Man this is the first time my mom's thrown me a going-away party that wasn't completely depressing. I wound up being able to bring all the finalists from Akademi to said party after we were all done with our rehearsal for our big, non-Akademi show tomorrow (we all got invited to go on A Diele Shqiptare, which is one of the biggest shows in all of Albania. Akademi itself was chump change by comparison). We made music, we danced, we had a good fucking time.
Then there was the afterparty. Things got even crazier from there. We wound up going to this one really awesome live venue/bar/restaurant called Charl's Bistro, where the guys in the band instantly recognized us. We asked if they'd let a couple of us sing some t00nz, which they happily agreed to. Nita sang a couple, and then she introduced Stefan and me to the crowded-ass venue, whereupon he sang lead and I sang backing vocals to "Wherever You Will Go" by the Calling. I gave the performance of a lifetime in that there bar, despite hating the song, and Stefan was in unusually good form when he sang, and Nita rocked the shit out of everybody like she always does.
I don't think I've had a better night in a long, long, LONG time, and it wasn't even over yet. Got home about 2 hours ago, and there were still a faithful few partiers around. We listened to some damn good music and had a pretty slick late-night, small-group singalong to Pink Floyd, Van Morrison, the Stones, and various others.
Guys I am going to be sadder than I've ever been in my life when I leave, but oh my god, what a glorious, GLORIOUS sendoff.