Love the Drake

My News Year Eve

After six years of staying home for New Years, Katie and I decided to go out for the evening. We were invited to a New Years party hosted by Katie’s cousin’s boyfriend in Wrigleyville. We decided to make an evening of it. Fortunately for us, my parents were able to watch the kids so I secured dinner reservations at Ditka’s near Michigan Avenue.

After dropping off the kids, we raced from the suburbs to downtown Chicago in record time for an early dinner. Dinner was excellent as always, we both ordered the filet, which was cooked perfectly. Katie and I discussed the different memories of our crazy year, which included a breakup of my previous company, the start of a new company, the birth of our son, and other great memories. We talked about potential travel plans and home renovations for the New Year.

After dinner, we had some time to kill before the party, so we decided to walk to the Ritz-Carlton hotel for a drink. They have a bar in the lobby called The Greenhouse that has very comfortable couches and chairs that has a great ambience. We stumbled upon this place a few years ago when we stayed downtown for our anniversary and it has become a favorite destination. Unfortunately, they were setting up that area for their New Years Party, so we found a smaller bar down the hall. We got a good seat and did some major people watching as the early crowd waited for the celebration to start.

After a drink and chitchat, we set out for the party. A short drive down Lake Shore Drive and we arrived to the party. As anyone who has driven around Chicago knows, parking can be regarded as a sport. It involves part skill (parallel parking in a small spot) and strategy (know where the spots are). Lacking any skill, I opted for the parking garage in the condominium across the street. Luckily for me, I was able to secure a non-reserved spot.

We were one of the first to arrive, and after a tour of the apartment we settled down with some hors devours and cocktails. After mingling and more food and drinks, midnight was upon us. The host of the party is a lawyer so the crowd consisted mainly of family and lawyer friends. However, I did discover that there were a disproportionate number of veterinarians at the party. With a maximum number of about sixty people, at the party, there were five vets in the house. Let’s just say poodle pictures where exchanged and diagnosis’ offered to concerned pet owners.

After midnight, the crowd thinned a bit and I was witness to a new party game called “butt darts.” The object of the game is drop quarters into a glass on the floor. Unfortunately for the quarters, they must reside in the crack of your ass and fall into the glass without the use of your hands -- only after you walk across the room with them in place.

At this point, I thought I was hallucinating. I didn’t think anyone would actually play this game. Boy, was I wrong. An unnamed relative came to the rescue and declared himself an expert at this game. He said he used to play this game years ago and with his experience, he was able to successfully drop $1.75 worth of quarters into the glass. I chose to sit this game out and take some compromising pictures of the contestants instead.

After more cocktails and chatting, we decided we had our fun for the night and we were off for the drive home. We made it home safely at 4am after a very fun and memorable start to the New Year.