COCKTAIL PARTY - QUARTERLIFE CRISIS STYLE

When I hear "cocktail party" I picture the following scene: walking through the fancy double doors of a mansion, greeted by a long curvy staircase, handing my coat over to be hung in a closet so I could show off my new black cocktail length dress, being served hors devours and champagne by men and women dressed in black and white uniforms, chit-chatting quietly as we mingle through the crowd whilst a string quartet plays the classical soundtrack of the evening. But in Riann's famous words, "that's boring." That's not how Leia, Gabby, Fantone and I wanted to celebrate our birthdays. We 25 and over folk don't do cocktail parties that way.

We still strive to look good in our get-up though, ladies in fancy tops and dresses and gentlemen in button-down shirts and slacks. Let me tell you, my friends looked GOOD Saturday night! (Mostly because I don't HAVE any ugly friends really, but we'll save THAT for another entry) So all dressed up, we commenced to carry out the good time we never fail to create in each other's company. The dining room table was adorned with delectable party favorites. No caviar or plain ole' cheese and crackers here. We feasted on egg rolls, Swedish meatballs, chicken strips, dips of all kinds, mini quiches, pizza bits, bruschetta, sandwiches and more - all to our tummies' content.

The kitchen was the IT-ROOM of the evening, as it was the source of an endless variety of libatory concoctions that I can't even begin to discuss. The garage was a-buzz with shuffling mahjong tiles and decks of cards for blackjack and Texas Hold'em (which Edwin was playing forever) and the family room was left open for memorable magic mic moments (like Riann and Fernand slow dancing to Ira's beautiful rendition of "All at Once" and Joemama's attempts at singing in Tagalog and singing both parts of duets). The backyard and living room, alive with candles and white Christmas lights, provided for lounging and conversation comfort (and a hilarious game of spin-the-bottle. Everyone playing was SO into it that all of us watching couldn't help but be excited by it either).

Drunk Iya AND Drunk J0emama were there! The presence of ONE of them would've been enough to keep us entertained for the evening, but the two of them together was so much more than one could hope for at a party. I think poor Chris is a little traumatized by his new girlfriend's alter ego (Chris, you hanging in there buddy? No worries, we'll always be there to help you out! ha ha ha!)

So after a full evening of catching up, laughing, eating, drinking, gambling, singing, and hearing "she's so hot" every 2 minutes, we embraced each other farewell until our next meeting, which oftentimes doesn't occur for months at a time. It was a great time had by us all, young adults who've been in the real world for 5 or more years, either testing the waters for different job opportunities, back in school treading through new knowledge or neck deep into our careers. It's comforting to have friends to come back to, even for just a few hours, when we're drowning in the quagmire of our busy lives.