Three Times a Bride's Maid ... Always a Friend?

Jevon left yesterday, and I was there for that but it didn't seem emotional. Maybe it's the fact that I'll see him again in January, or maybe I was just burned out from doing my paper at 5 a.m. Still I didn't get emotional.

Not that I got all Dick Vermeil-like when Kajsa and Dylan left, but I did feel sad to see them go. Kajsa has always been someone I could gripe about classes with, while Dylan would share his keen observations about the quality of life, all while keeping a level head. Beyond that, they were my friends. I will truly miss them both next semester.

This morning I went to work, fell asleep on shift, and ran around like a chicken with my head cutoff. There was no PC supervisor today so I was forced to play mother hen to the entire helpdesk. Rolling the phones so customers could call us was the easy part.

About 30 minutes into my weekly Friday-morning, 8 a.m. love fest, one of the PC consultants -- Jon -- came over with a question. He had a customer on the phone who needed to assign room privledges in Cornell's network calendar program. Ironically, he came to me with questions no more than 2 minutes after I had explained to the other macintosh consultants how I didn't know anything about the system. Of course, I get paid to know these things (or at least pretend to), so I had to help the consultant find the solution.

It was easy in the end. The person wasn't connected to the network, which is why they couldn't assign privledges to other users. Of course, that took 25 minutes of web searching, brow beating and stomach churning to come by. The next thing wasn't so hot either.

Apparently one person had called us four times in one hour. Everytime they asked a queston, got the answer, thanked the consultant and hung up. Around 10:30, the onsite supervisor came over to me.

"I need you to give me a consultant," he said. "We're going to need someone to get rid of a virus on this machine."

Sure enough, he handed me a sheet filled with complaints about viruses, firewalls, and crazy other things I had never even heard of. The fixes seemed simple enough, but judging from the number of calls the user gave us, they were computer illterate. They were also some administrative assistant to the graduate programs. I sent Jon to go deal with it. He was going to be at the call center all day anyway, so I figured a break from the phones couldn't hurt him.

Jon ended up allright, and so did that computer I sent him to fix. We also had an irate woman come in and bitch about her laptop being slow. It was actually old, but we turned some buttons on to make her feel better. Then I did myself in.

I began playing fishy (www.xgenstudios.com).

It's such a simple game, and from watching it, you'd think it was easy, or a waste of time. Once you start playing it, however, it's something else. It grows on you, eventually becoming an addiction.

I've never had crack, and after fishy I don't want to. I don't think it would be as good.

I "crashed" from my fishy high around 3 p.m., when I returned home to run a few errands on the commons. I went to the bank, mailed a book to my brother, and then climbed the steep hills of Ithaca back home.

That's when I learned Kajsa's dad was coming around 6 p.m. Originally, I thought she and Dylan were going to head home around 2 a.m., or something like that. I really didn't understand what they were planning on, but in the end it made sense. The original course of action was to sleep for a while, then start back to Wisconsin. Instead they decided to go right home.

We loaded the car with garbage, and they dumped it. We then loaded the car with their belongings and headed to dinner. Dinner was great, and we talked about the semester, recapping the high points (not having anymore bats made my list), and joking about the things we would be doing over break. Along the way, the topic of Kajsa's being a bride's maid came up. Since being asked to fill the position, she's also been overtaken by a great fear: three times a bride's maid, never a bride.

Earlier in the year, Dylan and I joked about having Kajsa be a bride's maid at our weddings, and making sure to get married before she did. Then, if she did go to this upcoming wedding as a member of the bridal party, she would have been a bride's maid three times.

A laughter-filled "Oh no!" was her common response, as it was tonight when we told the tale to her father.

Kajsa's dad is a really cool guy, but I didn't expect anything less after living with Kajsa for nearly a full academic year. I'll miss the lazy afternoons watching WE, and waking up in the evenings to find our living room full of strange and wonderful people, playing games on Echo's high-class tables. Kajsa -- you were truly the life of the apartment -- spending your time on as many fruitful activities of scholarship and friendship as possible. Dylan, Jevon and I merely struggled to keep up.

And tonight, as the three of my apartmentmates have departed, it appears I have failed to do my "keeping up." Alone, I have fallen behind, resigned to spend the night in an empty apartment.

Safe journeys my friends, on whichever interstate you may be travelling. While the months between now and our reunion are many, perhaps tonight we will reminisce in my dreams.

Now excuse me while I go get all Dick Vermeil-like. Anyone got a tissue?

Wow

Just got to watch the Spider Man 2 teaser (it was some sort of members only preview -- I'm a dork like that). Just one more reason why I'm excited about July. I should have been doing work, but it was well worth the minute distraction. Oh well, back to the grindstone.

Stalled

So tonight we had a formal fraternity meeting. I can't write about it becuase I'm not supposed to write about the covert dealings of the fraternity. I'm also not supposed to write about the house's covert business transactions ... what ever that means.

Anyway, we had the meeting. Then we all cleaned up and went to dinner. There was also a huge snow storm going on outside, so before we went to RPU we had a giant snowball fight.

I think Tabari was the loser in it all, only beucase he started it. A black man in a winter wonderland is an easy target, especially when he aggrivates everyone.

Dinner was also great becuase we made the grill people give us all of the mozzarella sticks they had. They didn't want to at first, but when we started going up in four-man shifts, they gave in.

We also took over the mongo line, made tons of loud off color remarks, and stole a bottle of soy sauce. I credit the soy sauce stealing to S-Com (pronounces "scum"), or the house's stealing committee, formed for the purpose of getting us free rock salt from unlocked university sheds and buildings. I know soy sauce and rock salt are like apples and oranges, but we've got to start somewhere. Think baby steps people, baby steps... Of course, I suppose I shouldn't have written about that, seeing as how it would most likely be covered under the house's policy of "covert business transactions..."

After dinner, we went and did donuts in the local church parking lot. Yeah Ithaca Excitement! Seriously though, it was great. We had two suburu outbacks, and we had them wheeling and squeeling like fat people at an all-you-can-eat pork rib bar-b-que. We stalled a few times, but eventually got the car going again.

But now it's time to do work. I've got to pound out three pages of an english paper before 1:30 p.m tomorrow, and then finish a take-home final for my comm class. Oh Friday! Why did you ever have to end?

Maybe there's a future in all this

So the Kajsa, the boys, a room full of guests and I enjoyed The Two Towers on the big screen tonight. It was a great setup thanks to Jevon, who rented the projector and DVD plaer from work. We did a little rearanging, and after about 30 minutes of setup, we had a mini theater in our living room.

Sometime during the night, Kajsa made reference to my posting about last night.

"You might have a future as a romance novelist," she said.

I never thought about writing novels. I'll have to see what I can come up with over Winter Break. For now, however, I'll have to be happy with writing papers. Just two left before I'm done...

Incubating Gloria with 12 Holiday Hangovers

So I went to bed Thursday night around 3 a.m., depsite the advice of the Gannett people who had given me a flu shot. I'd just gone 14+ hours with the weakened flu strain in me, and I was starting to feel it. It was incubating. I had also finished 11 pages of my final comm paper, revising the four pages the group had sent to me as well as our original six. They were now all translated to English, and semi-coherent.

Unfortunately, the massive amounts of caffine in my body prohibited me from falling asleep right away. Where I had originally planned to get up around 6 a.m. and do another two to three pages, I ended up not getting to sleep until closer to four. As a result, I hit the snooze button several times, one of which I actually turned it off. This resulted in me jerking awake at 7:50, frantically pulling on clothes, and rushing to work.

At least I got my daily run in ... sort of...

Work was work. While on shift, I managed to effectively decrease the size of the queue, and finish up a scholarship essay. Afterwards, I went to go see Brian Earle. He was supposed to write me two letters of recommendation, but needed some reminding. I would have to return to the comm department later that day to pick them up.

Distraught and foggy-headed, I started home. I finished my paper in my room and sent it to Jeff (the professor). Then I headed back up to the ag quad to pick up my letters.

I ran into Scott Jones along the way, and seeing him was like seeing my brother. Scott and I, and even Alex and I, have bonded in an amazing way this semester. I hope I can keep in touch with both of them over the years, so we can share life's high points. I'd like to even say I'd invite them both to things like my weeding (should that happen someday), but it probably won't happen. Scott would just run off with my fiance and make her fat.

Professor Earle's letter was amazing. With my other clips, references, and accompanying materials, I think I might actually have a shot at the NCAA Freedom-Forum Journalism Award. I really want it, not for the money, but so I can say I won an NCAA award. I think it would be a cool thing to tell my kids about.

I then speed walked to the post office on the commons. It didn't take that long to get there, although I cheated and ran part of the way. I was filled with a nervous excitment. Though I don't think I'll win the NCAA award, I knew that if I didn't get it in before postmark, I'd never really know. It now rests in God's hands.

I went home and watched some TV to kill time until the next big thing. It just happened to be a suprise invitation to dinner on North with Rachel. It was great to see her again and catch up. She also happened to pay me a great compliment, that the two of us have bonded to the point where even though we don't see each other often, we can still make great conversation. I like that.

After dinner, I came home and sat in the living room with Jevon. The boys and I got ready to go to the Hangovers' Holiday party. I was a bit apprehensive, but after thinking about who would be there, I decided to go. I like all the guys, and enjoyed my time in the group. I imagined I would enjoy my time at the party, too.

I did.

Sam, Jeremy, Adam, Ben, Doug, Doug, Evan, Arnold and even John Cape (despite not being in the group) were all there. (Dylan, Jevon, and Brian were there, too, but I live with them, so they don't count.) I love those guys. They always know how to have a good time, and tonight was no exception. There was a ton of food, and some great stories were shared.

Then around 11 p.m., I truly began to appreciate my time at the party and Cornell.

She was tall and well proportioned; a bright-eyed brunette who carried herself with a slight air of sophistication and grace as she entered the room. She was dressed in earth tones that covered nearly everything except for a slight band of nicely-defined skin at her midriff. Shoulder length hair fell ever-so-slightly to frame her gentle face and smiling eyes. Her lips were thin, and her cool walk betrayed her. Every motion seemed to give hint of the burning passion for living that smoldered within.

Even though she was on the other side of the room, I was intoxicated, instantly.

She ended up in John Cape's room, but I knew they weren't doing anything more than talking. For the two of them, it was an escape from the rest of us -- a place where they didin't quite belong. The Hangovers sang in the common room, while the two of them conversed in John's room.

Eventually things broke up. Dylan and Doug wandered back, and I followed. Dylan and I entered the room a few moments later, joining the conversation as we did. Midway though, I introduced myself.

Her name was Lauren, but I thought she said Gloria. Of course, I took that incident and did what I enjoy most when meeting someone new -- I called her by the wrong name all night, even when we parted company. I loved the look she gave me when I did it.

We laughed about it at first. She of course appeared annoyed, but it was playful. We didn't even flirt, we just talked -- but it was probably some of the best conversation I've ever had at Cornell. We joked about everything, and even postulated on the six-degrees of separation theory, noting that it could probably be done within three or four at Cornell. All you needed was a Kevin Bacon, in this case, any hotel student.

She mentioned that she read my columns, and even remebered my last name from print. It was flattering to hear that from a total stranger.

I was in and out of the dog house all night, though. At one point, she tilted her head back and laughed at something I said. While she did so, I caught a glimpse of fillings in her mouth. I ventured a guess at how many she had. It was a mistake on all accounts.

If there's one thing you're never supposed to ask a woman, it's their weight. If there's another, it's got to be how many fillings they have. Lauren took great offense to this question, and even took a personal affect of mine as a bargaining tool. In the end I ate crow, and begged for forgiveness on my knees. I told her I was geniunely sorry, and that I wanted to marry a girl like her someday, even though I knew I wouldn't be good enough for her. She didn't seem to buy all the BS I was selling, but she took enough of it to give me my card back.

All in all, it really opened my eyes as to who you just might find if you happen to be in the right place, at the right time.

Not that I want readers to get the wrong impression. She has a boyfriend, and from the way she said "you don't look like your column moniker," I'm assuming I'm just not attractive enough for her. Though I would clearly jump at the chance to get to know her better, I doubt it'll ever happen.

Still, for one night, I was the guy who had the ear of the most beautiful girl at the party. And tonight, for me, that's all that really matters.

Let it snow

Ah-ha

The snow's been in Ithaca for a week and I'm starting to hate it. I'm running out of long sleeve shirts becuase I accidentally left them home over Thanksgiving. I've only got three papers to do until I can go home, and possibly an exam. I say that because if my group wins it's extra credit project, then we get an overall A+ in the class.

Cool, right?

Except for the fact that our professor wrote us all e-mails today accusing us of cheating. He said our work was exemplary. He also said that it was too good to be done just for this project, and wanted to know what other class we did this for. Of course we just did it for the project, because we want/need A+'s. It'll be interesting to see how this plays down.

The boys at 711 invited me and 58 others to go caroling this Saturday. I'm definitely there, and think I can bring some other people. I'm kind of excited about this, but am not completely sure how it'll turn out. Matt is always able to generate massive interest in his events (see flashmobbing), but 58 carolers could be a bit much. Ah well ... the more the merrier?

Now it's off to bed. I've got to get to work early tomorrow.