Last night with Friends

SO it all started around 5:30, me and roger drove downtown to meet people at Ruyons for The best buffalo wings in town. No one was there so we ordered about 10lbs worth and a couple of beers and shot the shit for a good hour! If you haven't had them yet Runyons does have the best wings in MLPS, Order them extra crispy and get an extra blue cheese and you'll think you died and went to heaven. Crisp, meaty, tangy and just hot enough to make you sweat without making you bleed! Washed down with a cold beer and life is good.

So after a few phone calls for directions or location details, the first to show was Mr. Bradley Magerkurth, known as the beer man to many and to others as, well I shouldn't go into that! Anyways a couple of more beers and we headed to Café Havana with 4 more people in tow, Elly, David, Pedro, Greg, Dr.Jeff, and Martha on the way. Well much to my chagrin they were packed with people and unknowingly to us a harbinger of things to come. With some basic debate and a little hemming and hawing, oh and wondering what had happened to Brad, we ended up heading to Nami, Gab's last place of employment. At this point, with Runyons a 10 step walk from Café Havana and Nami a block further, we realized that we didn't have Brad, and after a short phone call realized Brad had headed to his car a drove to the following locations! Oh well into Nami we went as Brad struggled to find another "money" parking spot.

Well Nami was packed and the staff a bit harried, as they all were excited to talk but moving at the same time. Asking if a group of 8 could squeeze in the receptionist gave a me smile and a we could put you on the list response, with out much enthusiasm for success in the next hour or so Not wanting to leave we all ponies up to a crowed bar and got some beer sand sake! Life is better now, and after running into John the new front end manager after our friend Lisa's departure, he made it known that we would find our selves sitting soon, one way or another. Well he was right, when a no show party of 10 failed to call, John said screw it and we were in for some great sushi. Fortunately Vanessa, a good friend of Gab's was waiting on us, and we ended up leaving our menu in her hands. It was great we all started off with an Oyster, not Kumumoto, and then went on to 5 different rolls, and 4 different Nigiri, not to mention some Edamame. Awesome and for some reason it didn't seem to all make it onto the final bill? Oh one last treat the uni was supposed to be great and with some cajoling and explaining about the taste (like going down on a mermaid) and texture (likewise) Jeff and me split an order to round out the meal. Wow I've never had uni like this; creamy like a fish ice-cream it melted in the mouth with a rich sweetness. Great night so far, not to mention my sake glass kept refilling before my eyes, thanks Vanessa! At this point we were joined by Jeffboo and Renate, who quick had a drink before we headed out the door to Jitters.

Jitters is across the river and probably a mile hike and while I wasn't sure about walking that far, it was warm out and we had Brad serenading us, or so he thought, all the way there.

So far the night had been perfect, though we did lose Jeff after the Sushi, ski patrol in the morning, I'm glad he made for the time he was there. When arriving at jitters our curse of the crowd was to be realized again, though Jeff Radnich was there at the bar and promptly handed me a drink to easy my, well no I really was pretty eased at this point. But off we went to stand and chat while listening to the singer. Erin Schawb for those who don’t know, is unbeknownst to her the reason I understand the piano bar, and have come to love it. Many moons ago while in funky moods and not knowing what to do me and Gab on a whim had stopped at Jitters to get a drink and not knowing wandered into a sing along led by Erin, well tonight she was back, and better than ever. Shortly we did land a table and we quickly found ourselves singing at the top of our lungs to show tunes and the like.

The high point of the evening came when Elly sent up a note explaining my impending departure and requesting a song to say goodbye with; Erin shouting out to find where our group was, took and dedicated "Leaving on a Jet Plane", which I always thought was a silly song everyone always sings when someone leaves, but I failed to remember how it still can make the emotions flow. Surrounded by 7 of my best friends all who sang along, and Elly hugging me, I fought hard to keep the floodgates closed. It turned out to be the perfect moment to make this move a bit more real and also to help make me realize all I have as far as friends and support.

The rest of the night was a blur and not so much marked by over consumption but rather Song, dancing, and great friends. As we left Jitters after I gave a personal thank you to Erin and a bit more singing, we headed back towards parked cars, with one last stop. I needed one last look at the Worlds Deadliest Polka Band! WOoooHOOOoooo! Nye's always is good for a laugh and we stopped in for one dance of modified polka and out the door we went. Across the Grainbelt bridge we all sang weather we should have been or not.

It's always hard to say goodbye, and I've had some that weren't very good, either too much or too little partying, usually followed by a morning on a plane hung over! For the first time I have to say this was about perfect. The Company though shabby was the best it could be without the sunshine of Gab to help out. The food was wonderful and I thank the whole Nami staff for helping to make this night great. I guess in the end, it's only in the end when you realize how blessed you are with friends, or rather family. I do hope that in the future I do everything in my power to make sure nights like last night don't just come only a the end, but all the time.

Thanks again to everyone that participated; we'll see you all in Spain, right! Please write and stay in touch, love you all, Ryan....