Author Archives: reginadma

by Regina.

LoF Team members Regina and Kelsey volunteering at the Union Project.

I’m taking things back. Back to the days during early blogging when, despite what bloggers were actually writing about, those that didn’t quite understand blogging thought blogging was just people writing about themselves and their feelings.  I’m going to actualize that sentiment by writing about me.  For some reason I feel compelled to tell an embarrassing story, and where else but on the blog where I know I am showered with love, so it’s okay if I’m a dork*.

There isn’t much love involved, so the title is a bit misleading.  No love, BUT, I was single at the time this occurred.

It was a summer when Hilary still worked at the Union Project. (Today, LoF team member Kelly works there!  [so get involved with UP!]).  I went to help volunteer for an outdoor music event happening later that day.  Keep in mind I got there HOURS before the music started.  Keep in mind that it was the time during summer where it was okay to wear white.

This is really embarrassing guys.

I made plans to meet up with a guy that night at the event, which probably constitutes a date.  Looking back, I probably knew it was a date at the time, but for some reason, I kept things as, “we’re just meeting up at an event! What? It’s music. People meet up all the time.”  Maybe this is where the love in this story ends.

Anyway, all the volunteers had to sign release forms just in case we somehow got hurt. Hilary asked me to come over to sign my form. We all joked that we should have signed the forms earlier because at that point we were all done lugging chairs and tables outside.

I walked over and said to Hilary and the small group around her signing forms, as I “pretended” to trip over a chair leg, “yeah, because it would really suck if someone–” and as I pretended to trip over the chair, that pretend trip turned into the real thing.  I was so shocked that I was actually tripping that I didn’t have time to catch myself.  I pretty much somersaulted off the chair and landed underneath the table where Hilary and everyone was sitting, to their shock and horror.  I was a tangled mess and it took a bit of time before I got up.  I had to roll off my side onto my knees to get up.  Honestly! I had to roll.  There was no grace.  Everyone asked if I was okay.  I was totally fine.  The grass on the side lawn of the Union Project is very soft, I must say.

But, yeah, the white pants I was wearing that day had two huge grass stains starting from my knees to…my shins.  Have you ever met a dorkier person? I mean, honestly.

I tried to roll my pants up, but because they were linen and wide legged and because every god everywhere wanted to laugh at me that day, my pants wouldn’t stay rolled up.  So there I was, as afternoon slipped into late afternoon, stationed at the soup table helping people with their soup with grass all over my pants.  There I was trying to rock out to Nick Westman and the Central Plains with the tell-tale dork mark all about me.  It wasn’t until I was wrapped in the cloak of darkness that I could actually face people head-on as opposed to sidling up to them.

But, you know what, this story is a love story.  It was at that party that I reconnected with Nik.  He and the CPs played at LoF 4 that February.  Kelsey and I have gone on to volunteer at the UP numerous times and as I mentioned, our very own Kelly now works there.  I love happy endings.

*Technically in the day-in-day-out I think I would be labeled a nerd, but in this story, I think dork is more fitting.