LARP 4 LIFE!

What a phenomenal weekend it has been. As I sit here and listen to the woman of my dreams sing to me through my computer speakers (that's Beyonce for those of you who don't know), I'm reflecting on all of the blessings this weekend was filled with.

Friday I played 4 straight hours of volleyball. My shoulders are really sore, but it is well worth it. I love hanging out with my friends Tyler and Blake, but this week I especially appreciated spending time Bo, Bobbi, Nathan, Megan, Tasha, and Tanner. They're always up for going and

doing something, which I love. I hope to spend a lot more time with them before school's out for the summer.

Saturday was the real adventure. After making pancakes, I had the pleasure of going on a bike ride with my great friend Bo Pratt. Our spontaneous adventure led us down by the river and eventually into Riverside Park. Two amazing things happened on our ride.

One: While pedaling our bikes down on the river walk, we saw a man pull a string of fish out, which is really pretty disgusting when you think of how nasty that river is. Another man was looking over his shoulder, and in the 2.3 seconds it took us to pass, I heard the man in the back say, with a heavy hick accent, "What kinda bait 'chu usin'?"

I never knew Wichita was so... so... curious.

Two: As we rounded the corner and biked into Riverside Park, I shocked Bo with something that he didn't know actually existed: LARP.

For those of you who don't know, LARP stands for Live Action Role Play. In LARP, many intellectually advanced people (which is a nice way of saying nerds) don their favorite costumes, wield their Styrofoam shields, swords, and other weapons, create ancient wizard names for themselves and fight... relentlessly.

As we pulled up, the had just stopped their large battle, so we decided to wait for them to play again. While we were perched on a bench, another spectator came up and talked to us about the spectacle. We asked her about it because she seemed to be an avid fan. She said last week someone got hurt, and when that happens everyone freezes, a select few drag you off of the field, and... wait for it... whisper a magical incantation over you, then you continue to play.

This was too good to be true.

So we stayed and watched. And let's just say, it did not disappoint. There were swords slashing, shields blocking, Thor-like hammers swinging, and poles swinging non stop. I think next time we go, we're going to make signs with their names on it like,

"NEVER SURRENDER, ALEGRA!"

and

"RA-RA-ROMULUS!"

and my favorite,

"LARP 4 LIFE!"

Next Saturday at 2 pm in Riverside Park. Be there and be ready to get your nerd on.