Graduation Party

Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the only known site on the Internet devoted to all things related to Un. Just in case you don't know, this site is all about me, my so-called life, and all the little things that I find interesting. If this is not your particular cup of tea, Google can help give you some other sites to look at. And so, something that you've been waiting for. It's an update to this site, but in a slightly different format than normal. OK, you might not know the difference, but I know the difference at least. Either way, I hope you enjoy this post.


And I'll be back 'round again
Yes I'll walk in time with you old friend
And we'll find that place
That we had danced in so long ago
--"The Song That Jane Likes," Dave Matthews Band

Recently, I wrote about how I attended a law school pary hosted by one of my friends from law school, but failed to mention what happened at said party. I've had several opportunities to write about this experience, but I have failed to write about this event. It's not that I am lazy (well, maybe I am). It's not that I have some qualms about writing about the drunken antics of fellow law school students (as Gray Hall proves otherwise). I guess that I've just ignored it for other things to write about. This is one of the few law school social events that I have attended on a consistent basis. The other event that I have attended consistenly is Pub Night. As you may have guessed, I am not much of a social person. Maybe I should rephrase that to say "I don't attend many social events." I have issues when it comes to social interaction and so I try to be selective when it comes to social events. When I do attend a social event, I tend to have fun.
Again, I digress. I digress a lot with these posts and I tend to go on tangents. You probably don't want to read more about my problems, so I will continue with the point of this post.


So why would you care
To get out of this place
You and me and all our friends
Such a happy human race
Eat, drink and be merry
For tomorrow we die
--"Tripping Billies", Dave Matthews Band

For those who do not have experience about law school and law school students, the traditional law school social event, whether hosted by the school or students, is fueled by one thing: large amounts of alcohol. This liquid is the magic elixir that makes law school social events what they are. It's the glue that binds law school faculty, students, and alumni. For some reason, alcohol and lawyers go well with each other. Then again, it's not all that surprising as law school can be a stressful and painful experience. Drinking alcohol is an effective way to release steam.
At your officially sactioned school event, one with distinguished alumni attending, behavior is generally clamped to keep a level of acceptable behavior. One does not want a drunk person doing stupid things. There is a lot at stake, like a big donation. And it doesn't look too good if your students have a reputation for being drunken morons. And having a reputation for being the drunken idiot can screw employment opportunities.
At your student hosted event however, nearly anything goes. Typically, the traditional law school student party has three essential elements--loud music, cheap food, and lots of alcohol. The alcohol is beer in a keg, and in large amounts, as many kegs as one can afford. Beer is essential. One cannot play drinking games like beer pong. One cannot get drunk without drinking large amounts of beer as beer leads to whiskey and tequila shots. One cannot have the necessary frat-like atmosphere without beer. In essence, without beer, nothing is possible.
And this year, the end of the year finale hosted by my law school friend, it was just like every other year. Lots of loud music. Copious streams of beer flowing freely from kegs. Large groups of people playing raucous games of beer pong. In general, law school students getting drunk. And not on their best behavior.


...this man drinks, that man drinks
a hundred drink, a thousand drink.
Six hundred pennies would hardly
suffice, if everyone
drinks immoderately and immeasurably.
"In Taberna Quando Sumus (When We Are in the Tavern)," Carmina Burana

As the designated photographer (as I was the only person there who could operate the camera due to being sober), I took pictures of the event. I managed to take lots of pictures of people. Many of them were drinking beer. Many of them were doing drunken antics. Law school students never fail to disappoint, especially when they are going to graduate on Sunday. The last hurrah (at least until the parties on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) before the real world.
I count the Kansas Law Student (KLS) as a friend. He was in my small section during the first year and we somehow managed to have at least one class together during every semester. KLS has many wise nuggets on drunken behavior and this is just one fine nugget: "You can always tell when a person is getting drunk. Things get worse and worse as time goes on." He managed to say this coherently, without slurring, while holding a Dixie cup full of beer. And this is after drinking for several hours.
Things did start out fine and then events got progressively worse, a whole lot worse. These moments were very entertaining. The pictures captured many priceless moments (many of them would qualify for Facebook/Myspace photos you should not post lest you wanted to lose your job). Here are some of the moments that I captured on film, but described in words.
*There was a girl who worked in the district attorney's office. One of the more common cases that gets prosecuted in that county is drunk driving. Well, let's just say that I got a few pictures of here making an attempt to drive a car while plastered on beer. Not a car for adults, but a Barbie Jeep.
*I got pictures of another person trying to operate that same Barbie Jeep. This time, it was a guy, but he was trying to drive it in reverse. I'm not exactly sure what is the attraction with drunk people and toy cars, but this was a common occurence that night.
*How about a drunken toast with Midori Melon, the green alcohol flavored like something other than melon and an integral part of a large number of cocktails? I got a lot of pictures of drunk people making toasts. Most of them made funny faces, so the pictures are kind of funny.
*Posing for pictures is a common occurence when a person has a camera. Under normal circumstances, this is much welcomed unless one acts like a moron. It's not a good idea, however, if you are drunk. Kind of hard to keep balance if you are trying to ride piggyback on a person and that person is drunk as well. After I took the picture, one of the people asked me if she was "showing lots of cleavage." She was, so she noted that "her boobs were spilling out."
*I didn't get any pictures of drunk females kissing each other. For some reason, this behavior happens in other places, but not at the normal law school party. If this behavior does happen, I'm going to the wrong parties. I digress. I did, however, get a picture of a guy kissing another guy. Which was pretty funny. The look on the guy's face getting kissed was classic, though not as cool as it would have been if it were girl-on-girl action. I digress again.
Sadly to say, it was time to leave. I had enough sensory stimulation for one day. I had enough loud music. Enough human interaction. Enough conversation with drunk people. I can only take so much sensory stimulation before it gets to be too much. It's probably just me I guess.
And so, that was what happened at my friend's graduation party. There was lots of loud music. There was lots of beer flowing freely. There was lots of freinds and lots of memories made. I kind of wish that it didn't have to end, but as with many things in life, all things must end.

That's all for now.