So, I had the amazing opportunity to attend the 2007 Warped Tour in Orlando on July 22nd. In a word: awesome. My boyfriend, B, friends D and J, and myself went down to Orlando to stay with some of our buddies the night before the concert on Sunday. As per our usual Orlando debauchery, we went out drinking that Saturday night. The night started with drinks and food at Buffalo Wild Wings. I had never been there before, as all the places I've ever lived don't have one, but it was actually a really fun sports bar. They have trivia games that you and other patrons play from your table. You get a controller that shows the question and lets you choose answers a-d. Your score and the correct answers get put up on one of the many large-screen televisions around the bar so everyone can either see your untapped genius or (as in my case) the severe lack thereof. I think I scored about a C+ overall. Pretty pathetic considering I am a senior at a very respectable university.
Afterward, we went back to our friends' apartment for a rousing game of drinking Jeopardy! The rules of this game are actually quite a bit more intricate than one might think. At the beginning of the game, you basically "pick your pony" and bet a certain amount of drinks up front on whichever contestant you believe is going to take the cake. This bet in and of itself is a major decision. One might think that picking the champion is the automatic choice, but many times this has proven to be a mistake. Those challengers can take out even the most wiley champions with one or two good Daily Doubles. After deciding who it is that you think will win, you bet a certain amount of drinks (which, to show good faith, you must drink up front). If your contestant ends up being the champion, you get to give out the amount of drinks you bet to all other players. As for the meat of the game, each question can be answered by any player, however you must be the first to correctly answer in the form of a question. If said player fails to answer in the form of a question, another player is then allowed to take that player's turn and pick up the points. If you submit no answer for a question, there is no penalty. However, if you answer a question incorrectly or fail to answer in the form of a question, you must drink. Luckily, DVR allows us to record episodes of Jeopardy! so this game can basically be played any time and with all players given equal opportunity to complete the game in whole. Fortunately, my trivia skills proved to be somewhat more useful in the game of Jeopardy! than the game at Buffalo Wild Wings.
After the game of drinking Jeopardy!, most of our friends decided it was time to hit the hay. However, this was probably around 12am, which to my friends is like most people's 8pm. My boyfriend, B, our friend, J, and myself decide we're going to play a drinking game until we're ready to go to bed. Understand that we were planning on getting up at 7:30am to get to Warped Tour early. We had tickets to pick up at will call and my friend, D, was pretty gung-ho about "getting there in time to see all the good bands." Unfazed by the prospect of little to no sleep, the three of us, equipped with nothing more than Bud Light, a few Solo cups, and four pingpong balls (staples of any college apartment, mind you), determined to make up a new drinking game. After several hours (and many Bud Lights later), we had little to show for our valiant efforts. Out of boredom (and sparked by who knows what drunken comment), the topic of religion was brought up and, armed with my digital camera, I proceeded to capture fifteen minutes of the religious debate that lasted until around 6am. We had no idea, but apparently we were "discussing" are varying opinions at the top of our lungs. Most of the apartment could hear our ranting and, yet, none of them came out to the living room to tell us to shut the hell up. I still feel bad about that.
We finally went to bed around 6am, shortly following the debate of doom, and woke up promptly at around 8am. D was not having any part of us being later than he planned and was unsympathetic to our lack of sleep. We arrived at Warped Tour, picked up our tickets, and proceeded to our first concert of the day. Over the next eight hours, we saw Coheed and Cambria, Chiodos, Paramore, As I Lay Dying, Cute Is What We Aim For, Haste the Day, Killswitch Engage, New Found Glory, Red Jumpsuit, and Scary Kids Scaring Kids. It was easily the best day of music I've had in a very long time. I was exhausted and sunburnt at the end of the day, but it was so well worth it. Warped Tour 2008 is just around the corner and I cannot wait to go. Who knows what stories I'll have to tell after that trip. Hopefully they'll include more great music, more great friends, and more great memories.
