Friday, February 20, 2009

Only in Indiana

I'm sure that we've all heard the phrases, "Only in Indiana," and, "Crazy Indiana weather." You may have even heard them recently. This has been some pretty crazy weather we've been having the past couple weeks. We started off the semester and had that week with record windchill lows. It would be super cold during the week and then warm up on the weekends. This was good for our weekend plans, but it made our walks to class pretty miserable. There were times I couldn't even feel my face!

Shortly after this, we got all that snow. I asked a friend how long she thought the snow would stay around, and her guess was March. Obviously she was wrong. The weather turned unusually warm, and it all melted. The temperatures continued to rise into the 50s and 60s during the day at the beginning of last week, and people were even going to class in shorts, tshirts, and flip flops. I thought they were crazy. It might have warmer than what we had been having, but it wasn't that warm.

Then last Wednesday, we got that wonderful February rain. I wasn't just rain. It was more of a downpour with lots of wind. I don't usually mind the rain since I always carry an umbrella with me, but the wind makes it worse. It blows the rain under your umbrella or turns it inside out. This is never pleasant.

The rain came and went, and it took our warm weather with it. Yesterday the windchill dropped into the negatives again. I was glad to see that it warmed up a little today especially since I am camping out with the Paint Crew outside of Mackey tonight. We are going to have to be close together to use each other's body heat for warmth. There is a light wintry mix turning into snow in the forecast for tonight, so hopefully that won't be too bad. I don't really want to get sick from this.

We can just hope that the worth of the winter is over with. Spring break is only three weeks away with the official first day of spring that week too. Hopefully the change of season will bring the warm weather along with it to stay.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Mackey Campground?


As many people know, this Saturday is the famous Purdue vs. Indiana men's basketball game. As a member of the student section, The Paint Crew, you can imagine that I am pretty excited for this game. This year, The Paint Crew is allowed to have camping before four big games this season: Duke, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio State. This camping is not for tickets, but it is to get the best seats we can in the general admission section for these great games.

The Indiana game starts Saturday at 2pm with the gates opening between 12:30 and 1, but the line for seats starts Friday at noon.
You can form groups of up to ten people, and anyone who has their group's tickets at Mackey by noon on Friday will be entered in a lottery to get their place in line. Anyone who shows up after this will just be added to the end of the line. In order to keep your spot, someone from your group must be in line with all your tickets at all times. This includes the whole night. Since none of us had camping supplies, my friends went out and bought a tent just for these camping events. Now that's dedication. We want to get the best seats we can for this Big 10 rival game.

Now you may wonder, what we are going to do while we wait in line for more than 24 hours. Well we have tried to come up with different things to keep us occupied. We have also set up a schedule, splitting our group into smaller groups, so everyone doesn't have to stay in line the whole time. While some of us are still in class, the groups are smaller than in the evening, but we are never by ourselves. This way, hopefully we won't get as bored. Insomnia Cookies is close to Mackey just off of Northwestern, and since I have never had them, they are a must for the night. We are also getting together the different games that we have for a night of fun for those staying during the evening hours. So far we have cards, backgammon, and some others. We also have Apples to Apples which we may play with some of the other groups around us. That could be really interesting. In order to collect cards in this game, you have to be able to read the judge and tell if they are in a serious or funny mood.

I volunteered to be in the group that spent the night at Mackey. This way I can spend my time doing something that I value. As you may have guessed, this is sleeping. What better way to pass the time than by taking a little snooze. Hopefully the other groups will also sleep, so they are not making too much noise all night. If they do, I will just have to try to block out all the noise. I am also going to be there once we get our spot to help set up the tent. Then I have another shift after I get out of class for the day. Hopefully all this waiting will be worth it.

The scouting report for the game went out to the Paint Crew members today. In it, we were told the strength and weaknesses of the Indiana team. Mostly what they are lacking is size and experience. They are doing well in steals, but they have the highest turnover rate in the Big 10. I think this will be a downfall for them in Saturday's game as Purdue will be able to take advantage of these opportunities to get the ball. Purdue should be able to add another win to their record after this game.

I am really hoping that everything goes well for us this weekend, for me, my group, and the team. No matter what happens, I am excited for the opportunity I have to spend time with this great group of people even if we do freeze. I want Mackey Campground to be something that I remember among the other fun times I have had here at Purdue. Make sure to watch the game, and Boiler Up!