Long overdue update : )
Well, if there's any theme to my life over the past few months, I'd say it's been
trying new things. Alot of friends graduated and seemed scared beyond belief that they would fall into some life routine and end up becoming boring and devoid of change. One thing I heard alot was the urge to go back to college, to avoid "the real world". I'm pretty much convinced that this "real world" concept people create is all BS. There's no real world or escape from life by avoiding it. College presents a chance to learn alot and be involved in quite a few new things and leaving college doesn't mean you stop learning and lose intelligence/wisdom with time. Outside of that environment are a million ways to make life more rewarding, the trick is to go out and find them.
Since the summer began, I've revitalized my reading habit, finishing books every few weeks. Been to a ton of concerts, many for bands I've never seen before or even know
much about, and no matter how wild the mosh pit, it wasall good. I've taken up
acoustic/electric guitar and am spending quite a bit of time learning new songs and
pondering writing some of my own stuff. Having Paul come by here and there was great
for sharing our knowledge and learning new stuff. Teaching yourself an instrument
isn't easy...but it feels quite rewarding. I started playing DDR recently...I don't
know why, but it's fun and a great workout. I may make a public fool of myself...but, well, that never stopped me before! I've found that I really do love trying new things and yeah, there are many I can think of that didn't work out, but that's never been a reason to stop looking for something new. Random adventures and spur of the moment decisions are more fun than I ever remember them to be before. I don't feel any of this is out of the ordinary much from the past, but now maybe that my life is a little more organized, these things are more noticable and different than when my entire life was crazy, making crazy things seem quite typical.
My friends have been the highlight of everything since I got to the area originally for college. I value them more than anything else going on and am more than glad to be there for those who I know are there for me. This is even more so for my brothers, and those who I know I could trust with my life if it ever came to that. That sort of
freindship/relationship isn't common, and I wouldn't give it up for anything. I could
say more and get all mushy, but I can do that in person (and spin you too!)
I started bowling again a month ago in the State Architects leage with REV (I'm neither an architect nor a state worker, but they don't seem to mind either way). Got my own bowling ball finally...it's simple and cheap, yet effective: black, with red lettering, and says, "Edrick" on it. My average is a 175 or so now, which is alot better than I've been before!
Going on year 3 in this apartment (which I got right after I graduated in 2001), which
is feeling more like home than I thought it would...I still doubt I'll be here for more than a few more years, but you never know. It's comfy and roomy enough for now, and I've had pretty good roommates. It feels like a cross between a dorm room, a museum, a playground, and a dance club...or something :P
APOwise I'm very happy with the things going on. I'm still in the same positions as
before (Service coordinator for sec88, advisor for ADH, and struggling contact for
Siena) and enjoy having contact with many different chapters. EZ (RPI) sectionals is
in a few days, and that's going to be awesome, I love my chapter and they prove over
and over why through everything they take on (and how good they are to an everpresent
alum like me :P). The section service project is in a month and will be fun- it's at
ABX, SUNY Plattsburgh and will be a big charity spaghetti dinner. They're planning
alot and we'll get lots of brothers to go and make it a fun weekend.
I became a Player a year ago after EOP, and have had a blast working on sets for them
(and other random things I took on). This fall has been quite busy, so I'm taking off
til the spring, but by then i should have the time to get to the work parties and be
more involved (EOP is always fun!).
In a very random silly act that happened to turn out pretty spiff...Shannon and I
interviewed Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls, asking mostly about community service and how he views music in the realm of helping the community and the world. It was
interesting. It was fun. I think he was sober. He told us to impeach everything.
Yeah. I have .wav files of the interview if anyone's curious and wants to hear me
being fruity and Shannon being frightfully nervous. We also saw the CD/DVD release
party he ran in Buffalo a month ago that was a blast. We went with Myshele and Theresa and had a great time. Heard (and met) quite a few new bands and brought back more boatloads of free stuff :P Went to Keegan's party as well and those always entail lots of sleepless rigamaroll (I just wanted to use that word in a sentence)
Saw Stella at Vassar College. The trio of Michael Ian Black, David Wain, and Michael
Showalter sports some very wrong humor...and was punctuated by the fact that Vassar is
so conservative. Intro by MIB: "Now we are going to do an icebreaker. Turn to the
person next to you and say, 'Hi my name is so-and-so', that won't work unless your name is so-and-so, otherwise just give your name, shake hands, and say... '...I want to be inside of you.... This isn't meant to be sexual, but if it leads to sex, then that's great!" They were very funny and we met them afterwards, chatted, got autographs and pictures and other cheesy things. I got a t-shirt and Theresa got a DVD of their shorts. YuM!
Random thoughts and tangents:
-Pez popcorn is quite weird (try it!)
-Freddy vs. Jason is a comedy, not a horror flick!
-Some people are being fangoriously devoured by a gelatinous monster...Hillary's legs
are being digested.
-Flights of Fantasy is an AWESOME book/gaming store. If you like fantasy/sci fi books
at all they have a huge selection of new and used books you won't find anywhere
else...and they have a cool cat named Miles.
-MST3K is da bomb - friends should have an MST3K night, play a cheesy movie and have
everyone purposely make fun of it *hint hint* : )
-Fetch actually slept in the crawl space a little ways back. That was a first for the
apartment, and a momentous occasion...or something.
-If anyone ever finds Pez juice anywhere, please send me some! It's a morbid
curiousity, that's all.
-Shannon's car has dozens of stickers on it. It is pretty. It stands out so much it
might actually be visible from space, though NASA hasn't gotten back to me on that yet.
-Ed is a fun tv show : ) "10 bucks if you call the Judge Sally!"
I think thats about all for now. I should be asleep, which is all the reason not to
be, but...errr...yeah, I can't keep that train of logic up for long. Gnight Everyone! See you in my dreams if I don't see you sooner!
trying new things. Alot of friends graduated and seemed scared beyond belief that they would fall into some life routine and end up becoming boring and devoid of change. One thing I heard alot was the urge to go back to college, to avoid "the real world". I'm pretty much convinced that this "real world" concept people create is all BS. There's no real world or escape from life by avoiding it. College presents a chance to learn alot and be involved in quite a few new things and leaving college doesn't mean you stop learning and lose intelligence/wisdom with time. Outside of that environment are a million ways to make life more rewarding, the trick is to go out and find them.
Since the summer began, I've revitalized my reading habit, finishing books every few weeks. Been to a ton of concerts, many for bands I've never seen before or even know
much about, and no matter how wild the mosh pit, it wasall good. I've taken up
acoustic/electric guitar and am spending quite a bit of time learning new songs and
pondering writing some of my own stuff. Having Paul come by here and there was great
for sharing our knowledge and learning new stuff. Teaching yourself an instrument
isn't easy...but it feels quite rewarding. I started playing DDR recently...I don't
know why, but it's fun and a great workout. I may make a public fool of myself...but, well, that never stopped me before! I've found that I really do love trying new things and yeah, there are many I can think of that didn't work out, but that's never been a reason to stop looking for something new. Random adventures and spur of the moment decisions are more fun than I ever remember them to be before. I don't feel any of this is out of the ordinary much from the past, but now maybe that my life is a little more organized, these things are more noticable and different than when my entire life was crazy, making crazy things seem quite typical.
My friends have been the highlight of everything since I got to the area originally for college. I value them more than anything else going on and am more than glad to be there for those who I know are there for me. This is even more so for my brothers, and those who I know I could trust with my life if it ever came to that. That sort of
freindship/relationship isn't common, and I wouldn't give it up for anything. I could
say more and get all mushy, but I can do that in person (and spin you too!)
I started bowling again a month ago in the State Architects leage with REV (I'm neither an architect nor a state worker, but they don't seem to mind either way). Got my own bowling ball finally...it's simple and cheap, yet effective: black, with red lettering, and says, "Edrick" on it. My average is a 175 or so now, which is alot better than I've been before!
Going on year 3 in this apartment (which I got right after I graduated in 2001), which
is feeling more like home than I thought it would...I still doubt I'll be here for more than a few more years, but you never know. It's comfy and roomy enough for now, and I've had pretty good roommates. It feels like a cross between a dorm room, a museum, a playground, and a dance club...or something :P
APOwise I'm very happy with the things going on. I'm still in the same positions as
before (Service coordinator for sec88, advisor for ADH, and struggling contact for
Siena) and enjoy having contact with many different chapters. EZ (RPI) sectionals is
in a few days, and that's going to be awesome, I love my chapter and they prove over
and over why through everything they take on (and how good they are to an everpresent
alum like me :P). The section service project is in a month and will be fun- it's at
ABX, SUNY Plattsburgh and will be a big charity spaghetti dinner. They're planning
alot and we'll get lots of brothers to go and make it a fun weekend.
I became a Player a year ago after EOP, and have had a blast working on sets for them
(and other random things I took on). This fall has been quite busy, so I'm taking off
til the spring, but by then i should have the time to get to the work parties and be
more involved (EOP is always fun!).
In a very random silly act that happened to turn out pretty spiff...Shannon and I
interviewed Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls, asking mostly about community service and how he views music in the realm of helping the community and the world. It was
interesting. It was fun. I think he was sober. He told us to impeach everything.
Yeah. I have .wav files of the interview if anyone's curious and wants to hear me
being fruity and Shannon being frightfully nervous. We also saw the CD/DVD release
party he ran in Buffalo a month ago that was a blast. We went with Myshele and Theresa and had a great time. Heard (and met) quite a few new bands and brought back more boatloads of free stuff :P Went to Keegan's party as well and those always entail lots of sleepless rigamaroll (I just wanted to use that word in a sentence)
Saw Stella at Vassar College. The trio of Michael Ian Black, David Wain, and Michael
Showalter sports some very wrong humor...and was punctuated by the fact that Vassar is
so conservative. Intro by MIB: "Now we are going to do an icebreaker. Turn to the
person next to you and say, 'Hi my name is so-and-so', that won't work unless your name is so-and-so, otherwise just give your name, shake hands, and say... '...I want to be inside of you.... This isn't meant to be sexual, but if it leads to sex, then that's great!" They were very funny and we met them afterwards, chatted, got autographs and pictures and other cheesy things. I got a t-shirt and Theresa got a DVD of their shorts. YuM!
Random thoughts and tangents:
-Pez popcorn is quite weird (try it!)
-Freddy vs. Jason is a comedy, not a horror flick!
-Some people are being fangoriously devoured by a gelatinous monster...Hillary's legs
are being digested.
-Flights of Fantasy is an AWESOME book/gaming store. If you like fantasy/sci fi books
at all they have a huge selection of new and used books you won't find anywhere
else...and they have a cool cat named Miles.
-MST3K is da bomb - friends should have an MST3K night, play a cheesy movie and have
everyone purposely make fun of it *hint hint* : )
-Fetch actually slept in the crawl space a little ways back. That was a first for the
apartment, and a momentous occasion...or something.
-If anyone ever finds Pez juice anywhere, please send me some! It's a morbid
curiousity, that's all.
-Shannon's car has dozens of stickers on it. It is pretty. It stands out so much it
might actually be visible from space, though NASA hasn't gotten back to me on that yet.
-Ed is a fun tv show : ) "10 bucks if you call the Judge Sally!"
I think thats about all for now. I should be asleep, which is all the reason not to
be, but...errr...yeah, I can't keep that train of logic up for long. Gnight Everyone! See you in my dreams if I don't see you sooner!