I had a pretty fun little visit home this weekend, and it went by really fast. I left Friday on the 5:00 PM train to Springfield from Chicago and was pretty excited to get home because I hadn’t been there in close to 2 1/2 months. It was my mom’s birthday on Friday, so I hung out with her and my dad for a little bit before heading off to Pawnee Prairie Days for the rest of the evening. I got to see a lot of people up there. Probably my favorite part of the night was dancing to the Lost Boys with Mark. Mark and I just have such great sexual energy, that whenever the Lost Boys are cranking out rock anthem after rock anthem, we have to get up there and boogie. By the time I got there, all the rides and food stands were closed down, so I didn’t get to partake in any of that. No Heart Flip for me
. Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, Mike Salisbury is still f’in hilarious.
On Saturday morning, I got up and headed over to Brad’s house and began a crucial bike ride around Springfield. We pretty much repped our cycle gang SoS (Sons of Sircumstance) to the fullest all over downtown Springfield. Brad and I marked our territory by placing several bear stickers (not the football team) around the downtown area. We also stopped to get our picture taken with a man who was supposed to look like Abe Lincoln but looked nothing like Abe Lincoln, hackey sacked in a park by the Lincoln homes, stopped at a book sale going on at the Lincoln Library, and biked up to the top of one of the parking garages in the city. During our cycle ride, we encountered several members of the Bike Path Mafia or BPM, as you might be familiar with them, the completely fictional cycle gang that also frequents Springfield and doesn’t exist. BPMs are pretty much anyone on a bike that are not you. And man, are they a scary bunch. Luckily, no one had to throw down on this relatively cloudy Saturday morning. After repping SoS to the fullest, I was pretty tired so I went back to my parent’s house and took a quick nap and then went to where Jacelyn was working at It’s All About Wine.
Apparently, It’s All About Wine has wine tastings on Saturdays, and I was just in time for that. I’d only been to a couple of wine tastings before but I never really got into it. This one was really fun because I met some new people and just had fun trying the different kinds of wine. I actually engaged in the wine tasting and stopped being such a hater. I tried 3 of the 4 different kinds of wine they had and really ended up liking one of them. It was a carignane (a red) and really tasty. I could easily have drank a bottle of that. Anyways, it was fun meeting the different kinds of people that go to wine tasting, and I think I will probably do more of that down the road when I’m older.
Next, I kicked it on the porch of Brad’s pad for the rest of the early evening and strummed away on his acoustic guitar that he’s now learning to play. Jace eventually came over and brought with her some beef and noodles from a local Thai place. Because I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, I was trying to get her to share her food, and she did. However, she refused to share any of her broccoli, just noodles. This made my heart sad, but I was still grateful. Everyone then left, and I drove to Sonic by myself because I love Sonic. I ordered a SuperSonic cheeseburger with no tomatoes, mustard, tots, and a root beer. This is generally my go-to Sonic order, and I was not feeling fancy. I love when you go to a fast-food restaurant so much that you anticipate the questions the drive-thru person will ask and just give him all the info he needs right in your order. I like to think that the drive-thru guy on the other end appreciates a concise, anticipatory order but who knows really. After I pulled up to the window, I paid for my food and drink; I received it and then sat there in the car not moving. Not because I was trying to be funny or a dick or something, but I was so zoned into my own thoughts I didn’t even realize that I had already gotten my food. So the Sonic guy opens up the window, seeing I’m all zoned out and says, “Can I help you with something?” After he said that, I realized what was going on and then apologized and left.
Next, I went to Jacelyn’s house where she was packing for her trip to Chicago the next day. Now, if anyone has ever been to Jacelyn’s house, then you know that she has some very specific rules that you have to follow. She refuses to let you put your feet on her couch, which is really too bad because she has this lovely flannel, electric blanket resting on the couch that just makes you want to get all warm and cozy. Plus, she always makes you take your shoes off. So I get in my sockers and start rubbing my feet together and it makes me want to put my feet up on the couch. But no! Jace Face doesn’t allow feet on the couch, so the whole time I’m over there I’m constantly having to correct my natural urge to get cozy on the couch. It’s a really frustrating experience, one I hope you never have to deal with. Eventually, after I had worn out my welcome by disregarding her no-feet-on-the-couch orders, she made me get up and trade spots with her and sit in this Lazy Boy chair that she has. Now, the Lazy Boy chair was supposed to fix everything because I’m allowed to put my feet up on that, but the minute I sat down I reached for the lever to pull out the leg rest part–nothing happens. IT WAS BROKEN! So for the rest of my Jacelyn visit, I had to watch Mean Girls and The First Wives Club in general leg uncomfortableness. But we’re good friends, so it was fun.
After that, I went to the Corner Pub, where I met up with Dylan, his friends from Chicago (Pete and the Kath), Mark, and some other various people. We had fun and laughed. Then the whole group got their picture taken. Not because we’d need it for an alibi in the future but because we were all enjoying each other’s company and wanted to remember that moment. We all had a pretty good time and Pete and the Kath are hilarious, and I was pretty excited to hang out with Mark and Dylan together.
I rode the train back to Chicago with Dylan, Pete, and the Kath on Sunday morning. I thought I lost my ticket, but I ended up finding it after like 10 minutes of looking. We sat in those groups of seats that face each other for 3-4 people. They really don’t provide much leg room but we made do. We pretty much talked the whole time, and the Kath talked about this book called Flowers in the Attic which is about an incestuous family. Apparently, this is a must-read. The Kath also offered to give me her old cell phone. So score for me!
Well, that was pretty much my whole trip. It was a good time, and I was happy I got to see so many people. If I missed ya this time, I hope I see you next time I’m home. Thanks for reading!