February 18th, 2011
Birthday/Going Away Party at the Hooley House
Night 1 – Brigid’s Cross

So as my readership (all 3 – and possibly 5! – of you) knows, my birthday is March 18th. As you are also no doubt aware, I will be leaving February 26th to go to Scotland for a semester. How is that going for me? I started getting nervous several days ago about both of those things which this blog is to be dedicated to. As far as I’m aware, there is no more paperwork to do, tickets to buy, people to talk to (other than Jonathon letting the college know when I’ll be arriving), random travel items to purchase, etc. All I need to do is get on the plane. Well, I need to pack first. And when I land I’ll have to get my visa. Apparently because I’ll be there for 91 days we’re not sure if a visitor visa will be sufficient or if I’ll need a student visa as well, but I’ve been told (See, Jonathon? This is in writing now!) that the good people at the Edinburgh airport will be able to help me out with that, and I shouldn’t have any problems.
As you also know, my favorite local band, Brigid’s Cross, has made a home for itself at a family-owned pub on Mentor Ave. called the Hooley House. Approximately once a month the band (or sometimes just Richie) holds a St. Practice Day celebration, which is essentially an excuse to party and drink and sing Irish songs in preparation for St. Patrick’s Day. I have already lost track of the number of times I’ve been to a St. Practice Day gig, but my rough estimate for Brigid’s Cross shows in general is 40. I’m calling this one 41. Maybe I’ll be able to keep track from this point on.
The reserving of a table for a party of 12 necessitated my being there an hour before show time, and after some confusion and ironing out of details, I ended up riding with Courtney, Courtney (“The Courtneys”, if you will) and Claire. Cindy and Dave showed up at around 8:45 and Rachel, Scott (who also has a March 18th birthday), Tiffanie and Anne-Marie got in just before the show started. Kendra had to work Saturday morning and couldn’t come up until the Richie Reece show on the 19th, Brittanie has had the flu for a while and Richard was just being a poophead and didn’t RSVP. ____________________________Anne-Marie, Me and Scott_________________________

______________________________Me and Courtney L___________________________
_______________________Tiffanie, Claire and Rachel (Gimpy)____________________
____________________________Courtney G and Claire____________________________ ________________________________Cindy and Me____________________________

As is my wont I will now present you with everyone’s favorite part… my bulleted highlights:

Before the sound check started I asked Richie about a song that called “Goodbye Michelle”. I had heard him sing it when I’d seen his show in August and it almost brought me to tears. He told me that he would do it Saturday if the band didn’t do it Friday.

A few songs into the show I pilfered a piece of paper from Claire in order to create a request list. We got “Twelve”♥♥, at which I dutifully screamed, “Lisdon Verne”, “The Scotsman Song” (if you’ve never heard it, you must) in honor of my trip, and of course “Happy Birthday”. Claire got “Johnny Be Fair” (technically they played it right before we sent up our list, but she got it nonetheless), “Drunken Sailor” (“I know what to do with a drunken sailor!” she declared) and the Devil medley. Tiffanie and Courtney G wanted “The Mailman Song”, a tune which tickled Scott to no end.
_________________________Paul and Peggy analyze my note_________________________

At some point when Peggy was playing her bodhrán, Cindy turned to me to clarify what “the little stick that you hit the drum with” is called. When I told her, she said “I should have remember that, but I keep wanting to call it a banger. It’s, you know, a thingy-majibbler. Oh, heck, I’ll just call it a thingy-banger.” This of course brought on a laughing fit on both our parts, during which Cindy’s eyes started tearing up and I was grabbing the three friends I had within earshot so they could hear what a tipper is called as well. Claire gladly joined in, helping me relate the story to Courtney L. Then I told Cindy that that was definitely going in the blog.

Two other people, Greg and Carol, were also there to celebrate their birthdays, although theirs were legitimate birthdays while mine was just a surrogate (I’d planned since last September or so to have a February St. Practice Day shindig). I folded my arms in a pouty manner and pantomimed a breaking heart at Richie when he said I had to share my song with them, but two heart-pieces found their way back together when he told me, “You know this song’s always for you.”

Afterward, when Paul announced “The Scotsman Song”, I had the following exchange with him:
“March 18th! That’s a month away! What’s with that?”
“I’m going to Scotland!”
“Well, how long are you staying there, that you can’t come back and see us?
“Three months!”
“What the heck are you going to be doing for three months?”
“School!”
(At this point there was something said between him and Peggy)
“What does Scotland have that we don’t have?”
“Scotsman!” (was my immediate answer)
“Oh… well, yeah, I guess that’s true… but what else do they have?”
I thought of my next response (“What else do you need?”) a moment too late and I don’t think he heard me. But I was surprised that no one on stage made any cheeky jokes about the content of the song after it was sung.

_______________________I really like this picture. Not sure why._____________________

Cindy was absolutely delighted by Dick Goonan’s performance of “The Rooster Song”. Claire and I had sung it to her while Claire was home with me for Thanksgiving break, and she’d been entertained but thoroughly confused. I was thrilled that she would get to hear it from the man himself, and before too long she turned around to tell me that “It’s WAY more entertaining to watch an old man sing it!” I told her to be happy he wasn’t singing “The Oldest Swinger in Town”, as he has a habit of showing off his nipples during that little number. ________________________Cindy's reaction to The Rooster________________________

Dave was so impressed and entertained by The Rooster’s antics that he had me bring his phone over to where the old man was sitting and ask for a picture. Rather than sit for a picture on his own, The Rooster walked back to our table with me and told Cindy that she was going to be in the picture too. It ended up being the three of us in the picture, but Courtney couldn’t get a picture with my camera because The Rooster wandered immediately back to his seat.

__________________"But then that rooster... he came into our yard..."______________

Cindy and I had a wonderful time when we got to the bathroom to discover Drunken Bathroom Princess, so named because she was plastered and wearing a tiara, drunk-dialing somebody. She was telling the person on the other end, in a slushy voice, that Anne had left, then she told the person on the other end that Anne had left. Then, in case there was something inherently confusing about that three-word sentence, she told the person on the other end that “she” (Anne?) was the queen and that she had left the show early. As Cindy and I were studying her half of the conversation, I helpfully offered, in a voice loud enough so the person at the other end could hear me, “Anne is no longer here!” This caused Drunken Bathroom Princess and to gaze at me with wonder. “How did you KNOW that?” she asked me. I wasn’t sure what to say, confused by her earnestness. “I said something to the effect of “Um… Because you… you said… you just… told me… that.” At that point a stall opened up for me, but I got a synopsis of what happened next from Cindy.
Drunken Bathroom Princess expressed a thirst for water and asked where she could get some. One of the bystanders, probably confused because we were at an Irish pub/restaurant, which are generally known to have potable water on hand, told her that she could probably get some at the bar. Drunken Bathroom Princess spotted a Random Abandoned Tumbler That Had Been Left in the Bathroom, Complete With Stir Sticks, gathered it up and declared, “Well, obviously you guys are too drunk to know that I can just empty this glass right here and fill it up in this sink.” She immediately suited action to word.
When I left the stall and started for the sink there she was, contentedly sipping her sink water while the tap was on full blast. I moved the handle over so I could get some warm water, helpfully (again) letting her know, twice, that she could get ice water from the waitstaff if she wanted some. She told me that the water would “soak up” the alcohol in her system and said not to worry, that she was just going to stay in the bathroom long enough to sober up, when she’d go back out. I wonder if she’s still there.
Cindy didn’t wait until she had all the soap off her hands before snatching up a towel and lunging back into the Hooley House Proper, where we immediately burst into laughter.

I did not get my free Apple Pie shot from Richie, but Dave randomly bought Cindy and me each a shot of something that smelled like Sprite and came with a sugary lemon slice. I tried to get him to explain what I was supposed to do with it, as I honestly didn’t know (I thought I was supposed to drop the lemon in and drink it). Claire and Courtney G tasted the stuff to certify that it didn’t taste that great. Apparently you’re supposed to do the shot then take a bite out of the lemon, which makes sense, in retrospect. I’m sure I’d heard of people doing that before.
Dave also got Cindy a rum and coke and decided to randomly buy me one as well. I discovered was not as disgusting as the one I accidentally drank at my cousin Shawna’s wedding, which tasted, generously, like carbonated cough syrup.
I ended up having two of them, after answering three inquiries from Cindy about whether or not I wanted another in a noncommittal way. After all, I had my water, and could hunt up a Dr. Pepper from the waitress if I felt the need for something bubbly. I’ve never been drunk before, and have no intention of ever doing so, but the sensation that I felt reminded me strongly of the time I strained my neck in my self-defense class in my last year at LCCC and the doctor gave me a muscle relaxer that I later found out was probably too strong a dosage for me. I felt light-headed and light-bodied and walked around like Jack Sparrow for a week. I wasn’t really a fan of that feeling – like a dizzy spell that won’t go away.
At that point I declined any more drinks.

Courtney L, being a Hooley House AND Brigid's Cross virgin, was duly impressed by Paul’s fiddling and Richie’s… umm… well, his amazing Richieness. I also pointed out to her, as I usually do, “That’s what a REAL bodhrán player sounds like,” during one of Peggy’s solos.

Speedo Scott had lost a bet regarding the Steelers’ expected prowess during the Super Bowl… and as a result his fluffy mop of hair was gone when I saw him. I think it makes him look older. We’ll see if he keeps it short.

When I first met Scott I thought he was incredibly arrogant and had no qualms about telling him that he annoyed me. Somehow we’ve reached the point where I invite him to my friendly gatherings, don’t get irritated by his constant bid for hugs and dance with him to “Freebird”, not to mention all the wacky random dancing we did with Tiffanie, Claire and Anne-Marie. I didn’t do that much, comparatively speaking, but it was a record for me for a Brigid’s Cross show.

_________________________________Scott and Me_____________________________

The previous bullet was actually two bullets masquerading as one. I didn’t feel like disentangling them. And now this is a bullet that’s not really a bullet at all, to make up for it.

Cindy and Dave were going to leave around 11:30, just as Paul was announcing the “Fields of Athenry/Freebird” medley. I told Cindy that the show was almost over, and that my experience with the band suggested that they’d probably do the medley, then “Brigid’s Reel Set”, and finish with the national anthems. And so they stuck around, and the show finished as predicted. Dave bought me birthday cheesecake bites as well, which I shared with my friends because I didn’t think I could finish them on my own. Oddly enough, come to think of it, I never did order Hooley Hunks for myself. I definitely will tomorrow, though. Mmmmm… teriyaki Hooley Hunks… nom nom nom…
Afterward a round of hugs went around, Peggy approached to talk to me for a minute and Cindy insisted on snatching Richie for a photo op when I told her that I haven’t yet had my picture taken with him. He scuttled away before that happened. Oh, well. Also, the rug in Courtney’s living room feels amazing against bare feet. I’m going to get up right now and walk on it. Tomorrow I’ll tell you about Richie’s show.
Bye.