baseball game fun

So with some difficulty, S and I went to the Pirates game on Saturday night. A whole bunch of law students and their friends went to the game, 21 in total.

My friend A was in town for Carnival at CMU, we had independently decided to go to the game, but once we discovered the coincidence, we decided to sit together. Along with this, we had decided to meet before the game for a drink. The game started at 705pm, we were planning on meeting at 615pm. There are several bars across the street from the stadium, so proximity of alcohol was not an issue. However, lateness was. We ended up not meeting up until 645pm (the fault of both parties), and by the time we got a drink (or two) and headed over to the game, it was probably 745pm or so.

As soon as we found our seats, I went to find food and beverages. And a bathroom. The line for beer was long (and of course, I'm picky, and this was the only place I could get the kind I wanted). The line for food wasn't so long. But all in all, it probably took me 30 minutes to acquire the necessary sustenance.

Once I got back to the seats, I realized that yet another bathroom trip was in order. I decided to wait until I had eaten, so I had a burger, and then headed back out to the bathroom.

Back in the game, it was now like th 5th inning, and I was just sitting down to watch some baseball. In the middle of the 5th inning, they held the pierogie race, and I lost my voice screaming at Sauerkraut Sal, who of course threw the race. It's Wednesday now, and I still don't have it back.

Before I knew it, the game was over, I had seen about 2 innings of it (due to yet another beer and bathroom run), and I realized I needed yet another bathroom run. Since it was the end of the game, though, I figured the bathroom would be mobbed, and I wanted to get the hell out of there. So we just left instead.

Saying goodbye to A took about 15 minutes, getting to the car took another 5, and by the time we were getting to the car, I had an urgent need for a bathroom again. And, lucky me, the parking garage was gridlocked. As in, not moving at all. I contemplated using a stray Aquafina bottle we had in the car, but Sarah suggested that I just go back to one of the bars and use their bathroom.

So 5 minutes later, I'm back at the bar we were at before the game, only this time, there's a $5 cover charge. I'm thinking, "Fuck that, I'll go to the bathroom right here before I pay you $5 to utilize your bathroom." Now there are other bars there, but I didn't even bother, thinking that if one has a cover charge after the game, they all have a cover charge after the game.

Luckily, there is a Marriott hotel across the street. So I went in there, hotels usually have a bathroom you can use in the lobby. This one did. Except for the slight problem of needing a keycard to get into it. If I had a keycard, I would go up to my room and use the truly private bathroom up there! Frustration was definitely setting in at this point, on top of the oh-please-god-get-me-to-a-bathroom feeling.

So I tried to con the woman at the front desk.

"Hi, I'm waiting for a friend, he's not here yet, and I need to use the restroom. Can you please give me a card?"

"Is your friend a guest here?"

"Yes"

"What's his last name?"

At this point, watch me as I turn and walk out of the hotel lobby, not saying a word further. I head back to the parking garage and get back into the car. It's now 20 minutes later, we're still in the parking garage, and I still haven't found a bathroom. We just left, and I ended up using the bathroom at home, 20 minutes after that.

It truly is the simple things in life that can make you feel good.