color wars

So, I prepared my kelly-green team t-shirt during Project Runway and was ready for color wars. I was even excited. I bounced while waiting for the train that morning with Pickle. I couldn't stop smiling because a) I didn't have to be inside all day b) I got to wear flip-flops, a beater(kelly green,of course), and shorts and c) I didn't have to be at work!!!

I arrived right on time to find my team around a conference table. I didn't know anyone, obviously. I recognized one young lady who started the same day I did and we had orientation together, but she didn't notice me. I started chatting with the girl next to me, who also didn't know anyone and found out she was new, newer than I was, and was only 23 and an '05 grad from some college I forgot. I lost her in transit to the buses and thus, sat alone. The girl I recognized and her friend sat across me and all she said was, "Hey. Can we put our bags in your extra seat. We're kinda cramped." I looked at their ginormous beach bags and nodded. One of them was the standard designer Longchamp nylon bag that I have a smaller version of, but in bright purple (hers was black, like everyone has...They aren't that designer...i.e. OK to bring to the beach, IMO), but the other Hawaiian printed floral canvas one, which I thought was kind of ugly, was of course Kate Spade New York. Hmph. I looked at it more closely and noticed the nice leather handles and the cute bow, but ultimately, it was ugly and not like any other Kate Spade item I have ever seen. Anyway, I got irritated by that and the fact that no one talked to me and I lost my first friend from the conference room. So, I went to sleep.

We arrived at 11:05 at Rye Playland. It was. so. hot. so. so. hot. I was now wearing my team t-shirt with everyone else and all the other young women's shirts seemed to be creatively altered in better ways than mine and I instantly regretted wearing my tank under it. Oh well. As soon as we found the entrance, we were ushered into a covered pavilion with picnic tables where breakfast was. It said that it was served until 11, but they waited for the buses, thank god. We all stood in line to mostly get water. I took 4 and put them in my kelly green bag. (I had to match!) They were mini, also. Stupid! Then we had to gather with our team flag. I got under the kelly green one. Turns out, that was the hunter green team and we had the light, seafoam flag. Our team was immediately changed to "light green" and our kelly green identity was taken away. I think our identity confusion was the reason behind our loss.

We were paraded around the beach so that we all had a certain spot. Oh, yeah, there was a hired set of refs who were very serious about our color wars and who were uniformed and miked. They had quite a sound system and quite a music selection and quite the variety of games. They were very serious and very organized about the whole thing. First, tug of war. 10 from each team, at least 2 female. We started out pretty good, got to the quarter finals, but then lost. Oh well. Note, by this time, everyone had already sweated through our clothes and the sand was sticking.

Then, we had the events. Where there was some complicated rotation system and we had 5 events. The first, where we really excelled as a team was parachute ball or something. We had to make this big beach ball thing go around the parachute in a circle. We got one point for each complete rotation around the parachute in 2 min. Or something. Then there was this weird thing with one person wearing a flipper facing backwards who had to kick a stuffed fish behind him and then the person waiting had to catch it with a frying pan. Weird. Then, there was the bucket with the holes in the bottom that you filled with water from the ocean and had to pass over 10 people's heads and fill the end bucket and run back to the water. I didn't participate in those. Then, there was "funky feat" where you strapped big foam feet to yours and had to hold them with ropes and go around cones. I had to do this one and my little feet didn't stay on the foam feet very well and I think I really made the team suffer. Then there was a soccer event with cones, a goal, and a giant soccer ball. I also opted out of this one. Finally, the water balloon toss and only 7 teams of 2 from each team could compete so I didn't get chosen. Instead, the remaining team members and I went up to lunch early for hamburgers and beer. Oh, please note, during the whole competition I consumed water like it was my job. I was preparing for the afternoon beer drinking.

I asked 2 kelly green team girls if I could sit with them for lunch and they agreed. One of them said she didn't want beer (didn't drink it or something?!?) and the other, my new and future BFF, got in the beer line with me. I liked her immediately when she went up there and ordered 2. For herself. I was not as daring until later when she egged me on. By this time, I was so hot I didn't even notice anymore. The rest of the afternoon was to be the lip synch contest and the award presentation. (Limbo and Beer Pong were cancelled due to the heat). My new BFF and I got back in the beer line, which was soooo long. 550 people, 1 beer stand, median age of participants=26. We got back in the beer line because we spotted the other kelly green friend from the conference room and she was waiting in it with some other girls. Also note, when I say girls, I mean girls. Everyone I saw looked my age, about 22. (I'm really 21, but I just let people assume '06 grad=22.) The other girls were red team and they said they were just standing in the line for ice cream. New BFF and I looked at them confused. Her, with her 2 empty cups waiting to be refilled. Why stand in line for the ice cream? You could just go around and cut. No one was waiting for the ice cream, just the beer, silly. These girls were a trip.

"Oh, hm, ha, should I get a beer. Oh, do they have light? Beer and ice cream? Oh, wow..." I do not relate to girls like that. After they scurried away to get their ice cream, they came back and 2 of them decided they could "splurge" and get a beer. The rest went to smoke. Hm. Oh well, new BFF and I had no problem taking their spot in the beer line. HA. Oh, new BFF also despised cigarettes and when I told her I had recently quit, she genuinely was congratulatory. She told me she was glad she could stay in line with me. :) We did not participate in the lip synch contest. We sat in the shade drinking and eating and eating and drinking and gossiping about how up-tight some girls were. I found out she was from Georgia (!), was an '04 grad and lived in Tribeca. That was really all I needed to know. We were bound by our matching kelly green beaters and a lack of bikini and a disregard for the sweat and sand. She had taken part in the bucket contest and was, thus, soaked. We decided that we would take the first bus back at 3:15 and happily stood in line finishing our last beers and giggling.

All in all, I had a nice time. I didn't get sun-burnt or dehydrated. I made a friend who is on the 12th floor, who I probably will never see again unless we run into each other in the elevator. And I think I realized that just because you look cool with your fancy designer Kate Spade bag does not mean that you are cool, fun, or nice. In fact, it means that you are up-tight, snobby, and care too much about what people think.

Tonight I get to see my dad's reaction to my sister being preggo. YES!

AND, I think I am meeting Pickle at our favorite hot spot, TGI Friday's (soooo cheap happy hour), so I don't have to go back to Brooklyn between work and our dinner reservation!