Cinco de Break-o

The streak of bad luck struck again. The date was Friday, May 5. The time was 1:30pm, and the temperature was approximately 229 degrees outside. Kelly (future roommate) and I were in the process of planning a kick-ass Cinco de Mayo fiesta, to be held at my place that evening. We had just purchased a dining room table and chairs, and lugged them up to my 3rd-floor apartment. I pulled the box open to start assembling it, and the sweat on my brow prompted me to flip the switch for the air conditioning.... but nothing happened. Not so much as a puff of air escaped from the vents. Just an unusual and discouraging hum from the a/c unit.

It turns out the motor had died. I performed a brief funeral service in my head, followed by a prayer that it could be fixed in time for the party. Two hours later, Marlon the wonderful maintenance guy had searched every vacant apartment on the property for a motor that would fit. No luck. They couldn't get a new one till Monday. The temperature in my apartment was hovering around 85. Kelly and I ran to the store to get some avocadoes (what's a fiesta without fresh guacamole?) and started racking our brains for a solution.

Suddenly my cell phone rang. Apparently the apartment complex is required by law to furnish their hot Texas residents with access to air conditioning. They were going to give me the fully furnished, largest floorplan model apartment - free electricity, air conditioning, long-distance calling, and cable TV all weekend! The best part - they said they trusted me and wanted me to feel at home, so they encouraged me to go on with the party (I've gotten to know these people pretty well since the roommate fiasco). Twenty-five phone calls later, we had informed everyone of the new location and started shuttling salsa and tortilla chips across the courtyard.

Strangely, there was a wedding dress in a garment bag in the master bedroom closet (which was comparable in size to my freshman-year dorm room). Even more strangely, we were able to convince two of the guys at the party to model it for us. (See Eric with wife Jamie at left, Dan on the right.) I just wish I had pictures of the enema enactment from senior year so I could conduct a "which is more entertaining?" poll. There was also quite a spread of alcohol, and my homemade guac and baked tortilla chips were a hit!

Moral: Forget Cinco de Break-o. There's always a bright side, and good things (sometimes in the form of a new party venue) happen to good people. Better make that Cinco de Drink-o.

Olé! (And whatever the Spanish word for "success!" is.)