Wardall 7 college reunion

“The Launch.” “Back That Ass Up.” “The Thong Song.”

Any of those sound familiar? Did your brain just take you back to 2001?

Mine has certainly been there for the past few weeks as my friends from college and I have been emailing suggestions for a 1999-2003 playlist. I cringe to say this, but we are coming up on our 10^th anniversary of graduating from the University of Illinois, and we’re renting a big ass house in Lake Geneva, Wis., to commemorate the occasion.

And by commemorate I mean drink our brains out and listen to songs that make us feel like we are 21 again.

The seven of us—me, Alyssa, Amy, Khush, Neha, Meghan and Sarah—met the first few weeks of our freshman year in the dorms and have stayed besties ever since. It’s pretty remarkable when you think about it. There are a lot of people who lose touch with their friends from college or only see them once or twice a year.

Ignore my pit stains here (it was 100 degrees in St. Louis that day!) This is one of the only pics of the seven of us I could find on my Facebook. 

But despite some of us living in different cities at different points, we’ve all managed to stay close and we make a concerted effort to hang out or visit each other whenever we can. We’ve been together through many (many, many, many) drunken nights, soulmates, smooches, breakups, fights, marriages and lots of beer.

Here's another, but Khush's random friends are included. 

I can wholeheartedly say, and this is no disrespect to any of my other friends, that I have more fun with this group than with anybody else. I’m proud to say I am friends with some of the smartest women I’ve ever met, who can dominate a great conversation while chugging a beer, shooting tequila or dancing their ass off.

It’s funny to think about how much we have all changed since we met and how much we’ve all stayed the same. It’s also interesting to look back and remember my first impressions of the Wardall 7 crew.

Khush: Khushboo, if you’re nasty. I met Khush my first week at U of I when we both had computer problems and complained to our RA at the same time. We headed down to the computer lab together and have been friends ever since. She was the baby of the group then and is still our little baby! But, she’s a little baby who analyzes drugs for the Las Vegas Police Department. She’s our CSI baby!

On Khuh's turf in Vegas. 

And Khush was rooming with …

Alyssa: Or, as her friends know her, Al. Al knew a bunch of people from high school who were at U of I, so we didn’t hang out with her too much in the beginning. We thought she was a big-time party girl. Which, we were right. And she still is. She can drink most people under the table (except when she mixes seafood lasagna, cough syrup and vodka), and is wicked smart. She’s Dr. Arata now, armed with a Ph.D., and the knowledge to probably cure a disease someday.

I had to include Matt somewhere in this blog. Gas Boy has been with us since the beginning!

Amy: Amy lived on the other side of the floor. The dark side. She roomed with her childhood friend (who we all now collectively hate) and spent a lot of time with her and the boyfriend who followed Amy to U of I. I think of Amy then as I think of her now: always smiling and laughing. And dancing. Lots of dancing.

A beautiful selfie. 

Neha: Or Neha Blossom, as I coined her when she wore a cute little headband one night. Ne and her high school friend Mary (can’t go there here) lived two rooms down from me. Messy room. Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanatics. This is a girl who can still party until 2 a.m. and make a work flight at 5 a.m. Someone who had to be reminded of when and where her classes were. But she’s also someone I could call and say, “I need $1,000, and you can’t ask why.” And she’d give it to me, no questions asked. Probably the most loyal friend I’ve ever had in my life. And my twin brother and dual partner.

"We're angels!" we screamed after seeing this photo. "Look at our halos!"

 

Sarah: Oh, Kelly and Sarah. How far we have come. We went from roommate enemies to me being a bridesmaid in her wedding. Sarah was my roommate freshman year, and we were paired randomly. A pairing that did not go well while living in such tight quarters, but after a summer break and realizing we can be friends but not live together, we have been fantastic ever since. I’m sad she lives so far—St. Louis—but that just gives us an excuse to tear up another city. And visit McGurk’s J

Out on the town in Florida showing off my two-toned skin. 

Meghan: Meggie, or Megalicious, lived in another dorm our first year, but we met her through Sarah, who she went to high school with. She started as “Sarah’s friend Meghan,” but quickly became “Our friend Meghan.” She’s the friend I can vent and vent and vent to, and she’ll never tell me to shut up or make me feel stupid. A good friend to have in your back pocket during an emotional crisis. 

Sampling beer. As we do. 

So there's the crew. And now, what you’ve been really been waiting for: the playlist. Here’s an excerpt (which some random commentary by me).

•Destiny's Child-“Say My Name.” Neha Blossom’s favorite. And after she plays it for the 245^th time in a row, it will no longer be yours.

•Madison Avenue-“Don't Call Me Baby.” Thank you Matt Miller for introducing the group to this song.

•Anne Lee-“Two Times”

•Nelly-“Must Be the Money.”

•Eiffel 65-“Blue.” Have we decided what the actual lyrics are? “I’m blue, da ba dee da ba da, if I were green I would die …if I OD’d I would die…”

•Sisqo-“Thong Song.” Cue choreographed dance by Al and I

•Outkast-“Rosa Parks”

•DMX-“Up in Here”

•Lo Fidelity All-Stars-“Battleflag.” I once said I was going to walk down the aisle to this song.

•Justin Timberlake-“Rock Your Body”

•Underworld-“Born Slippy”

•Juvenile-“Back that Ass Up.”

•ODB-“Got Your Money”

•Darude-“Sandstorm”

•Alice DJ-“Better Off Alone”

•Fragma-“Toca's Miracle.” Amy’s anthem!

•ATC-“All Around the World”

•Maybe this one's just me, but: Akinyele-Put it in Your Mouth!” I kept Alyssa’s commentary from the email on this one.

•Easy E-“Gimme That Nut.” You haven’t lived until you’ve seen five white girls and two Indians sing “I love pu&*^ and pu$#% loves me, like a lemon to a lime and a bumble to a bee.”

•N’Sync-“Bye Bye Bye.” No shame.

•”The Launch.” As an unnamed boyfriend once said when he saw the reactions of me and my high school friends when this song came on, “You guys lost your mind.” This reaction applies to the Wardall 7 crew as well.

•Ice Cube-“You Can Do It”

• “Somebody Answer the Phone”

That’s just a snapsnot of what’s now a 70-song list, I believe. Can’t wait for May 17! 

Just a few more photos to give you the true flavor of this group: 

Not long after this picture was taken, at a bar in Florida, our waiter came over with our bill and a bouncer. We were kindly asked to leave. By the looks of all the drinks on the table and my crazy eyes, maybe they weren't too off base.

Annual Wardall 7 Bar Crawl: Logan Square

Illinois vs. Northwestern at Wrigley Field

"A crazy one! A crazy one!" we yelled to the photographer at Amy's wedding.

Photo booth at Amy's wedding. In which Khush looks like a maniac. 

Evolution of a beer snob

I was probably under 10 years old when I had my first sip of beer. I’d see my parents and my friends drinking cans of Old Style every weekend and figured a beverage that was drunk in such mass quantities MUST be like the nectar of the Gods. Um, no. No. No. NO. 

I remember taking that sip and being utterly disgusted, looking at my parents like there was something mentally wrong with them. They laughed, thinking they accomplished their mission of grossing me out enough to prevent me from drinking beer on my own. 

I’ve never come around to Old Style, which, to me, tastes like somebody put urine in a tin can and brewed it for decades. The old school Chicagoan in me can certainly enjoy ounces and ounces of the brew while sweating at a Cubs game, but it’s nothing I would ever, EVER order on my own. My parents and their friends eventually came to their senses and the entire crowd made the switch to Miller Lite.

And for me, Miller Lite had been my beer of choice for years. It took only a few nights of paying for mixed drinks at U of I to realize I could, in fact, train my palette to at least tolerate beer. I quickly rose within the ranks of the beer world; starting with your staple party (cheap) beers (Busch Lite, Milwaukee’s Best) to realizing I was worth the extra few bucks for the case of Miller Lite.

From 18 to 26 or so, I exclusively drank Miller Lite. And it worked out well. If my parents had a party, they had fridges filled with Miller Lite. My friends drank Miller Lite. And those who didn’t drank Bud Lite, which, for me, was a fair and tasty comparison. I dated a guy who worked for a beer distributor, and he drank Miller Lite (and gave me lots and lots of Miller Lite shirts, neon lights, coozies, etc. to sport).

It wasn’t until I lived in Fort Wayne that I began to dabble in other beers. There’s an Irish pub there, J.K. O’Donnell’s, that has a great craft beer selection. As is still the case, I’d pick a beer mentor and have them choose a beer for me to order. As is also still the case, I couldn’t tell you if I liked wheat beers, IPA’s, stouts, pale ales, etc. I like what I like, and I typically don’t pay attention to the intricacies of what I’m drinking enough to remember it the next time around. I’ll certainly remember certain brands of beers that I enjoy, but I couldn’t tell you my favorite brew style.

It was at J.K. O’Donnell’s that I found what is still my all-time favorite beer: Old Engine Oil. Sounds gross right? Well, it’s very dark and thick with a tiny hint of chocolate. But not sweet. J.K’s charges around $8 for a pint, which isn’t too bad considering one bottle at Binny’s is $3.99.

I can point to Old Engine Oil as the beer that changed my mind about craft beer. I slowly tried other beers: Blue Moon, New Castle, Bass, Dos Equis (I realize none of those are craft beers but they were my gateway beers on my journey from Miller Lite to Better Stuff). And my Chicago friends helped. I realized while I was gone, everybody had turned into a beer snob. Much of that credit is to Matt and Alyssa, who opened everybody’s eyes to the world of craft beer. They had a few Beer School parties, where everybody was instructed to bring beer that fit a theme (Great Lakes beers or beers with animals on the label) which allowed me to try a bunch of different beers I never would buy on my own.

I went to the Chicago Beer Festival in Union Station this weekend, ready to taste 100 beers from brewers around the country. Before it started, Meghan and I met at a bar to have some pre-drinks. And something happened. Meg said she was going to stick with light beer so she wouldn’t be too full for the festival. I followed suit and ordered a Miller Lite. And … I just can’t anymore. It tasted terrible.

Which is too bad. Because aside from the Magic Hat and Fat Tire in my fridge, I have a ton of Miller Lite. Most of that is for when my parents come over but it's also partly because I used to really enjoy a nice, cold Miller Lite. I’ll have to save it for a hot day or for when I’m so drunk on good beer, I won’t know the difference. 

Meg and I pre-fest.

This guy was unironically wearing a PBR shirt at a craft beer fest. Delicious.