Easter 2010

April 4, 2010

I woke up so refreshed the Sunday after my brothers left, I forgot where I was. I nearly rolled off the air mattress. Being rested felt great, mostly because I was worried about going back to work more drained than I had been when I left. Somehow a night on an air mattress in Burbank refreshed me. I chatted with Jesse (who was at work) and I was ready to hunt for eggs.

I had no idea what to expect at an adult Easter Egg Hunt. I knew anything involving this group would be intricate and well planned. But knowing and experiencing are remarkably different. The event started with a fruit / bagel / scone / coffee / mimosa brunch. (As a sign of the aforementioned intricacy) Jesus Christ Superstar played in the background while we chatted and talked about hunts past.

I like this group. We weren't all friends in college, but I started seeing them fairly regularly when Jesse & I began visiting Tab & Mike in LA. In my mind, they throw themed parties for each other all the time, because I'm typically only down there for those events. Easter was a fluke. And while I had planned to get right on the road back home, I figured this was not an opportunity I wanted to miss. I was right.

The hosts (Ty & Ken) reading the rules.

The prize.

We were competing in pairs. I was with Julie, who I did know in school. Each team posed for a before picture. I tried to invoke my stiff--backed, competitive look. Turns out, I don't have one and I look weird when I try. Only one of us could search at a time, and we had to bring the egg back to our base before we opened it. There were 70+ eggs, most worth one point. Some had candy, some had clues and some had challenges. Example: Tab earned 5 points for drinking an entire mini bottle of Malibu Rum.

One of the challenges was "name that movie playing on TV." They read the TiVo description and we had to guess the movie. As you can see, I was poised for thought. It didn't help. I was outmatched on all fronts. I don't a lot of movies on TV. And if there's one thing this group knows, it's movies. I kept thinking I was going to get one right and I never did. The winner gained access to the garage, where a plethora of eggs had been stashed.

Inside the bags of the "name that movie playing on TV" game winners.

Searching.

Another challenge: Chubby Bunny. I had never played it and could barely wrap my brain around it. We had to stuff our mouths with marshmallows and say "chubby bunny." It only sounds disgusting because it is. I strongly dislike marshmallows. But Julie is vegan, so that trumped my dislike. I stepped up to the plate and stuffed.

Questioning the decisions in life that had brought me to this particular point.

I didn't do too bad for a first timer. I came in second. There were no points awarded for second place. There was however a communal marshmallow disposal bag. If the chewy globs themselves weren't enough to induce gagging, the contents of the bag were. The same couple who dominated "name that movie playing on TV" also won Chubby Bunny. There was little contest from there.

Eventually we realized there was just one egg left. Unless it had 40 points, Julie & I were not going to win. So we kind of sat and watched the group search. Once the game was officially over, everyone got to sit, nibble on candy and enjoy a warm afternoon in Southern California. I had to hit the road, promising to crash their next party. I had a great time.

The drive back was mostly painless. I did a lot of car signing. I hit rain about an hour before home, which slowed me down. But I got a good parking spot and was home at a decent enough hour to see Jesse. Success.