Prom for the Group
From The Extended Group
Prom for most of the Extended Group took place on May 31st 2003 at the Inglewood Country Club near Bothell, WA. The lavish event was considered groundbreaking at the time for many group members although the modern consensus is that it was a waste of money in general although still somewhat enjoyable.
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Beginnings
In late 2002 and early 2003, while the echos of homecoming were still ringing, thoughts among group members turned to the big formal date-dance of the year, the Senior Prom. It was a subject of some confusion and apprehension because many group members, unexperienced in relationships with girls, especially in the bizarre quasi-romantic setting of a high school dance, did not know who they should ask, and once that was decided, whether or not the date should be considered a platonic affair or a more romantic one.
It was with this attitude that many a late night conversations were held in the Talking Room and in automobiles parked throughout Shoreline. How the decisions were made to ask specific girls is not known in many cases, but one by one, group members laid plans to ask their quarry in a creative fashion.
Pairing
(note feel free to add details or delete them)
- Brett and Morgan Chosnyk
- Andy and Alisa Sugiyama
- Terry and Liz Adams
- Gavin and Sara Wilson
- Rama and Katie Jones
- Lukas and Holly Watanabe
- Melvin and Melissa Wally
- Jamie and (group member) Lillian
- Owen and Alaina Hasagawa
- Asher and Ned Bunje
- Jason and Sefali Shah
Asking
(note: information on this is sketchy from the authors point of view so please fill in your own section)
- Lukas asked Holly Watanabe during their shared "Imprints" class at Shorewood sometime in late April of 2003. In the back room of the publications room, Lukas was sorting through donation slips recieved from parent donors from all over. After carefully confering with trusted confidantes Andy, Terry, and Brett, it was decided that the way was clear for asking. (earlier it had been suggested that perhaps Stewart Bowerman had considered asking the girl earlier that day, but this is unconfirmed) With minutes ticking down, Lukas gradually became more and more agitated as the end of the period was nearing. Finally with some 12 minutes left he sent Brett out to retrieve Holly from the main classroom. Seconds after Brett left, Jeremy came tumbling out of one of the floor cupboards under the counter groaning slightly while rolling out onto the floor. Lukas yelled "JEREMY! what are you doing?!" at this unexpected development in his carefully laid plan. Jeremy, surprised by his fury said "woah Lukas, I've never seen you explode like that before" at which Lukas told him of his plan and Jeremy left the room. Just when Lukas thought he was going to die of hypertension, Holly walked in wanting to know why her services were needed in the back room. Lukas then produced a donation slip from his mother on which he printed in black letters "Holly, will you go to prom with me?-Lukas". Holding it up, he asked "I was wondering what you do when it says this?". She picked up the slip and stared at it for 2 seconds or so not saying anything before saying "ohhh how cute" to which Lukas asked "well?". She responded in the affirmative and several seconds after that, Brett popped in comically holding a celebratory bag of kettle corn, fresh from the microwave. Preliminary group arrangements were made and then the bell rang, signalling the end of class.
- Andy's proposal to ask Alisa to prom may be considered one of the more elaborate plans executed by the extended group, but it was composed of only a few key elements. The plan began during lunch, the day of the "asking". Andy with an unknown accomplice (becuase I can't remember for the life of me who was with me) secretly infiltrated the orchestra room to put up approxiamtely seven medium sized banners asking Alisa to prom written (poorly I might add) in Japanese. It should be noted that Salt & Light, Shorewood's Christian Group, had been meeting at the same time in the very room while Andy was posting the signs up. Suffice it to say that it was "a little wierd". The plan was then to proceed as follows: 1) Friends of Andy in Orchestra were to intercept Alisa before she reachd the Orchestra room and inform her that Andy was going to be late to class becuase he was taking a test. This was designed to cover up the real reason why Andy was not going to be in the classroom when she entered. 2) Next, when Alisa entered the room Lena Buell, a trusted Ally in the war against Wing, was to start playing through the Orchestra room's speaker's Alisa's supposed favorite Japanese song ("First Love" by Utada Hikaru). 3) Then, when the music starts to play sophomore Amanda Richards was to go outside to the backside of the orchestra room to retrieve Andy who was in hiding so he could enter the room and surprise her with a dozen yellow roses purchased from nearby Central Market. This was the plan. However, due to cirumstances still unknown to Andy the plan was more or less botched. First, when Alisa saw the banners asking her to prom through the window in the door, she refused to enter the classroom knowing something was wrong. Reports allege that she had to be forced into the classroom. Second, unknown to group member Andy, Brett, eager to see Andy's plan unfold, decided to duck the first few minutes of Gourmet Foods (which was right next to the music rooms) and watch first hand. This would not have been a problem if Brett's presence was ignored, but alas it was not and many began to assume that he was the one asking Alisa (when asked, Brett briefly considered, but decided against taking credit for the plan, as a joke of course). Andy has still yet to forgive him for that. Lastly, due to some logistical errors among his cohorts, Andy was not informed to enter the room until much after Alisa had entered the room. Best estiamtes put him about 2 minutes late. This added to the already confused Orchestra crowd, but then again it also added to the suspense. Other the few complications the plan went off well, and Alisa agreed to go to prom with him. The classroom gave Andy and Alisa a standing ovation while Mr. Wing stood by giving his warm smile of approval. The rest is history.
- Gavin asked Sara Wilson through a complex plot involving flowers, a cell phone and a car driven to her house. Terry's assistance was greatly appreciated.
Groups and Dinner Plans
- A group made up of (only group members listed for sake of brevity) Terry, Jamie and Lillian, and Melvin was formed early on in the planning process. It was decided that dinner would be held at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Seattle. Although the cost was reportedly quite high (some $115 per couple), the food was reportedly quite good with lobster tail and steak being entree's. Melvin is generally credited with making the reservations because by that time his reputation as group gourmet was well established.
- Lukas was forced into a group with his date and her group of friends including Yangchen Chagzoetzang, Vickie Wong, Hanady Kader and their dates. (all of whom were in college at the time at either UW or SU) Lukas ended up being the only fully caucasian member of the group which was not all that uncommon among group members. The pre-determined meeting place was Vickies house which Lukas knew to be on the same street as Brian Wong. Unfortunately in the confusion, Lukas drove up the wrong street and approached the likely looking house only to be rejected by a balding asian man who balked at the tuxedo-clad Lukas inquiring about prom groups. With time running short, Lukas used his mothers cell phone to call Terry to inquire about the address for Vickies house. Once he realized he was one street away, he quickly sped over only arriving 10 minutes late. Introductions were made and soon the convoy of cars left to go to the country club for pictures. After these, the group headed downtown to El Gaucho, an Argentinian steakhouse at which the always astute Vickie had made reservations weeks in advance. The food was excellent, but prices were steep. Fortunately for Lukas, his date (Holly) was a vegetarian, greatly reducing her capacity to eat expensively. The bill still ended up being slightly over $80 with tip after Lukas insisted on eating a 20 oz steak. After dinner, more photos were taken at the Seattle waterfront and then the group made for the country club yet again.
- Brett and Morgan reportedly went alone, although ended up at the same restaurant as Devon O'Rourke's (and other "thespians") group. Dinner was had at Saltys on Alki, whose rough nautical-sounding name belied the upscale nature of the resteraunt. The name still brought laughs to whoever he told, and he soon went on the defensive as soon as it was brought up. Brett was thought for a long time to have planned his prom too hastily as he ordered a tuxedo before having a date. In a move most have deemed "ridiculous" Brett waited until the night before prom to ask Morgan, although this pairing had been seen as a forgone conclusion by most thespians in the weeks prior, and they finally forced the issue that night.
- Gavin, and Kevin went in the same group as well as Alexis Gross-Banks and her date. They were driven in a limosine driven by a colorful driver who entertained them with jokes and stories. Dinner was at Benihana which reportedly served food that was "awesome".
- Jeremy did not go to Prom, but instead drove to Silver Platters and wrote a song about not going to Prom. This was later regarded by Jamie as being "so emo".
The Dance
The Chair Incident
- Reports concerning this incident are still relatively unclear but the following is known to be fact. At one point during the course of the dance, Brett, for some reason, began to dance with one of the metal folding chairs that had been placed at dining tables scattered throughout the room. Even though he had a much less metallic and lively date to dance with that night, the chair apparently offered Brett something a real person could not (later recollection places the moment of chair introduction as Morgan had left the dance floor for a brief period of time; it's probably worth noting that neither Brett nor nearly any Extended Group member consumed even a drop of alcohol during the night). Several minutes later the chair was then witnessed being utilized in a more classic setting (aka as a chair), as group member Jamie was being hoisted upon it and raised above the crowd. The group and other Shorewooders cheered at the sight of Jamie bobbing up and down and side to side. It was an already momentous occassion. But then tragedy struck. Due to reasons highly controversial to this day, the front portion of the chair suddenly slipped forward and Jamie fell face forward on to the ground. Best estimates put the fall at about 3-4 feet. Jamie was not seriously injured by the fall, jumped right back up, and the crowd cheered. Shortly after this incident, the school principal, along with other administration, intervened and removed the offending furniture.
