No, this post has nothing to do with StumbleUpon, the social media content discovery service. Rather, this is a post about the fact that when you live Downtown, occasionally you StumbleUpon parties. I StumbledUpon two last night.
Yesterday evening I got home from work, threw my stuff in the closet, changed clothes, and prepared to head to happy hour at the Flying Saucer. As I walked out the door, my new neighbors where wheeling a huge amount of beer into their apartment.
“Hey, Paul,” they said. “We’re having a housewarming party tonight. Please come by. We’ll get started around 7 or 8. We tried to knock on your door last night, but you weren’t home.” Knocking on my door is pretty much pointless. I’m usually at work, at a bar, or dead asleep. I thanked them for the invitation and told them I’d stop by.
Then I headed to the Saucer, grabbed my usual spot at the bar, and ordered a Dos Equis Lager. A few minutes later, my friend Bob (Bicycle Bobby as he’s usually referred to in this blog) walked by and took a seat at a table. “That’s weird,” I thought. “He always sits at the bar. I wonder if he has people in from out of town.”
I finished my beer and ordered a second one. As I did, my friend Stevana walked in. She used to work at the Saucer and still stops in to see everyone from time to time. “Are you here for Bob’s plate party?” she asked.
D’oh! He’d told me his plate party was last night on at least three separate occasions, and yet, I still managed to forget somehow! He and the other party guests must have been wondering why I was standing at the bar by myself, and perhaps they were thinking, “Maybe he doesn’t like free beer.” I hurried over to the table.
You get a plate party when you drink 200 different beers at the Saucer, earning your plate on the wall. Normally, you get a $100 tab for a party for you and your friends. However, as you complete more plates, your deal gets better and better. I have 93 more beers until I get my sixth plate done – and when I do, a $150 tab will await me. For Bob, it was even better. He’d just finished work on his 11th plate, earning himself a $200 tab. We drank and talked for a couple of hours, and then it was time to unveil the plate.
Kyla making the announcement at the bar
Bob revealing the plate
The plate. Most of the plates at the Saucer have a bronze-colored rim, but this plate’s rim is silver. The silver means “+10”. So Bob’s plate is colored black, for one plate, plus the silver rim for 10 more, a total of 11.
Lil’ Kim and her pimp daddy
While hanging out at the party, I checked Fousquare, Facebook and Twitter on my phone. I noticed that several of my friends, who don’t live in my building, were checking into Number 10 Main. I left a comment on Foursquare, asking one of them what was going on. Sure enough, they were at my neighbors’ housewarming party! I paid my tab at the bar and hurried home.
I thought to myself, “What am I going to do about beer?” After all, no one wants to be “that guy” who shows up at a party empty-handed and mooches everyone else’s beer. Then I remembered, I have PBR in the fridge! So, every time I ran out of beer, I just made a stop next door to refill. Convenient!
The party was great. My neighbors and I have a lot of friends in common; I probably knew a third of the guests. Great food, a DJ spinning good music, and I got to catch up with a lot of people I hadn’t seen in a while.
So, it was a very good Friday evening overall. Love those random weekend nights when I StumbleUpon great parties.
As for today: I just got up, so I haven’t had time to check and see if there’s enough news to do a Saturday update post. Memphis plays Louisville on CBS at 3. Most likely I’ll park myself at the Saucer for the game. No definite plan afterward, but hopefully I’ll StumbleUpon more fun things to do.