Thursday, July 16, 2009

Cumpleanos

As some of you know (those of you who are real friends), I've got a birthday coming up here in a couple weeks. I've brainstormed a little about what I want to do, but I'm not having a lot of success. So far, the only certainties I've got are that I want to do something, and I'd like to drink some Leinenkugel's beer while I'm doing whatever that something is.

So let's fill in the blank. What will I do for my birthday? It's a Saturday, which adds some possibilities. The default, and I'm sure the first idea that most of you will have (as it was the first idea I had) is to go out. Get a good dinner, go to some bars, have drinks, get someone else to pay. And that doesn't sound terrible, but A) I can go out to bars whenever, B) it'll almost certainly be a group of fifteen guys and two girls, and C) I don't normally seek out bar trips, so it feels strange to do so as a special occasion.

I'm not discounting the possibility of going out to a bar or bars for my birthday, but I feel like I can do better than that. So what do I like doing? Well, playing video games, for starters. I've had fun pretty much every time we've gotten a group together to play (usually Halo or Halo 2), but it's always a challenge getting enough people to build two solid teams. Plus, my basement is still being worked on, so my house isn't a great option for hosting such an event. Add to that the fact that Chip's house now has a baby and is thus much less favorable for hosting, and we're hurting. We'll table that idea for now.

What else do I like? Well, if you've seen a recent picture of me (or really any picture from the past fifteen years), you know I like to eat. No, not babies. Just, you know, food. I was passing through our family room last night and my mom was watching Top Chef. Cooking is pretty cool, and competitions are pretty cool, so what about some kind of cooking competition? Split up into teams or twosomes, have some cooking challenge, judge it, give the winner something. This kind of idea would take some commitments ahead of time, though, so I'd like to hear from you folks if you'd be up for this.

Any other ideas? You guys probably know what I'd like more than I do, so any input is welcome. If you have a thought on how to twist one of the other ideas, that'd be welcome, too.

Top 5 Dave Matthews Band Songs (for today; it always changes)
  1. Bartender
  2. Lie In Our Graves
  3. Warehouse
  4. Crush
  5. Proudest Monkey
I'm thinking I might have to cave in, shell out whatever outrageous markup the scalpers are charging, and go see DMB this summer. Though it won't be the same (it can't be the same) without Leroi Moore, the music was too important to me for too long for me to have gone this long without going to a show (8 years?). If anybody's willing to come with me and brave the parking disaster that is Nissan Pavilion, let me know. And let's do this.

2 comments:

Chip said...

If its video gaming you need, I can see about making my house available. The only issue would be the time constraints (we'd probably have to be done around 7:30-8pm, so Charlie can go to bed). We don't have to leave, we just have to keep the noise at a reasonable level... which is like talking normally.

I'm all about a cooking competition... but I feel like the logistics would be nuts. Would we do it all at your Mom's house? Or would everyone cook their meal, then bring it over. If its all at your Mom's house, then the cleaning will be nuts. Would we need to bring our own pots/pans? Lots of questions there, but if a competition is what's needed, I'll make Alissa help me win. Does the cooking competition come with some swimming in the pool? What about a prize?

I'd be happy to buy you crabs for your birthday, if you're in the mood for them (I'm not sure why you wouldn't be) (I won't buy them for everyone else though).

Here's an idea we missed out on for my bachelor party... celebrate your birthday at a Frederick Keys game. The only problem with that is that they aren't in town your birthday weekend, so it'll have to wait until later in August.

As for DMB, I'd be in if I wasn't going to be at the beach that day.

Let me know what your birthday plans are when you figure them out. I want a special invitation made from colored construction paper.

Nick said...

I myself do not require a special invitation from colored construction paper. I just need you to deliver it to me...by hand...naked. As for Ideas, crabs are always good, and I remember last year when you were all like, "I can do a better job having a crab feast at my house then Chip did." Whoops, I probably should not have said that publicly.
Back to my main point, a combination of crabs and video games/board games/swimming would be awesome. I know you are concerned about your basemet, but if its a party that is planned ahead of time, we can do the video gaming that is loud in your living room before people go to bed, and then do the quieter activities (board games/swimming) later. Also I would chip in with Chip (pun intended) on crabs. If we got 3 or 4 people to chip (ha ha ha) in $50 we'd have enough. Maybe my numbers are a little off, but we could work out the details.

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