Big belated B-Day update!
Interestingly enough, it was Saturday, May 20th -- one week ago TONIGHT -- that I was still celebrating at my birthday party (not the family one; the friends one). It was funny, fun and festive (gosh I'm on an alliteration kick tonight) and I feel really bad that it took me a week to journal about it. :(
I was so preoccupied and stressed this past week with finishing my mega freelance writing project, that I didn't allow myself to Photoshop and upload the party photos, nor did I allow myself to write about the events. It was hard enough for me to stay "on track" with the project; allowing myself these fun diversions would have set me back even more time! (I may sound disciplined, but I'm actually not very. Fighting the ADHD tendencies is often a losing battle when I don't really WANT to do the thing I have to do! *blush*)
Anyhoo, enough rambling! I'm excited and pleased to have a Flickr.com photo gallery of party pix to share. :) And I'm also happy to finally have a chance to write about the festivities for future enjoyment. That's what a diary or journal is all about, right?
Here are just TWO "teaser" photos: one from Golfland and one from the restaurant. For the link to the REST of the photos, read on!! ;D
First things first: for a while there, I wasn't sure if I would even HAVE a party! A chain of Charlie Brown-type mishaps kept happening, but I didn't let them get me down. :)
From laser light to golf ball flight
The first one was a change of venue. We originally were going to play laser tag at Laser Quest in Mountain View, then have dinner at Acapulco Restaurant Y Cantina not too far away in Santa Clara. I love laser tag and haven't done it in a long time, so I was excited to play it with a group. As for Acapulco, I like the food and alcoholic drinks there, and I also like that they have free karaoke.
The change of venue happened when I called Laser Quest early in the week before my party weekend to see if we needed to reserve a time slot to play as a group on Saturday. (I've played there with groups before and there were never any problems, so I didn't suspect a problem now either). WRONG! It turns out the place was booked almost solid all afternoon and evening on May 20, mainly due to parties. The guy said the first game that would accommodate a group of 8 to 10 was at 10:30 p.m.! He said if we came at any other time, only two or three people would be able to squeeze in to the other people's group games. So, I told him thanks but no thanks.
It wasn't too hard to pick Golfland in Sunnyvale as a substitute, because I love miniature golf, it's inexpensive fun, and it's very close to Acapulco. So I sent out revised information via Evite.com, letting everyone know that the dinner plans were still the same, but the amusement would involve golf clubs instead of laser guns! *grin*
"Another one bites the dust"
Another unlucky thing was that party guests kept dropping like flies! :( Well, not really THAT bad, but it kinda seemed that way. Here's how it all played out. Not everyone knows all the names I'm naming, but I don't need to introduce them to myself ;)
First of all, more than half a dozen folks told me ahead of time that they definitely couldn't come that Saturday, for a variety of reasons including going out of town, having to work, rehearsing for a play, and celebrating the B-Days of their spouses and/or kids on that same Saturday. I sure picked a bad Saturday for my party! :( Then again, this ALWAYS happens during the month of May. I don't know what it is, but this month is extremely busy for the majority of people.
I'll just mention the folks who WERE going to come, but then couldn't. Becky R. had one of her women's hockey league games on the 20th, but told me she was sick of having to miss so many of my parties and other events due to hockey, so she was going to skip the game this time. However, due to her having recently missed prior games, and due to the team being short some players, they begged and/or guilt-tripped her into playing on the 20th after all. But at least she told me a day or two before Saturday.
beckerbuns (another friend named Becky) was all set to come, along with her hubby nursedave8 and two sons. However, she's pregnant (due in July) and was having some "complications" that made her obstetrician advise her to be on bed rest the whole weekend. So, that reduced the group size by four right there. I'm VERY glad to report that the situation with the pregnancy has improved/resolved, and everything is okay! :)
My best friend soojaebi and her DH ("dear husband", as she calls him) were supposed to come, but DH was majorly stressing about being behind in some things he had to study for an important exam at work, and he decided he didn't want to give up the whole afternoon and evening. So, soojaebi was going to drive to Golfland and Acapulco herself, EXCEPT that a few hours before the golf time, she called and said she had a horrible allergy attack that required antihistamines and eyedrops and all that stuff. Her eyes were red, burning and swollen and she didn't feel comfortable with driving. (I've seen her when her allergies are bad, and she's not kidding!) She said she might make it to Golfland, but if I didn't get a phone call from her while there, it meant she'd only come to dinner. As it turned out, she did NOT make it to golf, but did come to dinner. And she felt a lot better, I'm glad to say! :)
Another person who was supposed to come to dinner only, but ended up not coming at all, was Jenn. She was hosting a scrapbooking party at her office so couldn't attend Golfland, so she sent her husband Dan and said she'd meet everyone at Acapulco. However, during the golf game, my cellphone rang and it was Jenn, telling me something upsetting had come up for a family member, and she needed to be there for that person. She also asked if I could put Dan on the phone, so she could explain to him why she wouldn't be joining him later. (I'm glad I have free night and weekend minutes! *grin*)
Another friend, Kendall, had emailed me earlier in the week about having to skip Golfland and come only to dinner, due to having an afternoon BBQ to attend that day. However, as it turns out, he never came to dinner either. And Karrie never told me ANYTHING about her plans. All I knew was what I heard that very day from Dan, who said she was supposedly getting a ride with Kendall, but he (Dan) didn't know when. But obviously, since Kendall never showed up, Karrie didn't either. I still have NO idea whatever happened to either of them! :( I haven't heard from either of them via email either. Hopefully the Blair Witch didn't get them! *chuckle*
A "fivesome" for golf?
Originally it looked like it would just be Tony and myself for golf, because I didn't know Dan was on his way, nor did I know that bdot and her significant other, "D", were also on their way. I told Tony it looked like it was just us for golf, and we wouldn't see the rest of the gang until dinner. I was feeling kind of bummed about that, and Tony felt bad, especially since we'd arrived so early. So he bought us some nachos that we munched on to pass the time and feed our hunger.
Then, something lifted my spirits! I saw in the arcade a touch-screen multi-game machine thingie that I hadn't played since the days I used to go country western dancing! ;D Among the myriad of games of skill, strategy, fun and/or chance is one called "Photo Hunt" that I LOVE! For an example of how it's played, click here. Someone else has a version of it online right here! Neither is made by the makers of the video game machine, but they give you the general idea. It's more addictive than you think! ;D
After we threw a few tokens into that game, we decided to play our round of golf and then head to Acapulco. That's where we ran into Dan! So it then became the three of us playing. When we got our clubs and balls, I asked if they had a purple one, and they did! I was so happy! I was even happier when, after we played just a few holes on the 18-hole course, bdot and D showed up! She had told me they were going camping that weekend, but it turns out the trip was rescheduled due to a bad weather forecast. So they got their own balls and clubs and joined us for the rest of the course. I know you're not supposed to have more than a foursome play together, but what's one extra person? :) We were a fairly quick-playing "fivesome" anyway. Golfland really couldn't care less what you do, as long as you don't whack people, trees, cement or Astroturf with your golf club or throw balls around.
OH! A quick "confession." I was thinking about keeping my purple golf ball as a souvenir, but that would mean I wouldn't have a ball to putt into the 19th hole, where you have a chance to win a free golf game if you hit your ball into the right chute. However, lady luck was smiling upon me that day when, at one of the holes on the course, Tony whacked his ball into some large shrubbery. When he knelt down and reached in to get it (it's in the photo gallery!), he pulled out a ball of a different colour! LOL! It wasn't even his! So he reached in again and found his own, thus giving our group one extra ball we didn't pay to play with. So.... I used THAT ball on the 19th hole and got to keep my purple one! *giggle* I didn't win a free game, which was probably karma's price for my "theft" of the purple ball. But that's OK -- I always wanted a purple golf ball, and now I have one!
Dinner and fun at Acapulco
When we were done golfing, we all headed to Acapulco. We were joined there by soojaebi as well as Jenny and her cute 2-year-old Kaitlyn. Another friend, Allen, showed up too late for dinner or the gift exchange (more on that in a minute), but he still got to hang out with everyone and play catch-up. And, as I already mentioned, Karrie and Kendall were supposed to join us as well, but apparently went totally MIA. Maybe I'm taking this too personally, but I can't help but feel sad that neither of them told me they weren't coming, and neither of them responded to my emails either. If I unknowingly did something to make either or both of them mad at me, I sure wish I could get the chance to make things right, rather than being ignored. *sigh* I'm sure I didn't do anything to make them mad at me, but there's always a little voice in the back of my head that gets anxious and insecure when stuff like this happens. :(
Anyhoo, before we ordered dinner, some folks ordered drinks, and I was one of them! ;) Not only because it was my birthday, but because I was so frazzled from my stressful week. I got a peach daiquiri, which was tasty and refreshing, but not alcoholic enough. heh As for my meal, I ordered a combo plate consisting of a yummy chicken-and-cheese enchilada, accompanied by rice and beans.
soojaebi heard me comment about the "lightness" of the daiquiri, so toward the end of the meal, when my daiquiri was gone, she ordered me a "B-52". I didn't know what was in it, but she knows me well enough that I knew she wouldn't order anything I'd dislike. As I drank it, she and the others made me guess what it contained (it was on the drink menu but I didn't look). Eventually, with some hints, I got it all: Bailey's Irish Creme, Grand Marnier orange liqueur, and Kahlua coffee liqueur. Well, and crushed ice as well. I could definitely taste the alcohol in THAT!
Before I forget -- another funny thing at dinner was looking out the windows at the pond that was part of the landscaping between the restaurant and a nice group of apartments (along with a massive Valley oak!) In the pond were a handful of mallard ducks and some of their cute duckling babies. However, there was also a GIANT WHITE DUCK! At first I near-sightedly thought it was a goose, but upon looking closer at it, I and everyone else agreed it was definitely a duck. It was simply large and white. bdot gave us all a big laugh when she said it was probably a "food duck". By that she meant the type of duck that is raised on duck farms to provide duck meat for people. Of course, no one was going to kill the food duck at the pond. It was totally safe, so when we laughed at its name, we were laughing WITH it, not AT it! (heehee)
The gift exchange
After dinner, we did the infamous GIFT EXCHANGE! ;D Most all of my friends know that I'm embarrassed by folks feeling obliged to get me gifts *blush* (I do exchange gifts with a few folks for our B-Days, but we do it privately). At my parties, the group exchange prevails! Everyone brings a wrapped gift, value around $10-$12, suitable for either gender. Not a white elephant, but a real gift (or giftcard - they're great too!) We draw numbers and do the usual crazy unwrapping and/or stealing. I love the idea of EVERYONE getting a gift!
To see photos of all the gifts, and to see who got what, be sure to visit my birthday party photo album on Flickr.com. It also contains some funny shots from the Golfland game. Don't hit the "Slideshow" option in the upper right, however. If you do, you'll get a very nice slideshow, but you WON'T get to read the explanatory comments/captions I gave each photo. :( And some won't make much sense without the captions.
So instead, click the first photo you see in the left corner of the photo collage (the purplish-blue pansies) and you'll get to see it as a 4x6 photo, and with the caption I wrote. Then, to proceed thru the rest of the photos, look to your right where there's a small gray box that says "Shari's B-Day 2006 (Set)". In that box will be a small square photo. Click on that photo to see it normal-size, along with its caption. Continue doing this with each square photo in the "Set" box until you've gone thru them all. :)
The gift I got (after stealing it from Soojaebi) was a Starbucks gift card! *cheer* That always comes in handy, because I'm in love with their Java Chip Frappuccinos! (I also like their baked goods). The other gift card was one for Mervyn's, which Tony won. He said it was good timing, because he had just been thinking of going to Mervyn's to buy some jeans or pants. He doesn't particularly like shopping (as it is with most men) but every now and then, it's a necessary evil. And it becomes decided LESS evil when you have a gift card to use! Oh, speaking of necessary evils, he doesn't particularly care for the colour purple, and definitely doesn't like WEARING it! However, he wore his purple shirt that day, just because he knows I love it. ;) Awww...
The most immediately FUN gift in the group was what "D" won -- a 4-pack of Mad Libs!! I think everyone pretty much knows how this zany fill-in-the-blank story game is played, but for those who are unenlightened, click this link and prepare to be hooked! ;) I've loved Mad Libs since I was a kid, and I still do! Apparently the group felt likewise, because we all proceeded to play several games in one of D's books, and enjoyed LOTS of hysterical laughter in the process.
Wrapping things up
The karaoke in the bar area didn't get started until later than I'd expected, and by then some folks had to go home early, so no one in the group ended up singing after all. *sigh* But I guess it's just as well, since I was getting kind of tired myself (it had really been a loooong week!). Plus I didn't want to be the ONLY person from the group singing anyway. That's okay, tho, because there will always be other times to sing karaoke! ;) One song I've wanted to sing for AGES as karaoke is The Eagles classic, Desperado. (You can download it as an MP3 from this link, but be sure to scroll down on that page, because the top of it is blank).
After leaving the restaurant, some of us hung around outside talking for a while about 101 different things, including Allen's tales of last year's Burning Man festival, which he attended with some friends for the first time. He said "just about anything you can find in an average city, you can find there," including a mini symphony orchestra, bingo games, country line-dancing, a coffee shop, a religious/spiritual shrine (tho not for any particular religion), and even a library-on-wheels in the form of a Bookmobile! That struck Tony extremely funny for some reason. *giggle* He was also incredulous at it. He still brings it up via text message or during phone conversations, in fact: "They even had a Bookmobile!" LOL
And on that amusing note, I'd better wrap up this VERY meandering missive! *blush* I guess I had more to say about the party than I thought, despite the fact that it happened a full week ago. Maybe my memory isn't going after all! ;)
Oh, and that link again is right here (for my party photos).
I was so preoccupied and stressed this past week with finishing my mega freelance writing project, that I didn't allow myself to Photoshop and upload the party photos, nor did I allow myself to write about the events. It was hard enough for me to stay "on track" with the project; allowing myself these fun diversions would have set me back even more time! (I may sound disciplined, but I'm actually not very. Fighting the ADHD tendencies is often a losing battle when I don't really WANT to do the thing I have to do! *blush*)
Anyhoo, enough rambling! I'm excited and pleased to have a Flickr.com photo gallery of party pix to share. :) And I'm also happy to finally have a chance to write about the festivities for future enjoyment. That's what a diary or journal is all about, right?
Here are just TWO "teaser" photos: one from Golfland and one from the restaurant. For the link to the REST of the photos, read on!! ;D
First things first: for a while there, I wasn't sure if I would even HAVE a party! A chain of Charlie Brown-type mishaps kept happening, but I didn't let them get me down. :)
From laser light to golf ball flight
The first one was a change of venue. We originally were going to play laser tag at Laser Quest in Mountain View, then have dinner at Acapulco Restaurant Y Cantina not too far away in Santa Clara. I love laser tag and haven't done it in a long time, so I was excited to play it with a group. As for Acapulco, I like the food and alcoholic drinks there, and I also like that they have free karaoke.
The change of venue happened when I called Laser Quest early in the week before my party weekend to see if we needed to reserve a time slot to play as a group on Saturday. (I've played there with groups before and there were never any problems, so I didn't suspect a problem now either). WRONG! It turns out the place was booked almost solid all afternoon and evening on May 20, mainly due to parties. The guy said the first game that would accommodate a group of 8 to 10 was at 10:30 p.m.! He said if we came at any other time, only two or three people would be able to squeeze in to the other people's group games. So, I told him thanks but no thanks.
It wasn't too hard to pick Golfland in Sunnyvale as a substitute, because I love miniature golf, it's inexpensive fun, and it's very close to Acapulco. So I sent out revised information via Evite.com, letting everyone know that the dinner plans were still the same, but the amusement would involve golf clubs instead of laser guns! *grin*
"Another one bites the dust"
Another unlucky thing was that party guests kept dropping like flies! :( Well, not really THAT bad, but it kinda seemed that way. Here's how it all played out. Not everyone knows all the names I'm naming, but I don't need to introduce them to myself ;)
First of all, more than half a dozen folks told me ahead of time that they definitely couldn't come that Saturday, for a variety of reasons including going out of town, having to work, rehearsing for a play, and celebrating the B-Days of their spouses and/or kids on that same Saturday. I sure picked a bad Saturday for my party! :( Then again, this ALWAYS happens during the month of May. I don't know what it is, but this month is extremely busy for the majority of people.
I'll just mention the folks who WERE going to come, but then couldn't. Becky R. had one of her women's hockey league games on the 20th, but told me she was sick of having to miss so many of my parties and other events due to hockey, so she was going to skip the game this time. However, due to her having recently missed prior games, and due to the team being short some players, they begged and/or guilt-tripped her into playing on the 20th after all. But at least she told me a day or two before Saturday.
beckerbuns (another friend named Becky) was all set to come, along with her hubby nursedave8 and two sons. However, she's pregnant (due in July) and was having some "complications" that made her obstetrician advise her to be on bed rest the whole weekend. So, that reduced the group size by four right there. I'm VERY glad to report that the situation with the pregnancy has improved/resolved, and everything is okay! :)
My best friend soojaebi and her DH ("dear husband", as she calls him) were supposed to come, but DH was majorly stressing about being behind in some things he had to study for an important exam at work, and he decided he didn't want to give up the whole afternoon and evening. So, soojaebi was going to drive to Golfland and Acapulco herself, EXCEPT that a few hours before the golf time, she called and said she had a horrible allergy attack that required antihistamines and eyedrops and all that stuff. Her eyes were red, burning and swollen and she didn't feel comfortable with driving. (I've seen her when her allergies are bad, and she's not kidding!) She said she might make it to Golfland, but if I didn't get a phone call from her while there, it meant she'd only come to dinner. As it turned out, she did NOT make it to golf, but did come to dinner. And she felt a lot better, I'm glad to say! :)
Another person who was supposed to come to dinner only, but ended up not coming at all, was Jenn. She was hosting a scrapbooking party at her office so couldn't attend Golfland, so she sent her husband Dan and said she'd meet everyone at Acapulco. However, during the golf game, my cellphone rang and it was Jenn, telling me something upsetting had come up for a family member, and she needed to be there for that person. She also asked if I could put Dan on the phone, so she could explain to him why she wouldn't be joining him later. (I'm glad I have free night and weekend minutes! *grin*)
Another friend, Kendall, had emailed me earlier in the week about having to skip Golfland and come only to dinner, due to having an afternoon BBQ to attend that day. However, as it turns out, he never came to dinner either. And Karrie never told me ANYTHING about her plans. All I knew was what I heard that very day from Dan, who said she was supposedly getting a ride with Kendall, but he (Dan) didn't know when. But obviously, since Kendall never showed up, Karrie didn't either. I still have NO idea whatever happened to either of them! :( I haven't heard from either of them via email either. Hopefully the Blair Witch didn't get them! *chuckle*
A "fivesome" for golf?
Originally it looked like it would just be Tony and myself for golf, because I didn't know Dan was on his way, nor did I know that bdot and her significant other, "D", were also on their way. I told Tony it looked like it was just us for golf, and we wouldn't see the rest of the gang until dinner. I was feeling kind of bummed about that, and Tony felt bad, especially since we'd arrived so early. So he bought us some nachos that we munched on to pass the time and feed our hunger.
Then, something lifted my spirits! I saw in the arcade a touch-screen multi-game machine thingie that I hadn't played since the days I used to go country western dancing! ;D Among the myriad of games of skill, strategy, fun and/or chance is one called "Photo Hunt" that I LOVE! For an example of how it's played, click here. Someone else has a version of it online right here! Neither is made by the makers of the video game machine, but they give you the general idea. It's more addictive than you think! ;D
After we threw a few tokens into that game, we decided to play our round of golf and then head to Acapulco. That's where we ran into Dan! So it then became the three of us playing. When we got our clubs and balls, I asked if they had a purple one, and they did! I was so happy! I was even happier when, after we played just a few holes on the 18-hole course, bdot and D showed up! She had told me they were going camping that weekend, but it turns out the trip was rescheduled due to a bad weather forecast. So they got their own balls and clubs and joined us for the rest of the course. I know you're not supposed to have more than a foursome play together, but what's one extra person? :) We were a fairly quick-playing "fivesome" anyway. Golfland really couldn't care less what you do, as long as you don't whack people, trees, cement or Astroturf with your golf club or throw balls around.
OH! A quick "confession." I was thinking about keeping my purple golf ball as a souvenir, but that would mean I wouldn't have a ball to putt into the 19th hole, where you have a chance to win a free golf game if you hit your ball into the right chute. However, lady luck was smiling upon me that day when, at one of the holes on the course, Tony whacked his ball into some large shrubbery. When he knelt down and reached in to get it (it's in the photo gallery!), he pulled out a ball of a different colour! LOL! It wasn't even his! So he reached in again and found his own, thus giving our group one extra ball we didn't pay to play with. So.... I used THAT ball on the 19th hole and got to keep my purple one! *giggle* I didn't win a free game, which was probably karma's price for my "theft" of the purple ball. But that's OK -- I always wanted a purple golf ball, and now I have one!
Dinner and fun at Acapulco
When we were done golfing, we all headed to Acapulco. We were joined there by soojaebi as well as Jenny and her cute 2-year-old Kaitlyn. Another friend, Allen, showed up too late for dinner or the gift exchange (more on that in a minute), but he still got to hang out with everyone and play catch-up. And, as I already mentioned, Karrie and Kendall were supposed to join us as well, but apparently went totally MIA. Maybe I'm taking this too personally, but I can't help but feel sad that neither of them told me they weren't coming, and neither of them responded to my emails either. If I unknowingly did something to make either or both of them mad at me, I sure wish I could get the chance to make things right, rather than being ignored. *sigh* I'm sure I didn't do anything to make them mad at me, but there's always a little voice in the back of my head that gets anxious and insecure when stuff like this happens. :(
Anyhoo, before we ordered dinner, some folks ordered drinks, and I was one of them! ;) Not only because it was my birthday, but because I was so frazzled from my stressful week. I got a peach daiquiri, which was tasty and refreshing, but not alcoholic enough. heh As for my meal, I ordered a combo plate consisting of a yummy chicken-and-cheese enchilada, accompanied by rice and beans.
soojaebi heard me comment about the "lightness" of the daiquiri, so toward the end of the meal, when my daiquiri was gone, she ordered me a "B-52". I didn't know what was in it, but she knows me well enough that I knew she wouldn't order anything I'd dislike. As I drank it, she and the others made me guess what it contained (it was on the drink menu but I didn't look). Eventually, with some hints, I got it all: Bailey's Irish Creme, Grand Marnier orange liqueur, and Kahlua coffee liqueur. Well, and crushed ice as well. I could definitely taste the alcohol in THAT!
Before I forget -- another funny thing at dinner was looking out the windows at the pond that was part of the landscaping between the restaurant and a nice group of apartments (along with a massive Valley oak!) In the pond were a handful of mallard ducks and some of their cute duckling babies. However, there was also a GIANT WHITE DUCK! At first I near-sightedly thought it was a goose, but upon looking closer at it, I and everyone else agreed it was definitely a duck. It was simply large and white. bdot gave us all a big laugh when she said it was probably a "food duck". By that she meant the type of duck that is raised on duck farms to provide duck meat for people. Of course, no one was going to kill the food duck at the pond. It was totally safe, so when we laughed at its name, we were laughing WITH it, not AT it! (heehee)
The gift exchange
After dinner, we did the infamous GIFT EXCHANGE! ;D Most all of my friends know that I'm embarrassed by folks feeling obliged to get me gifts *blush* (I do exchange gifts with a few folks for our B-Days, but we do it privately). At my parties, the group exchange prevails! Everyone brings a wrapped gift, value around $10-$12, suitable for either gender. Not a white elephant, but a real gift (or giftcard - they're great too!) We draw numbers and do the usual crazy unwrapping and/or stealing. I love the idea of EVERYONE getting a gift!
To see photos of all the gifts, and to see who got what, be sure to visit my birthday party photo album on Flickr.com. It also contains some funny shots from the Golfland game. Don't hit the "Slideshow" option in the upper right, however. If you do, you'll get a very nice slideshow, but you WON'T get to read the explanatory comments/captions I gave each photo. :( And some won't make much sense without the captions.
So instead, click the first photo you see in the left corner of the photo collage (the purplish-blue pansies) and you'll get to see it as a 4x6 photo, and with the caption I wrote. Then, to proceed thru the rest of the photos, look to your right where there's a small gray box that says "Shari's B-Day 2006 (Set)". In that box will be a small square photo. Click on that photo to see it normal-size, along with its caption. Continue doing this with each square photo in the "Set" box until you've gone thru them all. :)
The gift I got (after stealing it from Soojaebi) was a Starbucks gift card! *cheer* That always comes in handy, because I'm in love with their Java Chip Frappuccinos! (I also like their baked goods). The other gift card was one for Mervyn's, which Tony won. He said it was good timing, because he had just been thinking of going to Mervyn's to buy some jeans or pants. He doesn't particularly like shopping (as it is with most men) but every now and then, it's a necessary evil. And it becomes decided LESS evil when you have a gift card to use! Oh, speaking of necessary evils, he doesn't particularly care for the colour purple, and definitely doesn't like WEARING it! However, he wore his purple shirt that day, just because he knows I love it. ;) Awww...
The most immediately FUN gift in the group was what "D" won -- a 4-pack of Mad Libs!! I think everyone pretty much knows how this zany fill-in-the-blank story game is played, but for those who are unenlightened, click this link and prepare to be hooked! ;) I've loved Mad Libs since I was a kid, and I still do! Apparently the group felt likewise, because we all proceeded to play several games in one of D's books, and enjoyed LOTS of hysterical laughter in the process.
Wrapping things up
The karaoke in the bar area didn't get started until later than I'd expected, and by then some folks had to go home early, so no one in the group ended up singing after all. *sigh* But I guess it's just as well, since I was getting kind of tired myself (it had really been a loooong week!). Plus I didn't want to be the ONLY person from the group singing anyway. That's okay, tho, because there will always be other times to sing karaoke! ;) One song I've wanted to sing for AGES as karaoke is The Eagles classic, Desperado. (You can download it as an MP3 from this link, but be sure to scroll down on that page, because the top of it is blank).
After leaving the restaurant, some of us hung around outside talking for a while about 101 different things, including Allen's tales of last year's Burning Man festival, which he attended with some friends for the first time. He said "just about anything you can find in an average city, you can find there," including a mini symphony orchestra, bingo games, country line-dancing, a coffee shop, a religious/spiritual shrine (tho not for any particular religion), and even a library-on-wheels in the form of a Bookmobile! That struck Tony extremely funny for some reason. *giggle* He was also incredulous at it. He still brings it up via text message or during phone conversations, in fact: "They even had a Bookmobile!" LOL
And on that amusing note, I'd better wrap up this VERY meandering missive! *blush* I guess I had more to say about the party than I thought, despite the fact that it happened a full week ago. Maybe my memory isn't going after all! ;)
Oh, and that link again is right here (for my party photos).