I'm tired.

Went in at 3 - Dave called me up and asked if I could come in early (Dora called in).

But first...

DDR at Diversions: A Look Back...

I remember the first time I played DDR at Diversions. I'd been talking about DDR at work, and how I had to go to Austin to play it. Ray mentioned that he thought he had seen something like that at Wal-Mart. I went to check it out after work... and it was PIU, and a crappy one at that. A few days later, he said he saw it at Diversions too, but was sure it said "Dance Dance Revolution." The next day, while driving home with Janelle, I stopped in to check it out. And there it was - a 4th Mix Plus machine, right inside the door. I don't recall what songs I played, but I did play "My Summer Love" on Singles/Maniac. This was in February or so, after the Winter Break. I had only tried Doubles once, and was still on 7/8 foot songs, with a few 9 footers. I may have been forged on Guadalupe, but I was honed at Diversions. That's where I did the Paranoias, Drop Out, etc. That's also where I discovered the joy of Doubles...

I had tried Doubles once before, but failed miserably. However, I had gotten significantly better, and decided to try it again. I did Kick the Can on doubles/trick, then doubles/maniac, and I was off. I used Janelle's Minnie Mouse thermos with a Britney Spears sticker on it to hold my tokens, and played a *ton* there. I'd often go for three hours at times. A lot of people stopped and watched. That's where I met Kat, Jonathan, Chris, Derek, the three bears, Team 'Fro, the phone crew, and everyone else. That's where I first showed off my 1337 g0su haXor skillz to Suzie... a lot of memories there. At the end, of course, I played mainly at the LBJ student center, but I played at Diversions occasionally as well. That machine was one of the places I could truly relax. I didn't have to be anybody - except a dancing queen! It didn't matter what anybody else thought, or said. When I was angry, or sad, I could go dance my heart out, and it was truly cathartic. I didn't have to worry about fitting in (not that I ever did...), or the myriad details that tried to bog me down, it was just me and the music. I lived a thousand day dreams on those pads - the majority of them involving Chelsea coming back to town, and walking in and seeing me, or someone else - Katie was in a few as well. I never had to worry about the pads sticking, which was a true delight. When they saw just how sweaty I got playing, they started putting fans by the machine, so we would be cool the whole time. It was while playing DDR that Suzie called me the first time after I met her the first time. I can see a hundred memories on that machine in an instant, and they're about to be all I have.

I played my last three games there today. Nothing special, and not really that hard. My Summer Love, Boys (Euro Mix), Bumble Bee, and Do Me (H.I.G.E.O. Mix), and two non-stop courses. ~*Sigh*~

Then I went to the antique store, and bought some stuff for Christmas shopping - a painting for Bam/Greg, an Eagle for Mike/Cess, a painting for Mom, as well as a tray, and I bought a sword for myself. It's been in the window forever, and I've always wanted it, but it's been too expensive. But with everything half off... yeah, that made it quite alright.

So I went in to work after that. I really don't like Shannon or (Sunny's) Dave. Josh just annoys me, and Jeff, I only don't like because he bothered Katie, but Shannon and Dave - argh. I'll go into why sometime later. Suzie leaves for Galveston on the 18th; we're gonna hang out again (I hope) Monday and/or Tuesday evening. I'm definitely going down there at some point; don't know if I'll go once or twice, though I have given serious thought to being by her side when we enter 2004. I still need to talk to her and see what's up, though. Mom's still all weirded out about Doug - can't blame her, really.

Until we meet again, Ereneda