Nationals, Day 3 (Pt 3)

And there we were. In the Publix. Contemplating our options for the evening.

No need to purchase food, we’ve got some leftovers since we were always waking up late. Some lamb (now marinated!) for me and some beans or some other shit for whomever bought that. Eggs for the next morning.

Beer.

Of course we need beer. Lots of it. Take no chances running out. Bought a bunch of beer. Modelo Especial and Tecate I think. Maybe some other really cheap stuff to give a base. Unclear. There was still a bunch of PBR left. And then Dan Yi strikes a stroke for genius.

“Hey guys, we need hard alcohol.”

Of course we do, Dan. Of course we do. As he sets off to purchase this, Mio and Jamie share an intense realization as we are loitering near the wall of beer.

“We need something to mix this with.”
“Yeah. I don’t want OJ or anything like that either.”
“Nah. Too healthy.”
“Yup.”
…
…
…
“Do you see what I see?”
“Yup. It’s perfect.”
“And TWO flavors!”
“I know. It’s like, which crime do you want to be arrested for tonight, Assault or Khaos?”
“Clearly Khaos.”
“Clearly.”

At which point a bunch of Monster “Khaos” (That’s the flavor, mind you) was purchased. This was phenomenal. There are few things that will make you make terribly entertaining decisions like a bunch of alcohol plus energy drink. This is why Sparks is such a phenomenon. They capitalized on the “Gambler’s Delight” crazy for Red Bull and Vodka by making an energy drink that is already chock full of alcohol. That’s a story about PADA Mosh though. I’ll save it.

So we walked out with a bunch of vodka, beer, energy drinks and random shit to head home and cook up some food. Done.

At some point, there was meat-juice on the floor while I was cooking. No fault of mine. Jamie’s teenage girlfriend, a vegetarian, then stepped in said meat juice. That was awesome. For the record. Even though you weren’t there and I can’t tell this story in an entertaining way, I thought you should know that this is the sort of thing I find funny. “You might be an asshole if…”

There may have been some napping and the like, but not from me. It was beer o’clock and someone had already done the buyin’.

Eventually we decided to wander around and the like. I went to the hot tub for a minute. Ran into some Pikes. Stayed there. Then I went back to the room and decided that I must go directly to the beach without collecting $200 or passing Go. I took the rest of the room with me. They had their Khaos, I had my beersling.

Beersling, you say? Well, I’m not sure what exactly it is called, but imagine a cooler shaped like a snake. The length of 6 cans of beer put end to end. Slightly larger in circumference than a beer can. With a strap that goes over your shoulder. Openings on both ends. And a really effective insulator. In the colors of the Sydney Swans. Best part? It was a gift from my sister from her trip to Australia. This thing is phenomenal. Perfect for ultimate and the beach. And it just so happens that I’m at an ultimate tournament on the beach. Nice.

So we went down tot eh beach. No one was there. So we “walked around and drank some more.” Eventually we headed back to the condo. Jamie, Dan Yi, Mio and Jamie’s Teenage Girlfriend all went pool-hopping. I went back to get more beer. At this point the details get fuzzy. Things I remember specifically (In no particular order):

• Long walk to see someone.
• Incorrect spacetime.
• Back again.
• On the beach.
• 5am Free Beer on the beach.
• Rosham. The Karl Doege. A Jim Parinella.
  
• Some twisted game of “Guess who I am” with the boys from 5ultimate and someone who is married to someone on Bravo. There were no winners.
• Finding assholes asleep in the condo. Weaksauce.
• Waking up somewhere on the beach at some point.
• Nightswimming.
• “BEERSLING, BITCH!”
• The lonely letdown.
• Boys and Girls in America.
• The beginning of Pike 2008.

The rest of the details are either not remembered or not fit for this space (I know! Even I’m censoring myself! To what has the world come?) The most important one was the beginning of Pike 2008. I tuned the page early this season. Even earlier than last season. I was ready to start planning next year. Scratch that. Not just ready, EXCITED. It was a great internal and individual moment to experience.

One more part to retell… and it involves things other people remembered from the night before and some recollections/thoughts from the finals.