Sunday, June 10, 2007

So Cal Post 4: The Highlander Reunion & Gay Karaoke (Mon. June 4th, 2007)

Monday night after working at Google, I headed over to lovely Riverside, CA for the annual banquet for the UC Riverside Highlander. After possibly the worst traffic I've experienced in some time, I finally made it to the Mission Inn in Downtown Riverside around 7:15pm. The Mission Inn is by far one of the coolest landmarks in Southern California.

I parked on the street and walked up to the hotel. In typical fashion, there was brand new Lamborghini parked outside. I made my way to the Spanish Art Gallery room only to find not one single person I know. I called James in a panic and found out that James, Brian, Milt & Steve were at the Bar. I met up with those guys. I haven't seen some of them in years... so It was pretty damn fantastic... just like old times.

We eventually made our way to the banquet in the Spanish Art Gallery. I saw more familiar faces like Joe, Danielle, Mrs. B., Zuhair, Chapman, etc. However, it made me miss all of my old co-workers who couldn't make it.

After drinking alcoholic drinks, long conversations, picture taking, grubbing, laughing, trash talking and the awards ceremony, the banquet had ended.

What is a post-college student to do? Fear not! Karaoke at a Gay Bar to the rescue! We headed on over to The Menagerie, one of a whopping 2 gays bars in Riverside. That's not bad, considering how conservative the city is in general.

We sang a mix between 80's songs and boy/girl band pop. James got into the Karaoke a lot. He kicked off the night by singing a drunken version of 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' by Bonnie Tyler. Make sure to check out the karaoke video on YouTube! We sang a group version of 'Come Sail Away' by Styx. Lastly, Chapman and I butchered a Spice Girls song.

We parted ways after Karaoke. I however, got a little reminiscent about Riverside. So I decided to drive random places around the city. Mainly spots around the University, Downtown and Riverside Plaza. I'm still amazed at how quickly things change for the better in Riverside.

Highlander Banquet & Reunion - June 4, 2007

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