The Overly Long Long Overdue Entry

I'm getting really terrible about remembering to update this..

It's been a busy week since last I wrote in this thing.

I used the Lake Front trail to commute in to class on Monday. On the train from the Morse stop to the Harrison stop of the CTA Red Line it's about 50 minutes. On a bike it was about the same. That and the view is far better than the hobo sleeping across the aisle. I get to watch the sunrise over the lake, see some nice parks, Buckingham Fountain, and I get exercise. Only downside is that I get to look like a goof using a bathroom in the library to change into my pants for work.

The Haslett Men's Ensemble, the nationally renowned choral ensemble that came from my High School, and a group that I am an alumni of, sang for the induction ceremony for the new president of the American Medical Association. His son, Evan Davis, is also an alum of the Ensemble, and so to accommodate him the group was opened up as an Alumni Performance. Eight gents (including myself) joined the Mens for their Tuesday night performance, including our staple, "A Hymn To God the Father" and another classic, "Viva Tutti" which translates (according to the sheet music) as "Hail to Women!"

The gig was at the Hilton right on Michigan Ave. in Chicago, which was a very convenient location for me (right across the street, south of Columbia). They put the men up in hotel rooms there. For meals they got to eat in the South wing of the Executive Suite.

After the performance, that Tuesday, we took a tour of the Hancock Building, followed by a quick desert at the Cheesecake Factory.

The next day the gents were given a brief tour of the touristy side of Chicago. I skipped out on Class and tutoring to join them. Sometimes life just gets in the way. The day began with a glorious breakfast again in the Executive Suite, and then a visit to Shedd's Aquarium. Ben Henri, the newest member of the Music Department Faculty at Haslett was telling me about working at Sea World, and we had a few laughs over the hilarity of the Dolphin shows. Then we were witness to the saddest looking Sea Lion I think we'd ever seen. It was half flopped onto the shore of its cage lying catatonic.

The next part of our venture was to Chicago's famous Navy Pier. I split away from most of the Men's guys and stuck close with a few of the Alumni, David Theis and Dan Voegler. There are only so many times you can see Navy Pier before it becomes really really boring. Needless to say, this time was well past one too many. For the last part of their day I hooked back up with Ben Henri's group on the Magnificent Mile. We spent the majority of the time in the Apple Store (no complaints there) playing the I Spy children's games.

Having people visit Chicago is by far my favorite thing about being here.

Thursday was back to the daily grind. Have to write another essay for my Prose Forms class. This one is about the history of my cabin with the slant that I'm interested in the story behind my inheritance. I need to call my Grandma and get the stories from her because she knows the story the most.

This week is the Taste of Chicago Festival. I went down there today and left fairly quickly because of the ridiculously large crowds. I will definitely be returning when my Mom comes down on Tuesday to spend some time with me.

Next weekend is the yearly bike trip from East Lansing, Michigan to West Branch, Michigan. It's about 150ish miles. We do it over three days. We ride from the Haslett Community Church to the Northwoods Boy Scout Reservation. We've been doing it now for about 4 years, and I haven't missed one yet.

Saw 1408 last night and it was good!

My mom sent me this article, and I laughed uproariously. Read it through and you will too...


And in other news my mentor, Mort Castle, has had his story "If You Take My Hand, My Son" performed by the AMFM Theater as part of their horror audio productions: "The Grist Mill." The production was awarded the Gold Ogle Award. The Award will be given at the CONvergence Convention in July. The Ogle was named for the actor who portrayed Frankenstein's Monster in the 1910 film Frankenstein.

Firefox has decided to stop acting up, which is nice. Now all I need to do is find my digital camera...

I'm 21.

I had started an entry earlier about the anticipation of turning 21. About waiting for my friends to arrive to go to the pub and share a pint with me. About how life is constantly going. About a lot of things. Then James walked through the door and I closed the window and decided to go life more so than type this entry.

It's now 2AM. I've definitely enjoyed the beginning of my 21st. I'm still relatively sober. And I'm carrying on a conversation with a friend over AIM. We're talking about life, about my philosophy, and about the world in general. The side of me that is pleasantly passed buzzed is saying that I should elucidate on the subject. Ranting for pages and pages and swallowing up enormous amounts of your time. The sober side is saying that no one (who hasn't come to me asking) really gives a wet smack what a half-drunk 21-year-old thinks about life. I tend to lean towards the latter, and have decided that beyond this paragraph I will spare you (for now) the ranting of a philosophical drunk.

I saw the third Pirates on Friday and it was good.

I went to my cottage this last weekend, and it was also good. I had a few beers on tap (figured I'd jump the gun a little bit). I should've done writing, but couldn't bring myself to work. Instead I ran and got some sun and I read.

I'm deep into the third book of Stephen King's Dark Tower cycle. It is very good. As everyone was, I was a little weary through The Gunslinger, and was very apprehensive after the beginning of The Drawing of the Three. The Wastelands is shaping up to be quite a howler. I get far too much time to enjoy my own books now. I have an two hours of commute-time on a train four days a week. I should be able to just hammer through the Dark Tower series over the next month. And probably read Herodotus's Histories through June. That will carry me all the way up to the release of the 7th Harry Potter, which yes I am excited for.

I sent Mort my first chapter of the Center (working title). He liked it. Offered a few good suggestions. I'll keep them in mind, but I am not allowing myself time to go back and edit. Not yet at least. I want to get the first 10 chapters done before I start cycling back. And with that I am off to bed.