A Chair and Some Bodies

Pokemon fever has swept E21 203B. Yesterday at lunch we were discussing the finer points of our old Pokemon gaming days, and someone (I believe it was Danny Latin) resolved that upon our return to our dorm, he would find an emulator and the Pokemon games so we could all play. I had a group meeting at 2:00 for a presentation, so I did not go back with everyone else (as a brief aside, this very project is due tomorrow and I have to work on it, but I, being behind on these blog posts as it is, decided that this should come first. The regular readers of my blog should feel special and loved), but no sooner did I walk in the door after my meeting than I heard Danny Latin say, "Bill, guess what we're doing!" One look at Andrew Milton's computer screen was all the answer I needed: a Pokemon Red-fest was being held right in my very room, perpetrated by Danny Latin, Milton, and Ian. I quickly joined in the fun, copying the emulator off of Ian's duct-taped flash drive and onto my computer. I was not enjoying the experience quite as much as I had hoped, however; it felt more like a chore to wade through the first city or two of Pokemon Red than fun, probably because I've already played through the game a few times. I decided I wanted a deeper, more enriching experience. What better game to play, then, than Pokemon Fire Red, the 3rd generation remake of the original Red version? I booted up the Game Boy Advance Emulator I had gotten from Chris two summers ago, and began playing. Currently I'm aboard the S.S. Anne on my way to acquiring Cut so I can battle Lt. Surge in the Vermillion City Gym, and I've loved every second of it.

Today marked the fourth snow day I have experienced in my five years at Liberty University. The very first occurred four years ago on February 28th, 2005 (if you're super interested, you can read about it here at the blog I had during the second semester of my freshman year). We didn't have another full snow day after that until last year, when we had two, one that was due more to an ice storm than actual snow, and one that was later dubbed the "Phantom Snow Day" because they canceled class at 9:35 the night before in preparation for the impending snowstorm... which never came. Not only did it not snow, but the temperature wasn't even below freezing; it was warm enough outside for physical activity. Yesterday, at roughly 2:00 PM (while I was in the group meeting I mentioned earlier) it began snowing, and it was really coming down. By the evening we already had two inches of snow (which, for Virginia, is a lot), and school was canceled for today officially by 6:45 PM. At that point, we were on our way to the Rot for dinner, and we were notified thanks to a call from one Zac McKee. We had embarked on a perilous wintry trek to obtain nourishment because it was too slippery in the parking lot to even move any cars. When it snows badly, real men aren't forced to remain indoors, they barrel into danger with their heads down and their shoulders out, foraging for the kind of food that can only be had after a death-defying quest across the bridge from East Campus, through our old haunt on the Hill, and down those little stairs that most people seem to hate but I love so dearly. And when we finally stormed triumphantly through the doors of the dining hall, we saw that most of the food was being cleared away, so in my haste to acquire enough food to sustain me while it was still there, I took more than I normally would... and I ate most of it anyway.

Acknowledging the fact that I had essentially no real responsibility today, I spent the rest of last night playing Pokemon Fire Red until the wee hours of the morning, and then hit the sack and got a full 8 hours of sleep. Not having to wake up at 6:30 for staff meeting is a beautiful thing. The Studs of E21 and Sensuous Sisters of E7 had ourselves a grand lunch affair at the rot (again we walked, but this time with more people), and following that headed over to the frontal sector of E7 for a snowball fight/trash bag and bin lid sledding/general snow-related mayhem. I most enjoyed the segment near the end of the affair, where we were all tackling each other down the hill... even the part where Ian drove me into the ground and rode me down the hill like a sled. It was a blast.

Now you're probably asking yourself: what does one do for dinner on a day such as this, when no one (save me) feels like going to the Rot and Doc's Diner, the planned dining establishment for the evening, is closed? Go to Taco Bell, of course! So that's exactly what my cohorts and I (sister chicks included) did, and of course when we got there at 7:15, we found that it was closing at 7:45 due to inclement weather. The door, however, was locked, so we waited for some people to leave and let us in, whereupon we heard the nice employee folk yelling from behind the counter "WE'RE CLOSED!" I told them the sign said they weren't closing for another half hour, but they then informed me that due to staff shortage and the fact that the drive-thru was backed up, they were, in fact, closed. Notably irritated, I left, and we convened in the parking lot to consider our next move. It seemed a trip to Wendy's was in order, so we embarked upon the journey around the corner. No sooner than we had left the Taco Bell parking lot did Ian receive a call from a certain female whose name begins with "F" and ends with "elicia" suggesting we go to IHOP. I said "NO! Absolutely NOT!" because, if you've ever eaten at IHOP, you'll know that their food is nothing to write home about, not to mention overpriced. The idea was met with resounding approval by everyone else, so I was powerless to stop our inevitable venture into the International House.

On the way to InterHOP, noting my disapproval, a discussion broke out about the virtues of eating at such an establishment. There were a number of points that had merit, but I would like to focus on the fallacious notion that at a so-called "sit-down" restaurant, you can "actually sit down and talk/socialize/fellowship/whatever other term you may choose." Can't you do the same exact thing in a fast food restaurant? You need two things in order to sit down and socialize: a surface (or surfaces) on which to sit, and human beings, nothing else. Nowhere does it say in the rules of human interaction that in order to sit down and talk with other people during a meal you must go to a place that affords you a server. I can sit down and talk to the people accompanying me just as well at the tables at McDonald's as I can at IHOP, and it will cost me way less money for the meal, not to mention gratuity (but don't get me started on that one, perhaps I'll address it in a later post if I remember). The only reason that "sit-down" restaurants facilitate fellowship so well is because of the requisite period you must endure after ordering your food, and honestly, where is the advantage in waiting longer to eat? Why is it so bad to get your food (for a much lower price), talk while you eat, and sit for a little while longer after eating to stay and hang out? I enjoy the conversation and interaction much more when I'm not hungry anyway, but I'll tell you exactly why this option is not usually taken: social norms. It's the social norm that when you're done eating at a fast food restaurant, you leave. Perhaps the atmosphere attributes to it, the very nature of a fast food restaurant is convenience and speed, and I understand that, but really when it comes down to it, it's just that you "don't do that." Granted, social norms are in place for a reason, but in this case, it's just stupid.

Well, I'm running out of steam now, and I do have a project to take care of, so, considering her contribution to the inspiration for the last paragraph, I'll leave you with these parting words to chew on (food pun!), courtesy of our own Felica Adams:
"I WANT BANANA PUDDING!"