Come on, get happy

The smack of a caught football, the crackle of the grill, the hiss of a freshly tapped keg -- ahh, the sounds of spring.\nSure it's only a simulation of spring, seeing as it's still officially winter, but after five days of warm weather, it sure is a fine pseudo-spring. Saturday, as temperatures neared 60, layers of clothing were shed, flip-flops were donned and impromptu cookouts popped up across campus.\nBefore anything was even thrown on the grill, a friend takes a whiff of the air on the back porch and says, "Mmmm, smells good." Apparently, after a rough winter, even the odor of freshly-lit propane can enthuse a college student. But little excites the college population more than food. One of the fine points of spring is grilling. Burgers, hot dogs, chicken -- even the fake tofu-mushroom patties my vegetarian roommate always brings along -- it all tastes better when it's grilled. \nEven if it's charred, as I learned the hard way this Saturday. \nAs a testosterone-fueled beer pong match took off, I was put in charge of the last round of hamburgers. I've made crepes, roasted chickens, stuffed fish, baked tiered cakes -- grilling seemed harmless enough. Oh, how wrong I was. Maybe it was the slight intoxication or trying to juggle a game of kings in addition to grilling duties. Whatever it was, disaster quickly ensued. Orders of "Turn the heat down!" "Turn the heat up!" and "Flip them now!" were of no help, as evidenced by the scorched masses that were once raw hamburger patties. The fine thing about pseudo-spring is that no one minded all that much. Add cheese and some extra ketchup, and they were fine. \nThat's the happy-go-lucky, good-natured attitude that comes with the warm weather. The whiny, I-don't-drink-beer! girls are surprisingly absent as everyone chugs down some Natty Light. Drinking games with names like "zoom zoom" and "swoosh boink" -- ludicrous and laughable in the winter -- are cheerfully welcomed in the fun-loving spirit of pseudo-spring. Every piece of athletic equipment known to man surfaces, and new friends and neighbors emerge as games of football, soccer and wiffleball form on lawns and parking lots across Bloomington. On North Jordan and Third Street, no front lawn activity is exempt: tanning, slip-n-slides, even weight lifting -- who needs the SRSC when you can set up shop on your own front lawn?\nAnd who can forget spring fever? The love -- or sincere lust, at the very least -- becomes rampant during the warm weather. Anything from a wiffleball team win to a good marinade is enough to incite coupling in the springtime. Whether it be the sun-kissed skin, the short skirts, the muscles emerging from pre-spring break gym time or just extra pheromones in the air, spring just brings on "that loving feeling." \nThe first taste of warm weather is bliss. For a weekend, everyone seemed to forget the basketball team is about as good as the football team, which could probably beat one of the front lawn teams, but I wouldn't put any money on it -- even after a keg stand, some of those guys have a pretty mean spiral. But crappy seasons and crappy classes are of little consequence during pseudo-spring. All that matters is everyone is having a good time -- eating, drinking and playing outside in the beautiful weather. Hell, maybe it could last! Maybe this is really the start of spring! That's when some jerk in the corner chips in, "Hey, did you all hear it's supposed to snow next week?" Groans, rolling eyes and glum faces emerge, until someone counters, "Well, hell, there's only two weeks 'til spring break"