Two weeks ago, my friend Madelaine and I were discussing her upcoming birthday nuptials. She was looking for a fantastic night on the town and I was looking for a chance to wear my new DKNY summer white jacket. So it seemed obvious that dinner should be held at the deliciously chic restaurant, Cafe Poca Cosa. Since I was already downtown, getting off of work, I offered to go in and make the reservation personally with Suzana Davila, the chef and owner of the restuarant. Suzana was happy to accomodate me and all my friends because of the simple fact that we attended happy hour religiously at her house of Mexican-fusion. It was perfect and within minutes, Madelaine sent out a mass text invite to 19 of her closest and dear friends.
Somwhere between two weeks ago and this past Saturday, my friend Hadassah invited me to attend the after party for the Arts for All Sweet Chairity Auction, held at Skyline Country Club, which was the same night as Madelaine's birthday dinner. It sounded like fun and since the after party didnt start until after Madelaine's dinner, I agreed to go. The very next day, my mother told me that my brother had finally decided he wanted to go fto Pinnacle Peak, an Old West Cowboy-themed restaurant, for his birthday dinner on (of all days!) May 10. Luckily, his party began two hours before Madelaine's and luckily, I was young enough to pull off an appearance at each event.
It was the night of all three events and I was ready by four in the afternoon, with my hair all slick and my shoes all shined. I arrived at Pinnacle Peak with my family, only to discover my mother had never made a reservation. And being that it was Mother's Day Weekend, we would have to wait for about an hour...and a half! I After about an hour of waiting in an old-fashioned Old West saloon, complete with coyboys in Converse serving beer from pitchers of plastic boots, I got a call from Cafe Poca Cosa, reminding me that if no one was at the restaurant by 7 PM, we would be charged a cancellation fee. So I left. I didnt have time to go back home to get my car, so I took a cab downtown.
With minutes to spare, I walked through the glass doors of the resturant and checked in with the hostess, who had a free pomogrante vodka martini waiting for me. I was the first to arrive and took a seat at the bar as I got ready to play host for my friend's birthday. The second guest to arrive was Hadassah, with both a gift for Madelaine and a gift for me! Hadassah's brother had recently graduated from Washington State University, with a major in psychology and was moving back home to Tucson. He spent the better part of last week on a road trip with his dad, as they drove from Washington with all his belongings, back to Tucson. Along the way, they stopped in San Francisco, where Hadassah's dad's cousin, Bev and her husband Greg lived and stayed with them for a couple of days. During their stay, Hadassah's brother noticed a really outrageous framed lithograph that was kept in a backroom and wondered why it was hidden and wasnt displayed openly in the house. That's when he found out how his family was a part of American music history.
Bev and Greg used to live in Hawaii during the 70s and early 80s. During that time they met a man named Mark at a party and fell in love with a certain lithograph hanging in his house. He was desperate to get rid of it and sold it to Bev and Greg for $8,000. The happy couple immeadiately purchased the lithograph and displayed it happily in their home...until they saw Mark in the news. Did I mention Mark's full name was Mark David Chapman? The man who killed John Lennon! Apparently, the $8,000 was used to purchase a plane ticket to New York and the rest...well, is American history. Bev and Greg dont like discussing "the piece of art that killed John Lennon", for obvious reasons, but seriously...what a way to find yourself in American history.
I couldnt believe the bomb Hadassah had dropped at the bar at Cafe Poca Cosa. I also couldnt believe that I was there for almost an hour and no one else had arrived. Where was everyone? I texted the birthday girl and found out she was still in hair and makeup and still hadnt found anything to wear. If making a late appearance was considered fashionable, then Madelaine was Prada. Soon after, a girl, whose name I still cant remember, arrived and then two more guests. They all thought the party was supposed to start later in the evening and were shocked to know they were late. In fact, some friends didnt even think the party was still happening when Madelaine jokingly said that her finals had taken a really big toll and that sleep was all she wanted to do. I didnt know what to do. I also didnt know what to say to the hostess or Suzana who kept asking us if the rest of the party would be arriving shortly. The VIP banquet room was still empty, since we were not allowed in until the entire party had arrived and the restaurant had to continue telling guests no room was available. I could tell they were upset and when I mentioned that the birthday girl had yet to make an appearance they laid down the law with me. Cancelling the VIP room without a 12 hour notice was a charge of $25 per person. For a party of 20, that was $500. And since I had made the reservation using my credit card...well, let's just say I literally fell out of my chair.
$500. $500. $500?!
Hadassah saw the blood in my face drain so fast, she immeadiately whispered in my ear, "David, take a deep breath. Like right now." I did, but that still didnt help the fact that I had just lost $500 in two seconds flat. It was a record, even for me. Not that I wasnt used to spending that much, but usually it takes me 10 seconds and usually its for myself. At that exact moment, Madelaine walked in with her new boyfriend at arm. She was on her phone, trying to do her best at damage control, and trying her best to avoid her mother, who had walked in when Suzana told me about the cancelation fee. Madelaine's mother was upset. Very upset. And the moment Madelaine got off her phone, her mother beraided her, telling her that the money she was giving her for her Memorial Weekend Vegas trip was being given to me at the end of the night. Great. What was I supposed to say? "Happy Birthday Maddie! Sorry about your Vegas trip, but thanks for paying me back!" I was literally sick. Hadassah had escaped to the bathroom to cancel our appearance at the after party and I needed to talk to somebody.
Hadassah was shocked I had bursted into the women's restroom and immeadiately told the girl at the sink to leave, as we were trying to have a very important conversation. I was drunk and I was freaking out. This was a horrible night that just couldnt be happening! I was totally out of the party mood so I decided to go home and kill myself. But Hadassah wouldnt let me. She kept telling me it wasnt my fault, and I knew it wasnt, it's just...I couldnt help but feel bad that I was taking Madelaine's Vegas money. I couldn't imagine what was going through Madelaine's head. No special birthday dress, half the birthday guest list was a no-show, a bill of $500 was looming over her head, and now her Memorial Weekend in Vegas was canceled. What a lot of information to absorb in just a few seconds.
Dinner was awkward and all I could do was drink. And think about the fact that I needed another one, very fast. Everyone tried to make the dinner conversation light and casual, but the big pink suede elephant standing in the middle of table made it that much more harder. After being fueled by Mexican-fusion food and mint-infused drinks, I was beginning to slowly accept my fate of having to be $500 poorer and killing Madelaine after cutting the birthday cake. Too bad blood ruins the taste of buttercream frosting. And just before falling deep into an emotional hole, Suzana came and pulled me out. Because of the simple fact that I attended happy hour religiously at her house of Mexican-fusion, Suzana waived the $500 fee "this one and only time". I wanted to jump up and give Suzana the biggest bear hug I could muster with all my drunken strength, but I was too woozy to actually stand up. So instead, I kept saying, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" over and over again, hoping my relieved enthusiasm would show through my state of drunkeness. And that was how I celebrated my friend's birthday.
Somwhere between two weeks ago and this past Saturday, my friend Hadassah invited me to attend the after party for the Arts for All Sweet Chairity Auction, held at Skyline Country Club, which was the same night as Madelaine's birthday dinner. It sounded like fun and since the after party didnt start until after Madelaine's dinner, I agreed to go. The very next day, my mother told me that my brother had finally decided he wanted to go fto Pinnacle Peak, an Old West Cowboy-themed restaurant, for his birthday dinner on (of all days!) May 10. Luckily, his party began two hours before Madelaine's and luckily, I was young enough to pull off an appearance at each event.
It was the night of all three events and I was ready by four in the afternoon, with my hair all slick and my shoes all shined. I arrived at Pinnacle Peak with my family, only to discover my mother had never made a reservation. And being that it was Mother's Day Weekend, we would have to wait for about an hour...and a half! I After about an hour of waiting in an old-fashioned Old West saloon, complete with coyboys in Converse serving beer from pitchers of plastic boots, I got a call from Cafe Poca Cosa, reminding me that if no one was at the restaurant by 7 PM, we would be charged a cancellation fee. So I left. I didnt have time to go back home to get my car, so I took a cab downtown.
With minutes to spare, I walked through the glass doors of the resturant and checked in with the hostess, who had a free pomogrante vodka martini waiting for me. I was the first to arrive and took a seat at the bar as I got ready to play host for my friend's birthday. The second guest to arrive was Hadassah, with both a gift for Madelaine and a gift for me! Hadassah's brother had recently graduated from Washington State University, with a major in psychology and was moving back home to Tucson. He spent the better part of last week on a road trip with his dad, as they drove from Washington with all his belongings, back to Tucson. Along the way, they stopped in San Francisco, where Hadassah's dad's cousin, Bev and her husband Greg lived and stayed with them for a couple of days. During their stay, Hadassah's brother noticed a really outrageous framed lithograph that was kept in a backroom and wondered why it was hidden and wasnt displayed openly in the house. That's when he found out how his family was a part of American music history.
Bev and Greg used to live in Hawaii during the 70s and early 80s. During that time they met a man named Mark at a party and fell in love with a certain lithograph hanging in his house. He was desperate to get rid of it and sold it to Bev and Greg for $8,000. The happy couple immeadiately purchased the lithograph and displayed it happily in their home...until they saw Mark in the news. Did I mention Mark's full name was Mark David Chapman? The man who killed John Lennon! Apparently, the $8,000 was used to purchase a plane ticket to New York and the rest...well, is American history. Bev and Greg dont like discussing "the piece of art that killed John Lennon", for obvious reasons, but seriously...what a way to find yourself in American history.
I couldnt believe the bomb Hadassah had dropped at the bar at Cafe Poca Cosa. I also couldnt believe that I was there for almost an hour and no one else had arrived. Where was everyone? I texted the birthday girl and found out she was still in hair and makeup and still hadnt found anything to wear. If making a late appearance was considered fashionable, then Madelaine was Prada. Soon after, a girl, whose name I still cant remember, arrived and then two more guests. They all thought the party was supposed to start later in the evening and were shocked to know they were late. In fact, some friends didnt even think the party was still happening when Madelaine jokingly said that her finals had taken a really big toll and that sleep was all she wanted to do. I didnt know what to do. I also didnt know what to say to the hostess or Suzana who kept asking us if the rest of the party would be arriving shortly. The VIP banquet room was still empty, since we were not allowed in until the entire party had arrived and the restaurant had to continue telling guests no room was available. I could tell they were upset and when I mentioned that the birthday girl had yet to make an appearance they laid down the law with me. Cancelling the VIP room without a 12 hour notice was a charge of $25 per person. For a party of 20, that was $500. And since I had made the reservation using my credit card...well, let's just say I literally fell out of my chair.
$500. $500. $500?!
Hadassah saw the blood in my face drain so fast, she immeadiately whispered in my ear, "David, take a deep breath. Like right now." I did, but that still didnt help the fact that I had just lost $500 in two seconds flat. It was a record, even for me. Not that I wasnt used to spending that much, but usually it takes me 10 seconds and usually its for myself. At that exact moment, Madelaine walked in with her new boyfriend at arm. She was on her phone, trying to do her best at damage control, and trying her best to avoid her mother, who had walked in when Suzana told me about the cancelation fee. Madelaine's mother was upset. Very upset. And the moment Madelaine got off her phone, her mother beraided her, telling her that the money she was giving her for her Memorial Weekend Vegas trip was being given to me at the end of the night. Great. What was I supposed to say? "Happy Birthday Maddie! Sorry about your Vegas trip, but thanks for paying me back!" I was literally sick. Hadassah had escaped to the bathroom to cancel our appearance at the after party and I needed to talk to somebody.
Hadassah was shocked I had bursted into the women's restroom and immeadiately told the girl at the sink to leave, as we were trying to have a very important conversation. I was drunk and I was freaking out. This was a horrible night that just couldnt be happening! I was totally out of the party mood so I decided to go home and kill myself. But Hadassah wouldnt let me. She kept telling me it wasnt my fault, and I knew it wasnt, it's just...I couldnt help but feel bad that I was taking Madelaine's Vegas money. I couldn't imagine what was going through Madelaine's head. No special birthday dress, half the birthday guest list was a no-show, a bill of $500 was looming over her head, and now her Memorial Weekend in Vegas was canceled. What a lot of information to absorb in just a few seconds.
Dinner was awkward and all I could do was drink. And think about the fact that I needed another one, very fast. Everyone tried to make the dinner conversation light and casual, but the big pink suede elephant standing in the middle of table made it that much more harder. After being fueled by Mexican-fusion food and mint-infused drinks, I was beginning to slowly accept my fate of having to be $500 poorer and killing Madelaine after cutting the birthday cake. Too bad blood ruins the taste of buttercream frosting. And just before falling deep into an emotional hole, Suzana came and pulled me out. Because of the simple fact that I attended happy hour religiously at her house of Mexican-fusion, Suzana waived the $500 fee "this one and only time". I wanted to jump up and give Suzana the biggest bear hug I could muster with all my drunken strength, but I was too woozy to actually stand up. So instead, I kept saying, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" over and over again, hoping my relieved enthusiasm would show through my state of drunkeness. And that was how I celebrated my friend's birthday.
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