BrockLi Soup

It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve written much of anything, but let’s make this quick, shall we?

About a week and a half ago, my parents and youngest brother came to visit for a long weekend. We hit some museums, looked at some monuments, and spent a lot of time just hanging out. I was the de facto tour guide, but since I don’t know the city terribly well, we almost got lost a couple times. I took some pictures - see?

This past weekend, BP, Otto, and Freshman came down to visit. We spent most of the weekend drinking and BBQ-ing, and I’m still recovering from it all, but it was wonderful. During the BBQ (and after a number of drinks), BP and I agreed that we would get tattoos together on Monday. Turns out, I had to work and he had to drive back to New York, so that didn’t happen, but it will sooner or later.

On Sunday night, BP and I drove up to Baltimore to see Flogging Molly (the fourth time I’ve seen them, the third time with BP) at Rams Head Live. The venue was pretty good for it - medium-sized and conveniently located on the closer side of Baltimore. Zox (not bad) and Bedouin Soundclash (”horribly average,” as a guy at the bar described them) opened the show, and thankfully, neither of them did a full set like the last time. During Bedouin Soundclash’s set, Nathan Maxwell (the bassist) came out from backstage and hung out with the crowd between the bar and the pit. I wandered over to shake his hand, mostly so I can say I touched a Molly.

BP and I made our way into the pit about 15 minutes before Molly took the stage, and, being a few beers deep, spent the entire time getting the crowd around us riled up with sing-alongs, stretching exercises, and bare-knuckle fisticuffs. It was definitely the best show of the four times I’ve seen them - the crowd was fantastic, I had just the right amount to drink beforehand, and I even managed to hang onto a bottle of water in the pit (you get thirsty in there). Dave King came back out alone for the encore and did the first half of Black Friday Rule acoustic, before the rest of the band jumped in. It was OK, but definitely didn’t touch the thirteen-minute version. The openers could have been better, and we could have convinced more friends to come with us, but really, the show was so good in so many respects that I can’t complain.

It was a rowdy rowdy weekend, and totally worth the hurt Monday morning. Right now, I think I need a weekend without extra people around, but I’m already looking forward to the next big party here at Brockstone Manor.

It’s been a rowdy rowdy tiring long weekend, and I’m glad I’ve got a couple hours of down time before the next one starts.

I woke up feeling like shit on Thursday, so I stayed home and slept pretty much all day until Fonny and BP got here. I was still pretty run-down Friday and Saturday - and even now, I don’t feel like I’m totally over it - but I was good enough to go out and stuff. We had a BBQ here on Friday, for Fotios’ Going-Away and Jasmyn’s birthday, and wound up with a ton of people. I’m still not sure where a lot of them came from, but it got pretty big pretty quick.

Fotios moved out yesterday, so I moved into his room and Matt started settling in a little bit. We went and saw Beerfest again last night, then hung out at Fado for a while. BP and Schmitty wandered off on their own when the rest of us called it a night, but they managed to find their way back here early this morning. BP and Fonny headed north around noon, and Schmitty just left a little while ago.

And, in a few hours, Darrin is stopping in for the night on his way to somewhere, which is why I say I’ve only got a few hours to myself. We’ve got a revolving door here at the RIT Hostel, and a lot of times I’m not even sure who’s on their way in.

It’s been a busy week. This past Thursday and Friday were spent in the chemistry lab, doing a quarter’s worth of labs in two days. Saturday morning, I went home for my cousins’ 4th of July party that evening. Yesterday was a BBQ at my aunt and uncle’s house, then back to Rochester in the evening. Today was supposed to be Gillian’s BBQ, but I’m feeling more than a little run-down, so I’m going to stay home and be lame.

I’m really looking forward to finishing Chemistry. I’ve spent so much time over the past four weeks watching those damn lectures and, more often, putting off watching those damn lectures. It’s a five-week course, so it’ll be over next weekend, for better or worse. Unfortunately, I still have to write up lab reports sometime in the next week and a half.

I can’t wait for this crap to be over. The second half of summer will be so much more relaxing without chem hanging over my head. I’ve never dealt well with crappy classes - I always let them cause me too much stress, when I should really just get it over and done with and forget about it. Either way, I’ll be able to spend the rest of the summer getting a portfolio together so I can find a job sometime soon.

It’s the fourth. Relax, have a beer, and be thankful you’ve still got most of your freedoms.

Dammit.

Last night started off really well, with the BBQ and all. It ended on a crappy note, when I knocked a bunch of water onto my laptop (I pulled it all apart this morning to let it dry out - I’ll probably try turning it on tomorrow).

The only thing I ate at the BBQ last night was a piece of chicken. I thought the middle looked a little undercooked, but it tasted fine so I figured it would be OK.

Lemme tell ya kids, it won’t be OK.

I have never been so violently ill before in my life. I felt like dying till sometime around noon, when I managed to pass out and sleep through it. I got up a little after 3, feeling a lot better, and figured I could make it into work at 4 and still do a half day. I was only in the shower for a minute when I decided that being upright wasn’t going to work out well for me, so I just called it a day. I’ve felt a little off all day, but I think I’m OK now. My head feels funny, but that’s from the cold.

So that sucks. But I figure, it’s the sickest I’ve ever been, and it really wasn’t that bad. Drinking too much freshman year really trains you to handle an upset stomach, and if I made it through this I should be able to handle anything. I’m kind of pissed that I had to miss work, but one day out of three months isn’t so bad.

Let’s hope tomorrow turns out better. I’m going to bed way early tonight.

Totally Awesome: being drunk.

Not So Totally Awesome: being drunk near a full glass of water next to an iBook.

I just wanted to hear Counting Crow’s Up All Night - music is all on the laptop, you see. I must have been reaching for something (I’m not even sure) when I knocked a large glass of water over right onto the iBook keyboard.

I powered it down within two seconds, ran it into the living room, pulled out the battery and wiped it off with paper towel really quick. I think it’ll be OK if I just leave it alone for a day or two to dry out. My whole desk was soaked, though - index cards, receipts, my cell phone, everything. I screamed “FUCK!” and all I heard was Fonny’s muffled laugh from the next room.

At any rate, it turned out to be a kickin BBQ. A lot of people came and we had a grand old time. Joanna and Aimann came on the bike; I didn’t get a close look at it, but it must be big because I looked at them when they pulled up and though Joanna was a 12 year old kid, because she looked so tiny on the thing. Helena and Lindsay were here, Mark stopped by, a few people from floor came, a bunch of CSH alumni were here. The night ended with me, Fonny, BP, and Jym hanging out, the the 141 Perkins crew stopped by for a bit.

I hope summer is like this, but with less spilling.

I don’t why it didn’t work last time, but a second attempt with CatEntries has turned out better than the first. I got tired of entries in the Reading and Recently Viewed categories appearing on the main page, when really, I only wanted them in the side bar.

I went looking for a way to do category exclusion with MTPerlScript, but when I’m the first hit, you know it’s not going to end well. I don’t know why I decided to try CatEntries again; I seem to remember reading that category exclusion wouldn’t work right because of the way MT works under the hood or something like that, but it seems to be OK now, so I’m happy. I can make posts in more than one category if I want them in the side bar and main page. It was worth the 20 minutes to play with it and get it all figured (sometimes I don’t mind waiting for Windows Update).

We’re having another BBQ tonight. I love spring.

UPDATE: So I was almost right. This only seems to work using lastn and not with days, which explains why my feeds all updated when I posted this, but my home page didn’t. Normally the home page would show the last 7 days; now it shows the last 10 entries. I don’t know why it only works this way, I’m just happy it’s working somehow.

I learned last night, in a dream, that I can ride a wheelie on a motorcycle, even if the back tire is flat because the sidewalls are split.

I also learned, in real life, that a ginormous bottle of JD won’t last nearly as long as you might think. It’s not gone, but pretty damn close. BP, James, and I grilled steaks last night, and found that whiskey makes a decent A1 Sauce alternative.

They say the two things you shouldn’t debate are politics and religion, so that’s exactly what we did. A few drinks will always make arguments more interesting, and by the end of the night we were all happy that BP and James hadn’t started throwing punches. JymBob got hats right before the last election - “Proud (Donkey)” and “Proud (Elephant).” He put them on James and BP, respectively, just so we were all clear on who was saying what.

I won’t be going home this weekend after all, because it turns out that it’s already time for Spring Fest. We’re talking about doing another big BBQ on Saturday, but it looks like the forces of weather are conspiring against us, so that probably won’t happen. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy comes out tomorrow, so I’m going to see it with Heewa. I wanted to read the series again before seeing it, but it’s a little late for that now. I’m a little concerned that the trailers I’ve seen all tout it as some great space action flick. The fact of the matter is, the books weren’t great because of a thrilling sci-fi storyline; it was Adams’ humor and incredible writing style that made them good. I really don’t think it’s going to translate well to film, but I’ll give it a chance.

“If we’re both bad influences, do we cancel each other out?” “Thereby making us good people?” “Yeah.” “If we didn’t hang out, we’d be BASTARDS.”

I like to think that this week has been a preview of coming attractions (so to speak). We’ve grilled dinner three of the past four days, the weather has been beautiful for a week and a half, and I’ve just been enjoying life. Things are really good right now.

This summer, Fonny, BP, and I will all be on co-op, while poor Jym Bob takes classes. I’m expecting to be on the same 12-8 schedule, but The Boss mentioned that he might have me do 9-5 so he can work my shift and sleep in. As much as I hate the idea of working at 9 on summer mornings, BP and Fonny will be on that schedule so it wouldn’t be too bad. A lot of people are going to be around, so I expect it to be as much fun as last year. BP and I are trying to make Sharon fail a class so she can’t graduate and has to stay for the summer. We’re good friends like that.

I’ve got to try quitting again. I’ve been smoking more and more lately, and it’s showing - I’m coughing a lot. It’s not dry, wheezy coughing, and I’ve been breathing better than ever before, which leads me to believe my lungs are clearing things out, which leads me to believe that now would be a good time to quit. I blame BP - I can’t quit with him around.

This week has been straight up exhausting. Wednesday night was the Flogging Molly show at Water Street, which warrants its own post if I can find the motivation to sit down and write about it (and if I don’t, it was totally awesome). Tuesday and Thursday were bowling nights. Friday I spent the evening hanging out on floor. And yesterday, we had a barbecue.

Shane and Schmitty decided they needed to change their oil, and figured a BBQ was in order. Without anywhere to host it, they asked if they could do it at the grill next to my building. Obviously, I agreed that this was a brilliant idea. Shane dubbed it the Oil Change Cookout Extravaganza.

As it turns out, Shane was the only one that needed an oil change, but we had a hell of a BBQ. There were probably close to 25 people here throughout the course of the afternoon. We killed off about 25 burgers, 16 hot dogs, 8 steaks, a six-pack of fancy beer (James’) and a 30-rack of Miller High Life. A little before 8, the seven of us that were still hanging out went to Abbott’s for frozen custard, then came back to my place and watched Clay Pigeons. Klem and BP were the last to leave, around 1, making it an eleven-hour BBQ.

I absolutely love being on co-op in Rochester. I can waste an entire day just hanging out and cooking meat, and I don’t feel guilty in the least because I don’t have any projects hanging over my head. There are still several projects I want to do for myself, but enjoying the company of friends is far more important than making a web-based Ajax-powered newsletter editor for CSH. That can wait.

Today, I’m hanging out on floor. I may do some reading, or some coding, or maybe not. It’s beautiful outside, I don’t have any responsibilities, and I can slack off all day if I want to.

I love spring.