friendship, spuf, dtd

"We got a gift for you, we got a gift for you!"

Okay, so I'm procrastinating on my essay (the draft is due on Monday night, #sendhelp), but then again I've also been procrastinating on writing this post about Friendship Games, which took place last Saturday, October 26, at CSU Fullerton. It's been almost an entire week since then so I definitely won't be able to convey everything in full detail, but just know that it was most definitely a very memorable weekend.

Friday • Normal morning and afternoon: went to class and then met up with Barkada at Shapell at 5:30 pm. Our car (finally) left around 7 and we ate at In-N-Out. Eventually left the parking lot a bit past 8 and headed down to LA! I didn't know the people in the car I rode in but I got to know them better throughout the weekend and I have to say that it's not even a competition — we had the best car. We arrived at around two in the morning and I stayed in a room with six other girls. We bonded while cutting our Barkada shirts and didn't "sleep" until four.

Saturday • Woke up at six to get ready for the big day. Stopped by McDonald's for breakfast and headed straight over to CSUF for the games! The whole event's vibe really reminded me of Key Club and Fall Rally. I can't say I miss my Key Club days, but FG was definitely a step up in terms of spirit (which is honestly saying a lot). Our club is relatively small and we didn't have extravagant costumes (like the school that dressed up as the Fire Nation or the one that dressed up as cavemen), but everyone still had a really great time! Our theme was pirates so our SPUF (stands for Spirit Pride Unity Friendship — basically the spirit cheer/performance that you do when you "SPUF" other schools) involved releasing the kraken (and seamen) as well as lots of pirate booty (rock it everywhere!). Around intermission (i.e., siesta time) I went with a group to eat at Pieology. AD and I created a magnificent pizza. It was sooo delicious — herb butter, pesto, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes and pineapple. I want it again! (Pieology is like the Chipotle of pizza.) I think there's one in SJ so I'm going to go again when I have the funds (or when my craving for pizza becomes unbearable). I played two games: Alpine Green and Tidal Wave (and I'm too lazy to type out a description) and those were fun! After the games ended (we were so exhausted by the time we left) we went back to the hotel and showered. Left around seven in the evening to go to J's family's house in LA for dinner. They had a caterer come and make amazing tacos for us! Afterwards some people went to the FG after party at a club but the rest of us went to Downtown Disney. It was my first time there and it was nice, but I think I was too tired to be overly excited. I wanted to buy socks but they were too expensive. Our pizza from Pieology costed less than the cheapest pair I could find! Went back to the hotel and ~partied~ (not really — everyone was too tired) and basically knocked out from exhaustion.

Sunday • Our car wanted to go eat at Blu Jam Cafe, but when we finally found it we saw that there was a huge line and decided against it. We ended up going to IHOP and were back on the road after noon. The trip back home is a blur now, but after we got back (a bit past 7:30 pm) I went straight to the library to study since I had a Latin midterm the next day. I ended up acing it, so no worries :)

Scurvy Britches • I actually want to dedicate a little section to our car — or "ship" — the Scurvy Britches. I actually didn't really know anyone in the car until Friday, and needless to say I was a bit nervous, even though my friends told me they were all super cool and nice people. I didn't doubt what my friends said, but our car really ended up being the best! I'm really thankful to have gotten to ride with them. From playing ratchet music (with brief Ghibli soundtrack interludes and lots of throwbacks to the 90's and 00's) to rolling down the windows and blasting "Beverly Hills" while driving through LA, from the group making sure I got the "full experience" of DTD to random Snapchats on the road, we made some great memories and I'm happy they've been including me in their recent shenanigans too.

What I've written here doesn't quite cover everything that happened, but I hope you guys can get the gist of how happy I was to be there! It was exhausting, but every hour of sleep I lost was worth every smile and laugh I got to share with some of the most fantastic people ever.