Purim 2007 aka Party All Night Long

Purim 2007 most definitely made up for Purim 2006. Last year, I had to work my part time job the night of Purim and had to work the following day so I didn't dress up in costume and didn't go party-hopping. This year was a different story.

This year, I got a long purple wig which I wore with an all black outfit. It was awesome to see how some people really dressed up with masks, wigs, even costumes. I started off at KJ for the Megilla reading, then went to the West Side with a few people for more parties. We started off at The Parlour, we went to the downstairs section where it very quickly got crowded and uncomfortable. There was hip hop music playing, the vibe was very mellow and friendly. We went over to BJ where there was a disco dance party. It was very disconcerting at first to hear loud dance music in a synagogue, but the party was quite awesome. I did see someone dressed as a pregnant nun, that was pretty traumatic. The last party of the night was at Carlebach Shul, there was a band and plenty of food. The music reminded me of a Grateful Dead concert, all the songs seem to be one endless jam and you don't know where it starts or ends. I think you have to be stoned to even enjoy this music, or at least I would have to be since I didn't enjoy the music while sober.

After little sleep, I made a Shaloch Manos (little packages of food ready to eat, you give them to friends and family, really all about unity of the Jewish people) delivery, then spent a little time with my parents, who, much to my suprise, were in the city. KJ had a little Purim party in a bar in Midtown East, I got to hear the Megilla again and did some more shmoozing. I got a call from my friend in Brooklyn inviting me to a Purim Seudah (meal). After initially rejecting the idea of going all the way to Brooklyn, I decided to overcome my urge to be a lazy bum and go to Brooklyn. The meal was in Kensington, the host family really put me at ease. Imagine going into a new place and seeing a bunch of people you don't know, thankfully the host came up to me and said "Oh, you must be ______'s friend, I'm _____,..." My friends came in shortly after me and we ate lots of food, exchanged jokes, heard the host talk about insights from Purim. I will admit that I zoned out during the host's talks, my lack of sleep was quickly catching up with me : ) After the wild partying that I did last night, it was a welcome change of pace to go to a nice Purim meal in Brooklyn and to get to talk with new friends. Then, we visited my friend's family in Boro Park. I didn't get home until 11 PM and got to work a little late the next day.
To all who celebrated Purim, hope you had a wonderful holiday : )