Asa's 23rd Birthday Shindig Brainstorm

This is me last year. In this photo I have just downed a Colt .45 40 in under five minutes. I am dressed as Princess Leia and doing the "invisible blowjob" motion. Please don't let this happen again this year.

Aight, so my 23rd is Thursday, December 9th, and my parents leave the next morning. So, you're all invited over Friday the 10th, natch.

Food for thought:
-My neighbors can be puds if noise gets too loud, but I think this is rarely an issue with us...Ben (Eisenhardt) had a ludicrous jock party May of last year and somehow no one ever called the cops
-A theme would be nice.
-Regardless, it's a potluck. Bring some fine-ass food, preferably vegetarian!
-If you're drinking, you're sleeping over. Period. At least, that's the way I'd like to keep it.

Please, contribute thoughts and ideas! I really haven't had a good birthday party in like two years, and I haven't had a good birthday party with my NW friends since probably 2004.

Update

My turn for an update I guess. I'm gonna go bullet-point format so I can keep track of what I'm saying.

-Jhane and I broke up two weeks ago. This seems to be going around (Dante, Michael). The impetus wasn't mine, but it's definitely a move in the right direction. Maybe more so for me, because I loved her unconditionally (literally, without condition) and therefore don't have a problem not being together, because I can still love her and support her if she needs it. Which she does right now, because she's bipolar, went off of her medication two months ago, and is having a hard time finding ways to be happy, mainly due, I think, to a lack of passion and curiosity. We almost broke up this summer because I tried to explain, maybe not in the most delicate manner, how love is best when its a) not exclusive or possessive and b) unconditional. Not sure she's there yet, which is a bummer, but it is what it is. I feel good about it now.

-I decided like three weeks ago to go ahead and do pre-med requirements before I graduate, which basically means a ton of lab classes (Chem. I and II, Organic Chem. I and II, Physics I and II, two semesters of biology, biochemistry, stats...). But I was planning on doing all of those anyways, with the exception of Physics, so I figured what the hell. Might as well set myself up in case I decide to go in that direction later. And then I started thinking more about medical school as an actual possibility, and have been liking the idea more and more over the past two weeks. I'm taking Human Physiology right now, which is hard as shit, but it's a ton of fun and I actually enjoy doing the homework and problem sets. Which is probably an indication that I might want to go in that direction, and advanced physiology, if it's not research, means medicine. So we'll see.

-I've started looking at summer research programs across the country. The National Science Foundation sponsors thousands of undergraduate students to attend hundreds of schools to do research in everything from computer science to neuroscience to ecology and astrophysics. My friend Colin did a program this past summer at UMass in computer science and made $4,000, which is pretty typical for REUs (Research Experiences for Undergraduates). They usually give you a food stipend too, and set you up in a nice living situation. They're all about ten weeks, starting between mid-May and mid-June. This would definitely put a damper on any summer plans, and I obviously wouldn't be able to spend most of my summer at home, but if I can get into one its an awesome opportunity and would help me figure out if I'm interested in that kind of stuff (I'm looking into programs that do research in physiology, molecular and cell biology, neuroscience, genetics, and combinations thereof). Looking into this has also helped me realize how the government fosters the domestic advancement of science, as all of the programs are specifically designed to recruit students to become research scientists. They probably do a good job, spending about 6,000$ per student just in stipend, room, board and travel... makes research seem pretty attractive when they're paying you to get an introduction to it. They usually give about 500,000$ to each research site as well, and they have at least one hundred just in the biological sciences classification. Crazy.

-I've been trying to put on weight this semester, but without access to a scale its pretty hard to track progress. But I've definitely put on a few pounds, if my eyes aren't lying. I've been following the CrossFit Football website, which focuses mainly on developing speed, strength, and power, and I've been having a lot of fun with that. And put 40 pounds on my five-rep max deadlift in seven weeks. Not bad. Working out takes up about seven hours a week, on top of frisbee and whitewater kayaking. Not a ton of free time these days.

-Which reminds me that I've been doing whitewater kayaking, one pool practice session per week and a five-hour day trip every friday. Super fun, and highly recommended to anyone with access to a college outdoors program. It's getting a little cold to be padding in chilly rivers though.

-I'm super psyched to spend January in Guatemala, especially now that Chris, Dante, Mikail and Graham are all coming. Its gonna be a blast. Probably more fun than the WFR last winter.

-Hampshire halloween is on friday and things are going to get crazy, like usual. I'm going to try out ecstasy and see how it treats me. Should be fun. A bunch of people on the frisbee team just ordered reversible pinnies that say hampshire lacrosse on them, with a hammer and sickle and crossed lacrosse sticks, so a bunch of us are going to be lacrosse bros for halloween. Creative? Not really. But so ironic. Hampshire fosters an inflated sense of irony, unfortunately.

stepping out to space

my finger is now certified to function as a maxi pad

was originally planning on having my finger drained by our family's doctor in seattle but last night it became too much-- i went to harrison around eleven--the emergency room was filled-- when i finally got in he injected a local anesthetic and just ginsued the shit out of it--then drained an insane amount of puss-- its on the healing track now though!...

FOURyearsGO

So i'm trying to push this forward a bit more. for those who haven't heard: this group is going to be hosting a video contest--inviting people to define what can happen in four years--they hired a professional design team to produce the above commercial(they've done nike ads and so on) to give the challengers something to bounce off of. i had a great conversation with chris and corbin this weekend and feel that this competition could push us in that direction!

-so to start i would like to begin a dialogue about our future (click here for the site)--what threatens it --what is at stake--and so on and so forth--i'm posting this as i head home from work so i'll facilitate it better when i get some more comp. time BUT i would love for anyone to jump on and move it forward--this may seem labor intesive and redundant--as all of us have been plowing this concept for some time but REALLy this is a great in if we put in some hard work!!

So here I am, sitting in my office, and I wonder why/how people make the decisions they do. Furthermore, I wonder how chance/luck factors into the decisions that one makes. I want to elaborate on these ideas in terms of me.

first off,chance and luck are factors that should be embraced in the flow of life but underlying them, i bleieve, are pre conditions that we can actually control, exteriorly/from third party views they are obsereved as luck as chance.

INTENTION. INTENTION. INTENTION.
(one of them is intention and i don't have time to elaborate on the others, i am at work)

this summer was an incredibly hectic summer for me, a lot was happening, but somewhere admist all the happening the concept of intention sunk in. i think the theme sits so staunchly with me because of my interest in art, creation, systems, activism, and the general desire to understand what seperates a scribble from a portrait--a kiss from love--a day from living--laughter from happiness.

from scribbles you can create a potrait but a scribble alone will always fall short--so what is that difference:

Michael: let us take your interaction with claire: was your encounter simple chance? from the little i know i would suggest the fact that you had plugged yourself into the rock gym, outdooring, RA'ing, the frat, and your accessible personality it was inevitbale that you would meet claire. the social touches YOU created along with the communities understanding of who you are was positevly reflecting so that encounters with attractive blonde, blue eyed girls would be possible. the question then is, was that your intention? was that what you wanted?

a distinction i've chosen to take in my life is to not live to make money but live a life that produces wealth. to not enter a relationship for the sex but create a healthy relationship that allows sex. such shifts in thought open a path that allows one to focus in a more transcendent sincere engagement-- i think ben touched upon some of this in his post too in relation to some of his recent actions.

MIchael, look back at your relationship with school, the fact that your at whitman with an awesome scholarship was the direct result of your staunch intentions--you wanted to get into a competitive school and you now haave that.

an example of intention is our blog--i want to ensure that we remain friends for a long time, i want to document our journey and unfolding of life, i want to remain connected, and thus i jumped started our blog--we'll see how it unfolds...i have hope.

INTENTION. INTENTION. INTENTION.

just like you have learned to succeed with school michael, i'm sure if you put yourself to it you could learn to succeed with women. simply because we struggle should not mean we dissmiss it as chance.

in terms of physical versus personality? --there are a lot of fish in the sea--a good fisherman is patient and doesn't reel in just because something is nibbling, he may tow the line a bit but if its not what he wants he'll let it go.


in terms of the polar dynamics of me and chris--they simply refelct the ebb and flow of life and the limitiations of time. the good things don't last forever but if they were real they will always come back--the crucial part is to turn the lows into our impetus' --i may have ended a relationship with chelsea BUT i benefitted greatly from that experience--what are the things that you learned from your time with claire, its too easy to say fuck it when it all falls--what will you do differently--would you have joined long distance running if it were not for her-- women aren't PHD's and Bachelor certificats--once you've entitled them as your GF they aren't going to stick forever its a tricky engagement of trust and great opportunity to practice the act of giving unconditionally--chelsea was a huge challenge but from it i feel more confident --it gave me focus and challenged my priorities--i honestly think i enjoy life more because of all that i fought through--and on a side note she plans on coming back down next weekend to hang out...

and fuck it the next woman i find will be even more awesome--and the challenge of finding her is exciting...

How do you know you're doing the right thing and making the right choices?

So here I am, sitting in the Whitman College Library, and I wonder why/how people make the decisions they do. Furthermore, I wonder how chance/luck factors into the decisions that one makes. I want to elaborate on these ideas in terms of 1) dating/relationships and 2) jobs/careers/lifestyles.

For example:

1) dating/relationships.

Prior to the end of last semester, I had a fling of sorts with this girl named Hannah for about a week. Pretty cute, and we really clicked in terms of personality. Pretty outdoorsy (she spent 11 weeks doing trail maintenance this summer), and still kinda girly. i.e., enjoys getting dolled up and going out to parties and whatever. She also sings and plays the guitar, which I think is really dope. Anyways, part way though, Claire comes along, and I immediately drop Hannah and decide to make something happen with Claire. Claire and I have similar interests, but in the end, Claire and I don't last because we never really clicked, and I realize that I made the decision to be with Claire because she was physically more attractive.

The thing is, Claire just seemed to pop out of no where; i.e., sheer coincidence/luck of meeting a pretty, attractive girl. I was like "wow, this is awesome, how did this even happen to me? This girl is awesome." But in the end it just didn't work out. wtf. I wonder why I decided to go for the girl that I found more attractive (Claire) over the girl that I clicked really well with (Hannah). How does that even happen?

At the same time, there's this girl Heather that is probably one of my best friends at Whitman, but I don't really find her that attractive. I spent three hours just hanging out and talking with her, and it went by amazingly fast. But I don't find her that attractive. Why couldn't she just be more attractive?

Will I find the "right" person? And I ask a question, which is more important, physical looks or personality?

2) jobs/careers/lifestyles.
And now here I think about Chris and Dante

Chris first. I wonder how it worked out that he met this really cool/attractive girl named Ali, got along really well with her, and he seemed really happy. That is, luck in terms of relationships worked out really well for him. He just met this girl in physics class, and it just worked. Now he's with Kate, and it seems to work out really well too. So luck in relationships worked out really well.

But now, he just got fucked by a ladder and his knees really hurt... how does that even happen? How can someone do so well in one category of their life (relationships), and then life just comes around and fucks with another category of their life (career/lifestyle). Chris can't really go exploring like had intended, and now he has to sit at home and watch movies.

Why does this happen?

Dante. You're not with Chelsea anymore because you weren't feeling it being so far away from her. This indicates that the dating/relationship realm just isn't working out for you. But then in terms of career/lifestyle, you landed a boss job that actually makes a difference in the world. And this job just came out of nowhere. Cindy just happened to point you somewhere, and somehow, feeling under-qualified, happened to land this job. However, what it really comes down to, is that you're super qualified for this job.

Really, I feel like like Chris and Dante are diametrically opposed. Whereas Chris has relationships working for him, Dante doesn't. However, Dante has lifestyle/career going for him, and Chris doesn't.

How does that happen?

Factual update with minor tangent at end

In similar vain, it seems appropriate to also give an update of what I have been up to ...

Really fucking busy. I decided to really cram my schedule full and get a lot of my requirements done - which means 18 credits. Classes are great but challenging - french 1 and three philosophy classes, all 400 level; law, Marx and critical theory.

In terms of school I am directing a badass student group that is keeping me really busy. We have a bunch of speakers come to the U of O including Dahr Jamail, the Beehive Collective, Anarchists Against the Wall and a performance of My Name is Rachel Corrie. Some of my activists mentors just spent a year working for International Solidarity Movement in Palestine ... they are badass but its mostly their impetus propelling the pro-Palestinian rampage of events. Not that I am not down.

I also have a radio show called Crusty Cthulhu Rock with DJ's H.P Hatecraft and Edgar Allen Pho (me)! Except my time slot is 2-4 in the morning ...

Also continuing to try and stop the timber sale that I campaigned against on and off during the summer ... for information on that go to http://forestdefensenow.blogspot.com/. Shit keeps me busy.

I don't know. I am happy but I realize that over the last few years I have only been happy when i have been doing stuff that i am stoked on (duh). So 'nothing', 'chilling out' may be good but when I wake up hung over the next day i just feel angsty.

Co-ops are good. Definately not excited about the group of people that moved in ... I feel really culturally removed from a good portion of the house ... but that is okay as I have begun the tortorous process of divesting my entire being in the lorax ... looking for other places but not planning on moving out for a while.

I don't know. I always feel really excited. I realize that spiritual attainment/oneness/meaning in my life is a byproduct of ... doing things that actually mean something. That to pursue my happiness solely would like leave me unhappy.

I will finished with school at the end of next fall. Excited but I also feel like U of O is a means to a lifestyle and training that i am really seizing right now.

I want to come up north, either for halloween or for some time when friends will be congregating. Any plans? Ideas?

All are welcome down here as I hope you already know.
Love and solidarity
Ben mofucking Jones

There's No Water Here.

I didn't really know what to expect when I came down to Las Cruces in southern New Mexico. I knew I'd be hot and dry, but I guess I didn't really understand what that meant. In Washington the hotter it is, the nicer it is to be outside. That is not true here. Maybe if there was a lake or river to cool off in it would be okay, but there isn't. There's just no water. Yet somehow the extensive campus lawns stay green, something I find slightly offensive every time I think about it. Anyway... I have been going to classes for about a month and a half. I'm mostly taking intro classes with little 18 year old freshmen, which is a little depressing. Fortunately I am also taking intro to Cinematography which is my most serious class. At Western my film classes were the least serious, so this is a nice reversal. I got involved with the residence hall council which, I realized after our first meeting, I care very little about. But I am the events photographer, so that should be fun, once we have an event. I'm also taking swing dance classes which are more fun than I expected. A couple weeks ago my dad was nice enough to pack up my bike and mail it to me along with some gear. Last weekend I went on a little bike trip to the Organ Mountains and had a really great time. It turns out that despite being terribly dry and hot, New Mexico is actually really beautiful. I wish I had a camera, I'd show you what I mean. I look forward to more trips like that on future weekends. Other than that, my time here has been pretty dull. I've been waiting to come home (December 11th) since I got here. I recently decided to visit Rory at Beloit over my week-long Thanksgiving so that's something else to look forward to. Unfortunately only a couple weeks before winter break. Oh yeah, also it turns out my roommate isn't crazy. He just spends most of his time on his computer with headphones on, just like me. He also goes back to El Paso every weekend. Even though college is pretty unpleasant so far, I feel good about being here. I feel like I can see the bigger picture. Getting a film degree won't mean I'll have learned film making, but it does mean it'll be easier to get internships and jobs where I will learn. For now I guess I'll just buckle down and count the minutes (103,686).

first post in a while - a ladder fell on me

yo dudes, haven't been contributing much lately, but i'm really glad - dante- that you had the impetus to get this going gain, i think it's good to keep each other updated as much as possible.

there hasn't been too much going on for me lately, the fact that everyone is gone doing their own thing has finally sunk in i.e. i watched three documentaries yesterday to kill time... i've been working on a few paid projects, the treehouse at my place, some yard work for dianah, this newer house painting gig for a friend of my mom, and hopefully some data entry stuff for sharon if i ever get around to calling her (i've been noticeably displeased with my lack of follow through lately). aside from those jobs, i'm sort of stagnating. my goal for this time off was to pursue outdoor adventures, and i have only managed to do one such excursion - the mountaineering course.

my knees have been giving me a lot of grief lately which has not helped my adventure spirit in the least, and i managed to injure my thumb and shoulder yesterday working on my house painting job. i was simultaneously lifting and raising this 30 food ladder to reach the top of the house when the feet slipped out and the whole thing came crashing down on me. i initially tried to catch it (probably where i hurt my thumb) then kind of cowered and covered myself (the shoulder). now both are in pain (i am typing using my right index finger to hit the space button) and i cant work at least for a few days. unfortunately this is the primary sunny window in which i was going to finish the house, and am now forced to abandon the job. so now not only am i unable work, but i can't really exercise either. running is a no go due to the knees, and even biking has brought out pain. i was planning on going the pool last night for lap swimming, but that is going to be put on hold for a while as well. so for the time being i'm kinda stuck without anything productive to do besides read, watch documentaries and look at schools on the interwebs.

on that - i recently came across UW's college of built environments, which offers a BA in architecture, a BS in construction management or a dual degree in both. i was planning on applying there as a transfer regardless, and now i'm thinking that this could be a pretty neat option. i think i told all of you about Olin, the engineering school near boston, which i guess would be my #1 choice, but seeing as they have a 16% acceptance rate and i pulled a less than spectacular 3.2 last year, so i'm not getting my hopes up. but i think that the UW program has a lot of potential, and i think after this year i could really get my mind on track and actually find it inside to care about what i'm studying.

but generally right now i need some inspiration on productive ways to fill my time indoors, aside from watching documentaries and masturbating, i've got those two on lock down. if you guys have any suggestions throw em at me. i'm starting to poke around for possible internships for the rest of the fall, because as the rains become more consistent, i will be less and less able to go on hikes and having some sort of regularly scheduled engagement (hopefully a paying or informative one) would be beneficial.

for Girls and Mushrooms

inspired by michael's extesive post and the fact that there seems to be some momentum to this stone of a blog--i'll try and shake some moss off and share what's been occuring in my life.

for girls and mushrooms: I broke up with chelsea on sunday up in bellingham after she had been ignoring me the entire weekend, knowing that i'd be up there (but not for that reason)--according to her she had wanted to just let me hang out with the bros-- it was a wet and warm sunday morning and i biked over in my blue shorts and tee to chelseas--there i informed her of my revelations and the hurt i was feeling from being in the relationship: to her i was breaking up because she had ignored me for two days...our conversation didn't last long because i had a pre ordained event. so after spilling my heart and soaking in the ache of a break up i met with some friends and proceed to masticate mushrooms. right on the edge of mass halucinations chelsea calls matt's phone--who hands it in my direction--to hear chelsea in tears. that edge that i stood for those few moments of fuck that was not my intention i shouldn't have broken up with chelsea and ran (so irriesponsible) sewn to "what the fuck happened to the floor and i think i'm loosing reality for the next couple of hours" was to say the least surreal. there were five of us taking mushrooms. Derek and Meghan had never taken mushrooms. we walked from their house up to the arrboritum--geographically the house was in the valley and the arb was the highest point in the surrounding region. it was a climb of wonder and discussion and heavy breathing and reluctant limbs. Meghan was the first one to the top of the arb and up the watch tower--it has the best view and we were hoping to chill out up there-- i was following meghan up the stairs and to the landing of the tower--at that point shit started to get weird. there was a scroungy student wrapped in a blanket huddled in the corner of the landing and he was staring straight into our eyes--he opened up the blanket in a hugging gesture and meghan leaned in and gave him a hug (i thought she knew him)--he whispered into her ear that he would grant her a wish for he was the Oracle oh and that she smelled good! soon we had five people tripping hard on a crowded landing with the Oracle man next to us and a talkative jogger on the other side--it was too overwhelming for all of us--it became apparent that the man on the ground was actually on some other shit claiming that we were all wearing purple--such an intese mind fuck--we didn't last long up there--for those that have been there (nathan and alex) we booked it to the sit and be well rock-- on the way out the Oracle started to shake his fists at us and yell "a rumbling a rumbling a rumbling.." as we walked off. Meghan was tramatized--having never taken mushrooms before--she had never met that man up there before and her body couldn't process what had just happened--supposedly the man had asked for a hug and being on mushrooms she kind of just let it happen. After that the experience was a blast--we just played in the forrest --climbing, playiung in the dirt, romping in the underbrush--we even cam up with a really cool restraunt idea that i would liek to pursue. A restruant that seats different parties together in a mix match order--with the intent of allowing the diners to have the unique experience of having a meal with random strangers from the community--the idea being that it would be a social expereince of meeting other social community memebers--the stitching together of the community--image sitting down say me and michael and being sat with another two people--a young couple--and simply sharing breakfast with them--it would be a great way to make friends and learn who actually lives around you--a community building experience--they say that food brings people togther--why not actually apply that saying in practice???? I WANT TO MAKE IT HAPPEN AT SOME POINT--THIS COULD MIX WITH THE BURGER VENTURE--anyways to sum it all up after coming down-- i was feeling really good and the vibe of the group was amazing and random hugs were occuring--so i ran over to chelsea's hoping to work things through--funny how regardless of the intention i had how far the engagement can fall from that--chelsea was in a horrible mood--and my body was still set to engaging with people in a mushroomy way which had absolutly no cross over with chels--not to mentin that i had just spent the last hour laying in the dirt and i probably looked like i had just gotten in a crack fight (my arms were slightly scrapped and rubbed raw from climbing) --i wasn't considering how painful the breakup with her would impact her--its interesting how the pain/disconnect that i felt justified my desire to end the formal aspect of dating ALSO grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her off the cliff too--we're both still tumbling--our understandings are completely different--for her it may be that its boyfriend or no firend--this may be the romantic in me but i'd still be down to catch her in my arms and walk away from it knowing that i'd made a true friend -i have to get back to work but i'll post more

Life at Whitman College

In order to facilitate discussion, and more or less to please Dante, I decided to update this blog with what's going on in my life.

Today is the 26th of September, which means that I've been in school for 3 and 1/2 weeks already. I must mention, however, that I got here on the 8th of August, meaning that I've been around doing school related for much longer. I've only felt really busy this last week, however, because I had my first papers due as well as my first physics test.

Anyways, Chris came this weekend, and we pretty much just hung out and talked about random ramblings. We discussed how Claire broke up with me (and how it sucks to be on the receiving end of a break up talk), and we just talked about plans for his future, my decision to run XC, and other random bits and pieces.

My life's been fairly static, without any real up and downs with the exception of Claire. Whatever. We're really different people when it comes down to it. But I was / am still in denial that it couldn't and didn't work out. But it really puts it into perspective when I was told that Ben and Sarah broke up, and they've been dating for 5 years. Wtf am I complaining about?

I'm running roughly 30-35 miles a week, and I've had some pretty impressive results for never having had run in Highschool before. (Everyone else on the team ran in high school, and I'm outrunning two of them. I'm also catching up with two more people in front of me). So XC is going really well. From a performance standpoint, it's going well, and XC makes me make good life choices like drinking at least 3 liters of H20 a day as well as eating and sleeping enough.

However, it sucks that Claire runs XC too, and is one of my 12 person classes. Again, whatever.

RA stuff has been going really well, and Chris actually came up to College Cabin with my hall. College Cabin is this Whitman owned cabin that people can rent for $50 bucks and just hang out up there. We had a really good turnout and everyone seems to have had a lot of fun. Which is baller. But, RA stuff is still really draining, averaging about 20 hours of commitment alone.

In addition to RA stuff, XC adds another 10-12 during the week, and we're gone every other weekend. Combine that with the fact that I teach two climbing classes, and I'm a student. And shit gets busy.

Luckily, I'm only taking three classes this semester (as opposed to four), and one of them is general physics. Which is a joke after having taken two years of physics prior...

Unfortunately, I'm already stoked for this semester to be over because I plan on going abroad to New Zealand at the University of Otago for Spring semester. Which is gonna be boss. People say it's pretty much spring break and people just go backpacking and exploring on weekends. And school is considerably easier than Whitman. So, I'm stoked.

After having had Chris here this weekend, I still question as to why I am in school from time to time, but I know deep inside that I just have to stick it through and graduate. I've realized that that's pretty much the end in itself. Not necessarily learning for me, but getting the degree. Sad but true. Learning is the secondary benefit to just graduating from college with a decently high GPA.

Also, I won't be coming home this Thanksgiving break because I will be backpacking in Utah with the Whitman College Outdoor Program. Luckily I don't have to lead the trip, but it should still be a lot of fun. I'm super stoked for it.

I also realize, and I told Chris this, that I probably wouldn't have cared much for school except for the fact that we have a really boss outdoor program. Otherwise, the idea of school itself may not have been enough of an incentive for me to come back. The way I see it, I've got less than two years to break free of this thing they call college.

-Michael

whew day 3 at the lorax. this is ridiculous! this is like the equivalent of the culture shock of meeting danielle but in the crustiest punkest fashion possible. its great though alot of my housemates are into some really sweet shit. we have an awesome bike workshop with an unbelieveable amount of bike stuff - literally 50 plus spares wheels, 30 plus bikes in some form of disrepair. a mechanic is boarding in the house who fixes up bikes and sells them for his rent. alot of the guys did alot of work with nps - fire work trail maintenance all sorts of cool shit. bunch of people are into climbing and hiking. kinda sucks because our neighboring house also part of the coop, the campbell club, kitchen is under renovation. somebody put a chicken in the oven and forgot about it - a absolute brawl broke out complete with a girl crying over the chickens plight, people beating each other up with various bike parts and kitchen implements. my favorite was walking downstairs to see someone throwing bike handlebars at shane whom retaliated with throwing this kid off the deck ... ridiculous. to misquote its like the volume on life has been turned up. last inight we had a water balloon fight with the frat next door. my favorite part was throwing balloons from the roof into an open window, coating this guys bedroom with olive oil and water while trying to juggle a spliff and a forty - alcoholism is immanent ... its gonna be good here. signed up for classes today - arabic 101, two philosophy classes, one on ancient philo. history and the other on the philosophy of culture, and a general education class on writing. the credit transfer worked great. I have just about all of my general education requirement taken care of plus my pre-requisite philosophy courses. pretty sweet as far as a philosophy degree i am a junior which is really nice. i can easily get the degree in the next two years and maybe find room for a minor in there. happy about that. my room is really ghetto - i am on the third floor, with a nice window and right by the fire escape. i have a single too which is nice. looking forward to classes
whats everyone elses situation like particularily matt and nathan whats happening with you guys. and what happened to the poem? it was a masterpiece is there another place it can be continued?