we don't communicate anymore, vanna

i make it a point to turn my phone to silent when i'm at work, mostly because there just aren't long enough breaks to eat all my dinner in one sitting, let alone converse with someone unrelated to the task at hand. but i also do it because i know it would only ring when i'm at the printer or the bathroom and i just don't have a forcefield strong enough to deflect the kind of collective deathray gaze that would incite. yet i don't turn it off, because i can usually peek at text messages and reply via e-mail. plus, you never know when something important will come up.

tonight i was skimming reports when from my jacket pocket i heard the increasingly loud beginning of 'with you,' the only ringtone my phone offers that makes me smile, even from the depths of REM sleep. it was my college roommate, pp, who i rarely chat with because she gets up at the bootycrack of dawn and is asleep before i even clock out on most nights. i think i disappointed her; you know the feeling, when you've got this clever message all composed in your head and the person has to go and mess it up by answering the phone? yeah.

it seems pp and her boyfriend, k, were hanging out, watching Wheel! of! Fortune! and the puzzle was 'same name.' they had a question about the connection between the two things:

ROLLERCOASTER & PAUL REVERE'S RIDE

naturally, whenever anyone needs random information, the only solution is to call cadiz. the fact that people think of me in times of crisis is what keeps me going, and i'm not even kidding. sadly, though i'm a seasoned 'WheelWatcher,' i've been out of the loop for quite some time. (to be honest, i enjoyed it best during the days when contestants chose prizes from the rotating stage. damn, i wanted that porcelain dalmation so badly back then.)

pp and k had perfect timing. i had been waiting on a report and it was a welcome distraction. i knew there was something about Paul Revere's midnight ride of '75 to warn that the British were coming, but i couldn't come up with a rollercoaster name that had anything to do with it. (and despite my love for Gforces, i'm out of the rollercoaster loop, too). is there one called Midnight Warning? Revere's Romp? The British Are Coming Curve? what the hell could it be? k was especially disappointed that i didn't know; he was the one who suggested they call me, because 'that's exactly the type of thing that only cadiz would know.'

so of course, that put me on a mission. after searching around on google, all i could come up was this, but i hardly think the height requirements necessary to enjoy 'Paul Revere's Midnight Ride' at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana qualifies as enough fodder for a nationally syndicated game show. but after searching awhile, i began to wonder if i was overthinking it just a little. after all, the beauty of 'Wheel' is that it's so obvious it's tricky, right?

regardless, as i was finishing my shift, all i could think about was how nice it'd be to spend an evening lounging around on the couch in my pajamas, yelling, 'c'mon! how about a freakin C, dumbass!' with my roommates again.