Do you ever find yourself in those moments when all the seemingly disparate things that you love collide into one atomic bomb of sheer goodness? Well, that bomb went off for me last Friday night. A random collection of friends and I went out for Ethiopian food at a neighboring restaurant. A couple that I was with had befriended the restaurant owners as they live directly behind the restaurant-- and they're just those fantastic kind of people who take interest in those they walk by.

Oddly, for a Friday evening, the place was empty by 9pm, except for our motley crew. After a feast of curried goat and lentils sopped up by tangy injera, the lights went dim. A South African dj began setting up his table and lights. He came by with small sheets on which we could make our musical requests: regaetone, house, South African, West African, and old school. My friend had spent time in South Africa and swapped some Zulu words back and forth with the spin doctor. With a huge smile, he collected our requests. Donning headphones and the serious pose of a true mix master, he produced a veritable feast of tunes that propelled us onto the dance floor. The Ethiopian wife of one of the chef's came out and danced to C&C Music factory with us. In between Michael Jackson and Enya, we talked to the proprietors, asking them how they found our midwestern city.

Disco lights, new friends, an exchange of cultures- it was truly a taste of heaven.