Sunday, October 10, 2004
painful fingers & things to do...
So, after the mission to mars last weekend to retrieve one brand old Takamine acoustic guitar, I am now in the process of learning to play the thing, and I must say, my fucking fingers hurt. Strange but true, it is a good hurt, but it hurts nonetheless. However, I am really diggin' learning this thing, and since I am not planning on getting exceedingly good (I'd settle for passable Ochsian:-) there is just no way to lose. Of course, this will cut into my schedule, as I am planning on practicing daily, so I am going to drop any time I had reserved for pining for life to some other way than it is and start having more fun. So, less pining, more guitar practice, more fun, everybody wins.
OK, a brief side note to an obnoxious affair at a dining hall on campus two weeks ago. (I have more to say on the general guitar topic, but this story is important to me for ideological reasons.) I entered Owens dining hall, and some blonde fraternity scumbag accosted me, demanding I pin one of his white ribbons to my chest to shout to the world "I am not a violence against women supporter!" Now, my own personal belief about ribbons, flags, medals, and other ceremonial bullshit people wrap themselves in when they need to distract from weak arguments or unsupported claims is that I choose not to wear them. I don't want a flag on my car, not even a star, no ribbons of any color, for any cause. Instead, here is what I do everyday. I don't hit women. Shit, I don't hit anybody. I'm non-violent...for the most part, under most circumstances. At any rate, when I told the strapping fraternity boy that I didn't wear ribbons, his gracious mood darkened, and I saw sparks of rage begin to glow in the boy's eyes. He demanded to know why, and spoke loudly, making a public scene.
Now, unfortunately for me, I was not quite sane enough to converse with this raving lunatic. Truth be told, I didn't need the downer of an argument, and my position wouldn't be publicly supported, so I am content to keep this kind of thing inside. I tried to keep walking, and eventually succeeded in getting into the dining hall and eating a fairly forgettable sub with one of those tasty fruitshakes. You know the kind. So, as I am leaving the dining hall bound for class, I notice the Aryan child is gone, replaced by another faceless member of the next generation, bound for glory, a fraternity pin, and the truly rigid thinking patterns of an automaton....
Now, what else? Oh yeah, things to do. Gonna be a busy couple of weeks for the dude. Grad School apps, creative nonfiction, the Sox, homework. Not to mention, I should probably be out beating feet for a job, though I think I'm straight for a few more weeks, best to be getting on that shit ASAP. Damn, life is about ot get busy again, after like 2 years of agonizing slowness. Let this be a lesson, much like Henry II said in "The Lion In Winter," "Women! I could have conquered all of Europe, but I had women in my life. " (By the way, my other favorite quote from the movie: "I made Louis take me on Crusade. I dressed my women as Amazons and we rode bare-breasted halfway to Damascus. Louis had a seizure and I damn near died of windburn... but the troops were dazzled. " spoken by Eleanor of Aquitane...my favorite Hepburn moment...)
Hmm, not much left to say. I have a general feeling this next week could be a portender of things to come. I need good mojo for the Sox and Pats, so it is wings today at Champs, because fucking wings are fucking good. Plus, depending on what is going on the next 10 days, well, you get the idea. So, off to do some school work, and write some nonfiction. I'll probably toss a post on the new lit blog, time to get started formatting the shibby.
Songs to keep in mind - "Trampoline" by Joe Henry (back to that again, are we?) "Estranged" by GNR and "Dirty Water," Standells version, not Dropkick Murphy's. Sometimes the classic is what you need.
vaya con dios all, or whatever your drug is...
cf
OK, a brief side note to an obnoxious affair at a dining hall on campus two weeks ago. (I have more to say on the general guitar topic, but this story is important to me for ideological reasons.) I entered Owens dining hall, and some blonde fraternity scumbag accosted me, demanding I pin one of his white ribbons to my chest to shout to the world "I am not a violence against women supporter!" Now, my own personal belief about ribbons, flags, medals, and other ceremonial bullshit people wrap themselves in when they need to distract from weak arguments or unsupported claims is that I choose not to wear them. I don't want a flag on my car, not even a star, no ribbons of any color, for any cause. Instead, here is what I do everyday. I don't hit women. Shit, I don't hit anybody. I'm non-violent...for the most part, under most circumstances. At any rate, when I told the strapping fraternity boy that I didn't wear ribbons, his gracious mood darkened, and I saw sparks of rage begin to glow in the boy's eyes. He demanded to know why, and spoke loudly, making a public scene.
Now, unfortunately for me, I was not quite sane enough to converse with this raving lunatic. Truth be told, I didn't need the downer of an argument, and my position wouldn't be publicly supported, so I am content to keep this kind of thing inside. I tried to keep walking, and eventually succeeded in getting into the dining hall and eating a fairly forgettable sub with one of those tasty fruitshakes. You know the kind. So, as I am leaving the dining hall bound for class, I notice the Aryan child is gone, replaced by another faceless member of the next generation, bound for glory, a fraternity pin, and the truly rigid thinking patterns of an automaton....
Now, what else? Oh yeah, things to do. Gonna be a busy couple of weeks for the dude. Grad School apps, creative nonfiction, the Sox, homework. Not to mention, I should probably be out beating feet for a job, though I think I'm straight for a few more weeks, best to be getting on that shit ASAP. Damn, life is about ot get busy again, after like 2 years of agonizing slowness. Let this be a lesson, much like Henry II said in "The Lion In Winter," "Women! I could have conquered all of Europe, but I had women in my life. " (By the way, my other favorite quote from the movie: "I made Louis take me on Crusade. I dressed my women as Amazons and we rode bare-breasted halfway to Damascus. Louis had a seizure and I damn near died of windburn... but the troops were dazzled. " spoken by Eleanor of Aquitane...my favorite Hepburn moment...)
Hmm, not much left to say. I have a general feeling this next week could be a portender of things to come. I need good mojo for the Sox and Pats, so it is wings today at Champs, because fucking wings are fucking good. Plus, depending on what is going on the next 10 days, well, you get the idea. So, off to do some school work, and write some nonfiction. I'll probably toss a post on the new lit blog, time to get started formatting the shibby.
Songs to keep in mind - "Trampoline" by Joe Henry (back to that again, are we?) "Estranged" by GNR and "Dirty Water," Standells version, not Dropkick Murphy's. Sometimes the classic is what you need.
vaya con dios all, or whatever your drug is...
cf
