Saints Alive!

I haven’t been able to blog as often as I’d liked in the past several weeks. This is in part due to my having computer issues. But, I think I’ll save my rant for the next entry since I’d like to write about something fun before delving into a negative spiral. ;P Anyway, this past Saturday, I attended my first All Saints Day party. Guests were invited to come dressed as their favorite saints. We were informed that past favorites included The St. Petersburg Times and Mt. St. Helens.

Being a literature geek, I wrote in my evite response: Not that he's my favorite saint, but does St. John Rivers count, even though it's pronounced "sinjin"? ;P (For non-literary-types, St. John Rivers is a character in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.) When the day came, however, I was uninspired and didn’t have enough time. So, I showed up in a black sweater and blue jeans. Little did I know that my simple attire would soon become 2 costumes in one!

St. Bernard greeted me at the door. He was dressed both as the monk and the dog! He was sporting a monk’s robe, a crucifix, and a mini keg. (Yes, the mini keg was fastened around his neck.) The host, my friend Sergimus, was dressed as the US Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John). I immediately asked, “Ooh, can I be a British Virgin Island?” Turns out the BVIs are not named after saints, but we came up with another Caribbean island for me to be. A few minutes later, I had cut a rudimentary shape out of printer paper, labeled it “St. Kitts,” and taped it to my sweater. (I was later told that my St. Kitts island looked like a cross between a fish and a drumstick.) The Caribbean certainly had a strong showing at the party. Another girl was dressed as St. Barth!

Shortly thereafter, KPGirl and Proof Daddy arrived. They were both wearing black turtlenecks and blue jeans. Proof Daddy said he was Val Kilmer from The Saint, and KPGirl was his understudy. I remarked that I could be the understudy’s understudy. (Not quite as inspired or funny as St. Bernard, but at least I was somewhat saintly.) Other saints at the party included Joan of Arc (who sported an awesome sword), the St. Pauli Girl, a New Orleans Saint, and (my personal favorites) the Monopoly properties of St. Charles Place and St. James Place.

It was a fun and relaxing party, with good company and good food. (The hosts made an amazing array of Chicago Deep Dish pizza.) Amidst the chatting and eating, we played a game of Wii bowling, and I inexplicably got an all-time high score of 216. I must’ve gotten something like 7 strikes and even started the game with a turkey! It was rather baffling. Then came karaoke, the highlight of which was the men’s rousing rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” We even screened a 10-minute film written, directed, and produced by several party attendees. All in all, it was a rollicking good time. :)