THE DILLO (or, HOW A BLACKOUT AT THOMPSON THEATRE LEFT US WITH THE ONLY OPTION OF GOING TO THE ARMADILLO GRILL TO GET DRUNK)
So, the day was off to a rousing start! We had breakfast, fell in love with Alex Miller all over again, and toured all over the theatre. Also, most importantly, we made fun of the people who were too hungover to show up that morning. Ah, years out of school and we're still a bunch of catty assholes. I love it.
No was the time to figure out what we all would do next. Some people took a bus tour of centennial campus. Some people had to put their babies down for naps. Some decided to stay to watch The Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell, a movie from fellow alumni Scott Clay and Cameron Pearce. I missed out on all events, because I really wanted to go and get frozen margaritas at El Rodeo with "Baby" Leah Charbonneau.
After my delightful frozen raspberry margarita, I arrive back at the theatre to meet up with the rest of the group. In a horribly ironic twist to the "Thompson Theatre desperately needs money because it is totally falling apart campaign", the power goes out in the middle of the screening.
That's right, kids. The power is out. They cannot watch the film, and they sure as shit weren't going to sit inside a building with no air conditioning in the middle of June.
I arrive back at the theatre to see everyone milling around, trying to figure out what to do next.
And although it was wicked hot, everyone still looked really good.
And felt amorous.
And all wished that one day they would be half as cool as Silky.
So we batted around a few ideas for the afternoon. Should we split up and meet back up at 6:30 for the dinner? Yeah, right.
Should we check into the hotel, buy some beers, and go swimming and hang out there. Maybe, but everyone didn't have a swimsuit. We then decided to go to Raleigh's greatest Tex-Mex fast food restaurant, the Armadillo Grill, so we could get some queso and beers.
It was about this time that we get a phone call from Jenny Corley, Patron Saint of Airport Trouble. It seems as if her flight from New York has been cancelled, and she had to lie and tell the airport that she'd miss a wedding if she didn't get on the next flight to Raleigh. Seems as if it worked, and she was put on a flight set to arrive later that afternoon. She said she would need snacks and beers, stat, and we made an arrangement for her and the Eric Corley to meet us at the 'dillo.
With our multi-car caravan moving through the streets of downtown Raleigh with the force of a thousand gazelles, we arrive with hunger in our eyes and drool on our chins. We freaking love this place. It was a great group... Amber, John, Frank, Besselman, Gerald, Katie, Kate, Wil, Michael, Byron, and, eventually, Jenny, Eric and our mascot, Joe Boles. There were also some kids from the younger generation, but I didn't really talk with them, because I was too busy catching up on all the gossip that everyone had to share. For instance, did everyone have some stories to share about a former professor, or what? And I'm not talking about Dr. Russell. Although, I would have loved to talk about the time that lady showed him her boobs at the Breakers. What a story!
It was crazy fun, and we all stayed way too long, and drank way too much. In our beer-induced haze, Katie Flaherty did manage to get a few good pictures:
My mom thought that this was such a nice picture. However, I think when we're both smiling like this we look crazy enough to eat a baby. Or is that just me?
Joey, Joey, Joey. Oh Joe Boles. You are the reason for this blog. And to the casual observer, one may think that I have a couple crush on John and Amber. I have pictures of them all over this thing.
I love this picture the most. I had it printed as an 8x10, and it's up in my cubicle at work. Everyone looks so damn cute. Crushes on all of you.
Anywho, it wasn't until someone realized that it was 5:00, and we only had an hour and a half to leave, check into our hotels, change, meet back up, and get back to the theatre in time for the next event. Thankfully, we pulled it together, and everyone made it to the event on time. A gold star to each and every one of you!
So, if you went out a-drinkin', what did you like about the afternoon? Or do you think that it was really immature and inappropriate for getting tanked before the reunion? Or did you do something else fun that afternoon? Did
anyone go on the bus tour? It looked kinda snoozeville to me, but I welcome any opportunity to be proved wrong.
And did anyone else imagine that the late-afternoon arrival of Joe Boles would signal crazy events in the future?
