Katja and Sam

Katja is something of a party girl, always ready for a good night out. She never needs a particular excuse to hit the town, yet finds that having one can add to the merriment, and what better excuse for a celebration than a good friend’s birthday?

It was for this very reason that, one recent Saturday, she rounded up Sam to accompany her to Long Branch. Had she been more motivated she would have taken advantage of what would likely be among the last warm weekends of the year, and spent the day at the beach. But, like most girls who enjoy a good party, she’s just not a morning person, so it wasn’t until early afternoon that they set off to Penn Station to catch their train. While Katja finds travel on the New Jersey Transit to be far from glamorous, as its trains leave rather a lot to be desired, they do, at least, generally arrive on time, which is more than she can say for Amtrak’s.

As soon as they got to Long Branch Katja and Sam made their way over to the birthday boy’s house, and helped make the place festive before he got back from work (it wouldn’t be a party without hats and balloons). That was, however, the extent of their contribution to the evening (besides their sparkling personalities, of course). The birthday boy is a fabulous cook and wanted to be in charge of the evening’s meal, so as soon as he got home he went straight to work whipping up a fabulous vegetarian feast. Not being a high maintenance type of girl, Katja never expects people to cater to her non-meat eating self. That said, she certainly never complains when they do, as it’s a rare treat to be able to try everything that’s served, which in this instance included a tasty fig dish, grilled portobellos, rice salad and grilled romaine with blue cheese.

There were also two cakes, which made her very happy, especially since one was her favorite, tres leches (she happily had some of the Black Forest cake too, it would have been rude not to try everything). And of course no meal would be complete without lots (and lots) of wine, and since it was a birthday dinner, a champagne toast.

After dinner Katja, Sam and their friends wandered over to the bar at the Bungalow Hotel for some fancy cocktails, and then to The Tiki Bar at Ocean Place for some frozen mango margaritas. Not that she needed more sugar after her dessert consumption, but how can one resist a frozen drink at the beach? They then made their way over to Indulge Wine Bar for some dancing, because of course no celebration is complete without dancing, and the birthday boy is one of her favorite dance partners. Luckily Sam was happy to busy himself by drinking more cocktails, so he didn’t get bored or jealous while they strutted their stuff (Katja is not a fan of scenes…she likes to keep her drama behind closed doors).

Although lots of cocktails were had and the dancing continued until the early hours, Katja was able to drag herself (and Sam) out of bed the next morning in time to make it back into the city for class at Ballet Arts. She is, after all, as dedicated to ballet as she is to her late nights.