Monday Mug Shot - Kelly's Wedding

Maxim Hotel and Casino

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada, is what I call the “prop room for the subconscious.” Every bizarre image you’ve ever seen in a dream you will find in Las Vegas. That’s not at all insulting Vegas; I find that to be Vegas’ charm!

My friend, Jeff, and I flew into Vegas Memorial Day weekend, 1995. Kelly was living in Barstow, California at the time and we were going there for her wedding! The plan was to fly in and rent a car to drive to Barstow. We chose Vegas instead of Los Angeles because the rates were considerably better for a Vegas package that came with hotel and a free brunch than just the flight into LA, so we planned our travel having an extra night in Vegas to play before we went home.

Kelly came out to Vegas to spend a little time with us before leading us back to Barstow. She didn’t expect any of “the Zoo” to make it out and was pretty excited to be having not only the coordinated event, the beautiful, and I mean beautiful, custom made dress in a breathtaking outdoor setting, but she kinda looked at Jeff and me being there as her “roots” being represented too.

We met Carl for the first time the night before the wedding, which is when we pretty much met everyone in the wedding party and several friends she knew in Barstow. For the party before the wedding, we shot pool at the local pool hall and it gave a friendly atmosphere to get to know everyone and to enjoy Kelly buzzing in the wedding excitement. I had been the maid of honor at Kelly’s wedding to her first husband many years before in Michigan, but I was not Kel’s maid of honor for this wedding because she never dreamed I’d make it. But I was ready to step in should he very pregnant matron of honor have to step down in a hurry.

The wedding went on as planned and there was no birth in the middle of the ceremony.

I took a ton of photos since there wasn’t a hired photographer and in the days before digital cameras, at least before on for me for sure, I wanted to make sure I had a few that could be framed if they wanted to. I got the classics, pictures with the wedding party, a few were taken with Jeff and me, the hands and rings on the bouquet, the driving away shot. I also got some great shots of the cake and the devilish smiles on them both as they held cake for each other followed by shots of the bride and groom both wiping off frosting faces.

In 1995, I hadn’t anywhere near met David. In fact he hadn’t even met his first wife yet. I was committed to my career and really had no desire to ever marry, so I always avoided the bouquet curse at weddings, and if I couldn’t avoid being thrown in to the herd of single woman, I stayed in the back and ran the other direction when it was thrown. Even at Kelly’s first wedding, I prepared to run the other way. When she over threw trying to get me, the bouquet hit the ceiling and hit the ground in from of the women. Kelly did NOT want the bouquet hitting the floor this time, which she feared because I was the only single woman over 18 there. When the curse time came, she stood just a couple feet from me and told me that if I didn’t catch the bouquet, if I let it fall on the floor, she’d kick my butt all the way back to Michigan. Nothing is as intimidating as a bride in heels towering over you. (Especially when she knows exactly where in Michigan she’s kicking your butt to!) I caught the bouquet. In fact, that bouquet is in the bedroom I share with my husband. The curse finally did catch up with me, but it waited until I grew up some and it wasn’t such a curse anymore.

Let's Talk About The Weather

I hope everyone in the East has power, or a backup generator, and is successfully digging out today. It may surprise readers, but I’m just not a big fan of snow. If you’re a regular at this cyber-coffee shop, you are wide eyed at my sarcasm there saying, “NO! Nani, really? You don’t like snow?”

My Georgiagander pals, Jeff and Jeanne were snowed in for days. Georgia just doesn’t know what to do with itself when it gets serious cold and then SNOW! Jeanne is a teacher, so work was closed for not a snow day, but more like a snow week! Crazy!

We had a few inches here in Toledo too. Nasty day, Tuesday was! Yes, back to Nani hates winter. Ya know, I’m not much of a hater, just a few things: Snow and spiders. I’d rate them about equal except that snow has one saving grace – snow will freeze a spider to death. Spiders don’t do anything to snow, so since it does do one thing worthwhile, I guess I’d have to admit I don’t hate snow as much as spiders. Okay and every time anyone mentions spiders, including myself, I do a ceiling scan. I don’t apprehensively look out the window at the mention of snow. Self-analysis saves on therapy bills.

Yesterday, in all that snow on the ground, was therapy day for me. Our plow guy, Rapid LLC in Toledo, sent me a text Tuesday night asking if I’d want snow removal on Wednesday. Yes, he wants the business, but he sent the text to set up his schedule and put his regular and return customers first. He asked what time was good for him to come in. It made me really feel like I was getting pick of the day for my convenience. Calling your regular customers first before the people who call after they are snowed in is great business! I told him that David would help uncover my car to get to therapy and the drive would be empty for plowing after 10:30. I got a text as I was leaving therapy letting me know the snow removal was done. If you are local and need affordable, great plowing, shoveling and salting, follow the links at the end of the post!Rapid LLC is simply the BEST!

About David “helping” me uncover the car? When I got in the shower, he said he’d pull the car out for me. What a doll. I’d say I was blessed in marriage just at that, but when I went out to go to therapy, the car was cleaned off, pulled right up to the door and the steps were shoveled and salted with a path shoveled from the steps to my driver’s side door! I posted my “Greatest husband in the world” on facebook yesterday and had a few people asking if David trained other mates. Chuckle-worthy!

Well, now, all that icky snow in both Ohio and Georgia has converged on the East! I know Edna had some pictures of the mounds and mounds of snow at here place yesterday. David’s brother is in Connecticut and we have friends all over the New York/New England area. Crazy this year. I know I’ve made comments about wanting that Global Warming they promised, but seriously, it’s Global Climate Change. I like the idea of “Global little bit warmer in winter” better. I’m not sure if it’s something we’re doing so much as it’s normal ecological cycles. I suspect that we might accelerate it with what we put in the atmosphere. I recycle, try to combine trips when I can and my next car will be a more fuel efficient one and save water in several ways too. It’s just a little, but if we all do just a little, it might help.

Starting today, everyone do just a little something to reduce that carbon footprint. Maybe the snow will stop and we’ll warm up by April. ;)

Okay, my coffee is done and it’s shower time. Then hit the books!

Have a great day!

Links
Rapid LLC
Excellent and affordable snow removal in Toledo!

Miss Edna’s Place
See some pics of the snow in Massachusetts yesterday!

Monday Mug Shot

Yeah, another Monday Mug Shot on Tuesday. Yesterday was a busy day! I took the exam for the last three classes in my Microsoft Server 1 class. I got 94% and my current class average is an A! There are still several case studies that I haven’t gotten my grades back on yet and one more set of case studies and the term project to do yet, so that’s not saying I got an A yet, but I’m doing well. I’m not putting the pressure on myself of needing to get an A, realistically, this is an area where getting official certification is far more important than the letter grades in school. I need to get the knowledge so I can excel where it’s really important. Still when I told my Dad that I got 94 on the test, he said, with a chuckle, “You’re slipping.” Yeesh!

We’re stating to get some peace on the kitty front. Kaline even slept on my hip again for a little the night before last, but not last night. I’m okay with that right now because Carla has a respiratory infect ion that we’re treating her for and I don’t mind the cats not wanting to be close to each other right now. When she’s feeling better and isn’t contagious I’ll want them to be closer again. Bt, they are civil to each other and right now the stress of giving Carla pills twice a day is enough for us!

Here’s this week’s mug!

Phantom of the Opera

The coolest thing about this mug is the mask! On the other side of the mug is a grey Phantom mask that fades into the black cup, but it turns white when there is warm liquid in the cup. Yeah, that’s a Nani-weirdism, I know, but when I did the photographing yesterday I made a cup of coffee in my Keurig coffee maker and photographed it as it filled. The mask got gradually whiter as the cup filled. It was very cool!


While I enjoy going to the theater, I don’t that often. It’s kinda pricey and I guess I’m picky. I saw Cats when I was 20 and didn’t like it. The tickets were a Christmas gift and that made it even worse because I wanted to really like it! I did enjoy the evening out with Mom, Dave and his girlfriend though! I’ve seen Phantom three times and loved it every time! The most recent time was n Detroit, with my Dad and Aunt Judy, before that was in Toronto at the Pantages Theatre with Mom and Dad, and the first time was in Chicago, with Jeff T. That’s when I bought this mug.

Jeff bought my ticket for my 24th birthday and it was the day before my birthday that we saw the show. It was fantastic! I have enjoyed seeing how different productions did the falling chandelier n the play, but the first time, I wasn’t expecting it and it really felt like a giant chandelier was falling on the audience! Yes, the production was fabulous, the singing and acting superb, but the strongest memory in my brain is the falling chandelier and how I was in a split second sure something had gone wrong and it was really falling on us!

After the show we went back to Naperville, where we were stating with Jeff’s parents. There was much talk about the show! It successfully wiped out the unimpressed memories from Cats and brought me back to being okay with going to the the4ater for shows that weren’t Shakespeare. I guess Jeff saved me from becoming a life-long snob, huh?

The next day, my birthday, was the day we flew home. We were flying Southwest out of Midway to go back to Detroit. In all of my then 24 years, I had never seen rain on my birthday. This year was the first!

Just before our plane was due in, the sky just opened up and drowned the airport! Our plane circled around a bit, and then went on to Detroit having never stopped in Chicago! The announcement came that our flight couldn’t land in the rain and we should report to the ticket counter at our gate to be put on a later flight. So, it wasn’t just the first time I saw rain n y birthday, but it was trip-delaying rain at that!

It was going to be three hours or so before we’d be on a Detroit-bound plane. We did what any 24 and almost 25 year-old would do in a situation like this. We sought out the beer man! When we went back down to the beer cart for a third time, the beer man was already opening out beers! If I was getting a third beer now, I’d be staggering to the cart!

When our plane, our new plane, got there, I called Mom. Jeff’s parents shuttled us in Chicago and mine shuttled us in Detroit. What was supposed to be an afternoon trip home, ended up being watching the sun set as the plane was taking off, but it was a fun weekend with a good friend, seeing a great show! It was an awesome rainy birthday!

Monday Mug Shot

Yeah, I know, a day late, but it’s here! I’m on a tight schedule this week. I fell a chapter behind last week with John’s funeral and all the prep for that, so I have two chapters to do this week, plus getting ready for Halloween and a few other odds and ends. Busy, busy, busy!

So without further ado, here’s this week’s Mug Shot!

Underground Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia

I’ve been to Underground Atlanta many times. It’s a mall in the heart of downtown at Five Points, where five main streets meet or cross. The underground mall is built over underground “streets” that were part of Atlanta’s passenger train station before they went underground. In the 1920s, the streets were built up with viaducts to level the roads for better flow and the merchants moved up to the new street level, creating an underground level. Merchants used the storefronts on the underground level for storage and moved their businesses up to the main streets. In 1968, the whole section was reopened as an underground center for retail and entertainment. Underground was closed in 1980 for the construction of the MARTA rapid transit lone, but it reopened in 1989, having been out on the National List of Historic Places for the significant infrastructure and railroad historic past. I went to Underground Atlanta for the first time in October, 19898.

But the first story this mug brings to mind with a huge smile, is from 1996, well, 1995 THEN 1996.

The Olympics were coming to Atlanta. That had been such a huge deal every time I visited the city since being awarded the Olympics. On the top level of Underground The Olympic Experience had opened up where visitors could purchase commemorative everything for the Olympics. There are a few other mugs to tell about that! But the significance of the Olympics now, is that’s why we were there at the end of 1995. I thought it would be fun to welcome the Olympic year in the Olympic city!

I started planning in the beginning of October. We’d stay at The Suites Hotel at Underground. It was the only hotel that was actually at Underground Atlanta and we could just walk from our rooms to the giant party at Underground that went all day and culminated in the big Peach Drop at the center of Underground. I made the plan, figured the ballpark total cost and the prices for plane and hotel and made the flyers. It ended up being John, Heather H, Tracy, Rich, Jeff T, Jeff’s then girlfriend, Jeanne, who is now Mrs. T and Me!

It turned out a good thing that we were staying at Underground for several reasons. First off, once the New Years Eve festivities officially started, Underground was roped off with ID checkpoints. For the evening, it was a party you had to have an official wristband for and 21 and over mall! But we started sampling the fruits of the mall’s entertainment before that!

Tracy, Heather and I met Dave and Dee and their just over year-old twins for lunch a MARTA stop away while Jeanne and the guys went to Hooters at Underground. They were craving football and hot wings. I know the guys were not going there to drool. There are just no other good restaurants at Underground. (And I’m making it clear that’s sarcasm because there are FABULOUS restaurants at Underground!) When we all met back up after lunch, we discovered Fat Tuesdays.

Fat Tuesdays is basically a long counter of slushie machines – alcoholic slushies! We all tried some. Very good! By the end of New Years Eve, I think we’d tried all the flavors! We’d stocked the bathtub beer wine coolers and a couple bottles of champagne for toasting at midnight. There’s another good reason we were staying at Underground. The crowds at the MARTA station not withstanding, although no one got sloppy drunk, I don’t know that any pf us were in trustworthy shape for navigation!

We had dinner at Dante’s Down The Hatch. Dante’s is a Jazz-Fondue restaurant that is built to look like you’re dining on an old ship. I don’t think the one in Underground is open anymore, but the one in Buckhead is! We had a really nice dinner and I think most of us too home souvenir glasses! Then we went back up to the guys’ room, where we’d stocked the tub. Jeff’s brother, who lived in Atlanta joined us for the evening too and we all had a few drinks in the room before returning to the party.

Once the party was really going, it was loud and festive and CROWDED! After a trip back to Fat Tuesdays for more slushies, we agreed that we’d all meet near the Peach Drop site before midnight and ventured off into the party atmosphere. Tracy, Heather and I went into the center of Kenny’s Alley, where all the bars and restaurants were and where a crowd made up almost a mosh pit of dancing to Devo’s Whip It. We were thinking we’d cross over to the other end and ventured in. We got caught up in the dance and totally lost each other. I figured we’d all find each other again on the other side and danced along moving in that direction. When the song was over, we did find ourselves all together again, in front of Fat Tuesdays. The crowd dancing had turned us all in circles and we ended up right back where we started! We decided we didn’t need to go to the other side and bought more slushies!

When our group reconvened in at the spot we’d watch the Peach Drop from, Rich shrieked, “THE CHAMPAGNE!” He said he’d run up to the room to get it.

Now, the Suites Hotel had one elevator, lots of guests there for the New Years Eve party and our champagne was on the tenth floor. That one elevator was moving VERY slow! Rich waited for a while, nervously looking at his watch as it ticked on to midnight. He ran to the stairs, up to the 10th floor and grabbed the champagne. Then he ran down 10 floors of stairs and back across the walkway and down to where we all were with 2 minutes to spare before the each fell! He panted until 1996, but had caught his breath back in time to open that champagne and toast the New Year as the peach fell and the fireworks started.

Once back in the hotel, we looked out the window at the stopped traffic on Peachtree Street and the huge crowd of people waiting to get into the MARTA station and were glad we were staying at Five Points. We also, as we sat sipping from the beer, wine coolers and another bottle of Asti Spumante from the bathtub, realized that we’d had an early dinner at Dante’s and were somewhat picked and hungry. Jeff grabbed the phone and called for pizza.

If you’re painting the picture of this scene in your head, you know the streets are a parking lot and there is still barely room to move in the line into the subway. There are some great restaurants that have now all closed, at Underground and there is NO pizza place at Underground. Dominos Pizza told Jeff that they couldn’t deliver to The Suites hotel at Underground.

This became a “Let me talk to your manager,” issue with Jeff, who insisted on having him paged when he was told the manager wasn’t in. Jeff explained that there was a roomful of drunk people who needed food to sober up and it was their fault if we never sobered up. He went on to inform the poor manager that we were from Michigan and could easily report him to the owner of the franchise in Ann Arbor. You just can’t deny people from Michigan Detroit-style pizza when they travel! The manager asked for his address and said he’d send some coupons for free pizza. Jeff gave him his address and seemed satisfied. Honestly, no one was THAT drunk and Jeff was just being mischievous, but it was a fun prank for everyone, even, I think, the Dominos manager. He might still tell the story about the insane Michiganders to his friends.

We ended up emptying the mini bars in both rooms and crunching candy, chips and macadamia nuts and boy we went to town at the complimentary breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant that went with our stay! We had a great time and learned a valuable lesson this trip – when you buy the New Years Eve booze, BUY MUCHIES!!

Monday Mug Shot

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
Lebanon, Tennessee

Yeah, I know the Mug Shot is supposed to be the last marriage week reveal. What is this Lebanon, Tennessee stuff? Hehe...The Cracker Barrel restaurants corporate office in in Lebanon, Tennessee!

Cracker Barrel has got to be one of my favorite family restaurants of all time, if not THE favorite! What started as a direct mail ad for what looked like “just another chain restaurant” when Mom and I were planning my first trip South in 1989, became: an awesome place to eat after a long fall drive in the gorgeous Kentucky river area; an oasis in the dark after an all-day, often lost drive in Alabama; worth 2 hours wait when the first one opened in Michigan; worth the drive; a treat for Grandma; the best pre-Shakespeare breakfast around; Scotty is full, really?; Elizabethtown has the best corn bread of all the CBs; Merry Christmas; I can’t believe the ice, can you recommend a hotel?; Mary! The ring is gorgeous!; dinner between work and school - only one semester left; he couldn’t stop talking about himself, at least it was great food!; Jessica, it’s awesome to meet you in person; breakfast with Tori and Rina before the Big Pig Gig; Heather, he’s great, ask Tracy!; David, meet my friend; SURPRISE!!!!!!.....

Okay, that's my short history of Cracker Barrel. What many have tuned into The Chronicles for today is the story about the LAST time I was at Cracker Barrel!

The original plan for New Years Eve was two rooms and someone bring one more card table for at least 8 for the night of games and friendship to bring in 2009. Of course, after freezing rain made it impossible for us to tell everyone about the wedding at UNO, since it didn’t happen on the 19th, New Years Eve was planned to be when we told the rest of our friends about it.

I had sent out an email to everyone looking for a final count and to see who’d make it for dinner before we left for Dayton. When I got home, I had email from Rich. He was working at 3 AM on New Years Day and wouldn’t make it. He thought Jackie was working until 9 PM on the eve and then in the morning on the day and might not make it either. Then a call from Heather. There was nasty snow in the forecast and she wasn't sure. John said he’d be there for dinner and games, but he wasn’t staying all night. MaryA would be with her ne beau out of town, Sheri said it depended on work on NYE and Scotty said he couldn’t. Can you believe it? The last big reveal we had planned and people bowing out?? :(

By Monday afternoon, we’d sorted things out. I reduced the reservation to one room and Sheri, John Heather and Jackie were meeting us at Cracker Barrel for dinner. I tried and tried to beg Scotty and Rich to come just for dinner, but no- luck, even with the promise that it was a nice “surprise” I had for everyone. I even unsuccessfully tried begging Scott two more times on New Years EVe!

So New Years Eve came. David worked during the da. We knew we’d probably be a little late for 6:30 in Monroe, but with the usual wait at Cracker Barrel and the tendency for everyone, especially if coming form work, to run a little late, we figured it would be okay. I kinda wanted to be the last ones there anyway!

When we got there, John came out to the store part of the restaurant yo let us know they’d just been seated. Sheri and Jackie were there and Heather was...Heather was pulling into the parking lot! It worked out well! Heather came in an grabbed the last chair while I was taking off my glove and telling everyone I had the “surprise.” Note that I took off my glove - just the right one!

I had the marriage announcement that was here on the blog a couple days ago printed into 4X6 announcements. We are planning to print more to mail to the relatives, really! I shuffled through the stack, as if there were different cards facing me. I placed one face down in front of everyone, telling them not to flip them over until everybody has theirs. When they were passed around the table, I said, “Okay, flip them over.” David and I cheered, “SURPRISE!”

I took off my left glove and we both sat down. Comments ranged from “Oh my God, really?” to “So when are you really getting married?” We assured them that we were really married already There was congratulating and Sheri called her Dad. “Say ‘hi’ to Dad and tell him!” Our poor waitress kept coming back to see if we were ready, if I had even opened the menu yet! Oh eventually I did, even read it and ordered the shrimp dinner!

Everyone wanted the whole rundown, you know the one that it’s taken three days to fill you all in on? “How did Dad react, you really hadn’t even told him?” Heather couldn’t believe that we had spoken on the phone a few times since the 23rd and I kept quiet. I told her that the phone was for anyone I wasn’t going to see in person. John asked if Scott knew. Well, I was really trying to get Scotty to be there, so, no, Scott did NOT know! John instructed that I HAD to call Scotty.

I called Scott. I told him the surprise had been revealed and as to what it was, listen to the message from the table. I held out the phone and everyone announced “YOU WON!”

About 20 years ago, Scotty, JeffT and I were having a conversation about relationships and commitments. We agreed that we never wanted to get married. That kind of tying down was just not for us. We teased each other about who would be first, each of us insisting, “not me!” We entered into a friendly bet of who’d be last. No money or anything, just the pride of being the winner of a bet we thought would never be one. Maybe one of us would weasel out, but more than likely we’d all be single forever.

I have a photograph from 1999 of Scott and me high fiving each other over Jeff’s head. He was in his wedding day tux! The caption of that photo is “One down, one to go!” On that day, Jeff smiled and said, “I’m pretty happy to be a loser. I got Jeanne!” A little over nine years later, I have to say, “I’m a pretty happy loser, too. I got David!”

Monday Mug Shot

Atlanta, Georgia

Aren’t they cute? They are mini-mugs! Souvenir demitasse or Atlanta cappuccino cups! I chose these as the last mug shot for 2008 because with the big peaches behind the skylines on the little cups it just fits the New Year theme!

I welcomed the new year twice in Atlanta, but the first time was the party night to remember! It was planned all year in 1995. John, Jeff, Jeanne, Heather, Tracy, Rich and I were planning to celebrate the birth of the Olympic year in the Olympic city! We flew out together Friday night, December 29. I had carefully packed my bag and checked it, praying it didn’t end up in Spokane. As good fortune had it, it ended up in Atlanta. So did I!

We checked into The Suites Hotel at Underground, at that time it was a very nice hotel right at Underground Atlanta, which was where the New Years Eve festivities were, so we wouldn't even need to get on the subway to get back to our rooms. Tracy went to visit her Grandmother in metro Atlanta after we got in and she got back to the room very late with a care package that included the absolute best made-from-scratch cake I’ve ever tasted!

Saturday was that fateful day that we met my brother and his family at The World of Coke. After the World of Coke visit, Jeff, Jeanne, Rich and John went to Hooters to have lunch and watch a football game while Tracy, Heather and I went to lunch with Dave, Dee and the girls to Bertucci’s. Bertucci’s is actually a New England based franchise that makes great pasta and the locals called it “the only place in Atlanta where you can have a Pepsi!”

We spent New Year’s Eve at Underground, where the New Year’s Eve party had pretty much already started. You didn’t have to be 21 to enter the mall yet, but there were definitely people getting a head start in the bars! At 6 PM, Underground would transform from a mall to a 21-and-over party. You’d need a wrist band to enter and open alcohol was allowed as you walked through any part of the mall. Of note that I remember from that day, wine tasting at the Habersham Winery store, a candy stop at the penny candy barrels, a few stops for cappuccino at Barney's, taking advantage f the kiosk that did while you wait engraving on plastic key chains and getting my name on a baseball key-fob and discovering Fat Tuesdays!

Fat Tuesdays was a slushie stand! But the slushies were slushies for grownups! A huge selection of yummy fruity slushies that made great use of having a hotel room within walking, perhaps by the end of the night stumbling, distance!

We had an early reservation for Dante’s Down The Hatch, a great fondue restaurant. It was the first time I’d had a full fondue meal and it was great! You ordered the meal you wanted and it was served raw, to be coked in the fondue pot of hot oil. (This was my inspiration for my broth fondue recipe) After dinner, it was a stop (again) at Fat Tuesdays!

We’d later comment that it was the drunkest any of us had been since college for two full days! But in truth, we weren't really THAT drunk, no, we weren’t in driving condition, but we were just silly, punchy buzzed. Jeff’s Atlanta-based brother joined us for the evening too. Much fun was had by all! The center court at Underground, in Kenny’s Alley, where all the bars are was a giant mosh pit! Yes, “I-don’t-like-crampt-crowds” me was part of that! We all, drinks in hand, moved into the sea of people to dance to Devo’s “Whip It.” I got totally separated from Heather and Tracy who were with me when I entered. After I danced my way back to the side, I met up with them when they danced out of it too. We decided that was fun to have done...once, and moved on to the area where the giant peach was to be dropped at midnight. They had live music there. We stopped at Fat Tuesdays for a refill before we went there.

We remet with everyone in our group at about 11:30 for the peach drop. It was at that time that we remembered the champagne we’d bought for midnight was still in the room! Rich was out mad dasher! The elevators were slow and crowded. Not wanting to miss the peach drop and wanting to make sure the champagne was there, he ran up 10 floors of stairs, grabbed two bottles of Asti and ran back down! He was SO out of breath when he got back, just 5 minutes before midnight! But, when we got to the countdown. Rich had caught his breath back and was ready to pop the cork on one of the bottles!

At the stroke of midnight, the giant peach fell in a flurry of sparklers and fireworks started above the hotel. We popped the corks and passed around the bottles. drinking right from the bottle. (Appropriate for such a party, right?) Then after we’d all sipped from the bottles, we offered the to neighboring revelers and that seemed to start a trend as there were bottles of champagne and wine being passed all over the crowd!

After the celebration ended, about 1 AM, Underground was closing and crowds of people were once again “moshng,” this time through the exits. We went into the hotel and waited for the elevators to take us back up. We retired to the guys’ room for more partying and plans to order a pizza.

Remember, to a bunch of Detroit kids, ordering pizza after midnight on New Years Eve is almost a tradition! But here is where the convenience of the hotel location worked against us! We called Dominos to have pizza delivered. They said “NO WAY!” There streets around the hotel were a parking lot. It wasn’t possible for a deliver guy to get there. Jeff was on the phone explaining that we were all drunk and needed food. We’d already tried to see if there was anyplace open Underground or the hotel kitchen to get food and there was none. How could a pizza place turn us down? “Let me talk to your manager!”

He was told that the manager was at a party himself and ot available. Jeff was being impishly ornery and said he wanted to talk to a manager. They took the number and the call ended. Looking out the window at the cars below, we knew that we weren’t getting pizza, so all of the nuts and candy in the mini bars from both rooms became dinner for 8! (Yes, pizza would have been WAY cheaper, especially than the ten-dollar macadamia nuts!))
\
We got a phone call - it was the Dominos manager calling from the party he was at and asking for jeff! In classic Jeff fashion somehow only enhanced by several stops at Fat Tuesdays and some beer, he had a calm conversation with the Dominos manager. During the conversation where he said, “Oh, I understand but..” a few times, he informed the poor manager that he was from the Ann Arbor, Michigan area and was seriously thinking about stopping by the home office and filing a complaint about Georgia managers who were starving drunks on New Years EVe. He said that with such a smirk on hs face but I guess not in his voice. Nex he was giving his address and the saying goodnight.

Jeff addressed the group anxiously looking at him. They weren’t sending pizzas tonight, but for the inconvenience of us having to empty the mini bars, they were sending him coupons for free pizzas at home.

Jeff and Jeanne are living in Georgia now. I’ve never asked him how often he orders pizza...

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE - Party safe, and stock up on your after midnight munchies before midnight!