Finding Famous Jameis

I miss Gene Deckerhoff. In Morocco, I used to be able to find the FSU games streamed online somewhere. Ditto for Indonesia, but now the Almighty Dollar has blocked me out. Games are no longer streamed and you have to subscribe to something.

My issue is I can’t find out what to subscribe to in order to get Gene. The ESPN online is hard enough, as my ESPN provider is not a cable network.

So sometimes FSU can be hard to come by – even harder than when I was half a world away. And now that the Noles are getting to be back on top (knocking on wood here), I don’t want to miss them.

Om DC, every college has some sort of a booster club gathering to watch games, so I decided to go down to the local bar and watch the NC State game with them. Since it was an afternoon game I figured what the heck.

When I learned that there was an FSU bar in town, I didn’t realize the enormity of it. I figured it be like the SEMINoles (that’s be the Southeastern Michigan Noles), who, on game days, met at a local bar and commandeered a room.

This was on a much grander scale.

The bar, Union Pub in this case, was absolutely, completely overrun by Seminoles. Every single TV had the game on. After TDs, they played the fight song in the bar. The waitstaff wore Union Pub FSU shirts with the 2013 schedule printed on the back. There was even a booster club raffle. (The prizes were mostly booze, so I didn’t buy one.)

With the exception of a lone NE State fan and a table full of drunk, misplaced Cornhuskers, it was all Seminole.

So, it was kind of cool that the atmosphere was there, but I just didn’t enjoy it so much. I’m not a bar person and going at it alone in a packed house was just too intimidating for this introvert. I hung out and watched the first half in the bar (I was late due to the metro hating me), where they wasn’t even a speck of a table to sidle up to.

During the third, the eating places cleared out a bit and I grabbed a seat on the patio and got dinner. I was pretty much famished and wolfed it down. By the end of the third, though, the drunken Huskers combined with the chilly and windy weather chased me out and I headed back.

I won’t be doing it again for the Miami game, but would consider it for other afternoon games, I guess. I’m not sure. During football games, I don’t really want to socialize. I just want to watch football.

But it was a decent weekend, and had it not been chilly I would have been content to sit by my lonesome on the patio and watched the game. I was just so chilled – hard to believe I was in North Dakota just a few months ago.

Like the tail end of my ND tour, I am trying to explore the area a bit. Saturday I wandered into the city, if just for a bit. I’ve putzed around the district a tiny bit, catching a glimpse of this memorial or that White House mostly in passing.

I visited Chincoteague, too, and on Sunday I got out and about a place nearby that felt like it was a world away.

Just down the street (or the metro, anyway) from the district is Alexandria, Virginia, which is just a wonderful and peaceful place to hang out on a Sunday. The weather was a lot better than Saturday and it was just gorgeous to wander around.

One of my classmates had recommended it, so I just headed out after church. Had a great time just walking and seeing the remnants of what must have been Dog-o-ween: lots of pups in costume. Ate a catfish po’ boy and sat and watched the water, which is always peaceful.

I’d totally go back for another Sunday afternoon. There were some awesome-looking restaurants and it was kind of tough to decide on one. I was fairly happy with the po’ boy, though, and the cupcakes on which I splurged later.

I have got to cut myself off, though. Now that I am getting a paycheck, I am also spending said paycheck. Saturday, long before the Noles game, I sunk $1210 into my teeth in the first of two dental visits, then I hit Target for my first $100 trip of the week.

Although China pretty much has everything, I’m going ahead and stocking up on what I can. I’m not sure of the availability of certain brands. Since I am allowed to take 7,200 pounds of stuff (and I only own 2,300 pounds of it – I checked), I figure why not? It’s something to aim for before I leave.

I’m also trying to schedule doctor’s appointments, too. My wrinkle with that is the fact my insurance card isn’t in. I got one but my name was spelled wrong and the corrected one hasn’t come in.

I have this standing list of “to do before I leave” that just keeps growing. It feels like I might never leave, but I’m still trying to be OK with taking it day by day. It’s not like I have an option.