Dinner, Uno, Wine, Mojitos, & Bonnie Tyler

The evening began with Katie’s homemade pitas and lemon hummus. Which, can I just say, YUM.

Then we moved on to sipping some Red Bicycle wine selected by one Mr. Ruff, which was followed by chicken & rice casserole for dinner (with peas and with carrots, sliced with a “fancy” carrot cutter that Katie and I determined must have been a standard-issue wedding gift from the 60′s and 70′s), and cabbage & broccoli coleslaw.

Then, it was Uno-rama. It was Uno-ville, population: Mike, N8, K8t, & Rissa. And because it was four competitive, Type-A personality law students playing, there was no mercy among friends. It was brutal. It was a bloodbath. It was filled with us calling Mike “Ficus,” as we’d done about 1,000 times before, but with him noticing it for the very first time. It was filled with Katie thinking that Mike wanted Nathan to imitate Milton, the 18th Century poet, when Mike really wanted N8 to imitate Milton from the movie Office Space. It was filled with Mike and K8t once again debating whether your toenails must be sacrificed (i.e., lost) in order to be a hobby-ish snowboarder, and K8t finally settling the debate by calling her brother, right then and there. Who was about to enter a poker tournament. (Good luck, by the way, Mr. Peterson.) It was filled with references to movies, including Legally Blonde, The Breakfast Club, Office Space, Fame (including a jazz-hands rendition of the chorus from the movie’s theme song, courtesy of Rissa & K8t), and West Side Story. And Michael Jackson music videos. And secretaries and space heaters. (Don’t ask.) (Well, do, but I’m sure it won’t be as funny to you as it was to us, both times we heard the story.)

I won the first two hands of the Brutal Uno, which gave me leave to sip strawberry wine while the other three played, and to laugh at the harsh accusations being launched amongst the three remaining players: “You’re an ass!” “Oh yeah? Beee-yotch!” “Oh, dammit! Oh, wait, is that my turn or yours?” “Yes! I caught you! You didn’t say ‘Uno!’” “Um, yeah, I didn’t say Uno, but that’s because it wasn’t my turn…” “Mike, that’s not a six, that’s a nine.” “N8, that’s a reverse card, not a draw two.” “Mike, how can you have half the deck in your hand and still have neither a blue nor a five?!”

Then it was dessert time: french silk pie, fudgie gooey brownies, and pumpkin creme cake with french vanilla topping.

More drinks.

Some impromptu karaoke to a variety of tunes, courtesy of iPod, including Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell, Aqua’s Barbie Girl, Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart, The Turtles’ So Happy Together, and, yes, some Neil Diamond. Mike fleeing the living room as Rissa & K8t got a little too excited about channeling the spirit of Ms. Bonnie Tyler.

More drinks.

Another round of Uno, dominated by the lovely Ms. Peterson, who got to take a victory seat in the Red Recliner whilst N8, Mike “Ficus” and I battled it out for second place. And second? Went to Ficus himself. Well-played, my friends, well-played.

I know others love them some Northside, and Bin Willy’s, and BW3s, but me? I’ll take mojitos and strawberry girlie wine and Mike’s choice of white wine with homemade dinners and several rounds of buzzy cardgames anyday.

And I’ll take these three friends any day too. Because honestly? My law school days without The Mikeus “Ficus,” Katie “Ms. K8t-P,” and N8 would be a vastly different story, and one devoid of many precious and memorable laughs. I haven’t had so much fun in one evening in a very long time.

Thanks, Mr. Ruff… Ms. Peterson… Mr. Winger. Ya’ll rock. But you know I let you win that last round of Uno. (Oh, that’s right! She went there! Rematch ON!)