the essence of cool I

Just spent a fantastic weekend in NZ's very own scenester capital Wellington. I am pretty sure all the cool kids live there. As much as I enjoy hip bars with quirky furnishings pumping the latest underground tunes and throbbing with trendsetting fashionista's head to toe in a combo of high end lines and the rarest vintage finds, I am not going to sacrifice having a good time just to be seen. Or on the other hand, shun other places where some "wouldn't dare be seen".

Clearly there is an element of cool associated with place. Last weekend I was in tow with a group of aforementioned cool kids who had their hearts set on heading to a specific bar in the city which they frequent on a regular basis. Upon arrival at said bar, the mob were flatly denied entry on account of it being their birthday, thus there was only room at the Inn for VIP members and other 'worthy' candidates. The majority were immediately outraged and proceeded to abuse, bribe, then almost beg to be let in. Eventually we moved on but returned and tried again (much to my chagrin and to some extent embarrassment) on more than one occasion that night still to be denied. I attempted to explain to the inebriated cool kids that it was THEM that made a place cool, not the place that made them cool. And the more they wanted to get in, the better the selective doorman's strategy was working to heighten the fervor (precisely what they wanted to happen).

Unfortunately, the bar-hopping to find the best possie for this very selective group, and multiple attempts to get into the 'impossible bar' took up most of the night and although I enjoyed myself, I doubt anyone's night was outstanding in the scheme of things.

To be honest I couldn't care less if I was seen in a bar of drunken louts grinding to Dizzy Rascal if the mood was good and I was having a good time. Cool should be about not caring where you are but having a good time with the people you are with. Lastly, Cool is not exclusive. Everyones idea of it is different, but in any way, shape or form it should measured by how big your smile is.

Mahalo.

C.K.

P.S. I titled this I, because I anticipate that II, III, IV and V, if not more will be written on this topic.