It was a freezing cold day in sunny Ottawa. The roads were stained white with salt and the bitter winter wind stung the face. It was the first YACC Localife event of 2013 and we had high hopes. The event was pizza and board games night and it was hosted by Localife leader Brandon Fong.
People started showing up at 5 p.m. in the midst of some last minute preparations of veggies, fruits, drinks and assorted snacks. A nice warm, cozy, basement had been prepared with a large comfy couch, several stools, chairs, and a wide selection of board games. The turnout was the usual YACC crowd but we had some new faces and we eagerly accepted them into our community. We shared our stories and they shared theirs. The bonding that happens between people that have walked a similar paths occurred–an embracement of comrades you could say. After nearly an hour of socializing, cracking jokes, congratulating Jen and JP on their engagement, and digging into the snacks, we busted out the board games.
The first up was The Five Second Rule. I know what you’re thinking: Did this game involve throwing food on the ground and eating it within a five second limit? Sadly, no. Instead, people read cards such as, “Name three different hand gestures” and the person next to them would have to answer within five seconds. If the person couldn’t, it would go to the next until someone did with the winner keeping the card.
As you can imagine things got fairly out of hand as people tried desperately to name such questions as, “Name three Jacksons.” The result, “Cancun Jackson,” was an answer that did not satisfy the group. A battle of yes vs. no ensued until one participant busted out the iPhone and did a Jackson search. Sadly, there was no Cancun Jackson.
It didn’t end there. We decided that Cancun Jackson did exist and he was probably a man of these sorts: Cancun Jackson, world traveler, most interesting man in the world, left home at the age of 10, made his fortune in taming lions with his bare hands, and now writes poetry for a living. Yes, Cancun Jackson was indeed a real man, and we awarded her the card. Then the pizza arrived.
The group was hungry at this point and we gorged. Feasting on the delicious textures of vegetarian, all dressed, and meat lovers. After filling our bellies we played a hilarious card game that got the creative juices going. We each took turns coming up with different answers for open-ended questions. Let’s just say things got very creative and down-right-crazy-fun. By the end of the night we had laughed so much that our sides hurt.
Four hours of laughing can make people tired. After the communal yawns we decided that it was time to part ways. We lazily walked up the stairs and said our goodbyes. It was truly a memorable night of fun and games.
