I went up to the Mall of America today to hang out with friends from school. Jacob picked me up on the way, and I rode in the backseat while Jacob drove and his friend Coty was riding shotgun. I wore my SPAM shirt that I bought yesterday so Jacob would have an excuse to make fun of me. We talked a little about summer plans and classes and Crossroads, all the while listening to tunes from Jacob's iPod. Near Burnsville we had a Taylor Swift singalong. At least, me and Jacob did. I swear, the song "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" will always remind me of Jacob now. It's the ultimate best friends song. I wish I could get that feeling with some people from MSU. We got to the MOA and basically rode the escalators while Jacob called people to meet up. By the time we left Macy's we had gained Laura and Wes. Later we stopped by Coldstone so Jacob could get ice cream and picked up Steve. We kept walking, and Jacob couldn't finish his Birthday Cake Remix, so he asked if anyone else wanted it. Steve would have but he didn't want to eat off the same spoon. Come on, free Coldstone? I'm not picky. I took a few bites, then passed it to Laura. Jacob turns around then and says, "We could have gotten another spoon, you know. Now it's like I've made out with Rachel and Laura." It was really good ice cream. :) We wandered in and out of stores. Jacob was on a search for Hannah Montana paraphernalia. He was trying to justify that he wasn't creepy even though she's like 15 and he's . . . old. Just kidding. Although I thought he was my age when I first met him (19/20), then recently pegged him as 21 based on when he graduated from high school. But today I found out he's actually 22 and will be 23 in October. I said, "Really?" I couldn't believe it. "Yeah, I know I'm old," he said, "don't remind me." He knows how to have fun like a boy my age, but talking to him later I realized he has a man's wisdom. We stopped at Starbucks to meet Lassi, Jacob's Finnish roommate from this year, then later walked through the Nickelodeon universe (aka, Camp Snoopy to anyone over the age of 13) and achieved Jacob's goal of finding the old home plate. That crazy obsessive Twins fan. Too bad he can't give Pastor Elaine crap about it anymore. That's my foot on the left and Jacob's on the right. Eventually, the group of us got hungry, so we went to eat at Ruby Tuesday's. It was a little spendy for a poor college girl like me, but what the heck. I'm out with friends, small price to pay. I got mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli with my meal, and Jacob was raving about how amazing broccoli is, so I gave him a few pieces. Silly boy. I don't blame him though, broccoli is good. After we finished supper, Steve, Wes, and Laura took off. Lassi caught a ride with Jacob, Coty, and me to Lakeville, where we met up with some more guys from Crawford B-3 (most of the guys from today lived on Jacob's floor. Me, Wes, and Laura were from Crossroads, and Coty was his friend from home). Anyway, we had to wait for some of the guys to eat their supper at Green Mill, so we killed some time at Best Buy and Target. I watched the guys play football at a huge park in Lakeville. I wish Owatonna had a place like that. I laid in the grass and talked to Neil on my cell. Basically I opened a can of worms with him, because all my frustration with him lately came out, about Meg saying she was his girlfriend. The guys were sitting in a circle on the ground by me, trying to decide what to do next while listening to what I'm sure sounded like an interesting conversation. Neil wanted me to call back later, but I told him I would hang up on him if he was drunk. He said, "But that would hurt my feelings." I replied, "When you drink it hurts my feelings." I had to hang up then because me and the guys were going back to Dave's house and watching LOST and the news. They had the Smiley Face Killer story on, which we talked about on the way home. We had to take Lassi home to Albertville, which was like an hour north out of our way. First we stopped at the AmericInn in Apple Valley so Coty could say hi to a friend who was working. This is when the drama I've been trying to avoid blew up in my face. I had a missed call each from Juwon and Amy, so in order to kill time while Coty visited, I called Juwon back. Amy's gone too far this time. She told Juwon to call me and ask me to hang out when I get back to school so we can, "discuss my boyfriend." Juwon has never met Neil; why the hell would he have any interest in discussing him with me? All I can think of is that's the most awkward conversation of all time. Amy basically just wants me to break up with Neil, and she's trying to use Juwon to do it. I apologized to Juwon that he was in the middle of it, and thanked him for telling me. I'm sure Jacob and Lassi found my conversation very interesting. I explained the situation to them in a nutshell, and Jacob said, "What are we, six years old?" I'm just upset that drama follows me everywhere, despite my efforts to avoid it. Finally, Coty returned to the car and we headed to Albertville. Lassi's homestay was in this little subdivision way out on a lake, with water on both sides of the road. Keep in mind that it was about 22:30 by this point and we had just been discussing the Smiley Face Killer, so all that me, Jacob and Coty wanted to do was get the fuck out of there. The drive home was intriguing. Somehow, talking at a late hour, in darkness, with a long car ride ahead always seems to make for my best deep conversations. Coty explained his situation with a girl that he wants to date to me, and asked for my advice as a female. I did my best, but I'm not sure how helpful I was. The three of us talked about relationships in general, long distance specifically, and the importance of physical attraction in a relationship. We all agree it's got to be there. We talked about our types. Mine all tend to be on the skinny side, shorter than average, with blue or green eyes. Coty said he likes athletic blue-eyed blondes, while Jacob prefers brunettes. We also talked about alcohol. I know both of them drink, so it was interesting to talk about it with them. They both believe that the Smiley Face Killer thing is just an excuse for people to not claim responsibility for their own drinking. The best part was hearing Jacob say, "There are other ways to have fun than drinking. I mean, drinking is great in some situations, but it's not the only way to have fun." That gives me hope. It helps me understand why I get so upset when Neil drinks. I got home at midnight, but I talked to Neil on the phone until almost 2:30. It was a much needed non-soup conversation. We'll leave it at that . . . at least in this entry. :) All in all, I'm so glad I went to the Cities today. It was more than I bargained for, in the best way possible. I know who my friends are at MSU, based on who I'm going to miss hanging out with. It's definitely not Intervarsity.