the best laid plans

My senior year of college, we would occasionally have big parties. The roommates and I, we'd plan them weeks or even months in advance. It's always fun to think big picture. We'd envision the beer pong and the playlists and the hookah and the jello shots, and the chatter amongst friends was that this time, this time we knew it was going to be one for the record books. The equivalent of a pre-school paper chain, each expectation linked to the next until we were all pretty sure some sort of monument would be erected shortly thereafter in honor of our awesomeness.

And these parties, they were fun. Fun if not predictable. Someone would be so excited he'd start pre-partying when the local news came on, and be well on the way to black-out by Jeopardy. A shot glass would inevitably go down the garbage disposal, usually at the hands of a brand new sorority sister with an affinity for cheap vodka and not eating dinner. We hosts would rock-paper-scissors to see who had to sign the noise complaint, while the others went to talk someone out of the locked bathroom. Randoms would show up, and thus cue the infamous Semisonic lyric; you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.

To be honest, I don't really remember specifics from any of our "epic" parties, other than all the above generalities were all true at some point. And not that anyone ever went to bed, or to floor as the case may have been, disappointed, but deep down the grand expectations lead to an experience not unlike unprotected sex: awesome in theory, but usually over far too quickly.

What do I remember? I remember coming home from chapter meeting to make dinner and write a paper, and instead splitting four bottles of wine with Zach and Canseco. I remember the Sunday we all came home from a hike and one roommate and his girlfriend fell out of the shower, stand-up sex not being easy after four margaritas. We laughed until we fell down as well. I remember smoking a joint with Kelson in the bathroom at a weird party, and then climbing on the roof of the auditorium to talk about what the future would hold. I remember road trips and late night talks, what made people cry and more importantly what made us laugh.


I'm writing this more for myself than anyone else, but the moral is the same for everyone's story; looking ahead is great, but the best things in life you'll never see coming.


Enjoy your week, whatever surprises it brings -


JH