King and Queen's Ball 2005

After a series of events that I don't feel like recounting at this particular moment, I end up going to King and Queen's with Lynn. So here I am, standing with a drink in my hand, looking around the inside of William & Mary Hall.

*sip*

The Hall looks, pretty nice, although I wish they could've had it under the tent like last year. It's like a giant carnival in here. You might see friends you haven't run into in months, but try finding them a second time. It's impossible. I wonder where Lynn is?

*sip*

There she is. God, she looks wonderful. Everyone looks wonderful. It's a giant pinwheel of colors in here. Part of the joy of KQ is that you get to see your friends dressed up in nice clothes, people that might not normally dress up except for weddings or graduations. I'm kind of glad I didn't bring the camera...pictures wouldn't do tonight justice.

*sip*

After all, a camera can't capture the feelings you have when you see old friends again, the giggle in your partner's voice as you slip out onto the dance floor, the excited feeling you get when the band starts to play an old favorite. It would just capture still images, images with little or no emotion. No, a camera is for occasions when scattered moments will do, and tonight I want to retain the entire feeling.

*draining glass*

If that's the case, then I should probably stop standing around musing to myself. There's Lynn, she's smiling and she'd probably love to dance. My birthday and KQ come once a year, and this year they're the same.


Waking, stream of consciousness
On a sleeping street of dreams
Thoughts, like scattered leaves
Slowed in midfall into the streams
Of fast running rivers of choice and chance
And time stops here on the delta
While they dance, while they dance...

Congratulations on being an old man, Dad.


I was going to post a big screed on here earlier about why girls are horrible--but why bother? It's my birthday, I have a wonderful date to King and Queen's, and being bitter would just make me focus on what's wrong instead of what's there.

I refuse to let the angst take me on my best frickin' day of the year.

So this weekend I went out taking pictures of the campus. I figure I did it last spring, I should do it this year too--maybe it'll become a tradition. Anyways, this campus is so photogenic, even a mere amateur like me can take some pretty cool shots. It seems a shame to let the photos go to waste.
And it's always nice to have beautiful shots of this campus for a future album of some sort.

Dupont Hall, as seen from right outside Pleasants.

The sidewalk on the left side of the Sunken Gardens, going past Blair Hall.

Landrum Hall, as seen through the trees from the UC Terrace.

Another shot of the Wren, this time from over near the President's House.

A straight-on shot of the Wren, with Lord Botetourt in the foreground (the statue, not the guy in the green shirt).

The giant tree of some sort (not sure what species) outside Barrett.

The boxwood tunnel I discovered over near Ewell. It's really cool and shady; if you prefer sunny and grassy, there's open spaces further on, where you can sit without anyone seeing you if you're quiet enough.

One of the grassy spaces behind the behind the boxwoods.

The Daily Grind. I've posted from here a couple times. It used to be an Lodge, and at some point the living room/triple bedroom was converted into a giant lounge/coffee counter. The two double bedrooms are the computer room and study room now. It's a really neat little place, and it makes your clothes smell like coffee--always a plus.

Outside the Grind, looking down the road towards the Lodges.

Phi Mu Alpha "Abnormal Formal"

So last night was the PMA/NKE Abnormal Formal. 'Twas quite a bit of fun. Before the dance, Lynn, Kevin Sapp ('KSapp'), Kevin's date Amy, and I all went to Nawab. I realized that it had been about a year and a half since I had gone out for dinner with people before a formal--the last time being before the Ring Dance with Katie, Andrew, and Susan freshman year.
Wow. That seems like forever ago.
At any rate. Lynn looked gorgeous, as always--though I did have to tell her to stop making disclaimers about how she looked. Seriously, ladies,after the third time your date says "You look wonderful" or some equivalent--stop complaining about how horrible you look. It's just ungracious.
Lynn was going to drive us to Nawab, but when we got all the way out to William and Mary Hall, where her car was parked, she discovered that her battery was dead. So we walked to Nawab, braving stiff winds while wearing formal clothes. Lynn ended up calling Liz to ask her if she would be willing to come and get us, as we didn't want to have to walk all the back to the Campus Center from Monticello Ave. Thank God for friends with cars.
The theme of the formal was "If I Won The Lottery," which I thought was pretty silly until I discovered that it involved a bunch of white balloons with numbers on them. Being adults with the mentalities of middle school children, we immediately started hitting each other with them and making each other's all staticky. It reminded of those times I used to go to parties and such with my parents when I was little and all the other kids and I would end up chasing each other around all night. I guess it's good to be a kid again, sometimes--Heaven forbid we get stuck in our adult selves for too long a period of time.
So yes. Lynn and I had an excellent time. I think this may have been one of the most enjoyable and rowdy dances I've ever been to. And really, how many frats do you know of that have balloon fights at their formals?

Lynn and I in her room right before we left for Nawab. I like to think I looked pretty good last night, but...not in this picture. Whereas Lynn looks stunning. I guess it balances out.

Evan the hairy wildebeest, covered in balloons. Yay for static electricity.

KSapp, looking like a pawn shop sign.

Lynn, holding a balloon and probably up to no good. (I think she hit me with it almost immediately after I put the camera down.)

Birthday "Yeah, I Wish"List

Right, so my birthday's in eight days. I guess I should have posted this a little bit earlier, but oh well. This year, I'm looking for a nice mix of utilitarian and "special" items. Anyways...

-This shirt, this shirt, the TEH shirt (about halfway down), or a combination thereof (I'm almost positive I'm a large)
-Dish soap. Need lots of dish soap for blowing bubbles. Dawn works best, and the blue variety if possible. Please, please--no Joy. I will gladly take anything but Joy. (Not in the literal sense. If you have any joy lying around, please send it to me C.O.D. (Does anyone say C.O.D. anymore?))
-Kiwi shoeshine, black. And a new buffing sponge would be nice, too. One of the ones that has the buffing fluid in it that rubs off on your shoes.
-The usual deal with dress shirts and ties. I'm not picky; as long as they're fairly tasteful and not garish, they're fine with me.
-An iPod. Yes, this is the present I don't really expect to get; however, as long as I'm wishing, I'll wish for the 20 gigabyte one. Look at it this way: I'm a child of the Millenium, and I already have a laptop and a cellphone. I need an iPod merely to fit in.

...er, not that I'm trying to justify wanting an iPod...or anything
Ahem. Moving on.

-Oh hell yes. Perhaps the only rude t-shirt I would ever want to wear.
-Some DVD's. I need to start a collection. If you want to help me start it you could look at my favorites on my profile. Or just get me ones you think I'd like. Hell, buy me anything; I'll watch it.
-Strings. Guitar strings. Can always use more guitar strings. (NOTE: 12-string.)
-Dave Barry books. I lost Dave Barry's Guide to Guys some time back, and would like to replace it.

Umm...that's about it for now. I don't expect all of this, just in case anyone thinks I'm greedy. I like to put a lot of stuff out there in hopes that I get a good mix of stuff, instead of requesting two or three things and getting disappointed if I only recieve one. Although I expect people will find interesting ways to surprise me, as always.

Tropical Party

The PMA/NKE "Tropical" Party went pretty well, although the only two people dressed in a remotely tropical fashion were Matt Carroll and I. It was small, as parties go--though most of ours are anyway. We don't have enough active members in either of our organizations to muster a real riot of a party, and a riot would probably sour Ryan's parents against us...since it's their house where we hold our celebratory events.
At any rate. This is the first post that I think I've mentioned Phi Mu Alpha in any great detail with accompanying photos. Right now, I'm tired and don't feel like writing any more. Enjoy.

Eric Anderson and Ethan discuss the events of the previous night. (Including serenading the NKE girls while incredibly intoxicated.)

Mike Semanik after no hours of sleep and heavy drinking the night before.

Ethan expounds on the subtleties of Rome: Total War.

Matt Carroll and Derrick Fellows face off at air hockey.

The illustrious President Derek Gray engages in a game of pool.

Mike and Ethan play a belated game of chess after the NKE's leave.

Yeah, so, Blogger's been acting a little strange lately. It eats my posts...eats my comments...I can't even remember what I posted on the other day that I thought had gotten published, but apparently hadn't. Oh well. It's a little screwy with the heat, I guess.

The weather is now sufficently warm enough to start practicing my bubble-blowing skills again. I plan on having somebody come out and take pictures of them so I can post them up on here.

Umm...not much else to talk about, really. My friend's creepy boyfriend quasi-stalked me over Instant Messenger the other day, and apparently she was in the room while he was doing it. Very strange. I have odd tastes in the people I associate with. Take my roommate...

My parents got me a cellphone. I guess I'm a couple steps towards becoming my worst nightmare. Or at least a facsimilie thereof. Never thought I'd see a cellphone that I like, but...it's pretty cool. It flips, and take pictures, and neat little things like that. Hank is jealous. Maybe I was more anti-cellphone culture than I was anti-cellphones themselves.

I have a really good, interesting (to me) topic for my German philosophy class, but I'm not sure how to phrase my various scattered arguments and points. It all started last night when Hank and I were talking about music downloading. I remarked that human beings are the only organisms that strive for things far beyond what they already possess; the striving of beasts and other living things is only for the fulfillment of immediate necessity. I then realized, out loud, that the lust which drives us on is our ultimate undoing in many things; a man's lust for power, fame, money, or success can put him in danger of many evils that no other creature will ever know or be able to fathom.
So from that, we might extrapolate the idea that every action, every creation, contains within itself the seeds of its own destruction, merely by virtue of existing. The only being which is above this necessary limitation is God, who by His very nature must exist without ever being destroyed. To argue with this is to argue with the fundamental nature of a Being who is outside of time, space, or full comprehension.
Thus, death and life are not merely two sides of the same coin. If we could imagine a coin with only ONE side, which was both life and death in resonance with each other, we could come to understand the idea of the annihilation contained within every aspect of Creation. However, the only being who can fully comprehend Creation is God, who made it and whose existence is not accompanied by annihilation.
Often I have used the phrase "Death is the mother of beauty" in arguments with friends, where I posit that beauty is a subjective effect of our own mortality. If we were all immortal, beauty would have a very different meaning, because that which is temporary would be harder to understand. But because beauty is also susceptible to the destruction that is the end result of all creation, we are able to grasp its glory, and realize that it is made all the more sweet by the fact that it will one day fade.
Another way to look at it is from a Spinozistic standpoint. If we agree that God is an "infinite substance," and that one substance cannot be produced by another substance (P6, The Ethics), then God cannot create another infinite substance. Ergo, anything that he does create (I'm veering away from Spinoza now) would have to be finite in its nature. By my reasoning above, anything finite in its nature will carry with it the seeds of its own destruction in its subsequent actions and creations.
A third way to consider it: To be human is to live consciously for the future. To live for the future is to admit a finite space of human existence, for in an infinite space of time there is no past or future. To admit a finite space of time demands a reconciliation with one's own mortality. And to confront one's own mortality means facing the annihilation that accompanies all creation.


Wow. This started off really lame and shallow and got way too deep too quickly. I'ma go do something that involves little mental activity for once.

I refrained from discussing the late Teresa Schiavo's death until now because I would been reduced to rageful rambling and grief-stricken insipidity. I will just say this: if this were a just nation, we would hunt down and punish Michael Schiavo for his treacherous, lecherous, adulterous, and ultimately murderous behavior. If this were a just nation, Mrs. Schiavo would have died quickly and painlessly, and not in a drawn-out, agonizing circus of tearful protestors and self-serving politicians and judges, who chose to do nothing when they could have saved an innocent life.
But this is a civilized nation. A nation where we starve the weak and powerless and let their murderers go free. No wonder Jesus wept.