if you think it, it will come

This past weekend, Jesse and I headed down to Blacksburg for the momentous battle between the Florida State and Virginia Tech football teams. Before we left for B-burg (as I affectionately call it), Jesse had mentioned that he wasn't sure he was in the mood to hang out and party after the game. And considering how hard those Hokies party, you really just have to be in the mood to do so. So, I offered to drive back after the game if he didn't want to stay. Jesse wanted to wait and see how he felt.

Turns out, it was me who didn't want to stay. This is because I couldn't watch the USC/Cal game anywhere in B-burg. Fine, I get that I was in the middle of SW VA and maybe the sports bars would have to pay to get coverage of a game on the West Coast. Why pay for an important game between two ranked California rivals when you can get the Kansas game for free? However, this is USC/CAL, people. To a Trojan, regardless of rankings, this is an important game. So, Jesse and I had one final option: listen to the game on the radio on the way home.

As we said goodbye to Jesse's friends at River Mill, Beth turned to me after she found out I was driving and said, "Be careful." I looked at her and immediately I thought, Oh right, deer. But she was worried about the trucks. 81 is a major truck route and a two lane highway in both directions. I appreciated her warning, but I was more afraid of deer.

Turns out there were no deer on 81, but there were plenty of trucks driven by sleepy truck drivers who had probably been driving all day and were now randomly swerving into my lane. After several narrow escapes, I was anxious to get to the half way point of our journey. However, by the time we got to Harrisonburg, I was the sleepy one. I wanted to stop and stay at a hotel so badly, but we were already at the half way point and I should just stick it out and go home. I prefer to sleep in my bed anyways.

I was scared awake when we made the transition from 81 to 66. 66 was pitch black. No one else was on the road except for the occasional car every 10-15 minutes. It was scary. And unfortunately for me, a girl who is not used to driving on anything but major roads and city streets, I was deathly afraid of driving from the West end of 66, which is mostly woodsy and/or rural.

The threat of deer was imminent. I could just feel it. I had been thinking about it during the whole drive and I just knew that something was going to happen. Driving by the occasional deer carcass on the side of the road, I prayed that I wouldn't hit a deer.

I've had two encounters with deer on the road. The first was when Jesse and I went to Charlottesville for our first Thanksgiving together. While he was driving me around the neighborhood where he grew up, a deer sauntered directly in front of the car. Since we were driving at a snail's pace, the car was pretty much close to stopping anyways. And no, the deer was not injured. We waited as the deer slowly passed by the car.

My second encounter was not as pleasant. While driving through a woodsy neighborhood at night in Fairfax, the car ahead of me in the distance came to a screeching halt. As I approached the spot where the car came to a halt, I realized why the car had done so--the driver had hit a young deer and in the process had broken his hind legs. My heart broke to a million pieces as I saw the deer try desperately to get up and run away. I slowly drove around the injured deer and hoped that his death would come quickly. I wanted his suffering to end.

I thought of that night as I drove down 66 before dawn early Sunday. And then it happened. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a deer dart out of the woods and onto the highway. I swerved to miss him and started screaming. "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!" I woke up a napping Jesse with my screaming and I put my hand on my heart in a fruitless attempt to calm its rapid beating. I explained to Jesse what happened. Just then, I saw large puddles of blood on the road and finally a fresh deer carcass. I swerved again and my freak out started all over again. Jesse put his hand on my leg in a show of support. I mentally sent him a message: Please take the wheel.

But he didn't. And again, I had to stick it out. But I've decided NEVER to drive home from Blacksburg in the middle of the night again.

i was on ESPN college gameday!

College football started this past weekend (well, on Thursday, technically) and long time readers of this blog know what that means...It's the return of the Monday College Football recap (except today's post is one day late due to the holiday)! If you're not a sports fan, you're welcome to scroll to the end of the recap for the beginning of the normal blog post which is about my weekend in Blacksburg, VA.

However, if you are a sports fan, please read below. Also, this post is cross-posted at my college football blog, i heart mark may.

• First off, LSU played Mississippi State and I wasn't really impressed with the LSU offense at first. Miss. State actually hung in there despite LSU's killer defense. And then, around the 2nd quarter, LSU showed why they are the second-ranked team in the country and began the annihilation that resulted in a 45-0 victory for the Tigers. Over-confident Hokies everywhere started to worry just a bit.

• Holy Crap! All of you who never thought that a Division 1-AA team could never beat a Division 1-A team were proven wrong on Saturday as Michigan suffered an embarrassing loss against Appalachian State (which most TV analysts couldn't even locate on a map...the ESPN guys actually used Google Maps to find it). The Mountaineers were able to seal the victory after blocking a Michigan field goal attempt in the waning seconds of the 4th quarter. This is now Michigan's 3rd loss in 3 games--dating back to November 2006 when Michigan lost to Ohio State (in a game many considered to be the championship game until Florida kicked the Buckeyes' butt in the real championship game) and in January 2007, the Wolverines got their behinds kicked yet again by the 2007 pre-season #1 team in the country, USC. Michigan can kiss that #5 ranking good bye. Also, should Michigan coach Lloyd Carr start looking for a new job?

• Speaking of looking for a new job, Charlie Weis, you're on notice. Notre Dame received a shellacking by Georgia Tech, which is not surprising to anyone except the people of South Bend (and Lou Holtz, who predicted the Irish would win 10 games this season). Mark May's prediction that the Irish would start the season 1-7 is starting to look pretty accurate right now. The team had no offense or defense. I know that it's a rebuilding year and all, but last year was a rebuilding year for USC and we went to the Rose Bowl (and won).

• The Hokies of Virginia Tech had plenty of distractions during Saturday's game in Blacksburg (what with the memorial tribute to the victims of April's shootings and the heavy ESPN presence on campus) but none was more potent than the ECU offense, who managed to find holes in Tech's defense and actually had the audacity to score against the Hokies. Everyone expected to the Hokies to easily beat the Pirates (ok, so I took an unofficial poll while tailgating), but those hopes were quickly dashed when Hokie quarterback Sean Glennon (who really needs to get injured quick...nothing really bad...just enough to keep him on the sidelines for a bit) threw an interception in Hokies first possession. It was literally his first pass of the game. And he had all the time in the world (his o-line actually helped him out for most of the game, unlike last year). After his performance on Saturday, loyal Hokie fans everywhere are experiencing some anxiety about next week's game against LSU.
  

• Glennon had nobody to blame but himself for all of his mistakes, but like the immature, skill-less moron he is, he actually blamed his receivers during post game interviews. His receivers were actually the only ones who tried to make him look good, by contorting their bodies to catch passes that were thrown behind them or by stretching unbelievable lengths to catch overthrown passes. Ugh. He really pisses me off.

• And speaking of being pissed off, will the real USC Trojans please stand up? During the offseason, all we heard about was how great and unstoppable they would be and they couldn't even cover the spread against Idaho, a team expected to finish last in their conference (what conference that is, I'm not sure...WAC maybe?). Jesse teased me for not thinking that a score of 38-10 proved domination (sure the starters sat out after the end of the 3rd quarter), but I was expecting more from my Trojans. First off, hello, John David Booty? Look, Booty, you're not going to win the Heisman when you throw interceptions against a crappy team. I thought he hadn't thrown any interceptions in 400 attempts during practice.

Next up for me: USC is off next weekend which will give them plenty of time to get ready for their first test of the season, a game against Nebraska in Lincoln. This weekend, I am off to New Orleans/Baton Rouge to catch the Hokies play LSU. I'm praying the Hokies will actually show up to play.

__________________________________________________________________

Ok, so like I said, I went to B-burg this weekend. ESPN was airing their weekly pregame show, ESPN Gameday from the soccer field across from Lane Stadium and Jesse and I just had to show our Hokie support and catch some Gameday action (as we're both big fans of the show, even if the only analyst I like is Mark May). As the camera panned out right before a commercial break, Jesse and I came into view and I started jumping up and down and screaming (yes, I was sober). I looked ridiculous but it was all in good fun.

So, here we are at Gameday.


And here is the Hokie Nation, representing.


A week leading up to the game, there was a grassroots campaign to bring signs saying "Thank you" to all the universities that offered Tech their support following the shootings. I thought that was a very, very nice gesture.


Before we even got to Blacksburg, Jesse took me down Skyline Drive for the first time ever. I was super excited and I got a little camera happy. Here are some pics.


Mary’s Rock


Here’s Jesse, getting in my way.


And this little guy actually stopped long enough for a picture.


On Friday, Jesse and I will be flying to New Orleans and spending the day there. The game is late on Saturday, so we may stop by ESPN Gameday (oooh...two Gamedays in a row) during out pre-game festivities in Baton Rouge. This will be my first time in Louisiana so suggestions for outings and must-see places are definitely welcome. I'm so excited!

i’m a hokie.

Tomorrow, Jesse and I will make the long drive down to Blacksburg and visit Virginia Tech for the first time since before the shootings in April. And I’m scared.

I’ve always felt very secure on campus (even during those two times Jesse and I walked around campus in the middle of the night after a fun evening of drinking downtown). So, no, I am not afraid that I’m going to be some victim of crime. Crime is the last thing I expect to experience in Blacksburg.

I’ve been going to Blacksburg several times a year (during football season of course) since Jesse and I started dating. As a proud alum and football fan, Jesse makes sure we go to a couple of games a year (in fact, I’ve been to more Tech games than USC games in the last three years). I wasn’t sure what to expect the first time I went to Blacksburg. I sort of expected to see a random town in the middle-of-nowhere, Virginia. However, that’s not really what I got.

What I got was a small community, nestled between nature’s most perfect offerings—the Blue Ridge Mountains and woods with beautifully long trees. It was a college town like none I had ever experienced. After all, I was a big city girl, having gone to USC, a university trapped between the smog in the sky and the freeways that create a natural boundary. L.A. could never be considered a college town.

Virginia Tech offered something so much different. While I developed a more cosmopolitan view of the world by going to USC, Jesse went to school in the comfort and solace of seclusion. Blacksburg’s isolation from the big, bad world is its greatest asset. As a result, a wonderfully close community developed and the students and alumni get to feel what it is like to be in a large family.

Blacksburg is the kind of town where people leave their doors open so they can stumble home after a night out. It’s the kind of town where people greet its newcomers with not only a friendly welcome, but often also a hug (I’ve hugged a lot of people I barely know in Blacksburg and that kind of stuff would never happen in L.A.). It’s the kind of town where the residents embrace the university and the university is more than happy to exist in the residents’ embrace. Their relationship is symbiotic in a way. The university relies on the town for its resources, and the residents rely on the university for the life and excitement that the university provides.

I am in awe of the community of Blacksburg.

Although I am not an alum, the shootings in Virginia Tech really left an impression on me. I had been to Blacksburg enough times and had met enough Hokies (some of which I consider my friends) that I too felt like I was a part of the family. My reaction to the shootings was one of deep sadness. As far away as DC, I felt the collective loss of innocence in the community. Their peaceful, tranquil campus had been turned upside down by this tragedy. The town was no longer secluded, as the media invaded and introduced the world to the community of Virginia Tech.

As the community grieved, the residents and students requested a return to seclusion. The media was no longer welcome and were urged to go back to the big cities they came from. There was a collective desire to return to normalcy in order to mourn. Sure, sympathy was pouring in from all over the world. It was appreciated. But it was now time for family.

The people of Blacksburg are probably closer than ever now. The tragedy has forever tightened the bond that holds the community together. But Virginia Tech may never return to normal. Besides, what is normal at this point? All they can do is move forward and move on. But what does that entail?

I’m scared because I know that when I go back to campus tomorrow, it will be different. Sure, the community will be closer than ever. But I fear that there will always be a cloud of sadness off in the horizon. It will serve as a reminder of what will forever be lost—a sense of normalcy, the innocence of the community, the bright futures of those whose potential will never be realized.

I don’t want to be sad this weekend. I don’t want to feel guilty for having a good time. I want to be happy. I want to enjoy the town. I want to laugh and talk with Jesse’s friends. I want to be free to cheer the Hokies on to victory against ECU.

Perhaps what I need is acceptance. Accept that Blacksburg will be different. It will be stronger. It will be closer. It will always remember.

After all, we’re still family.

the meaning of “overkeg” and other stuff from VT’s homecoming

It was a beautiful fall day in B-burg and the day time weather was perfect for college football. Wish I could say the same for the nighttime weather.


Since the homecoming game was a night game, we had 8 hours of good, quality tailgating time. As always, Bill (the king of VT tailgates) didn’t disappoint. Knowing that the homecoming tailgate might draw some extra tailgaters, Bill got 3 kegs instead of the usual 2. That was so nice of Bill to overkeg!



And here’s my favorite hokie…


Once darkness was upon us, the cold became unbearable. Unfortunately, I only brought a sweatshirt with me. However, Jesse came prepared and offered me his leather jacket (which, incidentally, I gave him for X-mas last year). Isn’t he a gentleman?



After the game, we decided to thaw out at a nearby watering hole (Big Al’s) where I was able to catch up on some college football and get to know Jesse’s friends a bit better. Here I am with Bill, the aforementioned the king of VT tailgates.



And here’s Jesse trying to discourage Kevin’s advances. Hey Kevin! He’s my boyfriend!!



Here are Jeff and Beth, feeling the rhythm of the music.


Jeff, a frequent patron of Bailey’s during USC games, made me happy by doing the V for Victory and showing a friend how to do it.


And right before they kicked us out of the bar, I stole a kiss from my boyfriend!


Birthday Week ’06 was the best week ever!

going back to B-burg

Jesse and I are off to Hokie Town for Virginia Tech's homecoming!



I'll be back in the blogosphere on Monday with pics and stories! Have a fabulous weekend!

birthday week kickoff '06

On Saturday, I went out to dinner in Ballston with a few friends. Dinner was exhausting. I barely ate. Being the perfectionist that I am, I desperately wanted for everyone to get along. I invited friends from the vastly different aspects of my life—work, old work, blog, Hokies, etc. I so wanted everyone to get along which is no easy task when there isn’t a common denominator in a large group (like work for example). Despite the fact that I should’ve created name tags for everyone that was there, I was very happy to see that everyone got along just fine. And my boss was a big hit, apparently.

I got a little goofy with the action shots but Anna was on to me!


Awww…Alanna, Shama, and Wayne share a moment.


Here I am with Jesse who is so photogenic. By the way, can you believe how long my hair is?


Like I said yesterday, we followed up dinner with a trip to Bailey’s to watch the USC/Arizona State game.

Here I am again, sitting with my favorite boys, Enzo and Dave.


I caught Jesse spending some quality time with one of his greatest loves—beer.


For more photos of the pre-birthday birthday fun, please click on my flickr badge in the column to the right.

It was a fun, little evening. I had a great time with my friends and I was so impressed with the turnout! I can’t believe that so many people came to help me celebrate! I heart my friends.

Coming up next on my Birthday Week ‘06 celebrations is the home-cooked meal Jesse is planning for my b-day tomorrow, followed by a full weekend of Hokie fun in Blacksburg.

ESPN looks to U2 for inspiration

For whatever reason, the ESPN.com college football headline yesterday was “Saturday Bloody Saturday.” I don’t recall any of the games on Saturday as being an all out war, but whatevs. I would prefer that ESPN.com no longer look to U2 for inspiration for their headlines. If they choose to continue, I’m definitely drawing the line at “Pride (In the Name of Love).”

Here’s the Saturday college football recap:

• Michigan State Spartans rolled over and played dead for Ohio State (sorry Dave and Enzo). Ohio State is #1 in the first week of BCS rankings. *yawn*

• Auburn beat Florida in a closer game than the final score suggests. Florida is really good (although I was sick of hearing how good they are all week from the ESPN guys) but they had to fall sometime. It’s nearly impossible to stay undefeated in the SEC and it is arguably the toughest college football conference. I’m happy to see Auburn win because it would’ve sucked to lose two games in a row…

• Speaking of losing two games in a row, Georgia was upset by Vanderbilt. I had no idea Vandy had a football team, although I would not be surprised if they have a better team than Duke. Good God is Duke awful. I digress…poor Georgia. What are the chances of losing to two Tennessee schools in two weeks (Tennessee and Vandy)? I’d hate to be a Bulldog right now. Speaking of Bulldogs, does anyone know why Uga (their mascot) was literally chillin’ on ice during the game? Wouldn’t that numb his paws after a while? Poor little puppy. Perhaps PETA should get on that.

• Speaking of losing two games in a row (again), the Hokies looked awful against Boston College on Thursday. It was literally painful to watch. Luckily for me, Ugly Betty was on to provide a distraction (how great is that show?). I’m not really sure what the Hokies need to do to turn things around, but I sure hope they don’t lose to Southern Miss this weekend (especially since Jesse and I will be there).

• Then-#4Michigan beat Penn State, despite “Super Mario” Manningham’s absence. With then-#2 Florida losing, the Wolverines shot right up to #2 in the AP Poll because…

• USC underperformed. I’m sorry, Shell, but Arizona State is not a good football team right now. They literally have no defense. USC was up 21-0 at some point in the 2nd quarter and we were beginning to look like the USC I remember. And then, for whatever reason, we let ASU back in the game. One minute, we’re sitting pretty. The next minute John David Booty is passing to a Sun Devil. Before you know it, we’re tied at 21. What the heck. Jesse says, “A win is a win.” To be honest, we don’t look like a #2 team out there. Despite the fact that I don’t believe we’re a #2 team, it hurt me to hear the Auburn Tigers at GameDay chant, “Overrated” when the ESPN guys were talking about us (let’s not forget, Tigers, USC kicked your ass when we played you 2 years in a row not that long ago).

• Speaking of the ESPN guys, can someone please tell me why Mark May loves USC? Since the very start of our recent college football dominance, Mark May has continuously defended us and praised us, while the other commentators (I’m looking at you Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso) hate us. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. In fact, I always look forward to Mark May’s analysis. I know he went to Pitt and played for the Redskins, but does he have some kind of USC degree he’s not telling anyone about? Did his wife go to USC? Or does he just know good football when he sees it? (I almost titled this post, “I heart Mark May” but I didn’t think Jesse would like that.)

So I decided to make college football Saturday part of my pre-birthday birthday celebration. After dinner (which I’ll blog about later), we headed over to Bailey’s and caught the game. And I finally got to meet Aesop from the excellent Trojan news blog, Fight On Forever! What a sweet guy! Gotta love the Trojan Family. Aesop came over and sat with us for a bit while we watched the game. He even told Jesse that I’m “a keeper.” *warm fuzzies*warm fuzzies*

USC is off next week, which is excellent timing since Jesse and I are going to Blacksburg for VT homecoming. Besides, my heart can’t take another close game. Hopefully USC will get it together before heading out to Corvallis to play OSU.

eff you, kirk herbstreit

Ahhhh…another college football Saturday has come and gone. This one came with a few surprises and a major upset. Ugh.

Here’s my weekly college football update:

• I know this happened on Thursday, but Auburn barely beat South Carolina (that other USC). I was pretty surprised and just a bit disappointed that South Carolina couldn’t pull off the upset. However, Auburn didn’t look that strong and they just lost their veteran center (sprained knee) and they’ve already lost one of their tight ends (broken ankle) for the season. As you already know, I’m counting on Auburn losing eventually, so USC can move up to #2.

• Ohio State kicked some Hawkeye ass. The Buckeyes dominated that game throughout. Poor Iowa didn’t have a chance. OSU looked really good out there and it was an away game for them. If they stay undefeated (their next challenging game would be the one with Michigan to close out the season), they should win the BCS championship. However, I still want USC to go to that game, even if we’ll lose.

• So, Notre Dame killed Purdue. Big shocker. However, they let Purdue score 3 touchdowns. I’m thinking their defense is looking pretty weak and will definitely become exploitable by November 25th (the big USC/ND game). I’m thinking that their big test will be Stanford. If they let Stanford score, then the defense sucks. Brady Quinn had a good game on Saturday, but I’m still not convinced that he’s Heisman material.

• Poor Virginia Tech. Unfortunately, they lost to Georgia Tech. All I kept thinking about was those first 3 TD’s GT had at the start of the game. Without those, VA Tech would’ve won. I’m not sure what happened to the Hokies’ defense. They literally stepped aside so Calvin Johnson could score. And their offensive line was horrible. Look, we all know that Sean Glennon is a crappy quarterback. But what do you expect him to do if you don’t give him time to throw?

• Despite Kirk Herbstreit’s prediction during GameDay (the inspiration for the title of this post), USC won. However, my mighty Trojans didn’t look so mighty against Washington State. I’m thinking WSU did their homework. I have no idea what happened to our defense. As I’ve mentioned in the past, our defense has been winning our games for us. But we’ve had a couple of injuries and we looked really weak against WSU. When the Cougars had the ball, they made scoring look easy. Every time USC scored, WSU answered back with a drive of their own. It was embarrassing and hard to watch. Thank God for that last minute interception!

• I’m gonna have to dedicate another bullet to USC’s offense. Why? Because they finally looked good. Steve Smith took it up a notch while Dwayne Jarrett stayed at home nursing an injury. He looked like the Steve Smith that I remember who had 3 TD’s in the Orange Bowl 2 years ago. In addition, the offense faced a number of 4th down and 3rd down and long situations and still managed to get the first down. Now all we have to do is get the defense to play like before and the offense to play like Saturday (or better) and we’ve got a national championship caliber team.

Finally, I feel the need to explain myself to the people of Blacksburg. I’m not gonna apologize for going to Sharkey’s and asking that they turn to the USC game on one of their TVs. Nor am I going to apologize for the USC game being on the big screen. And I’m definitely not apologizing for cheering (loudly) for USC during the game. And I’m not sorry I wore my USC sweatshirt to brunch on Sunday. I know that you think it’s odd for someone in your cute little college town to be cheering for a school that beat you 3 years ago, especially when this person was wearing a VA Tech t-shirt Saturday. So I feel that you should know the truth.

I’m a Trojan first and a Hokie second. Underneath my orange Hokie shirt, I bleed cardinal and gold. I got so excited about college football Saturday that I actually sang the USC fight song while walking to Lane Stadium (for the record, I was sober).

People of Blacksburg, I apologize for the confusion.

my manic depressive weekend

I rode an emotional rollercoaster through Sunday night. Overall, it was a good weekend. It had its ups and downs.

Ups

• On Friday, I hung out with one of my favorite bloggers for a girls night out. I had a fabulous time with my fabulous company.

• USC won (just barely)! More on this in the next post. MK, I appreciate the comment.

• On Saturday, I got to hang out with all of my favorite Hokies in Blacksburg—Jesse (of course), Jeff, Star, Bart, Emily, Rusty, Donna and Zack, Beth, Bill, Kevin, and Velvet. I also got to meet Killer and his fiancee and found out that Donna and Zack got engaged (congrats…by the way, I know an excellent wedding photographer…). Good times, good times…

Downs

• I missed the National Book Festival in DC. So sad…

• Virginia Tech lost. It was a very sad day for Hokies everywhere as the #11-ranked football team suffered their first loss of the season against Georgia Tech. It was the epic battle of the Techs and unfortunately, the Yellow Jackets came out to play and VT didn’t show up until after GT had scored 3 touchdowns.

The orange effect just wasn’t enough to stop the Jackets, but the student section showed some solidarity.


So, what’s a Hokie to do when you’re team just lost? How do you deal with the heartbreak (ok, so maybe Emily doesn’t look so sad)?


By drinking, of course!


Pretty soon midnight came upon us and the loss was a little easier to swallow. Still, some of us needed some comforting.


Meanwhile, I was pretty stoked that USC managed to hold off an upset to win against Washington State.


We'll get 'em next year, Hokies.

epic battle of the Techs this weekend!

Jesse and I were lucky enough to score tickets to this Saturday’s football game in Blacksburg, VA Tech vs. GA Tech. It’s #11 vs. #24. It’s Tech vs. Tech. It’s strong defense vs. explosive offense. It looks like a great matchup and I’m hoping that it will be an awesome game. If you can’t watch it in Blacksburg, I encourage you to watch it on ABC (3:30 start).

Unfortunately, this means that I will have to watch the USC/Washington State game at a Blacksburg bar, rather than with my fellow DC Trojans. I’ve really enjoyed watching the games with them and I plan on seeing future games with them after Saturday. Nothing like the Trojan family to make you feel warm fuzzies…

Peeps, have a fabulous weekend. Enjoy all of the great college football match ups. I’ll be back in the blogosphere on Monday with pics from my trip to B-burg.

Oh and…Fight on, Trojans!

conversations with drunk people

I spent Saturday night with a bunch of Hokies in Blacksburg. There was no way I was going to miss the USC/Arkansas game. I just had to watch my beloved Trojans play some where.

Luckily, there were TVs everywhere at the restaurant/bar we ended up at—Poor Billy’s. All of the screens around us were showing the Notre Dame/Georgia Tech game. I asked the hostess to change one of the TVs to the USC game. She changed it for me. A few minutes later, the bartender came over and changed the game to the ND/GT game, even though he saw me watching the game. I whined to Jesse about it because I didn’t want to miss another minute of the game. I had already missed our first field goal. Jesse, my hero, asked our waiter to change the channel. After all, there were 7 screens around us showing the ND/GT game (which is understandable considering I was in ACC territory). Surely, they could spare one screen for the lone Trojan in the building. The waiter obliged and let me pick which TV screen to watch the game from.

It was the first half and the game was still in doubt (in my mind). The Trojans had just made a good stop, defensively so I got excited. John, a Virginia Tech alum I had just met this weekend who joined us for dinner, looked in my direction after I cheered. Clearly, he was very, very drunk from the all-day tailgating. He and I then had the following conversation (my thoughts are in italics):

John: I’m pulling for Arkansas. I hate USC. I nodded my head. I’ve been hearing this since we won a share of the championship in 2004. Why do you want USC to win? Do you like ‘em or somethin’?

OCgirl: Yeah, well I went to school there.

John: I don’t just hate USC. I hate Texas. I hate the schools that always win. Come on, now. Don’t you just want them to lose just a little bit?

OCgirl: You must be joking. Clearly you can’t be serious. Let’s put this into words you can understand. Um. No.

John (shakes head)

OCgirl: No matter how good or bad the Hokies are, would you ever want them to lose?

John (looking appalled that I would ask a question with an obvious answer): No, of course not.

OCgirl: I made my case. Ok, then. So you understand why I would never want USC to lose.

John: Well, no. That’s different.

OCgirl: Really? How?

John: Well, you’re from California.

I laughed. That’s what happens when you try to reason with a drunk person.

the day i almost went to jail

We hit the road following brunch. I drove since Jesse was still feeling the effects of Saturday’s drunken debauchery. An hour and a half out of Blacksburg, I was driving around 80 on 81 and saw a VA state trooper in his secret spot. I slowed down (as did many other cars) and proceeded to drive just under 70 mph, as the trooper slowly pulled out of his spot and joined the flow of traffic. He then caught up to me and I heard a siren. Surely it couldn’t be me. After all, I was driving 5 mph over the speed limit and plenty of cars were passing me by on the left. It can’t be me because I didn’t do anything wrong. I noticed he was right on my tail, so I turned on my turn signal and moved to the shoulder. Naturally, I freaked out. I was being pulled over for the first time in my life.

The most country-accented man I’ve ever heard in my life approached the car. He asks, “Did you know that you’re driving with expired tags?” (Jesse’s tags just expired a couple of days ago). Jesse casually responds, “It’s my car. You know? I completely forgot. It was just a couple of days ago.” The trooper says in a heavy southern drawl, “That’s alllllll-right.” The trooper turns to me and asks, “Ma’am, can I see your driver’s license?” which I give up to him with an incredibly shaky hand. My hands were trembling and I could barely grab the wheel. I felt out of breath and wanted to cry. I had never in my life received a ticket for any reason and here I was getting pulled over in the middle of nowhere, driving someone else’s car with expired tags and an out-of-state license. Could it get any worse? Yes (of course it can, this is ME were talking about). The trooper asks, "Can I see your registration?" Jesse starts looking around but couldn't find his registration. I thought, Certainly I’ll be going to jail for this. Good thing I know lawsomnia personally. I’ll need good representation.

So, the trooper sees that Jesse is searching frantically (yet thoroughly) for the registration. He says, “I’m gonna run a check and I’ll be back.” At this point, I’m still freaking out as I’m trying to convince myself that going to jail in the middle of nowhere couldn’t be that bad. Maybe they’ll have good Southern food there.

Ten minutes later (trust me, it felt like an eternity), the trooper comes back with my license and a citation for me. He says, “You know, we’ll just forget about the registration.” He wasn’t so forgiving with the expired tags. He hands the citation to Jesse even though it’s for me. I asked him, “Is this gonna stay on my record?” He chuckles and says, “Oh no. You won’t get any points or anything.” He then explains what to do next, which I didn’t understand because of his accent (besides I was too busy thanking God for not going to jail). He then says, “Y’all be careful pulling out into the highway, ok?”

Poor Jesse felt really bad. He apologized profusely for putting me in that situation, for freaking me out like that. I just sat there and continued driving, praying that the hand-shaking would finally stop. We stopped at the Dairy Queen in Harrisonburg so I could treat myself to a shake. I certainly deserved one after the hell I went through.

A couple of miles later, it hit me. Previous to this incident, I was probably the only Californian with a spotless driving record (no accidents, no parking tickets, nothing). If you know what it’s like to drive in California, you would be proud of this too. Unfortunately, I must now relinquish my title.

This post is a continuation of the previous post: don't piss off a turkey

don't piss off a turkey

Who knew that Labor Day weekend could be so eventful? Not only was I one nervous Trojan fan for the first time in 4 years, but I managed to stay sober and still got pulled over by a Virginia State Trooper.

Somehow, Jesse and I managed to stay alive during our drive down to B-burg on Friday. It rained the whole way. The driving conditions were horrible, especially with the huge cargo trucks that blinded us with the water they splashed us with from their wheels. Jesse and I saw two vehicles that had gone over the highway embankments—one was a cargo truck that had not only flipped over, but it had also split open and its cargo was everywhere. Also, Jesse had seen a truck spin out of control and almost hit the SUV in front of it.

Six hours later, Jesse and I finally made it to Blacksburg in one piece. We checked in with Bill and Beth who were nice enough to let us stay with them in their beautiful home. After that, we had a late dinner at Boudreaux’s. Love those gator bites and mojitos!



On game day, Jesse, Beth, Donna, and I made it to Bill’s tailgate shortly before 10 a.m. It was quite the operation. There was plenty of food and booze so it was perfect. I stayed away from the $1-a-pound hamburgers though. The usual suspects were there, including Kevin and Velvet who are always fun to be around. A couple of hours later, Jesse and I headed over to the stadium to watch the game. It was a blowout (poor Northeastern).

Following the game, we headed over to Rusten’s tailgate. There we hung out with Doc and Star (not their real names, apparently Star has dropped the “Super” that preceded his name). Also, I got a call from my favorite Trojan, Josh (more on him later). We discussed Trojan football for quite a while as we were both very excited about the season starting.

Before we knew it, it was time to head out to the sports bar to catch the USC game. Beth, Donna, Donna’s boo Zack, John, Jesse and me decided to have dinner at Poor Billy’s (which is below the previously mentioned Big Al’s). All the TV screens in our corner were showing the GA Tech/Notre Dame game (which is understandable considering GA tech is in the ACC). I asked them to switch one of the screens to the USC game which they did…eventually. Happily, I watched as USC obliterated Arkansas (or as Jesse likes to call ‘em R-Kansas) for a second straight year.

The next day, we had brunch at Boudreaux’s. It was the cheapest brunch ever (so much so that Jesse and I will definitely have to do it again). Jesse and I had a Bloody Mary and a Screwdriver (respectively) with our breakfast and the meal came out to less than $20 including tip. I love how cheap B-burg is.

to be continued...

happy 1st weekend of college football!

Peeps, I'm off to the SW...

SW Virginia that is. I'm off to hang out in B-burg and watch the Hokies play N'eastern. If you're there and decide to hang out at Big Al's after the game, I'll be the girl in the orange Hokie shirt cheering every time the Trojans score against Arkansas. Come say hi!

I'm praying we don't get swept away by Ernesto. Rain, rain go away!

Have a fabulous weekend. Be safe! I'll see ya back in the blogosphere on Monday with tales of drunken debauchery (and incriminating photos) from Blacksburg.