Leadfoot

          I was pleased with the nice, late 11:45 call time, and almost managed to make it too. I did beat Justin to the lobby, and I like to view him as a a benchmark for "responsible band person," so it was fine. We took the bus to a mall and split up for lunch; Nate and I sat down at Firehouse Subs, which is just a remarkable head and shoulders over Subway. Among their numerous sauces: Al Gore's I Invented Hot Sauce Hot Sauce; 5 oz. (No Recount Needed). Back on the bus, I alternated between napping and reading A Dance With Dragons, which is on par with the rest of the Game of Thrones series. In time, we got to the always-depressing venue, the Show Place Arena. In the bathroom, someone etched a crude "FUCK YOU REDNECKS" and the anarchist A symbol; the mark of a disgruntled brother dragged to a horse show, perhaps? The difference in prestige between the men's and women's CAA basketball tournaments is undeniable. There is not much to say here. The band was smaller, and there were hardly anything in the way of fans. The game itself, a 61-73 loss to Delaware was a little sad. This is not because it was terrible but because there really were some glimmers; DeFreese had an excellent game, and several Huskies pitched in. There were just too many missed opportunities.
          We swung back to the hotel, then took the bus to Old Town, the historic and bustling downtown part of Alexandria. We were free to roam for dinner; I joined Jules, Maddie, Halley, Justin, Jared, and Julia E for a stop at "Asian Bistro". I enjoyed sushi and a daiquiri, and the conversation was light and fun. We determined that we wanted more drinks for the final night of revels. A stop at the liquor store yielded more beer and an impulse buy for me: a purple Ravens lighter. Under a reading light, I continued with A Dance With Dragons on the bus back to the Comfort.
          At home, I realized my drastic miscalculation as to how much booze (a) was left over and (b) how much we would actually need. I had no idea how all that beer was getting out of there, though it was cool having 4 or 5 untried varieties. I did my best to chug, but as many of my readers know, I am just incompetent at drinking beer quickly. Lindsay showed up and hung out with us for a while, and we had a great game of Kings with Ryan L, Maddie, Peter, and Jules. Halley joined us eventually, and she went outside with Jules, Maddie and me for a smoke in the parking lot. It was peaceful and after-rain wet outside, and we had a blast just standing around and chatting. When we headed indoors, we were on fire. Maddie alternately laughed and cried for several minutes, calmly consoled but also laughed at by Ryan L. Halley and I shared a moment while jamming out Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon". It was madness in there for some time, and tonight Jules would pass out on Peter's bed instead, so I had room. I even got productive and packed most of my stuff! This night was a great sendoff for the short trip.
          Quotes of the day:
"A thousand ancestors of my lineage just turned over in their graves." - Justin, re: my Philly roll
"I love inserting things into my ear canal inappropriately." - Justin
"So many emotions!!!" - Maddie
"I feel like I'm made of lead." - Halley