an ode to college, friends, love, and beer pong | nebraska

"I've got our hotels for the weekend if you book a ticket out here," an email from Pam, my college best friend, read. I booked a flight back to Nebraska, home of my college alma mater, within the hour.

I was Pam's maid of honor almost three years ago. I ended my speech in Japanese - I may have referenced a penis and a huge congratulations, of course ;) I had asked the DJ to cue Soulja Boy's "Crank That" as I said my last words. Pam, in her bridal gown, and our friends Kenny and Sarah ran to the dance floor to join me, and we busted out the whole dance (THIS DANCE). I tell you what, I love my friends.

I haven't seen any of them since the wedding. How's that even possible? We get older and life gets faster and all those excuses? Fast forward to this summer and Pam's email: Sarah is 8 1/2 months pregnant, and Kenny and my girlfriend Vanessa's birthdays were on the same weekend that Pam suggested I come. I blasted Soulja Boy and had my own living room dance party in excitement. 

^^ Sarah (front), decidedly not 8 1/2 months pregnant! (Pam's bachelorette party, circa 2010)

I flew into Kansas City, Missouri on Thursday night, and Pam and I headed to up to Omaha, Nebraska on Friday. We met Sarah at Dinker's Bar, Omaha's best burger and brew dive. I swear it'll be on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives one day! (It was delicious - get the onion rings!) Better than the food was catching up with Sarah. She's just this gorgeous pregnant woman, and I have goosebumps writing this. She calls her baby, "Sea Monkey," and I adore that, and I can't wait to meet her little girl. I was blissful in Dinker's, feeling that fullness of life and spirit and energy that I get when I'm around people that make me so happy I could burst. Friendship is my favorite high.

Pam and I picked up Prosecco on the way to Vanessa's pool party after we begrudgingly left Sarah. It was the perfect drink to bring because the second we pulled up, she came running out to me, squealing, and showed me her left hand - she's engaged! Her man Jason popped the question minutes before we arrived. Her birthday party was a great cover - he got her family, his family, and all their friends in one place and asked her to be his partner forever. The excitement for her engagement coupled with the excitement of seeing her after so so long bubbled up and it was all I could do to stave off tears. And that ring, it's breathtaking! In general, I'm not one to be over the moon for wedding stuff, but my friends finding forever love that makes them the happiest? I'll swoon and tear up for that every day of the week.

We spent Saturday sleeping in, soaking up the sun by Vanessa's pool, and driving down to Lincoln in the late afternoon. The 45 minute drive from Omaha to Lincoln is completely flat with corn fields and wild grass on either side. I used to think it boring, but now I find it stunning. We parked on O Street, the main bar and restaurant strip, and walked past our old stomping grounds - the ones still there, at least. I was disappointed to find my favorite dive bar (with the best wings in the world) has been renovated into an attempt at a fashionable, sleek, modern sports bar. I walked in for a moment of nostalgia, saw a "Please wait to be seated" sign, screamed (actually screamed!), and ran back out.

After a delicious dinner at Yia Yia's Pizza, it took all our self-control not to completely re-live our college years and go a little nuts on O Street. Instead, we acted like the dignified, responsible adults we are and did one frog sperm shot each at Iguana's. Yep! Frog sperm shots! They're like .05% alcohol, I think, are $1, and it's a green liquid in a test tube style vial with a plastic froggy on top. See my vine on how to take a frog sperm shot, as demonstrated by Pam. ;)

Our last stop on our road tripping long weekend was at Kenny's birthday party - a good old fashioned college-style house party out in the country, barely still in Lincoln. Kenny and I became friends in a bar called Woody's that is no longer. We were in a big group, bored, when "Don't Stop Believing" started playing. Without reservations or inhibitions, I belted out the first lyric, stood, and started first pumping. Kenny took the second lyric, and by the end of the song, well - the rest is history ;)

Kenny had no idea I was coming to his birthday party, and when he opened the door, his face froze. It just froze. It took us a few minutes to break the ice - I think for the shock to wear off, and for us to find our old groove. But man, once we did, we were back in it like it was 2007. We played flip cup (I played with Prosecco because who am I?!) and beer pong, and we took too many pictures that are never enough, and thoroughly loved being around each other again.

The whole weekend I spent back in Nebraska, I saw the woman I am now meet the always-up-for-a-good-time student I was then. I like the mix. I like that side of me - carefree and fun-loving with enough know-how and experience to pass on last call. And in between all the bursts of fun, Pam and I got to really talk, and you know what I realized? We call people best friend when we're young because that's what we think it means when we have the most fun with one person. I say it now because Pam makes my life shine brighter and brings out the best in me, and too, we have the most fun together.

Nebraska, it won't be three years until next time.

where to eat in lincoln, ne | yia yia's pizza and beer

Whenever I get asked the question, "Why'd you go to school in Nebraska?" with that incredulous voice, like he/she is really asking, Did you know that there is factually nothing there but air and corn? I answer, "Yia Yia's pizza, of course."

Okay, I don't do that. But I should start. It's a far better response than the typical one I give - which is something along the lines of, "Well, in late 1985 I was born in Miami, Florida..." and continues on for a millennium. Exaggeration suits me. But I'm not being hyperbolic when I say that Yia Yia's Pizza and Beer is an incredible restaurant and bar in Lincoln, Nebraska.

It's so much of a gem that it'd be a gem even if it were in Washington, DC. I'm envisioning that scene now - the place would be beyond-fire-code packed every day of the week. It's hipster with 375 bottled beers, rotating drafts, and unpretentious billiards in the back. It's hip with vegan and whole wheat pizza crust options. Its space is community building with a narrow, deep bar and limited seating, encouraging you to chat and sip at the bar. And it's so very summer in DC with its outdoor patio seating. It would be an immediate hit in Washington. But let me back up and tell you what it's like where it is - in my college town.

Yia Yia's lives at 14th and O on the main "O Street" strip. When I was at UNL, it sat next to Bricktop, my favorite bar and nightclub. Bricktop hosted an '80s night every Friday; it was the best night of the week. On several occasions, my girlfriends and I grabbed a slice at Yia Yia's before moving next door to Bricktop to dance our feelings and shake off the pizza calories. (Obviously, my hair was in a high side ponytail, my shirt was off the shoulder, and my tights were mad neon pink.)

Yia Yia's does pizza a little differently. You can purchase it by the slice or pie. A slice is $4.50, and you can choose up to 5 toppings, including a wide array of cheeses, vegetables, and meats from around the world. Their whole pies come in set prices, including $15 for a medium, and it's the same deal - you can choose up to 5 toppings. I love that kind of freedom. When I order from most pizza spots, I'm always stuck, taking forever to narrow down the options - wanting both onions and tomatoes but also what about this kind of cheese? Yia Yia's way makes it easy, or maybe I'm just nostalgic?

I remember one time in college ("this one time, at band camp...") -- I went to grab a slice, okay two slices, with my writing mentor. We picked up our slices at the counter and took them to the back. The front half of of the bar has a few tables with parmasan cheese and crushed red pepper shakers on them; it's incognito as a regular old pizza place. Walk into the back, and the place gets darker, and a few pool tables dot the room. There were other nights like that: pool and pizza, beer and pizza, wine and pizza, vodka and cranberry and pizza - but always, good company and pizza.

Yia Yia's uses the best ingredients and makes their dough from scratch. I love their chunky marinara, and the slightly charred crusts. But the real reason Yia Yia's is a gem in Lincoln and would be anywhere in the country, including snobby DC, is because of the stories and memories created every day inside its walls. Going back there with my college girlfriend Pam this weekend reversed time, erased a few gray hairs, and made me feel like the world was huge and a little piece of it is mine and that anything is possible and friendships are forever.

And that's the real reason why I went to college in Nebraska.