One Wierd Weekend

It all started with an e-mail. An e-mail from my beautiful friend David. A David who lives in Red Deer.

"Kayle... I'm going to be in Edmonton watching a Volleyball game at the UofA! You should come and hang out with us so I can see you."

This, of course, caused my heart to leap. Spending with time any Torwalt is a good thing. So I called up David and we basically decided that after the game he would call me up and we'd go hang out somewhere.

About a half hour after that I discovered that my logic was flawed. If I waited until the end of the game I would only be able to see him for a short period of time, while if I went to the game then we'd be able to hang out all evening.

So I clicked onto the UofA website and figured out where they were playing. Figured out that is cost $10 and was starting really soon. So off I went... I probably should have called first, but I thought it would be fun to just show up unexpectedly. I like to surprise.

I drove to the University and parked. At this point I remembered that the University is HUGE and I have no idea where to go. To make matters even more fun this lady asked me to help her daughter get to the game. I told her I have no idea how to get anywhere in this massive complex of buildings, but just then a very friendly student walked up to me and said she would help us get there. Wow! I was really impressed.

She promptly lead us through an insane maze of hallways and I am very sure I never, ever would have found the main gym the way I was going. We got there and I thanked this person profusely.

Onto the game. I lined up, bought my ticket and headed into the gym. It was huge and there were a ton of people there so I started to wander through the bleechers to try and find David and his buddies. No luck. I thought they were probably late, or maybe even lost because I sure as heck wouldn't have been able to find the place on my own. So I wait. And wait. Outside the door. For a long time. Finally one of the student staff people asked me what the heck I was doing. I think they thought I was a lost patient from the mental ward.

I said I was waiting for friends who were out of town. I asked him where a payphone was so I could call them and make sure they were not dead. Amazingly enough he hands me his cell phone and lets me call!! These UofA students are incredible!! I was honestly so impressed with them all. It shockingly made me want to go back to school. Crazy, I know. Maybe I should just pretend I go there and start hanging out.

I couldn't get a hold of David, so I decided just to go in because one team needed to win three games in order to take the actual win. I'm sure there's better terminology... but did I mention I know NOTHING about Volleyball?

I sit down right near the doorway as to not miss anything. I sit down by myself. By myself in the midst of thousands of other people all in their own little groups. Set one goes by, which our team won. Still no David. Set two goes by. No David. I nearly get my head taken off with an errant spike. Like it wizzed RIGHT by my face and would have caused damage. But I didn't notice at all and didn't even flintch. I was pretty impressed with myself. I think it was the grace of God... Imagine that thing cranking my face... all by myself in front of thousands of people. I shudder.

Our team sweeps the visitors with three sets and finally by the end of it all I'm getting the hang of the game. But then everyone get's up and leaves and I was kind of dissapointed because I was finally understanding what was going on.

Still no David.

What to do next? Seek out a phone. I walk into another building and find a whole wall of pay phones and thankfully make contact with David. I ask him where he is and he says the Volleyball game. "Oh-no!" I thought... I somehow missed them.

I ask where the heck he is and it turns out he is not actually at the University but at a different college called NAIT that is on the other side of town. Whoops. Critical error. With a combination of David being mistaken and me trying to be sneaky we both suffer significant communication break down and end up in perfectly wrong places. Alas....

Now that I know where he is at I then need to make it back to by truck. Have I mentioned to you that the UofA is MASSIVE. I believe they have well over 45,000 students this year. So... big. And I had to go into a different building then where I was at. I exited a different door then the way I entered. And I had also forgotten about the mind blowing maze I was just lead through in order to find the gym.

I have no idea where I am, where my truck is or even the right direction to go. I can't see the skyline to find a familiar building because all the buildings of our University are drowning it out. AHHH!!!! So I just start to walk.

By some miracle I find a glimpse of the Edmonton skyline and know where to go. Can you tell I'm a city boy? I don't look for the north star, I look for the city skyline. I know that much better.

I turn and hope I'm walking in the right direction and wouldn't you know it? I walk right past the front doors of the gym building I was just in. I haven't the faintest clue how I did that. And just when I was walking by those doors the guy who lent me his cell phone walks out and notices that I am.... still alone. Oh crap, what is he thinking right now?

Sadly I follow him all the way to my truck. Uggggg....

Now I hop in the Mumby Mobile, breath a prayer that I have found it within 20 minutes and try to figure out how the heck to get from the University to Nait. I have to cross the river, which there are only two bridges that I would think of using and I have to figure out how to cross them and then navigate downtown. I did pretty good and didn't make one wrong turn! I was quite impressed. But I did blow through one intersection that I was supposed to yield at and if a car was coming it would have been bad. Bu the Lord had grace on me.

Okay. I finally get to Nait, park the truck and proceed to try and find out where the gym is in this other large educational establishment. I walk into the recreation building and am happy. This seems to be the place. Only the signs make NO SENSE at all. There are only three directions I can go, so I just pick one and see where it takes me. I did go somewhere. But it was a hockey rink. Wrong choice.

I walk back to where I begin and decide this time to go left. I end up in a bar! Whoops. Not that way. But this is good because now there is only one way left to go. I head back to where I started again and wouldn't you know it? There was David and his crew just about TO LEAVE!!!!!!

Thank God I found them just in time!

Turns out both David and I were praying just as hard that we would somehow run into each other. It worked! Only I had to cover a shocking amount of group all over the city of Edmonton in order for our paths to finally cross.

A deep embrace is shared and then we start laughing about it all. So crazy...

Finally they end up leaving. I left my house at 6:00pm. I left David around 10:00pm. Total time spent together - about 20 minutes. System failure. But they were a great 20 minutes! I think I scared one of his friends. They asked me if I went to school and I said I had already graduated a few years ago. They asked me what degree I graduated with and I chuckled to myself, and said, "Why not?" I told them that I graduated with a little known degree from a small, specialized school in California.

"What kind of school?" they ask.

"Oh, It was called the school of supernatural ministry."

"......oh....... so what do you do now?"

"Well, I travel around the world either teaching on how to give spiritual readings and dream interpretation or I am giving spiritual readings myself."

Long pause, ".... I'm not smart enough for that." and the guy picked up his pace to a near run and joined his other friend who was about 20 feet in front of me.

I laughed. Oh how I laughed. Poor guy got a little scared I think.

Amidst those 20 minutes I did spend with David he decided that he was going to come and visit me for the rest of the weekend and we tried to figure out ways to convince Bryan to come too. David did a good job for the next day he, Bryan and a guy named Cory all showed up at my house and made me a very happy individual.

The next two days were glorious. Including watch a good portion of the Lord of the Rings in french. But seeing as this entry is already 95 pages long, I'll spare you the details because really... what can compare to Friday night and getting lost in my own city once again.

50 Bajillion Kayle points go out to David, Bryan and Cory for making the rather random trip my way. It called for a much better weekend then what I was getting ready for.

I think I'm going to eat some spagetti now. Did I mention I made the best spagetti sauce of my life yesterday as well? It's really good.