So tonight we had an impromptu "Mommy Movie Night", at Prof. Hallstrom's house, named thusly due to Prof. Hallstrom's nickname: "Mommy Dearest". A bunch of us headed down the mountain to watch "Lars and the Real Girl", a movie about a man who falls in love with a mannequin. We had a great time, and a torch was passed on... sort of.
"Lars and the Real Girl" tells the story of a man named Lars, who is emotionally damaged after his mother dies giving birth to him, leaving him alone with his brother and severely depressed father. His brother leaves as soon as possible, and Lars is left with deep scars. Later in life, he lives in the garage/apartment of his brother's house, while his sister-in-law frets that something is wrong because Lars spends all his time by himself. Eventually Lars receives a huge package, and introduces his family to his new girlfriend: Bianca, a Brazilian/Danish woman raised by nuns and confined to a wheelchair. Bianca also happens to be a mannequin, though Lars speaks and responds to her as though she were real. The rest of the movie follows Lars' relationship with Bianca while the people of the town he lives in "play along" because the local doctor says that's the best thing that they can do. Bianca becomes part of the town ("volunteering at the hospital, and even joining the school board.") while Lars talks through his problems with the doctor as though they were Bianca's. I don't want to spoil it, but suffice to say that it's an excellent movie, and very thought provoking.
After the movie was over, we got to talking and "mommy" pulled out something she said was going on craigslist soon. An iGallop. Basically, it's a chair that imitates the motion of a horse, supposedly to work out your abs, though I think it was invented for the amusement of physical therapists. We had fun laughing at people riding it, and we even forced Jordan to sit on it (though not before she curled up in fetal position in protest.)
Speaking of Jordan, I learned recently that the Trifecta (Alysha McCullough, Katie Jenkins, and Justin Johns) has elected Ann Jones, Me, and Jordan Linkston as the next Trifecta. Basically, that means that we three are expected to do...something. Not really sure what, I guess have comedic chemistry or something. We apparently are rather amusing to watch interact (i.e., dragging Jordan onto a galloping chair while she "cries" and goes into fetal position at my feet.) I guess the combination of hilariously insane, faultlessly innocent (seemingly), and then whatever it is that I am is funny. Eh, works for me.
Also, we proved that Zach McElrath is not a cat, once and for all, since he can open catproof doors.(Although, it does take him a while.)
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The Post I Forgot to Name Until I Re-read it After Publishing
So... I learned recently of a cool-weird trend. (cool-weird meaning both cool, and slightly disturbing, like men who bend railroad spikes with their teeth.) Apparently people have been googling their names, and discovering my blog. This is cool, because it means that people are reading my blog, and that "tinkles well in my ego's ear" (to paraphrase Vondel badly). It's weird, since occasionally, people will mention that I've mentioned them, and I'll forget what it was that I wrote about them, and that's just awkward.
Anyway, all that aside, this has been a crazy week. Lucifer opened on Friday, which meant that this week was mostly spend in Sanderson, working like mad to get this thing ready for the stage. I'm pleased to say it went well, and the two performances this week went really well (aside from me and J.D. spinning Lucifer's chariot around both times we tried to get it on/off stage. It's not a Disney teacup, but it's darn hard to move.) We have two more performances next week, but only one rehearsal, so life should regain some normalcy (fingers crossed.)
Most of my week was spent in classes or in rehearsal, but I did have time for a couple of awesome things. First up, my family came down from Maryland to visit! It was awesome to see them, and we got to catch up. I introduced them to some of my friends, and they got to see Lucifer last night, which was cool. We went to church/lunch today before they had to go to the airport, but we still had a great time. Saturday we made an attempt to visit the Tennessee aquarium, but due to a bout with food poisoning, I couldn't get all they way through. It stunk, but I got to hang out today with them, which was a lot of fun. My dad, who goes by "COG" (crotchety old guy) apparently is getting coggier, having bought a pair of suspenders. My mom is trying to get an NCFCA tournament hosted at Covenant next year, while my sister is learning how to portray portly British men and wear a tie.
Now that I've got time to breathe, sleep, and otherwise act normal, I hope to get my room clean (as far as I can), and learn to play the guitar my sister gave me. Here's hoping that I at least manage to get the floor visible again. hehe. With two weeks left till spring break, I'm holding my breath for one last plunge. On another note, my sister showed my an awesome iPod app, the Awesome button. Basically, it's a button that says "Awesome" whenever you press it. It's from a great video from Rooster Teeth studios about a narcissistic superhero, with no real talent. It's really funny, and I highly recommend it. You can find it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yff3jH8NECs
Well, that's the news for this week. I'm aiming to update at least weekly, so that I don't fall behind, and so that I have enough to write about each week before I blog. Let me leave you with a taste of backstage life, by writing here, for the first time, some of the things written on the back of the whiteboard informing everyone not to come backstage. The side, that 'till now, only actors and crew have seen. Enjoy!
"Ben, you'd make a beautiful woman"- J.D.
"Winter turned my robe into a bikini" -David P.
"Oh...brothers....why? This is not meet? Why such sadness? ... I wonder what Apollion would think? I'm sure he would be vexed?"- Liz Brink, ad-libbing after someone missed cue line.
"Satan reads Twilight!" - Unknown
"Speaking of food, where's Alan?" - Angela Beall
"Isn't he a little small to eat?" -David P.
"They have SHARP cheese!" -Evelyn P.
Till next time, adios!
Anyway, all that aside, this has been a crazy week. Lucifer opened on Friday, which meant that this week was mostly spend in Sanderson, working like mad to get this thing ready for the stage. I'm pleased to say it went well, and the two performances this week went really well (aside from me and J.D. spinning Lucifer's chariot around both times we tried to get it on/off stage. It's not a Disney teacup, but it's darn hard to move.) We have two more performances next week, but only one rehearsal, so life should regain some normalcy (fingers crossed.)
Most of my week was spent in classes or in rehearsal, but I did have time for a couple of awesome things. First up, my family came down from Maryland to visit! It was awesome to see them, and we got to catch up. I introduced them to some of my friends, and they got to see Lucifer last night, which was cool. We went to church/lunch today before they had to go to the airport, but we still had a great time. Saturday we made an attempt to visit the Tennessee aquarium, but due to a bout with food poisoning, I couldn't get all they way through. It stunk, but I got to hang out today with them, which was a lot of fun. My dad, who goes by "COG" (crotchety old guy) apparently is getting coggier, having bought a pair of suspenders. My mom is trying to get an NCFCA tournament hosted at Covenant next year, while my sister is learning how to portray portly British men and wear a tie.
Now that I've got time to breathe, sleep, and otherwise act normal, I hope to get my room clean (as far as I can), and learn to play the guitar my sister gave me. Here's hoping that I at least manage to get the floor visible again. hehe. With two weeks left till spring break, I'm holding my breath for one last plunge. On another note, my sister showed my an awesome iPod app, the Awesome button. Basically, it's a button that says "Awesome" whenever you press it. It's from a great video from Rooster Teeth studios about a narcissistic superhero, with no real talent. It's really funny, and I highly recommend it. You can find it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yff3jH8NECs
Well, that's the news for this week. I'm aiming to update at least weekly, so that I don't fall behind, and so that I have enough to write about each week before I blog. Let me leave you with a taste of backstage life, by writing here, for the first time, some of the things written on the back of the whiteboard informing everyone not to come backstage. The side, that 'till now, only actors and crew have seen. Enjoy!
"Ben, you'd make a beautiful woman"- J.D.
"Winter turned my robe into a bikini" -David P.
"Oh...brothers....why? This is not meet? Why such sadness? ... I wonder what Apollion would think? I'm sure he would be vexed?"- Liz Brink, ad-libbing after someone missed cue line.
"Satan reads Twilight!" - Unknown
"Speaking of food, where's Alan?" - Angela Beall
"Isn't he a little small to eat?" -David P.
"They have SHARP cheese!" -Evelyn P.
Till next time, adios!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Alaska! Alaska!
I was accosted yesterday at lunch for my failure to update my blog recently. Sufficiently chastised, I again set keyboard to digital non-paper, and begin anew.
My second semester at Covenant has been busy thus far. Compared to last semester, I've had significantly more homework, most of that coming from my math course, Finite Math. While it's not the worst time I've ever had with math (anyone else tried to teach themselves Algebra II?) its not fun either. I'll survive though, and by God's grace I might even manage a good grade. Otherwise my classes are going really well, and I just got permission to switch from the oh-so-frustrating software we've been using to supplement Arabic class to my own copy of Rosetta Stone. This has relieved a great deal of stress, since instead of spending an hour a week wondering if I'm using the product of the fabled million monkeys at keyboards, I'll be able to reinforce the stuff I need to know for quizzes.
A couple of weeks ago I found out that I won't be spending Easter Break (not to be confused with my Spring Break in March) sitting around at Covenant. Instead, my friend Mitchell Mitchell invited me to come home with him for the weekend. I'm looking forward to it! More recently I was introduced by the gang to Firefly, a sort-of sci-fi-western TV show. Very funny, and watching it with friends was an awesome way to spend two afternoons.
As we get closer to parent's weekend, and Lucifer's opening, things are getting both exciting and crazy. Exciting, because my family's coming down to visit and because I think Lucifer's going to be Epic, but crazy because getting it Epic is taking a lot of work, and because I'm going to have to clean my room in the near future. heh heh.
Speaking of Lucifer, we've gotten some cool insights into how the whole thing is going to work. Each character will have a different costume depending on rank, which is shown using the do-re-mi scale. For example, I'm a Fa, which means that, using the scale, we can see where my character ranks in the hierarchy. Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do. Basically, I'm a military-caste angel, and that means that I get a greenish-blue tunic, with a white wig which so far reminds me of Haldir's hair in the Two Towers. Cool. Makeup is going to be interesting, since we're supposed to look nonhuman. We'll have totally white faces with lines the same colors as our tunics on our faces, going along with the lines of our facial bones. Kevin Hartzell and Ann Jones were made up during a rehearsal to we could see what it would look like. Definitely inhuman, but totally cool.
Brethren Hall has recently been abuzz on weekends with tournaments of the Gamecube (and as of yesterday, Wii) game Super Smash Brothers. Basically, the game consists of a bunch of Nintendo characters from across all of their games (ranging from Mario to people I've never even heard of) trying to knock each other off of a stage using a variety of kicks, punches, telekinesis, laser guns, magic yo-yos, eggs, or in one case flying bacon. Crazy, zany, and a lot of fun to play when you've nothing better to do.
Other fun events going on include Assassins, which starts on Wednesday. Sponsored by Mac Council, Assassins is a game where participants each are given a water gun and a piece of paper with a name on it. Their goal is to "kill" their target with the water pistol, while avoiding being assassinated by the person who has their name. If a player kills their target, they get the name of that person's target as their new target. The whole game can last weeks, and apparently everyone playing gets crazily paranoid. I was issued, instead of a tiny, easily concealable gun, a massive pistol which is more in line with an action hero than an Assassin. That's okay though, because I've figured out a way to hide my Dirty Harry gun, and I think it's actually kind of cool.
Last week, Covenant was hit by a double-whammy snowstorm followed immediately by an ice storm, effectively snowing us in for a weekend. The campus was beautiful, and in true David fashion I utterly failed to take a picture of any of it. *facepalm* It was also rather dangerous, however, as I learned while walking down to Alysha McCullough's apartment with her, Mitch, Liz Brink, and Katelyn Hickey. Walking under the power lines, I turned around to say something to Mitch, and a six-inch icicle fell and buried itself three inches into the ground about a foot in front of me. Whew! Most of the weekend, we watched movies, and I was very good about having to watch "The Jane Austen Book Club" since Mitch and I were outvoted in a room full of girls. I kept my mouth shut, mostly. I couldn't resist poking fun at the caption at the end of the movie, when a flash forward was revealed with the phrase "The Very Next Year". I believe I commented that it was SO next year they had to have that extra adjective. Alysha glared at me. I am unrepentant. :)
However, sitting through that movie meant that later that night we got to watch "Hot Fuzz" down on Catacombs. I really can't describe this movie other than to say its an absolutely ridiculous parody of every American action movie ever made. No cliche is sacrosanct. Best line: "No! I've never fired two guns into the air while jumping and yelling 'AHHHH!'"
Three or four days ago I was talking with Kevin Hartzell and somehow we started joking that Covenant needed to have a major program in how to hold doors. (he contends I came up with it, but I still think it was his brilliant idea). Highly amused by the conversation, wherin we kept adding classes that would go into such a major, I sat down afterward and wrote it up as a Facebook note, using the catalog entry for the Chemistry major as a template. Kevin thought it was funny, and sent it to the guy who actually writes the catalog entries. I hope that's a good thing. 0_o
Well, I think that's about everything that's happened recently. I'll try to keep this more current than I've been, so as not to leave you in the dark again for so long. Until next time....um...I'm out of ways to say good-bye. Bye? I guess that will have to do.
Good bye!
My second semester at Covenant has been busy thus far. Compared to last semester, I've had significantly more homework, most of that coming from my math course, Finite Math. While it's not the worst time I've ever had with math (anyone else tried to teach themselves Algebra II?) its not fun either. I'll survive though, and by God's grace I might even manage a good grade. Otherwise my classes are going really well, and I just got permission to switch from the oh-so-frustrating software we've been using to supplement Arabic class to my own copy of Rosetta Stone. This has relieved a great deal of stress, since instead of spending an hour a week wondering if I'm using the product of the fabled million monkeys at keyboards, I'll be able to reinforce the stuff I need to know for quizzes.
A couple of weeks ago I found out that I won't be spending Easter Break (not to be confused with my Spring Break in March) sitting around at Covenant. Instead, my friend Mitchell Mitchell invited me to come home with him for the weekend. I'm looking forward to it! More recently I was introduced by the gang to Firefly, a sort-of sci-fi-western TV show. Very funny, and watching it with friends was an awesome way to spend two afternoons.
As we get closer to parent's weekend, and Lucifer's opening, things are getting both exciting and crazy. Exciting, because my family's coming down to visit and because I think Lucifer's going to be Epic, but crazy because getting it Epic is taking a lot of work, and because I'm going to have to clean my room in the near future. heh heh.
Speaking of Lucifer, we've gotten some cool insights into how the whole thing is going to work. Each character will have a different costume depending on rank, which is shown using the do-re-mi scale. For example, I'm a Fa, which means that, using the scale, we can see where my character ranks in the hierarchy. Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do. Basically, I'm a military-caste angel, and that means that I get a greenish-blue tunic, with a white wig which so far reminds me of Haldir's hair in the Two Towers. Cool. Makeup is going to be interesting, since we're supposed to look nonhuman. We'll have totally white faces with lines the same colors as our tunics on our faces, going along with the lines of our facial bones. Kevin Hartzell and Ann Jones were made up during a rehearsal to we could see what it would look like. Definitely inhuman, but totally cool.
Brethren Hall has recently been abuzz on weekends with tournaments of the Gamecube (and as of yesterday, Wii) game Super Smash Brothers. Basically, the game consists of a bunch of Nintendo characters from across all of their games (ranging from Mario to people I've never even heard of) trying to knock each other off of a stage using a variety of kicks, punches, telekinesis, laser guns, magic yo-yos, eggs, or in one case flying bacon. Crazy, zany, and a lot of fun to play when you've nothing better to do.
Other fun events going on include Assassins, which starts on Wednesday. Sponsored by Mac Council, Assassins is a game where participants each are given a water gun and a piece of paper with a name on it. Their goal is to "kill" their target with the water pistol, while avoiding being assassinated by the person who has their name. If a player kills their target, they get the name of that person's target as their new target. The whole game can last weeks, and apparently everyone playing gets crazily paranoid. I was issued, instead of a tiny, easily concealable gun, a massive pistol which is more in line with an action hero than an Assassin. That's okay though, because I've figured out a way to hide my Dirty Harry gun, and I think it's actually kind of cool.
Last week, Covenant was hit by a double-whammy snowstorm followed immediately by an ice storm, effectively snowing us in for a weekend. The campus was beautiful, and in true David fashion I utterly failed to take a picture of any of it. *facepalm* It was also rather dangerous, however, as I learned while walking down to Alysha McCullough's apartment with her, Mitch, Liz Brink, and Katelyn Hickey. Walking under the power lines, I turned around to say something to Mitch, and a six-inch icicle fell and buried itself three inches into the ground about a foot in front of me. Whew! Most of the weekend, we watched movies, and I was very good about having to watch "The Jane Austen Book Club" since Mitch and I were outvoted in a room full of girls. I kept my mouth shut, mostly. I couldn't resist poking fun at the caption at the end of the movie, when a flash forward was revealed with the phrase "The Very Next Year". I believe I commented that it was SO next year they had to have that extra adjective. Alysha glared at me. I am unrepentant. :)
However, sitting through that movie meant that later that night we got to watch "Hot Fuzz" down on Catacombs. I really can't describe this movie other than to say its an absolutely ridiculous parody of every American action movie ever made. No cliche is sacrosanct. Best line: "No! I've never fired two guns into the air while jumping and yelling 'AHHHH!'"
Three or four days ago I was talking with Kevin Hartzell and somehow we started joking that Covenant needed to have a major program in how to hold doors. (he contends I came up with it, but I still think it was his brilliant idea). Highly amused by the conversation, wherin we kept adding classes that would go into such a major, I sat down afterward and wrote it up as a Facebook note, using the catalog entry for the Chemistry major as a template. Kevin thought it was funny, and sent it to the guy who actually writes the catalog entries. I hope that's a good thing. 0_o
Well, I think that's about everything that's happened recently. I'll try to keep this more current than I've been, so as not to leave you in the dark again for so long. Until next time....um...I'm out of ways to say good-bye. Bye? I guess that will have to do.
Good bye!
Monday, January 25, 2010
"But I don't wanna die epically! I have to lock you in Hell!"
Well, it's been an eventful two weeks back at school (or has it been three?) I got back and was immediately welcomed by my friends on the hall and then by fellow cast members from Lucifer heading to dinner. It was awesome, and I was glad to see them again. Unfortunately I also learned that one of my roommates, Neil Johnson, wasn't coming back. Not sure why, but he's home in Ft. Payne Alabama, and our room feels empty without a fourth dude. :(
The first night back, we had rehearsal, where we learned about breath control, and how to use facial muscles and breathing to convey emotion (and oddly enough, manipulate our own emotions. I made myself mad....at nothing. 0_o) Fortunately we also learned how to calm down and get rid of these self-made emotions as well. Finally, we listened to a meditation tape (not because we're Taoists, but because it helps with breath control). Favorite line: "Now, smile into your liver. Is there any anger or bitterness causing blockages? Smile into that anger and feel golden light wick it away."
Once classes started, I was pleased to learn that Accounting II is every bit as much fun (and as crazy) as Accounting I. If that last sentence seems like a paradox, you've never had a professor who tries to call the cell phones of students who leave in the middle of class to go to the bathroom, then asks them if they are inventing the next Google.
The theater gang brought me along to Ihop my first weekend back, and we had a great time eating breakfast at midnight on a Friday and making jokes. I was also compared to an anime character I had to wiki... and he scared me.... *shudder*. :)
Speaking of theater, Lucifer is shaping up to be an amazing play. It's about the rebellion of Lucifer and the demonic angels as well as exploring how sin corrupts through a seemingly innocuous cause. Quite cool, and we have an awesome 4 layer set! Oh, and if you're wondering what on Earth my title means, I'm playing an angel names Ozias, who eventually is given the task of locking Lucifer and his minions in Hell. During the blocking of the big battle between good and bad, I ended up fighting Apollyon, Beelzebub, and another demon (Alysha McCullogh) at once. During a break, Alysha told me that now was my time to die epically, and I replied with this blog's title. Apparently I get funny when I get tired, because since getting back I've said several things I normally would never have said (and that I don't really plan at all) that end up making people laugh. Makes me happy. :)
I got to go to Yellow Deli for the first time too, yesterday. It's got some great food, but its atmosphere and laid-backedness is what's really cool about it. Its run by a group called the 12 Tribes, which we're not sure exactly how to describe here at Covenant. Some think its a cult, some think they're hippies. But after reading their little pamphlet thingy, it seems that they're more like Amish Hippies. Best I can put it. Anyway, they're extremely friendly, and I had a great time.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that life here isn't all fun and games. This semester's workload is rather more than last semester, and I have the added stressor of MATH!!!!!! Evil. Incarnate. In. Equations. Fortunately we have a Math Center available for such people as me, so I've been able to get through the homework without committing Seppuku.
Last weekend was Scholarship weekend, so I got to see some friends from back home. Drew Moriarty stayed in my room, while I spotted Andrew Wingard and his mom around while I was doing Arabic homework, and said hi. Fun! The last day of scholarship weekend I had practical service work for theater, so me, Mitchell, Jordan Linkston, Alan Cheney, Katelyn Hickey, and Katie Jenkins tried to move 300 pound wooden platforms out of Chapel storage without disturbing the previewers interrogating President Neilson. Hmmm....
That about catches us up to now. I have Accounting in 10 mins, so I should start packing up and go to class. Until next time.... goodbye? (I've run out of foreign languages to express my parting good wishes. I may have to start making them up.)
The first night back, we had rehearsal, where we learned about breath control, and how to use facial muscles and breathing to convey emotion (and oddly enough, manipulate our own emotions. I made myself mad....at nothing. 0_o) Fortunately we also learned how to calm down and get rid of these self-made emotions as well. Finally, we listened to a meditation tape (not because we're Taoists, but because it helps with breath control). Favorite line: "Now, smile into your liver. Is there any anger or bitterness causing blockages? Smile into that anger and feel golden light wick it away."
Once classes started, I was pleased to learn that Accounting II is every bit as much fun (and as crazy) as Accounting I. If that last sentence seems like a paradox, you've never had a professor who tries to call the cell phones of students who leave in the middle of class to go to the bathroom, then asks them if they are inventing the next Google.
The theater gang brought me along to Ihop my first weekend back, and we had a great time eating breakfast at midnight on a Friday and making jokes. I was also compared to an anime character I had to wiki... and he scared me.... *shudder*. :)
Speaking of theater, Lucifer is shaping up to be an amazing play. It's about the rebellion of Lucifer and the demonic angels as well as exploring how sin corrupts through a seemingly innocuous cause. Quite cool, and we have an awesome 4 layer set! Oh, and if you're wondering what on Earth my title means, I'm playing an angel names Ozias, who eventually is given the task of locking Lucifer and his minions in Hell. During the blocking of the big battle between good and bad, I ended up fighting Apollyon, Beelzebub, and another demon (Alysha McCullogh) at once. During a break, Alysha told me that now was my time to die epically, and I replied with this blog's title. Apparently I get funny when I get tired, because since getting back I've said several things I normally would never have said (and that I don't really plan at all) that end up making people laugh. Makes me happy. :)
I got to go to Yellow Deli for the first time too, yesterday. It's got some great food, but its atmosphere and laid-backedness is what's really cool about it. Its run by a group called the 12 Tribes, which we're not sure exactly how to describe here at Covenant. Some think its a cult, some think they're hippies. But after reading their little pamphlet thingy, it seems that they're more like Amish Hippies. Best I can put it. Anyway, they're extremely friendly, and I had a great time.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that life here isn't all fun and games. This semester's workload is rather more than last semester, and I have the added stressor of MATH!!!!!! Evil. Incarnate. In. Equations. Fortunately we have a Math Center available for such people as me, so I've been able to get through the homework without committing Seppuku.
Last weekend was Scholarship weekend, so I got to see some friends from back home. Drew Moriarty stayed in my room, while I spotted Andrew Wingard and his mom around while I was doing Arabic homework, and said hi. Fun! The last day of scholarship weekend I had practical service work for theater, so me, Mitchell, Jordan Linkston, Alan Cheney, Katelyn Hickey, and Katie Jenkins tried to move 300 pound wooden platforms out of Chapel storage without disturbing the previewers interrogating President Neilson. Hmmm....
That about catches us up to now. I have Accounting in 10 mins, so I should start packing up and go to class. Until next time.... goodbye? (I've run out of foreign languages to express my parting good wishes. I may have to start making them up.)
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Christmas Special BONUS POST!!!
Right, so... when I looked to see about updating my blog I realized that I haven't blogged since Thanksgiving break! To make up for this appalling lack of random information about my life (reading about which I'm sure is one of the highlights of your day ;) ) I've decided to throw in extra length and fill you all in on everything that has happened up 'till now. (You see what I've done here? I've not committed myself to doing anything more than what anyone expected me to do with a blog which had fallen behind, but because I've told you it's a special post, your minds all suddenly think I'm such a wonderful, generous person. Telling you the reasoning behind it won't dispel it either, just watch.) To add to this formula for chaos, I'm forcing myself to finish the whole post before I go to sleep. Thus, as time goes on (depending on how loudly my muse talks) this whole thing might get quite amusing before it's done. Okay...without further ado: let the data dump begin!
Lets' see, after returning from Thanksgiving break, I returned to studying with the added pressure of finals approaching. However, for the first time in the semester I was without real serious work to do on a play, and thus had evenings available. On the other hand, I could no longer use "I have rehearsal" as the be-all end-all of all excuses, and therefore I had to develop a social life. I think I was more or less successful, because as the halls decorated for Christmas, I managed to discover the group decorating third lobby, and inserted myself, thereby becoming the only Brethrenite to make paper snowflakes. How shockingly masculine of me. In all seriousness it was great fun and third lobby looked very Christmassy.
I think I ended the last post by commenting on how clean our room was. Yeah.... after a week or so... well, Brandon's laundry exploded. Quite literally. The whole front entrance to the room was covered in laundry. Lyss Gorman gave the the fantastic idea to box it up and hide on as many halls as possible. Practically giddy with excitement at playing an actual prank (I don't get to do it very often, having been homeschooled with a sister who has a nasty habit of walking in on the "set up phase" of any prank I intend to pull) I did exactly that. However, my curse returned, and Brandon walked in right after I had finished putting his laundry in boxes.
Brandon: "Umm...why did ya'll put my laundry in these boxes?"
Me: "Umm...It's a secret"
Brandon: "What kind of secret?"
Me: "The kind that ends with your laundry on several different halls."
Brandon: "Oh. That would have been dissapointing."
He then proceeded to grab his coat and go to see Zombieland.
Well, the laundry WAS already boxed up, and Brandon wouldn't be expecting us to do it... so I looked at Isaiah, shrugged, and said "What the heck?" We then proceeded to hide them anyway. 1 went to Caledon, one to Jungle, one to the phone booth in Third Lobby, and one to Catacombs. It was quite amusing. As a testament to just how much laundry Brandon has... he didn't notice that he'd missed one of the boxes when he retreived them. A week later Catacombs forgot where they came from and started giving them away. Neil came in sporting a new striped shirt, and Brandon looking stunned, asked
"How did you get my shirt?"
Neil: "Yours? I got this from Catacombs."
Brandon: "FUDGE!!"
He then ran out of the room.
Laundry capers aside, the last few weeks of the semester were a lot of fun. We had the cast party for Man Born to be King, which Katie did attend, and we all saluted her and called her a good sport (which she was). Once most of the partygoers had to return for tests or study sessions, those of us left settled on watching a movie, suggested by Mitch. It was called "Time Bandits" and it was the sort of movie my sister would have really liked. Nonsensical, crazy, but somehow funny. The most basic plot summary I can give is that a British boy is kidnapped by a band of midgets who are planning to steal the wealth of all the world by the use of a map of time which they stole from God. Meanwhile Satan, from inside a castle builty of LEGO bricks, plots to escape and take over the world "with an understanding of digital watches." Unsurprisingly, it was written by Terry Gilliam.
We also had a party with Caledon and the Olivers down in the RD appartment, where we watched "Joyeux Noel". Unfortunately it conflicted with Movie Night at Professor Hallstrom's. I was sad to miss it, but I still had a blast with the gang down in the Oliver's apartment. Speaking of Brethren-Caledon events, Me, Mike Turner, Bowser, and Graham "Donut" Svenson (as Brandon Flynn calls him) joined basically all of Caledon in celebrating Michelle Vrogindewey's birthday by going to see the Christmas lights at Rock City. My camera was actually charged and ready to go (which in my case is rather odd) so I brought it along and put the pics on FB...including one of me pretending to kiss Audrey Brown under some mistletoe we didn't know was there until right before people started taking pictures. This unfortunate photo has been described as "me as the missing link","me after having been punched in the gut", and "proof I've never had a girlfriend." I regret posting it now, but oh well. Too late now.
Finals week arrived, and with it the knowledge that after finishing them, I could go home! I made it through Arabic on Monday, and had a great conversation with the fantastiv Prof. Haddad afterward. Tuesday Old Testament was far better than I expected, while Wednesday's PE essay was pretty straightforward. Thurday's accounting test went okay, but was the only one of my finals I didn't feel fantastic about when I left the room. All in all, not a bad finals week.
Friday saw me bound for the airport at 7:00 A.M. with Brandon Gross, Brandon Flynn, and Katherine Jarret. However, the sheer volume of luggage, while cleverly packed, meant that I spent most of the ride to the airport getting to know Brandon Flynn's guitar very well, and only saw the right most half of our trip, as the rest of my face was obscured by the aformentioned guitar. I was very glad to get a ride though, especially as finding the airport was a bit of an adventure. Eventually, we involved a gas station manager (whom I couldn't see) and pulled into the aiport.
Not like I was particularly in a rush though. I had eight hours to kill in the gate before my flight left. I read the entirety of Orson Scott Card's "Speaker for the Dead" (fantastic by the way) then was forced to listen to two hours of "Days of Our Lives", since the airport gate only had one channel showing on the tv's, and there was a tv wherever I went to try to escape. Eventually I simply decided to try to figure out how that show has lasted so long. I still don't see what all the fuss is about. It was obvious to me from the beginning that Stefano didn't kidnap the Brady baby and that forcing him to take truth serum would only prolong the time that Julia had to get away with the child. Meanwhile Terry's attempts to make up with her husband were an obvious attempt to spite Susan, whom she suspected of some vaguely unspecified marital infringement. Quite silly really. It finally ended, and I got a sandwich and hoped for better television. Deal or No Deal came on next and for a brief moment I thought this could be an interesting hour or so. Alas, this was a more recent episode, and the personality disorders among the contestants were so flagrant that it was embarassing to watch. Are there no people on that show that know when they're sharing too much information? After this, daytime TV disappointed me once again by subjecting me to the Dr. Oz show. I do NOT need to know that much about feminine baldness, UT infections, and how to avoid sun damage to my stomach region.
After my plane arrived, I got to spend an hour relaxing and enjoying the silence, which only 6 straight hours of actually paying attention to daytime television could make me do on a plane. On a lighter note, I got to point out interesting landmarks and things out the window for a woman who had never flown before, and was very excited to see the Washington monument from up high, and to be able to warn her family about traffic without having consulted the news first. My plane landed in D.C. three hours before the biggest snowstorm in 119 years (or more, that's just when we started counting things like that) struck. We had about 18 inches of snow, plus some icy accumulation. That might not seem like much (or it might sound like the end is nigh, depening on your position relative to the Mason-Dixon line) however, our county was not prepared to handle such snowfall, and the roads became rather impassable. Our dog, however, could have used his tail as a propeller he was so happy.
My sister took the opportunity of having me snowed in to introduce me to her new favorite show. It's a british car show called Top Gear. At first I was skeptical. Then I watched an episode where the three hosts: Richard, Jeremy, and James, are tasked with purchasing vehicles and driving from the south end of Vietnam to the north end in as little time as possible. Just to give you a taste of the utter hilarity that was this show, I present to you what you might hear if you tuned in half way through.
Jeremy: "In case you are just joining us, Richard and I have driven into this cave on a pair of boats which we build from the motocycles we've driven the length of Vietnam in. We're searching for a bar which is quite obviously not here, and we've just realized that we have no reverse gear." They also were forced to keep their original motorcycles running thoughout the whole trek, or face having to ride a motorcycle painted with the stars and stripes and blaring Bruce Springstein's "Born in the U.S.A." through Vietnam. The bikes miraculously stayed in near-perfect condition, give or take half the engine or so.
At my urging, my family went to see "The Screwtape Letters" in D.C., while I stayed home and watched the dog. Friends and deluded Bryan attendees Christina Morgan and Marianne Sterne were apparently also there, and somewhere along the line of conversation my sister mentioned Brethren's newest pastime: plunger catching. Isaiah got a brand-new plunger as a gift from his secret santa, and somewhere along the line we had the idea to stick it to the ceiling. We then started trying to time it so that we could catch it when it fell. Since it was anyone's guess as to when it would fall, we could be standing in the ready position for five seconds or five minutes, all the while staring at a plunger stuck to the ceiling. Apparenlty Christina said something to the effect of "Tell that idiot that the next time he's so bored he decides to stick a plunger to the ceiling that he should just call me!" I am thoroughly chastised.
Thus arrived the first white Christmas I can remember having. For another first, I actually sympathized with my parents about having to get up at 6:30 to appease my excited sister. After a few minutes I was alert enough to meander downstairs and open gifts with my family. My sister got me a "college survival kit" complete with gloves, a snickers bar, meds, cereal, and some popcorn. My parents gave both me and my sister several Wii games (including Mario Kart!) as well as the entire "Ender" series and the whole "Bean" series by Orson Scott Card. I am very happy. We spent most of the afternoon however, playing "Band Hero", which I got from my Grandmother and which is basically Rock Band with better quality instruments and less grunge. My sister made sure we played "Mr. Roboto", "Whip It", and a song by David Bowie. I, on the other hand, stuck with songs like "American Pie", "When I'm Gone", and "Pretty Woman".
I got to see a lot of old friends, including the Bernitts, with whom I spent a combined total of about five days I think, at either my house or thiers. Last night we had a game night for old NCFCA alumni, which was a blast. We played a game I learned at the Chalk Circle cast party (I think I've mentioned it here. It involved a lot of odd question-answer combinations). Highlights included:
Q: What would you do if your car started flying instead of driving?
A: I would have to adjust.
Q: What would you do if Sandra Bullock walked in the door and asked to talk to you?
A: I would turn to the dark side.
We then played Catch Phrase (at Christina's insistence :) ) and Apples to Apples. Overall, we had a great time, and I promised not to stick any more plungers to ceilings. I also got to give Marianne and Christina the presents I'd meant to give them a long time ago, when they first arrived at Bryan college. They were T-Shirts which bore the Bryan logo on both the front, and in a slightly larger version on the back. At first they were thrilled, until they realized that under the words "Bryan College" on the back, my mom had helped add "because not everyone can go to Covenant". ZING!!!
I figure I'll jump on the end-of-the-year bandwagon and offer a thought or two about 2009. Since I spent a third of it in high school, a third unemployed, and a third a college, I figure I've had an experiencial year. I'm thankful to God for all of my new friends, and I'm glad he's allowed me to keep in touch with old friends. I'm hopeful for next year, and I look forward to the new things he's got in store for me. (whether or not that's wise, I'll find out in the coming year.)
I think that about brings us up to now, hopefully I've atoned for my neglect of this blog over the past month. I can finally go to bed! Good night all, and have a great new years.
Lets' see, after returning from Thanksgiving break, I returned to studying with the added pressure of finals approaching. However, for the first time in the semester I was without real serious work to do on a play, and thus had evenings available. On the other hand, I could no longer use "I have rehearsal" as the be-all end-all of all excuses, and therefore I had to develop a social life. I think I was more or less successful, because as the halls decorated for Christmas, I managed to discover the group decorating third lobby, and inserted myself, thereby becoming the only Brethrenite to make paper snowflakes. How shockingly masculine of me. In all seriousness it was great fun and third lobby looked very Christmassy.
I think I ended the last post by commenting on how clean our room was. Yeah.... after a week or so... well, Brandon's laundry exploded. Quite literally. The whole front entrance to the room was covered in laundry. Lyss Gorman gave the the fantastic idea to box it up and hide on as many halls as possible. Practically giddy with excitement at playing an actual prank (I don't get to do it very often, having been homeschooled with a sister who has a nasty habit of walking in on the "set up phase" of any prank I intend to pull) I did exactly that. However, my curse returned, and Brandon walked in right after I had finished putting his laundry in boxes.
Brandon: "Umm...why did ya'll put my laundry in these boxes?"
Me: "Umm...It's a secret"
Brandon: "What kind of secret?"
Me: "The kind that ends with your laundry on several different halls."
Brandon: "Oh. That would have been dissapointing."
He then proceeded to grab his coat and go to see Zombieland.
Well, the laundry WAS already boxed up, and Brandon wouldn't be expecting us to do it... so I looked at Isaiah, shrugged, and said "What the heck?" We then proceeded to hide them anyway. 1 went to Caledon, one to Jungle, one to the phone booth in Third Lobby, and one to Catacombs. It was quite amusing. As a testament to just how much laundry Brandon has... he didn't notice that he'd missed one of the boxes when he retreived them. A week later Catacombs forgot where they came from and started giving them away. Neil came in sporting a new striped shirt, and Brandon looking stunned, asked
"How did you get my shirt?"
Neil: "Yours? I got this from Catacombs."
Brandon: "FUDGE!!"
He then ran out of the room.
Laundry capers aside, the last few weeks of the semester were a lot of fun. We had the cast party for Man Born to be King, which Katie did attend, and we all saluted her and called her a good sport (which she was). Once most of the partygoers had to return for tests or study sessions, those of us left settled on watching a movie, suggested by Mitch. It was called "Time Bandits" and it was the sort of movie my sister would have really liked. Nonsensical, crazy, but somehow funny. The most basic plot summary I can give is that a British boy is kidnapped by a band of midgets who are planning to steal the wealth of all the world by the use of a map of time which they stole from God. Meanwhile Satan, from inside a castle builty of LEGO bricks, plots to escape and take over the world "with an understanding of digital watches." Unsurprisingly, it was written by Terry Gilliam.
We also had a party with Caledon and the Olivers down in the RD appartment, where we watched "Joyeux Noel". Unfortunately it conflicted with Movie Night at Professor Hallstrom's. I was sad to miss it, but I still had a blast with the gang down in the Oliver's apartment. Speaking of Brethren-Caledon events, Me, Mike Turner, Bowser, and Graham "Donut" Svenson (as Brandon Flynn calls him) joined basically all of Caledon in celebrating Michelle Vrogindewey's birthday by going to see the Christmas lights at Rock City. My camera was actually charged and ready to go (which in my case is rather odd) so I brought it along and put the pics on FB...including one of me pretending to kiss Audrey Brown under some mistletoe we didn't know was there until right before people started taking pictures. This unfortunate photo has been described as "me as the missing link","me after having been punched in the gut", and "proof I've never had a girlfriend." I regret posting it now, but oh well. Too late now.
Finals week arrived, and with it the knowledge that after finishing them, I could go home! I made it through Arabic on Monday, and had a great conversation with the fantastiv Prof. Haddad afterward. Tuesday Old Testament was far better than I expected, while Wednesday's PE essay was pretty straightforward. Thurday's accounting test went okay, but was the only one of my finals I didn't feel fantastic about when I left the room. All in all, not a bad finals week.
Friday saw me bound for the airport at 7:00 A.M. with Brandon Gross, Brandon Flynn, and Katherine Jarret. However, the sheer volume of luggage, while cleverly packed, meant that I spent most of the ride to the airport getting to know Brandon Flynn's guitar very well, and only saw the right most half of our trip, as the rest of my face was obscured by the aformentioned guitar. I was very glad to get a ride though, especially as finding the airport was a bit of an adventure. Eventually, we involved a gas station manager (whom I couldn't see) and pulled into the aiport.
Not like I was particularly in a rush though. I had eight hours to kill in the gate before my flight left. I read the entirety of Orson Scott Card's "Speaker for the Dead" (fantastic by the way) then was forced to listen to two hours of "Days of Our Lives", since the airport gate only had one channel showing on the tv's, and there was a tv wherever I went to try to escape. Eventually I simply decided to try to figure out how that show has lasted so long. I still don't see what all the fuss is about. It was obvious to me from the beginning that Stefano didn't kidnap the Brady baby and that forcing him to take truth serum would only prolong the time that Julia had to get away with the child. Meanwhile Terry's attempts to make up with her husband were an obvious attempt to spite Susan, whom she suspected of some vaguely unspecified marital infringement. Quite silly really. It finally ended, and I got a sandwich and hoped for better television. Deal or No Deal came on next and for a brief moment I thought this could be an interesting hour or so. Alas, this was a more recent episode, and the personality disorders among the contestants were so flagrant that it was embarassing to watch. Are there no people on that show that know when they're sharing too much information? After this, daytime TV disappointed me once again by subjecting me to the Dr. Oz show. I do NOT need to know that much about feminine baldness, UT infections, and how to avoid sun damage to my stomach region.
After my plane arrived, I got to spend an hour relaxing and enjoying the silence, which only 6 straight hours of actually paying attention to daytime television could make me do on a plane. On a lighter note, I got to point out interesting landmarks and things out the window for a woman who had never flown before, and was very excited to see the Washington monument from up high, and to be able to warn her family about traffic without having consulted the news first. My plane landed in D.C. three hours before the biggest snowstorm in 119 years (or more, that's just when we started counting things like that) struck. We had about 18 inches of snow, plus some icy accumulation. That might not seem like much (or it might sound like the end is nigh, depening on your position relative to the Mason-Dixon line) however, our county was not prepared to handle such snowfall, and the roads became rather impassable. Our dog, however, could have used his tail as a propeller he was so happy.
My sister took the opportunity of having me snowed in to introduce me to her new favorite show. It's a british car show called Top Gear. At first I was skeptical. Then I watched an episode where the three hosts: Richard, Jeremy, and James, are tasked with purchasing vehicles and driving from the south end of Vietnam to the north end in as little time as possible. Just to give you a taste of the utter hilarity that was this show, I present to you what you might hear if you tuned in half way through.
Jeremy: "In case you are just joining us, Richard and I have driven into this cave on a pair of boats which we build from the motocycles we've driven the length of Vietnam in. We're searching for a bar which is quite obviously not here, and we've just realized that we have no reverse gear." They also were forced to keep their original motorcycles running thoughout the whole trek, or face having to ride a motorcycle painted with the stars and stripes and blaring Bruce Springstein's "Born in the U.S.A." through Vietnam. The bikes miraculously stayed in near-perfect condition, give or take half the engine or so.
At my urging, my family went to see "The Screwtape Letters" in D.C., while I stayed home and watched the dog. Friends and deluded Bryan attendees Christina Morgan and Marianne Sterne were apparently also there, and somewhere along the line of conversation my sister mentioned Brethren's newest pastime: plunger catching. Isaiah got a brand-new plunger as a gift from his secret santa, and somewhere along the line we had the idea to stick it to the ceiling. We then started trying to time it so that we could catch it when it fell. Since it was anyone's guess as to when it would fall, we could be standing in the ready position for five seconds or five minutes, all the while staring at a plunger stuck to the ceiling. Apparenlty Christina said something to the effect of "Tell that idiot that the next time he's so bored he decides to stick a plunger to the ceiling that he should just call me!" I am thoroughly chastised.
Thus arrived the first white Christmas I can remember having. For another first, I actually sympathized with my parents about having to get up at 6:30 to appease my excited sister. After a few minutes I was alert enough to meander downstairs and open gifts with my family. My sister got me a "college survival kit" complete with gloves, a snickers bar, meds, cereal, and some popcorn. My parents gave both me and my sister several Wii games (including Mario Kart!) as well as the entire "Ender" series and the whole "Bean" series by Orson Scott Card. I am very happy. We spent most of the afternoon however, playing "Band Hero", which I got from my Grandmother and which is basically Rock Band with better quality instruments and less grunge. My sister made sure we played "Mr. Roboto", "Whip It", and a song by David Bowie. I, on the other hand, stuck with songs like "American Pie", "When I'm Gone", and "Pretty Woman".
I got to see a lot of old friends, including the Bernitts, with whom I spent a combined total of about five days I think, at either my house or thiers. Last night we had a game night for old NCFCA alumni, which was a blast. We played a game I learned at the Chalk Circle cast party (I think I've mentioned it here. It involved a lot of odd question-answer combinations). Highlights included:
Q: What would you do if your car started flying instead of driving?
A: I would have to adjust.
Q: What would you do if Sandra Bullock walked in the door and asked to talk to you?
A: I would turn to the dark side.
We then played Catch Phrase (at Christina's insistence :) ) and Apples to Apples. Overall, we had a great time, and I promised not to stick any more plungers to ceilings. I also got to give Marianne and Christina the presents I'd meant to give them a long time ago, when they first arrived at Bryan college. They were T-Shirts which bore the Bryan logo on both the front, and in a slightly larger version on the back. At first they were thrilled, until they realized that under the words "Bryan College" on the back, my mom had helped add "because not everyone can go to Covenant". ZING!!!
I figure I'll jump on the end-of-the-year bandwagon and offer a thought or two about 2009. Since I spent a third of it in high school, a third unemployed, and a third a college, I figure I've had an experiencial year. I'm thankful to God for all of my new friends, and I'm glad he's allowed me to keep in touch with old friends. I'm hopeful for next year, and I look forward to the new things he's got in store for me. (whether or not that's wise, I'll find out in the coming year.)
I think that about brings us up to now, hopefully I've atoned for my neglect of this blog over the past month. I can finally go to bed! Good night all, and have a great new years.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
International Coke and Going to Kroger to Count Men
Whew! I'm stuffed! Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, and flavors of soda previously unknown to man (some of them should still be unknown, I'm convinced) have me feeling a bit full, even now. For Thanksgiving I headed off to the Martins' house in Woodstock, GA. We had a great time playing Mario Party 2 on Wednesday and prepping food for the 19-person foodfest on Thursday. t I have to say that, although I will likely die within several days from all of the butter in them, Mrs. Martin's Heart-Attack Mashed Potatoes were amazing. Laura Martin commented that, due to the abnormal ratio of men-to-women in grocery stores on Thanksgiving thanks to the women all being in the kitchen, she wanted to "Go to Kroger and Count Men!" I meanwhile, trying to settle an argument about whether or not a neighbor had their Christmas decorations up, pointed out that the large fir in thier living room was not a Christmas tree but was in fact a Chaunaka Bush.
Friday we got to watch UP! on the new LCD TV which the Martin's braved Best Buy at Zero Dark Thirty to buy Thursday night. Very cool, and made even cooler by the fact that I they hadn't seen it before. Saturday we headed to Atlanta proper to do some touristy things. We took along their friend Mallory Smith, whom through a strange series of e-mails (made by mischievous Laura Martin) I was apparently engaged to before I even met. Marital arrangements aside, we had a great time exploring the CNN studio in Atlanta, where I learned that Anderson Cooper thinks he's an action hero, based on the number of pictures of him trying to look like a soldier or else making the "Terminator" face. Also, I think he owns the building, since every other picture in the building was of him. They even had his flak vest and helmet on display like some relic of Stonewall Jackson.
After Mr. Cooper's Amazing Building, we went to visit the World of Coke, a very crisp and refreshing (ha...ha...ha.. I'm hilarious tonight, right?) exhibit of the history and cultural impact of Coca-Cola. All and all, an awesome exhibit, where we saw some awesome historical pieces (like a vending machine from 60's Germany that proclaims "Trink Coke". Or a commemorative sign which read "Coca-Cola- Refreshing Pakistan for 50 years!") We saw one of those 4-D movies that spray you with water and poke you in the back whenever possible. While funny, I got the sense that their "Secret Formula" was made up by the same people who write corporate goals. You know the type, "This company aspires to be the leader in it's field through the use of SUPER" where SUPER is undoubtedly a dorky acronym that no one ever pays attention to. Anyway, the recipie to make Coca-Cola is apparently "Unchanging Deliciousness, Universal Availability, and U." I love the taste of Universal Availability! :)
After seeing the display proper, we stopped by the "Taste Station" where Coke products from all over the world were available to try. Among my favorites were the holiday themed "Gingerbread Coke", the Peruvian "Manzana LIFT!" and the Mozambiquian (I think that's how you spell it) Ginger Ale "KREST". I most definitely did not like the Paraguayan "Inca Kola" nor did I like the Italian "Beverley" soda. At the end of the tour, Coke was kind enough to give us our very own glass bottle of Coca-Cola. Very cool, though I just realized a few minutes ago that it isn't a twist-open bottle cap, and thus I can't get it open to drink it. >:( I also purchased a jacket, which I really like, that has a cool, artsy design on the front featuring some grey squiggles, an old soda fountain glass, and some text explaining something or other about soda glasses and Coke. The left arm features a tasteful, grey Coca-Cola logo, so that if some uninformed passerby should happen to inquire about my favorite bubbly liquid, I can casually flex my left bicep and display the Coca-Cola logo, thus saving words and looking "macho" at the same time. Yay Walking-Billboard Pickering!
Once returning to Campus, I returned to find my room in a state I have never before seen it in. It totally flabbergasted me how my room got into the state its' in. CLEAN!!!!!!! Shocking, I know. Apparently as I was leaving, Corporal came into our room and asked Neil to let him help us clean up the room. I am thrilled to say I can see the floor and for now, Brandon seems content not to put his things there and thus obstruct my goggling the carpet. We'll see how long this newfound cleanliness lasts...
With that, I'm out of stories to tell. Now it's time to relax, sleep, and look forward to crunch time coming up on finals. 0_0
Mazzel Tov!
Friday we got to watch UP! on the new LCD TV which the Martin's braved Best Buy at Zero Dark Thirty to buy Thursday night. Very cool, and made even cooler by the fact that I they hadn't seen it before. Saturday we headed to Atlanta proper to do some touristy things. We took along their friend Mallory Smith, whom through a strange series of e-mails (made by mischievous Laura Martin) I was apparently engaged to before I even met. Marital arrangements aside, we had a great time exploring the CNN studio in Atlanta, where I learned that Anderson Cooper thinks he's an action hero, based on the number of pictures of him trying to look like a soldier or else making the "Terminator" face. Also, I think he owns the building, since every other picture in the building was of him. They even had his flak vest and helmet on display like some relic of Stonewall Jackson.
After Mr. Cooper's Amazing Building, we went to visit the World of Coke, a very crisp and refreshing (ha...ha...ha.. I'm hilarious tonight, right?) exhibit of the history and cultural impact of Coca-Cola. All and all, an awesome exhibit, where we saw some awesome historical pieces (like a vending machine from 60's Germany that proclaims "Trink Coke". Or a commemorative sign which read "Coca-Cola- Refreshing Pakistan for 50 years!") We saw one of those 4-D movies that spray you with water and poke you in the back whenever possible. While funny, I got the sense that their "Secret Formula" was made up by the same people who write corporate goals. You know the type, "This company aspires to be the leader in it's field through the use of SUPER" where SUPER is undoubtedly a dorky acronym that no one ever pays attention to. Anyway, the recipie to make Coca-Cola is apparently "Unchanging Deliciousness, Universal Availability, and U." I love the taste of Universal Availability! :)
After seeing the display proper, we stopped by the "Taste Station" where Coke products from all over the world were available to try. Among my favorites were the holiday themed "Gingerbread Coke", the Peruvian "Manzana LIFT!" and the Mozambiquian (I think that's how you spell it) Ginger Ale "KREST". I most definitely did not like the Paraguayan "Inca Kola" nor did I like the Italian "Beverley" soda. At the end of the tour, Coke was kind enough to give us our very own glass bottle of Coca-Cola. Very cool, though I just realized a few minutes ago that it isn't a twist-open bottle cap, and thus I can't get it open to drink it. >:( I also purchased a jacket, which I really like, that has a cool, artsy design on the front featuring some grey squiggles, an old soda fountain glass, and some text explaining something or other about soda glasses and Coke. The left arm features a tasteful, grey Coca-Cola logo, so that if some uninformed passerby should happen to inquire about my favorite bubbly liquid, I can casually flex my left bicep and display the Coca-Cola logo, thus saving words and looking "macho" at the same time. Yay Walking-Billboard Pickering!
Once returning to Campus, I returned to find my room in a state I have never before seen it in. It totally flabbergasted me how my room got into the state its' in. CLEAN!!!!!!! Shocking, I know. Apparently as I was leaving, Corporal came into our room and asked Neil to let him help us clean up the room. I am thrilled to say I can see the floor and for now, Brandon seems content not to put his things there and thus obstruct my goggling the carpet. We'll see how long this newfound cleanliness lasts...
With that, I'm out of stories to tell. Now it's time to relax, sleep, and look forward to crunch time coming up on finals. 0_0
Mazzel Tov!
Monday, November 23, 2009
The Chicken Heart that Ate Up New York
This past week has seen several major developments. One, Founders Skit Night was on Wednesday, at which Brethren took 2nd place! Woohoo! Man Born to be King closed, with great success, and cast lists were announced for Lucifer, the next play. I get to be a Loyalist Angel!
Skit night was pretty amazing, both because Caleb Howard was co-emceeing with Katie Klukow, but also because the skits were pretty dang hilarious. We did a "radio theater"-esque version of Bill Cosby's "Chicken Heart" sketch. There's a video here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/video/video.php?v=207910870655&ref=nf
All the skits were awesome, but my favorites had to be Caledon's "Madame Toussauds", First Belz's skit (which I forgot the name of but it won) and Catacombs "The Tale of Catacombs-san", which was bizzare, written in Japanese, and featured a battle/dance party on stage at the end.
With Man Born to Be King over, the next theater production is Lucifer, the tale of Satan's fall from heaven. I'm playing a member of the loyalist angels who try to convince the rebels not to rebel. Since Prof. Hallstrom wants to keep costuming options open, I'm not allowed to cut my hair until further notice or March roles around. This will be an interesting experiment, and it will drive my mother insane.
:)
Sunday afternoon I got to go see "The Screwtape Letters" performed by Max McClean and Karen Eleanor Wight. For a two-man show (only Screwtape had lines) it was amazing. The use of Toadpipe to help flesh out the letters senior demon Screwtape wrote to his nephew Wormwood was fantastic, and helped to had a great deal of comic relief. Toadpipe was 1/3 dog, 1/3 secretary, and 1/3 hellish demon beast. Odd combo, to say the least.
Thanksgiving's almost here, I leave tommorow for the Martin's (woo!). Just gotta get through 3 more classes and I'm done. When I get back, final's crunch awaits, but I'm not going to go into that right now. It'll ruin my mood. Oh, and I found my camera (which I never really lost, just haven't used.) So maybe I'll get some pictures in here soon so you all can see what my life looks like (in technicolor, if you're good.)
Your affectionate uncle,
Screwtape
Skit night was pretty amazing, both because Caleb Howard was co-emceeing with Katie Klukow, but also because the skits were pretty dang hilarious. We did a "radio theater"-esque version of Bill Cosby's "Chicken Heart" sketch. There's a video here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/video/video.php?v=207910870655&ref=nf
All the skits were awesome, but my favorites had to be Caledon's "Madame Toussauds", First Belz's skit (which I forgot the name of but it won) and Catacombs "The Tale of Catacombs-san", which was bizzare, written in Japanese, and featured a battle/dance party on stage at the end.
With Man Born to Be King over, the next theater production is Lucifer, the tale of Satan's fall from heaven. I'm playing a member of the loyalist angels who try to convince the rebels not to rebel. Since Prof. Hallstrom wants to keep costuming options open, I'm not allowed to cut my hair until further notice or March roles around. This will be an interesting experiment, and it will drive my mother insane.
:)
Sunday afternoon I got to go see "The Screwtape Letters" performed by Max McClean and Karen Eleanor Wight. For a two-man show (only Screwtape had lines) it was amazing. The use of Toadpipe to help flesh out the letters senior demon Screwtape wrote to his nephew Wormwood was fantastic, and helped to had a great deal of comic relief. Toadpipe was 1/3 dog, 1/3 secretary, and 1/3 hellish demon beast. Odd combo, to say the least.
Thanksgiving's almost here, I leave tommorow for the Martin's (woo!). Just gotta get through 3 more classes and I'm done. When I get back, final's crunch awaits, but I'm not going to go into that right now. It'll ruin my mood. Oh, and I found my camera (which I never really lost, just haven't used.) So maybe I'll get some pictures in here soon so you all can see what my life looks like (in technicolor, if you're good.)
Your affectionate uncle,
Screwtape
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