Just call me Phil

Last night was a rough night. BYU played TCU in football and I wish I could erase those 4 hours from history. It was a pathetic game. The Cougars didn't even deserve to win. At the end of the game, I was in my grumpy place. Luckily, a friend of mine invited me to go do one of my favorite pondering activities: hot tubbing. Although I always end up with a large group of friends on those occasions, I find I have some of my greatest thoughts will relaxing a large tub of hot water.

As I slid my body into the water, I found myself still in my grumpy place. It reminded me of another time I was in my grumpy place. It was earlier in the summer and my intramural softball team had just lost our tournament game. We all went to Carl's, Jr. (another great pondering place) to console our downtrodden spirits. As I was waiting for everyone to get their food, I sat down next to some friends who were there as spectators. They tried to lift my spirits by distracting me and talking about other aspects of my life besides our lost softball game. It didn't go well: the first thing Katie did when she sat down at my table was call me Phil. I do not look like Phil, in fact, I hardly resemble him at all, in looks or in spirit. Strike one.

Then Tyler proceeds to ask more about the game. Why? I haven't figured that out yet. He must have some kind of personal vendetta against me because no one in their right mind would bring up that game, ever. I tried to hold back the tears as I made excuses for my poor performance. Strike two.

I think they could tell that I was having a rough night but they didn't give up. No, they did not give up. They kept going. Changing the subject again, Tyler asked me how school was going. I was preparing for the DAT at the time and was not feeling prepared or encouraged in any way. The DAT was coming up very soon and it was the last thing I wanted to talk about (besides the softball game). Strike three. The night never looked up and I just looked forward to having some "me time" and starting over the next day. That was a long story, but I've been thinking about it since last night as it entered my mind while I entered the hot tub.

I was looking forward to a relaxing night in my favorite place last night after a rough few hours but of course, someone had to bring up the horrible BYU game and remind me of how grumpy I was. My response to Katie after identifying my grumpy mood: "Call me Phil, I dare you."

Pete, not Phil,
Pete