the formal side of stacey

The Facebook Formal, aka "The Black & White Ball", aka "The Facebook Prom". Seemed like it was so far away, then suddenly it was here. Had the dress for weeks [Susy and I had an awesome day shopping for it...I was expecting total misery and exhaustion, but it went amazingly well], all the jewelry and accoutrements [wrap, purse, even black slippers to change into if my feet started hurting], and indulged in a manicure/pedicure the night before.

Susy came over to help me get ready Friday night...she rocks. I can't sing her praises enough. We talked, we caught up, she gave me a critical eye on my makeup and tips on girly stuff, she helped me lace into my dress [a minor moment of concern: apparently I've lost some weight since we bought the dress, and it was laced all the way tight and still a little loose...thankfully it was enough], and she did an amazing job on my hair. She's a whiz with a curling iron and hairspray...no way could I have gotten that kind of result on my own. She even played 'mom' and took pictures of us before we left...have I mentioned that she rocks??

Here are the pics Susy took for us [thanks again, Suse!!]:

[Brian is far more photogenic than I am...lucky bastard. He looked amazing. In fact, when he showed up and I saw him in his tux, I was literally breathless. I was trying to put my earring in [he was a few minutes early], but my hand was shaking...Susy just calmly looked at me and asked with a grin, "Would you like me to get that for you?" I think I surprised Brian too...he was very complimentary. I was quite happy with his reaction... :^) ]

The party was pretty impressive...top floor of the Sony Metreon in San Francisco, beautiful view of the city from the outdoor patio, a gorgeous night. It was fun to see people's reactions to seeing me all dressed up...it's a side of me I don't indulge very often, being the lower-maintenance type of person I am. There was a photo booth as well as a prom-style photographer, complete with cheesy blue backdrop [didn't like the photos of me, but as usual, Brian photographed well].

We wandered for a bit, grabbed some bread, tried some sushi, caught up with folks, did the 'see and be seen' thing. The food was a little less than I expected, but we had a bit of pasta. One of my friends told me that MC Hammer was supposed to show up, but we didn't pay too much attention to that...sure, right, uh huh. We sat outside for a while, people watching, talking, just enjoying the evening, then headed downstairs and got tickets to see "Speed Racer" in IMAX.

Yup. We skipped out on the party to see a movie, whilst wearing formal togs. It was a blast...I highly recommend.

As we were getting on the elevator to head to the IMAX theatre, I said to Brian, "If it's over in time, we'll head back up and see if Hammer showed up." Then I look at the folks getting on the elevator, and say quietly to Brian, "Um...I think that's him."

Boys and girls, MC Hammer was in the house.

He got in, looked at us all dressed up, and asked, "Facebook party??" We said yeah, fourth floor...and then I said, "Hammer?" He smiled, shook our hands, talked with us for a bit, told us we looked "fabulous!!" [preen!], then it was time for us to head to the movie...we shook his hand again, thanked him, told him we were heading to see "Speed Racer". He tells us to have a great time, and away we go.

Surreal.

After the movie, we head back up...wander a bit, grab some water, see a few more friends, get caught by a candid photographer. As we head out to the patio, we see Hammer by the door, so we go by to say 'hi'. He grabs my hand, looks at us, and first thing he says is, "How was the movie?" How cool was that??

The party wraps up, some folks head out to hit the bars, we head to the car. We realize we are both starving [like I said, the food wasn't quite a full meal], but nothing is open...so we hit the McDonald's drive-through. Let me tell you, fresh french fries at two in the morning are utterly delicious...yum.

So ended the fancypants evening...much fun, good company, flattering reactions, IMAX movie, french fries, and MC Hammer.

Gonna be hard to beat that one.

[thanks to Oliver for the pic of me and Brian, and to Phil for the pics of the view and of Hammer with Tanja and Jennifer]