Saturday, February 23, 2008

$25

I've been waiting about a month or so to tell this story...

Browsing through the online school classifieds has always been a way to kill time for me. And every now and then you'll come across some great deals, or an unique item, or just something that you really needed. Nothing seemed that interesting as I scrolled down dozens of listing. And then it caught my eye. "$25 foosball table." I immediately responded saying that I'd be willing to out bid people for the table. The seller's response came back a couple days later saying that his first prospective buyer had backed out (idiot) and that I was up to purchase the table. I asked to see pictures of it cause I didn't want to buy a plastic table, those 4-in-1 things you see at Toys-R-Us. He responded saying that he didn't have a camera and that I should just come by and take a look.

I dropped by maybe a week later and liked what I saw. Only a couple broken men and in decent condition. I told him I'd take it but I'd have to try and find someone who could lend me their truck. He desperately wanted the thing out of his place, seeing as it took up more than half the room, so he said he'd call around and see if he could get a hold of a truck for me. He even dropped the price to $15 if he could get rid of it soon.

He called later that night and said he'd drop it off at my apartment in a few hours. When the time finally came I discovered just how heavy that thing was and realized I'd probably have to disassemble the whole thing to bring it through the door. We got it to the door of my apartment and I told him I had a friend coming by to help me move it the rest of the way and that I could take it from there. We were wrapping up the deal when I asked if he had change because I only had a ten and a twenty. He checked his pockets and wallet and found that he only had twenties also. He thought for a minute and finally just said, you know what, just give me the ten. SCORE!

I got it in the door on my own and got it set up. It required repair obviously and some cleaning, but for $10 I'm not complaining. It's all cleaned and fixed up as of now, but here's some pictures from when I first got it in.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Yet Another Mini Post

It was a hazy day. Just one of those days where you'd rather lay in bed where it's warm, instead of climbing out to the chilled air. Was it night still? I couldn't tell, the sun was masked by the clouds which made it look like I should crawl back into bed. I had to go though. I already missed this class once this semester and it's only the third week. Did I miss it once or twice? I don't remember. Either way, I had to get up. The day went on as normal. But when I returned home I was greeted by the strangest thing. Two ducks sitting by the pool in my apartment. Just hanging out.

It's things like that make it worth it to go outside. The best part is that those little guys are still out there, some 9 hours later. They're sleeping now. I hope the management doesn't chase them away in the morning. I kind of want to catch them and make them my pets. Jenn said no. If they just stay around the apartment that'd be good enough. I think I'll go feed them.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

All I Wanted Was A Coffee

All I wanted was a coffee. It had been a really tiring, and warm day and I had a feeling in my mouth. The type that seems to scream, "something sweet!" I ventured into Common Grounds (the campus coffee shop). We found a seat and I approached the counter. Eying the menu, I didn't see anything that would satisfy my critical taste buds. Perhaps the specials?

Biola has an affinity with clever names. Speckled Cows and MicroBursts, and this list was no different. Love Potion, a raspberry, strawberry smoothie. Sad Single, basically a speckled cow with strawberry. I found something that seemed like just what I was craving. A raspberry and chocolate smoothie. Basically a liquefied truffle. I look at the name and instantly hate the person who thought it up.

"What can I get for you?" he says, a bit too cheerful.
"Um...can I get a..." scanning the menu for a last ditch escape hatch. No luck. "A...Sweetheart Special." I hear the words leave my mouth and I feel like kicking myself. But sadly, I love truffles. I add a comical "as fruity as that sounds." He just smiles and lets out a quick laugh.

I stand around the pick up area, hoping to intercept the drink without a public announcement of the emasculating name. My greatest wish was for the barista to just hand me the drink. He pours on the drink, and I find myself reaching for the cup, stopping myself short realizing that he's not done. Chocolate syrup around the edge, whip cream with even more chocolate syrup. Finally the lid appears and as he caps the drink, I reach for it. Please see me. Please just read my name. Please just place the cup in my hand.

He looks up, smiles at me, "Sweetheart?"

All I wanted was a coffee.

Happy (early) St. Valentines Day

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Just a Thought

I'm working on a decent post, but here's something that I thought about while watching Drunk History on YouTube.

The story was about Ben Franklin and the "flying the kite in the lighting storm." And I was thinking, the last time I flew a kite, we couldn't get it to stay up for longer than 3-4 minutes. How the heck did Franklin get a paper kite to stay in the air long enough to test anything, let alone in the rain, and on top of that with an old fashion key attached to it? Anyone have any ideas?