Cinnamon and what?! (Laughter)

I think most college students are familiar with the typical way weekend nights play out. Friends usually get together in the dorms and walk over to the bars and end their night with equally unhealthy and delicious meals from Fuzzy's, Toppers, or Whataburger. This process right here is the simple explanation for the freshman 15.

One night, Toppers was extremely packed and it was about impossible to get an order in. The workers determined that there was too many people waiting and decided to close the restaurant early for the night. College students are good at two things, cramming knowledge intensely before an exam and mooching off of other college students. There is no shame in the process as everyone does it. Those who give out have good 'moocher's karma' and those who mooch gain negative 'moocher's karma'.

That night as I walked back empty handed, I saw my good friend, Kiki, walking back with a Toppers pizza box. Kiki looked pretty upset but didn't really explain why. If there is one thing I learned from living in a household of 3 women, it's that sometimes a man shouldn't ask what is wrong. As I followed her back, I asked if I could possibly have a slice of whatever she ordered. Kiki, while still frowning, agreed as long as I didn't laugh at her order. She opened up the box and low and behold there was a cheese pizza with cinnamon and icing. I had no idea why such a combination would be requested but I figured I would take a bite. The pizza was disgusting. It turns out Toppers ruined her order and that was the very reason why Kiki was so upset.

Another friend, Walt, tries to run up and take the pizza from Kiki as a joke. He succeeds and a chase ensues around campus. At this point I could only watch and enjoy what took place. Walt started throwing the pizza slices at Kiki. That was a mistake. Kiki looks into her plastic bag and finds a fig cup of icing. With amazing precision, Kiki catapults the cup of icing across the commons and nails Walt directly in the face. The results may be seen in this picture.

Kiki's feat of athleticism had me rolling on the grass laughing. I completely lost control of my body. I noticed that my other friends around the area started dropping like flies. I couldn't decide if the throw was more impressive or humorous. I think just about everyone involved found the incident funny minus Walt. He had some sticky hair to clean up when he got back to his room that night! If there ever was a time, the Superiority theory was ever present among this situation.

I am a person who loves retelling stories. The fact that we got to snap this picture makes it that much more satisfying. 

A Conversation with Daisy Part 2: Aspirations and shopping malls

Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to meet again with Daisy and catch up on what is going on with our lives. Daisy told me about her progress she has made as an English student and her upcoming assessments to test each respective english skill. This conversation was much more fluid. I could tell that we were becoming more comfortable with each other and topics would flow with little hesitation.

New challenges were presented, however: The frantic noise at the BLUU made listening a bit more difficult for Daisy. At times I could tell she was struggling to keep up and I would have to ask her if she understood what I was saying. Often a smile and courteous 'no' would be the given response. Moments like these really made me respect Daisy for the challenge she was taking on. I tried my best to explain to her that if I had been in the same position as her (as an english speaking student trying to learn her native tongue in her native country surrounded by ample distractions and doubts) I would not be nearly as competent as she was. Unfortunately such a complex idea was hard to express, but I know that Daisy could understand that I was admiring her for her challenge with her given circumstances.

One topic that led most of the discussion was Spring Break. I got to share with Daisy what my plans were for the break and where I was vacating. Instead of just blatantly stating I was going to Gulf Shores, Alabama, I told Daisy of the beach and weather I was anticipating. Daisy expressed the vacations she hoped to go on in the near future. Daisy wants to visit San Francisco as well as New York, two popular tourist sites in America that most foreign visitors are familiar with. Daisy wants to see the beach in California and fashion stores in New York.

After discussing major tourism sites in America, Daisy revealed what major tourism sites were in her home country, China. There was a fashion district with nice architecture very close to where Daisy lived. Daisy explained that this was a major tourism spot for many surrounding nations. I asked if Daisy has ever visited the Great Wall of China. She said she has not but does have interest in visiting eventually.

This conversation was a milestone for me. Gone was the awkward interview style conversation, instead we spoke as friends wanting to learn about each others' lives and countries. Heres to hoping for an even further development in this relationship.

Terminal (the tom hanks kind) (learning experience)

We've all had moments when we swore we did something when in reality we forgot and don't want to accept blame for it. I've left food too long in the oven, forgot my backpack at the library, and even misplaced my cellphone a handful of times in my life. In each of those instances, I was confident that I had placed something in a certain spot or finished out a task and that I had no reason to second check. Last February, I learned the hard way what happens if you forgot to click the confirm button on the American Airlines website.

My parents and I go spring skiing to Vail, Colorado every year for our big family vacation. We love the mountains and the mild climate. This year was a little different because I would be occupied during spring break so we planned a weekend in late february to go skiing as replacement. I took the necessary precautions with my teachers, and my parents made sure to rent the equipment ahead of time and buy the airline tickets really cheep. This trip was planned to the T: We were to arrive on thursday, ski the afternoon, ski friday and saturday and travel back on monday.

We're all packed up and ready to go, with no stress bothering us. It was actually strange, because every year there is at least one meltdown taking place before we board our plane. Perhaps this would be the combo breaker! As we get to the kiosk to check in, my mom pulls out her email to get the confirmation code for out tickets. She finds it and gives it to our helper. The helper explains that this is the itinerary confirmation code which is separate from the ticket confirmation code. My mom brushes off her protest and continues to rustle through her inbox to find the proper credentials. One minute passes and this still feels routine. Three minutes pass and my dad makes a confused face. 5 minutes pass and the helper asks us to go to customer assistance.

In the interest of saving time I'll summarize our little predicament. My mom reserved the tickets but never actually purchased them. That means that as of now we have a condo in vail with pre fitted equipment but no means of getting there. My father has to purchase new tickets last minute for Southwest and we accept the delay. We were originally going to arrive in Denver at 9 and now it'll be more like 3. No big deal.

There is a layover in New Mexico that is scheduled to be about 30 minutes. Due to a malfunction in the plane the delay is for 6 hours. This means we won't arrive in Denver until 9 which means that we won't be in our condo until midnight.

I tried to kill time like any 21st century kid would, using my iPhone and laptop. About half  a season of True Detective later, both of my devices are dead. The seats are hard and uncomfortable so I gather a couple of winter jackets (from my parents) and lay out a pallet to sleep. This seemed like a great idea until a man trips on my and nearly kicks me in the face.

This reminded me of the Tom Hanks movie, Terminal. In it a Russian immigrant has no citizenship in America and can't return back to his home country due to a civil war. Tom Hanks is stuck within the NYC airport and is forced to live there for an extended period of time, a couple of months. I obviously and being over dramatic with my 6 hours but the general idea is still there. I was stuck in an airport with nothing to do and no where comfortable to be.

Eventually we persevered and enjoyed the rest of the vacation. But I definitely learned a valuable lesson from this whole ordeal. Always check and recheck to make sure you acted out on your task. There is no one to blame but yourself when you suddenly discover your ignorant mistake. Since the incident I am always sure to make sure I confirm the purchase!