Written by Ace

DAY ONE

Upon receiving the Equinics Torch from the nice people at Epsom, we set about deciding how to delivier it to G.S.R. Our residents were all gathered together at the Forty Shades Of Green Pub...and more than half of us were well on our way to being forty shades of green.

"What the heck is G.S.R.?" asked Wahoo.

"Man, you need to get out more," said Dochobo as he tapped a fresh keg of Guinness. "It's Global Simulated Racing, everybody knows that."

"Wait," interjects Eddieboo. "If it's global, and they don't have a home track, where the heck are we supposed to take it? We can't just wander the globe with it."

We mulled that over as we chugged our ale. "Maybe we should ask Techranger what to do," said Twinhollow.

"Aye, good luck getting an answer out of him. He and Tullbrink are over in the corner there breeding horses again," I said.

"Oi!" exclaimed Thomkal. "What are they gonna do with them all? Tech's already got almost 40, and Tullbrink's well on his way to 50 by now!There are only so many times a person can use Kris S. in a week, ya know."

Just then Irishrose emerged from the kitchen. "The lamb stew is ready. Come and get it!" Fortunately, she saved me from having to answer Thomkal's comment, which was a good thing since I had already bred two dozen myself.

Doc tapped another keg while we all filled our bowls with stew and began eating. Gonzalo came blasting through the door just as we were finishing up. "Oh man, I'm glad you guys and gals are still here! I was afraid I would be left behind. GO IRELAND! Look, I brought the cheerleader outfits! C'mon senoritas, try them on, por favor."

Irishrose and I looked at each other in shock. "No way, he was serious? We really have to wear these things? Ooohhhhhhh." We headed into the ladies room to change. By the time we managed to squeeze into the darn things and get back to the party, the group was working on their second keg since dinner!

Everyone had gathered into a circle around one table, and were working on their cheers. Even Techranger and Tullbrink had joined in. Techranger started off.

Do I hear an I?

Do I hear a R?

Do I hear an E?

IRE... IRE... the tag we all love...

Stand up and shout

whether it be a sprint or a route

Here's a hail... the Irish shall prevail...

Gooooooooo IRELAND

The group all whooped and hollered and I think by this time there was as much Guinness on them as there was in them. Well, maybe not, but I was sure glad I wasn't the one responsible for doing their laundry!

Eddieboo stood up and cleared his throat.

let me see....

'Ireland (3 counts like Ir-e-land)
Strike the Band
We're climbing up the charts!

Our colts run first
Guiness slakes thirst
We're stealing Simster's hearts!

So let's cheer for Ireland
Your land and my land
We fear ner man nor horse!

You'll see us in Febrary (pronounced Feb-RARE-ee)
Our speed is real scary
We'll take Equinics, Of Course!!'

More cheers, and then squeals of laughter as Eddie stood up on his chair to take a bow and went tumbling over backwards.



About that time Gonzalo spotted us. Uh oh. "Ladeeeeez! Come on, you have to shake your stuff while we do our cheers!" Of course, the boys all raised their pints and agreed, so it seemed we had no choice. Gonzalo reached into a bag and produced.......two sets of pom poms? Ugh. "We have to get into the right mindset first," I said, "right Irishrose?" "Right on!" she answered, and grabbed a pint to start catching up to the boys. I don't drink (shhhh...don't tell my fellow residents! That's quite un-Irish of me, they wouldn't understand) so I pulled out some, er, "recreational pharmaceuticals" that I had procured at the Vikings' big party in Oslo. In no time Irishrose and I were both jumping around, waving our pom poms, and basically being just as rowdy and wrecked as the rest of the crew.

"Alright! Let's get some more cheers going!" hollered Twinhollow, trying to get everyone settled back around the circle. "I've got a good one!" He stood up in the center and began.

Ra ! Ra! Ra ! Sis Boom Ba!

Will we make number one, yes we can!
Were the best track in Mike's SIM Land!

With horses in our stables that just won't quit!
We're the ones that the others have to deal with!

So let's hear it for our Irish stables of green!
While lots of money and BP's we will glean!

THUMP! THONK! THUMP! THONK! Everyone started banging their pints on the tables.

Gonzalo jumped around and tried to do the splits. Oohh....good thing he only has to train the horses, not ride them. While Tullbrink helped him into a chair, Irishrose got up to lead the last cheer.

Ireland is really GREEN
Ireland is really mean
We're all bad
We're all mad
and we're gonna kick your
Ask me no question
I'll tell you no lie
Irish horses all have wings
They know how to fly!!
GO IRELAND!!!

Just then we heard a shriek from the back corner. We ran over to find Au22 standing next to the tank which houses our track mascot, Killian. Apparently, he'd had too many rum and cokes and decided that our girl needed some of the chunks of lamb from the stew for a snack. He held on to one of them a bit too long and she nearly got his fingers instead. I guess it's not a very good idea to try to feed a snapping turtle when you're drunk.

At this point we decided to call it a night and discuss our plans for the torch the next morning.

DAY TWO

Morning came and went. It was more like lunchtime when people started staggering into the Pub. As soon as we were all gathered, Ts1442 announced that lunch was ready. It seems he had been busy all morning preparing corned beef and cabbage for us. We dug in eagerly, as we had all worked up quite an appetite the night before.

We finished eating and were all set to begin the meeting, when Quietman49 said, "Alright, who's up for some adventuring!" In no time, we had at least half of the rez fully involved in Wizardry. Elves and Dwarves and Orcs...oh my! Yeah, so we're a bunch of nerds...so what? We had so much fun that it was once again midnight before we realized it. We went to bed promising each other we'd do something about that darn torch the next morning.

DAY THREE

No one slept past eleven. The smells wafting from the Pub were unbelievable. Someone had definitely been up early and was busy in the kitchen. When we entered, we found Wahoo and LSUMark setting the tables.

"We couldn't take any more of that bland Irish food," explained Wahoo.

"Yeah," says LSUMark, "so we made some REAL food. We've got gumbo, jambalaya, and of course, red beans and rice!"

After that feast, no one felt much like talking, and definitely didn't feel like running anywhere with the torch, so we all settled into the couches and easy chairs around the big screen TV. We had a great assortment of Irish-themed movies ... The White Pony, Waking Ned Devine, and of course, The Quiet Man.

By this point it was pretty much decided that, if G.S.R. was truly global, then that included Ireland, so we figured they could just come pick up the torch without us ever going anywhere. So that's what we did!