The End of an Era, some great memories…

So its mid August, the days are warm and humid, nightime is often as bad, and its BBQ season…

So here at the Island of Misfit Toys, we thought it would be fun to have a celebratory end of summer (and an Era) Bash.  This was all decided in June… and let me tell you… we know how to throw a proper party. We figure why not? It’s a great time of year, we can gather our closest friends, and our friends we rarely see, lump them all into this mass conglomeration of people who have never met each other, and hope for the best. The reason I say hope for the best is, lets just say, we are a diverse group. Lets get a quick rundown of the wide demographic sampling we have this time:

First off we have the actual inhabitants of the household, I could write a book based on the staggering differences between us all, as well as the not so apparent(readily) things we all have in common. I will give you the short version, so you can see what Im up against here. Lets start with someone some of you are familiar with, Genevieve. She is Den mother, we let her believe that.  Always quick to offer both a helping hand, or a scathing remark. Then we have Reignbow, she is our resident hippie, she dresses like Rainbow Brite and Fred Sanford had a child that grew up to be a Drag Queen, and always has some sort of something no good going on. Then there is Manny, he is the house McGuyver, he can fix anything, and if he cant fix it, bet your ass he can turn that shit into a killer Bong. Lastly, myself. I am not going to try to describe me… as I would be far from unprejudiced. Lets just say I am likened to the Swedish Chef on a regular basis. I make sure these fuckers eat.

‘It’s OK, my dog speaks french, not english.’ Genevieve says, as if that was a normal conversation topic. ‘ You arent even safe on the internet these days.’  This is the normal flow of conversation on any given night. Interspersed with random moments of silence, never awkward though… just, odd.

Then we have the different backgrounds, Genevieve and Manny are siblings, the Island is a possession of their family for a couple generations, they grew up in this place, the house is like a museum dedicated to the late 60’s and early 70’s Reignbow comes from a silly kind of place her family is very cool, and friendly. There is the definite underlying turmoil and unusual circumstance, but they are great people solid folks. Me, I was raised by construction workers and waitresses, and have been blessed with the requisite colorful vocabulary… and apparently abrupt mannerisms.

So in our semi panicked state, we have been pecking away at this daunting list of things that need to happen, between the door prizes, the food, and the invitations and sleeping arrangements, we have pretty much run ourselves ragged. I sure hope its worth it. ‘ I dont think we are  going to have enough food.’  Genevieve says. Her portuguese upbringing has ingrained in her this deep seated fear of running out of food, and not allowing people to leave without unbuttoning their pants, to combat the bloat. Now, I understand not wanting to get caught with her pants down.  However, you need to understand how deep this runs. Over the last few days, I have prepared 10lbs of hamburger patties, 15 lbs of Carolina Style pulled pork, 10 lbs of terriyaki chicken tenderloin skewers, and 50 Kayem hotdogs, not to mention the fact that we have asked guests to bring a dish. Yeah, she is fucking batshit nuts.

So as im sitting here surrounded by 12 packs of soda, bags of chips and what appears to be enough bread products to build a 1/10 scale Pyramid of Giza. Outside we have a Keg of PBR in the barrel on ice, a 100 pound block of ice ready to be carved into an Ice Luge. Today is going to be interesting, to say the least.

The cast of characters expected range from older family members of  the household, and some kids, all of which will be leaving after a bit, and thats when the  real interestin mix happens. we have Preppy folks, Hippy folks, Punk Rock kids, Geeks and Gamers, redneck types, just a huge mashup of people…  And it all starts in an hour.

That being said, I leave this posting for now. I will be reporting the outcome later this evening (ya right, more like tommorow.)

So its 3:27pm the next day, and I feel groggy, and sedated, I went to bed at 4:30 this morning, and its interesting, kind of like being smacked in the face with a pillow filled with lead feathers.  The party was a huge success, we had plenty of food(duh), and there was an incredible amount of inebriated people wander the grounds at the house. the house and yard looked like a scene from a bad frat party movie, with remnants of large ice blocks melting, poorly spray painted signs, and empty bottles, cans and cups all over the place. I was up at 8 to make breakfast for all the survivors of the battle… there was a dozen or so. I came into my kitchen there was already one person with a beer cracked and 3 shots of Jack poured, another was out in my yard sitting watching the smoldering fire, and enjoying the early morning bird sounds. More and more came from the woodwork as the smell of cooking Bacon, Weed, and the chatter and laughter that only sounds so right after an all night party was well under way. We all spent the next couple hours talking, and laughing, saying our goodbyes.

Overall the night was a huge success, I had a bevy of visitors, some of which I had not seen in 5 years and it was AMAZING. Every little think came off well though, the food was good, the beer was cold, the weather was amazing, and most of all everyone left with a smile. I met some really fun and interesting people, and was left with some memories that will stick with me forever. Lost Toys Party

So with this being said, and the incriminating  pictures shown, I bid you farewell this month, as I finish this post 3 hours before deadline, from a hospital bed, yikes… the way things change in just a few days.

As fun as all it is, and as much enjoyment you can wring out of life, please, dont ever forget to take care of yourselves. Take care of yourselves, and most importantly, HAVE FUN, joy is the key, a good smile changes so much in the course of your day.

Filed under: "Out of the Office" by dimpindesign
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