It was an interesting weekend on my end. Maybe not in terms of long lasting meaningful events but in terms of just some strange occurrences and minor grievances.
I went to the Notre Dame – Navy game in Baltimore on Saturday. To those who might be reading this who were at the game, sorry I didn’t make an attempt to meet up with you but this was a real last minute decision on my part. I did not get my ticket and parking pass until Friday night. Now while I had never driven to Baltimore I looked up the drive and ended up timing the trip so that I would get there an hour and a half before kickoff. Plenty of time to walk around the tailgates and see if I could find anyone I know.
Or so was the plan. Apparently the fine people of Baltimore have no idea as to how to design a road system that allows people to actually get to the stadium. Seriously, I just made it in before kickoff due to how horrible the traffic was on all of the ramps with absolutely no signs or indications as to how to speed up the trip. Now on some levels it was cool. I did get to see the midshipmen march into the stadium from the comfort of my car on an off-ramp. That is a very inspiring sight. However, when those same midshipmen are marching down the road you need to cross you suddenly begin to wish that we had downsized our military.
But I did get in and after taking the stairs to the upper most level of the stadium (which I considered my workout for the game) I sat down with a beer in my hand for the game. Yes, I finally got to watch Jimmy Claussen quarterback while drinking without the fear of being ejected from the stadium. Trust me, it is the only way that makes his play even remotely tolerable. While ND-Navy is a historic rivalry it is probably the most congenial rivalry in all of football. I just sat there joking with the Navy fans behind me. There is no ill will between the two schools. We just play each other every year.
The weather was really nice for three and a half quarters. Sun was out, wasn’t too cold, and after a horrible first half Notre Dame finally decided to play some offense and take a 27-7 lead. Then we started feeling a few drops of rain. I put up the hood on my sweatshirt thinking that this would protect me enough from the rain to last the rest of the game. Sadly, I did not account for the monsoon that hit at that point. At the ripe old age of 35, being in the exposed upper deck of a football stadium while blinding rain and 30 mile an hour wind gusts are going on is not exactly what I am up for on my day off. So once I reached the point where every single part of me was completely drenched I fled for safety and concluding that the game was well within reach I made my way to my car.
Got to my car with two minutes to go and after an incredibly smooth exit (seriously, Baltimore is bizarro stadium, can’t get in but easy to leave) I got to listen on the radio as Navy scores twice, converts two onside kicks and almost pulls out a victory. While I’m bummed I missed all the excitement I am happy that I left. Being wet, miserable and watching Notre Dame lose to Navy for two years in a row is not something I wanted to be a part of.
Oh, and how wet did I get? My shoes still haven’t dried. I just did laundry and I think my sweatshirt was less wet after being in the washing machine. Don’t think I’ve ever gotten that fully soaked.
I made it home in one piece but spent the entire night trying to warm up. Never quite could so I called it an early night and didn’t hit the bars as I initially planned. I really haven’t been going out much since I moved out here to the point that it is becoming a bit of an issue. I know that I’ve only been here two and a half months (and I’ve been out of town for a bit of that) but I’ve realized that I have not had a single conversation with someone that I do not work with since I’ve been here. Sure, I’ve talked to people but I haven’t had an honest to goodness conversation. It’s just been words exchanged out of politeness. That makes for a trying existence.
I have an electronic social life now. Chats online with jokes passed along Facebook posts. The occasional voice across a cell phone, just digital signals recombined into something resembling a human voice but without any of the soul. It is not the life I want to lead but for the moment it will have to do.
Best of 120 Minutes: It’s been gray and dreary all weekend. I’m still in a dark mood. That can mean only one thing: Joy Division. If I knew what Goths were in high school I would have been one.
The Five Random CDs for the week: As the notes of Death Cab for Cutie’s “Narrow Stairs” faded from my stereo it marked the completion of the nearly three year project to listen to every CD that I own in random order. Quite the accomplishment and I enjoyed every moment of it even if there are some of the 700+ CDs that I really wish I hadn’t purchased. I could live without having to listen to Paula Cole again. But now that the project is over I would like to pose a question to my readers: Should I restart it? I need to listen to something while driving: music, NPR, books on tape. What should I do next? Suggestions are welcome in the comments.
1 comment:
Was that game wetter than the West Virginia game in 2001? That was a pretty wet game, but it was a cold, steady rain over the course of the game whereas on TV it looked like it all just came down at once.
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