HALAL

What makes you happy?

It’s not unusual to wake up after a night at 1020 with some unexpected texts on your phone. In Bwog’s case, we woke up to find an interview in voice memo form. On Tuesday, two adventurous seniors, Anna and Diana (anonymity requested), CC and SEAS’13, decided to stay in 1020 from opening to closing. At 2:20 am, 10 hours and 20 minutes into their stay, Bwog sat down at the front table to check in with them.

Bwog: How long have you been at 1020? 

Diana: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 1, 2…10 hours!

Anna: 10 hours and 20 minutes.  Since 4 o’clock, opening time.

Bwog: And how long are you going to be here till?

Anna and Diana: Until it closes! [agonized shouts]

Anna: I thought it was gonna be 3, but considering the crowd that’s come out, I think it’s gonna be more like 4:30. I think last call will be 3:50 and everyone will be gone by 4:30.

Diana: Are we gonna be the last people here?

Anna: I think so, yeah.

Diana: I assumed we would.

Anna: It’s all a work in progress.

Bwog: When did you come up with this idea?

Anna: Two nights ago!

Diana: We wanted to do it for a long time, and then we just were like “fuuuuck, let’s do it.”

Bwog: Are you guys done with finals? Is that why tonight’s the night?

Diana: I am, but she has one on Thursday.

Bwog: You still have one on Thursday?

Anna: Well we give zero fucks, so, you know…

Bwog: Are you getting food…?

Anna: Yeah! Oh yeah. We have a list of rules of the 1020 Open to Close.

Diana: Rule #1: you have to stay at 1020 from open to close.

Anna: And the only time you can go out of 1020 is to smoke a cigarette in a 5 meter radius. You have to eat a piece of Koronets, a milkshake from Tom’s, Roti Roll, and a spicy special.

Bwog: How do you get all this without leaving?

Diana: It must be ordered in or delivered by friends. We’ve had both. We’ve had everything except for the Koronets, which I think we’re saving for last. Someone actually did give us half a pizza…

Bwog: That’s like basically a piece of Koronets.

Diana: Yeah…but we’re still gonna have to get Koronets. And there’s other rules–oh, oh!

Anna: We haven’t done this yet, but we have to get on the bar, pool table, or regular table.

Diana: To dance. And you can’t walk home. You have to take subway, taxi, public safety,

Anna: Rickshaw, piggyback, skip, hop, jump…

Diana: You cannot walk home.

Bwog: Any idea how you’re going to do it?

Diana: We’ll decide when we get there. [laughs]

[Interrupted by a friend coming over to say bye to the girls]

Bwog: You’ve had a lot of friends come by?

Diana: Yeah! Well we made a very large Facebook event. I think we had around 20-30 people stop by.

Anna: I think way more than that. If you look at our list–so you have to make a list of all the things… So we made a big list, cuz both of us are moving away, so with everyone who came we made a list of what makes them happy. [see picture] You should write whatever makes you happy on it! So you can see it’s definitely more than 30. I think it’s upwards of 50.

Diana: You think 50 people came by?

Anna: Maybe it’s because I know 50-plus people here. Between people coming by versus people just going to 1020 it’s difficult to distinguish.

Diana: As a SEAS student, I naturally invoke the concept of–

Anna: Even within the first 3 hours, we had at least 10 people. Before 8 we had at least 10, maybe 20. So now it seems like a lot more people.

Bwog: If you get to the end and complete your goals, what do you win?

Anna: Camaraderie, friendship…

Diana: That we survived! That’s like 12 hours of drinking! If I can drink for 12 hours, without passing out, I’m like ha!

Bwog: How much have you had?

Diana: This is my tenth gin and tonic.

Bwog: Are you buying all of them yourselves?

Anna: We were at the beginning, more than now. But we’ve also danced a lot, and also had a lot of beer. Which is crucial to success.

Diana: I had one glass of water. Kids: be safe!

Anna: Yeah, we’ve been doing the Nalgene thing.

Diana: Well you have! I’ve had a cup of water. [laughs]

Bwog: Are you big 1020 fans? Is that why you picked here?

Anna: I would say so.

Diana: I mean, it’s a Columbia bar. I used to live above here, so the whole summer I would come here, I’ve always liked 1020.

Anna: There’s just something about 1020; every time you come in, it feels really different and really the same. And I’m really drunk, but sometimes I come in and I’m like, “ooh, I’m a sophomore who just wants to get a sour amaretto” and sometimes I’m like “ohmygod I’m a senior who hates everyone in here.” You meet somewhere in between, and it’s like an every-place for everyone.

Bwog: Are you both staying in New York after graduation?

Diana: No. That’s part of the reason we did this! It’s a nice atmosphere for people to come and say bye. I’ve had to say goodbye to at least seven people tonight. This could be the last time I see them in a long time. It’s way better than “Cafe 212! Come say bye to me!” or “ohmygod, Butler lounge!” Who wants to say bye to them?

Anna: Like “I’m leaving, come meet me outside Carman…”

Diana: Anyways, you should do 1020 Open to Close. I hope many other people will continue the tradition now.

Anna and Diana successfully made it to closing. No update on how they got home without walking or how bad the hangover was on Wednesday. Bwog apologizes if any quotes were misattributed. 1020’s a loud place.