Well, break out your candy corn and superman tights because today is Halloween!

To help get you in the mood check out these nightscapes!
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some other important tidbits i left out of my last post:

1 – I now have a cell phone. I know. I said it would never happen, but alas, times change. So, if you’d like the number you can send me an e-mail and i’ll gladly give it to you. But, be warned. During the day, I’ll still be as unreachable as before because I refuse to turn the dang thing on until after six or in case of an emergency or special circumstances.

2 – About two weeks ago I went to a Kenny Wayne Shepherd concert at the Varsity. For those of you who don’t know, KWS is a mid-twenties blues guitarist who is supposedly part of the “third generation” of guitar heros la Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix. I was going to write a really long detailed post about the concert, but then I figured that no one really wanted to read a huge ramble.
So the condensed version goes like this:
– It was loud, my ears rang for the next three days
– The band rocked the house, best rock show I’ve seen in a while
– KWS could indeed shred some blues rock, but after about an hour I got bored of the 10 minute guitar solos in each song.
– There were lots of rock star scowls and grimaces on the band members faces which were often used for dramatic effect. This was hilarious.
– The band played two Hendrix songs, and of all the songs they played, these were the best. Ironic that 40 year old rock songs still sounded so inventive next to all their modern stuff. (well ironic until you considered who wrote those songs!)
– KWS played “Voodoo Chile” as the encore and completely brought the house down. Probably one of the only times I will ever see a guitar player attempt this song live. It was pure homage, and even though it was really good, I kinda left feeling like I had just witnessed a re-enactment of every 15 year old guitar player’s fantasy. KWS had the chops, but not the psychedelic soul of my man Jimi.
– also worth mentioning is how cool his gear was. like nearly every pro i’ve seen lately, he was running the master mix out of the board and into a Powerbook via an Mbox. I am so jealous.

3 – about a week before that concert, I went to an LSU symphonic show. Although I wasn’t so keen on the modern pieces, I really enjoyed the two works by a Chinese composer which required a guest soloist on a pipa. a pipa is like a lute and it makes that kind of trebly string sound that you always hear when a movie needs an “oriental theme”. anyway, the girl who played that thing was a complete virtuoso, just incredible. she played against the whole orchestra running through these beautiful exotic scales at about 10 notes a second. i could hardly believe she was playing what i was hearing. also, she employed a tremolo technique just like the one used for classical guitar. except she did it for nearly 15 minutes at a time at breakneck speed. it was truly an incredible performance.

4 – And finally, I casted my absentee ballot. Voting was a lot of fun. I highly recommend it.

“blah, blah, blah, chzzzzzzzzz, blah blah”

man, does that sound familiar?! all day everyday it seems like everyone has been working themselves up into a hyper frenzy about literally everything.

think that’s an over-generalization? perhaps. but seriously, have you noticed it? life seems to be bursting at the seems (pun intended) with exciting things going on. small dwarf skeletons found in indonesia, the election, the red sox winning the world series, the election, the war in iraq, all my demanding classes, the election, the protesting bikini girls with vulgar slogans written on themselves at school, the…the what?

did i mention the election? is it just me, or is anyone else going to be glad when november 2 is finally over? i can’t stand the hype anymore, the anxiety in people’s faces, the bikini-clad protesters, the yelling news commentators, the bible thumping evangelists yelling at me to revoke satan and my long list of very mortal sins which in case i forget any are listed on the front of their sign board….it’s all getting to be a little much.

wait, let me clarify: i experience all of the above while trying to go to school everyday. your mileage may vary.

so, add to all that the demands of school, and i find myself a little stressed out. it should also be noted for the record that my sister was out of town this week, and loosing a room mate for three crucial days can be a big downer. the apartment turns from comfy home-like living space into confining asylum like box. sounds like halloween? well, it’s only 2 days away.

and IF THAT”S NOT ENOUGH, there was even a total eclipse of the moon! what is going on! I demand answers!

last night i felt so strange, i ended up sleeping on the couch because i didn’t feel like going to bed.

and so, tonight i am going to the opera, sleeping in late tomorrow, drinking lots of orange juice, not turning on the t.v., bringing my drums somewhere and pounding out rhythms until i am completely de-stressed.

all these strange feelings, i think, were generated sunday when i scheduled my classes and realized that, should everything go according to plan, after next spring i will have only one year of college left. that means that, baring any changes, i will be scheduling my last classes this time next year in order to graduate in the spring.

that is scary.

so suddenly, i find myself closer to another end, when in fact, i still feel like it’s just the beginning.

but i’ll cross those bridges when i come to them.

to quote Calvin, “The weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing absolutely nothing”.

i might cheat and do a little school work, but otherwise, that sounds like a good plan to me.
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talk about disappointment.

i took a Statics test monday, got it back with an 82 (though i deserved an 88 but my prof’s so uptight), but i still have an A average. i took an EGR economy test tuesday (which should’ve been a snap because that class requires no intense calculations), got it back this morning with an even worse grade, so i now have a B average in that class. i’ve got another exam on tomorrow, in Electrical EGR, and it’s going to be difficult.

i know the specifics are hardly relevant, and all you need to know is i’m havin a tough time this week.
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sparse posts lead to few visitors and less comments.

i wonder how many people, on their bored spare time or off-hours, go through the archives (nearly 300 previous posts) and read some random extracts?

if i had more consistent posting, that would probably happen more often.

but darnit. i’m not going to put yet another schedule in my life. speaking of life…
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I’m on an Intramural Dodgeball team here at Mercer U. The sole purpose that me and my teammates decided to get together and form a team, besides our mutual friendship, is so that we could wear headbands and homemade t-shirts and running shorts and bounce around trying to hurtle 4-square balls at the other team.

And that’s about it.

Who would have thought that this random group of engineers (who are not involved in athletics at all) would be such a dominant force in Dodgeball.

Last week, after just 2 games, we were ranked 3rd in total points, above every other team on the board (fraternities and athletes included). And this week, we won it all again, which puts our ranking up to 1st or 2nd (they haven’t posted rankings yet). I can’t wait till the championship tournament. Our fans, who watch every week, identified our winning attributes: we all are quite nimble fellows with good aim and speed.

We’re called the “Ball Breakers” and we sport red jerseys with gold glitter and numbers painted on the back.

Talk about cool. Pictures are inevitable.

the air is getting dry and chilled and when i roll off my bed at 7:50 to go to class for 8:00, my pajama bottoms prove to my sleepy legs how little insulation they provide. i wonder why, if i had 10 hours to do my homework after classes were over yesterday, did i not even start it.

it’s been a few weeks since i’ve jammed with anybody. it seems like when i pick up my guitar i beat out a few tasteless licks and play the same old chords.

lunch lines are ridiculously long and i’m tired of sitting in the same place every other day, packt around the same table during the noon rush eating cereal or fruit or soup because it’s convenient.

tomorrow is friday and some things need to get done.

(if i say that with firmness, maybe i’ll be more inclined to do them. but i know this weekend will unravel away into days and hours and minutes, with me occasionally glancing at my watch or at a clock and thinking “okay, how much more time do i have left of this weekend before i have to start things?”)

next week i need:
1. a kick in the pants
2. a fresh shipment of brains
3. to remember to wear shoes
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home was nice. both days of it.

recently, life has been insistent upon sprinting from one thing to the next. there is no lingering, no lengthy ponderous moments when you can lose yourself in the lapse of time, sitting quietly outside or talking with a friend or reading a book.

as a temporary backlash against time’s trend for spastic hyperventilation, i’m going to intentionally and deliberately plan an activity for free time. this will help my studies and, more importantly, give life back its flavor.
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i’ll be in for fall break late late on friday night