COLUMN: What do you want to do?
So, what should we do? I don’t know. What do you want to do?
After a good two and a half to three hours of this riveting exchange, which has by that time turned from recognizable words into a series of finely tuned grunts, we move on to the checklist. Is anyone hungry? Need anything at Wal-Mart? Should we watch a movie? Yes, it must be the weekend.
I truly hope this ritual is common and recognizable to at least a few people reading this. If not, I’ll just feel incredibly self-conscious and deny any claims I’ve made that might portray me as having even slightly pathetic weekends here in Logan. But I’m willing to take my chances on that and share with you some of my recent weekend experiences, both somewhat and extremely typical.
Perhaps one of the most common college pastimes of all is what is commonly referred to as playing the gee-tar. Everyone knows someone who either has one, plays one, wants to or claims to. I, for one, am reluctant to actually attempt to play the guitar due to my severe lack of hand-eye coordination and insufficient attention span.
Despite those things, I do enjoy requesting that my more talented friends play extremely overdone songs like “Stairway to Heaven” every chance I get. I don’t care what people say, I’m still impressed by that song, but then again, I’m also impressed by my 16-year-old brother’s self-proclaimed “greatest hits,” which include “Jingle Bells” and “Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me.” Besides requesting the same songs over and over again, I also enjoy playing with the clamp that goes on the guitar, which my friend Andy taught me is called a capo and, if I break his, is worth more than my life. He’s a good friend.
Of course this weekend was not entirely typical considering the Monday off and this so-called Valentine’s Day. My sister and I did manage to overcome our debilitating envy of the Olsen twins and deliver valentines featuring them to 40 of our closest friends. My friend Kari decided on Disney Princess valentines and blatantly claimed that hers were in some way superior to my beautiful works of foil art. What’s that, Kari? Bring it? Mary Kate and Ashley could take those Disney Princesses any day.
And what weekend would be complete without some type of road trip? That trip might be to the Burger King downtown or even to Blockbuster, but my friends and I recently went all out and, this might sound a little crazy, went all the way to Bear Lake. Oh yes, Bear Lake, at 10 p.m., in the snow, in a Civic. And if that’s not extreme enough for you already, there was wildlife involved too.
We were relieved to be safely inside the car when a herd of vicious deer stampeded across the road, but I knew I had made a mistake when I foolishly left the protection of the vehicle to chase down a cat I spotted along the road. The problem with that scenario was not the fierceness of the cat I was chasing, it was the sick, tasteless humor the driver displayed by speeding away after I exited the car. I ran to the cat for comfort on the dark, lonely road, but strangely, it fled and I was forced to wait alone for the car to return for me.
Aside from admiring the exotic wildlife at Bear Lake, what else do you do besides practice a little bit of snow penmanship? I don’t believe that my friend, who will remain nameless, could have created a better cursive ‘J’ with a pen and paper. Well executed … enough said.
Also this weekend, my friends and I engaged in the all-too-common game “Who can make the most annoying sound?” Though a winner was never officially declared, the horrendous laugh I busted out after each round was a likely candidate. My roommates showed a mix of pity and disgust, but apologies were made and hopefully accepted. That game is only fun once anyway.
From the past 700 words, it has most likely been established that my weekends are either extremely sad, extremely typical or both. Maybe you can relate to these experiences and can understand why one might subject him/herself to these types of activities. Or, maybe now you just feel better about your own weekend plans. If so, I guess you just had to be there.
Lindsay Kite is a freshman majoring in print journalism. With questions, comments or tips for a pleasant weekend experience in Logan, contact lindsaykite@cc.usu.edu.