Of Nectar and Ambroisa

I'm tired. This is actually the first time in 3 days that Jude and I have had any time to ourselves. It's been nothing but a whirlwind of activities since Wednesday night as we saw the marking of several momentous events- a friend turned 30, Jude graduated, and I had my first hangover headache. Graduation weekend is just one long excuse to indulge in everything conceivable you would otherwise not do on any regular basis- spend more than US$70 on a meal, drink any more alcohol than is contained in a light beer or sparkling wine, play poker two days in a row (this of course applies to some people more than others...), and for Jude, putting on a suit (my husband's more a blazer and jeans kinda guy). We also took more photos than we ever have over a 3-day period (115 to be exact- talk about chronicling an event. Our newly-charged camera battery actually gave up on us some time Saturday evening.) So, the festivities:

Wednesday
Had sangria party at our house to mark the end of finals and also to semi-celebrate Yong's birthday. He was not a happy man turning 30 although I hope the copious amounts of dessert (and chips & dip) and Serene's home brew sangria (with 3 oranges and a pound of strawberries thrown in for good measure) managed so salve the aching wound a little. Just a little.

Thursday
In end-of-semester revelry, heedlessly downed a quart of sangria at Dominick's (with Jude, not by myself- thank god...) Note to self: NEVER do that again. Must remember that sangria at Dominick's is actually everclear and grapejuice unsuccessfully masquerading as Spanish red wine beverage. Better off making it at home. Had a warning of a headache when leaving Dominick's but believed that it could be alleviated by a shot of coffee. Bad idea. Ajourned to Good Night Gracie's to celebrate Yong's birthday even more. Shared a peach-flavored champagne with Jude. Felt creeping sense of light-headednesss, and weightlessness... In-house band played Marvin Gaye- inexplicably inspired to ask Jude to dance, but decided against it. Thirsty. Had a Diet Coke. Realized that by this time, my body has had at least two portions of alcohol and caffeine each. My mind giving me happy signals, but my body was dead tired.

Friday
Graduation Day. Woke up with a pounding headache (think two elephants playing soccer with a watermelon between my ears) but couldn't sleep in because had appointment with Aveda for haircut. Decided to get bangs. Jude got a trim too. Definitely not feeling well. Managed to make it through the afternoon with soup for lunch (don't think we could have held anything else down) and lots of water. Dressed up for the ceremony. My husband looked very spiffy in the only suit he owns. I wore a Banana Republic dress I got at 90% off. Was more pleased at the good deal than at how I looked in it. Jude's popping Tylenol and I was drowning myself in H2O. Vividly reminded again how alcohol and caffeine make terrible bedfellows in my system.

The ceremony was ok. Had more fun taking pictures and meeting parents' who travelled from as far as Taiwan and Spain to see their children graduate. Played "Match-the-Parents-to-the-Child". Not too difficult. Some people bear uncanny resemblance to their parents. Now we know who never got lost at the mall...

Stan and Susan visiting from Boston and staying with us. Our favorite couch (actually our only couch) comes to use. And a sleeping bag.

Had dinner reservations at Eve's. For reasons I shall not belabor, got first round of drinks on the house. Everyone got champagne of course. Yummy, but clearly not good for my headache nor Jude's increasing temperature. Nonetheless, had great time. Wow food and drop-dead-wonderful-out-of-this-world-how-did-they-do-that dessert. I am not kidding. Triple Chocolate Pot with Burnt Sugar Whipped Cream. Calories what? Fat? Huh? Decided that we have found our favorite restaurant in this town.

People wanted to party some more but we went home. In bed by midnight. Me nursing headache, Jude profusely sweating his fever off. Serene, do not co-consume bad sangria from Dominick's and caffeine. Remember.

Saturday
Woke up feeling way better. So did Jude. Enough to do some shopping after pleasant lunch at Pacific Rim with his advisor. Thanks Mick. Interesting fusion food. Had crab cakes with lemongrass sauce plus taro chips.

Rushed home to make Mac 'n Cheese for Zahra's party. Please people, none of that Agent Orange Kraft things. We're talking spicy Mac 'n Cheese from scratch thank you very much. The party was a blast- grilled flank steak, portebello mushrooms, great side dishes, wonderful company, and thankfully, got to the watermelon punch before a certain Russian emigre spiked it with more vodka :) These Central Asians and their potato alcohol... Mac n' Cheese reported to be a tad too spicy for the Midwesterners and Californians in attendance, but nonetheless, still a hit thanks to the characteristically Ann Arbor chill this time of year.

More partying at Abbey's place after. Had raspberry beer for the first time. Reminded each other that still trying to purge alcohol from system. Went easy on the beer. Abbey's leaving for NPR in D.C. Neat. Trying to surreptiously plant our friends in various parts of the country so we can save on lodging when we travel. Let's see, so far, got Boston, San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Diego, D.C., Rochester and Austin covered. C'mon guys, get it moving...

Even more partying at Dave and Jen's. Poker. I don't play and Jude just dabbles for fun. I'm there for the cable TV. Got White Castle burgers for everyone. 18 burgers for just slightly less than $10. Grease bombs really but strangely comforting at 11.30pm. Lucid enough to cheer when Jude won $1.50. Next thing I know, they woke me up and it's 3.15 in the morning. Didn't get to bed till 4.30.

Sunday
Up at 10.45 but still sleepy and blurry-eyed. Only perked up with shot of coffee. Second note to self: need to start weaning myself off this thing. Revoke second note to self: who am I kidding? Got ready for SIGN picnic/BBQ. Our contribution: Lemon Honey Mustard Chicken. Had been marinating for at least 30 hours. Should be good. It was, if not somewhat slow to cook. Say like 2 hours. Was too windy to get good fire going. But everyone brought really good stuff so well worth wait. Even had grilled pineapples and plaintains with honey and brown sugar. Mmmm... inspired. Came home, took a warm shower, and breathed normally again.

I think we're going to just not eat till Wednesday, and not drink till our next graduation. My body is still in some kind of post-hangover shock. I'm going to treat it well for the next couple of days before it receives another arrest- 3 weeks of non-stop eating back in Singapore.

And that, well, is another post...