The Party

So Joy and I were invited to a holiday party in Milan yesterday, being thrown by Richard Houghten, a very distinguished man I met while working at the post office. I must say, he reminds me very much of Uncle John. Quiet, calm, and way too smart.

Although we couldn't stay long (I had to work), we enjoyed ourselves immensely. Joy had a drink (can't remember what, but the vodka was unmistakable), while I, ever the DD, drank about 4 diet cokes in the hour or so we were there.

We met many new people, found some old friends (Steve-O), and had an entire spread of vegetarian / vegan food, most of which was prepared by Whole Foods. It was quite obvious that a lot of effort was put into our food preferences, which was heartwarming and made me feel selfish all at the same time.

Although I knew Richard collected and built organs and pianos, I never knew to what extent. His entire "garage" (remodeled with carpets, heating, and basically now resembles a large guestroom) has a small collection of large instruments: A HUGE organ with pipes larger than the Titanic, a long (about 8 ft long) harpsichord, and a remodeled player piano, which has a nice assortment of about 200 or so rolls he got for it.

The envy began.
Joy had another drink.

We spent our hour or so chatting with Vlad (a coworker from Czech Republic) who I had seen myself at the post office on many occassions, but never really spoke to.

The man is hilarious.
The phrase "Hey! Where's my plum brandy?!" Will forever be an inside joke between me and Joy.

We were received well by everyone, and we both look forward to more of Richard's parties.

I only wish I could've fully appreciated the "Heineken Shrine". A modern work of art, I can tell you.