Wednesday, January 05, 2005
My adventures in Smellyland
As you may guess by the title of this entry, I recently travelled to Southern Ontario.
I left the Deep around lunch time on New Year's Eve with our Cop Car (read; 2004 Impala with no hubcaps and black rims... really freaks people out). I made it to Dani's place in Whitby with plenty of time for dinner. The Bryerses have 7 cats, and I am allergic, so I popped a couple of Antihistamines and began the boozing. Dani and I played a game of checkers with the board I mentioned in the previous post, and she dominated me in a way that I sometimes like to be dominated; a way that leads to me drinking lots of alcohol. I crashed at her place after beating the crap out of her boyfriend and cousin (maybe?) at Bid euchre with her Grandma. We were the team from hell, if hell were to run rampant and kick ass at euchre.
The next day, I got going around mid-afternoon and headed for Mississauga. Not knowing what I was doing, I got stuck in traffic on the 401 near the airport, so I headed for the QEW on the 427. Long story short, I got there eventually. I found SAJ playing street hockey in a parking lot next to his house. They had an extra stick, so I threw on my BEACON OF LIGHT (sens jersey) and began to play with. SAJ could only take about 15 minutes of my thrashing, so I paused out of mercy for the man who was putting me up for the night. I had dinner with some family friends in Oakville, then returned to Mississauga. Upon my arrival again, I found out I was to travel back across Toronto to pick up our friend Steve, who was now Bailing on us the next day. Wait, did I mention the reason for my whole trip? We were going to the Bills/Steelers game in Buffalo on Sunday.
Anyways, SAJ and I run across Toronto to get Steve, and then fly back to SAJ's place where we crash for the night. I think we got to bed around 3 am with a 6:30 am wakeup on the way. I know for sure that I heard the alarm clock chime 4 am, and then Steve stepped on me around 4:45. I got maybe 1.5 hours of actual sleep that night.
We woke up at 6:30 as planned, had a piece of toast, then hit the road. After making Steve feel really bad for bailing on us, we dropped him at the GO station and headed for Hamilton to pick up Beth, Walkhome staff member to the stars. She was a last-minute addition to the trip, but ended up likely being the voice of reason for the adventure. I ate a bagel at 8:30 AM. Keep a note of that time, it's important!
Traffic on the QEW through Niagara was fine, and we got to the border with tons of time to spare. There were tons of people at the Duty free that were going to the game, so we figured we'd just follow one of them. Crossing the border was a breeze, and we hit the I-190 south through buffalo. We were told that we could see the stadium from the highway, so we kept an eye out for it. As we'd find out later, you can't actually see the stadium from the highway at all. We ended up getting on the New York Thruway, IE the big ass highway that runs laterally in the state. I pulled off, and we called Steve the deserter for directions (as he was the only one who'd ever been there before).
He told us to go back up towards the border and get onto Highway 5 south. So we headed back towards the border. Oh wait, the highway to the border is a toll road. Wooo. We cheated and gave them 50 cents canadian money. So we then get back to the border. Apparently you cannot access Highway 5 southbound from the 190 Northbound. so we turned off into the shithole that is Downtown Buffalo. I was scared for my life a couple times, and after getting waaaaaaay to far into town then was necessary, I asked for directions. We got them, and then FINALLY got to the stadium around 2 hours after crossing the border.
We had time to park the car, and I then began to revel in what was to be one of the more ridiculous experiences of our time.
I had heard about tailgate parties, but this was insane. Guys had full bonfires set up in the middle of parking lots. Kids were going around collecting beer bottles in green garbage bags by the dozen. It was like there were no rules, no law, no order; and I loved it! We didn't really have enough time to see anything much, but I definitely want to tailgate like this sometime for a homecoming game or another NFL game.
We made our way to the stadium and found our seats. We were seated pretty much right on the 50 yard line in the 2nd last row of the bowl. We were waaaaaay above field level, but it was a great view regardless. There were a lot of Steelers fans around us, with a few bills fans. I'd say it was about a 70-30 split where we were. The stadium was about 70-30 the other way overall, but there was still a lot of Yellow there.
The game went on, and the Steelers ended up winning 29-24, ending Buffalo's playoff dream. (the team had started 0-4, and still had a shot of making the playoffs... not bad at all!) Everyone left the stadium in a happy mood, because the only ones left were Steelers fans.
We got back to the car at 4:30 PM. To make a long story short, we didn't cross the border until 7 PM. We sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat in traffic in the parking lot, on the street, on the next street, and then again when we got to the border. I'd like to point out that a) I called 7 PM when we left the stadium, and b) we still hadn't eaten much yet, save for a couple oranges graciously provided by Beth.
Despite our ravenous hunger, we decided to push for Mississauga before stopping. That was mostly my decision beacuse I felt tired enough that if I had a stomach full of food, I might just fall asleep. So, we ended up eating dinner at 9:00 PM. We switched cars in Mississauga (My car stayed in Mississauga for the day with the interior lights on... go me) and hit the QEW to Steve's place to chill with him for the night. He let me crash there so I'd be on the right side of town for the next morning.
Oh yes, Beth and SAJ were going to catch the GO train to Mississauga/Aldershot to go home. Smart ones they are, they ended up in Scarborough (wrong way). Steve had fun calling Beth's sister who was supposed to pick her up. Beth blames this all on SAJ, and I'm inclined to believe her.
The next morning, I was tired enough that I slept in til about 9 or 10. Steve's place was really nice, and I think it was quite possibly the most comfortable pullout I've ever seen in my life. After a quick shower, I bid my friend adieu and hit the road enroute to Kingston.
My buddy Jer is leaving for Scotland in a few days, and I wanted to say goodbye to him before he left. He invited me out to his place in the Guilty Pig (read Sinful Ham, read Syndenham) for lunch and we had a good chat. I then headed into town to have a coffee with Aki, and booted 'er home.
All in all, this was a fun trip. I had a really good time spending time with people i see all the time at school. It was different because I got them out of our communal element and got to see what they do in theirs. Steve, despite being a dick for bailing, was good to see. Jer, despite being an old milky bastard, was good to see too.
And with that, I'd like to conclude what is likely to be my longest entry ever. w00t. Go me.
I left the Deep around lunch time on New Year's Eve with our Cop Car (read; 2004 Impala with no hubcaps and black rims... really freaks people out). I made it to Dani's place in Whitby with plenty of time for dinner. The Bryerses have 7 cats, and I am allergic, so I popped a couple of Antihistamines and began the boozing. Dani and I played a game of checkers with the board I mentioned in the previous post, and she dominated me in a way that I sometimes like to be dominated; a way that leads to me drinking lots of alcohol. I crashed at her place after beating the crap out of her boyfriend and cousin (maybe?) at Bid euchre with her Grandma. We were the team from hell, if hell were to run rampant and kick ass at euchre.
The next day, I got going around mid-afternoon and headed for Mississauga. Not knowing what I was doing, I got stuck in traffic on the 401 near the airport, so I headed for the QEW on the 427. Long story short, I got there eventually. I found SAJ playing street hockey in a parking lot next to his house. They had an extra stick, so I threw on my BEACON OF LIGHT (sens jersey) and began to play with. SAJ could only take about 15 minutes of my thrashing, so I paused out of mercy for the man who was putting me up for the night. I had dinner with some family friends in Oakville, then returned to Mississauga. Upon my arrival again, I found out I was to travel back across Toronto to pick up our friend Steve, who was now Bailing on us the next day. Wait, did I mention the reason for my whole trip? We were going to the Bills/Steelers game in Buffalo on Sunday.
Anyways, SAJ and I run across Toronto to get Steve, and then fly back to SAJ's place where we crash for the night. I think we got to bed around 3 am with a 6:30 am wakeup on the way. I know for sure that I heard the alarm clock chime 4 am, and then Steve stepped on me around 4:45. I got maybe 1.5 hours of actual sleep that night.
We woke up at 6:30 as planned, had a piece of toast, then hit the road. After making Steve feel really bad for bailing on us, we dropped him at the GO station and headed for Hamilton to pick up Beth, Walkhome staff member to the stars. She was a last-minute addition to the trip, but ended up likely being the voice of reason for the adventure. I ate a bagel at 8:30 AM. Keep a note of that time, it's important!
Traffic on the QEW through Niagara was fine, and we got to the border with tons of time to spare. There were tons of people at the Duty free that were going to the game, so we figured we'd just follow one of them. Crossing the border was a breeze, and we hit the I-190 south through buffalo. We were told that we could see the stadium from the highway, so we kept an eye out for it. As we'd find out later, you can't actually see the stadium from the highway at all. We ended up getting on the New York Thruway, IE the big ass highway that runs laterally in the state. I pulled off, and we called Steve the deserter for directions (as he was the only one who'd ever been there before).
He told us to go back up towards the border and get onto Highway 5 south. So we headed back towards the border. Oh wait, the highway to the border is a toll road. Wooo. We cheated and gave them 50 cents canadian money. So we then get back to the border. Apparently you cannot access Highway 5 southbound from the 190 Northbound. so we turned off into the shithole that is Downtown Buffalo. I was scared for my life a couple times, and after getting waaaaaaay to far into town then was necessary, I asked for directions. We got them, and then FINALLY got to the stadium around 2 hours after crossing the border.
We had time to park the car, and I then began to revel in what was to be one of the more ridiculous experiences of our time.
I had heard about tailgate parties, but this was insane. Guys had full bonfires set up in the middle of parking lots. Kids were going around collecting beer bottles in green garbage bags by the dozen. It was like there were no rules, no law, no order; and I loved it! We didn't really have enough time to see anything much, but I definitely want to tailgate like this sometime for a homecoming game or another NFL game.
We made our way to the stadium and found our seats. We were seated pretty much right on the 50 yard line in the 2nd last row of the bowl. We were waaaaaay above field level, but it was a great view regardless. There were a lot of Steelers fans around us, with a few bills fans. I'd say it was about a 70-30 split where we were. The stadium was about 70-30 the other way overall, but there was still a lot of Yellow there.
The game went on, and the Steelers ended up winning 29-24, ending Buffalo's playoff dream. (the team had started 0-4, and still had a shot of making the playoffs... not bad at all!) Everyone left the stadium in a happy mood, because the only ones left were Steelers fans.
We got back to the car at 4:30 PM. To make a long story short, we didn't cross the border until 7 PM. We sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat and sat in traffic in the parking lot, on the street, on the next street, and then again when we got to the border. I'd like to point out that a) I called 7 PM when we left the stadium, and b) we still hadn't eaten much yet, save for a couple oranges graciously provided by Beth.
Despite our ravenous hunger, we decided to push for Mississauga before stopping. That was mostly my decision beacuse I felt tired enough that if I had a stomach full of food, I might just fall asleep. So, we ended up eating dinner at 9:00 PM. We switched cars in Mississauga (My car stayed in Mississauga for the day with the interior lights on... go me) and hit the QEW to Steve's place to chill with him for the night. He let me crash there so I'd be on the right side of town for the next morning.
Oh yes, Beth and SAJ were going to catch the GO train to Mississauga/Aldershot to go home. Smart ones they are, they ended up in Scarborough (wrong way). Steve had fun calling Beth's sister who was supposed to pick her up. Beth blames this all on SAJ, and I'm inclined to believe her.
The next morning, I was tired enough that I slept in til about 9 or 10. Steve's place was really nice, and I think it was quite possibly the most comfortable pullout I've ever seen in my life. After a quick shower, I bid my friend adieu and hit the road enroute to Kingston.
My buddy Jer is leaving for Scotland in a few days, and I wanted to say goodbye to him before he left. He invited me out to his place in the Guilty Pig (read Sinful Ham, read Syndenham) for lunch and we had a good chat. I then headed into town to have a coffee with Aki, and booted 'er home.
All in all, this was a fun trip. I had a really good time spending time with people i see all the time at school. It was different because I got them out of our communal element and got to see what they do in theirs. Steve, despite being a dick for bailing, was good to see. Jer, despite being an old milky bastard, was good to see too.
And with that, I'd like to conclude what is likely to be my longest entry ever. w00t. Go me.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Merry Boortmas!!!!
Well, this is my holiday entry. Yes, I know that most of my fellow academics have gone back to their studies while we lucky Queen's folk (and apparently the cow-rapists at Guelph) get another week to sit around and play with our toys. Here is a summary of what I was fortunate to receive:
- A new squash racquet (see previous post to read about demise of previous squash racquet)
- The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition (12 DVD's... w00t!)
- A Digital camera with a disgusting 24X digital zoom. it's bitchin.
- A checkers set with shot glasses as the pieces. I mean, how cool is this??? I played with it at new years (read later) and lost convincingly.
- America, the book by John Stewart. So far, a great read!
- Roger's World by Wayne Scanlan (autographed copy). Also, so far a great read.
- clothes, with a hoodie I really like.
Those were the major big ticket items. Oh yes, I was able to continue a 17 year tradition by getting LEGO. That's right, someone has given me LEGO every year since I was 5 years old. I love that stuff. The Danes really got it right with that one.
I think I'll write a totally seperate entry for my adventures last weekend, as they are deserving of such a space.
- A new squash racquet (see previous post to read about demise of previous squash racquet)
- The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition (12 DVD's... w00t!)
- A Digital camera with a disgusting 24X digital zoom. it's bitchin.
- A checkers set with shot glasses as the pieces. I mean, how cool is this??? I played with it at new years (read later) and lost convincingly.
- America, the book by John Stewart. So far, a great read!
- Roger's World by Wayne Scanlan (autographed copy). Also, so far a great read.
- clothes, with a hoodie I really like.
Those were the major big ticket items. Oh yes, I was able to continue a 17 year tradition by getting LEGO. That's right, someone has given me LEGO every year since I was 5 years old. I love that stuff. The Danes really got it right with that one.
I think I'll write a totally seperate entry for my adventures last weekend, as they are deserving of such a space.
