simple pleasures

i think i'm becoming something of an impulse shopper. i used to be entirely over-responsible about my finances, even going as far as to "sleep on" just about every purchase i made (except, of course, christmas gifts, but that's a whole different level of my complex psyche). i think it all started when wal mart figured out that rock band shirts and jackets would sell, and that beatlemaniacs like me would have to buy every single piece as soon as they saw it. this taught me that buying things is fun and sort of a stress relief.

anyway, after our last finals on wednesday, carmen and i decided to go shopping. unfortunately, we're in socorro, so that meant that wal mart was really the only place we could splurge. but wal mart has such fun stuff! for example....

three dollar hula hoops. they are pretty and have the little beads inside that rattle and it's fun to try and keep it going, so i bought one. between that and our huge huge beanbag, the electric blue spikey exercise ball, and the foosball table, our living room is starting to resemble a daycare center for really large kids.

this feeling was solidified later that night, when josh, jon, and scott came over and tried to do tricks. everyone else would chant, "jump through the hoop, jump through the hoop!" while someone would hold it up and another person would dive through it and hit the bean bag. we tried flips and running at it feet-first and jumping backwards, or tossing the hoop while someone else jumps through it, or spinning the hoop and trying to dive through without touching it.... so much fun.

last night we continued, and this time we tried to throw the ball through the hoop while it was spinning, or tried to spin the hoop around one leg while jumping over it with the other, and of course we kept jumping through it whenever we could. it turns out that it's really hard to jump through when it's rolling across the carpet. none of us could do it without knocking the hoop over, and we tried for a long time.

but the best moment with the hoop? okay.

so josh had had a few beers. he told me to hold the hoop for him. a little higher. a little higher. "okay," he says, "i'm going to do like a feet-first-with-a-spin." a what? "a feet-first-with-a-spin!" okay josh.

so josh ran and jumped and sort of flew at me with his feet, which was terrifying, and then he tried to twist, totally missed the beanbag and faceplanted the carpet.

and carmen got it all on video.

i was concerned, i really was, but i was laughing so hard that i couldn't speak. neither could jon or scott. carmen finally asked him if he was okay about the time that the rest of us finally caught our breath and laughed out loud.

it turns out that josh actually hurt his wrist and knee pretty badly, but he laughed at himself as much as we laughed at him. the video is great, i'll try and post it. he's hoping to earn mild internet fame for that little trick, but i'm not sure. we'll see how it goes.

you know how toddlers sometimes ditch the expensive toy and play with the paper it was wrapped in? or how little kids spend weeks playing in a box? it seems that this pattern is not age-specific, because i have now witnessed five early-twenties college students spending several hours at my house playing with a big plastic hoop. that's the best three dollars i have ever spent.