not falling down

You know what happens when I leave with a blank Google page up on my screen before my roommate gets back?

A year ago they were asking “is irony dead?” Even in my frame of mind that day, I knew that was aload of crap.

For instance, I got the lead in the fall play last night. It’s my first lead since I got tocollege, and of course I’m eye-twitchingly thrilled to have it, but at the same time I don’t reallyfeel like I earned it. Tony knows me well enough by now to trust me with handling a largeseriocomic part, and I’m glad for that. At the same time, though, two other guys really beat myaudition last night pretty hard–Will, who got the second guy part, and this guy Josh (I believeit’s his first year).

So I have a feeling I was actually cast a while ago. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time, butthen I have to wonder why we go through auditions at all if they’re mostly pretense.

The irony I referred to is this: I don’t get the parts I think I’ve earned. I don’t think I earnthe parts I get.

I’d go on to compare that to my love life, but then I’d have to hit myself in the face.

it’sbecause I can spell confusion with a k
and I can like it

• I’m thinking of open-sourcing Anthropology, except it wouldn’t really be open-sourcing in the typical sensebecause obviously I don’t own it. Still, the book is out of print–Dan Rhodes is never going tomake another penny off it, no matter how many copies Bookfinder turns up. It’s a wonderful book that I would like to share with asmany people as possible, and I would like to do so in a pointlessly illegal manner that pokes funat the stupidity of current copyright law. And if people do like it, they’ll be more likely to buymore of his books in the future. (Are you listening, RIAA?)

• At any rate, let me know what you thinkabout the idea. If you are Dan Rhodes, incidentally, you rock.
• I reassembled the mighty desk forthe second time ever today, once again by myself. You’d think it would be easier now. You’d bewrong. I think the desk is my arch-nemesis: I do battle with it on a regular and recurring basis,but then once I win it serves a good purpose. Now I just need a code name.
• I want to state right here that the only reason I post at the Checkerboard Nightmare forums isbecause I plan, when Kris Straub is the most famous satirist on the planet, to make frequent andpathetic attempts at riding his proverbial coattails. “Wow, that Kris Straub is hilarious!” mychildren will say. “Yes,” I will say, “I know. And he linkedme once.” And they won’t believe me.

  Anyway, proof of said future fame can be found here. It’s like Mac: Electric Boogaloo. It’s great. It’s sublime. It’s funny asfuck.

• And!
• I got these things! They’re like fingerboards, except they’re pogo sticks! They’re thelamest things ever made! I own two. You can apparently do fingerboard-style tricks on them,although I have no idea how–the packaging contains no instructions. It does, however, contain this guy trying to be XTREME on a pogo stick,and you can’t put a price on that. Actually you can, and it’s twenty-five cents, which is what Ipaid.

money talks, I hate tolisten
but lately it’s been screaming in my ear

Apartment update: There’s no stopper for the kitchen sink, so I’ve been using a wad of Saran Wrapto plug up the drain in order to do dishes. If you were to conclude from this, without otherinformation, that I’m living in a guys’ apartment, you’d be right. But, y’know, at least weare doing the dishes (which we only dirtied four days ago).

As is usually the case when there’s actually a lot happening in my life, I haven’t had time towrite it down. I have literally not spent one continuous hour in leisure activity since Monday,when it became apparent that I was going to have to personally reset the speed and duplex mode onevery single Ethernet card in Cheek / Evans. There are 109 students in Cheek / Evans, and almostall of them have computers. You can imagine the rest.

I’m also way way behind on the Cento web site, which is supposed to go live next Monday(this statement and the preceding paragraph are not unrelated). I’m really unhappy about this, plusof course the fact that the middle room is a disaster zone. A lifetime of Mom’s cleaning habits isstarting to drive me out of my mind. I know I don’t have time to clean up all my junk, and I don’teven really want to, but if I don’t do it soon I’m going to start screaming at random. Thanks, Mom!(I’m kidding. Mostly.)

Also I got a girlfriend. You might have guessed that.

I think I’m really going to enjoy this year if I can ever catch up enough to notice that it’shappening.

so what! say what! for yourown sake
do you have a headache or heartbreak?

P.S. Anthropology rocks!

… there was Kim.

I saw Summer again when I didn’tthink I was ever going to see her, and there was music and puddles and ending up on the floorlaughing and it’s three in the morning, and you know, half of that’s not even because of her. It’sbeen a hell of a day. Class tomorrow.

So I’m back online. If I haven’t gotten to your email, I will soon.

Running is the art of deliberately hurting yourself a little more than you really want to be hurt. I went for a run today, a physical self-flagellation in lieu of a mental one. It started raining about half a mile in, big thick drops. It still wasn’t enough.