Like that night we got kicked out of two bars...

Last night was a great night, one of those you end up bringing up whenever you're telling funny party stories. An old friend from Mizzou (Chirag) called Andrea last week and said that he was coming to Alton to party with us, and that he'd already bought his plane ticket. We were also going to be joined by two other old college friends, Bill and Stefanie. So Andrea called me and told me to make sure I left that weekend free because we were about to experience some serious partying. I was not disappointed.

We met for dinner at Big Muddy Pub in Alton. Chirag and Bill decided they didn't want to eat much because they wanted to be able to maximize their absorption of alcohol. So Chirag had two stuffed mushrooms, and Bill had a cup of shrimp gumbo and two small crabcakes (which he tried forcing both Stefanie and I to eat). Here's Bill with his crabcake:

At this point Andrea's parents were with us, and her dad, Andrea's husband Bill, and Bill McClain were all drinking whiskey (Bill and Bill had theirs in Coke). But they soon decided that they needed more whiskey and less Coke so the waitress began bringing them doubles with just a shot of Coke in them. Here are the two Bills with their doubles:

After a number of toasts (one every 5-10 minutes or so), it became obvious that the Maximum Absorption Theory was a success, and we were beginning to annoy the other people in the restaurant. Andrea's parents decided to leave, as her father was already tipsy from the straight whiskey he'd been drinking. The boys loved him, and that was further solidified by his, "Praise Allah!" closing remark to Chirag as he was leaving.

P.S. After this picture was taken, Bill M. came over to me and was so proud of himself because he said he could feel that he'd had a good smile in this picture.

Chirag, by this point, was at his peak and was hamming it up while trying to get our waitress to give him some action:

Bill M tried to warn Chirag that it may not work, and then resigned himself to the fact that Chirag was going to do what he wanted:

Sadly, despite the donning of his good red shirt later in the evening, a romance between the two of them was not to be...her refusal left Chirag visibly upset:Recovering quickly, Chirag turned his attention to Stefanie:

At last, Stefanie was no longer amused:

But Andrea was:

Two refusals spurned Chirag to try more familiar territory. Here, he proposes to Bill M.:

After that, it seemed as though love was in the air. Chirag and Andrea got close:

Chirag and Bill M. got close:

Chirag and I got close (after he tried to slay my head 3 times with a paper napkin, that is):

A reconciliated Chirag and Stefanie got close (note his "lucky" red shirt):

Chirag and Bill H. got close:

Bill H. and Bill M. got close:

Andrea and Bill H got very close:

Bill M and I got close (he was sure this was another great smile to be proud of):

A still lonely Chirag got close with himself:

After getting kicked out of Don and Penny's because Bill M. tried to act like a bouncer and refuse admission to a girl who looked like she could kick his butt, we found ourselves (minus Andrea and Bill H) at Mac's Time Out, where Bill M rediscovered all his old dancing moves (after nearly getting kicked out again):

After an evening of fun, Stefanie and I decided to retire at the Holiday Inn in Alton with our two very worn out Dancing Queens:

In short, a good time was had by all.

Mardi Gras Goodness

Wow. It's been a while, huh? I'll try to catch you up the best I can, starting with last Saturday (where I left off). After my dog broke my computer, I went to Mardi Gras in St. Louis. It was awesome. I was a little crabby at first because of all the people (we were all packed like sardines on the streets), and the fact that this little Asian guy on a pole ruined any chance of my getting some beads in the normal, clean sort of way (i.e. no flashing). Here he is, greedy little bead thief.

I met a couple friends of my older sister Jennifer. Turns out they were awesome, as well. Melissa has been named an honorary sister of ours because we liked her so much, and her husband Brian made me laugh so hard all day that my stomach hurt. Seriously, he was one of the funniest people I've met in a long time. Here we all are with some random guy and girl who dressed up as Captain and Mrs. Morgan.

From left to right: me, Jennifer, Captain Morgan, Mrs. Morgan, Melissa, and Brian. We were all nicely buzzed at the time due to the plentiful pitchers, as demonstrated by Jennifer below:

We eventually met up with my friend Tiffany, who lives in Soulard. At some point, I left with Tiffany to use the bathroom in her apartment, and ended up doing three jello shots with her before heading back out to catch some more Soulard action. Here we are in her kitchen after the jello shots.

This next picture is my brother in law, and our new friend Brian. They are Mardi-cool, as you can tell. Wonder how Carey got all those beads?

After Mardi Gras, we went home and ate pizza and played some Playstation. It was one of the most fun days I've had in a while.