Usually the holiday season is a downer for me. Unlike most people, I don't truly celebrate Christmas. No, I don't celebrate it for religious reasons (I am a reformed Roman Catholic turned Baptist after all), or anything else of that matter. Since I left home to live on my own, the holidays just don't mean much to me anymore. I don't even put up a tree in my apartment. To me the holiday season is nothing more than a two or three week vacation.
On a positive note, however, Christmas Eve does have its high point: it is the anniversary for both me and my long term, long distance girlfriend. The strange thing is that we have been together for three years and had never met before (except for talking online through services ranging from the late Mplayer, ICQ, and Yahoo), but kept in contact every night (thanks to Sprint and their unlimited PCS to PCS service plan).
Still, despite keeping in touch with my girl on a nightly basis, something was still missing. Fortunately for me, I had three weeks off of work for the holiday season, and I made the decision to head down to see her.
But something else stood in the way. I had another road trip planned, and I wasn't sure if I was going to survive. The first weekend of my vacation, I ended up in Cincinnati as I had tickets to watch the 49ers and Bengals play. The only problem was I planned to attend the game in full 49er gear (consisting of a 49ers cap, 49ers leather jacket, and a Terrell Owens jersey). Needless to say I was going to get lynched.
When the game was over, I did end up being lynched, almost. I might not have been murdered, but I did get pummeled by about 40 snowballs after the 49ers scored a touchdown. It got so bad as a matter of fact that security had to stand behind me so I wouldn't get hit any more. But the damage was done, and I ended up leaving Paul Brown Stadium with my tail between my legs. Leave it to a bunch of fans whose mascot sounds like the name of Saddam's dead sons (Who-Dey, as in Uday) to take matters in their own hands.
It wasn't until I got back to the hotel that I realized why I got pummeled. I didn't see it as I was ducking for cover, but after scoring a touchdown, Terrell Owens (whose jersey I was wearing) threw snow into the Bengals faithful, so they just decided to take it out on me since they obviously could not get to him.
When returning back to Virginia, I had a couple days to heal myself before I visited my girl. We spent the time talking about what we were going to do when I got down there to North Carolina, and got even more into the idea when Christmas Eve came and went.
Even during the long seven hour trip to Conover, I kept wondering how it would turn out. Would these three years turn out to be well worth it, or will meeting in person change all that we had? And most importantly, would I, as the great philosopher Steve Stifler would say, "hang out with my w— out?"
Maybe I'm getting a little too personal on that. Needless to say, the entire meeting was well worth it. Many people claim that long distance relationships, especially those that start out over the Internet, can be dangerous. Not in this case. I have never been happier with someone than I am with my girl.
Keep this in mind. The last relationship I had with someone nearby ended up with me filing a restraining order. This just shows though that if you find the right person, you will be set for life, no matter how far away he or she lives.
Sad to say, the holiday vacation is over, and it is back to work on my reviews and commentaries. In addition, this year I will hopefully be adding something new to my section, as I plan to attend the Philly Classic 5 Classic Gaming Con this March, and of course I will be on location for E3's 10th anniversary, so though this road trip may be over, there are many more to come.