My sister always writes hilarious invites for her parties. She's
really got flair. Here's the latest one, with some details blocked out
with “SHH!SECRET!” for privacy.

My darling capybaras – or more formally – dear friends:

It's a long weekend, that won't be too long for the people here at
Adphoto. Work came in for Saturday and Sunday (we're happy to be
working!). Nonetheless, Monday is a holiday so for those of you
stuck in Manila, we must celebrate ;) Besides, why would you want
to miss out on all the fun?

PERTINENT DETAILS

CAPYBARA* NIGHT II: May Day, mayday! (or will it be May Day Melee?
Time will tell, but if you trust us, you can bring a friend ;) )
1 May 2006 (monday)

ADPHOTO
(Address removed)

RSVP: Monday morning at 11 – (email and phone number removed)

Start: Staggered, depending on your personality type. ;)

Dinner served at 7:30

Expect to finish by 10:30

What the heck is a capybara? Think of a guinea pig, make it 3 ft
tall. That's a Capybara. Think of an experimental dish, you're the
test subject… you're a capybara! ;)

—-

Following the success of the last CBN we've decided to do a follow up.

DINNER MENU

Starters:

Pumpkin – Curry soup & Pappadams (tried and tested, we just need
to look for a new blender. The last one crashed on my foot,
cementing one of our new HSE house rules. Wear shoes when cooking,
the other one would be – cook beside a fire extinguisher :) – I'm
kidding! I'm kidding! *<:o) )

Main Course:

Chicken with Prosciutto (bacon), Cherry tomatoes, and Asparagus.
I honestly don't know what it's called, and can't find the recipe
(hence, mayday). I saw it on Discovery Channel though, Jamie Oliver
rocks!!!! It looks simple, easy and mouth-watering. For those of
you who live alone (and drink a lot!) it might be worthwhile for
you to come and experiment with us. It's a one person dish and all
you need is a stove and a can of wine or a glass of beer. We'll
figure out the recipe and you can check it out on Claire's blog
(Happy eclair, I don't know her surname) or Sacha's wiki (sacha
chua of course) (don't know where they are, google it or click
here. Unless someone wants to help me document capybara night, and
we can put up a capybara blog.

Hybrid Risotto
I don't know if it's the real deal, but I promise you it tastes
great and is easy enough to make alone. (Might actually be a
risotto/ pilaf hybrid). Same risotto we've served in the last
couple of years of CN (carnivore night).

Dessert
c/o The Shy Ones (they're bringing the goods)

—-

Here's the thing. THIS IS NOT MASS MAIL…. well not really. Okay,
it's well thought out mass mail.

If you got this invite from me, please know that I've carefully
considered the guest list, and I'm pretty sure you'll get along
with the people who are coming. (if you don't live in the
Philippines, then I thought you might find this funny, or get an
idea for your next party) If you have a funny friend you'd like to
bring, pass the message on. Ask them to email me for security
clearance and psychological test. If they pass, we'll give them a
sticker (e.g. Hi I'm Pedro, what's yours? ;) ).

If you got this invite from a friend of mine (or a friend of a
friend) then they think highly enough of you to bring you along (I
was kidding about the sticker and the psych test, but email me
anyway so I know who you are. Remember to behave and bring your
sense of humor. You are not gatecrashing, you are welcome! Read on!

Brilliant (or hungry) Marcelle who BTW requested to hold the CBN
follow-up, suggested that guests pitch in with the dinner
production so it becomes cost effective for the host (me) and so we
can hold it more often (Yay!). Following this month's raid at the
Bombproof store, and getting axed with taxes, I heartily agree. :)

So how does it work?

CAPYBARA SORTER

just for dinner (be here by 7 if you want to be a Capybara)
There are those among us who are either really shy or really busy.
It's okay, you don't have to be there while we attempt to cook.
Dinner will be served at 7.30pm. You can bring us ready-made
appetizers, salad, something to drink or dessert. It's just fair.
:) For those of you who feel like they'd fall under this category.
Please reply to this email with SHY CAPYBARA under the subject
category. It would be wonderful to see you still don't worry.

coming to cook for dinner
And learn a new dish too! Be here by 5:30 pm. Please reply to this
email with CAPYBARA CHEF under the subject category. We will email
you which ingredient to bring. If you can't make it to that time,
SMS us EARLY (number removed) so we can go into crisis-resolution
mode and swing by the supermarket. (Kinda hard to make a chicken
recipe without the chicken)

coming to shop
All aboard! We're taking a field trip to the nearest supermarket
and deli. Bring Php. 200 – 300, we'll all pitch in for dinner (the
more, the many-er! ;) ) Please be here by 3 pm. We need to get
organized. Please reply to this email with SHOPPING CAPYBARA under
the subject category. See you here

requiring Environmental/ Behavioral Enrichment
Find yourself pacing lately? Or engaging in stereotypical/ self
destructive behaviors (plucking hair/ nail-biting). Come and be
enriched. I'll make you a puzzle feeder for dinner. ;) some ideas

Either that or you just really miss me, which is fine. :) Yeah,
yeah, you can come to the house as early as you want (after 10
am… otherwise you'll meet a grumpy monkey.) Bring your favorite
DVD (Marcelle, nothing too cheesy), your favorite set of clothes,
or a board/bored game. We'll figure out what to do with you when
you get here.

Whew! That was a long invite….

Anyway, looking forward to seeing you here!

Warmest regards,

Kathy Chua
Head Capybara