Mental Health Day

i took a mental health day friday and skipped my OT section. No big deal, first thing i've skipped here. i actually drew Tom and i a Labyrinth on our shower wall with a dry erase marker. It'll stay for awhile. Watched an animated episode of Ghostbusters from back in the day. Went and talked to Deb and to check on Lindsey to see if she was feelin' well. Jen and Tom and Chuckie and Jessi and watched the first 2 episodes of Carnivale, the HBO series, last night. Amazingly good, with lots of familiar actors. Then we Karoke-ed (is that a word? is now) for a good long while and came back to play cards till we crashed. It all got my mind off things and i heard good things from people who were in hospitols, so it was okay. Sun came out today so it may be good day for all the festivities.

Talk Nerdy to Me

Yes, i have indeed reached the height of Geekdom. While i did figure out last year that i could not only watch TV at work by leaving my webcam on in my room, but i could use it to watch Star Trek, one must continually search for ways to surpass him or herself. i have two laptops. One is my useless, about to explode UNC thinkpad, and the other is my brand new Dell. Tom gave me a monitor, so i can split screen and multi-task on my Dell. But now, 24 hours a day, more or less, my old thinkpad sifts through mountains of Berkley data for the SETI project. That's right, while i multi-task nerd around, my old computer is dedicated to the search for little rgeen men in the cosmos. Thought you'd be proud. The question is now... will ET look more like Worf, Clark Kent, Lenir, or Chewbacca. i'm hoping she'll look more like Starbuck, but hey, that's me. Peace out homies. And if the NSA is reading this... you must be so bored...

Wedding Canoes are a Must

Fall break... Friday: laziness, movies, food.
Saturday: So me and Noell and Jessi took off early yesterday morning for Westminster, MD to attend the wedding of Jen Mueller and Greg Stiles. It was held behind her uncle's house on this gradually sloping hill in this beautiful grassy meadow surrounded by fall-changing leaves. They had a podium, a cross, and a few folding chairs. It was about 55 degrees and the sun never stopped shining. It was beautiful. They had gospel hymns playing (blue grass style) and the ceremony was lovely. Jen and Greg had gone to a Ghanaian (from Ghana) church when they lived in Baltimore, and the pastor and most of the readers were all from it. They had beautiful accents. The sermon was lovely (except for the very out of place altar call), but it all went well. It was followed by all of us taking our chairs with us up to this tent further up the hill for amazing food and something we noticed when we first arrived... This couple, that met in the Sierra Club, had their first date outdoors, and got engaged while hiking (not to mention their camping involved on this honeymoon) had a canoe beside the reception tent. Yup, a canoe. And as i approached, my one thought was "man, i hope this is full of booze, that would be hilarious." Right when we got to it, a man said, yup, 300 lbs of ice... and beer. Lots of ale, beer, soda, and wine, wow. So we kicked back for a few hours with food and cheese and Blue Grass and we danced a bit (mostly just me and Noell). The bride and groom took a few pics and came back to us, the bride now in cow girl boots and her dress (which her mother made), another collective wow. We finally left to go see Jessi's friend for some Outback mid-afternoon mashed potatoes, wings, and dessert (we're so classy). We got back here last night and played pool and back scratched and ordered pizza. i finished off making another prayer necklace. i've gotta find a hippy bead store. Cary St just has an artsy fartsy one. This is way too long for a blog. It's raining. Peace out...

It's October 18th

Marc Party

So, what has become known as the "Marc Party" travels to different locales now. Tonight it was at Dabney on the porch. i went over and as i attempted to sit on the swing as it was in motion, was nearly knocked off my feet, spilled most of Tom's whiskey, and nearly took off someone's head. As everyone laughs at our collective clumsiness, Texas Chad slips in his usual wisdom... "You know what's wrong with that picture?" "He's got a ginger ale" Oh lord, thank you Chad, that's precisely what i'm doin' wrong.

Fishy

accodring to Noell's fortune-telling fish i am jealous, passionate, and in love. God i'm tired. i'm going to bed.

Eye of the huricane

So the last few days have been a whirlwind. Lots of school work and then headin for North Cackalackey. i tried to get out of Saturday morning's meeting here in Charlotte to no avail, so a last minute trip down was organized. i grabbed the train Thursday around lunch. Old Man Boswell dropped me off. The train was supposed to arrive in Richmond at 1 and depart at 1:10 to arrive in Durham at 5:25. The clever Amtrak people didn't bother to say the train was running late until 1:02. Every train said "on time" on the board. Unlike airplane terminals run by efficient private industry, the modern passenger Amtrak train doesn't care how late it is. They seem surprised it was late when it didn't show up until 1:35 or so. Wow. Guess they are still using telegraph. i ended up sitting with this girl who was going home to Cary from college in American, so we ended up having alot to talk about. The cutest kid ever was wandering up and down the isle with his mom who was wearing a t-shirt with the Geneis 12:3 phrase i had to translate for that day's OT class. Lauren Dunbar picked me up from the staion when we arrived (nearly an hour late by now) because she happened to be in Durham testing water one street over from the station. i got to go to PCM and hang out with great folks and see people i got in trouble for not spending time with the last few times i was on the Hill. Went to a bar after with some of them, including Frank the Tank who happened to be in town. Huge day of coincidences. i also ran into Paul Seales on the way to the bar and we did "You've lost that lovin' feelin'" for Karoke. i hung out with Jess smeeks for a bit and then crashed at Matt Browns for a 4 hour nap before Kelley and i drove to Concord. Managed lunch after seeing Roy talk in the pit. i really never miss being around Charlotte or Concord at all these days. i used to some when Kelley lived here or some old High School friends or significant others, but these days there's not much here to bring me back but work. i doubt i'll ever come back here. i love Chapel Hill, but i doubt that would bring me back ever. i love the campus, but not so much the town. Richmond i love, but i'm itching to get moving to other places. If YAV works out, i guess i'll get that chance. Alright, have alot of studying to do for this week and a long train ride tomorrow after a long drive.

Elmo Sighting!!!

i did in fact see Elmo for the first time!!! Not the puppet. Union-PSCE for years and years had played host to an albino squirel and his/her descendants. Today, i saw him behind Lingle.

Much Needed Release

What a fun few days. Much needed after this week. Friday began with suckage as I totally botched my Hebrew reading in class and Professor Sam Balentine scares the crap out of me. But I spent the afternoon hunting for costume stores and Jedi robes with Lindsey and that was good. Everybody back here in Richmond dorm got to partying early and the merriment and refreshments continued for a good 9 hours or so after dinner. Lots of card playing, music, pool, movies, and food followed. My pizza got eaten before I knew what was happening, so we went on a 2AM Taco Bell/ Waffle House run, high school style. Six of us in Tom’s Honda (he was asleep, didn’t know we took it), 2 in front, 4 in the back. Don’t worry, I drove. Hit Taco Bell first for drive-thru, and then Waffle House. Waffle house only allows 5 to a table, not 6, so we left (was pretty sketchy that night too). We went back to Taco Bell and were the last customers through at 2:58AM. After staying up till 4, most of us slept in past lunch time today. I got a lamp and finished up my light saber. We all went to the Byrd tonight to see Superman Returns (even better the second time). Church tomorrow and meetin’ Old Man Boswell’s parents.

Minds Like Concrete

You know what they say: "Some people's minds are like concrete... all mixed up and permanently set." Well, while it may not be as bad as all that, i've had another one of those evenings where being open-minded and middle of the road means being the stand out and completely unacceptable. To be honest, when i argue with arch conservative back woods podunk folk (not worried any of them are online reading this, no) i know they don't care if i think they're close-minded, they are proud to be. i can almost respect that, seriously. But damnit, liberal people go around self-labeling as open-minded, and some how cannot mannage to accept all sorts of alternative ideas. Tonight, i didn't even argue for my own ideas, just that there are possible alternatives to the ones that were being posited by the group. i wasn't just shot down. For saying not that i believed in an idea, but was open to that possibility and they should at least not completely discount it, i was told by not one, but two or three people i was studying at the wrong place. Wow. Not really sure what to do with that. Frankly i think it's my fault for doing what i swore i would not do earlier this week after Charlie Brown's lecture... ever talk to drunk people. While these people were not drunk, it was unwise for me to posit any serious idea, let alone defend a minority unrepresented viewpoint. God forbid the Bible might actually depict events that may/might have actually happened. God forbid my faith be grounded in the basis that some or many of the Biblical accounts are true. i feel like not arguing for any particular theory, but the possibility of a theory should be acceptable. Where am i?

My belt, my only belt for the last 5 years or more, the belt my Grandfather and Jen Kling both endeavored to fix with more holes when i lost weight, the belt i have not been able to equal in 5 years of looking for another, the belt that seemed to be very sturdy and doin fine, not looking old at all... broke. It is seriously, permanently dead.

Mac Attack

Went to Mac's again to study and read with Linz. i get so much more read there at the bar than anywhere else. Thought tonight: Who gets to keep the memories you associate with music? We all do it, we associate certain songs or lyrics or tunes with different parts of our life, or with people. i'll always associate "Brick" with riding to basketball practice in high school with Justin and his dad. Problem is, most people don't have just one song with a significant other, they have many, especially if it's long term. When people break up, someone gets the house, someone gets the dog, pictures get split, thrown out, kept in a box under the couch. What do you do with music? It's the picture you wanna take down but is glued to the community fridge or something. Everyone else still enjoys it, you like it too, but some how it's just a pain in the ass to look at. What happens when one of the people in that picture sorta glues a picture of someone else on top of you? Sorta feeling like i'm covered in super glue tonight. It'll pass, always does. As Luke Danes says, "i feel like i'm wearing someone else's socks." Godnight world, i'm not wearing socks these days... (note to self: never blog at 2:30AM)

Moruv Zorba

So, more on Richmond fine dining. Next to Dot's is our favorite lil pizza place to order/pick up from. They have amazing toppings. Whether veg or meat lovers, you cannot go wrong. Our vegeterians here rave over that one, so it must be good. As for the meat lovers, we're talkin' peperoni, sausage (real, not processed), bacon (fresh), and whole slices of salami (4 inches in diameter). They load these pizzas down and cover them in cheese. AMAZING. Do it.