Two for Three
I planned on attending three important events this week: residential assistant (RA) Group Process Night, International Center Lunar Festival and Intramural Doubles Ping Pong Tournament. My week’s work schedule, homework load and social obligations synced perfectly with each of these. I couldn’t believe how well it all lined up. As a person who rarely has time to do anything, the idea of attending three separate events in a week is unheard of. I had no doubt in my mind that this week would be great. As if I couldn’t have made this any more obvious, my week took an alternate route.
By the time Tuesday night rolled around, I was psyched to start the next part of the RA application process. After turning in the student leadership application, the next phase would be the group meeting followed by a one-on-one interview next week. The event was set for 6 p.m., so I was pumped and ready to go an hour before. That’s when I started feeling pressure in my stomach.
My first thoughts went straight to last weekend. My roommate caught what we thought was food poisoning over the weekend and crashed on our couch all of Saturday and Sunday. If he ended up having the flu instead, my good health was in danger. I drank tea, chewed on Tums and relaxed all up until the last minute before leaving. From there I planned to just take it easy and wow the residential directors with my calm but leadership-worthy word choice. No craziness tonight. If only I made it that far. I was literally walking out of the Colony when I stopped, felt it coming, turned around and threw up right there in one the planters. I’ll save you from any graphic descriptions, but know that it was not a pretty sight. Witnesses, for there were many, can inform you if you so desire. I couldn’t believe that I would get sick on the one night that I needed to be healthy and alive. I ended up showering, recomposing myself and showing up late, but I couldn’t last more than 30 minutes before regretting that decision. I spent the rest of the night with Gatorade, soda crackers and movies on cable. Wild times.
Needless to say, that was a bit of a downer, and embarrassing, but from there my week improved. I recovered over the next two days and could even joke about my insides still plastered in the parking lot. It was Thursday night and I wouldn’t let my weak, soda cracker-filled body miss out on any more events. The main lure of the Lunar Festival was the free boba milk teas, and I do enjoy the boba. Freshman year my friends and I would brave the two-mile journey on our boards down Magnolia just to buy a tai tea boba. If they were just going to give it away on campus, then I would have to be there. I couldn’t stay for the dragon dance or sparklers, but I still had intramural ping pong to look forward to.
I am no ping pong master, or pupil, or anything relating to good table tennis technique. I just like to play games with people. When you throw doubles into the mix, then you can bring a friend along. This time around it was Derek Kouns, and I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else. I’ve been playing ping pong with Derek since we lived in Smith Hall, and he still destroys me in each game. I finally had the opportunity to play on his side, which instantly doubled my chances for glory. Rec Sports held the tournament in the Rec Center with three ping pong tables set up on the basketball court. They brought water bottles and donuts for the competitors, so of course we were at the top of our game. Our first round we lost terribly, which brought us into the loser’s bracket, where we then lost again but at a much closer margin. Neither of us really cared since we had fun competing, as well as shouting across the gym to our other friends playing seriously.
I enjoyed that Thursday night, and it wasn’t until I bit into that Bavarian crème donut that I remembered I was even sick. I couldn’t change the fact that my Tuesday plans were ruined, but I kept my week on the positive and made it through just fine. Just have to enjoy what you get.
0 Comments