Pre-Ultra

The days leading up to Ultra were abuzz with activity and excitement. Texts were being sent back and forth with what to bring, who to see and my Eurotrip-style Northface backup was slowly being stuffed to the brim with bathing suits, neon and any other outrageous piece of warm weather apparel I could think of. Let me introduce the cast of characters. I was meeting my friend AD in Miami, who had been involved in the Deadmau5 travesty in Hamburg. We had also gone to another electro fest in NYC at the end of last summer so I knew we were on the same page. Her friend from school in Miami, MM, was also meeting us. We were going to be staying in a hotel (the exotic and glamorous airport Marriot) with a guy I went to high school with, Le Canard, and his friend whom we'll call Ginger.
The night before leaving I decided to treat myself to a mani/pedi (Astoria was infamous for cheap ones). The place I chose looked very nice, though they must not like it when people come alone--throughout the whole process they kept sitting me directly next to the girl I had just happened to walk in with. I don't think she was happy about it. My pedicure was fairly uneventful, besides my mild embarassment and annoyance when the lady decided to point out a toenail that had grown sligthly wonky. I was also trying very hard to ignore the guy working on the girl next to me--he was paying more attention to me than he was to her feet. During our manicures (because of course we were seated right next to each other in the otherwise empty salon), when he went grab her purse for her. Except he returned holding mine, beaming as he handed it to me. I guess I was getting my purse as well. Thanks, guy. As my woman was finishing up my nails she handed me the packet containing the file, clippers and stick thing and then got up and walked away. I was very confused. Was this a gift? I decided that it must be as I didn't know what the hell else to do with it. I stuck it in my purse. Once she came back I realized that the packet was sitting on the table of the girl next to me. It would look really bad if I took it out of my purse now so I sat there, praying to god that she didn't need anything out of it. Luckily she didn't and at the end I only had a $5 bill for tip so I gave her that (even though girl-next-to-me) slipped her guy a couple of ones. To be rewarded for this my post-mani massage involved a hot stone, while the other girl received about a 10 second patdown from my new boyfriend. I could feel her glaring at me. Once done I left quickly, still worried about the contraband in my purse. I walked home in hail and freezing rain to discover that my manicure was already chipping. My pedicure lasted about a week. Fucking place.

The next morning, I was all set to go. I was going to my internship for a few hours and then I was returning home to hop the bus to Laguardia. I realized quickly that this plan may very well fall apart when I checked my email at my internship. A frantic email from AD: "FUCK MY FLIGHT WAS CANCELED BC OF THE FIRE AT MIAMI AIRPORT". I thought I was off the hook since mine was still fine but this changed in a matter of minutes. Both MM's from Baltimore and mine were canceled as well. After being on hold with the worst airline in the world aka American Airlines for almost an hour, my only option was to fly out of JFK later that night into Palm Beach. AD was rescheduled for an afternoon flight the next day and MM got the shit end of the stick--she wasn't able to get out until 6 AM Saturday morning. Let's just say the rest of that Thursday was not a pleasant day for any of us. I did manage to make my flight and it actually turned out to not be so bad. One of the workers must have felt bad when I tried to check in-- the only seats left on the plane cost extra money. He walked me right up to the ticket counter, skipping the massive line of angry Dominicans, late for their flight to Santo Domingo, and was put in a seat in the front row, free of charge. My flight was on time and I was able to watch the Jersey Shore on the in-flight TV.
I had persuaded Le Canard and Ginger (whom I had never met) to pick me up from Palm Beach. I will state right now that I'm so grateful to them for doing so; it was super nice. They had a car since they had driven (yes DRIVEN) from Syracuse to Miami. They were about an hour and a half late picking me up. I streched out on a bench outside the arrivals area, enjoying the warmth and very aware that I looked homeless. By the time they arrived it was almost 2AM. I was the only person left in the airport and they were both hopped up on god knows what. I buckled up in the backseat and eyed the pizza box next to me. Unfortunately it was over 24 hours old, which was my limit. Electro blasted from the speakers (yes actual speakers that they had brought, circa roughly 1996) that were hooked up to the radio in the car. Once arriving at the hotel I collapsed into the king bed that I had all to myself. I slept fitfully that night, anxious for the next day.
I called the boys in the morning and we decided to go to a Cuban place next door to the hotel. A delicious place called Sabor Latino. I treated myself to the "delicious breakfast". The name was fitting--beans, cheese, plantains, corn tortilla, eggs with salsa and STEAK with freshly-squeezed orange juice and Cuban coffee, which is apparently hot cream with espresso. Fuck yes. Miami I have arrived. I was set on getting tan so I told the boys I was going to spend the day by the pool and was relieved when they decided not to join me. But I was bored by the pool and it was hotter than I thought it would be (not surprising as I had just experienced a 40 degree temperature difference). I also had a pretty embarassing moment--the guy next to me was on the phone talking about how his flight to NYC had been canceled. I decided to inquire about this, even though I rarely approach guys I don't know. "Hey did you say tha", I started and was cut short as he answered his phone. He hadn't heard me. But I know the people on the other side of me did, as they were staring at me when I turned back around. I sank into my chair and pretended to fall asleep.
Crunch time. AD was scheduled to get in soon and we were going to have to head straight to Ultra as we had already missed most of the afternoon. I showered, changed into my hammer pants and half shirt and waited. To be continued.....