That time we thought we were going to a monster truck rally

(This post should have happened in June.  I’m awful at blogging.)

At 11:55pm one night, Boyfriend found a Groupon that was expiring at midnight.  The headline included “monster trucks” and maybe “show” or something similar.  [Purchase]

We showed up and realized the monster truck part was for the–what’s it called when there’s a break in the show?–intermission.  There was one monster truck there.  The actual main attraction was races on a dirt track.  Sunglasses can also be used in mild dust storms.  FYI.

Wags and Mr. M joined us after the first few races, and D eventually showed up, barely making it in time for the halftime show.  Why do I make friends with people who are habitually late?  You got me.  I’m always on time. *cough*

Um, races are awesome.  I’m not sure why.  You just have to experience it.

Most Annoying Thing: racers running into the walls/other cars.

Every single time a racer messed up something and hit another car or the inanimate object that keeps them from sliding off the track, the lap flag would change to a yellow flag.  All the racers would slow down, and line back up in order and get really close again, and do a few slow laps while the wreck crews cleared the perpetrator off the track.

SO ANNOYING.  I lost a few races because of those slow-downs and stops.  One sneaky car used the opportunity to jump ahead at the exact second the official allowed the race to start again.  He won that race, but he had been losing the entire time before.

I don’t like him.

I also don’t like wrecks.  My lack of sympathy was pretty obvious.  Stupid yellow flag.

Highlight of the Night: discovering I really should gamble more.

Remember that story where I picked I’ll Have Another to win the Kentucky Derby, and then he was on-track to win the first Triple Crown in decades before getting injured?  No?  Well, I did.  And Boyfriend had to watch 10 Things I Hate About You because of it.  (I won’t embarrass him by telling you he was so engrossed in the movie he couldn’t pay attention to the game we were playing at the same time. That would be mean.)

We picked the winners of each race, and I dominated in the first set. In the second set, my winning streak slowed.  I just like to give other people a chance to enjoy winning, you know?  Of course.  I’m so considerate.

But the best race of the night, the last race, was for old-school cars.

D and I picked the same car.  My reasoning: it sparkles.  This car was just sparkly.  It started in the back, but I wanted it to win.

Little by little, lap by lap, it worked its way to the front.  The last few laps it was just behind Boyfriend’s car.  With every curve it would gain a few feet.

And then I WON.  Because I bet on the SPARKLY CAR.

I’m sure there’s a Life Lesson in there somewhere.  Find it for me.

All you can see are the sparkles, and this picture doesn’t even do it justice. Also, yup, we walked down on the track after the race. The dirt was packed so smoothly it felt like asphalt.

When whipped cream meets an average Korean

Without GoogleImages, I'd have to take a lot more pictures

Operation find-a-pumpkin-pie was a success.  I bought two huge pumpkin pies yesterday to introduce the teaching staff at my school to the delights of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The whipped cream, though, was as much of a star as the pie itself!

I, with my flair for the dramatic and my desire to show them the “right” way to do pumpkin pie, sliced a piece and covered it in whipped cream to exclamations of “Ohhh!”!

Then I had to give lessons on the use of the whipped cream can.  A couple teachers held it upside down and then asked why it wasn’t working.

“You press here.”

“Ohh!”

Too cute.  Who knew something we take for granted as so simple would be such a novelty?

The kicker was when a teacher topped her coffee with the fluffy deliciousness.  And then re-topped it.  And then added more.

One of the teacher’s lived in America last year, so she was especially grateful, as she remembers the Thanksgiving meal she had there and how amazing it is!

Saturday I’ll have a proper Thanksgiving meal, but I know I’ll still be missing lots.  My mom’s rolls, my aunt’s creamed corn…oh yeah, and my actual family. 😉