The Issue Of Parties

So, James' 30th was fun (dude in the center). Kind of a sausagefest.

Hilarity ensued this past weekend with Jamesrico's 30th birthday party: food was catered, kegs were ordered, bottles were opened. A great cross-section of people attended and there were no signs of boredom or clique-ish-ness. To say the least, The Lovely and I had fun. And I have a new eligible blogger.

Of course, the weeks leading up to the event were (merely per observation) frenetic at best. With the backyard transformation, appliance failures and logistics, Rico and the roommate were stressing. This made me think...parties change on you after thirty.

Party planning younger than 18: 1) defaulting to parents. From bunny cake to moonwalks to Sweet 16's to quinceaneras...the only thing we worry about is all our friends showing up or 2) if you are the underage drinker, who's older sibling is buying...and the only thing we worry about is too many friends showing up.

Party planning from 18-22: The party falls into one of two scenarios. 1) You are in a fraternity/sorority, therefore you pay dues to not have to worry about it. 2) "I got some beers, let's drink 'em!" Either way, it's not very formal unless you have to go to a formal.

Party planning 23-29: Wait, there's planning involved? I don't know about everyone else, but I was broke as a compound fracture. If I was lucky to have a couple of fingers of Scotch and an unopened bottle of wine...well, we are in business. If someone brought an extra bottle...bonus. If you want to be PC about it, parties at that frame were more organic. They just happened.

Post Thirty parties: There's so much planning. Too much planning. Why do I have to plan for vegans? I never had to before. Wait, how many people are we calculating? How much is that going to cost? What do you mean I can't have cheese dip? Non-alcoholic drinks...what the fuck is that?

Naturally, Rico's party fit this same paradigm. Anytime you have to figure out sushi portions per person, THAT'S TOO MUCH PLANNING. Drinks somehow always take care of themselves, whether it's lemonade or Mike's hard lemonade. But I guess the game changer with the Post Thirty party (damnit, where is my copyright on this phrase?) is far more logistical than bottles. Then again, the ROI (that's return on investment for the non-administrative types) is to note as well. The more effort someone puts into anything, the bigger the benefit. Maybe that's how we grow up a little more. Sometimes we want to extend the effort for the bigger payoff. Maybe that's why we do it...

Bottom line, the party changes. There is no negative-positive analysis, it is what it is. So, from now on, we always have to look at timeframes, calendars, budget, limitations...oh, wait, and the reason has to be pretty solid. This is why my Columbus Day kegger is on hold.

The other bottom line, Rico's party kicked ass. That is all.

Lessons Learned, my three things:
1) God, why do I get suckered in to terrible television? Dancing With The Stars and Celebrity Apprentice...why am I caring who wins this garbage? I'm losing brain cells by the second. Three hours for a finale? I'm never getting that back.
2) Prequels are hit-and-miss. Execution is paramount. Wolverine missed. Star Trek hit. Set phasers to stun.
3) If you think your last Tuesday was bad, just ask The Lovely's cousin about her Tuesday. It can always be worse.

A couple of finishing moves: I will be awaiting my new contributor's entries. And the next couple of weeks are going to be helacious. The road show hits next weekend and I got some hot topics to cover. Operation: Homebody will be interesting...so all will have to wait for that post. Talk later.