Pics and Tales from Michigan (Back it up 'Sheed)

Well, I had intended to post this about 3 weeks ago upon my return from Michigan, but Kat just now gave me the camera that had all the pics. I wanted to go ahead and briefly post this to chronicle the very cool little getaway that was. It was Kat's spring break, a week off from teaching. Me, I took the week off from financial aid. Although the paycheck suffered, it was worth it. The drive through Ohio was exhaustive. The state's as flat as an eight-year-old girl and "I'd rather watch ice melt" boring. Kat had a meeting in Michigan to look into adopting internationally. This is something I infinitely respect her for and fully support if she chooses to follow through with it, although I don't think I've ever conveyed that to her.

We stayed in Walker, MI, which is right outside of Grand Rapids. We decided on day one that we wanted to look for stores and restaurants in the vicinity. So, we set out...driving on every pebble of road in Grand Rapids. We drove for more than 40 minutes (the entire length of Weezer's first album...and then some) before discovering the commercial heart of the area. Of course, the second to last day of the trip we found that this same area of commerce was a straight shot, about .2 miles from the hotel we were staying in. Go figure.

We got simultaneously tattoed in Grand Rapids. Just ask Clint...it's pretty sexy (Kat's is even sexier). The day after we got all inked up, it was on the Pistons game. Here's a funny story from the trip to Auburn Hills (roughly 2 hours from the hotel). Keep in mind that Kat (NOT an avid sports fan) promised me she would not get us killed in Detroit:

We passed a coffee shop called "Beaner's."

"I can't believe they can get away with calling a business that...that can be a pretty offensive term and everything's so P.C. nowadays," I said. ( For those who don't know, the term "beaners" refers to illegal immigrants from Mexico, but is offensive to all from Mexico.) This leads into something later...

Anyway, we arrive at the Palace of Auburn Hills to watch the Pistons play the Bucks. Here's reason number 1,458,852,413 that I love Kat:

She fucking hates sports and she painted her face Pistons' Blue and Red. It is impossible to put into words this girl's disdain for sports, so that makes this the coolest shit I've ever seen. She was dubbed "Superfan" after this (she actually gave herself that title).

After picking up our Bob Lanier mini-statue (he was being honored that night during halftime, while everyone was pissing...arguably the greatest Pistons player of all-time and they couldn't honor him right before the start of the game), we found our seats and watched the shootarounds. 'Sheed was a like a high school kid. He just shot 36-footers and would occassionally go down to the end the Bucks were playing on, shoot down there and talk shit. Kat had advised before the game that she was gonna do some smack talkin' toward the Bucks.

Well, the Anthem was of course to be played before the game. There was a female on the court with the boy band that was to perform. She was the person who does sign language to interpret for the deaf. Well, somebody behind us lets out a cat call whistle. Kat then says, very sternly "Well THAT was inappropriate." I don't know why, but that cracked me up.

Oh, on top of Kat's smack talk, there was a guy sitting next to me who was either the biggest Pistons fan alive or a complete lunatic. I called him Charlie. He acted as though life itself hinged on the Pistons' every move. I thought he was going to have coronary. He yelled shit at the players all game to encourage them, and he did so on a nickname basis. Here are a few samples:

"Back it up 'Sheed!"

"Stay on him, Tay!"

"Way to hustle, Rip"

"G%$DAMMIT!!!!!!!"

I swear, he was like one of those violent fathers watching his children play. I kept listening for one of the veins in his head to burst. Here's some of Kat's brutal smack talk:

"GO HOME, STOTTS! YOU UGLY!" (in reference to Terry Stotts, Milwaukee's head coach)

Then, out of nowhere came the one that could've led to us both being murdered in Auburn Hills:

"YOU ALL ARE A BUNCH OF BEANERS!!"


HOLY SHIT! She didn't just yell that...yeah, she did. This, after promising me we wouldn't get killed at the game.

"YOU ALL ARE BEANERS!!!"

Yep, she just yelled it again. Here's my thought process at this point: "Remain calm. You don't know this woman, although she'll be easy to point out...she's the only one here who painted her face. Nice knowing ya, Kat."

This poor girl was COMPLETELY oblivious as to what the slang word "beaners" meant.

Well, after the Pistons rallied from an 18 point deficit, we started back to the hotel. I explained what the term meant. I was really proud of her for keeping up with the game and cheering the entire time(although I know she didn't want to be there). She really was a Superfan. I love this girl!

The next day, on the way back, I slept through most of boring shithole that is Ohio. We all (me, Kat and Jesaja, the puppy who bore the wrath of championship title reign) were exhausted, but about 11 hours later we arrived back in JC.

There's the brief version of the Michigan trip. It was a great 'vacation' spent with a great person. I leave you now with a pretty perverse pic of the Pistons' mascot: