Tailgating @ MindSay 
Hi! Miss me? Good! I don't want you to get spoiled and start taking me for granted!
Much less would I want to start boring you with my constant stream of conciousness.
Right now I'm watching the Jacksonville Jaguars play the Tennessee Titans on TV. It's raining cats and dogs, but the soaking wet fans are getting their money's worth! Score is 20 to zip, Jags leading - about 7 minutes until halftime. My "boy" Rashean Mathis just got his second interception in this game - it's probably his 10th or 12th or so for the season! He's originally born & raised in Jax - that's always so cool when one of "us" shines the way this star does!
I'm happy they're finally having another winning season. It's been a while! I guess it's been around 7 or 8 years since we made the playoffs. I remember it so well because (yep, here comes one of my stories!)Bree was 4 or 5 at the time and I was hanging out a lot with my friend, Flash. Flash invented/designed the official Jaguars magnetic "paw" - there've been copycats, but he's got the patent on it!
Anyhow, he let me and Bree have around 200 of his flawed ones - you know, with splotches of paint in the wrong spot or faded or somehow blurred or whatever. He sold them in packages of 4 for $19.95, brand new. Bree and I "trolled" the Metropolitan Marina and park where a lot of fans were "tailgating" peddling our wares!
We got to the park at 5:05pm and had to leave at 5:35pm 'cos we ran out! We had had our Jaguars fan attire on and Bree looked adorable. She kept walking up to people sitting in their yachts and charming the hell out of them! We sold the flawed paws for $2-3 each. When we went back to the car, we had $265! I gave Bree $65 and I got the $200!
We had a ball! Never have gotten to do it again - she's too old now for that cute shit and Flash, due to the Jaguars past not-so-winning season, has concentrated on another aspect of his entrepreneurship. So there's nothing to sell!
Stil strung out on tryptophan, Carol and I decided to brave Black Friday -- she usually doesn't, but felt that I needed to experience this exclusively American phenomenon. As we navigated the streets at 4:30 a.m., we couldn't help but appreciate the total absurdity of our actions, and of North American culture and values in general -- as Carol pointed out, people who wouldn't dream of getting up at 4 a.m. for say, work, will happily do so for the privilege of lining up outside Wal-Mart in the freezing cold, sustained by visions of discount laptops. I have to say, though, that I was almost disappointed when Black Friday, at least in Plaistow, NH, barely qualified as grey. No thronging hordes, no fist fights, no riots -- just 50 patient, polite shoppers queuing at Kohl's. After all I'd heard of the Black Friday legend, I was counting on bringing many a spine-chilling tale back to Canada. Humph.
But at least I scored a few bargains, including the 2006 Bad Cat Page-a-Day Calendar as a Christmas gift for my sister. Sample image:
My adventures in America continued on Friday afternoon, when Eric and I joined six of his friends -- two couples and two younger brothers of one in our ranks -- and flew to Kansas City -- the "city of fountains," apparently -- to catch a Chiefs/Patriots game. Apparently, it's pretty much impossible to wrangle tickets to see the New England Patriots actually play in New England, so Eric and company make a point of attending an away game every year. This time round they decided on KC, and kindly agreed to include me despite my inherent Canadian-ness.
Our first discovery was that nobody lives in Kansas City, at least on the weekends -- we saw nary a living soul in the streets or in our hotel, and soon learned there was no point in checking for traffic when crossing the street. We discovered that shops and restaurants, at least in the financial district, close on Saturday and Sunday. We began to suspect that the city was inhabited by zombies, who would rise in the night and feast on our pure Northern blood (do zombies feast on blood? Whatever). At the very least it gives us a hep, cryptic new line to pull out in any dull situation/event/location: "This is so KC."
On Saturday several in our group went out for a run, and still saw no sign of human life, though we did get to take in some sights. Here, Yolanda and I impose ourselves on a perfectly good view (photo by Chris):
Later in the morning we explored the city in more depth and discovered two things -- the wonders of Kansas City barbecue, and the whereabouts of the living. The first resulted from a trip to Arthur Bryant's. apparently a famed Midwestern institution. Like the soup nazi of Seinfeldian fame, the Arthur Bryant's staff could be aptly described as meat nazis -- surly, militant and generally unpleasant. The food was a whole other story -- the high point being Eric's "meat tray," which was literally two piles of sliced pork and beef dumped directly on an orange cafeteria tray. My "short end sandwich" consisted of a half rack of ribs dumped on top of two pieces of Wonder Bread. Still, everyone -- even non-meathounds like myself -- agreed that the grub lived up to its stellar reputation. Here we are chowing down:
(photo by Yolanda)
I suspect the Kansas City Vegetarian is an endangered species.
Later in the day we drove out to the 'burbs for tailgating supplies and discovered what happened to the people of Kansas City -- every last one of them was swallowed up by Wal-Mart. We found ourselves in row upon row of bustling strip malls, sprawling beyond the horizon in a dizzying display of American consumerism. While we came seeking charcoal and meat, the strip mall city gave us an unexpected gift -- the gift of frozen custard. This hitherto-unknown-to-us treat proved a trip highlight.
Chris sucks back a custard-shake -- photo by Yolanda
In the evening we met up with a former roommate of mine who now, oddly enough, lives in Missouri (I guess it's not that odd since that's where the man she married lives, but it sounds fairly random for someone who grew up in Ontario). We would have moved mountains to see each other -- I mean, what were the chances that two Ottawa chicks would find themselves in, of all places, Missouri at the same time? We had a great visit and catch-up and I'm glad to see that she's finding happiness south of the border.
Sunday was the focal point of our trip -- game day. We kicked things off with several hours of parking lot tailgating. Here, let me show you:
(photo by Yolanda)
That's Eric and Julie rehearsing their Chiefs trash-talk routine ("So, how many Super Bowls have you won?" )
(Yolaphoto)
Still recovering from an unfortunate Black Friday shopping cart assault, Aaron dubs Spencer's chicken finger-lickin' good
(Yolanda shot)
Clustered by our small but mighty barbie (note the complete absence of anyone else in the parking lot at this point)
The rest of the gang drank beer (and Coke, in the case of our underager), but I opted for my usual fruity coolers and feel compelled to put in a plug for the new grape-flavoured Smirnoff Ice. Yum!
When we got into the stadium, we found ourselves in the nosebleeds of the nosebleeds -- still, the view wasn't bad and the weather more-or-less forgiving (aside from the occasional drizzle, lightning flash and tornado warning). The less good part? The Pats lost. Eric's "sad face" confirms it:
Here we are after the game, smiling through the pain:
(thanks, Yolanda)
I told Eric I was fully expecting a Jumbotron proposal, and that I might never recover from the disappoinment.
We flew back to NH on Monday, and I flew back to Ottawa on Tuesday. There was lots of turbulence, which always sends me into low-grade panic -- especially in an 18-seat Cracker Jack-box-prize of a plane. But I survived completely intact, and have to thank my friend Darin for gamely responding to my last-minute "It's raining and cold and I'm tired and can't face the bus" campaign for a lift home from the airport. Also special thanks to my roommate cricker81 for going above and beyond the call of cat-minding duty while I was away. I would never ask my roommates to do more than throw some food and water in the kitties' direction occasionally -- but cricker actually cleaned out an overflowing litterbox of her own volition. Who does that!? Thanks, cricker.
And oh yes, I left my winter coat in Kansas City. It was so warm all weekend -- like stepping back in time to an Ottawa September -- that I didn't even use it and forgot it in the hotel closet. The KC Downtown Marriott was incredibly helpful and as far as I know it was shipped out to me on Friday. In the meantime, sign me unfashionable and shivering in Ottawa --
aubree
I was walking back to my dorm this morning after a long night of partying when I was confronted by a myriad of tents, coolers, and crowds of people hanging around their cars in parking lots. Then I recalled, "It's a game day! This surely explains it." Of course, that was until I noticed that there were nearly as many children running around as there were adults cracking open the coolers. The park-like section of paths on the way back to my dorm was particularly swarming with them.
Why do people bring their little kids to tailgate at college football games? Especially during the early morning hours of say, 9AM. They're just going to get bored! Seriously, the only things parents will succeed in doing are the following:
-introducing their children to stoned and/or drunk college students (such as myself) walking back from wherever they crashed last night, setting a very fine example for their children.
-introducing their chidlren to drunk and tipsy old people once the tailgating starts to effect the parents and other crazed football fans, setting yet another fine example for the children to look up to.
-subjecting the poor sqirrels, who are too inquizitive for their own good, to tormentation by the children, who are bored with watching drunk old people and resort to chasing and taunting the squirrels with acorns for fun.
As you can see, it's a no-win situation for all. Not the parents, the children, nor the squirrels. Leave your kids at home, folks.
I went to the jimmy buffett concert yesterday. So fun. The concert started at 8pm, but i took the day off work and tailgated all day. I'm not a huge jimmy fan persay, and i don't really love country music, but there are few things i like more than a good tailgate. The jimmy tailgates are fun because people get really into it, bringing bags of sand, baby pools, tiki torches/grills, giant inflatable parrots or corona bottles, etc. People are also super friendly, willing to share their baby pools, sand, drinks, and snacks. Plus, the concert itself rocked out. A good day.
Priceless
An honest man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy
boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him.
He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have
beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.
The tailgating woman hit the roof, and the horn, screaming in frustration as
she missed her chance to get through the intersection. As she was still in
mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a
very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with
her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched,
finger printed, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.
After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the
door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer
was waiting with her personal effects.
He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your
car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you,
and cussing a blue streak at him. "I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate
holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Follow Me to
Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem
on the trunk.
Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."
. . . priceless isn't it ?
On the heels of this parable, I must share that tonite when I was driving home, I was in a lane where the right lane must merge into mine as it comes to an end, there I was minding my own business behaving myself, listening to U2 and this red ford pickup comes barrelling into the lane forcing himself in front of me, when there wasnt room, making me have to break and slow down to accomadate his rude self.
Now, adding insult to injury, he is FLIPPING me off, and practically hanging out of his window yelling back at me..very very animated and heated behavior.
Puzzled I made a face like, WTH is wrong with you back at him .. and racked my weary brain to recall if I had just cut him off or something.. no.. i shook my head..he just came out of the blue.. hmm.. .so.. I shrug thinking.. you go dude..if its that important to you.. and next thing I know..he is SLAMMING his brakes on..and I am locking mine, and the person behind me almost slams into me!!!
I AM NOW SEEING RED..and I am not talking about his red truck.. grrrrrrrrrr... All the while he is laughing and making faces and looking into his side mirror at me, and the rear view, and his mouth is making mocking movements and waving at me.. and flipping me off..
I dont recognize him.. .no clue!
I called 911 and reported him, called in his license plate, and didnt turn down my street, so he wouldnt know where I lived.. they took my info.. but they probably did nothing about it.. That was dangerous and harrasing..
He didnt have any fish emblems on his truck but I wouldnt have been surprised to see a stupid rebel flag on his redneck porch!!!!
So..why did he arbitrairily choose me to be stupid with?
My husband told me today that up in Virginia where he was driving there was another truck that was trying to merge back on the highway... and the truckers asked him on the cb what was wrong, and the trucker said, he just pulled off the road to call 911 and report a white van for shooting at him 3 x.. shooting at him!!
WHAT the heck is WRONG with people???