June 24, 2013

"Wake-Boarding and the Final Words of a Dying Friend"

Dear Reader,

I spent the past week on Bridgeport Lake in Northern Texas with some of my most bestest friends. We were there to wake-board, and wake-board we did.

Wake up at 5:30 am, Arrive at the lake at 6 am, wake-board until breakfast at 8 am, then wake-board until 12 pm. From 12 pm until 5 pm we did nothing. After eating "dinner" at 5:30 pm we would wake-board from 7 pm until 9 pm. Then we would go to sleep. In a nutshell, we wake-boarded A LOT. Every day.

For me, it got a little bit old by day 4. So, we convinced the staff at the camp to take us tubing.

If you've never held onto an inflated piece of rubber for dear life, you've never been tubing. Imagine being flung out to the side of a boat, going so fast that it becomes literally impossible for you to hang on any longer. After you get thrown off, you slide on your back at a high speed across the surface of the lake. 50 feet later, you finally sink into the water. That, my friends, is tubing.

I'll never forget the time when Eli Larsen, Evan Nicholas, and I were all tubing together. I was in the middle, Evan was to my left, and Eli was to my right. After getting air a couple of times, we started going really fast out to the left. Unable to keep his body on the tube, Evan yelled as he started to slide off. I turned to him and saw that he was still holding onto the handle even though his entire body was in the water. "EVAN!" I shouted as he held on for dear life. "WHERE'S THE TREASURE?!" His body was tiring quickly. With the last of his energy, he yelled back at me, "IT'S IN THE.......IT'S IN TH-"

In a short moment, Evan disappeared into the lake.

Summer is awesome. NM







June 8, 2013

"Nick Merrill vs. DPS"

Dear Reader,

This morning I woke up with the knowledge that I had a Driver's license test. THE Driver's license test.  I'll be honest.... I was freaked. I did all my Drivers Ed and what-not, but I was like..."Oh my gosh.......




When my dad and I pulled into the parking lot of the DPS office, we were sure that the nightmare was about to begin. We had heard the horror stories. Things like, "There was a 9-hour line, and then they closed once I got to the counter!" or  "I accidentally used BLUE ink instead of BLACK ink on Form DL-47a and I had to reschedule, and the next available appointment was 2 months later, and then there was a 9-hour line, and then they closed once I got to the counter!"

Unlike Pip, we had no great expectations. 

But when we got in, we were blown away. We waited in line for 30 seconds, and then they sent us to a waiting room. We had literally JUST parked our rear ends on the seats when they called us. What was this? Quality service? From the DPS?!?!!! 

A nice lady patiently helped us go through all of the paper work, and before I knew it, I was waiting outside for my Driver's test administrator to come out. This was the freakiest part. I was nervous, so I put in a Taylor Swift CD and jammed to "22" and "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together".....It helped me loosen up. The lady came out, and I took my test. I did a good job, and she passed me. 

I couldn't help but wonder...Was that really all I had to do? Where was the mean, unhelpful employee? 

Before my instructor got out of the car, she told me to sit tight, and that someone was going to bring out my temporary license. So, I waited. Where I had parked, I had a great view of everyone else doing the parallel parking portion of their test. Watching everybody trying to parallel park basically made my day. It was hilarious. 

I had a wonderful experience at the DPS, y'all. Which is weird. In a good way. 

Anyways,  I LOVE HAVING MY LICENSE!!!!! 
It's great. Now I can scream Mumford and Sons as loud as I want, and I can adjust the A/C so that the car is comfortable. And I can drive places. It's great. 

Oh, and one last thing...




It's great. NM




June 6, 2013

"Buffalo Wild Wings"

Dear Reader,

All we wanted was to get some Buffalo Wild Wings.  On our way to sate our appetite for messy chicken, Larissa and I were cruising down a back road behind a



...(for lack of better words.)

We made a normal stop at a normal stop sign at a normal distance from the normal truck in front of us.
Then the crap hit the fan. The truck in front of us went into reverse, and Larissa and I were like...."What the gypsy is this guy doing?" But we failed to move, and the front of the Mercedes got all crunchified and what-not. The guy in the truck drove off, because apparently, he didn't realize he had just backed into us.

All we wanted was to get some Buffalo Wild Wings, man.

But instead of wings, we had to speed after this guy, take pictures of his plates, and go to the police station. We waited for 15 minutes there as the lady in front of us described her problem. Well, at least Larissa and I didn't get ripped off by a Nigerian "car salesman" that uses phony identification cards and shady sales techniques. Eventually, a policeman helped us file a report, and now it's all good in the hood. Except for the fact that our hood was crushed.

Larissa and I ended up getting Caesar salads at McDonald's. Never a dull moment. NM