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Stag Party ACDN Style

There are few greater honors and privileges bestowed upon a man than being bestman for your best friend when he and the missis finally decide to tie the knot. Accordingly, Mesmic's stag party had to be immemorial or I would never forgive myself.

Typical Finnish stag party consist of dressing the groom in a silly outfit and humiliating him with chores while the entourage gets boozed and laughs their asses off. Knowing Mesmic for more than a decade I can say with certainty it's not his scene. Thus, I conceived a two-part master plan - group activity and the grand finale.

For group activity I took the guys for a game of Megazone - in a nutshell, laser shoot fighting in a maze wearing sensor vests. On hindsight Megazone was a better idea than paintball. At times good sportsmanship proved challenging even without painful hits. For the last match we decided to raise the stakes; ACDN vs. The Entourage (3 vs. 7) - losing team has to sing Aikuinen nainen in the nearest karaoke bar. Magnitude of this bet might be hard to grasp for non-Finns, but suffice to say it's a fate worse than death.

Against seemingly uneven odds, ACDN wiped the floor with The Entourage. Sore losers that they were, the bet got turned around and groom was appointed for karaoke duty. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. At this point, we're still enjoying the after-game sauna (the real Finnish one, not those sissy steam rooms). I glance out the window; it's raining cats and dogs. Cold sweat starts to creep down my spine - grand finale is at risk.

After a manly dinner and Mesmic's crowd-roaring interpretation of "Aikuinen nainen", rain stops and sun starts to shine - effectively saving my plans. First half of the group takes Mesmic home waiting for further instructions. While he is getting boozed and wondering what's in store, other half is hard at work. Finally, the phone rings and Mesmic hears my ominous words:

"Pack your gear. You have a gig tonight."

While driving across town, confused Mesmic tries to figure out where the guys are taking him. Eventually, the car arrives and the overwhelmed groom finds a stage set up in the middle of City Park - complete with PA-system and a portable generator. He plugs in his gear and starts dropping beats instantly gathering dozens of listeners.

Mesmic

Success of the grand finale depended on two factors - weather and the cops. Mister Murphy already gave me some slack with weather, so when I spot an approaching police car I'm about to shit my pants ("Permits you say, officer?"). While I'm experiencing the longest seconds of my life, Mesmic is so hyped up that he barely even notices the cops. For whatever good deeds, the Karma Treasury grants me a hefty credit and the cops decide they'd rather have a doughnut than bother us.

Night starts to get dark and the crowd disperses, so it's time to pack up and leave. Timing couldn't be better, since the very second we're done it starts to rain again. I guess Ukko digs house music.

Once again, huge thanks to Harri, Heikki, Ilkka, Markku, Miika, Miko, Niko and Tuukka for participating and making the day worth remembering.