Routine Maintenance

          Today, Eric introduced me to "Wizard People," a very funny retelling of Harry Potter by someone who purports not to know the actual plot. My search for a volunteer organization that I like and that fits my schedule was stymied, but I discovered that as a not-freshman, I don't actually need a single organization to work with as long as I complete my hours appropriately. A great weight has been lifted from my shoulders, and I feel much better than I did earlier this week. Iris made some picturesque Samoas for the suite, I ate a terrible frozen spring roll and updated my graphics driver in the interest of playing more Skyrim, and subjected Lancelot to a huge defragmentation session.

A Hoodrat's Life

          Today, I went to the dining hall on a mission. I transported a simply absurd amount of food back to West F with my backpack and some classic d-hall stealth. In a stroke of excellent luck, Iris' mini-fridge arrived today, and she's lending it to us for the year. Eric and I carried it over from her apartment in West B and promptly began to stock it with some of the excess stuff in the fridge. Some time later, Eric, Iris, Harrison, Alaric, Eliot and I headed over to Centennial for a free concert. First up was Penguin Prison, a mildly good pop-rock outfit; we stuck around for a few songs, then took a walk over to the reflecting pool. We got back in time to catch the beginning of the second act, Purity Ring. This band has a synthy, dream pop sound that I rather enjoyed. The concert itself was a bit awkward due to the barriers being fifteen feet from the stage (so Tastemakers members can hang out in front) and an unnecessarily large security presence. At the beginning, three security guards were standing inside the already miniature pit, which was pretty humorous and also a bit sad.
          Quotes of the day:
"He is pretty sexy, I'm not gonna lie to you. He's three million years old and he's still a stud." - Kara, on Sean Connery
"Allow me to reintroduce your food!" - Eric
"Hell yeah, dude. This is the story of a hoodrat's life." - Harrison

Silence of the Logicians

          I got a mediocre grade on my first RRE homework, putting me in a bad mood for the rest of the day. This class is extremely math-oriented with an intuition level of zero, since we're largely working with variables to calculate probabilities. My interest in the course has evaporated, and I can only hope it gets better. The Andrews had a fun story for me regarding an awkward hookup with one of the girls sitting right in front of us. After class, I played in the band as our girls won another volleyball game, but this one was rather boring and I was distracted by the same robotic telemarketer calling me seven times.
          Harrison, Iris and I watched Silence of the Lambs together, and they enjoyed it considerably. I'm especially pleased that Iris found it to her liking, since she professes no love for scary movies. We attempted to continue with the somewhat less stellar Hannibal, but everyone got tired and we resigned it to another night. I read Mom's Cancer, a brilliant graphic novel describing the impact of cancer on the artist's family. The rest of my night was spent annotating the issue of Cosmopolitan that 616 handed over to me. I'm rather proud of how it turned out.
          Quotes of the day:
"I will convey this message to Vladimir." - Anthony
"Publisher's Clearinghouse in this bitch." - Eric
...
Harrison: "Awwwww what, staph infection!"
Eric: "Hell yeah."

Modern Monsters

          MPT was pretty amazing today. Professor Lovely opened the discussion on Thomas Hobbes by blasting "Enter Sandman" on his boombox, scrawling "THE MONSTER OF MALMESBURY" across the blackboard, and hurling his broken piece of chalk against the wall. We got out a few minutes early, so Harrison and I rushed West Village C for a dialogue presentation catered by Rebecca's. We got there just in time, obtaining the last two pieces of bread for our sandwiches. I was forced to work with MyApps, a hideously slow remote-desktop application on MyNEU, in order to use SPSS (statistics software) for my QT homework. Happily, it was incredibly easy work and I was done in minutes. Around midnight, Harrison, Iris and I walked over to the library to grab some books, print out some stuff (SPSS homework: 60 pages) and just look around during non-cesspool hours.
          Quote of the day:
"You got out of your car in Atlanta? That's awful." - Katie

Socrates and Plato

          Today started extremely poorly after I couldn't find my Husky card and ended up 10 minutes late to recitation. I missed the quiz (along with three others who arrived after me) and the TA rather cattily explained that it couldn't be made up. I was more bummed than anything, but the guy next to me looked like he was going to cry. I learned that China is only now commissioning their first aircraft carrier, surprising giving the alarmist climate among the "all U.S. vs. China, all the time" types. At the end of recitation, the TA reversed his decision on the makeups and we all left feeling slightly better.
          International Relations with Professor Ogden never fails to not meet expectations. To put it bluntly, I'm not overly confident in her teaching ability. She has a tendency toward giving completely incorrect accounts of current events only to be corrected by a student, or referring to the Soviet Union as if it still exists. MPT was a whirl of Leviathan discussion, which had the hilarious side effect of completely mirroring a former, acidic contemplation of society as a type of huge organism.
          An unbearably long pep band rehearsal was accompanied by a terrible, aching hunger, and I was overjoyed when JL let us go four minutes early. Shay came over to visit for a few minutes, a welcome diversion, and I gave her her playlist, which she seems happy with. Late in the night, Eric and I walked extremely far after taking a left on to Huntington. We went past the Stop 'n Shop and nearly reached the highway, stopping along the way for a box of donuts, a Peace Tea and a Red Bull. We spent some time philosophizing and discussing life in two astonishingly dry chairs behind Behrakis, one of the most peaceful experiences of my week. I settled in to watch him start a game of Borderlands and fell asleep in my chair.
          Quotes of the day:
"Good morning, welcome to Quantitative Techniques. My name is Professor Rochefort." - Professor Rochefort
"Revolution is very, very sexy." - Professor Lovely
"What did Jesus do when the crowd was about to stone this woman? And I don't mean in the good way." - Professor Lovely
"Mo music, mo problems." - JL
"They kind of remind me of a painting I don't know exists." - Anthony
"It's not hate crime, it's logic crime." - me
"It's also the international homeless person jacket." - Eric
...
Me: "Iris, where's Bane?"
Iris: "I'm hiding him."
...
Anthony: "Dude looks like a business."
Alaric: "Corporations are people, man."

Improbabilities

          I retired unusually early after our L4D session, and woke up at 3 this morning. I've never minded when this happens, because getting up so early is like staying up late, except that I'm full of energy and productivity. I started my morning by blasting off into the Fens, making the circuit in about 24 minutes. Slightly under 12 minutes a mile at not-quite-race pace isn't bad. After I returned, I treated myself to a bath with music and reading materials. I then spent fifteen minutes planning out each hour of my day. After accomplishing a few small errands, I joined Sean in a trip to the Prudential. We got haircuts and paid a visit to Ben & Jerry's, getting a free Prudential discount card in the process. Along the way we discussed how messy U.S. politics has become and our opinions on various current events. In my only class in the afternoon, we worked on using the rules of probability to prove that a tautology is always true and that a contradiction is always false, which beat my brain into submission for the day.

A Man, a Plan, a Dance, and Pants

          I brought my A-game in International Relations today. We were split into six sections, each representing a country determining whether they wanted to pursue a nuclear program. I was assigned to Argentina, with Brazil as the opposing country. I persuaded my team that a nuke would be bad for our country in every way (bad for international reputation, violation of U.N. resolutions, not really useful for defense, etc.) and my opinion was borne out by the facts: Argentina abandoned its nuclear program in the 1990s. The Brazil group chose to continue with their nuclear program, but Professor Ogden mocked them a little bit for it, pointing out that there are few large cities to strike in Argentina and that they have little to fear from us anyway. My good mood was somewhat neutralized when I realized that I need to buy the New York Times subscription again, essentially the third text for one of my least favorite classes.
          Katie visited for a while today, and we had a wonderful conversation spanning my dying computer (the reason she came over) to dancing, to cops, to movies, to money and to more tawdry affairs. The day was also marked by chance meetings with Tasha and Duke. Later, Iris and I were spending quality time when we were rudely interrupted by a fire drill, and at the end of the night I engaged in some Left 4 Dead with the gentlemen.
          Quotes of the day:
"Close your eyes. Everyone has their rock, something to cling to when times get hard. It might be a parent, or your friends. Your music, or sports. I want you to imagine it. Can you see it? Can you picture it? Now imagine it's gone. Open your eyes." - Professor Lovely
"Welcome to the Reformation. Dark times... oh yeah." - Professor Lovely
"Snarf snarf, let me find pants." - Katie
"It's all about the delivery... man." - Alaric
"And then angels came out of Heaven and cried on Al's shoulders." - Eric

The Snail and the Razor

          I passed out at nine o'clock last night, but woke up at six-forty today. I do have a taste for getting up early, it's just that it's almost always superseded by my love for staying up late. Little of note happened during the day. I ate at IV and witnessed people swarming like flies over the sushi station every time a new batch came out, which is merely annoying right now, but it might also go well as part of some kind of insane, misanthropic rant in an unsettling movie. Iris visited with a batch of chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips; ironically, 616 baked the same kind of cookies today. Perhaps in an attempt to make up for eating several of them, I took a solo run around the Fens, clocking in at about 30 minutes for two miles and change. I've been faster, but it's progress.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

          This morning, Alaric and I joined Amy, Angel, Joy, and several others for a jaunt into Chinatown. We got dim sum, a new dining experience for me! For those who haven't tried it, you sit at a table with a kind of scorecard, waiters push carts of food around and you point at what you want. For each item you choose, they stamp your card. The food is all very novel (sometimes in a good way, sometimes not so much) and I felt like I was in that eating scene from Spirited Away (you know the one I mean.) For such a filling meal, it was amazingly cheap split between all of us: about $7.50 each for maybe ten people. Afterward, we got bubble tea, also a first for me. I had a more smoothie-like beverage; the mango portion of it was delicious, but the tapioca-like bubbles I could do without. Alaric and I, tired from all the food and walking around all morning, chilled in bed with our computers. I blasted some Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and messed around on Reddit in anticipation of our outing later. In the evening, several of us went out to Al Dente, a little eatery in the North End, to celebrate Sarah and Lauren's birthdays. Despite the fact that we had a reservation, we had to wait about thirty minutes to get in, but it was worth it in the end. At my table were Ryan, Lauren, Iris, Eric, Laura and Sabrina, and we all enjoyed huge portions of amazing Italian food. I myself chose the lobster ravioli and saved a good deal of it for later in the evening, when Eric and I settled in to hang out and talk. I put on The Usual Suspects, but didn't finish it after getting distracted; I'll be watching it another night.
          Quotes of the day:
"What the fuck you tryin' to say about Citizens Bank?" - Eric
"My hands are Christopher Reeve-status right now." - Eric
"Not for many moons." - Harrison
"Breaking Bad feels good in your loins." - Sean
...
Alaric: "The jury is till out on chicken feet."
Me: "Verdict: guilty."
Alaric: "Guilty of what is the question. It's definitely guilty of something."
...
Sean: "Nobody's gonna catch that guy, not with gloves and a hat."
Harrison: "Yeah, he's invincible."

Such Butts

          I didn't have a very good day today. I missed my first class, was a bit late to the second, and wasn't on point when I was there. Right in the beginning of RRE I forgot to mute Lancelot and blasted the room with "You've got mail!" The Andrews and I discussed old cell phones (remember the Chocolate?) and had a nice time after that. In the evening we all got toasty while Alaric, Anthony and Alanna enjoyed a round of Amnesia.
          Quote of the day:
"They're being such butts tonight." - Shannon

610boyztellem.com

          Tonight, Alaric, Eric, Sean, Meredith and I engaged in a bro talk, with a Vatican-status Iris observing. We traded insults and compliments, and it was a generally refreshing experience. One of the things I've missed about school is the constant potential for fantastic conversation, and this is just what I've needed.
          Quotes of the day:
"Tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em, tell 'em, and tell 'em what you told 'em." - Professor Lovely
"I heard a four star general say 'oodles of fine ladies' in the past hour." - Eric
"You have a genuine dad-voice. Your voice is one of a dad." - Eric
"Oh, betrayed by the woman!" - Eric
"Yeah, George Lucas writes a love story? Fuck that." - Eric

When In Rome

          My other classes flew by in anticipation of MPT. My team dressed up (I went in all black and my silver tie) while the other wore togas; I especially appreciated the guy who tried to do it with a fitted Spider-Man sheet. I don't really want to comment on the disputation; suffice to say that my team performed well, but the judges went after us and we lost in the end. I'm sure we all got good marks, and Professor Lovely complimented my passion, but it was still a frustrating experience. I think it was an irresponsible move allowing someone who's already been in the class to judge the first time around. What's done is done, I suppose. After class, I attended the CEP Town Hall meeting, a tremendously unimportant mandatory event where nothing of note happened.
          I obtained a jar of chili from Peter, as agreed upon. Since Sabrina missed pep band at one point, we berated her into giving up her share, as well as agreeing to fork over 25% of all chili that she may produce in the upcoming year. We hung out in 616 for a time and I obtained a Reddit account, which promises many wasted hours ahead. I decided to finish The Sopranos for good, watching the last five episodes of the show. With each passing episode building up to the series finale, it got crazier and crazier, and there were a few points where my mouth actually fell open. I can't wait to watch more HBO television, and I have a whole list of shows to catch up on.
          Quote of the day:
"Arrange the room? Derange the room? Take some shrooms? What?" - Professor Lovely

Vladimir Disputin'

          My entire disputation team met in the 6F common room for a meeting of minds this evening. Together, we planned out our strategy for the debate on justice tomorrow. We have to support the idea that justice is desirable for success in a market-based economy, which is a difficult argument for anyone who can open their eyes. Our approach is three-pronged: a general economic statement (Mike), specific examples from the business world (Casey) and an ethical stand (me). It doesn't matter if we lose as long as everyone does a good job, but a cloud of anxiety is still hanging over us. I can't wait until tomorrow is done.
          Quotes of the day:
"We coffee now." - Alaric
"Why not kill everyone later instead of doing work now?" - Laura
"One table said they were going to Avengers, so I wrote on their check, 'Loki kills Thor, enjoy the movie!'" - Eric

Idealism and You

          International Relations was a parade of facepalms today. First, one girl was unable to grasp why Germany didn't embrace an idealistic view of international relations following the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles. "But why wouldn't they want aid? Wouldn't they be happy to cooperate?" Perhaps because they were just stomped into the ground and didn't want to take a hand up from the same people that did it to them? Another guy claimed that Iceland was demilitarized and then mentioned that they had a small military, at which point I lost four brain cells. On the lecture slides, one or two slides about realist theory were followed by five slides of "critique" of that theory. One of these included the word "actually," which smacks of a statement of fact rather than a simple critique. The problem is that realism (in this context) posits that the world is in a state of anarchy, with individual states and other actors acting autonomously and in their own self-interest, essentially dismissing international relations as a facade. Hence, it's in Professor Ogden's interest to try and discount it as a theory and espouse liberalism, a theory emphasizing community, connectivity and a trend toward peace. MPT started out great, with Professor Lovely bumping "Sympathy for the Devil" on his boombox as an intro to our discussion on Machiavelli. The rest of class was less enjoyable, as he sort of blew me off for the rest of our time and I never got to make a significant contribution to the talk.
          I ran into Esther on the way to the dining hall, another person I hadn't seen around. Alaric and I had a very brief wrestling match which I ended with a leg drop; more scuffles may be on the horizon. For the rest of the evening we played Mario Kart, attempting to beat all the Cups; as Mario and Luigi (though I tend to start off as Wario) we made it all the way to Boo Mansion before I ragequit.
          Quotes of the day:
"It was the Italians who taught the French how to cook. I just want that on record." - Professor Lovely
"Cesare Borgia's mother was not my lover..." - Professor Lovely, singing to "Billie Jean"
"Right when that Spotify ad came on about how certain ingredients 'ignite your life,' I was reading about the flammability of ethanol and oxygen and I freaked out a little bit." - Sean
"Feel free to chat, I'm just not gonna answer. Or listen." - Sabrina
"It's the Jarate-colored stuff in the fridge." - Sean

New Sheets and Tasty Treats (Unrelated)

          As expected, I woke up somewhat groggy, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. Eric's family came out to visit and brought two bags of bagels along, making the gentlemen of 610 very happy. I visited Katie for some conversation and enjoyed a pumpkin muffin as well. In the afternoon I met with two of my MPT disputation partners in Curry: Justine, a cheerily sassy girl from Staten Island, and Mike, the guy who, on two separate occasions, fell asleep next to me and was subsequently kicked out of American Government last semester. We accomplished little, resolving instead to study on our own and combine our research at a later meeting with all seven team members.
          Peter posted on Facebook inquiring about a large cookpot with a matching lid, promising a portion of the chili he intended to cook. I swung into action, grabbing one of our pots, but found that we lacked a lid that wasn't awkwardly large or too small. I then acquired one from 616, which irked Sabrina once she realized that the chili could have belonged to her instead. Alaric and I engaged in some tense negotiations with Sabs over how the chili should be distributed; we settled on 75%-25%, in my favor. Iris also surprised me with a nice gift: new sheets! My Sunday felt short, but it wasn't a bad end to this eventful weekend.
          Quote of the day:
"I'm gonna bring it to the Asians." - Justine

Off the Rails

          My Saturday started out sleepy, and I pulled myself out of bed to go to a volleyball game for pep band. There was some mystifying business about the call time, so I was a bit late, though on time for the game itself. I ended up right behind Gordon, who complained about how loud I was playing (ugh), and to the right of another girl who has some issues with mass. To my right was the metal "don't fall off the bleachers" guard, and I found myself leaning into it in an attempt to play over Gordon's head and not keep bumping into the person to my left. Somehow I got the book that has a blood-like substance on it for the second gig in a row. On the plus side, the Huskies stomped UConn in only three sets, with a hotly contested first set, the second less so, and the third ending in a resounding victory.
          After the game, Alaric and I came home to some delicious dumplings prepared by Eric and Sean. A multitude of people showed up to taste the food and make merry (even Shay made an appearance!) and the night went well. In pursuit of conversation, I stayed up with a completely level-headed Laura, a contemplative Eric, an amusingly disorderly Sean, and an unbelievably giggly Meredith. It was the epitome of a great night at school, and I retired with complete satisfaction.
          Quotes of the day:
"Who touch Sasha?" - Eric
"Shall we retire to the drawing room and enjoy some well-deserved pleasures?" - Sean
"You have a very forceful personality." - Meredith, giving me a nice compliment(?)
"You're a very forward, friendly person." - Eric, trying his hand as well
"I'm just glad I can't feel anything." - Sean
"Is that what I am, a situation?" - Sean
"I've never seen anyone giggle this much. And oh my god, you can't stop." - Eric
"Even the most hardcore fans. I'm like, 'You heard the books on tape?' They're like, 'No.' 'Then ya don't know shit!'" - Eric, on Harry Potter
"We'll be your crew. We're gonna roll deep." - Eric
"Redacted. Off the record." - Eric
"You've given everyone the giggles. That's how giggly you are." - Eric

Salt and Pepper

          I tend to feel like an idiot in MPT, but I was dropping science in RRE today and felt reassured. Also, I noticed that Jake, IV 9 North's RA from last year, is in the class as well. Post-class, we played some TF2, hung out with Laura and Anthony, and had a good time. Alaric has a new green hat that some deride as overly thuggish, but we gentlemen regard as rather fly. Along with the others, Harrison and I had a long conversation about the Iraq War and the effects of the United States' many wars on our lives. Late in the night, Sabrina, Sean, Alaric and I went out walking. We met Maddie briefly, spent some time by the Reflecting Pool, parted with Sean and continued down Mass Ave. The three of us stopped at the Berklee Boloco, passed over the bridge, walked downriver and crossed again at the Longfellow Bridge (I think. It's the one with the "salt and pepper" stone towers on either side.) On the way back, we passed through the Common and some neighborhoods I've never seen before. All this reminded me how charming Boston can be. Along the way, we had one of those late-night college conversations that spans everything one can imagine and needs hours to run its course. It felt good to spend some real time with my roommate and a friend who I've barely spoken to this year, let alone hung out with.
          Quotes of the day:
"There's a high density of Andys over there." - Professor Smead
"Andy, were you here when someone dropped cereal off for me?" - Harrison
"I would say that the converse is very bad. Think how that would look on a resume. 'Not good at logic.'" - Sean
"'It wasn't me!' Followed by ten seconds of mumbling. 'It wasn't me!' Again!" - Eric, on Harrison's sleep talking
"We do not know what it is to be at peace." - Harrison
"It's after all my classes, but... it's after all my classes." - Alaric
"He needs...some. I don't know what he needs, but he needs some of it." - me

Dream Eater

          When I woke up, a Facebook message from Eric was waiting for me. There's a guy who's starting up a bicycle cookie delivery service on our campus. I'm pretty excited to try it out. Last night I had an extraordinarily vivid dream, so it seems I'm doing something right. In the evening we continued season two of The Sopranos.
          Quote of the day:
"Maslow pickup lines. Fuckin' Maslow gettin' mad G's laid." - Eric

Insomnia Technique

          Due to my 8 AM recitation, I decided not to sleep beforehand. After that was done with, I took a nap on the couch to prepare for Quantitative Techniques, which was dry as usual. Surprisingly, International Relations was canceled again (Professor Ogden has never missed a class in 20 years, but she's so sick that she missed two this week) so I put on some Immortal Technique and added more decoration to my walls. At MPT, Professor Lovely handed out Play-Doh (Plato, hue hue hue) and promised two points of extra credit to people who bring it in on the last day of class. He then demonstrated respectable juggling skills with the containers and received a round of applause. After class, Alaric and I headed to another pep band rehearsal. I don't really like playing "Time Warp," but I was born for the part where everyone screams. In the evening, we played TF2, watched The Sopranos, and confirmed that the guy who plays Silvio Dante (Steve Van Zandt) is "that guy with the bandana" from the E Street Band.
          Quotes of the day:
"Whether it's movin' earth or movin' minds..." - Professor Lovely
"Back in the day, Leviathan read like a Stephen King novel." - Professor Lovely
...
Alaric: "Have you still not slept?"
Me: [smile]
Alaric: "You're a stronger man than most."

Crate Expectations

          In RRE, I sat with two other Andrews at a table, which was a unique experience. Afterward, I waited around in anticipation of moving the TV, but we ended up putting it off because we lack a car and no one wanted to carry a large TV through Boston. Instead, we just hung out and watched obnoxious YouTube videos with micspam potential. Eric, Alaric and I had our first TF2 uncrating session ever, and Alaric unboxed a Green Energy Gatsby worth about $135, real money. Eric and I committed sudoku and played some TF2.
          Quotes of the day:
"I don't know if this guy wants to murder me or just give me a really good deal." - Eric
"Oh! There's disagreement here. Should we fight about it?" - Professor Lovely
"The feels right now are- I don't-" - Eric
"Swing voters? More like swag voters." - me

Hysteria

          It's been long enough, so I went to buy my books before class today. Somehow the bookstore was still mobbed, but I bought my seven books and was on my way in about half an hour. International Relations turned out to be canceled, so I visited Katie, then settled in to get some work done. I read The Prince for MPT, Harrison offered some pointers on Socrates' philosophy, and Sabrina practiced "Hysteria" on her electric bass. Professor Lovely walked into MPT with a simply huge boombox, a real ghetto blaster, and put on a Talking Heads song. Later, Amy and Shay visited, and we started season two of The Sopranos.
          Quotes of the day:
"You know your shit, but he's the next level." - Eric
"Not recycling, not curbing his dog, driving while under the influence of philosophy..." - Professor Lovely, on Socrates
"There is only power...and those too weak to seek it." - me and Sabrina
"Still going too fast to sell those ice creams." - Alaric, regarding an ambulance
"This is the way to glory." - Sean
"Iris is ninja status right now." - Eric
"That's just the way the cookie crumbles." - Alaric, on how fast baked goods are eaten
"Partially because I want you to share my pain." - Sean
...
Eric: "Maximum efficiency, all the time."
Sean: "These words...they make sense to me."
...
Alaric: "Where ya dick at?"
Me: "Where my dick a-oh here it is."

Questions For Lorraine

          I went to another pep band rehearsal today, where we played some new material ("Enter Sandman," "Build Me Up Buttercup" and "Party Rock Anthem.") Eric found an offer on Craigslist for a 47" television set for $35, a steal which we should be acting on in the near future. We spent some quality time with Meredith and Sarah, watched five episodes of The Sopranos (including the first season finale) and visited 616.
          Quotes of the day:
"This is Sunday hair." - Eric
"Genius move. Well done, sir. I tip my hat." - Eric
"Jedi mind powers!" - Eric
"Do you have fake cheese? You do? Oh my god. What is life?" - Eric
"You are living the baller life, Harrison." - Eric

White Guy Doing Nothing

          Today, Eric made home fries for everyone. I decorated some more, watched some Sopranos, slept and watched part of a Dr. Who episode. I think of it as a well-deserved lazy Saturday before the first full week of classes drops.
          Quote of the day:
"It's basically white people being stupid." - Anthony

Pseudo-Productive

          Logic class was a brain buster today. We spent half an hour debating the Prisoner's Dilemma and arguing about rational choice, and when our time was up I felt like I'd stretched my mind considerably. After class, a thunderstorm colored my evening. I enjoyed the storm and blasted my "Determination" playlist while working on my swagalicious felt marker poster. It turned out great, considering that I had only six colors to work with. I spent several hours playing randomizer in TF2, listening to music and continuing to decorate my room. In the end, I figured it would be best not to sleep.
          Quotes of the day:
"I just called y'all cherubs. Fat little baby angels." - Eric
"Maybe you heard it in a dream. Maybe you're dreaming right now. Maybe you don't even have a family." - Professor Smead, on certainty
"I teach a philosophy class. I have to say things like that." - Professor Smead
"If my well-being is part of your calculus, consider not doing a homework." - Professor Smead
"So I'm a scrub and I just got Wollied." - Eric
"This kid has gotta go fast." - Eric, on Chris' sanic adventures
"But it is worth double time for double ladies! Oh yeah." - Eric
"Al's a badass cop on the edge who doesn't play by the rules." - Eric
"I like how you're thuggin' with the Orangina." - Eric

Anger-Flavored Cupcake

          As it turns out, my only class on Thursdays is Modern Political Thought at 4:35, so I can take the morning to recover from my unfortunate Wednesdays. Professor Lovely had everyone in the class tell an interesting fact about themselves to help associate names with faces. One guy's grandfather was a low-level government engineer who was moved in the middle of the night to design the trigger for one of the a-bombs used on Japan; another guy is from Wellfleet, where the Red Onion's oysters come from. In the evening, Alanna, Anthony, Iris and I attempted to watch Melancholia, resulting in a horrible failure. It's a boring movie with strange jump cuts and unannounced timeline shifts, and probably much better watched alone. It had us alternating between yawns and complaints about Kirsten Dunst's mug. We then attempted to fill the movie-sized hole in our souls by watching a variety of videos, gazing at Electric Sheep, and finally having a soul-searching discussion regarding pep band this year.
          Quotes of the day:
"It was a Hugh Hefner morning." - Eric
"We've got guns and don't care about stuff!" - Eric
"That's such a dope part of American history." - Eric, on the Corrupt Bargain
"I don't trust anyone who doesn't like dogs." - Professor Lovely
"It's hard to be in a bad mood when you have a cupcake." - Professor Lovely

To the Pillories

          Today marks the first day of classes for sophomore year. My first class was Quantitative Techniques with Professor Rochefort, who seems articulate (if dry.) Also, he said all the slides from class would be on Blackboard, so he definitely gets props in that area. Jenny and Colleen, my first RA last year, are also in my class. This class is on the second floor of the Forsyth building in a mildly uncomfortable classroom, so I predict lots of dozing.
          I headed to the third floor of Behrakis for my next class, International Relations. I ran into Sarah, Anthony and Peter there, and ordered a new shirt while we waited for the other classes to get out. Professor Ogden seems pretty decent, though living in the past a little bit -- she made two references to the Soviet Union as if it currently existed. On the plus side, Behrakis is very comfortable and modern. The downside is that I need to sign up for a recitation once a week, and the only ones available were 8 AMs. Hence, I need to be up by 8 on Wednesday, but there's no lecture on Thursday, meaning my only class that day is at 4:35, excluding this week. Rose is in my class, but I don't figure that anything will come of it.
          My third class, Modern Political Thought, is clearly going to be one of my favorites. First off, the professor is named William Lovely III, which is just a sign that things are gonna be great. He's filled with a furious energy, an almost frantic need to share knowledge with his students, and I'm looking forward to a real intellectual challenge. Harrison and Jenny are also in this class with me, which is reassuring.
          Several of us attended a concert at afterHOURS: With the Punches and the Wonder Years. We met Shandana and Shannon there, and the music was pretty good, if not stunning. I was hoping for Cap'n Jazz-tier punk hero stuff, but left feeling slightly unfulfilled. Sean and I got burgers at UBurger, which is a really tasty burger joint and is conveniently located in Curry, about 30 feet from afterHOURS. Post-concert, I hung out with Iris and Anthony, then played some TF2 with Alaric. It was a long day for sure.
          Quotes of the day:
"That bookstore should be shot." - Professor Ogden
"And I thought, to ask such a question, you would not understand the answer." - Professor Lovely
"This is a very unpopular thought in academia. I've been pilloried for it, but I don't care because I know I'm right." - Professor Lovely
"The burly men of room 610." - Sean
...
On Marat's bathtub stabbing...
Student: "...Was he French?"
Prof. Lovely: "He was. So he deserved it."

The Next Day

          Convocation dragged us out of bed at 9 a.m. today. The music went well, and we even saw a very functional Delivery Man. Later, Eric and I headed out toward BU to visit a shop in the area; after a failed first attempt at following walking directions, we took the T successfully. ("Left at the Emerald Necklace" is a confusing direction, since the Fens itself is called the Emerald Necklace.) Since we were nearby anyway, the two of us stopped to visit Matt and some of his friends at Emerson for a few minutes. It rained on and off for a while, so we ended up soaked, but it felt great collapsing in 610 after walking around for ages. In the evening, we watched Dr. Horrible (Alaric's first time!) and then Waking Life, though nearly everyone fell asleep.
          Quotes of the day:
"I wish Steam was an OS." - Eric
"Oh my God. Cyber Dave, 404 error, page not found." - Eric
"You're hated by the entire Team Fortress community." - Alaric

Special Delivery

          Another day, another pep band rehearsal at Matthews for the upcoming convocation. Afterward, Katie was kind enough to spare a few minutes to hang out, a sweet distraction. I took a nap to recover from JL's inhumanity, and the party got started with some Super Smash Bros. Brawl in the evening. We were joined by Jaimie and Cyber Dave, rechristened the Delivery Man; Heather, Zoe and Ariel also arrived. The night was one of revelry and fun, but Dave ended up a bit too well-marinated and the festivities wound down relatively quickly. To sum up: "It was worth it, but..."
          Quotes of the day:
"It just makes him sound like a baaaad drug dealer, or some badass. It's so mysterious." - Harrison
"He's a busy dude." - Eric
"We vagineerin' now." - me
"Fuck yeah." - Alaric
"You wanna fuckin' scrap?" - Harrison

Stay Crispy

          On the way to pep band today, Alaric and I ran into Paul, a guy I worked with at camp a few years ago. I'd hoped that we wouldn't meet, but it's a minor annoyance at worst. Rehearsal was uncomfortably early, so Ariel and I roamed around in search of coffee until we settled on the Dunkin Donuts in Ruggles. The subsequent men's soccer game versus Harvard was a real excitement. The Crimsons got worked 1-0 in a spirited game by the Huskies, in spite of about 15 contact fouls against us. The final moment of the game was incredible -- NU's goalie blocked a last-ditch shot on goal by leaping into the ball with two outstretched fists. The Katie star shines brightly tonight.
          The 610 boys had a hearty family dinner this evening. With Eric at the helm, pasta, a light salad, garlic bread and pan-fried shrimp were prepared. I cooked the shrimp myself, marking my first excursion into legitimate cooking, and I look forward to many more. We invited Toks, our RA, over to grab some dinner as well. She's a third-year pharmacy student, very nice and flighty, and seems like a very appreciable RA. Alaric and I played some TF2, and then watched some videos with Eric. First was the wonderful DMX/Reading Rainbow theme mashup, then the Drop It Like It's Hot/Thomas the Tank Engine mashup, and finally "Lawnmower Dreams of the Moon." After listening to the sinister robot music from TF2's Mann vs. Machine update, we called a meeting of the joint chiefs of staff and watched part of Fast Five, which proved to be just the thing.
          Quotes of the day:
"Daddy Warbucks will take care of all his kids." - Eric
"I love to be the hype man when people start fights. As soon as someone says something, I'm like, 'Ohhhhhhhhh shiiiiit!'" - Eric
"Craiglist, a.ka. Homicideslist." - Alaric
"Sean, the first time we started up Smash Bros., without hesitation, names himself Babby." - Alaric
"Errbody up, err errbody up." - Shay
"Went-worked." - Alaric
"What'd I fuckin' tell you, Andy? What'd I fuckin' say? I told the shit!" - Eric
"Are you ready for Dwayne? Motha. Fuckin'. Dwayne?" - Eric
"What are they made of? Dark magic and temptation! That's all they are." - Eric, on fruit snacks
"It's the sweet fat life. That's what this suite is." - Eric
"To the legends of rock!" - Harrison

I Promised Them Glowsticks

          After last night's revelry, I may have set a new record for sleeping in: six o'clock in the evening. Alaric and I ran to the Mass Ave bridge later on, pointing out groups of freshmen and witnessing a bumping rooftop rave over in Cambridge. Back in West F, we watched 28 Days Later, which I consider to be a truly classic zombie flick. Sean, Alaric, Eric and I were all pretty bugged out, but Iris maintained that it really wasn't that scary. If anything, that only frightened us more.
          Quote of the day:
"They said it's a dry party, but that doesn't really mean dry." - unidentified frashmang
"Bona fide hustler." - Sean