Four days in Ann Arbor.
ALONE.
Well, not really alone. I went down there on Wednesday night after my mom got home from work, which means we drove through GR in the middle of rush hour. We took separate cars because I planned to stay for the weekend while mom was only going to stay one night and attend the Orientation activities on Thursday for U of M. It is damn hard to stay behind the same car while dealing with merging traffic on both the right and the left while going seventy five mph.
I got sick of going slow, and eventually took the lead once we got past Brighton. Of course mom lagged behind and got lost. I pulled off to the side of the road and waited for her to catch up. The only problem was that it was dark – I couldn’t tell which car was hers. So I pulled back out into the road and drove slowly until I was sure she must have found me by then. It was a complicated process.
We made it to Aaron and Nick’s apartment just fine. Mom had her cell phone and had called there when she got lost, so she knew where she was going. We all went out to Mongolian Barbeque for dinner, which was as crowded as any place I’ve ever seen. Nick got a bowl full of spices and brought it up to the grill, pretending like he intended to eat it. The guy with the big sticks gave him an impressed look and announced to everyone that Nick was a real man. No, that didn’t really happen. But the guy did say the following word: ”Wow.”
Mom and I took off for the hotel after dinner. I went to bed pretty quick in order to wake up ready to walk around campus for eight hours. The night was uneventful.
Campus Day, as the informational event of the day was called, was rather dull. Learning all the history of the campus is cool and all, but not when we have to wander around in a huge tourist group carrying bright yellow Welcome to the University of Michigan! folders. We walked from the Union over to Alice Lloyd and then back again within the course of two hours or so. We also sat through several speeches and Q&A sessions. I skipped the part where we were supposed to sit in on “actual, live U of M classes” and went to Wendy’s for some Dr Pepper. Mom and I found our way back to the Maynard parking thing and drove back to the hotel to pick up my car. She then followed me all the way back down State St. to Aaron and Nick’s place. I gave her directions to Main Street from there, and told her to look for some Business 23 signs as soon as she got far enough along.
I stayed at my boyfriend’s apartment for the remainder of the weekend and spent the time sleeping, eating, partying, and being extremely cold. I can’t recall what happened during the rest of Thursday. Friday was a blur of activity, most of which involed convincing a drunken mexican that there were no such things as moose. He didn't believe us at first, but eventually admitted he has suspeced they weren't real. I asked if he believed in reindeer, and he got offended -- "Of course not! Everyone knows there's no reindeer," Jaoquin said. I told him that the Yak had been invented for a Jim Carrey movie, which he accepted immediately. "Who would call an animal 'Yak'? That's some crazy white bullshit," he calmly stated.
Saturday was exciting. Aaron’s band had a gig at the famous Beer and Booty Bonanza on McKinley Street. There was also the celebrated annual Beer Pong tournament taking place at seven that evening. The group seated first was none other than Brother & Wonks, Jake and Shithouse, the champions of Beer Pong last year. “Brother” Jake plays guitar for Greysoul, the band Aaron is in, so we were obligated to be spectators for the evening.
Aaron, Nate, Jaoquin, Jake, and Brian set up their equipment in a sad excuse of a garage. While Wonks had gone out in search of extension cords, it started snowing. It was damn cold. I had three coats on but eventually had to abandon by place of support and run downstairs inside the house to observe several illegal activities taking place. But at least it was warm.
I met up with Ben, a good friend of Aaron’s. We hung out while the band was off doing its thing and cheered for our favorite teams. Aaron came and found me to say the police had showed up after the first band finished their first song. So the music was cancelled. We camped out in the basement with an occasional trip outside for a refill. I was being the only responsible one of the twelve of us – no beer nor booty for kaytay.
Jake and Wonks ended up winning the entire tournament for the second year in a row. They were both drunk off their asses before even starting, and continued to drink after winning. I can only wonder where all the liquid is stored inside those two. Granted, they’re both rather large people (Wonks is easily 300lbs+), no human bladder or stomach is able to contain so many gallons of alcohol.
The police showed up a second time. I told Aaron I would wait outside for him to round up the rest of the boys so we could be on our way to bigger and better events. He said he’d be back in a few minutes. I waited outside – in the snow – for at least half an hour. I made a lot of new friends, however, most asking after my health and wellbeing after noticing my chattering teeth and shaking limbs. But unfortunately, I was too stubborn to go back inside and look for my loving boyfriend. I sent six or seven of my well-wishers inside to find him, but only three returned, all saying he was nowhere to be found. I must give props to “The Doctor” for keeping me company most of the time I spent outside. He was not dressed for the weather, and yet he sacrificed his comfort in order to make me smile.
Aaron eventually showed up. It was super crowded inside, and the rest of the guys had been up in the attic getting into mischief away from prying eyes. Aaron got pulled into it and forgot about his girlfriend waiting out in the cold. Or something along those lines.
The weekend was okay overall. I got a lot of homework done while Aaron was out, and watched Arlington Road for the first time. Definitely a worthwhile weekend. But I’m glad to be home.