It started with a road trip to Stillwater where Preston & I picked up some furniture and kitchenware that James & Sarah were being rid of. Apparently getting married means an end to random, mismatched bits of the bachelor pad. Madness.
The trip ended up being 8 1/2 hours and fraught with side-adventures. We stopped off at Chad 'n Janica's to pick up a trailer and hung around longer than intended eating baked pumpkin seeds from the leftover guts of jack o' lanterns. (Later that day, a jack o' lantern would throw up on me... I was moving it off a step when it bent too far forward and water dumped out its mouth.) The drive up and back were filled with discussions of movies, thoughts, and enormous microwave cannons used possibly to explode tornadoes before they form (actually, I think they would make it much, much worse).
After a tour of James' shed (massive, and awesomely outdoorsy), we moved out the infinitely heavy fold-out couch that once sat in my grandparents' den. Everything went over fairly well until the bed popped out and one of the feet punched through the wall. Ouch. Well, fixable. After all the moves, we capped the trip with dinner at Eskimo Joe's, which is definitely a must for touring Stillwater.
Classes over the week raced by interestingly. Comp II classes voted differently when to watch V for Vendetta, so I'm juggling assignments. Monday covered the legalization of organ sales (they're for it... also for legalization of prostitution. Hm.). Wednesday covered downloading of media (much more split, but we had a good discussion of getting across what's legal and not). Friday, as something of a joke, I asked, "What do you want to learn about today?" They said ghosts, so I told ghost stories for 40 minutes. Then we did the review assignment we were supposed to.
Comp I, meanwhile, hacked its way through persuasion. The rhetorical triangle is really handy stuff. Monday I had 'em try to convince me to cancel class on the Monday before Thanksgiving (I'm convinced), Wednesday and Friday were more practical analyses of commercials and a long discussion of logical fallacies. Logical Fallacy Day is the best day.
Comics took a different turn. Tuesday, I gave my first ever exam. Turned out really awesome, actually. Exams are much more fun to grade than papers. Thursday, we started up the comic-writing part of the semester. We talked about stories on and on. I should totally teach a creative writing course.
Nighttimes were shut down for heavy grading between Monday and Friday. Media between ran with finishing the first six volumes of Cerebus (weird stuff... underground comix are bizarre indeed, and the aardvark makes it all the more bizarre). Then I watched through the Adult Swim show Superjail! (ugh, so violent...) and finally watched RocknRolla (good times... not quite as good as Snatch, but as good as Lock Stock...).
Monday was Movie Night at Laura's with some chili mac and The Messengers (a shockingly good Lifetime film about spooks in North Dakota). Friday was Comedy Fight Night (student comedians... well, some good lines at least), strolling through the library for atlases, and District 9. I'm still torn about the movie. Pros: awesome story, great use of fake (and real) news clips, lots of aliens. Cons: sloppy ending. Glad I saw it, though.
The rest of the weekend was filled to the brim, so much so I had to squeeze in a nap Saturday afternoon between events. Early on, I headed to the Red Dirt Book Festival in Shawnee, listening to a long lecture about the editorial process of Harlequin (much wider range of fiction than I ever believed... I may have to send off some stuff here, soon). It was a good long chat with writers and such, and I mooched a lot of fresh pineapple. That night was a trip up to Edmond for a blind date, most of which was traded shock at how few people of our generation had seen Marx Brothers films. Truly, this is a Dark Age...
Sunday after church, I headed up to Midwest City for my grandmother's 90th birthday party (I recognize so few of my cousins now... so many marriages and kids poppin' out everywhere when I wasn't looking), then spent the evening at Chad's trading game ideas and watching him play some BioShock. That looks like a great game, something I'll have to tackle myself someday.
There's so much media I want to take in, but I just can't seem to do it. Maybe instead of backpacking, I should just sit on the couch and watch five films a day. Hm, I don't like where this train of thought is going...
That's me at James' wedding with an acorn hat. Yeah, it's all about the dressing up for Halloween.
The holiday dominated the last week of October. The week before, I went on my merry way through classes and hangings out. The week of, I was booked solid. Classes continued with papers handed in (though I would put off the grading the week after), and I gave Comp 2 and Comics bonus if they came to class in costume. In Comp 1, it was mandatory. We had a couple Marios, a Twister board, hippies, gangsters, gangstas, a lumberjack, loads of vampires, and on and on. I was a Mad Scientist.
But, I'll get back to that. The main feature of the week was "The Mysterious and Macabre of OU", a guided tour I put together about the spooky side of Soonerland. Way back last summer when I was taking as many ghost tours as I could get my hands on, I mentioned the Ellison Hall ghost to Tess, who suggested I make a tour for OU. I scoffed and said there weren't that many stories. After a few weeks' research, however, turns out that there are more than enough. I scraped together the tales, wrote a script, and eventually led a series of tours around campus relating tales like the 1973 exorcism, the 1986 beheading, the 2005 bombing, and plenty of other creepiness.
John did pictures. We looked up at Walker Tower and discussed the people who'd jumped to their deaths. My folks came along on one tour, and they said they remembered several of the events from their days past. Whew, it's even creepier when it's not just an old story from newspaper microfilm.
It was good fun, and I may have to do it again sometime. I took up donations for charity, too, and the few dollars passed along make it more than worth my while.
Thursday night, after the final tour, I tagged along with Preston & Marisa to a "dive bar", as she called it. I'd been to pubs and such, but never quite the rough'n'tumble of Bill's. Such amusing people! But, oh, the stink. Even so, everybody likes Halloween (or "Fall Festival", if you prefer), and Scaryaoke and the bizarre homemade film showing was more than enough entertainment.
Friday, classes couldn't end fast enough. My first stop of the evening was a cupcake-making party put on by lady programmers, and many cupcakes were devoured. Next was trick-or-treating, in which Cylie and I ventured out for a few minutes despite our ages. The first few houses refused to give us treats. They either wouldn't open the door (we knocked, a shadow appeared at the door, stopped as if surveying our heights, then ducked away) or said they weren't participating. We joked we needed a kid to latch onto, and we spontaneously did so when we ran across a kid with his east Londoner father. The rest of the night proved far more rewarding with lots of stories from the guy (apparently he knew Stephen King's sister-in-law) and successful candy runs. One lady said "Shame on you" as she gave us candy. I grinned and replied, "Happy Halloween."
Next was a series of parties. We crashed Potter-palooza at the Union, swiping bucketloads of candy and getting generally creeped out by the Potter uber-fans. Several of us went through the Trivia Challenge filled with questions of Harry's kids names from the end of book 7 (guh, best guessing I've done since my last final exam), winning neato mugs (to be filled with candy, of course).
Dear guy behind me: you will one day learn the errors of your ways.
Anyway, we headed over to the Triangle party, which John had decorated as Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory. Very nice. Lots of costumes as well with a ghostbuster, Leeloo, and ample references to Halloween costumes on The Office.
Halloween proper began bright and early. I headed up to OKC early, hanging out with Joe and eating at a Chinese place that proclaimed, "You Eat Steak!"
It's actually "All you can eat steak", but that's how I first read it. Oh, how hilarious that would have been.
Later on was Chad'n'Janica's Halloween party. I went as a Zombie Astronaut, getting make-upped.
"Want to see a magic trick?"
It was good times with chatting, creepy foods, a little Guitar Hero, a baby to entertain us, and hilarity at some AMC show where rednecks were trying to conjure ghosts. The oil-based make-up got into my right eye, sending blinding pain through my contact, so my costume eventually evolved into Zombie Space Pirate.
Earring doesn't do it for me.
All in all, a good Halloween. Now I've already seen Christmas commercials going and Egg Nog advertised at Braum's. Not until after Thanksgiving, people.
A scene of life. Setting: Classroom next door. Time: Today.
Me (pointing at remote control to the projector, the same for each room, though I can't get to mine as the tech office is closed for the moment): Mind if I borrow this for a second?
Teacher Guy: Sure, not a problem.
I walk out with the remote.
Teacher Guy, behind me: There goes Jeff, always taking my stuff.
I walk in.
Me: What did you say about me behind my back?
Guy: I was making a joke about you borrowing it.
Me: I asked if I could borrow this, and you said I could.
Guy: I was just joking.
Me: For whose benefit? Yours?
Guy (motioning to students): For theirs!
Me (to students): Do you get enjoyment out of this?
Baffled Student: I don't even know what's going on.
I turn back to the guy and begin a long stare, holding it until he shifts uncomfortably. I twirl the remote in my fingers. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the tech pass in the hall back to his office. Seeing that I don't need it anymore, I set down the remote on the guy's desk.
Me: I'll just leave this here.
I leave the room wordlessly.
Picking up the proper remote and waiting a few seconds, I poke my head back into the other room.
Me: I was just joking.
Awkward chuckles had by all.
Me: But it goes to show that we shouldn't joke when it's the same as lying.
Other than the sandwich I made for lunch yesterday, I don't think I've paid for a meal since last Wednesday. Not bad for a mooch like me.
The majority of the free food came along with James' wedding over the weekend. It was a long weekend, being Fall Break, which coincidentally falls on the Texas game weekend every year. Coincidence, indeed. Actually, the Student Congress makes a petition to the OU Admin requesting as such each semester. The academic schedule, however, is made out months before the petition. Once again, student government is astounding, and not in the good way.
After rummaging through class Thursday talking about web comics, I bolted home on my bike and then bolted out of town in my car, heading home to help with the set-up. I picked up Joe on the way, and the evening was filled with getting tables set and preparations arranged for the rehearsal dinner. I was glad to crawl into my big bed at home and sleep knowing I didn't have classes the next day.
What I did have, however, was chopping duty, a ride-along errand, and tux-fittings. The morning was swallowed up chopping tomatoes and wrapping potatoes to be baked. The afternoon disappeared as I rode aside James in his truck, delivering people every which way and pointing out tasks to do Saturday. We arrived back in time to make sure my tux fit correctly and run-through a rehearsal of the wedding to come. Then it was a big night of meeting up with the rest of the family that had flown in from the coasts. It'd been months since I'd seen my older siblings, which made this something of a mini-Christmas.
Saturday dawned early, and I dragged myself out of bed not too soon after, but soon enough. Among my duties as usher was a run into Enid driving James' massive truck. I'd never driven something that large before, and it was definitely exciting. Other vehicles were mere specks and insects beneath me. The whole world could be crushed under my needlessly massive Americanness. Plus, it had satellite radio, and I listened to three different comedy channels at once. First up was washing the truck at a car wash, a place I hadn't visited in probably a decade. In the city, my car doesn't seem to get dirty enough to warrant the use of water and time when it'll rain on its own for free soon enough. Country-driving, however, merits a hearty scrubbing. I didn't know what to expect, and the pressure gun nearly took my arm off with the first grip of the trigger, but it turned out fine with a sparkly truck clean down to scraping the grasshoppers in the cattle-guard. After that, I picked the flowers for the ceremony and topped off the tank (I couldn't imagine having to pay that much all the time... I'll stick with my 35 mpg, thanks).
Pictures followed seemingly endlessly. My sister did the photography for the wedding, and I'm curious to see how we all turned out in our finery. The one picture I got myself was of me in an acorn hat.
Then came the ceremony itself. There was some pressure as usher to seat people formally and to remember which grandma goes where, but it was an honor to do it. The ceremony wasn't long, but had the longest vows I've ever heard in my life. It's like those two were vowing to do everything for each other! I hope they do. Best wishes to you both, brother and new sister-in-law. They also had an inventive mixing of colored sand rather than the merging of candle flames, which should create a neat token for the mantle. Plus, it's the only wedding I've attended where the groomsmen wore cowboy boots and the bride went barefoot. Gotta love country folk.
The wedding itself done, we fell to hanging out in the reception with much wedding cake and sweet, sweet punch, followed by hanging out back on The Farm around the dinner table. (By the way, guess who caught the garter? *wink wink, nudge nudge*)
Sunday saw traditional pancake breakfast, a visit to my home church, and a hurried lunch so Joe & I could leave in time to return the tuxes before the place in Stillwater closed. I dropped him off in OKC and picked up DVDs at Chad's, then arrived in town just in time for a spontaneous U2 concert. Never a dull moment.
It was their 360-tour, featuring the Black Eyed Peas as openers. The Mothership was awesome, the lighting and effects were awesome, and the Black Eyed Peas were especially awesome. The song "Pump It" is infinitely better live than recorded. Robot speaker dancers didn't hurt either.
Not so awesome was the sound system. Seriously, it was like somebody was beating a cyborg cat with an electric handheld blender.
Also irksome were the crowds. Hello, not-quite-sober lady? Can't you see there's a picture being taken?
People never cease to amaze me, such as those who spend hundreds on tickets for seats, then spend half the concert staring at their cell phones. Curious society we've got, no? I also like the ones who follow precisely whatever their mortal heroes tell them to do. Whenever anyone said "Oklahoma", people burst into hysterically ecstatic screaming. It didn't even matter what came before. They could've said, "I've never been to a stinkhole like Oklahoma" and the rest of the sentence would have been drowned out with eagerness that something local had been named. Many Simpsons jokes came to mind, especially the episode with U2.
U2 played a curious concert. They played several songs, had a big finish, then thanked us for coming and said goodnight. It had been a good time, so Mae and I began to head out, but the monitors came back to life after a few minutes and a whole new set began. Why'd they pretend to leave in the first place? Showmanship, I suppose... though still confusing. I'm also still confused about the "stand up" for poverty ("against" poverty?) and how standing up and then sitting down again actually helps anything. Or dedicating a song to Aung San Suu Kyi. Certainly, it was nice, and a good word put out to the rest of the world, but is it going to end her two-decades of military detention? Maybe they're using proceeds to hire a mercenary force to topple the evil regime. Or maybe they're trying to love it to death.
Whining and the cold wind aside, it was awesome, and a positive concert experience. The worst part was that it had to end with classes resuming the next day.
They weren't that bad. Monday caught lots of videos with Comp II doing a rundown of a hypothetical Causal Essay with the first fifteen minutes of The Gods must be Crazy.
Comp I began the persuasion unit with a comedic (and shockingly poignant) look at modern society:
We followed that up with a flow-chart about potential Meanings of Life. Their homework was to define their meaning and defend it. Finally, something important discussed in the classroom.
Monday dinner brought more free food with KFC Grilled Chicken supplied by Laura in celebration of movie night (and we actually watched the movie this time... still, chatting away the evening last week was awesome as well). It was Time Cop 2, which was as awesome as it was hilariously bad. Good MST3k with friends material. Ghostbusters 2 followed semi-spontaneously after, and it was a good night.
Tuesday came with more free food as Preston gathered us 'round the 2:8 house (a Christian group of some kind) that was a fun visit. As we walked there, speaking of Halloween and the significance of being afraid, our discussion suddenly materialized as powerlines behind us snapped and sparked, knocking out the power for a block. I think I've seen that movie, and I don't want to be in it.
Comics class was a review of the Comic Book Ages (Golden, Silver, Bronze, Modern, and Digital) through Batman. First we watched a 1943 movie serial (the Batmobile's a gangster car!), then the Animated Series episode "Legends of the Dark Knight", and then as much Super Friends as one can stomach. Class continued evening-time with a movie screening of 300 with much money spent on pizza and snacks from the classroom excellence fund. I followed along with the graphic novel, pointing out the differences as well as the divergence from actual history. They probably hate my nerdiness by now, but I'm too nerdy to care.
So it's been quite a week, and my fridge is stuffed to popping with leftovers. If anybody's hungry, drop on by for some cake, fruit, and pizza.
It's been a heck of a week. Another round of grading went through (with oh-so-much whining on my part... especially about the inability to construct coherent thought), which means there's only... 115+99... 214 more papers to do before semester's end. Whew. I woke up early Friday morning to finish the last few papers. Ugh.
Classes, meanwhile, were spent working in side-material. Comp II started Causality, which means, of course Zombie Day. Also lectures and in-class discussions and junk, but the zombies were the fun part. Comp I got to watch a documentary on Scientology where people scream at each other. Good times.
On top of schoolwork, I finally finished my compilation of spooky stories about OU. I made the not-so-wise choice of finishing up around midnight, which left me completely freaked out. Brandon poked his head into my room to tell me something, but I drowned out his words with screaming. Seriously. He was heading out to do some homework and stuff, and I wouldn't let him leave me alone. I tagged along to the Weather Center where the ghouls couldn't get me. We also made a late-night tour of the rocks for '06 so I could finally figure out where the 2006 rock is. The 1906 rock is better.
Tuesday morning, I ate my cereal with melty ice cream rather than milk. I felt a little ill afterward, but it still stands as one of the best decisions I've ever made.
Managed to squeeze in a movie Wednesday night with Primer. It's about engineers who accidentally invent a time machine in their garage. It gets convoluted (as time travel tends to do), but cool overall. Fascinating cinematography.
Friday dragged until classes finally ended, and we headed on a road trip to Shawnee for OBU's production of "Anatomy of Gray." I likes past-generation hick accents. They make me giddier'n a cat in a yarn shop.
Preston, Chad, and I turned it into a bachelor's hang-out with Cthulhu card games, zombie movies, Sliders, slumber party, and Watonga Cheese Festival. It was a freezing festival, but well worth the bitter cold. We made it just in time for the parade, which was filled with small-town awesomeness, old cars, Shriners, and a rat-person. Sadly, I forgot to bring my camera. Still kicking myself over that. Fortunately, I can drown my sorrows in cheese-based fudge. Mmm.
Then it was a quick trip home for the dedication of the new Youth Building at Hillsdale Bible Church. An alumni reunion followed, which was fascinating to see where life has led us since those days years ago. It's hard to imagine 7 years have passed. I'd've guessed eighteen months, maybe.
In other news, Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize. "Given" being the key word, as he admits himself not deserving it. On the one hand, it is meant to be a "call to action", which is great. On the other, that's not what the Nobel prizes are for. Alfred Nobel must be turning over in his grave. At least Roosevelt deserved his for negotiating the end to the Russo-Japanese War. Heck, Teddy would've gotten us the Olympics, too! And he would have built a canal across Denmark while he was there!
Such was last week, and this was back at classes, however few. Conferences Monday and Wednesday meant no Comp I, and I got out early (though it meant my break was erased). No class Friday, which is the best part of Texas Weekend.
We organized Monday night as a movie night, though we never quite got that far. Too much fun was had chatting and eating homemade curry. Mm, jar-fulla-curry-sauce turned out ten times better than I imagined.
Tuesday night, I planned to get more work accomplished, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Week after week of being productive wore away my being. Though I was physically sound, my mind and heart were nearly ground away. So, I broke. I skipped out on anything even remotely productive and played a round of Civ 3 while watching the first three Pink Panther movies (A Shot in the Dark is best). I got up to the Industrial Age, mixed up in a horrid war with two other nations against me, and I would've kept going, but there was no oil to be found anywhere. Without tanks, it didn't make any sense to bother keeping going. I tossed the game aside, very nearly useless, and felt totally refreshed. So much so that I even went back to being productive on comics around 10 o'clock. And it felt good.
