A Good Test for Microfiber

[Eaglesfan27]

Some of you might remember that I asked for couch/sectional recommendations a few months ago for the new house.


Well, today we had our combination housewarming/birthday party for my wife (whose birthday is actually tomorrow.) It started at about 1:00 PM and it was going very smoothly all day long. It was a very casual party, as we are rather laid back people. Good food off the grill, plenty of alcohol for those who wished to partake, music going downstairs, football playing on the big screen upstairs. We had about 40-45 people, and everyone seemed to be mingling well, and having a good time. A few of the people we invited don't get along with each other, but they seemed to be nice to each other and it was feeling like a really great party.


About 3 hours into it, I noticed that one of my friend's little brothers, Andrew, was hitting the Grey Goose pretty hard. He just turned 21, and he is one of those people who has never drunk alcohol prior to turning 21. He never had Grey Goose, and he really liked it. I told him to go slow on it. I come back an hour later, and I notice he is looking really glassy eyed. I remind him that he might want to take it easy.


So, the party is going well and I think it is just starting to wind down. I've been floating from room to room and outside all day, checking in on the games when I can, but primarily making sure everyone is having a good time.

Another hour passes, and I think that people will probably be leaving in the next hour. Suddenly, I hear screaming from one of the living rooms. I run in there to see that Andrew had apparently passed out on the new microfiber couch. He then rolled over as I was entering in there and puked on the couch. Our neighbor's 4 year old daughter was playing in there, and she was one screaming. Apparently, she has a weak stomach (can't blame her being 4 and all) and she proceeds to puke all over the floor.

Perhaps, people would have been naturally leaving at that point, but I noticed everyone cleared out within 15 minutes of that. Oh well, despite that setback, I still think it was a good party that most people enjoyed.

We spent the last 30 minutes cleaning the couch as well as we can. I guess we'll really see the results tomorrow and find out if microfiber is as stain resistant as the sales woman said it was.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -


I'm very glad that I took a vacation day tomorrow to celebrate Mrs. Eaglesfan's birthday. I'll need the time off to help recover too. Also, we did make sure Andrew and everyone who drank had a designated driver with them to get them home safely.

[King of New York]

From the title alone, I knew that this thread was not one that I should be reading...yet I could not stop myself.

Obviously the twenty-one-year old is ultimately responsible for his own actions, but if I took my four-year old kid to a party where a twenty-one-year-old drank himself semi-conscious and puked everywhere (especially right in front of my kid, resulting in "sympathy vomit,") I'd be none too happy about the party or the hosts. But I'm willing to accept that maybe I'm just odd that way.

Hope that micro-fiber works out for you :)

[Eaglesfan27]

I knew I would get this response. To my defense, all invitees were told that there "would be alcohol at the party", a "variety of people of different ages and maturity levels at the party", and that we were not recommending people to bring kids to the party, and that everyone should be responsible for their kids if they chose to bring them anyway. Our neighbors were informed of this, but chose to bring their 4, 6, and 8 year olds along. Also, Andrew, was the only guy who was very drunk at the party, and it was generally a very civil affair.

So far, the couch looks good, but I'm waiting until the morning to pass final judgement.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

I don't think my warnings about this party not being kid friendly absolve me of some duty to make it a hospitable place for all. I didn't mean to come across that way in my last post. I should have been more forceful in cutting Andrew off.

[Groundhog]

AFAIC, If a 21 year old doesn't puke on your couch, it can hardly be called a party. ;)

[Glengoyne]

AFAIC, If a 21 year old doesn't puke on your couch, it can hardly be called a party. ;)

Oddly enough, this made me want to drink scotch. Somehow alcohol and the phrase "21 year old" motivated me.

[Groundhog]

Hey, always happy to help!

[JeeberD]

I hope he wasn't mixing the GG with cranberry. That would probably have been a REAL bitch to clean up...

[stevew]

On the brighter side, I think you've now found your "I need some help moving some things/some help with some yardwork for free" bitch.
:)

I hope you are not emotionally traumatized every time you sit on your new couch.

[Toddzilla]

http://www.nutimesnewroman.neu.edu/v2i3/assets/images/articles/febreeze.gif

[sachmo71]

i was hoping for good news about the space elevator. :(

[Eaglesfan27]

I hope he wasn't mixing the GG with cranberry. That would probably have been a REAL bitch to clean up...


Actually, he was mixing it with orange juice. It was a PITA to clean up, but the couch looks good today. Microfiber really is awesome. Also, I do feel worse this morning about my neighbor's kids being potentially traumatized (although she seemed to handle it well - vomiting not withstanding.) I'm debating on heading over there and apologizing this evening.

[BrianD]

Actually, he was mixing it with orange juice. It was a PITA to clean up, but the couch looks good today. Microfiber really is awesome. Also, I do feel worse this morning about my neighbor's kids being potentially traumatized (although she seemed to handle it well - vomiting not withstanding.) I'm debating on heading over there and apologizing this evening.

I don't think apologizing would be necessary. You made the effort to let them know that the party probably wouldn't be kid-friendly, and the parents should have noticed that the 21-year old was drinking quite a bit. You don't go from normal to passed-out-vomiting drunk without showing some signs in-between. It is really the parents' job to re-evaluate the party to know if it is ok for the kids to be there.

[King of New York]

EF27,

I'm not having a go at you, honestly--you asked the kid to ease up on the drinking, and he didn't. It's his responsibility, not yours.

I'm just saying that, as a parent, half of my brain (the logical half) would accept that it was not your fault, and the other half of my brain (the emotional half) would still be p*ssed off at you. When it comes to parents and their kids, logic will only get you so far.

I don't think that you owe the parents an apology, but if you think the parents are going to be upset, I would still apologize anyway, if only as a gesture of goodwill.

[Eaglesfan27]

I don't think apologizing would be necessary. You made the effort to let them know that the party probably wouldn't be kid-friendly, and the parents should have noticed that the 21-year old was drinking quite a bit. You don't go from normal to passed-out-vomiting drunk without showing some signs in-between. It is really the parents' job to re-evaluate the party to know if it is ok for the kids to be there.

They definitely know he was drinking. The mom of the kids was hanging out with the "younger" adults at the party, and had quite a few drinks. Dad was the one who was mostly watching the kids.

[BrianD]

They definitely know he was drinking. The mom of the kids was hanging out with the "younger" adults at the party, and had quite a few drinks. Dad was the one who was mostly watching the kids.

In this case, I really don't think you need to worry about the apology. If the mom had quite a few drinks, she can't really be surprised that someone else might have had a few more.

Slight threadjack, but should the parents have had their kids at a party like this? If mom was getting into the gathering and having many drinks, should that have been a tip that the kids were someplace they shouldn't be? Should the dad have taken the kids home, or is it ok to have someone else babysit the kids at the party while the parents have fun? Does the fact that this wasn't a wild party (nor was it intended to be) make this just one of those odd situations where things went a little farther than they should have and kids are tough enough to deal with the situation?

[King of New York]

In this case, I really don't think you need to worry about the apology. If the mom had quite a few drinks, she can't really be surprised that someone else might have had a few more.

Slight threadjack, but should the parents have had their kids at a party like this? If mom was getting into the gathering and having many drinks, should that have been a tip that the kids were someplace they shouldn't be? Should the dad have taken the kids home, or is it ok to have someone else babysit the kids at the party while the parents have fun? Does the fact that this wasn't a wild party (nor was it intended to be) make this just one of those odd situations where things went a little farther than they should have and kids are tough enough to deal with the situation?

Mom and dad come to a party so that dad can watch the kids while mom pounds drinks...I don't get it.

You can disregard everything I have said in this thread. Clearly I am out of my league :)