I know what it feels like to be Al Gore

A while back, we (Vijay, Katie, Mike and I) decided to do the NYRR Midnight Run. This run is also a costume contest party. I thought dressing up as the Super Mario Bro might be fun, especially since I have a special place in my heart for Vijay's previous Mario costume. But then, I thought, OOOOH! Mario Kart! Ingenious. This gives us the ability to bash into each other as we run. Vimal, hearing this news, signed on and so now we were on our way to a seriously fun New Year's Eve.

I don't think I need to re-cap the overall sentiments of the costume party and judging since this has been well documented by Mike, Vimal and Vijay, but I will anyway because the situation was so wrong. Popular vote appears to disagree with Ms.President of NYRR and Ms. Emerald Nuts. In their infinite wisdom, our costumes were inferior to that of a dog. I wasn't expecting to win, I was just suprised that the dog beat us. I'm not being bitter here. What I am is flabbergasted. Everyone seemed to love our costumes, even those who did not know who we were. We had two people involved in the contest tell us how great it was and how we should have win. We were robbed of our victory, at least one over the dog. The feeling of complete confusion when the dog was announced (not to mention the look on Mike's face) could only be placed in the same category as the shock of Al Gore's win in the popular vote but loss for the presidency in the 2000 election. Mr. Gore, I feel for you.

The dog! I'm convinced that the dog costume is this guy's work clothes. (I saw you with your mask off. I know who you are.) I imagine that he works for children's parties and banks handing out balloons and old lollipops. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs but for a costume party, no contest, it's kind of lame. It wasn't even of a famous dog. It's the equivalent of me showing up to this event with a lab coat on and saying I am a scientist. Your work clothes or a obviously generic costume should NOT WIN. So it's not his fault that he wore his work clothes, it's the judges fault for being boring and lame.

Despite the injustice, the night was the blast. I will list the things that I found most humorous/memorable that were not listed in the other recounts of the night.
1. Making Julia's Roast Lemon Chicken with Herbs- it's fantastic. I changed it a bit and it was really yummy.
2. Having EVERYONE stare at us and seeing/hearing people in the park and on subway trains cheer for us.
3. While approaching 125th St., a group of people stared at us then finally realized what we were and came to talk to us. After some introduction (Hi, I'm Mario...), the one guys said, "Look, they made the black guy the bad guy."
The "black guy" they were referring to was Vimal.
4. Mike's seriousness of the contest parade. He made sure that we were all in a single file and berated Vijay when he accidently wandered off.
5. The look of complete disgust on Mike's face when they announced the dog. He had no shame in showing his feelings.
6. Dancing with Katie, aka. Princess, to Sweet Caroline
7. Singing "Living on a Prayer" with passion while standing on the benches.
8. Running with a mushroom cap which is filled with about 15-20 plastic bags. It was so damn hot. I now own many shower caps should you ever need one.
9. Mike singing his Mario Bro version of "Gold Digger"
I need the gold coin
To get a new life
I need a hundred
For the 1up
It kept going. I almost peed myself, He also did it in a high pitched voice.
10. Coping out at mile 2 with the goal of getting fries and ice cream.

We had a great night. And in many ways, that damn dog made it a little more interesting. Happy New Year!

Pics on Mike's and Vijay's page.
Katie does not have a page.