bxmar1@maila.wm.edu
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The annual Alpha homecoming gathering went really smoothly. Thursday night, Brad got to town and I met up with him at the Green Leafe. We spent some time wandering around and visiting people with one of the other alums, Darrien. It was like a throwback to my freshman year when I first pledged. We would finish up brothers meetings, then watch the Simpsons (back when they were still on Thursdays). Afterwards, we go out and make some trouble visiting Chad over in Monroe. We would generally end up visiting the girl Chad was dating at the time as well. It became something of ritual, although Brad's...belligerent personality made it uncomfortable at times. This past Thursday, Brad wanted to go visit her and her roommate. They are uneasy around him to put it mildly, so I tried to prevent the visit. There was only so much I could do. He knows where they live, so the most I could manage was to get him to tone down his behavior a little. We still ended up waking the girls and Brad made some off color comments, but overall kept things fairly calm (for him). I love hanging out with the man, but when he gets an idea to invite himself over to someone else's room while he's drunk, the nostalgia of fun times 3 years ago get buried under the concern that someone will call the cops on him for breaking something.
I'm taking a train to D.C. this weekend to help Dana move into her new apartment. The whole idea of someone that close to me moving out of the house is hammering home the "you're growing up" crap. I can't say that I'm exactly happy to be preparing to take responsibility for my own life. Another couple of months and I'll be asking her to help me move into a new place. Hell, I haven't even gotten over having to quit playing with G.I. Joe figures. I sure as hell don't want to have to take over bill paying and rent. AAAHHHHH!! I need to find someone to share a place with...soon.
I received my grade for my government seminar. The class fulfills my writing requirement for my major. Somehow, despite my tendency to end sentences with prepositions in written work like this post, I managed to pull off an A-. Scared the bejeezus out of me. You have to realize that when the professor said he had gone easy on us and not given out any Ds or Fs, I was relieved that I would pull at least a C-. I guess you could say that I was confident in neither the content nor the style of the paper. Instead, I pulled off my first A paper in my major. Kind of sad, but hey! Better late than never...
[Those of you who want to skip the music opinions can jump to the next paragraph.]
I have gone on a CD buying frenzy lately. I bought the new Medeski Martin and Wood disc late last week. Its not bad...a definite step up from their last release "Friday Afternoon in the Universe." The pieces are a little more refined and song oriented. On the down side, the new album lacks the ballsiness of the band's best work on their first album. I purchased Jean Luc Ponty's "Live at Donte's", yesterday and turned around and sold it back today. It just wasn't what I was looking for from Ponty. The violin work has neither the vibrance of his better solo work nor the slashing feel of his work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. The best tracks on the album are songs which I have a better version of somewhere. Finally, I bought "Live/Dead" and "Reckoning" from the Grateful Dead. I had four studio albums already, but they weren't quite cutting it anymore. I don't really have all that much to say about either album. They both rule in their own special way. "Reckoning" is a touch more country-flavored than I would like, but then I knew that before I bought the damn thing. "Live/Dead" is a little more consistent with the Dead's concert style (even 26 years later). Most important: I finally have a copy of the tune "Dark Star" on disc. Yeah, I'm one of the wacks who get into the 23 minute instrumental jams. I grew up listening to the Dead, so of course we're back into all of the nostalgia bullshit that I dig on so much. I miss Jerry.
I worked at the phonathon tonight calling alumni for donations to the School of Education. I made the most money for the group I was calling, so I won a prize. That is the good news. The prize was a tote bag with pink writing on it. That is the ludicrous news. I think it was karmic revenge for my laughter at the guy who worked his ass off and won a tote bag for last night. Does this mean that now, I must learn how to "tote." I don't know the first thing about toting. could be dangerous...
All right...enough already...I need some sleep to avoid getting sick again. I had a couple of mad sneezing fits during the day and its pissing me off. Bedtime for Bill.
Say goodnight, Gracie,
Bill
bxmar1@maila.wm.edu
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