First off, this isn’t the pee story I promised you. Because something so crazyamazing happened last night I have to tell you about it first.

A while ago, I found a hat. It’s a gray beanie with bear ears. I could tell it was hand knitted because you can feel the love, and see the little lump where they finished it off. Anyway, it’s adorable and I wear it semi-frequently but always with a rocking sense of owning it. Like, I am owning this beanie with bear ears hardcore! right now.

This isn’t the first hat I found and claimed as my own. A year before, I found a blue hat with aviator flaps and strings to tie ‘em together. It never gets so cold here that I have to tie it but I do wear it in the cold and rock it hardcore. I found both hats in the same general location. Stevenson Collge at UCSC. The blue hat I found on a fire hydrant on the way back from class, the bear ears I somehow acquired after a night of binge drinking.

Fast forward to last night. Our friend Pete says we’re going to neighborhood night down at the brewery with him at 9. By 9 he really means 10. My hair was still wet from happy shower time when everyone showed up and since we were walking to the brewery and I am still getting over a cold I decided it would be a good idea to wear some head covering. Beanie with bear ears to the rescue.

We nurse some pitchers. I complain about the biaatches in the ladies room. We talk about how neighborhood night is not so much neighborly as it is a tanned, white and blond meat market for assholes and retards. The patio closes and we are all herded indoors. I complain to TBU that we should just go home because I fucking hate these dudebrahs and it was fine when we were out on the patio but I really don’t want to be caged in with them. He ignores me.

The floor is sticky and now we’re screaming at each other in order to hold a conversation. And I’m repeating something like, We have to scream to hear each other now, to Marcus for the 13 millionth time even though my mouth and his ear are only 4 inches apart when I get a tapped. I’m like What the fuck?! because I am tired of being pushed and bumped by people who need to get by me and want to get their friends passed me. I look over and Pete is talking to some dude and he asks, Where’d you get your hat? I found it, and the dude blinks in amazement and says That’s my hat! I asked him where he lost it and he said Stevenson. His name is Robert and he tells me his friend in New York made it for him and he lost it in one of the houses at Stevenson. We compare the years we lived in the dorms and his story checks out, then I ask which house. I lived in that house! Now we’re both in a flurry of excitement. We’re screaming and smiling, I even hug the guy. And you know how I feel about hugging.

By this point, we’ve hugged, we’ve told stories about the hat, we’ve inappropriately fondled the hat, I’m like let’s take a picture. I asked him if he remembers what room he lost it in. Alex’s room. Alex was roommates with my really good friend and I basically camped out there even though I lived two doors down. I don’t remember the exact moment I acquired the hat but I do remember waking up with it after a long night, being happy that I had it. It’s totally possible I picked it up from Alex’s room. We take the picture and send it to his phone. It’s been 10 minutes and we still can’t get over how funny the story is. Everytime I put it on I wondered who lost it and the story behind it. Robert was wondering what became of the hat a couple days ago. I’ve had this hat for 4 years and he just happened to think about it 2 days ago. I can’t help feeling like I stole the hat now. Robert accidentally left his beanie in a friends room and he didn’t even have a chance to reclaim it because I was there so much. I told him he could have it back (multiple times) but he refused. He was glad to see it was still in such good condition. His only request was to keep rocking it.

So the moral of the story is, handmade beanies with bear ears are awesome and bring people together and I forgive TBU for ignoring me last night. As TBU and I were leaving, Robert was telling the story to a group of friends in the same spaz out manner we were talking to each other. For us, it’s that good of a story.

I’m categorizing this under ‘college’ for obvious reasons and ‘The Secret’ because that was totally the work of the universe.

[tags]beanies, knitting, ucsc, uc santa cruz, santa cruz, adlai stevenson, stevenson college, beanies with bear ears rock[/tags]