The Touch Screen

In the words of the legendary Britney Spears, (and her lip-syncing psycho male fans, as can be seen here... Oops, I did it again.

Halfway through my note tonight, I was distracted by a status seen in my "online friends," and didn't resist the urge to click over and add a sarcastic comment. Like last time, the note is now gone.

But my memory of the weekend is still fairly sharp, thank goodness.

I'll admit by the end of the week last week, I was burned out, and had stopped paying enough attention to life to notice and appreciate the interesting and potentially humorous everyday moments that without a doubt occur in everyone's lives.

So to relax and try to get that back, I headed over to the freshman dorms Friday night after practice. The baseball guys weren't up to much, but that was just what I was looking for... A place to just relax for a bit. Some of the freshmen didn't share my sentiment however.

Halfway through getting pounded in a game of Madden on PS3, I paused to watch one of the freshmen stand up and announce to the room, "I'm going to go ride the elevator!" and jog out. I honestly hope he found something better to do with his time than ride the elevator that night.

When I left about an hour later, the elevator was empty.

Saturday brought even more excitement, as my roommate announced we could go get the TV from THAT girl (who I now believe is holding my roommate's TV hostage). He said he had talked to her, and she said we could grab it anytime over the weekend, but as we sat in the living room for two hours while he called and called and called this woman, that was clearly not the case.

The only reason we gave up is because I had to go to help my sister pick out and set up HER new television.

So after creeping along 35W, more commonly known as the worst road in America, I arrived in time to watch her decide on a 37" flat panel television, and helped her load it to bring to her apartment.

Upon arrival, we carried the TV in and I plugged it in to find the screen had a setup window up with three options: English, French, Spanish. I'm not sure who chose the languages that got to be on screen, but I can't help but think all Canadian-speaking Canadians must be offended.

Anyway, I started digging in the box to find the remote and put the batteries in to get through the screen. Jean (my sister) meanwhile sat down a full 18 inches away from the screen and stared intently. To pass the time, I said "You know, if you want to get that started, it's a touch screen, just go ahead."

She seemed surprised. "Really??" And reached out and firmly pressed one finger into her brand new TV screen, where the "English" option was.

That single moment made the trip 100% worth it.

Props to Zach and Pat for throwing an amazing party that night. The house was packed with lots of people I knew and some I didn't know, and made for one of the most entertaining nights I've had in a long time.

Possibly my favorite moment of the party: I had met and chatted with Gophers soccer player Sara Clancy (if you read this Sara, sorry this story HAD to go in) prior to the party at a friend's apartment. Once we had arrived at the party, I for some reason found myself being introduced to fellow soccer player Kaitlyn Wagner (check spelling on that first name...)

When I heard the name, I recognized it, and told her I know who she was. Sara immediately jumped in with "He's not a creeper or anything, he just used to write for the Daily."

It's always nice to have someone there to tell people you aren't a creeper. And because of that kindness, I decided to befriend Ms. Clancy on facebook today.

The weekend included several little stories as well, but as promised, I only offer you what I think is the best. In the interest of any type of longevity of this blog, I'd like to ask those who still read what they would like to see in here, and how often they are interested in reading about it. Please feel free to respond honestly and/or bluntly, the purpose is for your own enjoyment, so help yourself out!

Life's Little Instruction Book says: "Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something."

I'm personally afraid of heights, elevators, spicy foods, foods that are not from America, snakes, deer flies, horse flies, June bugs and loaded weapons in my room, to name a few. What are you afraid of?

Enjoy.