“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”
― Jane Austen

This last weekend was packed full of good times as I hosted the first “Friendsgiving” day party/get-together at my house, on Friday. It actually turned out to be a great experience, with more than enough food to go around. Due to our hectic schedules we had planned to meet at my house around 730 for dinner, then end a bit early (11pm) due to the fact that a couple of friends had work the following morning. Interestingly enough, we didn’t want to start until everyone showed up, and despite receiving the “go ahead” we waited until around 930-10 when everyone that was coming, arrived.

I find it funny how our Thanksgiving dinner conversations led us to discuss some of the world’s worst people in history. This list included Christopher Colombus, Stalin, Hitler, and Vlad Dracula (just to name a few) and the cusp of their insidious crimes. Before we could delve into more gorey details, a few friends had to take off close to midnight; however, five of us stayed up until almost 6, the following morning. Jomi and I actually got into some grappling towards the end of the night. Andrew helped to prevent us from breaking various things around my house as he moved the couches, ottomans, and other sharp fixtures as we rolled around. In the end, Jomi managed to get me to tap out as he got me into a manipulation similar to a blood choke. I couldn’t stand by and lose, however, so we went at it again and we’re now at 1 to 1. After our sessions I came to realize how much I really miss grappling and sparring. Maybe I should look into MMA classes for fun. Then again…

Anyway, it wasn’t long until we all showed signs of drowsiness and called it a night. Andrew and Brittany spent the night at my house, and we got about six solid hours of sleep before I woke up to clean up after the previous night’s shenanigans. The following morning, Andrew, Brittany and I had leftovers for breakfast then proceeded to watch a movie until the mid-afternoon. After they had to leave to help Andrew’s brother move into his new apartment, I prepared the house for my sister (Kara) and her friends, as they were coming down from Seattle to spend the night at the house.

Overall, it was a fairly busy weekend of entertaining, but it was definitely a nice and memorable one. Our next get together will (hopefully) be a game night/potluck in a couple of weeks, followed by our 3rd annual Secret Santa gift exchange next month. It feels good to have such great/amazing people in my life; And it’s even ‘greater’ knowing that I’m privileged enough to call them my friends.