We’re hiding in Wichita this weekend from the Manhattan chaos known as Fake Patty’s Day. In the past, this day has angered me beyond belief. This year, not so much, though that could very possibly be because we were able to leave town and avoid loud drunkenness.
Don’t get me wrong, I still hate it. I know that when I was in college, if the Soo had had something like this I would have been out there partying down with everyone else. But now I’m old and crotchety. I think the idea of getting up at 9am to drink until 2am the next morning (with or without a food/puke/nap break) is a bad one, and I think the fact that the bars are in it for the money money money despite arrests, fines, and deaths from alcohol poisoning doesn’t really reflect well on the town.
But it is part of their “tradition” and if I’m being fair, I shouldn’t knock it if I haven’t tried it. I do knock the fact that during this weekend I can’t even park outside my house, I can’t drive without almost running into some drunk dinkwad stumbling across the road, and I have to worry about the well being of my car and home to people who think beer and vandalism go hand in hand.
I know a few people who attend the festivities and that’s cool. It’s their thing and I know they aren’t the kind to throw up in someone’s front lawn. But it’s not for me, and getting out of town is the best way to save my sanity.
Wichita brings its own chaos, namely three dogs who bark when anyone pulls into the driveway or steps into the front lawn. It’s not constant chaos, but it’s chaos all the same. There’s generally some sort of traffic wildness when we venture out and about. For instance, today I almost headed down a one way street (again)* and managed to save in the nick of time. Later, there was some confusion from the elderly lady in the car behind us who decided to take up half of two lanes.
Having said that, traffic was actually not too horrible for a Saturday. We went and checked out two local yarn shops. I was looking for some glittery ribbon type “yarn” for my friend who’s been making frou frou scarves, but it seems to have been some sort of holiday thing. I couldn’t find the stuff anywhere, at least not what she’d be looking for. At one, I did find some really gorgeous yarn that could be knit the same way, but at 40 dollars for a small skein, I knew it wasn’t fitting into either of our budgets at the moment.
I found some yarn I wanted, but I refrained. Still determined to pare down my current stash in preparation for this year’s yarn hop.
If anyone out there is partying hard, stay safe this weekend, and if anyone knows where I can pick up some cheap glitter ribbon for knitting, let me know.
*I don’t make it a habit to go down one way streets. It happened one time last year during YH and it only almost happened this year because I wasn’t familiar with how the road was laid out. I’m a good driver…I swear!
The Romance Factor 