for he’s a jolly good fellow

08May08

I’ve only been truly surprised on my birthday once. It was two years ago, when I turned 39, and Chad was the mastermind. You might have read about it here, or heard about it. Maybe you were there. You might have looked at photos and got all the dirt here.

We were in Hawai’i and, man, it was solid good times.

On Tuesday, it was Chad’s turn to be surprised. He turned 39 that day, and his wifey-to-be Nikole organized a secret party for him. Everyone was supposed to be at the Viceroy by 7:30, to shock the hell out of our dude for his birthday. The bar was closed to the public, Nikole put together a menu of Chad’s favorite food offerings from Twist, and I procured cupcakes from Trophy.

The joint was packed when I arrived, ten minutes before the birthday boy was set to show up. It is always so nice to be in a room full of friends, especially the friends we have. Smart, charming, easy on the eyes, hilarious, and engaging. There is no way you can’t feel blessed.

There were mini roast beef sammies, lobster macaroni and cheese, and crazy little snacks like jalapeno wontons. Champagne on ice, and cupcakes that tasted like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Nikole even put together a drink special — The Chadillac, which was a shot of Jack and a bottle of Budweiser.

Earlier in the day, I helped with the fake out. Chad seriously did not have a clue, and the look on his face when he walked through the door was priceless. It is startling to have a room full of friends yell SURPRISE, especially if you think you are walking in to a quiet bar for an early evening drink. Dude was sweating like a motherfucker, and can you blame him?

J. Moore, aka Jonny Merlot, spun the cuts while folks made merry. All sorts of fun times to be had and there was no shortage of laughter throughout the night. At one point, my face hurt from smiling and busting up so much.

It was pretty much the jump off for the late spring/summer party season. Neumo’s crew was in the house.

AEG up in it.

Audrey flew up from San Francisco, and her mom was there, too.

Gloria brought the G-had.

It was the first time I’ve seen Kerensa since she announced her pregnancy. She and Jason will be bringing a little boy into the world this September, and she absolutely radiates happiness. John Roderick was in good form, too.

Nikole was the hostess with the mostest, and look at those crazy cute glasses on Joan.

As is always the case for May birthdays, we were missing folks on tour. I can’t even remember the last time Gabe was in town for my birthday, and Dann is also out on the road with MIA. Derek and the Cave Singers are still touring, and the Death Cab boys are also on the highways and byways of America.

But, Spencer was there.

And so was the always lovely Zollo.

Tilson was in the house, repping the Saturday Knights. Do you have their new record yet? Get it. It is awesome, and Chad’s favorite new release for good reason.

Lajeunesse took most of these pictures, and he did a good job. It’s fun times to pass the camera to someone else for the night.

Although, there sure were a lot of boobie shots when I downloaded the photos.

And lots of pictures of pretty girls.

Jason went big with this one: pretty girl AND boobies.

More pretty girls.

And, more boobies. At least he got my good side.

Oh, Lajeunesse, you dirty devil. That’s why we call you The Juice.

We had one more night of fun with Russell, before he headed back to LA. Amy left on Monday, after we had a nice time out on the island. Russ blew everyone’s mind by taking a birthday swim on Sunday, in the frigid waters of Puget Sound. It was incredible. I’m sorry Marcus was out of town, and missed it.

Corey’s birthday is this month, too. I think it’s right around mine. I can’t believe how many friends I have with birthdays in May. Quentin’s was yesterday, Greg’s is on Sunday. Pirone turns 40 this month, and Zollo was born two days after me. Lily will be 10 on Tuesday, Kurt hits 41 at the end of the month, and Pheed shares May 20 with me.

That’s not even half of the list for May. Seriously.

A bunch of us ended up at China Gate around midnight, where the birthday boy sang karaoke and Marcus charmed the bar staff. It was a great night, and a good start to Chad’s new year.

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Tags: birthday, chad, good times