Tue, Feb 13 2007 - Farewell Party for Lorie at the Old Spaghetti Factory (View Original Event Details)
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A Brief Moment in Time..
The date was set. Lorie would be leaving for Chicago on the 16th of February, and there wasn't much anyone could do. She had, in a very short period of time with the club, made lasting friendships which will span many a border, that is until she makes her gracious return to Canada, her new home.
Meantime, there was a resounding sentiment that we should have a little something for her before she left, to let her know that she truly did touch our hearts, and that she would sorely be missed.
JennM, Cynthia and Myself conspired to make it a memorable occasion for not only Lorie, but all her Wilderness Friends (thanks Val). We selected The Old Spaghetti Factory, convenient by subway and car, but more importantly, close to Lorie's place so it would be easy to get her there! To spice things up a bit, we also wanted it to be a big surprise for her, something so unexpected, she wouldn't know what hit her!! This last bit posed a great challenge, but one that was creatively overcome.
How does the TOC organize an event? Very simple, we post it on our calendar for everyone to see, including the victim.. I mean guest of honour! Fortunately, our glorious Webmaster Rhonda built the site so that events didn’t need to be added on the calendar, yet members could sign up. The trick was letting everyone know about it without Lorie finding out. We decided to invite everyone who had ever attended an event with her, which was easy since we had a list of her event buddies (another beautiful feature of the site), so the email went out to all her buddies, and were sworn not breathe a word to her, under penalty of death, or at least face the wrath of El Rey!!
The game plan was simple. Everyone was to show up before 7 so that we could get organized and decorate the place. There was a slight delay as prior party revelers were still vacating our spot, but they quickly left, giving us enough time to setup up. Cynthia and JennM took care of the setup and party favors, and along with the early arrivals they made short work of getting the place ready. I arrived at the OSF prior to picking up Lorie, and was happy that things were going smoothly. The only trouble we had was the weather, as a big snowstorm descended upon the city, but seeing as how this is the TOC, it did not concern me, I knew it would take more than a little snow to stop us!
Step two, pick up Lorie! Now this was the tough part! I had to convince Lorie to go out for dinner on this particular day of all days! Who really wants to go out in a storm? I did the only logical thing. I told her she was taking me out to dinner this night, and while she’s at it, she also had the privilege to pay for it! You may not believe it, but this worked like a charm! The other secret is to make it a restaurant that she may not particularly like or be in the mood for that day. If you don’t believe me, then all I have to say is, we showed up didn’t we :)
With any surprise party, there is always the risk of the guest of honour discovering the surprise. And this time was no exception! We arrived at the OSF, and immediately I see some late arrivals to the party being escorted to the party. Fortunately Lorie didn't notice, and it helped that I positioned myself so Lorie wouldn’t have a good view.. Crisis one averted. Next, when the host came to greet us, I told him our reservation, but he wasn’t too quick (I had told him I’ll be back with the guest of honour, I guess he forgot), so he blurts out, "oh, you must be with the big party".. This obviously raised her suspicions, but not enough to question it further.. Crisis two kind of averted. We made our way to our table, and as we are walking by, who do I see, but none other than Mark Ma walking to the bathroom with a lei around his neck! We exchange a quick glance, and Mark does his best wallflower impression, and thankfully once again, Lorie does not notice (good job Mark!). Crisis three averted.
Finally, the big moment arrives! As we walk up to the waiting party revelers, Lorie notices JennP standing around, and points her out to me :) at this point, everyone decides to turn around and yell "surprise!!!" It begins to dawn on Lorie that this dinner for two is really dinner for 28 of her closest TOC friends who will truly miss her! After the 'Paparazzi' barrage, we mingled for a bit while we awaited the wait staff to take our orders. Lorie and I were seated at the head of the table, along with Dom and Steph (reigning King and Queen of the TOC). Lorie made the rounds and mingled with the club. Dinner came and we ate some reasonably good fare and as always, enjoyed everyone's company. When supper had ended, it was time to present Lorie with a little something. We had deliberated on what kind of parting gift to get her, as a memento about us and the Club. What better way then to remember all the good times through something tangible, like a scrapbook! Now, we could have put together something simple, some nice photos here and there, maybe a little blurb to remind her about the picture. But no, that would be too easy. Instead, why not put together every single event that Lorie had attended, complete with the write-up for the event (Coordinators, now you know why these things are important! You never know when they are going to be used!) and photos of course, not just of Lorie too, cuz well, she knows what she looks like! I enlisted the help of JennP to assist in the collection of write-ups and photos, and as I began to put the scrapbook together, I must have gotten carried away, because by the time I had completed it (at about 6pm on Tuesday), it had turned into something I could not even explain. But the end result was all that mattered. Not only did Lorie have a memory that I’m sure she won't forget anytime soon, she will have something just incase she needs a refresher!
I truly would like to thank everyone who showed up this evening, you made it all worthwhile and memorable, and I know that Lorie will never forget.. As the Scrapbook says, a brief moment in time, a lifetime of memories...
El ReyHave some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.