Misadventure (n.) - an unfortunate incident, a mishap.
You could say I had a few misadventures tonight. But you know me, I'm one to turn a misadventure into an adventure. And that's exactly what my friends and I experienced tonight.
For those of you unaware of this weekend's reason for being excited, for including the weekend of Friday the 13th in my countdown, tonight was going to be my third annual WinterJam experience. But this wasn't going to be just any WinterJam--I was going to have the blessing of seeing Skillet live! This may not be a big deal to some of you, but to me, Skillet is the big time, someone I'd pay to see in concert apart from WinterJam. So two of my friends and I had plans to go to WinterJam. We left earlier than last year since we didn't want to sit behind the stage again.
The night's misadventures all started with a wrong turn. We didn't want to turn onto Pellissippi. We were going to Neyland. But somehow, we turned onto the wrong highway. By the time we got back on the right track, Thompson Bowling arena was filling to the max. An hour before the awaited concert, we arrived in one lane, standstill traffic. And waited...for another fifty minutes. By the time we got to the building and jumped out of the car, Thompson Bowling was filled to the max--no more concert go-ers permitted. No Skillet for me.
The idea was foreign, unexplainable...how could this arena, the arena used for Lady Vol basketball and so many other HUGE concerts...be full? Well, one thing's for sure. God's not dead, and his children wanted to sing his praises tonight...we just weren't one of the lucky thousands.
So, plan B) Bowling. I mean, I have tendinitis in my wrist and a bruised ankle, but hey...I'll learn to bowl with my left hand, right? Wrong. As we walked into the bowling arena from the full parking lot, we realized we weren't going to be bowling tonight. "Forty-five minute wait," the guy said. "We have lives to live," Olivia said. And we were out the door.
Plan C) Movie then dessert. Great plan--Kingsmen is playing in twenty minutes. Let's go. Again, we are dropped at the door. We wait in line, because come on, it's valentine's weekend. Get up to the counter. "Can I see your ID?" the girl asks my friend. She pulls out her wallet, and the girl shakes her head, looking at the other two of us. "All of your IDs." Well, me in my absent-minded ignorance, left my wallet at home. "You have to be 21." Since WHEN do you have to be 21 to see an R movie? Never! We wait for my friend's mom to come and buy the tickets, but the girl calls us back over. "It's going to be sold out--there's no way you're going to get seats together." I'm convinced she had a personal vendetta against us, despite the ridiculousness of the idea. And just to top it off, we ran into a rather unpleasant face from high school...perfect...just perfect.
Okay, plan D) get dessert then rent a movie for home. Good. We go to the Olive Garden in Turkey Creek, because who doesn't want a dessert from Olive Garden, right? "45-50 minute wait," the hostess says. We're out the door before she can finish. So we settle for the Olive Garden in good Ole Maryville, the Olive Garden with no wait, good service, and delicious desserts.
So on to Hastings we go, searching vigilantly for The Best of Me, because what else are we going to watch on Valentine's eve except Nicholas Sparks. Let's be honest here. Search and search....no Best of Me for rental. Okay, we'll buy it. Grab the movie and head out. Half way home, after removing the stickers, we realize something...we bought a blu-ray...we don't have a blu-ray player. I'm going to be honest, I'm about ready to cry as we turn back around. We CANNOT catch a break.
Fast forward another thirty minutes. We've finally made it home, curled up under blankets on pillows together, watching as James Marsden charms us all with his beautiful ruggedness and gorgeous smile. I know we're all thinking about the misadventures we've had tonight. People ask us what we did tonight. Better question: what didn't we do tonight? WinterJam, bowling, see the Kingsmen, wait 45 minutes for dessert, rent a movie. Now who can say they didn't do all that in a matter of five hours. Yes, we drove for nearly five hours tonight. Just think about that for a second: five hours in a car, and nearly nothing accomplished.
But it was an adventure. Yes there were mishaps--unfortunate mishaps. Doesn't matter. I got to spend the night with a few of my favorite people, watched a good yet predictable movie, and spent the first few moment of Galentine's day with my gal pals. What better way to spend Friday the 13th? I couldn't have asked for a better adventure of misadventures. I highly recommend a misadventure sometime--you never know what will come of it.
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