michigana

I visited jord-ann arbor this weekend to catch the michigan away game on TV and to see my lawyer of a former roommate. The trip followed a day trip to LA, so I was still a little bit loopy (see previous post) from the stale plane air and the perfect california weather.

After a superbly-timed pickup at the hyper-linear DTW airport, we drove through the miles of desolation and stripmallity that approach the bustling metropolis of Ann Arbor. Upon arrival, we picked up a few companions and proceeded straight to an always-overwhelming indian dinner. despite our attempts, we failed to answer the age-old question "how much naan is really too much" (despite a 20 minute discussion with the waiter standing by in painful anticipation).

after the meal, we proceeded to Jordan's new digs. He lives in the tower of london - the only 5-story walk-up in the otherwise 3-story law quad. The 2 2-room "suites" come complete with hexagonal niches, gargoyle perches, and the perfect shot at that pesky professor who doesn't know when to stop asking questions. In addition to the built-in workout, the building also offers a brotherhood bathroom, shared among ten or so inhabitants of the top floors. The custodial staff were nice enough to provide me with an excellent cot and sheet combination, and the living room featured good old Tivo, so the accomodations were all set.

we spent some time at a couple of local college bars. a bit of friday night karaoke - humor highlight involves 5 guys singing "byebyebye" with complete knowledge of the lyrics, no vocal talent, and numerous adoring cheerleaders. for jordan the highlight likely was the moment that I felt someone's hands on my back and turned around to see a 5-4 170lb girl smiling and pointing at her 5-5 240lb girlfriend, who, on cue, compliments my hair. it was looking particularly great that night, so who can blame her.

waking up with a mild hangover, we went for a long walk through an arboretum, got completely soaked in the rain, and each enjoyed a wholly satisfying nature piss. you might say it was a perfect date. this was followed by some pickup basketball ("The only thing that's trippin' is you, now go on home and cry to your momma, she waitin' for you. This is MY house!")

The next stop was a sports bar for game 1. Aside from the red sox winning, the best aspect of the night was definitely our neighbors on the balcony. Or the pirate. At the start it was just three already-drunk guys, complaining that their homo friends (including a soon-to-be groom) were sitting at the hotel playing poker rather than coming out for the game. As the bar started filling up, hesitant girls started seeking space in our area, but were generally deterred by the loud drunken assholeness (I kept telling Jordan to calm down but he just wouldn't listen). But then our new friends hit the jackpot - a bachelorette party arrived, and suddently the boys had 12 girls to play with. all their alleged fandom disappeared as they forged newer and sadder attempts to get laid. Around the 7th, a drunk mustachioed 45-year old stumbled upstairs and headed to our side of the balcony. He and I had a nice chat - he was looking for some young girls to hang out with, so naturally i pointed him across the balcony to our favorite meat market, and then proceeded to watch him chat up one girl after another, bring them drinks, work down the ranks, until being ejected by the sullen fraternity boys. oh and there was a captain morgan. he gave us free rum. i drew a red mustache on his face with a crayon he got mad.

we finished off the night with a law party. booze, important people, and a dj too into his toys. and of course the celebratory slice to cap a good day.