"OH-SIX!" Not sure I heard that enough last Thursday night. Who am I kidding? The Lush is one of the most enthusiastic OH-SIX-ers out there. And let me tell you, them seniors sure can get down.
First things first: this may not be a popular sentiment at this time of year, but the Lush is not particularly festive when it comes to costumes. I do have a healthy appreciation for Halloween, but that appreciation stems from my love for sugar, not that whole costume thing.
Lame, I know. With last Thursday's Senior Pub Night approaching, I found myself cursing the Senior Class Council for making it a costumed event - I wasn't particularly keen on wandering the Boylston Alley in a hula outfit.
Pretty much everyone I know called me out on my lameness as the night got closer, so I was forced to dress up. Yours truly made a damn fine sheriff if you ask me. Why a sheriff? Well, my roommates/partners-in-crime and I had a stop to make before we made it to the Big Easy. You see, I was the only one in the house who had not yet ridden the mechanical bull at the Liquor Store (conveniently located across the street from the Big Easy) and my roommates insisted that I remedy that situation.
The Lush is not one to turn down a challenge, but she's also not one to make an ass of herself by going to a bar clad in country-western getup and riding a mechanical bull while sober, so pregaming was certainly in order.
We met up with a gaggle of our fellow seniors over on Ossipee for some flip cup. By the time the busses started leaving from the campus center, we were good to go. A not-so-quick stop at the ATM held us up for a bit, but on the bright side, we found Waldo - or at least some kid dressed like him.
The bus was all abuzz with excitement and song, our repertoire ranging from "Sweet Caroline" to the familiar refrain of "T-U-F-T-S, T-U-F-T-S." The ride grew longer, and the anticipation was rising. Would we all look stupid getting off a school bus in costume in downtown Boston? Would the Lush last a respectable amount of time on the bull? Who broke my sheriff badge?
We finally pulled up and got off the bus with a quick "Sorry our class is so obnoxious" to the bus driver. We ran past the Big Easy, down the Alley and looked up only to find that the "bull bar" was closed indefinitely!
Our spirits deflated, we got in line for the ID check. Luckily, it went about 800 times faster than last month at the Hong Kong. Since the bar was pretty much empty at this point, we knew only one thing could cure our no-bull sorrows: shots, of course.
The shots definitely helped, but the price tag sure as hell didn't. They were good shots, but not six-bucks-good. The good news for the Lush, however, was that after shelling out the big bucks for the first round, my friends owed me and I was paid back in alcohol for the rest of the night.
The shots kicked in and more seniors began to arrive. We began to forget about the bull and embrace the idea of a bar crammed with the Class of 2006. What could be better than three hours spent bumping into kids you haven't seen since freshman orientation? Turns out, very little.
This senior pub night was far superior to the previous one. The bar was much bigger, and they were able to accommodate twice as many people, which, to my mind, is what pub night should be all about - getting as many wasted seniors in one place as possible (because there is almost nothing funnier than watching people forced to talk to people they hooked up with freshman year and never spoke to again).
Even though someone stole my gun and my cowboy hat got stepped on, I was very thankful that I was convinced to dress up. Turns out seniors are seriously into Halloween. We had girl scouts, Scooby Doo, a whole bunch of Mexicans, various athletes and, of course, any number of variations on the old Slutty fill-in-the-blank - way to go ladies of '06. Special mention goes to Mr. David Menis, who I promised a shout-out to for donning a suit and portraying "Himself in a Year," even though it made the Lush realize that a year from now she will probably be standing in the unemployment line. To anyone else I "promised" a shout out to: Never trust a drunken promise.
All things considered, and despite the ridiculous drink prices, this Pub Night was much better than the first. The DJ was better and everyone danced the night away - I even saw a couple of people dance their way right off the stage. The large amount of making out going on also clearly proved that, a) senior year is not too late to make new friends, and b) the '06 Jumbos have a lot of love to give.
As things wound down, we tracked down any friends who had wandered astray and followed the trail of lost costume parts to the waiting busses. Despite a few attempts at starting chants of the ever-popular "OH-SIX!", the ride was fairly subdued. My fellow seniors and I had grown sleepy.
I confess I had little interest in attending my 9:30 a.m. class (or my 10:30 a.m. one for that matter), but the Lush is a class act. I made it to both... and so did my large water bottle and a handful of Ibuprofen.
Jillian Harrison is double majoring in history and archaeology. She can be reached via e-mail at Jillian.Harrison@tufts.edu, just not on Friday, Saturday and Tuesday nights.
