Hey there! This is a humble attempt to welcome you into the breezy, boozy world of Kate as 2008's Traveling Lush!
Learn as she taste-tests cheap wines based on the kitschiness of their names and flashiness of their labels! Laugh as she gets dressed up for Gypsy Bar and ends up at Uno's (again)! Love and share her joy for flaming drinks!
Nights out may include The Thirsty Scholar (because we all like books AND booze), The Sunset Cantina in Allston and hotel crashing at the Charlesmark. Your Lush is always open to suggestions, especially if you want to share a cab home.
The Lush's Saturday Night Checklist:
1. Fettuccine with vodka sauce and wine from Dave's Fresh Pasta at home. 2. Pre-party gathering at friend's apartment en route to Winter Bash. 3. Winter Bash and Tufts pub, complete with free cheese and guacamole-like substance, in Gantcher.
I have to admit that last part isn't my first choice. With the re-opening of Hotung, there's been talk of rejuvenating the Tufts social scene, and I'm all for it - especially with the on-campus dances, which have been always been hit-or-miss for me. I never know if the music will be good, but I can always expect to wait outside in the cold for too long, to have my coat thrown on the floor, and to have my face elbowed in the line at the ladies' room.
But as for this past Saturday, I can't pretend I didn't have a good Winter Bash. And the total cost of my night was the best part: about $10 splitting dinner for two (with cheaper wine I probably could have saved more, but Dave's tempted me with an organic Chianti), and $8 spent on Heineken at Club Gantcher. Less than 20 bucks kept me entertained for over seven hours - I was a happy camper.
Especially because there was an indoor tent set up to keep the 21-and-over crowd corralled and off the dance floor. I was reminded of that scene in E.T. where the evil government health agents turn Eliot's house into a bright white laboratory. Granted, we had little plastic fences instead of giant plastic sheeting, and could come and go as we pleased. Come to think of it, maybe it was just the fire extinguisher that someone accidentally set off that gave the pub a vaguely eerie feel.
Barring the impromptu fog machine, the pub section was still my favorite part (surprise, surprise). It was never too crowded, and it was a nice respite from the special brand of thrashing dancer who has two flailing dance moves, both of which entail stepping on me. And I got a real kick out of the bartender who showed me the best piece of jewelry I never had: a bottle opener worn as a ring.
The dance floor was constantly moving, and the music was decent though sometimes underwhelming. I noticed students were distracted by the odd setup surrounding the DJs, whose giant stage seemed out of proportion to the size of the event, but it wasn't as distracting as the gated section surrounding the back of the platform.
Students kept peering past the fences, taking guesses as to its function. Was it the VIP section? Was Bacow entertaining Peter Gallagher back there? Did they have real guacamole?
The night did manage to revive my hope for Tufts' social scene. A full bar would have been lovely, and I do hope the ladies' room crowd control attendants were sufficiently reimbursed for their efforts. And my last thought as I fell asleep in my dress watching MythBusters was definitely a happy thought for future nights in Medford: "I gotta get myself one of those rings."
Kate Peck is a senior majoring in English. She can be reached at Katherine.Peck@tufts.edu.
