Honolulu Nightlife
(continued from last post) Case in point: I got called a zebra and I bought the “man” a drink. I felt bad that that was the best he could do, and regardless of whether I deserved to be called a zebra, I felt like I wanted to give the guys a leg-up in the world. If I could make (with all due respect,) inexperienced-I-just-turned-21-and-haven’t-left-this-island-ever boys feel like they got attention (for $4), there is my contribution. That was my hidden agenda that I was afraid to tell my friends. $4 for a sex on the beach, my friends.
I was talking to a neighbor who lives on the 25th floor, Sue who is about to turn 40 in December. She sells jewelery (jew-lery for fans of Jill Zarin like myself) at Tiffany & Co. and is very good at it. She tells me about happy hour at Doraku which I’ve grown to like, strip bars that she is disgusted by, happy hour at Mai Tai’s, and Fri/Sat nights out at Pearl or (what was) Ocean’s with her husband.
I described my first encounter at Mai Tai’s. The crowd of men there at 10pm on a Fri were mostly 30+ year olds. I was surprised because from my understanding, Mai Tai’s was a highly coveted place for about-to-turn-21 year olds of the island.. my age range. As I striked up conversations with these 30 pluses like I usually would in DC expecting to meet ‘Peter from Jersey’s but of the local persuasion, I spoke with FATHERS. Now I know what Mansi was talking about when she compared New York and Chicago.
I felt out of place and speechless after I learned that they were in fact separated/divorced/never married fathers of teen boys. I failed to walk away in awkward confusion. What are their objectives at a place like Mai Tai’s? Maybe I just went on an extraordinary Friday evening. It just so happened to be Nalani’s birthday which I was excited about.
I am excited for my new job, but will not be surprised if a bunch of experienced laborers of the restaurant industry whom I befriend- have children.. multiple children who will decline Miz’s offer of buying a few beers after work because they have to go home to said children.
Time to cover my bases again in my next entry