Homecoming!

Since I recently wrote an article about a weekend at JMU, I thought it would be appropriate to give a different perspective on a weekend with me in my favorite place in the world. I asked my friend Ashley to recount the weekend from her perspective, a guest blogger if you will, so it wasn't just another 500 words of me writing about how I love Harrisonburg.

So here's Ashley's recount of that weekend...

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This was one of those weekends you look forward to for 365 days  (give or take a leap day.)  Some would say it's even better than Christmas, Thanksgiving, and what used to be summer break combined. It was JMU Homecoming and Halloween: a lethal combination of football, alcohol, and witty costumes.

Friday's classes dragged by ridiculously slow- like Christmas Eve with all the excitement but without the hassle of wrapping gifts.  I met up with Connor to finalize some last minute costume changes.  (Who’s Snoopy without Charlie Brown!?) Because people question my sexuality regularly anyway, why not be a single girl with relatively short hair going as a couple’s costume with another female?

After a ridiculously long night of baking 96 miniature pumpkin spice cupcakes, we all met up to tailgate about 9am. Normally I am the overjoyed fool gleefully running to hug Christy when she comes back to town.  Apparently she’d been watching Freaky Friday because our roles definitely switched. The fool was excited to see me!  

Now, if you’re gonna drink that early, ya might as well be classy with mimosas and strawberries and a sheetz croissant for breakfast.  (Sheetz trip #1.) 

Nothing says classy like Mimosa's out of a solo cup.

Three mimosas, 7 jello shots, a peppermint patty shot, a turrential rain storm and a whiny hurricane later, it was game time!  Due to previous experiences, Doug, Christy, and I dipped early to make it to the stadium in time to not only beat the masses, but catch the pregame huddle, the team coming in, the inflatable Duke Dog, and the marching band. 

Despite being damp, sick, sober, and looking too much like J.Beibs, Duke reigned supreme.  Dinner plans were made but the beckoning of a hot shower and a power nap were much too strong.  So, Christy and I picked up Sheetz (trip # 2 for those of you who are keeping track) and headed back to Jess’ (who later joined us) to regroup.  Showered, fed, thawed out, and costumed, we headed out to Saunton for Alex and Lacy's Halloween party.

But to make any trip complete, of course a stop at Sheetz is necessary (trip #3.)  And of course you get carded for buying a pong kit which is nothing more than solo cups and ping pong balls- your fun fact of the day.  Snoops, One of the Cat in the Hat's "Things", and I arrived at Lacy and Alex’s for a fun filled evening of pong, cake, and either the most horrific or awesome dancing I have ever seen.  Kendra, Lacy, Jess, and Christy danced the gangnam style and brought on the hurricane, and this time Alex broke the light fixture so I’m out of the doghouse on that one.  (The last Alex & Lacy party I attended Connor and I managed to shatter a light globe…oops!)

The Cat and the Hat with Thing 1 & 2

After being up for 19 hours and consuming alcohol for 18.5 of them, we all passed out in random places throughout the house.  The weekend of awesomeness culminated in Wesley sketchy dipping and leaving behind his cat tail from his costume, breakfast at Kathy’s, waffles with chipped beef, and stirring up the church crowd to Wobble Baby Wobble. No epic weekend would be complete without one last group Gangnam style and a pulled calf muscle. 

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So that was Ashley's perspective on the Halloween/Homecoming awesomeness that was my first Homecoming as a JMU alum. As of now, I won't be going to any more JMU games this year unless they have a LONG home playoff run. With my birthday and random people visiting, I'm pretty busy all the way through Christmas but I'm looking forward to a weekend in the Spring where I can have all day Saturday to enjoy the parts of Harrisonburg I miss every weekend because of tailgating  (the farmers market, Jack Browns, walks on the quad and visiting old coworkers.) I may even plan it around a basketball game so I can drop in on my favorite concessions employees.