never mix icelandic vodka with guys who play air guitar during karaoke...

no really, BAD combination.

so it was my roommate's birthday this past friday... yes the 13th. she was also born on a friday. some good luck for the world i think. and the fact that i'm a halloween baby... well really, we make a good team.

ok, so, i was a first time karaoke singer/participant. i think it's safe to say that while i can sing and hit the right notes... i am NOT, repeat NOT, a solo singer. i think the fact that i have a fear of public singing has something to do with that. only singing though. i have no problem with public speaking, comedy improv, acting, etc. it's just the singing bit. i'm pretty sure it's a different part of your brain. or i just made it up. definitely one of those.

anyway, if you happen to be like me, a HUGE ham who has large, ahem, "assets" and is blonde, to succeed at karaoke you need to do the following: smile a lot and look pretty and talk your way through the song. sadly, this ends with followers... big fans in fact who yell out "yo! hillary! you're hot!" how do you respond? well, if you have a mic and happen to be singing blind mellon's "no rain" then you make sure to ham it up on the lines about insanity. and then point with a smile to the older gentlemen... one in particular, "jimmy", and then play it off and make sure you are surrounded with many friends so there are no openings for crazies to get at you. also, flirting with the bouncer doesn't hurt. cause he was quite helpful.

jimmy, as he introduced himself to me, happens to be a big fan of the band Rush. i mean, who doesn't love them some rush? certainly not this lady. however, jimmy came over, tipped his very sweaty and very worn out Sox hat (in boston, i don't think i even really need to designate the team) and said "hi! i'm jimmy." i said "hi! i'm hillary." i was then saved by about 4 friends who quickly surrounded me. however, every 5 or 7 minutes jimmy would tip his hat and scream oh so very subtly "hi hillary!" one of his friends sang along to "foxy lady" ... yes, he was looking at me. was it awkward? absolutely. did i feel like i had a brute squad protecting me? damn skippy i did.

more importantly, we didn't have to pay for drinks because we got to the bar early and one of the new icelandic vodka reps was there to offer us free reyka vodka drinks AND super soft long sleeve hoodies. was it awesome? yup. were the drinks watered down? definitely. but since i'm a light weight, i'd say that's a good thing. did i mention the super soft long-sleeve hoodie? cause seriously, it's awesome. not sure about the reyka... i'm a beer girl myself.

one thing's for sure: jimmy is definitely not a fan of reyka vodka because he was there before us and did not get a free hoodie. i'm guessing the icelandic rep (which is basically a drug pusher only for alcohol...) was not a jimmy fan. she really missed out on some very sweet air guitar moves, jimmy style.