d and i head out at around 6.30, make our way to the downtown sj train station and get in line to buy a caltrain ticket. unfortunately there is a death on the tracks and caltrain is delayed by 2 hours. we opt instead for the 7pm amtrack, right to the heart of oakland and a transfer to BART into the city. simple enough, we think. dinner is in the upstairs dining car, a romantic meal of turkey & cheese sandwhich for d and a cheeseburger (microwaved) for me. we share a bottled water, a bag of peanut m&m's, and a bit of conversation with lisa the stewardess. she advises us to stash our valuables in our inner jacket pockets and walk with confidence (and in a group if possible) when we get off in o town. 
she comiserates with us when our train halts just outside of hayward to deal with some 'police activity on the tracks' that thankfully only delays us about 20 minutes. i tuck my cell phone and credit cards in my bra and miraculously, we are not stabbed as we walk from the oakland coliseum amtrack station to the BART station. we finally arrive at union square at 9.30.
we meet bird in front of the virgin record store on the square and flag a cab to take us to northbeach. we're let off in front of showgirls cabaret but as we're stone sober, decide to wander until we find something a little less topless. we make our way through the throngs of people and find ourselves at the lovely threshold of zinnia, 'celebrity chef sean o'brien's newest restaurant' since myth closed its doors. unfortunately we are too late for food (which looks fantastic on my walk to the 'water closet') but our first round of drinks arrives at 10.00, not a moment too soon. we chat and try to figure out the man at the bar who is listening so intently to our conversation that he's actually leaning in over our table and chuckling. around 11.30 our lovely bartendress recommends that we head down the narrow alley, around the corner, to bix for the countdown. we make dinner reservations for february on our way out.bix is just what they say it is: 'an exceptionally stylish supper club, civilized speakeasy, a sophisticated salloon' and jazzclub and we're happy we took the bartender's advice. we sit at the bar order drinks, chocolate bread pudding (YUM), and truffle ice cream, enjoy the swingin' jazz band and observe the awesome ambiance of the place.
there seem to be 10,000 silver, black, and gold balloons and i'm feeling all streamer-y, happy to be with this upbeat and sophisticated crowd. the atmosphere is 'pure 1930's and '40's', classy and not trendy (ie. 5mil 20-somethings pushed together in an overpriced basement club). the band stops for the countdown and we're kissy and dancy and lightheaded.
and tipsy enough to duck into larry flynt's hustler club for 20 minutes before bird coaxes us back to union square to find wink and his girlfriend, who are staying at the westin. along the way we lose bird to the belly of BART but manage to sneak in through the crowds of hotel partiers and find wink outside his (awesome) hotel room. i'm blurry, the boys are blurry but we find cigars and champagne and friends and music and roomservice. bird miraculously reappears at some point as do some nice young russsians who laugh when i say 'aha! communists!' i fall asleep around 3.45. d comes in sometime thereafter, wink around 7, and bird we've apparently lost (again) to the early morning. around 8 someone named randall (?) comes in and pulls back the sheets on d's and my bed, apparently disappointed to find it occupied. tough luck!
in the morning d and i find ourselves alone in the hotel room; everyone else has apparently left for home. there's an abundance of leftovers (dinner, finally), gourmet coffee and i call down for toothbrushes. the view from the room is fantastic and we laze around on the featherbed before heading for the train station around noon. sushi on the caltrain (back up and running) and we're finally home at three.