approximately 5 times throughout the night
• Kissing a girl who was an ex of Charlie's while he smoked yet another rolly outside in the rain
• Introducing myself to the girl Charlie hooked up with not only this night, but ALSO the week before, in order to find out for him what her name was
• Being photographed yet again by the scene photographer who pulls off a Buddy Holly haircut & glasses combo very well; reminding me that I spend wayyyy too much time here
• Receiving a message from Sam informing me that Charlie & I were "missing out on some loving vibes" back at Castle

At close (4am) Charlie & I headed back to his car, with the girl I kissed/his ex who begged a lift home. Was this awkward you ask? Surprisingly not my friends. But that might just have been all the serotonin bouncing around in my synapses switching off my capacity for awkwardness.

So Charlie dropped me back at Castle in the pouring rain where I knocked on the door a good 3 times (!) before considering calling Sam to come let me in. For some weird reason I decided this would be presumptuous. What is up with my brain kids??? Whatever, I was pretty wet as well & didn't like the thought of sitting outside in the freezing cold for another 3 hours. So I just walked back to my house & my warm, comfy bed.

Ok, lies. I sat on facebook/blogs/email for another hour at least before bed. But then bed!

Saturday
So on Saturday afternoon I woke up FEELING AMAZING. Really kids, this was a great flip. I was actually still a little high. Shortly after picking up some lunch I get an odd text from McFly (who is my closest friend among the Castle kids, and the one with whom I have the most complicated relationship) saying "Msg her."

What the hell this was about I have no idea.

The girl I kissed last night???? Maaaaybe. But he never told me why.
MCFLY WHY ARE YOU SO CONFUSING
I'll do some digging & get back to you readers.

Anyway, I messaged back querying what the hell he was talking about & suggested he come over for some lunch if he was still in the area. The boy never eats, it's necessary. Half an hour later my doorbell rings.
"Oh, it's McFly!", I exclaim.
Oh but no. I open the door to a whole bevvy of boys (my favourite kind, pity I'm good friends with them all hehe).

Let's have a list, shall we?

• McFly (American, beautiful, tempting, unattainable)
• Sam (lovely)
• Andy (the reddest of heads, gay, quiet but intriguing, one of the 3 who actually lives at Castle)
• Ivan (Andy's boyf, a new addition to the set)
• Max Dunkeld, often referred to as "Dunkeld" (a photographer & the most enigmatic inhabitant of Castle Street. He once told me that I had "a look about me that made it seem like I knew the answers to all questions - like a sage or an oracle". See what I mean? Best compliment I've ever gotten though.)

So the boys & I had a nice chat on my back veranda with Turkish bread, salami, dip & chocolate biscuits. What a pleasant surprise it was. Pity I hadn't had the presence of mind to change out of my velvet leggings WITH A HOLE IN THE CROTCH. Don't be surprised when I tell you I kept my legs crossed the entire time until I could contrive a reason to go to my room & change into some jeans. Thank goodness for oversized men's t-shirts!

After they left I had finally come down from Friday night's recreation aid & had located a joint. One that was far, far stronger than I had expected, because I was a slowwwwwwwwwwwww mess for the next 4 hours.
A special sorry must go to Shark who came to visit me in this state, my memory of our conversations is a giggly blur. Also apologies to my cousin, who called our house to tell us she just got engaged to her long-term boyf (congratulations!!); I totally couldn't appreciate it.
Just as I was beginning to come out of it Andy invited me to come over to Castle to help him with an essay he was writing. He was home alone and HATES that, and I love essay writing, so really it was a match made in heaven. Right here is where you can pinpoint where I went wrong:

1. Spending time outside on the Castle porch for copious smokebreaks (Andy smoking, not me!) in the chilling cold
2. Happily taking the half a dexie Andy offered me to stay awake/get out of stonerville
3. Staying at Castle until Andy was 3/4 of the way through the essay, at which time it was around 3am

Add 1, 2 and 3 together in a human mixing bowl, marinate until Sunday morning and VOILA, we have severe, bed-confining, tonsillitis.
Not. Alright.

So dear readers, this is tonsillitis-y Gray signing off her very first post on All Our Weekends.
I hope you have enjoyed & learnt something from my escapades: Take many substances, sit out in the cold, don't sleep, don't eat well & you WILL become ill.

Chat to you later cats,

Gray.