Who else is crazy enough to host a party a mere 7 days before moving out of the hosted location?  This guy, that’s who! 

I didn’t really care who saw my empty rooms and poorly-packed boxes.  Besides, within an hour or two, no one was really aware of the blank walls anyway.  A-hem. 

Dan is literally one of the first people I ever met through Twitter.  I screwed up my courage when The Checkout Girl asked me to go to a local burlesque show.  We met before the show - and Dan was in the mix. 

Other than those first two months, Dan has only known me as a person going through a divorce, trying new medications for unpleasant diagnoses, crying a lot, and sending vague text messages.  At the time I first met him, he was having his own issues and sometimes we’d sit and stare into space.  It was okay, because we were sad separately, but together.  Dan gave great hugs, listening to my ugly crying (it has a lot of snorting and swollen red face to go along with it).  I was there the night Dan met Nicole (The Checkout Girl is also an excellent matchmaker, at least in their case).  I was there during the brief - what was it, two week? - period when Nicole was a bit nervous about Dan, and there again when Nicole and Dan finally met on the same page and rode off into happily ever after.  Or something like that. 

In the time I’ve known Dan, he’s gone from a person who knew what he wanted but struggled with what road he needed to take to get there to the Dan of today - a well-loved, social media geek, a relied-upon local and personal weather source, and a good friend to many who deserve it and a few who don’t.  According to Nicole he’s also an amazing boyfriend.  Back then - a mere 11 months ago - Dan would occasionally show bits of insecurity.  Now, Dan is definitely The Man.  He always knew he was smart, but he got a ton of recognition and accolades this year.  He got his smart on and graduated from a local comm college Summa Cum Laude and is now off to Va Tech to finish out his degree.  After that he’ll be on to a masters and after that, he’ll be doing something weather-related that involves a lot of weird math with symbols that make my head spin just to look at it. 

Dan has literally been a lifesaver to me many times over the last year.  Did I mention literally?  Literally.  As I got to know Nicole better, she also supported me, propped me up, and listened to my random problems.  I’d like to think that occasionally I did the same for both of them.  After I got out of the hospital in September, Dan would call every other day or whenever he thought I was being too quiet and ask me how I was.  He also knew when I was lying and said I was fine.  He ate lunch with me and the kids, made ridiculous jokes, screamed ‘hey-oooooo’ at every inappropriate moment, and helped me with my designated driver duties on more than one occasion. 

That’s why I wanted to do something for Dan.  Thankfully Nicole was there to keep me sane during the process, because without her I definitely couldn’t have pulled it off.  Between the move, some health issues and that pesky thing known as owning a business and billable work for clients, I really wasn’t worth two poops. 

Nicole heads off to the mountains of VA in a little more than 4 weeks; Dan in about 8.  It was fitting that the party included a ton of twitter’s #rva local nerds and some of his friends from various jobs and quiz bowl.  A few of my friends were brave enough to show as well.  I could talk about the specifics of the party, but the pictures give a good indication of how fun it was.  I was able to throw caution to the wind and drink and eat whatever I wanted for a few hours.  Random people not fit to drive slept in random places in the house; it was a fitting end to my life in Wyndham.  My house was meant for throwing parties, though I rarely did.  Small gatherings are more my speed.  Being able to act like kids, lob water balloons and ruin the grass with a slip n’ slide - well, it just goes to show why I don’t belong where I do.  I’m okay with that. 

There were glowsticks.  A pinata.  A lot of pizza.  Way too much alcohol.  A keg of Legend beer.  Water and a lot of wet clothing.  Board games.  A lot of alcohol.  Rain.  Laughter.  A weather cake made fabulous by Nicole.  A Trevor (every party needs one).  Very few broken things.  A bit of a mess the next morning.  It was a success. 

Friends like Dan and Nicole don’t come around very often.  I’ve had lots of friends come and go, sometimes when things are too hard for them or too hard for me.  I would like to believe that based on our mutual dependence on the world wide interwebs that we won’t lose touch.  I hope I’m right.  A big thanks to Dan for helping me through the absolutely suckiest year of my life, and here’s to seeing me through some of the best.  I love you, man. 

www.flickr.com cdelbueno’s Dan Bash 2010 photoset