SPRING BREAK OR BUST!!!!!!

Things were still a little gruff between us when we started planning spring break with a group of friends from the dorms and from Hot Springs. We solidified 5 of us for the trip. Everyone knows an odd number is no good, but we needed all the $ pitched in that we could get. We didn’t have enough to do anything extravagant like Mexico but we wanted somewhere none of us (most of us) had been and somewhere that all of us could legally drink so we decided on CANADA, eh.

Filling Cooler W/ Snow

I was the youngest at 18, so we had to pick a province where I could legally drink (heeello, spring break), Manitoba it was. It was a little further away then a couple of the others but nothing inconceivable. We made reservations and devised a plan. Wayne’s parents were going to fish sit for our fish and Carrie’s. We used Chuck’s credit card to reserve the hotels. We picked one with a waterslide within walking distance of a few bars and casinos.

Wane and I and Carrie who was from Hot Springs and a fellow ELED major at CSC, then Chuck (former owner of the SoCo and singer of The Dance) also an Ed major at CSC, and last but not least, Andy Borah, worker at Frank’s (mechanic and gas station in Hot Springs) and best bud to all, were among the 5.

We headed out from Hot Springs on Friday and drove the whole way there the first night. Well Wane and Andy took turns driving and the rest of us weren’t allowed, for some reason. Carrie and I saw buffalo in the treetops and the lights of Winnavegas were bright and it was a rather good time getting there with lots of singing and lots of cappuccinos.

We checked into our hotel early the next morning. After napping we went swimming and made long trains going down the water signs despite the signs not to. We snacked on junk food nearly the entire time and drank margaritas like we were south, not north. At night we went clubbing. We ended up leaving Chuck at one bar after telling him it was time to go twice and then saying we were going out in the parking lot to wait for him. He ended up lying about going to the bathroom and being right out and ordered another drink. We gave him 10 minutes before walking back to the hotel. He was none to pleased about this and still isn’t to this day, bringing it up on the anniversary of the trip every 2-3 years.

One night we ordered Andy 3 Wisemen on a Turkey Hunt at the bar in our hotel. He warned us that tequila and him didn’t get long but we pushed him to do it anyway as all best friends do. Almost instantly he ralphed all over Carrie’s coat. He kept right on trooping though. When we headed back to the room we swore he was right behind us but when we got there he wasn’t there. Carrie went looking for him and found him down some other hall.

The people next door to us one night absolutely hated us and knocked on our door to tell us so. Of course they probably caught quite the site. I faintly remember laughing as someone yanked me back in the room by the swimsuit tie, which didn’t remain tied.

We had a run in with a bum. All the bums up there seemed to own bikes. It was weird. They rode all over even though it was covered in snow. While waiting for a cab to take us across town to a casino a bum approached us and asked “if we could spare some coffee”. Our good ‘ol Andy Borah just couldn’t comprehend this.

“Well no, I don’t have any coffee, but there is some right inside and I am sure they’d give you some if you ask.”

The bum got all sorts of heated at this. “I know there’s coffee inside, I am asking for some change to go buy some you ….. All you have to say is NOOO, I can spell it for you N-O, noooooo.”

Borah was baffled, he didn’t know what the heck had happened and was all sorts of confused. Then the bum turned on Wayne and started chewing on him. Wayne told him to move on stinkin’ bum. He rode off cussing us out. Cracks us up to this day.

Carrie & I with some pro soccer team.

Then the cab driver wouldn’t let anyone sit in front so we had to make 2 trips and double pay. AND he took us all around town the long way to make it cost more. He looked some sort of foreign and had an accent to match. Carrie, Chuck and I got bored and started singing the Angry American along with the radio, probably part of the problem. It was an expensive ride, and then we lost more $ at the casino, or I did. But we took the bus back so that was cheaper.

We left the maids a lot of alcohol in the mini fridge as a tip because you could only take so much back across the border. We hit up a Canadian McDonalds before heading out and then stopped at a border store and souvenired it up on the way out.

We only went part way home this time. We stopped in Billing, North Dakota at a friend from Hot Springs, Jennifer Nelson’s. I remember walking to Taco Bell and getting there 5 minutes before close and asking for food likes asses. Then Wayne kicks all of us but Carrie out for a couple hours while they chat….wth?

Next thing I know he is back out, and finally not being a jerk anymore. Apparently they had been having a heart to heart about his and my relationship and he had finally come to a decision as to what he really wanted.

GREAT…this will be a fun rest of the ride home. He had been testing it all week an now he does this and has “made a decision.”  That is just GREAT!

To my surprise he admitted he had been trying to push me away and run me off as he had been scared about getting too serious. He said it took him a while to get over it, but he thought he had and was now ready to take the next step. He said he could see spending the rest of his life with me and that he wanted me to think about that. Later on after leaving Hot Springs and traveling down to Nebraska to spend some time with my family before Spring Break was over he asked if I would move into an apartment or somewhere with him for the summer and the upcoming school year!

WOW where did all of this come 

from? I don’t know but I didn’t hesitate long before going with it. 

Bring it on!!!!!!

That night it was easy to see what choice I was going to make. Despite the dork in the background singing Garth Brooks, I had already made my choice back in November and though things were a little rocky for a while, I am so grateful for the patient and understanding man who put up with me while I sorted it all out.

After that I made Wayne formally ask me to date him and we made a commitment to be exclusive and not let anyone come between us again, buuuut, then a few weeks later when we were getting pretty serious, it was his turn to make it complicated with that male ego pressured by his bachelor buddies to cut the leash and not commit.

He was trying all those subtle guy ways of getting me to get fed up with him and leave. I had even been staying a few nights back in my own dorm room despite that most of my stuff now resided in his room.

Part of me wanted to bail like he wanted me too, but the other part of me wasn’t willing to give up what we had the past few months. I had long ago abandoned most of the other friendships I had made first semester and would be starting over, square one. I didn’t even have a roommate anymore! She had moved in with a sophomore in another dorm complex. Kent hall was a lot of fun though and I was sure it wouldn’t be hard to get back in with the girls on 3^rd floor. And I still hadn’t perused the cowboys yet.

But I really liked him….

I decided I could play this game too. I decided to make him squirm. If he wanted out, I was not going to make it that easy for him. I was going to make him end it. So there!

Bring it on! 

Complicated…

Wayne Guy & I spoke almost daily over break despite Christmases and New Years parties and hanging out with family and friends. Though I’d like to say that everything went fine and we reunited after break like nothing had changed, it had. 

That ex of mine did show up, a few times. Once to redeem his invite to my cousin's wedding, once on New Year's showing his true colors yet again, then when he could tell it wasn't going his way, he had his own plans of how to try to keep me in his life. He decided to pack everything up and move to Chadron! He followed me back up there, literally. This presented complications to say the least. Wayne decided to be nice about it and help him move in and let him hang out with US for the remaining week before classes started.  AWKWARD!

I now felt in the middle of the two of them and this went on for a couple of weeks until one weekend when things came to a head. I was having a good time with Wayne and my new Hot Springs friends when this ex came around. He was being all right for a while then all of a sudden as Wayne is assisting me, as the inebriated one for once, this ex comes flying in and attacks him!

Now you have to understand my ex was about a third the size of Wayne. One being scrawny twig; the other going from all-star athlete, to UW wrestling, to Menards lifting crew, to then. Not much of a match if you ask me. Wayne kept his cool though and just said, “BORAH.” Andy came in and stuck his foot in the door and watched while Chuck (owner of previously mentioned SoCo and ex Edna Hall boy as well) stood back and sang The Dance, presuming all was about to be over ….

Why Wayne Guy?

For many reasons. This even became the topic of my dad’s wedding toast to us and remains a favorite story of his. He will even answer the phone “Hello Mrs. Guy,” once in a while.

Why I chose him over the many other suitors that semester and even over the prior relationship from back home runs deeper than why he is referred to as Wayne Guy. Those reasons can be imagined, explained and obvious even, so lets go with the story of Wayne Guy…..

Around the time I was not coming home with the Holdrege/Minden/North Platte carpool every weekend my parents began to wonder, (while really I am sure they were doing backflips as they had tried many things over the years to encourage staying away from my prior relationship). They had been there for multiple attempts at breaking up with the last guy who just kept showing up when he found out I was in town and had prayed for someone new to come along. They were less than subtle in showing their sincerest gratitude of this when I called home one night and talked to my dad about this Wayne Guy.

I told my dad of this guy who’d been hanging out with the girls and I. I explained how he was from Hot Springs, SD and was in the class of 2000. He was of course going to be a teacher, but in math (dad’s major once upon a time). Finally dad asked well what’s this Wayne guy’s last name?

“uuuuuuh……”

I honestly couldn’t say it. I knew it, I had heard it and seen it in writing, but I just couldn’t say it. There were so many ways to pronounce it and while I didn’t want to be wrong, I had also gone over every possible pronunciation in my head, phonetically and otherwise until they all ran together into an indecipherable mess.

I told my dad as much with a couple attempts that ended in blablablablah. I gave up and said, “just Wayne Guy.”

Turns out it is pretty phonetic. Ton Saw Grrrrrrr  J

And so you have it.

Date Night....

Date Night….

About a week later and a week before finals I had decided I was not going home before finals as I had been told if it snows and you do not make it back for finals, too bad, so sad, see you again next semester. I was again in search of some fun in Chadron. I was babysitting my baby cousin Sawyer Friday night and decided we needed to cook something up for the rest of the weekend. I had done the house parties, fun and all but the last one I had gone to the police showed up at and I just really don’t like police run-ins. Plus I had done my share of partying in high school and didn’t care to get drunk off my ass as much anymore. I called Sheri to see what she was doing and asked if she knew that Wayne guy’s number and if we should ask him to do something with us. The previously mentioned stink eye giving girl must have been gone as she was Sheri’s friend and Sheri didn’t seem to think there would be a problem calling him up. She did a 3 way call and we decided on bowling for some reason….again, Chadron in 2003 didn’t have many options, (it was pre “Hide-a-Minor” bar.)

The next night we were all accumulating in room two-whatever and turned out Wayne Guy was a Mathlete and was helping one of the girls with their math. Ugggg. “So what’s your major, math or something?” I asked, thinking what a nerd.

“Well, I was a Chemical Engineer major at my last 2 colleges, but now I am going for Math teacher,” was his response.

Of course he was going to be a teacher, was there anything besides teachers and Ag Management at CSC? He didn’t wear cowboy cut Wranglers so that put him in the teacher category. But Chemical Engineer, whatever that meant, sounded important and definitely nerdy. Normally nerds and SoCo don’t go together but had I found 2 in a row? Hmmmmm.

Well, whatever, I thought, lets just go do something before I transfer to UNL! ….Okay, that might be a little extreme, I LOVE my mountains and cowboys too much to turn back now, but there has got to be more to do around here. I am about to resort to cow tipping and hay bail jumping.

Finally we piled in this tiny little beat up Mazda pick-up that resembled a tin can, and sounded like you were inside of one too. Sheri hopped in the middle and I sat on the freezing passenger side. Driving to the bowling alley she flirted aimlessly with him. Nice. My idea, my choice, your help, you snatching. Really not worried, just amused, again. So I let my mind wonder…there was that guy from speech that was incredibly hot who had came by my dorm a while back, then there was the one from Crawford who was a heck of a lot of fun and reminded me of an old Kearney friend. If tonight sucks, I will look one of them up before break.

What the hell?!?! The bowling alley is closed, and SERIOUSLY did I just hear “let’s go to Wal-Mart?” Uggggg. “Yeah Sheri, maybe you could buy Kate and Leopold, I think Wayne wanted to see the rest of it.” I said frustrated.

Wayne, “That’s all right…”

My mind started to wonder again. There was that guy Dorr that pole-vaulted, I bought Photoshop from him, more because I liked him and didn’t want to actually download it myself, nor did I know how to do it without getting busted. He was fun to play Jenga with that night. And then there was Jeff, Lexi was such a bisnatch to him, but I think he was dating Julie now and they are totally perfect for each other. Nawww, time to paruse the cowboys.

We pulled up to Wal-Mart and started across the parking lot. My boredom took over and my goofy crazy kicked in. I was putting on goofy clothes and sitting on video rockers on the shelves and bouncing balls down the isles. The others quit scolding and joined in. Of course I had my camera with as always and we began to take a couple of pics. I think Sheri did buy another movie of some sort and we headed back to the truck.

“There is a bike horn on your truck?” I asked.

“Yeah, in South Dakota the law states you have to have a working horn, but it doesn’t say what kind,” says Wayne Guy.

Interesting nerdy smart-ass who drinks SoCo.

This time I jumped in the middle, pissed Sheri off! What can I say; he is kinda fun and intriguing.

That set the tone for the rest of the night back at room two-something. I dialed an old friend who I’d introduced Sheri to and they talked for hours while Wayne guy and I talked and gave each other one of the 3 backrubs of our relationship and ate some Ramen noodles and chatted for hours.

We all passed out in room two-something that night. I was first and only up and out the door to class the next morning. I thought for sure the girls would be up and he would be gone when I got back an hour later, but they weren’t and he wasn’t and we made plans for later that night!

Every night that week we spent together and I even spent a few days extra in Chadron until I got to missing my babies I nannyed for the previous 2 years back home and cancelled a trip to his home town (and Evans Plunge) and drove on home hoping that it would not end things that were turning out great between us…

SoCo & Urinal blessed gifts….

Turns out this Wayne guy came around again, this time to my room, a couple weeks later with a bottle of Sothern Comfort that one of his fellow Edna Hall boys had tried to bring over a few nights before. Only Wayne Guy was already a third of the way through the bottle, posse at his side after curfew for males in the girls’ wing. They were loud, very LOUD and eventually I let them in before we all got in trouble.  Wayne guy stumbled across the hall and used the girls bathroom, formally a male restroom complete with urinals we had “blessed” the first week of class with plants and poems and unwritten guy code for the use of public restrooms. When Wayne Guy came stumbling back he had proclaimed his thoughtfulness through “bringing me a gift, but don’t touch the wet leaves.” Thanks so much, we’ll just set this up here (on Lexi’s bed, sorry Lexi I don’t think we were getting long at this point, it really did smell too).

Next thing I know there are some RA’s knocking on the door next to mine. They said they had received a noise complaint and wanted to be sure nothing was going on. See, her name next door was Candace as well and she was from Kearney, ironically. Most of the drunk boys kept hidden and quiet just in case the RA’s came to my door, but we turned everything and the lights off and locked the door. Chuck, (owner of the SoCo originally hoping to win me over into a relationship – I mean seriously?) good ole’ Chuck, he was so paranoid that we nearly had to tackle him and hold his mouth shut to keep him from bolting out the room. In fact someone may have done just that. As son as those RA’s were done flirting with other Candace and down the hall around the corner, Chuck bolted down the opposite corner not to be seen again. Awesome, down to 2 drunken boys to get rid of before the RA’s came back.

To keep the noise down I pulled my new chick flick Kate and Leopold out and turned all the lights off again in hopes they might pass out. YEAH…within in minutes Wayne Guy was OUT. But the other one, Jed or Jeb, whatever, was annoying and persistent. What a creep.  Finally after kicking Wayne Guy a few times he stirred, rolled over and flung his arms across me… better than Jeb. Jeb finally deterred left.

Okay…now what to do about Wayne Guy.

As soon as Jeb was out the door and down the hall I flicked on the lights. What do you know; Wayne Guy pops up and starts bouncing around again. Come on! He starts talking non-stop and a million miles a minute about all sorts of random crap. Living with Tiff all my life I was able to keep up and it was mildly amusing. Eventually he plopped down at my computer “YOU GOT BEER FOR MY HORSES? I LOVE THAT SONG!”

After hearing Beer for my Horses sung, sort of, about 30 times I finally decided this nutcase was just going to have to pass out again and I turned the lights off and started watching Kate and Leopold again.  If I remember right he passed out again for a few hours then got up and left with a hang over.

HOLY COW! Never a dull moment with that character! He might be worth speaking to again, he’s from Edna Hall, he’ll be back. It’s like code for those guys to flood Kent Hall like Neanderthals…..