I Rode The Bull

But I wasn’t as brave as Laura, who did it three times.

I have never seen so many pickup trucks in the same place at the same time. Leigh and Laura did warn me that the bar in Greensboro would confirm 'all the stereotypes of the South, and then some', but I wasn't ready for…for…the line dancing. Nor was I ready for Joe's special blend of cocktails. The reason we went there, apart from the bull, naturally, was because Leigh's fiancé works behind the bar, and he was giving us free drinks all night. This won't mean much to most of you, but to those in the know: these cocktails were stronger than the St. Gabriel's industrial-strength concoctions. I only managed three. I think the purpose of the bull is to ensure that drunken women (Leigh calls them skanky hoes, possibly because they hit on Joe a lot) get on the bull, and do their level best to make it look as dirty as possible. They're aided in this by the Controller, who lets the girls ride slower if they get the crowd going. That's my excuse anyway.

Anyway, we rode the bull, Laura and I got a little drunk (me moreso, I think), there was a hush puppy at some point, and a conversation at the top of the stairs which I'm still a little confused about. But! A top night all round, our kid.

Today? M&M waffle on Franklin with Collin and his friends (really can't remember all the names; Amber, Joy, Katie, Rachel, Richard?, and someone else who came in late, sat opposite from me while giving a confused look, before he heard me speak. "Oh, you're Laura Hirst's Ian, right?" My reputation seems to precede me…), which was nice, and then an afternoon spent on one of my Secret Plans To Fight Inflation. Muahahahaha.

And now? Something to eat, I think…

currently playing: Le Tigre — My My Metrocard

Dinner At Elmo's!

Last night, I finally got to visit the Elmo’s Diner is Carrboro. Hurrah! A gang of us went — Laura, Leigh, Sona, Collin, Duane, and myself; Stacie and Naomi were supposed to be coming as well, but they didn’t show, and we couldn’t raise them on the phone (but one of Collin’s housemates, Margee (I still have no idea if that’s how you spell her name, so I apologise in advance if by some chance she ever reads this — yay for Laura’s corrections!) came along a little bit later on). I can recommend the chocolate milkshakes. Just be aware that they’ll give you a metal mixer with enough shake for another whole glass…so fat…

Oh, and then Duane came back to Laura's apartment, and gave us a short concert of R.E.M., Nirvana, and his own songs. Plus, we explained l33t-speak to Laura (this was after her and Leigh had mocked the rest of us for crying at Optimus Prime's death in Transformers: The Movie. Which was uncalled for, I think. Besides, Impactor's death was even worse). She gave us a look roughly translated to "I have to back away from the scary geeks who have invaded my house!!!"

After gingerly waking Laura up this morning by knocking on her door (I didn't know what time she was supposed to go to work, but she had ignored/snoozed through two of her alarms), I walked into Carrboro for lunch. Mistake. I discovered that I couldn't walk back, as my feet had decided that they had had enough. A bus back to campus, then, and an hour spent in the Union watching CNN, writing, and recovering.

Of course, being very dumb, I then decided to have a little walk around Bolinwood Creek. After about twenty minutes of this foolishness, I arrived back at Laura's apartment, just in time to see her jump in her car and go off for her second shift at work. I've been hobbling about here since. But! All that will change in an hour; for then, it is mechanical bull time! So going to hurt…

And then an action-packed weekend! Mazes and an 80's dance on Saturday, Halloween (deferring to the American spelling for once) on Sunday, and tomorrow? Well, to be honest, I don't think you'd believe me if I told you, so I'll let the mystery of that hang in the air for a day or so…

currently playing: Neko Case — Tightly

Early Voting

A queue of voters waiting to cast their early ballot at Morehead Planetarium

Gary!

Well, it wouldn't be Chapel Hill without Gary telling us that we're all going to hell. Highlights from today:

  • Muslims should be rounded up and kicked out of the country.
  • Girls who wear jeans are loose women, and probably lesbians.
  • The English brought drugs to America via The Beatles (two students from Manchester turned up, and this was Gary's response).
  • Gay people have demons within them.
  • Gary's helpful demonstrative actions about various sex acts

I shook his hand afterwards and promised him that if he ever came to Britain, I'd show him Canal Street in Manchester. Because I'm rather evil…

Things From Chapel Hill

  • I promise I will stop with the list format soon.
  • My luggage had a desire to see Chicago.
  • Target sells all you need in a hurry, but don't ask for two keys cut in Lowe's.
  • Hurrah for bears and their blackboards.
  • I would never eat anything made on Iron Chef.
  • As Laura said a few days ago, Chapel Hill is a bubble; you could be forgiven for thinking that Kerry is running unopposed here. "Oh, George Bush is running as well? That's nice. Could you be me a hand with this Kerry billboard?"
  • I always scare Sarah Miller when I turn up again.
  • I am still trying to remember just where I could have met the girl who said she remembered me last night.
  • Listening ti The Clash at full blast when entering Carrboro is a wonderful feeling.
  • I will never know what the people at Found Magazine found, but I did have a fun evening with Stacie and Naomi, and Collin, Rachel, and Laura when they eventually showed up.
  • Cats are very cute.
  • The comic shop is even better than it was before; they've improved the layout, got more trade paperbacks in stock, and they're having a rolling sale of back issues which will see them priced at 10% of their original value on Sunday. If it wasn't for that pesky weight allowance…
  • If you're offered a shop on Franklin Street, you can't run away fast enough. Even if it's a major chain, you'll still probably be out within a year or two.
  • My feet hurt.
currently playing: The Beatles — Penny Lane

Ummm

One of four John Denver records sitting on a wall in Chapel Hill.

This town is weird.

Too much sugar!

You just can't say no to pixy stix…

Shamu

The Shamu Family of killer whales having a swim at Sea World

Boo!

A house in Celebration, FL, getting ready for Hallowe'en.

McLego

The Lego Store was fun.