Served at the past 7 inaugural balls

Just a quick, meaningless blurb - I happen to like Harvard's clam chowder better than what I got at Legal with my parents today. I don't think I ever got two pieces of shell eating in the dining hall. Visions of my teeth cracking were definitely lurking in my head this afternoon.

I've had my fair share of fanatical obsessions with TV series in my time, but I can't remember the last time I followed one by watching each new episode as they were first aired (maybe Gargoyles? X-Men, Saturday mornings back in middle school?). The Sci-Fi channel, Phil's Buffy DVD's, eMule, and Nick Vines made things much more convenient, even if I'd have to risk staying up 'till 5AM so I could find out how the Mayor was going to destroy Sunnydale.

Maybe I was just waiting for a show where all the characters were either incredibly cute or incredibly beautiful (I always had a thing for Desdemona, though, call me nuts).



Does anyone else appreciate the humor in seeing the hero of Loverboy catapulted to "Dr. McDreamy" status? It's too bad that Old School's adorable single mom becomes the witch who breaks George's heart - sorry, you're just not allowed to do that.

Navel to spine

There's something humbling about being the token male in a pilates class. Sure, I won't complain about the personal attention I invariably get from the instructor, but then I remember it's because I'm the clumsy one who makes all the other people feel better about themselves. I certainly wouldn't be sticking it out if I didn't have friends there, though. They're pretty much all that stop me from feeling totally sketchy; even if I want to go for personal reasons the atmosphere almost forces you to think you're just a dirty old man who came to leer.

I think this spate of tailer parodies is hilarious. Here's a different one: Requiem for a Toy Story

Sue me for what?

Got to go rock climbing again at Metro Rock with Eugene. I have no doubt that part of climbing's popularity stems from just how damn cool you feel when you're doing it (and just how stupid your pants look at the same time). I sort of understand why Sly did Cliffhanger now. Just so long as Cliffhanger 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 never happen.

I want your Bode

I'd say that the events of the past 7 days qualifies the week for "memorable" standing.

Monday - First, still amazed at the fact that they got me Christmas presents and feeling the urge to return some of the joy they've given me, I decided to get my "roommates" some flowers (ok, maybe I was a little guilty from neglecting my LL duties as well). Rather than my usual Brattle St. venture, I decided this time to support BRYE but had to stake out the dining hall to find a time when none of those girls was around. Easier said than done, when there's work to avoid and that Sweet Potato soup is on the menu. But just flowers? Something a bit more personalized was definitely in order. Monkeybread fueled my inspiration; I nixed the idea of Hallmark cards and decided to pursue something a little more personal. Thanks, Chief.











7:02 AM Tuesday - Picking up the roses and dropping them off with the cards, I realize it's going to be a long day. Good thing we have Crispy Chicken Pad Thai, Skoren, and Babyfishmouth to keep us company later that night. Three well-placed tealights set the mood very nicely, in my opinion. Chocolate lips make it all worthwhile:

Wednesday and Thursday - Somehow, a little school happens here. Thursday is one of the longest academic days of my life, but I get through, and even end up enjoying the company of my tutorial peers. Actually, that was probably the most remarkable and unexpected occurance of the week. Am I going to enjoy this? At dinner I realize two things: one, my sleep deprivation-induced delerium has produced a feeling strangely like a joy to be alive; two, I'm actually going to this "Anything But Clothes" party, and need to put my Sara Cooper hours to good use.


Friday - I get by with a little help from my friend. Ultimately, time becomes a factor, and I resort to that old standby, the Chippendale's outfit; as it turns out, I bring more with me than most of the males who show up.


Saturday - Dancing in slightly more traditional fashion, but still fun. Compared to the rest of the week, square dancing is an extremely calm way to end things.


You know, if the bed were just a little bit wider, it really might have happened. Oh, and: best picture of the week. I think it sums everything up nicely.

Awkward aiming

Finally! We get some real New England weather up here. The newscasters had to go ahead and make us expect a lot more, but it's nice to see Cambridge at one of it's most beautiful times.

(absent: Leverett's unfamous I-Tower igloo, in which certain people have yet to join me)

The Graduate is one messed up movie. At least half of the principal characters are totally loco. Some of the top highlights include: the subtle pain of having pasties waved in the air behind you; Benjamin's mom's shriek upon hearing her son's plans to marry Elaine; Elaine's scream in Benjamin's apartment; "Elaine! Elaine! Elaine! ... Elaine!"(son of a b***h x3, etc.)

Ah, hanging out with Quasar. Thank God for A-41 and Laura Perry. And Sasha. And Sauza. And Sandra Oh. And challah.

Coefficient of friction

Yup, I was right. This semester is going to be extremely painful if these trends continue (aayyy!). Not sure what is promting this masochistic urge, but I'm still waiting for somebody to knock some sense into me. Maybe it'll happen at tkd practice; on Wednesday I was able to celebrate not straining any tendons or muscles for the first time. John Chung'll be proud yet (and one day those belts in my closet will actually stand for something).

Got to see Bill towards the end of the week. "You are ruining this night for all of us! Come on - somebody back me up here!"











Yesterday marked another milestone, as I went to my first recreational class at the MAC. There's nothing quite like being one of the four dudes who is awkwardly trying to keep up with the rest of the class while simultaneously feeling somewhat guilty at taking a class called "Core & Stretch." It should only get exponentionally worse when I take "Abs, Back, Glutes" or "Yoga-lates" next week. Can't wait.

I sometimes wish I had somebody constantly ready to photograph me, if only to capture how incredibly idiotic I must have been watching the Olympics in A-41. I don't remember everything, but the salient features of the night seemed to involve curling as the best way to get into the Olympic Village, Peter Gabriel, tasty snacks, a hermaphroditic elephant, 33 shots of cortisone, really cool hats, Hanson, and ten drafts of a Valentine's Day email invitation that kept including the phrase "naked women."

"Hey, baby..." (tribute to Jen) (as a sidenote, I can't believe that pictures like this even exist):

You invade my soul.

Belay on

Got to spend the weekend with Grace and relive some D.C. flashbacks. Obeyed the call of the seafood soup at Pho; spent some time partying Pass-the-Pigs-style; went climbing with Eugene at Metro Rock; got a drink at Grafton St. for the first time this year (sans help from the waitstaff, I might add); walked the freedom trail to feel like a good tourist; even spent some quality time in Widener. I'll put the pictures up once I get them.

On Sunday, I finally said goodbye to a dear companion. It's hard to admit when a connection that was once meaningful and poignant becomes utterly trivial and useless; I suppose I'll just miss my friend, but it was time for him to get busy livin', or get busy dyin'.

You're goddamn right.

To lead by example and be a role model to children

Psyched! Just got a call from Grace - looks like she's going to leave the Hill for a weekend and check out cold, rainy Boston. It'll be good to catch up on some gossip from the District and do something fun. It's also a good reason to clean up the dump that I live in. It's funny; you'd think that after doing City Year I would have gotten tired of wearing the red coat, but now it's all I seem to want to put on. Must be one advantage of being a mid-year.
Not an awful day of shopping - but a lot of potential conflicts. Looks like another semester of lecture marathons on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's just as well; it'll leave me time to brush up on my modeling skills:

(hoodies for Christian, George, and Robin, modeled by T.Cha post squash, 2/06)

"Standard of living - what does that even mean?"

Not a bad start to the shopping period. Do I really want to take five classes? What am I thinking? This may be my one chance to go out with a bang, but this risks the bad kind of bang. Just for clarification, we want good banging only. Taking one or more of my classes pass/fail might come in handy.
After a grueling tkd practice where I manage to strain a tendon in my leg yet again (at least it's the other leg this time), I look forward to easing the pain with a plateful of monkeybread and those tasty-looking tortillas. Not this time; [bat!bat!bat!] [arrowed!] ([possums...]) - yet another speech to listen to.

At least he didn't say nucular.

I would sit on my ass, all day, and do ... nothing.

After a day of playing both squash and racketball, I failed to burn this awful sickness out of my body. But at least I picked up a nifty (and unexplainable) bruise on the top of my foot. The lame agony (ha-ha) I was in helped serve as a distraction from the pain of hearing "nucular" twice in what was a complete waste of an hour, ignoring for now all the benefits of Sasha-time. Apparently, there was supposed to be a party in A-41, but after thinking about the new semester scared me away from my computer I hadn't checked my email in a few hours. I'm not sure why I thought it was totally natural for Alice to start crackin' the Sam Adams on a Tuesday night.
Well, I guess I should be grateful I'm even writing, this, seeing as my computer was on the verge of dying for good last night. Hopefully it'll survive six more months, "bad clusters" and all.


(watching Office Space):
Caitlin: Those graphics are insane!
Tim: Yeah, Apple II GS. Man, I remember using those computers.
C: Isn't that what you use now?




Actually, I was a little hurt. Although after all the unintended insults I've doled out in that common room I deserve a little punishment. Well, me and my white Dell are doing just fine.