| The Chronicles | 10 Days I Love About You | ||||||
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 Not the happiest, but sexy nonetheless. =) Well, I've procrastinated long enough on this. I now have other things to procrastinate on so I'm finally writing. I really am sorry about not updating in over two weeks. I hadn't forgotten. It kept gnawing at me. I haven't had any time though...especially for something with the length that I'll probably need...might be the longest next to the first entry. Oh, and I apologize for the overwhelming detail, but I don't want to forget anything. Besides, you guys seemed curious. Where to begin? Well, how about the beginning? Let's see...where did I leave off...ah yes...Atlanta... Friday So...Jordan, DavidA, and I headed down to Atlanta that Friday. I tried to convince them to take a brief DDR detour, but they wouldn't. Instead, we went to straight to DavidW's place and met up with him and Jim. After mulling around briefly, we grabbed some food at the Varsity (greasiest burgers this side of the local bowling alley...mmmm) and headed to the Braves game. We got there a little ways into the first inning. We were still making our way to our seats when we missed a grand slam. I wasn't really happy with the guys for the delays at that moment. Anyway, game went on, eventually Kevin showed up, and gradually a storm moved in. You could see lightning coming down over the city and we even watched it knock out power in a parking lots. The rain started pouring down also. Hardest rain I've seen in a while. Our crummy tickets turned out to be pretty good in retrospect. The roof covered us from the rain and we were able to sit back and relax during the hour or so delay. Braves went on to win. As we started leaving, it decided to start pouring again. So, we made a break for the car which was parked almost half a mile a way. We were pretty much sopping by the time we got there. Lucky I had gotten exercise from "dancing" or I wouldn't have been able to keep up with DavidW and Kev's sprint. Can't recall anything very eventful occuring that evening...Kevin and the rest of the guys hit it off pretty well I think. It's always interesting when you mix "worlds" (more on that later). I tossed and turned a bit, but generally slept well. Saturday, Sunday, & Monday (her take) The next morning, we woke up early and groggy. We went to Arby's for breakfast/lunch. After that, everyone headed out. I hung around with DavidW a bit and did some last minute laundry. He took me over to the airport a little bit early. Oh, we also bought some chapstick. *wink wink* That Arizona climate is dry, ya know! =) Yeah, so...the plane ride was pretty uneventful except for some brief aisle crosstalk between a young guy and young girl. I'd chime in every now and then with something relevant when they discussed the Onion and Emperor's New Groove. One funny moment occured after the plane had landed. A girl several rows up who must've been sleeping finally woke up. She jolted awake suddenly, hopped up, and screamed, waving her arms. I suppose she didn't know where she was. Must've been pretty embarrassing. Hope she took solace in the plane being full of strangers. I got off the plane and moved into the waiting area near the gate. We had arrived early, so I assumed that Sandy wasn't there yet. I waited around for a little while before making my way up the terminal, watching to see if she'd pass by. Finally called her cell phone. Turns out that after last year (I refuse to say the date), they won't let anyone without a ticket past the security check and into the terminal. So, I go through that...and there's a big crowd waiting around in semicircle fashion waiting for people. I hate those. There are always too many faces to scan and you feel like everyone's watching you. So yeah, lots of pressure. She yelled to me. We smiled ear to ear and hugged, then went over to meet her dad. Immediately upon meeting him, my fears were assuaged when I realized he was fairly laidback. I gave her an old 2000 kitten calendar that I'd found laying around when I cleaned out my car (no idea where it came from) and we made our way to the car. The heat hit me when I walked out the automatic doors. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but I soon adjusted. Besides, we were soon enjoying the a/c in the 4Runner. Sandy and I sat in the back seat while her dad drove. I tried to make some nervous conversation with her dad...I had read a copy of Discover (a science magazine) on the plane, so I kept referring to articles in an effort to sound intelligent. Anyway...we dropped by her house and dropped my stuff off. Somehow I managed to cram 10 days worth of stuff into a small suitcase (didn't want to check anything after having luggage misplaced last year). Her dad stayed home, and her and I jumped in the car and headed to her school. There was a marching band pool party going on, so I got to meet a lot of her friends. Also met her mom and brother, but they were occupied most of the time. Realized after hanging out around Sarah for a little while that she seemed familiar. She reminds me of someone, but I can't recall who. Maybe it was just that I'd talked to her on the phone a couple of times while she roomed with Sandy at camp. After hanging out there for a bit, we headed over to Castles & Coasters (the closest thing to a theme park in Phoenix). It was really nice. One of the largest arcades that I'd ever seen and four well-made mini-golf courses. We played a bit of DDR. It was my first chance to play Max2! Woo. I know you're as excited as me. Sandy even tried a bit. I was proud of her. We got some water afterwards...it tastes kind of like Florida water. Anyway, after that, we went to play mini-golf...at first, I started to keep score. Normally, I'm pretty competitive about that sort of thing...but I realized that I didn't care at all. I was just happy to finally be there with her. So, we got wrapped up in each other and went through the motions of mini-golf. We also watched the clock a bit until midnight central (Kevin's time zone and the signifier of the end of the day). We finished the 18th hole about then...as we were walking back to the club house, we walked across a swinging plank bridge that was low over a fountain with water shooting up all around. It looked out over the courses with miniature castles and a lake. It seemed an appropriate place. I was a big goof about it..."Uhh...so...it's past midnight...want to go for it?" We shared our first kiss. It only lasted a couple of seconds...it actually broke when she laughed. It was pretty funny, I suppose. I laughed too. Much better to have humor in that situation than some sort of dead seriousness. Then we played a bit more DDR. While we were there, I realized that I didn't ever want to have to go on another first date again...this one was too comfortable...any other would pale in comparison. Afterwards, we headed back home. Sarah (Sandy's best friend), David (Sarah's brother), Vincent (Sandy's brother), and Mrs. Povio were sitting around watching "Message In A Bottle". We didn't pay too much attention to it though...we mainly just hung out and talked. Oh, Vincent pulled me aside for a few minutes and we talked some comics books and video games. Felt glad that we connected. Went back down and hung out a bit more. Not much else happened that I recall. So, we went to bed. Oh, I overheard a little bit of Sands and Sarah talking since the vent went directly between my room (the guest/craft room) and her bedroom. I was curious, so sue me. Anyway, they said nice things...so I went to sleep happy. =) We woke up early Sunday to go to church with Rick and Jenny. Rick belongs to Church of Christ...it's kind of a weird denomination. They sing lots of hymns...but there's no musical accompaniment. It really was kind of distracting, especially with the person behind us really off key. The sermon was kind of rambly too. Not exactly the kind of worship service I wanted to expose Sandy to. Anyway, after church, we met some friends of Sandy's and went to go see "Signs". Really cool flick. Not really many romantic moments, but plenty of scary ones. ;) We watched two more movies later that night..."A Walk To Remember" with a distracting group...Sands was able to focus enough for the end to cry...it was really sad. And, it confirms that 99% of girls cry during that movie. After that, we watched "Kate & Leopold" mostly alone. It was a pretty good romantic comedy with a sci-fi twist. Oh, during the first movie...Sands and I were messing around with Vince...he kept getting "grossed out" by us. Well, one particular time, I licked her finger or something...he got pretty pissed off and threatened to cut off my fingers, even obtaining a knife for emphasis (he later got in pretty big trouble for it). I kind of felt bad for him. I know he was just being protective of his older sister. After all that movie watching, we went to bed. We woke up pretty late the next morning and mostly moped around until Sandy had to go to band camp. I wanted to go at least one of the nights to be supportive and see what it was all about. It also gave me a bit of a chance to check in with everyone back home or in Auburn. I think I got at least ten curious phone calls during the week...several within the first hour I was there (c'mon, people...really). That night, we watched "Say Anything" and got some more snuggle time. I don't recall paying much attention to the movie actually...though I'd already seen it anyway. We were up for a little while afterward and got some ice cream before heading to bed. Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday (her take) We woke up late and ate lunch. Sandy wasn't feeling very well, so she decided not to go to band camp. After a while though, she was feeling better, so we went with her mom to the mall. She bought a shirt and I tried to buy her some shoes, but her mom yanked me away from the register, refusing to let me pay for them. "They're a necessity! You shouldn't pay for them!" she said. Eh well. We happened upon a Pump It Up machine (DDR knock-off) in the arcade, so we played that briefly. The movies of the evening were "The Hudsucker Proxy" and "Serendipity". Again, didn't pay much attention during the second one. We'd both seen it before. Starting to see a cycle? =) Next day, lunch again...hung out for the afternoon. Had dinner with her parents while she and Vince were at band camp. Spent the evening by myself at Castles & Coasters. Tired myself out like crazy and missed her terribly while I was there. Spent most of the evening watching the "Forrest Gump" (her favorite movie) commentary on the DVD that I gave her. Thursday, we woke up late and had lunch again. However, I left early in the afternoon with her dad to go to the Diamondbacks-Braves game. I got to see downtown Phoenix and realized the atmosphere around the stadium is quite a bit different than in Atlanta. It seemed cleaner and there didn't seem to be as many scalpers and homeless people. Granted, it was extremely hot. I told him that Arizona must have a different, hotter sun. I'd been a bit worried about the trip originally, but he's a great guy and I'm glad we got to know each other. Oh, and the Braves won 4-1...it was a three hit shutout until the 9th. ;) Afterwards, we went to the school and watched a short band performance. They were quite good. I was pretty fixated with Sands though, so it was hard to pay attention. I recall giving her a piggy back ride...I was pretty tired, but I owed her one. =D Later, we went for pizza and then went to bed since we had to get up early in the morning for the trip with her parents and brother. Friday & Saturday (her take) We woke up early and hopped in the car. I don't recall too much of the trip...we were both pretty tired and slept a lot. Eventually, we arrived in Tombstone. It was really hot and the gnats seemed to be swarming me, but I suppose it was interesting. We went to the OK Corral and watched a little mock gunfight. I think I felt my skin burning...metal bleachers didn't help. It was kind of funny. There wasn't much else to the town. Sands noted that they seemed to all be obsessed with the movie (there was a poster in every storefront). So, we walked up and down the little arcade/boardwalk thing, saw lots of souvenir shops and old time photo places, and headed out. We ate dinner at the Old Horseshoe Cafe (or something like that) and went back to the hotel early. We watched the extra-inning Braves game (they won again, much to Mr. Povio's chagrin *grin*). After that, we watched "Striking Distance" with Bruce Willis before going to bed. On Saturday, we woke up early and went to Kartchner Caverns. Interesting stuff. There wasn't a whole lot to it...but the few rooms they showed were gigantic. Quite a few interesting formations. They're going pretty far out of their way to preserve it too, so that's cool. I still couldn't help questioning the purpose a bit though...I mean, what's the point to them other than to give us something pretty to look at? =) Afterwards, we hopped back in the car, I fell asleep, and the next thing I knew we were on the way to Mexico. I had mentioned that I wouldn't mind going, but I didn't think that we actually would. None of them had ever been to Mexico before. Anyway, we arrived in Nogales, parked, and walked through a checkpoint over the border. It was actually extremely easy to get in. They didn't ask you any questions or anything like that. There were large markets immediately on the other side, so we walked around for a little while, shopping. I bought a poncho for myself and a butterfly for my grandmother. It was nice being able to practice some Spanish in haggling (though most knew English). I also got to add another country to my visited list. That night, when we got back home, we planned to go bowling with some of Sandy's friends. Instead, there was a whole ordeal with no open lanes , movie theaters, and a lost cell phone. Sandy described it, so I'll spare the details. Oh, and I played some more Pump It Up at the bowling alley also. Eventually, we decided in a last ditch effort to save the night to go rent movies. We got back to the Povio's and watched "Swingers" in a effort to cheer up. Sandy was a little bit stressed that evening, so I wanted her to feel better. Sunday, Monday, & Tuesday (her take) The next day, we didn't too much. Sandy and I woke up late and went to In-N-Out Burger for lunch. I'd never been there before. It's an old-style fast food place...they basically have burgers and a choice of fries or onion rings...that's it. My dad would like it. I also got a bit of a tour of Phoenix. I noticed that there are a lot of suburban developments...not many houses out on their own. We spent the rest of the day watching movies. "Amélie" was really funny and quite good. Wish I had been so resistent to seeing it before. "The Virgin Suicides" was pretty dark and "The Majestic" was inspiring, but again, I had a hard time paying attention to them. =) We stayed up fairly late, then slept in Monday morning. When we finally woke up, we decided to spend the day checking out the Phoenix Zoo. We figured it'd be somewhat hot since it was an Arizona afternoon and we didn't expect too many people. We were right on both counts. The place was basically deserted. It was nice leisurely walking around the zoo without the crowd. However, some of the animals decided to take refuge in their huts because of the heat. We didn't get to see the meerkats and one of the tigers was sleeping in his shelter (we heard him snoring really loudly). There were lots of giant cats that I want as pets. I was excited about the anteater exhibit, but we didn't see them at first...finally we noticed them under a bush getting it on! Fuzzy pictures are forthcoming. The zoo was pretty nice. It had a wilderness theme to it and was quite large. The fact that there was so much construction was a little annoying, but other than that it was pretty. Oh, it was interesting how there were little bunnies running around everywhere. There must've been a dozen in the elephant exhibit, and we saw several on the trails. There were also several flocks of birds that roamed free. In particular, there were the most annoying birds in the entire world...guineas. Not only are they hideously ugly, but they have an evil cry and a tendency to poop everywhere. We used to have them on the property. They'd hop up on our porch, peck on the glass, waking me up in the morning, and then go squawking loudly when I'd chase them away. Ten minutes later, they'd be back. Yeah...so like I said...evil creatures. Anyway, overall the zoo was really good. If I had to rate it among the zoos I've seen (Sydney, Atlanta, Hamburg, Chattanooga, Knoxville, San Diego)...it'd be up there. Chattanooga's was tiny and sad the last time I saw it. Hamburg's was larger, but still sad (tiny concrete cages). Sydney was better, but not as large. Atlanta and San Diego are huge and quite nice. So, Phoenix Zoo would probably rank third. Though, I really suppose the point was more to spend time with Sandy. Sorry for the zoo rant. hehe. That night, we went to eat at Friday's and went to see "K-19". It was a good movie. Up there with "Das Boot" as far as submarine movies go. Presented the Soviet side that you don't often see portrayed except in other films like "Enemy At The Gates". Oh, but contrary to the fact that Scotty thinks I call every movie a good "date movie"..."K-19" is not a good date movie. In general, I don't think war movies are. I felt kind of bad because Sandy was feeling pretty worn out by the end of the movie...and she had to get up early for a meeting at school the next day. She and her parents drove me to the airport. Unfortunately/fortunately, my flight had been cancelled. So, they booked me for the next one. Gave us a chance to spend a few more hours at a nearby mall. When we finally had to part, it was a little bit rough...we realized we wouldn't be seeing each other for almost 100 days. I immediately missed her a lot. Overall, the trip was great, and I'm really glad that I went. Sands was even more beautiful than I thought she'd be, and we got along really well. We had more fun than I could've imagined beforehand (even if we watched 13 movies). =) I guess I'll continue with all of the stuff that has happened since I returned in the next entry. Sorry it's taken so long to finally finish this. | |||||||
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