Weekend Report

Despite the fact that I had absolutely zero plans come Friday afternoon, the weekend turned out to be quite eventful.

Friday- After work, I went out to eat with Carolina, Jose, and Megan, and we stopped into a random Chinese restaurant to grab a drink. I don't even know the name of the place, because it was in Chinese, but the bartender was from Nicaragua and made us some kick-ass mixed drinks- potent and delicious but not too sweet. We then headed out to the movies, where we met up with Ern and saw Little Miss Sunshine. We got there just as the movie was starting and ended up sitting in the second row, which due to our inebriated state, was more amusing than annoying. Ern told us that we smelled like hobos, "loud hobos," and to STFU and watch the movie. We did, and it was great! Since it's an independent film, it's not playing in all theaters, but if you get a chance, go see it. The plot is simple enough: dysfunctional family goes on road trip, things go awry, and hilarity ensues. The ensemble cast, featuring Toni Collete as the mom, Steve Carell as the suicidal gay Proust scholar/uncle, and Alan Arkin as the heroin snorting grandfather, is a pleasure to watch on screen. Of all of the characters, the sullen teenage son who is in the midst of a year-long vow of silence was my favorite. And did I mention that it's hilarious? Oh my gosh, during the horn honking scene, I was laughing so hard that tears streamed down my face. So take my advice and go see it, you won't be disappointed. Unless you hate laughter.
We ran into some friends at the movie and all decided to go back to the Chinatown restaurant for some more fabulous drinks. Since our group had increased in size, they opened the second floor karaoke lounge for us, so we spend the next couple of hours enjoying hurricanes and butchering classic songs like "Gangsta's Paradise" and "Edelweiss". I sang solo on "More Than Words" by Extreme, and I was wicked pumped up about it. Later on, three guys from El Salvador showed up and sang La Bamba and a bunch of rancheras, (but sadly, no La Puerta Negra). At one point, Jose said to me "Come to the men's bathroom with me. I have to show you something." Heh- I've heard that one before. Curious, I followed him, and in the men's bathroom a trap door in the ceiling was partially opened, revealing a folding staircase. I pulled it down and climbed up, and it lead to an enormous, pitch-black attic/secret passageway. I was too scared to explore further, fearful that I would stumble upon some illegal gambling operation or human trafficking, but Jose climbed up and wandered around until he tripped on a can of paint and got a splinter. We all decided to high-tail it out of there before the night got even stranger (or we got even drunker).

Saturday- Ern and I had originally planned to drive out to Western Mass to hike Mt. Greylock, but since Friday's Chinatown adventures left us a bit hungover, those plans were tossed out the window. Instead, we picked up our friend Mark in Worcester and climbed Mt. Wachusett. After an enjoyable 2 hour hike, we found the Wachusett Brewing Company and went on a brewery tour. Here are a couple of photos:



That night, I met up with some more Framingham natives. Brianna was in town, so I met up with her, her dad, Arturo, and Mulvey at a townie bar in Quincy. Good times were had by all. Here's a good picture of everyone else but a bad picture of me- I don't know why my mouth is open like that, but I promised everyone they'd have their day in the sun on DCoE.
Arturo also told me about a music video he appears in called Pervert in the Park. Quality entertainment...the hammers might recognize some of our classmates.

Sunday- Did some errands, played soccer in the rain, and had dinner at Kerry and Adam's house with an Irish friend- my name twin, Eileen- who is in town visiting her aunt and uncle.