USC 05

October 15, 2005 marked a clear turning point in my life.  I woke up that morning with moderate expectations.  I was a totally jaded senior, though curiously excited for the unusually important football game that day.  My girlfriend at the time had a visitor in town and we killed much of a handle of Evan Williams in my single bedroom dorm room.  The remainder went into my flask.  Feeling, needless to say, quite drunk, we made our way to the stadium.  The atmosphere at that point was unforgettable.  What followed was by far the most exciting sporting event I've ever seen live.  I was obliterated, feeling the Notre Dame spirit more than I have before or since.  As everyone knows, the end of the game did not fare well and I felt more viscerally sad than I have then or since.  Greatly influenced by my drunken state, but still feeling truly horrible, I hid my face in my Notre Dame hat as alumni walked by outside of Zahm.  Dinner at NDH was a morgue.  I spent that surreal early evening lying in my girlfriend's futon, not aware by the day, time, or year, totally overwhelmed.  I was torn that night.  My girlfriend got me to go out to a small party at a friend's house and I despondently drank gin and tonic.  It's kind of weird to say I've exposed myself to experiencing more emotions since then, but it's true.