Woke up. We were out of it. We got ready and tried to figure out where to eat. Jason wanted a burger. In ‘n’ Out doesn’t sound as exciting when it’s not two states away. But that’s a moot point, because we went to Red Robin, which isn’t exactly thrilling itself. It did the trick though. We all got the Rookie Magic shake (aka Oreo shake), unlike this one time when I was with Eduardo, Louie, and Andrew. See, they all got chocolate shakes, but then I looked our waiter dead in the eye and said, “I want the Rookie Magic.”
The burger, shake, fries, and spinach dip made for a filling meal. While making our way through the mall, we saw this kid that either had mad game or was just a little too old to be holding his (hot) mom’s hand. Other than that, it was uneventful, but maybe it’s because we were so focused on just lifting one foot and placing it in front of the other. It felt like nap time.
But guess what it was golf time. Can’t remember whose idea it was, but we drove to the driving range. None of us had touched a golf club in at least a couple of years. We got our 6-irons, filled our buckets with golf balls, and started swinging. I wasn’t in college yet the last time (which was also the first time) I was at a driving range. I didn’t do so hot then. And the trend continued. After hitting a dozen balls less than a dozen yards, the frustration set in. So I stopped and watched to see how the hell to do it. I sort of got the hang of it, then it started to get good to me. We recorded ourselves and some parts are awesome because it looks like I’m hitting the balls into the stratosphere. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve watched these way too many times while smiling nodding to myself.
We blistered our hands, then pounded some energy drinks in the bar, where I’m pretty sure Wally said “Can I get a hyphy?” for the first time in his life. We stopped by Blockbuster in search of Face/Off, but then I remembered I had it at home. We listened to this Adam Carolla & Bill Simmons podcast reviewing Face/Off, then we watched Face/Off. More entertaining than it sounds. Those energy drinks didn’t work, because it really was nap time. Our sleep pattern was messed up at this point.
We woke up and headed to South First Billiards. Fanime was at the convention center downtown, and it was getting out for the night I think. There were a bunch of people getting picked up by their parents in front of the Hilton. But some were roaming around the surrounding streets. We saw a cop in SWAT gear posted up at a street corner while we were waiting to cross the street. I was wondering if all these anime fans get rowdy or something, but he wasn’t posted up, he crossed with us when the crosswalk light turned green. He wasn’t a cop at all, just some dude in costume. (Which reminds me of that Chappelle stand-up, “Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! Just because I’m dressed this way does not make me a whore!”) There’s a lot of cosplaying going on. And by a lot I mean more people were dressed up than not, so it felt like we were in some kind of pseudo anime world.
South First Billiards has 20-30 tables and a lounge area that nobody uses, so it also has a lonely DJ. Jason was appalled with the price of pitchers. Nothing extraordinary happened. Just a lot of pool. And one game Wally hit the 8-ball in for the win, but he called the pocket while me and Jason were talking and most likely staring at one of the waitresses. Anyway, there was a dispute about who actually won, but we settled it like adults—by not talking for an hour. Then we hugged, made up, the place closed, and we tried to find a Carl’s Jr.
We follow my GPS to what seemed like the bad side of town. I’m not really suspicious until we get to the drive-thru line. This guy materializes from the bushes and asks us for change. Then he walks to the parking lot and disappears again. Jason gets onion rings and me and Wally split a Six-dollar western cheeseburger. Pretty good. The onion rings, though, let me tell you about them. They smell good. That’s all I can say because as I turn to face Jason, about to ask if I can try one, I hear him say “Oh man those were so good!” Then we pass out at home.