speaking of...

http://www.aksalser.com/game.htm


people are funny.

President almost shoed to death?

President Bush was assaulted with not one but two shoes at a press conference in Iraq this week. A reporter was allegedly so angry with the President that he felt the urge to launch his shoes through the conference - one of which actually hit W.

While I would never consider myself a George Bush supporter (in the least), I felt sort of bad for him. He's made a lot of mistakes and I don't know if I, or the world, will ever forgive him for the shit-show that he's presented us with. But, the man probably couldn't even go for a walk with his dogs without being harassed in some fashion. I feel like he's going to crawl into a hole on January 20, 2009 and stay there for a very long time.

Scary thought: what if the man had thrown something other than a shoe? It's kind of unsettling to think that some random reporter was able to successfully hit the President of The United States with something. I think my history class is turning me into a crazy person - assasination crazed. In any case, I hope that man's shoe was smelly.

Current Jam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEmudsNjxj8

greatness.

I read this today

I think it pretty much sums up the bitterness of gay people in America right now. Check it out:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-06/you-can-forget-my-taxes/

OBAMA ELECTED PRESIDENT

Oh my god. I'm still in shock. Barack Obama has just been elected President of the United States. I cannot articulate how happy I am right now. It's crazy to think that our country has come so far. We are living history at this very moment.

God Bless the United States of America.

Thoughts on Homecoming

So, this week has been pretty tough because of Homecoming and the fact that I was not selected to be on Court. However, after a few long weeks of being depressed about it and a very tough Homecoming Week, I have come to the conclusion that I do not need to be on Court to feel good about all that I've done at Ohio State. Moreover, while I may not have been selected as an official representative of the University, I know that the system is flawed and, more importantly, I represent Ohio State everyday in the work I do.

I am truly happy that I have been granted the opportunity to have such great friends and mentors. Sphinx has been amazing and will continue to serve as a meaningful capstone experience to my 4 years at OSU. Being around so many Sphinxers and other great friends made me realize that that is what life is truly about: sharing our experiences with the ones we love. So simple, yet so overlooked.

p.s.

my neighbors are fucking right now, and I think my wall is going to come down any second.

Just thought you should know.

I have not forgotten about you...

I just am crazy busy with school work and, I guess, life in general. Honest.

a few things

1.) My apartment has officially turned into the seventh circle of hell. I literally have been laying on my livingroom floor, naked for the last 3 hours trying not to die of heat stroke.

2.) Orientation starts tomorrow! Words can't even communicate the excitement!

3.) I turn 21 in 6 days. s!t!f!u!

Spring Quarter Grades

So...I'm sort of bummed out right now. I just got my Spring Qtr. grades back and I didn't do so hot. Well, I guess I did well, with the exception of one class: Communication 602 - Magazine Writing. I started off doing well in the class, however, I slowly but surely let it all go to hell. It doesn't help that the only significant grades in the class are two 6 page articles. Truth be told, I didn't dedicate enough of my time to the class. I easily could have pulled an A, but instead I couldn't bring myself to prioritize and ended the class with a B- . For me, a B- is the worst grade i've ever gotten in college. I received another during freshman year. But, on the bright side, I received an A in my honors geography class and an A- in my Communication 637 class.

The biggest reason for being blue is that one of my goals in college was to graduate Magna Cum Laude (3.7). I'm pretty sure that this quarter has ruined any chance I had left. My GPA has now fallen to a 3.62. I highly doubt there is any way to raise it .08 in two quarters.

End scene.

Sphinx!!

I just got back from my my class's first meeting. I'm not going to lie, I'm still in a state of disbelief. But, I was elected president of the 102nd class of Sphinx! I can't even explain how excited I am for the next year. It's going to be amazing. But, with the position comes a great amount of responsibility. I hope I can live up to the previous presidents and truly make the next year as unforgettable as possible.

I <3 102.

Mom! / Beanie Drake!

So, in the middle of writing that last post, I heard an almost-rude pound at my door. Stumbling through the mess of my apartment (remember that I was hungover), I opened the door, only to behold and be taken aback by my older brother, Matt, and mom standing in the frame of my door. I was so shocked to see them, I literally jumped backwards. It was craziness.

Today was the Beanie Drake Scholarship reception and I hadn't spoken to my mom about it other than letting her know when it was. I had no idea she was coming. Evidently, my mom and Katie W. devised a plan for her to sneak up and surprise me - which obviously worked.

I just returned from hanging out with them. We went to Panera for a quick lunch when they arrived and then headed to the reception. It was sort of awkward because I could tell that my mom and brother felt very out of place, but I was just really happy that they were there to support me.

And then I won $2,700! (Which is way better than, "and then I found $5).

Moral of the story: I love my mom...and Ohio State.

Hungover Reflections

Last night, I got a little tipsy at a Stater social (hookah + alcohol = sleepy time) and am paying for it today. The hangover isn't that bad, just a little headache and apathy I'm having trouble shaking. As a result, I've been laying in my bed(in the same clothes I was wearing last night, of course), from the time I got home this morning [10:56am] until now [1:35pm]. I've had a good 2.5 hours to perform my internet-sketching ritual (i.e. sign on to iGoogle to check today's "Interesting things" and "Beauty Tips", check my gmail, read Facebook and look around for a while, check the latest celebrity gossip at Perezhilton.com, and update myself on domestic and international happenings on cnn.com).

So, i'm still laying on my bed, thinking about life and friends and all of the other philosophical things I think about when I have time to myself. I just spoke with my close friend, Trevor (who's in Italy studying abroad), about how this is going to be our last summer together to really have a blast and enjoy each other's friendship. Our conversation sort of scared me.

Over the past 20 years, I have come in contact with thousands of people, many of whom I called my friends. But when I think about the number of people I have actually remained in contact with, I find the number dismally minuscule. Being honest with myself, I know that i'm not the best at maintaining long-distance friendships (with the exception of a few). But, I feel like life, in general, is set up in a manner that prohibits a good deal of sustained relationships. Realistically, there are very few people who's relationship with you will survive going away to college or graduating from college or moving to a new city to start a career. When I think about the past, I'm generally okay with this conclusion. Many of those friendships have already faded to black or are currently being sustained. But when I think about the present and the future, it frightens me. As I skim through my AIM buddy lists, I find myself wondering "how many of these will fade to black?"

Going back to my conversation with Trevor, I feel like this summer will be bittersweet. I'm excited to spend as much time as I possibly can with my friends (and turn 21! - look out, world!), but at the same time; I feel like it's the beginning of the end for many people. Next fall, each of us will be extremely busy with finalizing graduation plans, applying for graduate or continued education programs, or finding a job. I'm not sure when, but there will come a point when the separation starts.

I heard a saying a few months ago that I think has helped me to understand this concept a little better: "There are friends for a reason; friends for a season; and friends for life." It means that there will always be people coming in and out of your life. Some will stay because they have a reason to (e.g. it's convenient because you work at the same place and they give you a ride every so often). Some will only stay for a season (e.g. you have a class together, or for the duration of high school). And some, the few far and in between, are the ones that will stay for life.

So, I guess the point of all of this rambling is that people (you and me) should take more time to really get to know those who are a part of your life. In the future, I am sure that I will discover things about some friends that will divide us and things about other friends that will only bring us closer. It'll be okay. The inevitable will happen: people will grow apart. But more importantly, your true friends - the ones that are for life, the ones that refuse to fade to black - will emerge in the end and become one of the few foundations of stability in your life. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Point blank: I love my friends and hope they never fade to black.

Good thing my bathroom is only a hop, skip and jump from my bedroom...

...because I woke up this morning and almost peed my pants.

Just thought you should know.

Change.

I saw this and it made my day. The world is changing, slowly but surely.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-CA-GayMarriage.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Homecoming Court

So, I just received an email that I was not selected for Homecoming Court. I'm a little bummed, but at the same time, I'm not as sad as I originally thought I would be if I didn't get in. I'm really happy that a lot of my friends and 102-ers made it. They'll have a blast. It would be completely ridiculous of me to say that I'm not a little upset that I won't be joining my friends for the experience, but I guess you can't dwell on it. I'm so thankful to have gotten linked into SPHINX and I am positive that my senior year will be amazing. In a way, I guess it's good to go through a humbling experience like rejection every once in a while. It keeps us human. It makes us work harder.

Homework awaits.

blog?

I'm sitting at work right now. Well, I'm not really working (obviously), just hanging out (that's awkward). Anyways, I thought I would start a blog. I'm not sure when I'll ever find time to actually write in it, but here goes...

The title 'looking through the blinds' is from a book that I am writing. I think it's interesting when you walk by house with it's blinds open, you have a strange urge to peer in. Through the long vertical blinds, you see short, staccato glimpses of these people's lives. A red sofa. The TV is on. There are pictures on the wall. From these glimpses, you start to put together an image of what kind of people live there. The same goes for life, I think. In life, we experience each other mainly through short, staccato interactions. From there, we also begin to judge and formulate who these people that we interact with are.

This is my blog, my life, my short, staccato glimpses. Feel free to formulate.