A news article

This is about a good friend of mine, Mr. Pat C. Click here to read it.

Weekend and Christmas

On Christmas Eve, Alex and I made breakfast. BTW, nine eggs and about ten ounces of shredded cheddar cheese all scrambled together make an excellent breakfast -- or part of one. :)

I went to Josh and Leslie's new townhouse for Christmas Eve dinner. Josh's mother and Julianna were there, as were Leslie's family. It was fitting that I was there, as Josh's best man -- Jen, her mother, and her sister were also there (Jen was Leslie's maid of honor). They've got a nice new place. We talked for a while, had dinner, said some prayers, and then we went to Midnight Mass. I went to Old St. Mary's and sang with the schola out there, and I was in bed by 2AM.

I was going to go to Sarah H.'s family's house for brunch, but I woke up around noon, and by the time I was up and ready to go, it was almost 1:00 PM. I had to be at Aunt Carmen's for dinner at 4:00 PM, so I called and told them that I wouldn't be able to make it.

Stephenie, Kelly and their baby were there already. Aunt Carmen made an awesome dinner, and her dessert was pecan pie -- needless to say, I enjoyed it very much. We fired up Talledega Nights: The Legend Of Ricky Bobby (Uncut). It was pretty dang funny, even a second time.

After that, I had to go back, because I had to work on Tuesday (today).

Friday before Christmas

I stayed up until 9:30 AM playing Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It's such an addictive game. Since I didn't have to work today, I had no second thoughts about doing that.

Today I actually purchased Christmas cards, and wrote in them. Tomorrow, I'll mail them. They will probably not reach any of their destinations until the 28th, unless, for some reason, the mail is much faster than I anticipate it is this time of year.

Today is Sarah H. and Adrienne S.'s birthdays, so here's a type-out to both of them: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!"

Fun times!

On Friday night, I drove up to Pennsylvania to visit John E. and his family. I arrived late on Friday night, close to midnight, and then John, Paul and I chatted for about an hour. After that, we turned in.

On Saturday morning, we went to Mass bright and early, came back and had breakfast, and, then I began the long process of meeting the entire family and trying to remember names. Sadly, the names I so dutifully memorized have become a blur, and some aren't even there anymore. If y'all are reading this post, I send my humblest apologies.

After chatting for a while, Mrs. E., John and I went to the farmer's market. It brought back some memories of when I used to do that with Mom and Dad when I was little. Ah, the age of innocence, where everything is taken straight from the ground or the animal, instead of processed in huge centers.

After this, we came back to their house, John and I ran out to get bagels, and we brought them back for lunch. Lunch was, of course, excellent. I wouldn't have thought that bagels for lunch would have been a normal family thing -- I figured that it was just a bachelor thing. {grins}

Following lunch, John, Paul and I went for a drive. We were going to go for a hike, but we never actually found the place. I was asleep for almost an hour of this trip, so when I woke up, I was surrounded by bearded men, bonneted women, and horse-drawn-buggies. I thought that I had gone back in time until I saw a bumper sticker that said, "No, Anthony, you have not gone back in time. You're in Amish country." (OK, so there was no bumper sticker that said that, but it makes for a great story.) We finally found where we were wanted to go hiking, but it was already almost dusk, and the car was almost out of gas, so we just drove back. In order to get some exercise, though, John and I threw the football around outside for a bit.

Dinner was interesting. A word of warning to new visitors: in order to get food for dinner, you have to sing our national anthem. For anyone who is confused, this is the national anthem of the United States of America. I began the Canadian one, and there was a bit of a ruckus. But it's a good thing that there was a ruckus, because I don't know any of the words aside from "O Canada!" Dinner was excellent, by the way...

After dinner, I sat around and chatted with the John and his siblings for a while. Clare (right? The youngest?) kept attaching herself to my leg, so I asked both of the littlest (Mary and Clare?) to sit on my feet and I'd give them a ride. As I walked around, I was told I looked like a transformer, so I grabbed a banana to use as a transformer gun.

I'm not sure how it got started, but John did some pushups with Clare on his back. Not to be outdone, I did the same, but I did a second set with Mary. And finally, for the heck of it, I had both of the youngest on my back. I could barely do one...

We fired up Stealth for the older kids and most of the adults, while the younger ones and Mrs. E. watched The Three Caballeros.

Sunday morning, I drove to Front Royal for Mass, and I sung at St. John's for the Tridentine Mass, Gaudete Sunday. We had a small choir to sing. After Mass, I went out to brunch with Dr. P., Christine, Draper, Ken, and Alaina. After that, Ken, Alaina and I went to Rappahannock winery to hear Danny and visit with Sarah. Danny S. was playing there. He plays and sings very well, so I highly recommend that if you have a chance to hear him in concert, you should go. Alex joined us after a little while, and we had a birthday cake for Sarah. Being tired, I left for home instead of and then played Elder Scrolls: Oblivion for a while, and then went to bed.

Thursday evening in Front Royal

I went to Front Royal for caroling. Little did I know when I was invited that the girls meant door-to-door. I enjoy caroling, as long as the people I'm singing to know us. Going door-to-door in a neighborhood that I don't know doesn't appeal to me, mostly because, in my case, if I were to get carolers, I'd be a little creeped out, unless I knew them, or I knew their group, or I knew that they were coming. Surprise carolers? I think not... Sorry, girls...

After sitting around and talking/singing for a while with Dr. P, Lizzie, Draper, Christine, Michael and Sylvia, we decided to call it a night and head home. Our first stop was to St. Augustine's to say goodbye to Emma and Laurel. (I should clarify that we were saying goodbye to Sylvia until graduation. She's done for now. However, we were just saying goodbye to Emma and Laurel for the break.) Michael, Draper and I went to the chapel and did some chanting. We got a little experimental with drones and basic harmony, and we were soon joined by Francis. At this point, I really wanted to try two choirs. We all stood facing each other inward: Francis and I faced each other, and I had Michael on my left and Draper on my right, facing each other. In this position, we sang in two choir formation: tenors (M&D) vs. basses (A&F). Michael B. joined us half-way through the Te Deum, the piece we were doing -- surprised the heck out of me: I thought he would be asleep.

At this point, it was getting late, but I really wanted to try something new. Michael B, Francis, and Draper stood on the right side of the choir loft, and Michael C. and I stood on the other side. I was the cantor for choir 1 and Draper was cantor for choir 2. We did the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Angus Dei from Mass IV, with the alternating choirs as appropriate: i.e., I intoned the Kyrie, Michael joined me to finish it; choir 2 did Kyrie #2; choir 1 did Kyrie #3; kept alternating until the final Kyrie, when I intoned, Michael came in on part 2, and everyone came in on the eleison. You couldn't split the Sanctus into choirs too easily, so we just sang it together at opposing sides. The Agnus Dei was similar to the Kyrie: I intoned Agnus Dei 1, Draper intoned Agnus Dei 2, and we all sang Agnus Dei 3.

We closed with the Alma Redemptoris Mater.

I filled up with gas, and I dropped Draper off at his apartment. On the way back home, I had another kind of fun.

I was driving along route 55 when I saw this guy walking down the road. It was about 12:30 AM, far too late for him to be walking. I passed him at first, but I felt pretty bad doing it, so I stopped and reversed. I rolled down the window and asked him if he needed a ride. Without saying a word, he just got inside the car. A but weird, but hey, whatever. I offered my hand and told him my name. He hesitated, but then he shook my hand and said his name was Chris. I started driving, and in an attempt to make small-talk, I commented on how late it was. He didn't say anything. Not expecting that, I asked him where he was headed. He said, "Home."

Now, I have a sense of humor. I can see the humor in this statement, but there's a significant difference between a guy who says something like in a joking manner with a twinkle in his eye to prompt further conversation and/or laughter, and Chris. Chris said it as completely lifeless as he could. I was more disturbed than anything by the complete lack of gratitude/humor/humanity in his voice, and how he didn't really care that I had just picked him and was giving him a lift "home", wherever that was.

Turning to Chris to see if I had missed something (like a look or something to let me know that he was trying to get me to laugh -- there wasn't), I asked him, "Where's home?" He starts looking around my car, feeling things. He then says, "Alexandria." I was shocked. He was sixty miles away from Alexandria. Was he planning on walking there?

Once again, I attempted to make conversation. I reacted notably to his home city, and asked him if he had a plan to get back home. Chris paid no attention to me though, because he was still feeling all over the car. I re-posed the question, to no avail. My car's visor has apparently gotten his attention, and he was eyeing it like a hawk, and feeling it again and again. As he ran his hands all around the visor, he felt the palm leaf, and piped up in a hostile manner: "What the hell is this?" I replied: "It's a palm leaf. It symbolizes the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem one week before He was crucified." It looked as though my guest was about to be rude again and say, "That's stupid." Before he could, I looked straight at him, and said, "I'm Catholic." I then put on my face that says, "Do you have a problem with that?" He shut up pretty quickly -- no surprise there.

I asked him again (with emphasis): "So, Chris, what's your plan for getting home?" He was still being rude, so I guess he thought I didn't deserve an answer.

I changed the subject. "All right, since you don't have a plan for getting back, let me ask you another question: Why are you walking at midnight?" He was quiet for a few seconds, but then he said, "I'm not walking." I'm sorry, Chris, I didn't realize you were so accurate. I was beginning to get visibly annoyed at this point. I was already agitated at how rude he was, but I think that I was holding it all in until this. Truth be told, he was right. He wasn't walking. Once again, I looked at him quickly to see if he had been trying to make a joke, and, once again, he wasn't. He was being blatantly rude. "All, right, I'm sorry. I'll be more precise. Why were you walking, Chris?" He didn't reply. "Chris, why the hell were you walking at midnight down a dark street where I could have hit you and killed you?" Still nothing.

Suddenly, all my doors lock. I turn and look at him. He's got his hand on the door, screwing around with the buttons. I unlock my doors. He locks them again. I unlock them. He re-locks them. I unlock them. This goes on for at least 20 clicks. Finally, I've had it up to my neck with him intentionally being rude to me and now trying to break my car. It took a lot of self-control to not punch him first and ask questions later. But that wouldn't do, so I asked him what he thought he was doing, and why he was trying to break my car. He thought about answering, and then decided that I could know his intentions, so he deigned me with a response: "I'm trying to roll down the window." I explained to him that the switch on that side was broken, so I'll roll down the window for him. I rolled it down half-way. My doors locked again. Once again, taking a decent amount of self-control to keep my anger in check, I re-explained to him that the window switch on that side had not been fixed in the past ten seconds, so if he had heard anything I had told him not even ten seconds ago, he would know that he had to ask me to roll down his window. I then asked him how far down he wanted it. He said, "All the way." It was obvious that he was trying to drown me out, but I rolled it down all the way. My door locked again. I unlocked them and told him to stop doing that.

About ten seconds later, I asked him again, why he was walking down the street at midnight. He gave me the silent treatment again. I was through being nice. I'd done everything he wanted, catering to his whims, and he was still being rude. He still hadn't even thanked me for picking him up. I exploded at him: "Listen, Chris, this silent treatment thing is going to stop right now. Unless you actually use your voice and your mouth to speak English like I know you can, you're getting out. Now, I'm going to ask you one more time: Why were you walking at midnight?" He still didn't say anything. "That's it. Game over. Get out now. Get the hell out of my car. I don't want you in here." As I said this, I pulled over to the median. He seemed to be sizing up his options: a 60-mile walk, or talking. He opted for a 60-mile walk, so as soon as the car came to a stop, he opened the door and got out. I took off, and left him walking along 66.

I then called the police and told them that there was a man acting extremely suspiciously and wearing dark clothes walking along 66. I related in short the above story to them, and they said that they would send out a state trooper to pick him up. I hope that they did, because I'd love to see him spend some time in jail.

Seriously, what else was there I could do? If he had lied to me and made up a story about how his car was broken down, I would never have know, and I would have probably taken him all the way to my exit. We could have had a very pleasant conversation, shooting the breeze, telling jokes, swapping stories (true or not). All he had to do was talk. Since he didn't, I can only assume the worst: that he's a serial killer and he obviously didn't want to talk about much...

In retrospect, I should have started singing some Protestant hymn, "Jesus Loves Me," or something similar. Mr. Crazy Man Chris would probably have started talking at that point...

Last Christendom weekend

Well, starting next week, I'll be a free man, of sorts. Although I won't have to sing at Christendom, I'll still be singing elsewhere...

This weekend has been pretty busy. On Friday, Ryan, Eric, Joe, Ken and I drove down to SC for the funeral of Mama (Ginger) E., MikeE's mother. The morning of the funeral (December 8), Eric, Joe, Ken and I went to early Mass before heading out. Ryan wasn't able to make it to the morning Mass, so we had to catch one that evening. All five of us piled into Eric's Explorer, and we made the trip, arriving at the church about five minutes before the ceremony was about to begin.

It was a sad time for all of us who knew her. I had only met her twice, but it was still sad, losing such a great woman. Her family is all in my prayers as they continue to struggle with this loss...

After the ceremony and the reception, we went to a local Catholic Church and caught Mass, just in time for Ryan. The first thing we noticed about the church was that it looked more like a warehouse than anything. Turns out that it was a run by the Franciscans. To those of you who don't know, this usually implies a great deal of liberality... Here we go: ready?

• The priest was vested in blue vestments. Blue. Does anyone else see a problem with this? Thank you, I knew I wasn't alone.
• There were two altar girls. There was also an altar monk. There were plenty of men and other people of the male gender in the congregation. Problem? Call me old fashioned but, back in my day, if you filled the position of acolyte or lector, it meant that you could be ordained to the priesthood. I don't have a problem with the altar monk or the deacon. However, neither the lectorette/congregation "choir" director nor either of the altar girls could ever be ordained.
• Guess what color the altar girls, the altar monk, and the deacon were wearing? If you named off any color in the spectrum aside from blue, you're wrong... (White isn't a color, but yes, they did have white robes on, too.)
• At the Our Father, everyone joined hands with everyone else in their rows ... across the church. I did not. The altar monk seemed to be glaring at me for not participating. I glared back.
• Extraordinary Eucharistic ministers -- unnecessary because of the presence of a fully capable priest and a deacon.
• Saving the best for last: the Mass was made illicit by the actions of the priest who broke the host before the consecration, because he was acting out the words...

*Whew!* Enough there? If people still wonder why I hold to the Tridentine Latin Mass as the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the top notch, the Royal Flush (or the five-of-a-kind hand of Aces, if you're playing with wild cards or multiple decks), the quadruple-shot of espresso for the soul, etc., I pity them...

On Saturday, I cleaned up the apartment, because we were having guests over. Ken and Alaina were the first to show up, followed not long after by Alex, Ashley, Elizabeth, and Sarah.

On Sunday, I sang with the Christendom choir, and then out at Old St. Mary's. I took TJ, Ellen, and Jason to Old St. Mary's -- which meant simply that I had to take them back to Christendom...

There was a visiting choir at Old St. Mary's, the Ad Hoc Singers. They sang (among other pieces) Mozart's Missa Brevis in B-flat (KV 275), which is a very beautiful and rather impressive Mass.

On Monday, I rode in to work with Ken, and then back with him. I think this is becoming a weekend tradition...

Josh and Leslie's wedding, and a busy weekend...

Friday evening, Josh and Leslie had their wedding rehearsal. I was late in arriving, because I didn't leave work as early as I would have liked to, and, on top of that, I still hadn't picked up the tuxes...

Anyway, after I got it all picked up and I arrived at the church, I soon discovered that I was not the last person to arrive -- Josh, Leslie, and her family were also not there. They were about five minutes behind me.

The rehearsal lasted all of about 30 minutes -- it was very quick for two run-through's. After that, we headed over to Old Town Winchester and had dinner at one of the restaurants there. I forget the name of the place, but it was a very nice place. Dinner was good, and the place was crowded -- recipe for fun times. :)

After dinner, Josh and Leslie gave the bridesmaids and the groomsmen their gifts, as well as gave little speeches about them. My gift was a set of virtual fighting gloves. These will come in handy when I get the urge to beat up someone...

On Saturday, I went to confession at St. Veronica's. After that, I went back to the apartment, and found Josh trying to get the printer to print the wedding programs properly. After trying on his computer as well as mine, we eventually gave up and decided to take it to a place and have it done professionally. Josh told me to go to the UPS store near our place.

I got there, and we had a problem: they didn't have the font that Josh used. That turned out to be not such a big problem: we found one that was extremely close to it in style, and I changed the program so that it would all work. Josh had also made a PDF of the program, but we discovered that Adobe was having a problem printing these in booklet format, double-sided. After spending about 30 minutes re-formatting it with the new font, the UPS assistant and I discovered that the printer wasn't going to print double-sided and in booklet format, no matter what setting we used. With only 45 minutes to spare before I had to put on my tux and get to Josh's wedding, I got directions to the place and booked it over to Kinko's...

At Kinko's, I had 30 minutes to explain to them what needed it get done, as well as do it. Explaining took a while, but the printing began rather quickly and everything was OK. In that time, Josh had gotten ready for the wedding, and he was on his way to the store. When he got there, I went back to the apartment, got cleaned up, put on my tux, and called him to see if he needed help. Turns out he was finished and on his way out. He took 50, because he was already on it -- I took the tollway, because he had a head start on me and we were already late. The wedding was supposed to start at 1:45 PM with the Litany of the Saints. It was 1:30 and I had about an hour's drive ahead of me. I got to the church in about 45 minutes. No, I wasn't speeding! (...much...) Josh was about 20 minutes behind me. The tollway saved me a lot of time.

Did I get flak? Of course. I will gladly take the blame for it, because on the wedding day, the blame rests solely upon the shoulders of the best man (he's the best man for the job!), and the praise rests upon the newly married couple. Not that I subscribe to that policy myself, but in this case, it's for Josh...

Anyway, the wedding was fairly normal. Aside from the groom and his best man being one-and-a-half hours late (because we should have been there at about 1 PM), everything else went fine.

The reception went over pretty well. I hadn't written the speech, but I'd been thinking a whole lot about it, so when it was time to give the speech, I felt semi-ready, but it seemed to be received rather well. There were a lot of other speeches after mine, so any flubs that I made were graciously covered up by the Maid of Honor, the parents of the bride, the brother of the bride, and two of her bridesmaids. At least I felt better about it, anyway.

The dancing was fun. I proved to myself, once again, that I´m not good at it. I hadn't practiced swing in so long that it wasn't even funny. I felt like a lump of clay trying to be graceful and not succeeding...

After the reception, I helped Ken, Alaina, and the family of the bride take all the wedding presents to Josh and Leslie's new townhouse. After that, there was a small party at Sarah's house.

The rest of the weekend was fairly standard: singing at Christendom on Sunday, practicing with the Palestrina choir, and then heading back -- that about sums it up...

Mom's gone... :(

Mom flew out this morning. Two full weeks spent here. I took her to Skyline Drive yesterday with John E., and we all had a good time. Mom got tired walking through the woods, and that evening, I took both Mom and John to the Giffin Tavern. It's a great little place.

I just got back from choir practice with the Washington Cappella Antiqua. I'm on reserve membership now.

But I'm tired now and it's bed time...

Thanksgiving, and the weekend with Mom

On Thanksgiving Day, Mom and I went to the M.'s house and spent the day with them. Thanksgiving dinner consisted of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, salad, and green bean casserole, and dessert was pumpkin pie, apple pie, and vanilla ice cream. If Emily, my personal trainer, is reading this, then it's no secret that I ate all of them, and that they were yummy. :)

Sorry, for that. I had to say that. {big grin}

Anyway, after dinner, we chatted for a while, then walked around Frederick with part of the family, and we left about 8:00 PM.

Friday, I worked practically all day. That evening, we went to St. Augustine's and joined Michael, Sylvia, Emily, and a host of other Christendom students, alumni, and Bracy for a day-after-Thanksgiving dinner.

On Saturday, Mom and I went to Alex's house in Davidsonville and visited with the family. We stayed around until about 5:00 PM, and then made the two hour drive back. (It was at a leisurely pace.)

On Sunday, I took Mom to Mass in town. After that, I took her to Spelunker's (because you can't come to Front Royal and not go there), and from there we went to see Carmen and Barry, and Mary Jane and Hoppy, Dad's sisters and their husbands. We had a good visit with them, and dinner was, once again, excellent. We had chicken and dumplings, which was so far superior to Christendom's version that it was not even remotely funny.

Mom and I headed back to Front Royal about 8:00 PM, and we sat around with a good puzzle for a while. A while after all this, I called it a night...

Sunday

On Sunday, I took Mom into town for the Tridentine Latin Mass at 12:30, and after that, to Villa Giuseppe's. That evening, she, Lizzie and I went to see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers again. I was very glad to see the final performance. It is always a lot of fun. The actors at Christendom are all very talented, and I really get a kick out of watching them...

My kudos to all the director, producer, actors and assistants in the show. Without all of you, the show would have been significantly less fun!

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Friday

Mom, Sarah and I went to see this play. Aside from the relatively poor sound quality that the Front Royal High School offers, the production itself was really good. The actors were quiet animated, and they made the show really fun. I laughed so hard during some of the scenes.

My intention is to go back on Sunday for the final performance. I hope that I can...

Dinner

Mom and I went to dinner this evening at the C.'s house, parent's of the J. family in TX. We had a good time discussing life, politics and religion -- two of which every etiquette book in the world says should not be discussed. I don't see why not. It's very enlightening, and it's honestly fun...

Mom's here!

Mom flew in today to visit me! She flew in from TX on American Airlines, courtesy of Soma. She'll be here for two weeks!

She went with me back to work and then to choir practice. Following this, I drove her to Front Royal, where she will be staying through her visit. I hope that it is well for her!

Sick weekend

This weekend was busy as all heck. First and foremost, I had a meeting on Saturday morning. Marc from Oklahoma flew in for it. The meeting was basically all about where the team and the company was going. I felt horrible doing this, and I didn't just give up, but I was so tired that I kept falling asleep in the meeting -- even though I overslept that morning and was late for it anyway!

That evening was the Tepeyac Family Center's gala dinner, to which Christine and I went. It wasn't a bad dinner, nor was it a bad cause. I'm just not used to spending that much money for a small meal, an auction, and listening to people tell me what a wonderful gift life is and how there is always another choice instead of abortion. Admittedly, though, the stories were getting though my icy heart...

Sunday was the second Sunday of the month, so I had triple choir duty. Josh drove me in to Christendom that morning, so I rode in with him. After Christendom's 10:00 AM Mass, I stuck around for the Select Choir practice, and then rode in to Old St. Mary's, where the Select Chorus was singing at the 5:00 PM Solemn High Mass. I sang both with the Select Chorus as well as the Schola. Following this, the choir went to Amphora's for the choir dinner.

The next morning, I rode in to work with Ken, and that was the end of the weekend...

Weekend stories

This weekend was fun. Saturday morning, I went and practiced with the Washington Capella Antiqua. I think I'm beginning to get these pieces. They are very difficult, but I think that the increased difficulty is only helping tone my music sense...

After that, I went to the gym for a while and did my body weight workout. I was surprised that I was able to do it all, because last weekend, I certainly didn't feel like it.

I went to Holy Transfiguration for Vespers and sang there again. I'm beginning to get the hang of Eastern Chant. It's fun, and it's not that hard, but I'm still learning it.

I then went to work for a couple hours. I promised Michael C. that I would be come to Christendom for Sylvia's birthday singing, so I left work at about 10:40 PM, making it there just after the "Happy Birthday" was sung. Fortunately, that means that it had just started.

Sunday morning, Mass was quite easy. There was a new piece by Dr. P., and it wasn't too hard, all things considered, but I'd never seen it before, and I needed to make sure that it sounded good, so I didn't sing that loud for it.

The Tridentine Latin Mass at St. John's was fine. It was a standard Mass for the schola: Missa de Angelis (Mass VIII), the Propers, and a couple hymns. Following this, the Select Chorus (Palestrina Choir?) had its practice, and then I went to go help Josh.

Josh was on the outskirts of town, providing rides for the ladies going to Leslie's bridal shower. The bridal shower was being held at Jen's house (the maid of honor), and she lives near the top of a mountain. Great view, but heck on brakes. Anyway, I arrived there shortly before the party let out, so Josh and I chatted for a while. We discussed some details regarding his bachelor party and the wedding, and then it was time to ascend the mountain. I followed him in the Sentra up the hill, and we ferried the first group down. We went back up for the second group, but they weren't quite ready to go, so Josh and I went inside for a few minutes.

The house, although small, was very nice and cozy. It was pretty sweet. :) I think the house style is called an A-Frame? I'm not sure...

Anyway, after that, I took Lizzie B. to dinner, and we just talked for a while. 'Twas fun. We went to the Griffin Tavern, and I realized that I had a new favorite place to eat. :)

After dropping her off, I went and chatted with Sarah H. and Jonathan D. for a while. I drove home, and got there about 10:30 PM.

Medieval fest, and the rest of the weekend

Saturday came around, and Josh had asked me to help him move some furniture. I got there a bit late, and he and Ken had already begun. After we got as much out of the apartment as we could, Ken and Josh went to CostCo to get some pizza and drinks, so I stayed there and made sure no one stole the U-Haul. I worked on memorizing a script that I had gotten from Tremayne, so that when I went there the next day, we could just burn through the scene...

Ken and Josh got back, and we headed over to the new place, a new town home. Two minutes after I got there, I made the place dirty by wearing muddy boots inside. Way to go, Anthony. Pure genius, I know...

After unloading everything and chatting for a bit, I went to Christendom, because they had Medieval Fest over there. Within five minutes of my arrival, I was placed in the stocks, courtesy of a dollar from Dane. While in the stocks, little kids threw fruit and vegetables at me, and the ladies of the town laughed and placed flowers in my hair -- both groups knowing that neither of them could get away with it were I not in the stocks...

A moment of bragging: I was told that when the stocks owners were asked to put me in there, they decided to all come. Normally, they'd send two or three guys, but they sent the whole team of them this time. They surrounded me to prevent me from running away, picked me up off the ground, and carried me over to the stocks.

Later on, I heard that they were hoping people would fight them to get away. If I had known that, I would have put up more resistance...

Anyway, Medieval Fest was pretty well standard fare after that. I did get a chance to meet up with John E., whom I haven't seen in a little while. After that, I went back to Herndon to go to the gym, and then to Holy Transfiguration for Vespers.

The rest of the weekend played out like normal. Sunday was busy with choral stuff and that was really about it.

Bragging rights

I'm now an uncle of 4. My twin sister just had her third child. Her baby girl is named Mary Clare, and she's 8 lb, 4 oz, and 20.5" long. Photos to follow...

The baby will be baptized on Sunday. Understandably so. Gotta expel the demons before the child gets too used to them. Maybe the terrible twos will be full of the child saying things like her Uncle Anthony said when he was two, "No, Mother, I insist. I'll do the dishes and vacuum," and, "Father, please relax yourself while I mow the grass. Would you like a beer?"

Feel free to pass this message on to anyone and everyone. :)

Weekend days (part 2)

Vespers last night had a new priest, Father Mark Malone, the iconographer from California (although, I didn't know that then). From Holy Transfiguration, I went to Ken and Alaina's, where Mike and Liz McG., Lizzie, Christine, and Sarah were already. I was just in time to help construct the bonfire, and then got going very nicely. Pat and Laura S. showed up, and we roasted marshmallows, sang some songs, and generally had a good time. Shortly after that, Mike and Liz left. Lizzie and Christine left shortly after that.

Pat, Ken and I stood outside talking for a while around the embers while Laura, Alaina, and Sarah went inside. We let the fire burn out for a while, and then went inside. It was already about midnight, so it was definitely time to go.

I got back to the apartment at about 1:00 AM, and went right to sleep. I had a really fun dream, but I can't remember what it was, so don't even bother checking my other blog, which stinks, because it was really good, too! Oh well...

I overslept, actually, so I was late getting to Holy Transfiguration. I missed 90% of the baptism, but I caught all of Divine Liturgy. Today, Father Mark assisted at the Liturgy. Andrew told me that I was in for a treat, because Archbishop Elias from Galilee was coming that day.

Today, the sermon was about life in Galilee, and how Christians are the voices of moderation and reason in Galilee between the Jews and the Muslims. He spoke of how the two other religions were extremely exclusive, and did not mix well, but how the Christians had an open-door policy to everyone there. He asked for prayers especially, because that helps more than money -- but money was obviously welcome.

After Liturgy, I went to work to blog. Life without a computer stinks...

Weekend days

This weekend is fairly slow. Christendom is not in session, as are my choral obligations. I'll probably go sing at Holy Transfiguration anyway. :)

Today, I worked out at the gym for about an hour-and-a-half. It was fun and felt really good. After leaving, I picked up a large (Venti) iced chai tea from Starbucks. I have a gift card there, so it was "free", of sorts.

When I was leaving the parking lot, a black woman driver stopped her car in the middle of the intersection as the light was turning yellow. She just stopped. She looked like she was looking for something. She looked right at me. My light turned green. She was still sitting there. She then blinked like a deer caught in headlights when the guy to the left of me went behind her and turned left. I was going to follow suit, but she put her car into reverse and looked backward. She then started reversing slowly. She looked at me, and saw that I was going to pull around her, so she stopped. I motioned for her to make up her mind and go. She gave me this look like, "How rude," but she reversed. Yet another example of a person who should resort to walking, because she's a road hazard.

I honestly think she was trying to get into an accident.

Well, this has been uncharitable of me, to say the least, but that whole situation really cheesed me off. By the time that she was out of the intersection, she had used up half the time of the light, which isn't very long anyway.

God bless the idiots of the world. They keep life interesting and you on your toes.

I went to work for a while, which is where I typed this up. It's now time to run away to Vespers at Holy Transfiguration, and then out to Ken and Alaina's house in Front Royal.

NYC, day 3

On the final day in NYC, we stopped in again at La Parisienne for breakfast, and then sauntered down twenty blocks to Penn Station, were we had about an hours wait for the train. Dr. P kept reminding Michael and me that we were in no hurry -- we had plenty of time. But all things considered, it's much more fun to stride through the streets of NYC than it is to saunter through them, although, had we sauntered, we would have had a lot more time to just take it all in.

In Penn Station, Michael wanted some coffee, and I wanted something to snack on myself. I ordered a drink called The Hulk from Smoothie King and enhanced it with an energy supplement. With as many calories as it had in it, I figured that a shot of energy booster in there would help prevent me from falling right asleep...

On the train ride back, I played a few video games. It had been a while since I had actually sat down with one, so what the hey, you know?

Lizzie called when we were back in DC. She wanted to know if we wanted dinner. We thought it sounded like a good idea, so the three of us had dinner with Lizzie and Laurel, and told them about the trip.

I went back to Herndon that night. I discovered there, in transit, that my laptop died. That's one of the reasons that these last few posts have been so long in getting up here...

NYC, day 2

Today was fun. Dr. P. woke Michael and me up at about 10:00 AM, saying that if we wanted to do anything, we should probably get up and go. He was already done and ready to hit the road.

By 11:15 AM, we were out the door of the hotel, and we went back to La Parisienne for breakfast. Michael and Dr. P. both had the double burger plate again, but I was wanted breakfast, so I ordered the lumberjack. This had about five strips of crispy yet still "juicy" bacon, two or three scrambled eggs cooked to perfection (light and fluffy, but still with substance), and three pancakes cooked like the eggs (light and fluffy, but still with substance -- not scrambled). This was excellent. Top notch. Beat out Denny's, Christendom, IHOP -- you name it.

I should mention that it was sprinkling lightly, and therefore overcast. The skies looked rather threatening. And the only coat I brought was the velvet one. This wouldn't do. On the way to breakfast, I bought an umbrella for $10. It's fairly nice, rather like a walking stick, complete with a hook for a handle.

We hopped on the subway and rode it down to the Brooklyn Bridge, where we got off and walked across it. By now the rain had picked up significantly, so Michael also bought an umbrella -- the same style as mine -- for $5. Darn him. On the Brooklyn Bridge, the wind was really gusting, so the umbrellas came in both handy and not handy at the same time. When the wind was calmer, all of our umbrellas worked well, but when it was gusting, they were practically useless...

At the first set of beams on the Brooklyn Bridge, the three of us stopped and looked around. Manhattan Island was behind us with the huge imposing skyscrapers, and in front of us was Brooklyn, with not-so-huge buildings, but still rather impressive.

We kept going all the way across the bridge, and at the second set of supports (Brooklyn side), we stopped once again. This time, it was much easier to take in all of Manhattan Island. Still, even at a distance, it was extremely impressive.

When we crossed the bridge, we looked around for the Brooklyn subway, and took it back to Manhattan Island. Now we were on our way to the World Trade Center, or the 9/11 memorial.

After getting off the subway, we passed right in front of St. Peter's Catholic Church, the oldest Catholic Church in NYC. Being Catholic, I had to stop in. It was nice looking outside, rather like a Roman building, but inside -- WOW! The artwork, the layout, everything. I could almost smell the incense and see the bishop saying the first words of the first Mass:

Introibo ad altare Dei.

The 9/11 Memorial wasn't too far away, and we hiked over there. As we approached we looked around for it. It was easy to find. It was the open space surrounded by skyscrapers. We we walked up to it, there were large pictures of people who had been affected by this tragedy. Of all the photographs, two of them got to me. The first was a picture of a soldier in dress uniform, saluting, with tears streaming down his face. The second was a picture of a Muslim woman, also crying and praying. The second got to me, because I know a number of people who blame Muslims for the attacks, forgetting the fact that not people who profess Islam as their religion were responsible for the attacks. I'm not looking to start a war with these words: I am just stating a fact.

I looked at the new site where they were excavating for the foundation of the replacement building, which I believe will be called the "Freedom Tower". Correct me if I'm wrong, of course...

There was also a downstairs section, and once again, something got to me down there. There were four or five poster-boards filled with drawings that little kids had drawn of the tragedy. Most of them consisted of, "I miss Daddy,", "I love you, Daddy," "I'll always remember you, Daddy," or "My favorite memory of Daddy was..." One of them in particular got to me. On the left had side of the picture, there stood the World Trade Center. To the right came a plane to strike to right tower. The left tower had red crayon down the side -- I imagine that it was supposed to be fire, but it looked like blood. On the far left, were the words, "Daddy was here," with an arrow pointing at the location, what looked like outside the building. I stood there and just looked at it. I felt like a prayer was absolutely necessary, so I said a Requiem aeternam, and moved on.

After we left there, we went back to the hotel and had NY pizza. Well, Dr. P. and Michael had New York pizza. I had a NY calzone. Wow! There's something to NYC's food!

Shortly after that, we went to St. Thomas High Church Episcopal church to hear the Westminster Cathedral Choir sing. FYI, Westminster Cathedral in England is Catholic, whereas Westminster Abbey is Protestant. Ironically, the Episcopal church is the one who invited the Catholic choir, not St. Patrick's, the local Catholic Church. Anyone confuzzled by that irony?

Words will do poorly to describe the beauty of the Neo-Gothic architecture. It was very much a man's church: solid stone, manly architecture, high ceilings, etc. If you check out the two websites that I linked into this post, you'll see what I mean. Plus it'll save you from having to read my incoherent ramblings on the subject.

As for the concert, Martin Baker directed the men and boy choir, consisting of eighteen boys (on treble, obviously), three countertenors, four tenors, and four basses, and their organist was Matthew Martin. They opened the concert with them processing around the church, with the director in the lead, the boys, the basses, the tenors, and the countertenors. Their processional, which was Te sanctum Dominum, a Gregorian chant piece, had a bass solo and a treble solo. Towards the end of the piece, they arrived at the front of the church, at which point they sung the Gloria from Missa Euge Bone by Christopher Tye, followed by Christe Iesu pastor bone by John Tavener. Up next was A New Song by James MacMillan, which was absolutely stunning.

Then the choir took a break, and the organist had a solo: Variations on Unter der Linden Grüne by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. This was played on the back organ, which was a quieter Baroque organ. Before this piece, the organist had to walk to the choir loft in the back, so Martin Baker gave a small speech, telling the audience how this concert covered about 400 years of music, beginning with the 16th century, emphasizing the fact that these were mostly Catholic composers, and that there was a section dedicated to Our Lady. (He actually emphasized those words, perhaps to stress the irony of the entire situation, including the irony that I pointed out earlier. Oh yeah, and the organ solo was very nice. I enjoyed it immensely.

The choir got up to sing the Marian section of the program. Three pieces by William Byrd started them off: Salve Sancta Parens, the Kyrie from the Mass for five voices, and Benedicta et Venerabilis. The fourth and concluding piece was Anton Bruckner's Ave Maria, which I've sung with Christendom before. They did it much better then we did, that's for sure.

After this was intermission. Michael, Dr. P., and I ran to the back to buy some of the CDs, and then wandered around the church, looking at stuff. Dr. P. went up front and met with some friends, Scott Turkington among them.

After intermission, the modern half began. First up was Benjamin Britten's Hymn to St. Cecilia. It was so discordant. I listen to all sorts of music, but few are as bad sounding as this -- with apologies to Dr. P for the extreme difference of opinion. Also apologies to him, because he said that some of the music that he wrote early in his career was just as discordant, and I mean no offense when I say that I don't like Britten's music because of that fact that it's discordant...

After Britten, the organist began again, with the Te Deum by Jeanne Demessieux, which was an extremely impressive piece, but not too beautiful. It was impressive in how complex it was, but I'd never ask to hear that piece at Mass. After that, the choir finished strong with three pieces: Dum Completentur by Peter Maxwell Davies, O Salutaris Hostia by Marcel Dupré, and Laudate Dominum, also by Marcel Dupré.

Overall, it was an awesome concert, and I highly recommend the choir, their tours, and their CDs to everyone.

After the concert, Dr. P. met up with Scott Turkington again, and was introduced around to his friends. After introductions, we decided to go to a pub, and just socialize for a while. Of all of Scott and Dr. P's friends, only David Hughes joined us, so the five of us went to a pub and talked for a while. We got to know each other pretty well, we talked about music, technology, and life in general.

After this, Dr. P, Michael, and I went back to the hotel.

NYC, day 1

Today, Dr. P., Michael B. and I went to New York City. We boarded the Washington Metro at Vienna at about 9:20 AM, and got to Union Station in the middle of Washington DC shortly after 10 AM. Our train for the Big Apple was scheduled to leave at 10:30 AM.

The train was an Amtrak train, and the commute was about 4 hours, counting stops in Baltimore, Delaware, and New Jersey before we arrived at New York's Penn Station.

After that, we walked about 20 blocks to our hotel, the Park Savoy Hotel. (Naturally, we didn't get the room that was in the picture...) We chilled here for a while, then went to dinner at La Parisienne, which is a really nice little restaurant. I took note of the menu as we passed it the first time on the way to TGI Friday's. The menu items there were up to a quarter of the price of Friday's, and the food was, in my opinion, well worth it, and actually better than what I remember Friday's being.

We walked around Central Park for a while, and climbed a couple rocks. Michael did the bulk of the climbing, while Dr. Poterack and I looked on at the limitless energy of youth.

After that, we went back to the hotel for a little bit, and then, shortly before 7 PM, headed over to the Metropolitan Opera House, where we caught a production of Charles Gounod's Faust. The production was very well done, and the Opera House was absolutely beautiful. If my pictures here don't do a good job of replicating it (which they probably won't, considering the low quality of camera phones), check out the link I provided, or you can do a search for the the Metropolitan Opera House and view pictures there, too.

After this, we stopped by a drug store and Starbucks. Michael needed some ibuprofen, because his hand was acting up, and I remembered that I had forgotten my toothbrush. After this, we stopped at Starbucks, then at the Christopher Columbus statue, just outside of Central Park. Then, we went back to the hotel for the night, considering it was nearly midnight...

A different weekend

On Saturday, I went to the gym early in the morning, and then to Alex's parents' house, where I borrowed their garage and tools to replace the axles and shocks in the old Sentra. Six hours later, the axles and shocks were replaced, with a lot of help from Bryan and Nathan. I didn't think it would be as easy as it was. Really. Finding the right tools took the longest time -- actually replacing the shocks and axles wasn't all that difficult. I think the actual labor took about four hours.

That night, Alex, Richard and I went to Paul's place for a coffee house. I'd never been there, so it was a new experience for me. Alex and I sang If I Had $1,000,000, as the original band B.N.L. sang it. Well, we tried to, anyway. I had my cell phone out with the order of important words on it, just so that I wouldn't get lost. Aside from that, it was loads of fun. Curt Z. was there -- it was good to see him again.

Sunday was the beginning of fall break. It just so happened that I went to Old St. Mary's for the Tridentine Latin Mass early in the morning. I was going to drive back to the Scrivener's and drive Alex back to the apartment, but as I was leaving St. Mary's, he called me and told me not to worry about it, and that he could get a ride.

As luck would have it, John E. was in town, so I headed down to Front Royal. He had a wonderful plan to change Lizzie, Emma, and Laurel's room into a convent-style room: that is, take everything out. The one catch was that everyone had to be gone. Lizzie and Laurel were the last two girls in the dorm: according to rumors, they were going to go to to the Tridentine Mass at St. John's in town at 12:30 PM. This would be perfect for John's plan. As I was driving down to Front Royal, I got a call from John, saying that Lizzie had gone to the earlier Mass and was already on her way back. That pretty much ruined our plans.

Then we got word that she was going to breakfast with her brother and JD. Hmmm... I booked it to Front Royal, and we emptied the girls' room in no time flat. Sadly, Lizzie got back to the dorm just before we put the finishing touch on the room: a kneeler (whatever the word is, pronounced "praydoo", or "Pray, do" as I thought the term was supposed to convey -- this is also an open invitation for anyone who knows how to spell that word to leave it as a comment).

Using Laurel's camera, we took many pictures of our handiwork. Lizzie suggested that we put everything back together, because Laurel would probably not be too thrilled with the condition of the room. We both really wanted to show off our handiwork to the occupants, but we knew that it would be better to not make anyone mad. In less than record time, we had everything moved back in, but sadly, I had forgotten how the desks were laid out, so they were a shambles in comparison to what they had been.

That evening, a group of us went out for a picnic. Michael B. and I got into a bit of a boxing match, just for the fun of it. I miss living in the dorms...

Dr. P., Michael, and I went back to my apartment. We watched the Hudsucker Proxy, and then went to sleep. Tomorrow begins the trip to NYC...

Departed

Starring Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Alec Baldwin, and a few other people I've been before but could not tell you their names.

The movie was not freaky. The movie was not weird. The movie was freakishly weird. Jack Nicholson is a mob boss who does his thing. Matt Damon is his cop friend, kinda like his son. Matt is in the police force, and you could say that they scratch each other's backs. He's the rat in the police force for Nicholson. Leonardo DiCaprio tried to get into the police force and failed out. He is now working undercover as a rat to expose Nicholson. The rats are detected, and this movie is about them and their tricks to stay alive and in power in their respective roles.

My comment on this movie is simply this: "Wow." Not, "Wow!" Just: "Wow." It's two-and-a-half hours long, and it's good for cool scenes. It's good for suspense.

It has one sex scene. The scene makes NO sense. I saw it coming a mile away, and I thought to myself, "How are they going to go from this to sex?" And they didn't. They were in the middle of a more-or-less normal conversation (normal for the movie), and next thing you know, they are kissing and things progress from there. I looked at Paul, who was next to me in the movie theater, and I think we both were wondering if we had just witnessed the stupidest thing ever.

I'm not exactly a fan of sex scenes, for obvious reasons. In some cases, the scene jives with the movie. In this case, I think the director just wanted it in there for the heck of it, didn't know how to bring it in, and just said, "Heck with it. Just do it."

Along the same lines, I think that's how he ended the movie. It's the second worst ending I can recall having ever seen, the worst being that in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It seemed like the last 15 minutes was him scrambling for ideas, because he made the characters too good to be caught in webs, and he just said, "Heck with it. Just end it." So, a few explosions later, the movie ends.

I wasn't impressed, although the movie is worth seeing just for the quote-able scenes. Don't expect a blockbuster.

Scott Turkington

Work has been really busy. I was going to go to choir practice on Monday with the Christendom Choir, because they had a guest director there, Scott Turkington. But I couldn't make it. Tuesday, I went in to work, and when I got back to Front Royal, I made sure that I could attend the second choir practice with him.

I wasn't sure what to make of him when I first met him, but the more that he directed and gave advice, the more I liked him. He's very cool. :)

Sunday, and the drive back

The drive back was, for me, uneventful, as I slept most of the way back. Ken and Alaina reported a story though. As we were driving through the cotton fields of Georgia, there was a vehicle on the side of the road. The passenger side door was open, and a family of four was outside the vehicle. The parents had their camera set up, and their kids were picking cotton. It's kind of understandable if you think, "They've just never seen cotton." It's possible -- I've rarely seen it growing. There was just one thing that made this episode hilarious.

The family was black.

Need I say more? Does your mind reel as well?

Saturday, the wedding, and the reception

Saturday morning, we had to be at the church at 12:00 noon for practice. The wedding was at 2:00 PM. Practice started off poorly, because the tenors were a bit late, but everything worked out fine. The wedding was nice, said by Father Dan, Pat's uncle. There wasn't any Asian woman throwing peace back at anyone like at Jake's wedding... {grins}

Now comes the fun part: the reception...

Pat and Laura's reception was awesome. It was at Laura's parents' house in Pensacola, about five minutes from the church. Almost as soon as the Mass was over, Ken, Alaina, Sarah and I booked it over to their house, because I was DJ'ing and Ken was the photographer, so we both had to be there. I checked out the surroundings, and the spot that I had picked out the night before had been taken by the band, so I chose another spot near them. I found a great place, and as they were playing their music, I set up everything. Ryan O. helped me set up a wireless connection between the two laptops (Ken's and mine) so that I could have a laptop to preview songs on. Then, I noticed too late that I was missing some audio cables that I thought I had, so I borrowed MikeE's car for a few minutes and raced over to Wal-Mart to purchase them. When I got back, I "stole" a set of the band's speakers during their break, and hooked them up to the system, and began playing the music.

From here on out, this post is one great chest thump for me. Sorry, but I can't help it. It was just too much fun!

I opened with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's King of Swing, followed next by Alien Fashion Show's Detroit Swing City. I had to play some swing, since there was a live band there. I also wanted to set a tone for the evening. The band was enjoying the music, and some players even playing along with Detroit Swing City. It made for a nice piece. After that, they took over again, and I went and grabbed a quick bite to eat.

After their next session, Dane announced the Virginia Reel. Those experienced people (aka, Christendomites) came out to the dance floor and showed everyone how it was done, and within a couple minutes, everyone was out there. I began with the staples: Shamrock's Tell Me Ma and The Boy From Ballymore and Rednex's Cotton Eyed Joe. After the first song, everyone wanted to keep going, so I checked again. After the second song, some people were ready to stop. By the end of the third song, people were getting tired of it, so it was time to move on to something else.

In the middle of the third VA Reel song, someone told me about a birthday, so I took that cue and after the third song, before I got too many protesters, I announced the birthday, and asked her what her favorite song was. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Memory, from Cats." OK, I could do that. As the song fired up, she added, "Unless you have any Phantom of the Opera?" My jaw just about hit the floor, because of course I have the Phantom, and it's one of my favorites! But the song had already started, so I just let it play.

After this, some of the younger generation wanted more VA Reel, so I announced one more VA Reel song, and played Cotton Eyed Joe again. I could tell the Christendom folks were getting tired of it, but the kids loved it!

Next up were a couple standard dances. I put the swing back in, but I introduced a waltz next, with Enya's Flora's Secret. Following this, Dane asked me to prepare a fun song, and he announced the Paddle Dance. I set up the Wonders That Thing You Do. Everyone really seemed to be getting into it, and so they went through five songs in the paddle dance. I announced We Are Family as a special request from the bride, but since it was the Ultimix, Laura didn't recognize it at first...

Dane came up to me and asked me to prepare the surprise that we had discussed earlier in the day, so with much glee, I did so. At the end of We Are Family, the music quieted down, and Dane asked the bride and groom to please come out to the dance floor, because we had a special song for them, and that everyone present gather around them in a large circle. After the musical introduction, Pat and Laura recognized the song from their junior year play. They were (respectively) Liesl von Trapp and Rolf, so Sixteen Going On Seventeen was definitely their song.

After that, I spent a lot of time filling requests. When I had free time, I played songs that the bride and groom had requested, and when people came up to me and asked if I had X, Y or Z, I would add it to the playlist, assuming, of course, that I had it. There was a significant number of oldies, funk and disco that people just loved. Father Dan, Pat's uncle, by this time, was next to me with a set of headphones on, listening to music. Man, I tell you what: I'm a bad influence even on priests...

People asked for a line dance, so I announced the Electric Slide, and hopped out to the floor myself. This was the one dance that I could do without embarrassing myself too much, so I took advantage of this.

Earlier, someone had requested Walking on Sunshine, so I put the two Walking's back-to-back, just for the fun of it. I had no idea how they would actually go. Walking on Sunshine was a bit hit -- I didn't realize how literally it was until after Walking on Broken Glass had started. An instant before the song opened, I heard a glass shatter, and I just figured it was a part of the song. Turns out it wasn't, as Pat told me two seconds later. He came up to me and asked me if I had done that on purpose. Confused, I asked what he meant, and he told me about the glass that had just been broken. I burst out laughing as Ryan and Sarah came running up to me to ask me if I really was all that quick. I was rather disappointed in myself, because I would really have loved to take full credit for extremely quick reflexes, but I couldn't...

By this point, Martha, one of Laura's sisters, had come up to me and asked me for a set of swing music. I played a couple songs, and then announced (as requested by Laura's friends) that it was someone's birthday. According to the ladies, one of his favorite songs was Iris, so that's what he got.

Martha came up to me and told me that she wanted a long set of swing music, so, accepting the challenge, and presenting one of my own, we agreed to five fast swing songs, back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back. As Iris ended, I announced a small contest, between the DJ and Martha. I announced that Martha said that she could dance five swing songs in a row. Naturally, I had a couple lined up to go, and I had plans for the last three. I asked for five strapping, energetic young men who could dance quickly and well: my five volunteers were Dane, Brendan, Pat, Mike P., and Martha's brother (John?). The requirement was that they reserve their energy for their dances, because I wanted them all to be fresh. Dane danced to Zoot Suit Riot, and in the process, he discovered that she had been taking ballet for fourteen years. Dancing was in her blood. He told this to me, and I immediately began plotting my revenge...

Brendan was up next -- he burned up the concrete. He told me that he doesn't know that many moves, but the moves he does know, he can do really quickly. Perfect for me. Pat was up third, and Mike was fourth. Mike, however, had been dancing all the other dances, so he wasn't as quick as he could have been. However, credit where credit is due: he did a good job.

Last up was John. I brought him over to the DJ stand, and played him his song: Jurassic 5's Swing Set, which was, the longest of them all, upwards of five minutes. It also introduces an funky beat that keeps dancers on their toes. When John and Martha began dancing, the crowd went wild. They were simply fantastic. I've not seen swing moves like theirs in quite some time.

At the end of it all, the music went silent, and I went on the mic. I made a public apology to Martha, because I doubted her prowess. However, I then told her that if I had known about her years of ballet, I wouldn't have stopped the number at five. It was a "diriment impediment" of sorts (even though the meaning of that exact phrase is here being stretched beyond reasonable use). In the end, I got a hug from Martha. It took a while for my old heart to slow down again... :-P

After this, it was all requests. I ended the dance on What About Everything. It was nearly 1:00 AM, and I was beginning to get a little tired. Besides that, Pat and Laura were getting ready to go. I know that they had wanted to stay to the end, but the end wasn't really anywhere in sight, so they decided that it was time to leave. We sent them off with a group of people singing the Parting Glass, Red is the Rose, and other Irish songs. After they left, I assisted in cleaning up the place, or at least the part of the place that I had been using. Everything was put away, and I joined the crowd of people sitting in a circle, singing away. We left at about 3:00 AM...

+ + +

Below this is my playlist variations. You'll see what Pat and Laura wanted. I then took that playlist and built around it. What I ended up doing is the third column. I didn't have enough time to get through everything that they wanted, but I think I got about 50% of it? I haven't tallied the numbers up... Enjoy!

They wanted:	I modified:	What happened:
Goo Goo Dolls Give A Little Bit	Scythian Ashoken Farewell	Big Bad Voodoo Daddy King of Swing
Fastball You're An Ocean	The Foundations Build Me Up Buttercup	Alien Fashion Show Detroit Swing City
Guster Fa Fa	RedNex Cotton Eye Joe (Dance Mix)	Shamrock Tell Me Ma
Wonders That Thing You Do	Shamrock Tell Me Ma	Shamrock The Boy From Ballymore
Elton John Your Song	Shamrock The Boy From Ballymore	RedNex Cotton Eye Joe (Dance Mix)
Carole King Anyone At All	Goo Goo Dolls Give A Little Bit	Andrew Lloyd Webber Memory
Jason Mraz The Remedy	Fastball You're An Ocean	RedNex Cotton Eye Joe (Dance Mix)
Uncle Kracker Drift Away	Wonders That Thing You Do!	Swing Kids Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)
Alison Krauss When You Say Nothing At All	Guster Fa Fa	Enya Flora's Secret
Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville	Elton John Your Song	Wonders That Thing You Do!
Natalie Merchant These Are The Days	Carole King Anyone at All	Guster Fa Fa
Carbon Leaf What About Everything?	Uncle Kracker Drift Away	Beatles Twist And Shout
Scythian Ashoken Farewell	Alison Krauss When You Say Nothing at All	Mamas & Papas California Dreaming
ATC Around The World	Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville	Sister Sledge We Are Family (Ultimix Remix)
Sister Sledge We Are Family	Natalie Merchant These Are The Days	Sound of Music, Dan Truhitte And Charmian Carr Sixteen Going On Seventeen
Billy Joel Why Should I Worry?	Carbon Leaf What About Everything?	Shaggy Angel
Billy Joel River Of Dreams	ATC Around the World	Louis Armstrong What a Wonderful World
Billy Joel Tell Her About It	Billy Joel Why Should I Worry	Jet Are You Gonna Be My Girl?
Cherry Poppin' Daddies Zoot Suit Riot	Billy Joel River Of Dreams (Original, Live)	Wild Cherry Play That Funky Music
Stray cats Rock This Town	Cherry Poppin' Daddies Zoot Suit Riot	George Clinton & The Parliament Funkadelic Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)
Alien Fashion Show Crazy Moon	Alien Fashion Show Crazy Moon	Bee Gees Stayin Alive
Nobuo Uematsu, Junya Nakano, Masashi Hamauzu Chocobo Jam	Nobuo Uematsu, Junya Nakano, Masashi Hamauzu Chocobo Jam	Frankie Valli You're Just Too Good To Be True
U2 Beautiful Day	U2 Beautiful Day	Marcia Griffiths Electric Slide
Huey Lewis And The News Power Of Love	Huey Lewis & The News Power of Love	Katrina and the Waves Walking On Sunshine
Rednex Cotton Eyed Joe	Seal Kiss From A Rose	Annie Lennox Walking On Broken Glass
scythian Virginia Reel	Frank Sinatra I Get A Kick Out Of You (Slow)	Frank Sinatra I Get A Kick Out Of You
Shamrock Tell Me Ma	Katrina and the Waves Walking On Sunshine	Glenn Miller Orchestra In The Mood
Rednex Cotton Eyed Joe [Dance Remix]	Lovin' Spoonful Do You Believe in Magic	Goo Goo Dolls Iris
Shamrock Boy From Ballymore	Nat King Cole L.O.V.E	Cherry Poppin' Daddies Zoot Suit Riot
Seal Kiss From A Rose	Frank Sinatra The Way You Look Tonight	Alien Fashion Show Crazy Moon
Frank Sinatra I Get a Kick Out Of You	John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John We Go Together	Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Jumpin' Jack
Katrina and the Waves Walkin' On Sunshine	Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Ain't No Mountain High Enough	Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Mambo Swing
Lovin' Spoonful Do You Believe in Magic	Temptations Ain't To Proud To Beg	Jurassic 5 Swing Set
Louis Armstrong Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)	Rascals Good Lovin'	Kool & The Gang Celebrate
Nat King Cole L-O-V-E	Stray Cats Rock This Town	K.C. & The Sunshine Band Get Down Tonight
Fronk Sinatra It Had To Be You	Harry Connick Jr. It Had To Be You	Commodores Brick House
Frank Sinatra The Way You Look Tonight	Tom Cochrane Life Is A Highway	Creedence Clearwater Revival Born On The Bayou
The Foundations Build Me Up Buttercup	Goo Goo Dolls Slide	John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John We Go Together
John Travolta/Olivia Newton John (from the Grease Soundtrack) We Go Together	Counting Crows Accidentally In Love	Frank Sinatra The Way You Look Tonight
Henry Mancini Moon River [Instrumental]	Rodgers & Hammerstein: Dan Truhitte And Charmian Carr Sixteen Going On Seventeen	Madonna Holiday
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Aint No Mountain High Enough	ESPN Final Countdown	Styx Lady
The Temptations Aint Too Proud To Beg	Van Halen Jump	Billy Idol Mony Mony
Stevie Wonder IsnÂ’t She Lovely	Venga Boys We're Going To Ibiza	Green Day Holiday
Tom Cochrane Life Is A Highway	Shaggy Angel	Oasis Wonder Wall
Four Tops IÂ’ll Be There	Marcia Griffiths Electric Slide	Green Day Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
The Rascals Good LovinÂ’	Sister Sledge We Are Family (Ultimix Remix)	Chris De Burgh Lady In Red
	Proclaimers 500 Miles	UB40 Red Red Wine
	Billy Joel Uptown Girl	U2 Beautiful Day
	Bryan Adams Summer of '69	Carbon Leaf What About Everything?
	Donna Lewis I Love You Always Forever	Baha Men Who Let the Dogs Out
	Proclaimers 500 Miles	Michael Jackson Beat It
	Billy Joel Uptown Girl	Brian Setzer Orchestra This Cat's On A Hot Tin Roof
	Donna Lewis I Love You Always Forever	Tom Cochrane Life Is A Highway
	Gnarls Barkley Crazy
	Shaun Davey Waking Ned Devine The Parting Glass

Friday in Pensacola

After arriving at the cottage (our hotel was a cottage on a country club), I got checked into my room. I was sharing the room with Joe P., MikeE, and Ryan O. I was awake for a while and acting goofy, but I crashed shortly after, sleeping like a vampire, horizontal, arms at my sides.

Apparently, this is an uncommon sleeping position. I hear a rumor that people were surprised by the fact that I could actually sleep like that.

I woke up before it was time to go, around 3 PM, Eastern Time. Seeing the time, I fell back asleep.

Ryan woke me up later when it was time to go. The clock in the room was wrong -- it was reading an hour earlier than it was. We went to the church for the wedding rehearsal and choir practice.

At the church, everything was fine. The choir people needed a lot of work, but that's what practice was for. After it all, Father Dan heard confessions, and then it was back to the cottage for dinner.

Dinner was roast beef, pork, chicken, macaroni and cheese, peach cobbler, and other good stuff. After dinner, Brendan M. (Pat's best man) wanted to go to McGuire's, a local pub, for Pat. Chris L., Dane W., Ken F., Mike P., Brendan, Pat and I all went. On the way there, Pat dropped Laura and some of her siblings off at their house. I rode with them, so I got to know them a little better.

McGuire's was fun. It had a wacky feature: there was nearly half-a-million (and counting) $1 bills stapled to the ceiling. All the bills were signed or doodled on -- it apparently helps reduce theft. There was a story of a guy who actually did steal some of the money from the place, but he was caught red-handed when the police found the unique money.

In any case, there was a live band, which consisted of one guy with a foul mouth and mind, and his guitar. After a couple beers, we tried to drown him out with The Parting Glass, but it failed. After all, he had a microphone, and we were way in the back.

We left the pub, but turned back to get Pat's victory mug. Then we went back to our respective cottages. It was about 1 AM. MikeE, Carissa, Ryan, and Maria were all watching TV, but when I told them the time, they all went to bed rather quickly. I followed suit in a few moments.

Thursday, and the drive to FL

This weekend, Pat S. and Laura H. were getting married in Pensacola, FL. A large Christendom contingent was going there to celebrate with them. At the same time, Christendom College was having Homecoming weekend.

To be perfectly honest, I really wanted to go to both. I hadn't missed a Homecoming weekend yet, and I had wanted to keep that repetition. Now I had to choose: my options were either the wedding of two good friends at which I would sing and then play music at the reception when the live band wasn't playing, or a celebration involving a number of drunk alumni, a dance which, in previous years, was too packed to actually do much dancing, and a high-spirited football game, involving the original 13 states and every state touching the Atlantic (East) vs. everyone else (West).

I had hoped to leave work on Thursday by 3 PM to be beat traffic. I was so busy with reports that I couldn't leave until almost 7 PM. I had to make a stop at the apartment before we could go, because I had forgotten some stuff that was rather important for this trip. When I finally called it a day, I still had so much work to do it wasn't even funny, but if I didn't stop then, I would not have stopped until the wee hours of the morning.

Lizzie borrowed my car over the weekend, so on the way to Sarah's house where Ken, Alaina and Sarah were all waiting for me, I swung by Christendom for two reasons: #1 to give her the key to my apartment; John E. was coming down, and he wanted to stay there, and #2 to drive her to Sarah's house and then she would take the car from there.

I got to Sarah's about 9:30 PM, and we left shortly after that. I slept in the car until about 2 AM. Sometime in the middle of the night, when I couldn't sleep anymore (I think around 4 AM), Ken and Alaina got in the back seat, Sarah and I got in the front, and she drove while Ken and Alaina slept. After getting lost coming out of Atlanta, GA, we stopped for directions, and I took over after that.

We made it to Pensacola by about 11 AM, Central Time (yes, we switched from Eastern to Central)...

Blue Collar Comedy Tour, Season 1, Volume 1

This is the TV series of Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, and Larry the Cable Guy on the road with their comedy. It's really funny, but at a certain point, enough is enough. There's a reason why each episode is only thirty minutes long, and that's because the human mind can only take so much stupidity. I spent two-and-a-half hours watching this, and I feel like I need to sleep just to clear the stupidity out of my head. Of course, they advertise this comedy as not being for those looking for really intelligent comedy...

This weekend

Saturday, I started out slow. I worked late on Friday night until 02:30 AM, and I finally went to bed around 03:30 AM. I got up shortly after 10, and logged back in to work. After a couple hours, I called it a day, and went to the gym for about an hour and a half. After that, I came home, made a very large protein smoothie, showered and went to Holy Transfiguration for Vespers.

Mrs. C., the mother of Mrs. J. in TX, was at Holy Transfiguration. I talked to her for a little bit, then booked it to Front Royal for choir practice for Pat and Laura's wedding. The practice went fine, and I spent the night at Dane and Jonathan's house. Ryan came over a little later into the evening, and we chatted really late.

Today, I got up shortly after 8:00 AM, and went to choir practice. Thus, starting at about 8:45 AM, began a day of singing:

8:45 AM: choir practice

9:15 AM: schola practice

10:00 AM: Mass at Christendom

11:30 AM: schola practice for Tridentine Mass at St. John's

12:30 PM: Tridentine Mass at St. John's

2:30 PM: Select Choir Practice

3:40 PM: outside the crypt with Jon, Draper, Lizzie, Emma, Josepha, and a couple other girls singing for fun (barbershop quartet -- it started with the girls singing "Pick-a-little, talk-a-little" from the Music Man, and Draper and I coming in with "Good Night, Ladies"

4:00 PM: Vespers at Christendom

After that, Christendom had its annual Oktoberfest. I went for a while, but I was fairly tired. Call me a weenie, but about 7 hours of singing was quite enough for this old man...

Plus, Oktoberfest = polka, and I can't dance polka well at all. I dance polka with the grace of Rosie O'Donnell skipping the buffet line...

ANYway, I went back to the apartment, and I fired up some mindless comedy, Blue Collar Comedy Tour, Season 1, Volume 1. It's now almost midnight, and I'm ready to crash...

New jacket

I bought a new blazer. I saw a Wilke Rodriguez Three-Button, Non-Vented Black Velvet Blazer online, and I just had to go see it. I liked it, so I bought it. Just to add one more to my collection. I now own two suits, two tuxedos, and three blazers. I think that's enough variety for now...

...

But I still want a white suit... :)

Concert: Los Lonely Boys and Carlos Santana

Normally, I don't enjoy concerts, but Eric W. won tickets, so he asked me if I wanted to go. Being half Puerto Rican, I do appreciate good Latino music. Eric is Chilean, so the Latino "brothers" went to the concert.

I should also apologize for the picture quality. I took them on my cell phone, and I used zoom, which automatically made the quality worse. But it's the thought that counts -- right?

We first stopped at CVS to pick up beer (because you don't go to a concert without at least one beer, much less a Santana concert), and we ended up with two 24 oz Coronas. I then ran into Giant, and purchased a single lime.

We found out there that drinking at the Nissan Pavilion was not allowed, unless you bought the stuff inside. Also, the rules stipulated that beer bottles and cans were not allowed, but cups were. We bought two plastic cups from a couple guys and enjoyed our Coronas outside. Then we went inside.

VIP parking and tickets are very worth it, BTW. VIP parking is a designated lot closer to the Nissan Pavilion with its own security and its own exit. Everything is faster, and so very nice. Plus, you get access to the VIP club, with its own bar, it's own small band area, its own dining area -- all top-notch stuff. Good times!

Of course, everything is expensive. The same beer we bought at CVS for $3 was $11...

Los Lonely Boys, who opened the show, were actually very good. They had a little bit of a blues sound to them early on, but then everything picked up, and they closed on Heaven, which is the only song of theirs that I remotely know. Their live performance of it was great. Most of the crowd was standing and dancing in front of their seats for that one.

Towards the end of Los Lonely Boys, we ordered some food: chips and spinach dip. It was really good. For the price we paid, we also got a lot of chips and a lot of dip. My only complaint, and this is such a little thing, is that it was really salty...

Then Santana came on. His first song started off really cool, and then just went crazy, and I mean in a not-so-good way. It didn't sound like their train had been derailed or anything, and it looked like everything was going according to plan, but I couldn't hear a discernible melody or beat, nor did I recognize the piece. Carlos Santana was directing them from center stage in the end with orchestra hit after orchestra hit. I didn't so much care for it, because it was all just noise. Then they got started on the real music. I could actually identify some of their following songs. Eric caught most of them before I did, but I'd expect that of Eric.

There was one song they did which was awesome. It started with an almost haunting trumpet solo, and then other instruments began to come in, and it turned out to be an incredible piece. I don't know the name of the song, but then again, I don't know a lot of Santana's songs, so it's no surprise. When they started Maria, Maria, the place went up in applause and cheers. Their live performance of it was really awesome. Shortly after that came Black Magic Woman, which Eric picked up before I did, and they closed on another really popular piece, Smooth, which was great as a closer, but just wasn't the same without Rob Thomas...

The concert was very cool, overall. I loved the fact that Santana attracted all ages, not just young punks and not just people who listened to him in the 60's. It was a very un concert. Eric and I had one problem: his preaching. It was all about universal love and compassion and how the truly compassionate ought to be in charge. I agree with the bit on the fact that mankind needs to learn compassion. However, his idea of the truly compassionate were people like John Lennon. Hippies in charge? I think not...

Busy Sunday

Saturday evening, I went to and sang at Vespers at Holy Transfiguration. On the way back to the apartment, I went to Tyson's Corner. Feeling somewhat lonely, I called home, but Mom wasn't there. I then called Elizabeth, my twin sister, but she wasn't there either. I finally called Jane, my older sister, and I started leaving a pathetic message, but then she picked up and interrupted my message...

So, anyway, I walked through the Tyson's Corner Galleria with her in my ears, looking for shoes. I went through Macy's, Jos. A Bank, and a few other stores. My phone started getting some pretty bad reception, so I had to let her go, but Jane said that it was loads of fun going for the ride and shopping. It was better than online shopping, because there was a human being on the other end. Either that, or the human being provided commentary on basically everything.

When I got back to the apartment, Alex and I watched Team America: World Police.

Sunday morning, I went to Front Royal for the normal stuff: choir practice, Mass, and select choir practice. After that, the rest of the day was spent with good friends and fun times. I played three games of racquetball with Draper, Francis and Tim (one of Francis's buddies). Then, we played about five games of wallyball (similar to volleyball, but in a racquetball court -- yes, there's a net). After that, I went to Dane's, where he, Jonathan and I played a new card game that he got called Three Dragon Ante. At 6:30 PM, I headed over to campus to help TJ and the birthday singers learn some new stuff. We practiced and critiqued for about an hour, and that was about it.

Upstairs, swing dance practice was going on. I saw Tim again and we got to talking. He really seems to like the college and its traditions. After a few minutes, Michael B. and I headed over to Dane's, and the two of us joined Jonathan, Dance and a small group of ladies who were watching Serenity. (I still haven't seen the entire movie, so I can't write about it yet.) After that, Michael, Jonathan, and I talked and joked around in Jonathan's room while Dane entertained the ladies. When the ladies left, we set up to play another game of Three-Dragon Ante, but this time we invited Tamby to play. She lives upstairs to Dane, so the summoning consisted on banging on the ceiling and then walking outside to talk.

Michael and I left about 11:50 PM, and met up with Joe P. The three of us went to join TJ and the others on the girls' side of campus for birthday singing. I miss the old crowd -- not last year's crowd, the original crowd. The guys my freshman year would gather en masse just for a girl's birthday and, among 20 guys, had an enormous repertoire, ranging anywhere from ballads, to arias, to folk, to rock, to ... basically anything... The current crowd has a significantly smaller repertoire, but that's mostly because they're still learning...

After that, TJ and I hot the town and got some stuff from 7-11. I picked up Gatorades and an energy bar for the drive back. TJ picked up ... TJ stuff...

Knowing that I would get really tired on the drive back, before I got onto 66, I stopped at the Apple House, got out of the car and stretched my legs for a couple minutes, just wandering around and breathing in deeply the crisp night air. Half-way back on highway 66, I got tired again, so I pulled over into a shopping center and took a catnap. I got going again, and arrived back at the apartment. But at that point, I was so tired, that I thought I'd just chill for a moment in my car (it was parked safely in the parking lot, have no fear). I think my moment of relaxation was closer to an hour of sleep, because I walked into the apartment after 4:00 AM, and didn't actually get to sleep until almost 5:00 AM...

Team America: World Police

I have only one thing to say about this movie. It was pretty funny, but DON'T WATCH IT. Or if you decide to not follow my advice and watch it anyway, OK, but don't say I didn't warn you.

If I tell you it was from the makers of South Park, would that help you in your resolve? Probably not. Well, I've said my piece.

Lazy Saturday...

Thus far today, I've had intentions of getting this place cleaned up. Have I actually done anything about it? Kind of. I'm doing my laundry now. I went to the gym earlier on.

I got a call about 10:30 from Lizzie asking where I was, because people just weren't at choir practice. I guess I made a wrong choice to stay at home today. I just figured that everyone else would be there.

Theoretically, I have to go to Baltimore this evening for the conclusion of the movie I'm in. I just need to call Tremayne later to see if this actually is the case.

Another busy weekend

Marc-Pierre J., Christendom's Man of International Leisure, got married on Saturday. I sang with the Christendom Select Choir (that's the name until we settle on an official one) for that wedding. Fr. Anthony M. flew down NJ to say the Mass, and flew back almost as soon as it was done. I really wish that he could stay for longer, but even if he did, I'd probably not get much of a chance to chat with him. I talked to him for about a minute as we walked up to the church, and that's about the longest that I've talked to him as of late...

The choir then went out and had lunch. It was a fun time -- as usual, we talked about everything from roller coasters (I contributed to that) to intelligent and scholarly things (I did not contribute to that).

That evening, I wanted to go to Holy Transfiguration for Vespers, especially because I missed it last week, but I couldn't, because we had choir practice that evening at Sarah and Christine's. Sadly, the only choir people there that evening were Alaina, Sarah, Christine and me -- we couldn't really do much, mostly because all four of us already know the pieces that we're singing, and also a four-part choir sounds a little funny with only three parts (two soprani, one alto, and one bass). So instead of practicing, the four of us and Ken sat around, talked, acted goofy as all heck, and generally got a good amount of silliness out of our systems. Once we got it out of our systems, that wasn't the end because the silliness was gone -- it was the end because it was past midnight, and I opted to leave. For all I know the silliness continued well after I left...

Silly: Have you ever seen Christine bouncing on a stability ball, wearing sunglasses, and playing Scrabble, all at the same time?

Silly: Have you ever seen Ken and me dance like crazed clubbers around either Sarah or Christine (I forget who it was)?

Silly: Have you ever seen Alaina in a jingly skirt?

Silly: Sarah exists.

I spent the night at Dane's, so on Sunday morning, I wasn't too late for choir practice... Mass was as usual, and then I had to run out to town to get some cash. Sunday was Pat's bachelor party, consisting of paintball and a get-together at the McM.'s house, and I needed a little bit of money for the events. But before all that, the Christendom Select Choir had its practice.

Before that practice, I ran out and changed into an almost-event-appropriate attire: my camouflage pants, green shirt, and green sweatshirt. After the practice, Ryan and I headed out for paintball. Half-way there, I realized that I had forgotten my sweatshirt, so the paintballs would come into direct (and blazing fast) contact with my skin.

There were close to thirty guys there, all friends and family of the Mighty Pat. I got my gun and joined the orange team, which had the man of the hour on it. Sadly, we won only one out of six matches, but it was still fun. In retrospect, the place was the same one that I went to my freshman year, and, oddly enough, Pat was there, too, and also, oddly enough, he was on my team back then, too. Conspiracy? Probably not, but if it sounds good, then run with it...

In the first game, I got shot up pretty quickly. It was very reminiscent of the first game I played there. I ran up the middle of the buildings in an attempt to grab the flag, but as I ran into the open, I got shot by about five paintballs all across the front. Only one of them broke skin, and that was on my left forearm. It left a nice little bruise and a couple small holes where I was bleeding, but overall, it wasn't that bad. The other paintballs left some pretty nasty bruises, but nothing else broke the skin.

I should say that Dane was in an old suit and an old tux shirt. He got shot in the shoulder (yes, with the jacket on), and he started bleeding. I guess that someone had an above average paintball gun...

After these matches, we all went back to Front Royal where we hung out at the McM.'s house and played some games. Ryan and I teamed up, and we scored a mighty goose egg (that would be a zero). After that, we sat around talking for a while until about 9 PM. I went to Christendom, where I joined a large group of people just in time for a game of Mao. I almost forgot the rules, but they quickly came back to me. Yeah, I got penalized, but hey, it was still fun...

After that game, Draper and I sang some Eastern Chant for Emily. I then met Miss H., who I had met very briefly in Texas. She looked rather familiar, but I couldn't place her face until she introduced herself...

Buffalo Wild Wings

Last night, I went out to Buffalo Wild Wings, on a kind of an impromptu, spur-of-the-moment get-together. Ken, Alaina, Sarah, Alex and I had dinner over there. Not too long into the evening, who should show up, but birthday boy himself, Ryan O, escorted by the lovely Maria. We made room for them at the table, and Alex regaled us with stories of his family. 'Twas fun, until karaoke night started. We were all over 21, except Maria, and, thus, she couldn't stay. Fortunately for us, we were all ready to go at that point, especially when the karaoke-ers began crooning their tunes, proving to the world that there are worse singers than I...

After paying quickly in order to speedily evacuate the premises, we followed through with our plans (evacuating the premises), and stood around outside. Ryan and Maria toked up a couple cigarettes outside, and Alex offered Ryan a real cigarette, a man's cigarette: the unfiltered camel. Maria gave Alex one of the worst looks I've ever seen her give when Ryan commented on how wonderful this real cigarette was, and how smoking the regular cigarettes just wouldn't cut it anymore.

Peter K. and Denny P. also showed up at BWW's. Peter was on crutches, having twisted his ankle rather badly running down some stairs away from a girl. (She was probably a cannibal and ravenous -- I can't think of any other reason for Peter to run from a girl...) Denny was ... well, I guess he was OK. He was quiet. They went inside a couple minutes later after we all got briefly caught up with each other.

After that, we all went our separate ways. At that point, I went to go claim my pants from Ken and Alaina's car. Alaina swore that those pants weren't there when she got out of the car. It turns out that I had asked Ken to take a look around for 38x34 jeans, and he had found them. They weren't cargo, but they were carpentar, and those would work pretty well. After picking those up, I went back to Herndon, and fell asleep on the couch doing whatever it was I was doing. I woke up about 20 minutes later to Alex telling me to go to bed. He's a wise man...