Current Mood: call me butter, baby, I'm on a roll
I always make myself guilty about not writing here more. So I get here and the only thing I can think of at the time is about what I've been doing. And the only way for me to avoid writing 800 pages is to break up tiny little sections of my life and write about those.
Improv!
So I'm done with the Ship of Fools, and I miss those idiots like crazy. I went from practicing Wednesday and Friday nights (7-9pm) with shows about twice a month to one or two shows a month with practice just before. Old group, everybody was a student who lived nearby, new group everybody is older with family and lives around the state. Old group, people missed a show and we all got worried - usually it was because of an exam. New group, people sometimes are free for some shows, but mostly it's a small core of locals with a rotating group of others. Not that that's better or worse, just different.
Fools are about to do the holiday gift exchange - a tradition I started - for the first time without me. About ready to bring in the first new members since I've been gone. In six month's they'll do the first Awards Show without me, another thing I started. I'm happy for them, I really am. But boy howdy do I miss some of it.
I went back for an Open Forum meeting/practice, and after 5 months it seems like everybody is new! I mean, sure, part of that is I stuck around way longer than anybody else, but still...
Halloween party, where Jenny and I met? Older Fools were mostly nowhere to be seen, and I wonder if I was sort of the connection point between the old and the new?
That would make sense. Renee went to Maryland to go to school and be with Paul. Andrew moved to China to teach. Eric's moving to Indy. Stu moved to North Carolina. Taylor moved out of my apartment. Gavin/Becky are still on Co-Op, so I hardly see/saw them anyway. Brant is working strange hours/raising a baby! Not improv, but other Andrew moved to TEXAS to get his PHD in AEROSPACE ENGINEERING - he's going to be a friggin' Doctor of Rocket Science, how cool is that? Still, I feel like I'm hemorrhaging friends. I miss them, even though we didn't hang out all the time.
Improv! Focus. Anyway, it seems like the group will be okay, at least for now, since I've left, and above all that's what I wanted. Some interesting group dynamics developed but it sounds like they've worked out their problems. Steven told me he finally understood my intense passion for finding new blood, because you roll up and join the group and then before you know it you're a seasoned vet, ready to graduate, and wonder what happened. And that's even though I stayed for like, 7 years.
My sendoff was epic, and I really am happy for every second I was with that group. And my new group is great too, but I think I'm still finding my place with them. I went from respected elder to just...a performer. And in some ways, that's nice, because I don't have to arrange shows or handle conflicts or worry about money or advertising. I just show up, make with the funny, and make a few bucks. Which, admittedly, is sweet.
Would I ever do improv for a living? Probably not. I wouldn't want my hobby to become a job, and I doubt I could do it at that level, anyway. But when I leave Purdue, I think I'll be searching for some kind of outlet - whether that's improv or stand up or even some sort of podcast or webshow. I've had too much fun to quit now.
Showing posts with label improv. Show all posts
Showing posts with label improv. Show all posts
11.24.2011
3.11.2011
shelter from the storm
Current Mood: made it to Spring Break!
Not all is doom and gloom in the land of Ryan, despite the tone of the previous posts.
I just spoke with Professor S, and he was remarkably okay with my most recent time card being significantly deficient in hours. Almost as if he runs a lab full of student workers who regularly experience exams and projects right around spring break? So that eases some of my immediate concerns.
And I didn't even write anything about how excited I am for next semester. I will be married by then, so all the craziness of that will be done. I'll have much more experience at work, so I'm hoping things there will be relatively smooth sailing in the fall as well. Especially if things (namely funding) pan out for me to work in the composites lab in the summer as an internship from the higher up funding/govt. think tank that sponsors some of our projects - that would be great! It would be my first summer since 2005 I would not be working for University Residences (in fact I already applied but turned down an SA Billing spot with them last week - time to take the plunge!).
But maybe the most exciting thing is that I'll drop from 18 credit hours (currently) to 12. From 5 labs (currently) to 3. That means less 12 hour days, more time to fit work in without working super late most nights and weekends. Plus I think I've finally decided to retire officially from the Ship of Fools/Purdue Improv Club, which will free up a significant amount of time (though I expect some of that to be filled up again with improv if I follow through on my plan to join One Size Fits All).
So, the big stuff like where I'm going to live and how I'm going to pay for school and bills remain unanswered, but I should be less busy!
Not all is doom and gloom in the land of Ryan, despite the tone of the previous posts.
I just spoke with Professor S, and he was remarkably okay with my most recent time card being significantly deficient in hours. Almost as if he runs a lab full of student workers who regularly experience exams and projects right around spring break? So that eases some of my immediate concerns.
And I didn't even write anything about how excited I am for next semester. I will be married by then, so all the craziness of that will be done. I'll have much more experience at work, so I'm hoping things there will be relatively smooth sailing in the fall as well. Especially if things (namely funding) pan out for me to work in the composites lab in the summer as an internship from the higher up funding/govt. think tank that sponsors some of our projects - that would be great! It would be my first summer since 2005 I would not be working for University Residences (in fact I already applied but turned down an SA Billing spot with them last week - time to take the plunge!).
But maybe the most exciting thing is that I'll drop from 18 credit hours (currently) to 12. From 5 labs (currently) to 3. That means less 12 hour days, more time to fit work in without working super late most nights and weekends. Plus I think I've finally decided to retire officially from the Ship of Fools/Purdue Improv Club, which will free up a significant amount of time (though I expect some of that to be filled up again with improv if I follow through on my plan to join One Size Fits All).
So, the big stuff like where I'm going to live and how I'm going to pay for school and bills remain unanswered, but I should be less busy!
3.04.2011
Maslow was right, as always
Current Mood: ramblin' man
I don't update my blog as much as I should. And when I write "should" I mean "as much as I feel like I should" or "as much as I would like to". And when I say "like to" I guess what I really mean is that it is not as high a priority as other things, which sometimes is a pathetic excuse, but in this case I really feel like it means I am out in the world doing things and learning and working and such. Yay for me?
Part of that also is that I really can't seem to condense my thoughts enough to post something with any brevity, so I procrastinate because I don't always have the gumption or energy to write out everything I'm thinking with the level of detail it deserves, so I end up stalling and stalling until I find a chunk of time, and then I write WAY too much for the casual blog that I have...which is probably what I'll end up doing right here. Fair warning.
My self imposed goal was 1 post a month and I missed last month, so I'm aiming to finish this post and then get another one in before March is over. FYI.
So why am I so busy all the time? I think when last we talked (where'd this conversational tone come from? boy I am in a weird mood today) I was all angsty and nervous about my new job, and I'm probably going to save that for the aforementioned later post... the super short version is I'm not repairing Marine helicopters but I am working very hard, learning new things, and I have my own set of projects to work on that I will describe later.
Moving on.
Life is pretty good right now, but there are some big things looming on the horizon. There are, as of this writing, 141 days until I get married. ! My role in things so far has been pretty low key - I have my tux stuff figured out and from here on out it's mostly just a matter of wrangling up the male half of the wedding party, spending time with them, and offering to help my fiancee with... well, whatever she may need. I'm trying really hard not to be one of *those guys* who sits on his ass and assumes the woman will take care of it all - I have seen up close and personal how expensive and time consuming and exhausting and detail laden this can be, and my woman isn't even close to what you could call a Bridezilla (thank god). Suffice to say the whole engagement process has been a little different than I guess I would have imagined it would be, but I'm not complaining and things seem more or less on track so far. Okay, so maybe we're a little behind and between us we have some wonderful things to work around, but I'm sure every couple has some of that.
Bleh, I bet you are all sick of reading about that, right? What else... my apartment lease ends 1 week before we get married and I have zero idea where I'm going to live after that. I'm probably retiring from the Ship of Fools improv troupe at the end of this semester and possibly joining the adult (read: professional non collegiate) troupe across the river, One Size Fits All. Which makes me feel like crap some days because I worry about the shape of the club for the next year. What few school friends I have in town from my earlier life as a Purdue Engineering student are getting ready to finish and spread into the wind, which is bittersweet. I still have two more years (and 6 more weeks of this current semester) of school, which is great but also sucks, honestly. Can I claim Senioritis at this point? Maybe some advanced mutation?
Probably the hardest thing to deal with, though, is that my fiancee is getting RIF'd (Reduction in Force - we're not firing you, but we don't have a spot for you anymore, as I understand it) at the end of this school year. And because of state budgets, tax dollars, union arguments - a sum of political and economic crap - she also does not have a chance to teach summer school, which was experience and money we were both looking forward to. Because of previously mentioned factors, it's going to be very difficult at best to find another job for her in the local area at all, much less one that is in education, that is in a good school, full time, with benefits, where she would have her own classroom, with a principal that she feels comfortable with, with co-workers that she would get along with and befriend and develop a meaningful career (not that all of those things are present at her current job, I'm just listing some things I would like for her to have).
It's looking like *if* she can find a teaching job, it may be somewhere else in the state. Forgetting for a moment how expensive it will be to try and find two places for us to live, I'm not exactly thrilled at the idea of spending our first year as a married couple (weird to write that, ack) hours (?) apart. I mean, I would absolutely do it if that's how it worked out - I need to be here to finish school for 2 more years, and she brings home the bacon - but I'm not one of those people who hates to come home to his significant other. Quite the opposite, in fact. I really enjoy coming home after a long day of class/lab/work and collapsing onto the couch to watch TV with my fiancee.
At the end of the day, I really just try to put my head down and power through, focusing on my next lab or project or exam and do what I need to do, which is get good grades and work hard so that some day my turn will come to look for a job and hopefully earn money to pay her and other people/institutions back for believing in my going to college. And I'm just optimistic enough to hope that one day, when I've got all this stuff figured out, I will be able to look back and go "oh, remember that time when everything was scary and we were so worried?". But in the meantime, it's enough to make me more than a little nervous.
One week until spring break and a little trip home.
Three weeks until my siblings (and their significant others) come to visit to see Spamalot.
Four weeks until Opening Day.
I don't update my blog as much as I should. And when I write "should" I mean "as much as I feel like I should" or "as much as I would like to". And when I say "like to" I guess what I really mean is that it is not as high a priority as other things, which sometimes is a pathetic excuse, but in this case I really feel like it means I am out in the world doing things and learning and working and such. Yay for me?
Part of that also is that I really can't seem to condense my thoughts enough to post something with any brevity, so I procrastinate because I don't always have the gumption or energy to write out everything I'm thinking with the level of detail it deserves, so I end up stalling and stalling until I find a chunk of time, and then I write WAY too much for the casual blog that I have...which is probably what I'll end up doing right here. Fair warning.
My self imposed goal was 1 post a month and I missed last month, so I'm aiming to finish this post and then get another one in before March is over. FYI.
So why am I so busy all the time? I think when last we talked (where'd this conversational tone come from? boy I am in a weird mood today) I was all angsty and nervous about my new job, and I'm probably going to save that for the aforementioned later post... the super short version is I'm not repairing Marine helicopters but I am working very hard, learning new things, and I have my own set of projects to work on that I will describe later.
Moving on.
Life is pretty good right now, but there are some big things looming on the horizon. There are, as of this writing, 141 days until I get married. ! My role in things so far has been pretty low key - I have my tux stuff figured out and from here on out it's mostly just a matter of wrangling up the male half of the wedding party, spending time with them, and offering to help my fiancee with... well, whatever she may need. I'm trying really hard not to be one of *those guys* who sits on his ass and assumes the woman will take care of it all - I have seen up close and personal how expensive and time consuming and exhausting and detail laden this can be, and my woman isn't even close to what you could call a Bridezilla (thank god). Suffice to say the whole engagement process has been a little different than I guess I would have imagined it would be, but I'm not complaining and things seem more or less on track so far. Okay, so maybe we're a little behind and between us we have some wonderful things to work around, but I'm sure every couple has some of that.
Bleh, I bet you are all sick of reading about that, right? What else... my apartment lease ends 1 week before we get married and I have zero idea where I'm going to live after that. I'm probably retiring from the Ship of Fools improv troupe at the end of this semester and possibly joining the adult (read: professional non collegiate) troupe across the river, One Size Fits All. Which makes me feel like crap some days because I worry about the shape of the club for the next year. What few school friends I have in town from my earlier life as a Purdue Engineering student are getting ready to finish and spread into the wind, which is bittersweet. I still have two more years (and 6 more weeks of this current semester) of school, which is great but also sucks, honestly. Can I claim Senioritis at this point? Maybe some advanced mutation?
Probably the hardest thing to deal with, though, is that my fiancee is getting RIF'd (Reduction in Force - we're not firing you, but we don't have a spot for you anymore, as I understand it) at the end of this school year. And because of state budgets, tax dollars, union arguments - a sum of political and economic crap - she also does not have a chance to teach summer school, which was experience and money we were both looking forward to. Because of previously mentioned factors, it's going to be very difficult at best to find another job for her in the local area at all, much less one that is in education, that is in a good school, full time, with benefits, where she would have her own classroom, with a principal that she feels comfortable with, with co-workers that she would get along with and befriend and develop a meaningful career (not that all of those things are present at her current job, I'm just listing some things I would like for her to have).
It's looking like *if* she can find a teaching job, it may be somewhere else in the state. Forgetting for a moment how expensive it will be to try and find two places for us to live, I'm not exactly thrilled at the idea of spending our first year as a married couple (weird to write that, ack) hours (?) apart. I mean, I would absolutely do it if that's how it worked out - I need to be here to finish school for 2 more years, and she brings home the bacon - but I'm not one of those people who hates to come home to his significant other. Quite the opposite, in fact. I really enjoy coming home after a long day of class/lab/work and collapsing onto the couch to watch TV with my fiancee.
At the end of the day, I really just try to put my head down and power through, focusing on my next lab or project or exam and do what I need to do, which is get good grades and work hard so that some day my turn will come to look for a job and hopefully earn money to pay her and other people/institutions back for believing in my going to college. And I'm just optimistic enough to hope that one day, when I've got all this stuff figured out, I will be able to look back and go "oh, remember that time when everything was scary and we were so worried?". But in the meantime, it's enough to make me more than a little nervous.
One week until spring break and a little trip home.
Three weeks until my siblings (and their significant others) come to visit to see Spamalot.
Four weeks until Opening Day.
7.25.2010
improv
Current Mood: productive
Anybody that knows me or reads this blog knows I spend a good part of my time hanging out with the Purdue Improvisation Club and the Ship of Fools.
Growing up I never really knew much about it. I watched a few episodes of Whose Line is it Anyway? and thought it was funny, thought I could probably do it but maybe not as well (not really knowing that they tape for hours and cut it down to make a half hour episode jam packed with the highlights). And growing up I never really thought of myself as a funnyman or a class clown - I would much rather make some quips to my friends from the back of the class or joke around with my brother and sister, quoting movies and listening to stuff like Monty Python sketches or dad's Bob & Tom tapes.
That all changed when Sis got to college and joined The Tower Players. She told me about it, and I went to see a few of her shows. I really enjoyed them, and that really sparked my interest.
That interest lay dormant until *I* got to college. I went to BGR (freshman orientation) and although at first I was smitten with the idea that I could be on the Crew Team, I did take a flyer for the Purdue Improv Club at the activity fair. My BGR team leader Ricky took us to see the *other* improv group on campus (The Crazy Monkeys) perform during that first week, and when I heard there were auditions he encouraged me to go because he thought I could make it. That was a pretty big boost during that very formative time. I was a wide-eyed freshman and the world was my oyster. Er, it was a giant sprawling campus filled with incredibly brilliant people and I was just a number.
My dreams of making the Crew Team died an embarassing death when I failed the swimming test and so instead I went to my first Open Forum of the Purdue Improv Club where I saw the Ship of Fools performing, that was in Fall 2004. By the end of the semester I was a regular, and it was more or less the highlight of my week going to laugh and hang out with everybody. A huge stress relief from the immense pressure I heaped on myself to do well academically, as well as a cool group of people who didn't want to drink and party all the time.
By March '04 I had been asked to join the Ship of Fools, along with my friend John "Tripod" Tubergen (who would later be my roommate in my first apartment). I loved it and dove headfirst into the club. I was very interested from the start in being a better performer on stage, but also in growing and expanding the scope of the club.
I tried really hard to improve our practices by adding feedback and show reviews. I created an Awards Ceremony and our holiday gift exchange, as well as some other traditions and celebrations. I had the good fortune to be in the troupe with some amazing performers who are to this day some of my best friends, and certainly they helped me make things bigger and better by participating in these events, giving me feedback, and adding their own ideas (Yes, And...).
Eventually I became Captain of the Ship of Fools and President of the Purdue Improv Club. By that point I had dozens of shows under my belt, and had the week-to-week operations of the club down pat. I tried to lead the group to even higher heights with more attendance, better performances, and more shows. All the while we had to deal with replacing what was really the first "class" of Fools after the founders, so recruiting was a big deal as well.
We took road trips and performed across the state. I used my contacts in University Residences to book regular gigs at the residence halls. We fought the Crazy Monkeys for fans and campus fame/recognition. We performed at festivals and opened for comedians, improv-ed for charity and put on shows with the Andy Ober Orchestra (a parody group). One of our biggest shows was at Elliot Hall of Music, the largest venue on campus. We teamed up with the Student Wellness Office at one point to help a broad initiative for student health. We trained and took workshops, then turned around and performed and tried to teach some improv as well. We even tried to expand our market, as it were, by jumping on the Facebook bandwagon and finding ways to advertise when they took away our sidewalk flyers.
But through all of that we still practiced once a week, and then had open forum every week - unless we had a show or it was a school break. And the semesters clicked by, even when I had trouble in school the group was and continues to be a great source of entertainment and happiness in my life. Heck, that's where I met my fiancee, at an improv Halloween party! And by the way, she's gone to just about every single show, so she probably knows more about improv than most of the new people in the troupe.
It's now been over 5 years since I joined the Ship of Fools. I still enjoy it, but for all the variablity of improv, I do feel a little bit stale. When I have played Chain Murder Mystery 200 times, it's rare when I get a suggestion that trips me up. I can run the meetings on the fly, and plan shows in my sleep. I've been in the group so long that I'm kind of like the Godfather. On one hand, it's great, because I can essentially snap my fingers and things get done just how I want them, and I can pick and choose which games I play and sometimes which shows to do just because.
I like to think I'm using my powers for good (I've gone overboard trying to steer the young ones towards what I hope is a stable line of succession), mostly by teaching the troupe why we do things and how, so that when I leave the club will continue to thrive at a high level instead of leaving some sort of power vaccum so the group has to reinvent the wheel and let those Crazy Monkeys gain any ground!
But I worry that sticking around will have an adverse affect on the group, where nobody gets pushed out of the comfort zone because they know I'll always pick up the slack, or nobody will try something crazy because they're used to doing things the same old way, my old way. And I don't think it's the case, but I worry I will live out my welcome and become That Old College Guy who doesn't know it's time to leave.
I love this group, and I want to do right by them. And if that means leaving soon so the new blood can spread their wings, then so be it. I will miss them, but the Ship of Fools have given me a lot and I will never forget that.
So what about me?
I know my first few years in the improv group I grew a lot. Some of it was life stuff - confidence on stage, in front of strangers, with public speaking, plus all the administrative stuff that comes with being a club officer like running meetings, communication and planning, and all the skills that come with negotiating show contracts and organizing shows, etc. But comedically? I think I have hit a plateau of sorts in the past few months. Like I said before, I don't think I'm growing as much because I keep doing the same improv habits. It's very much a skill that needs variety and to be challenged. So I've been keeping my mind open to the idea of maybe moving onto something new soon.
Lately, the SoF has been partnering with an improv troupe across town (not affilitated with Purdue) called One Size Fits All Improv (OSFA). They're an older group, made up of town folk that also do short form improv like the SoF. A lot of them have professional training in theatre or comedy, like Second City or ComedySportz or Improv Olympic. They're very funny and well trained.
They play similar games as the SoF, but they have a competitive game-show type format and play in venues that I'm not used to. They're a bit older so they have a different view than the college students I'm used to, and as I mentioned they have a lot of training and do a lot of good things in practice and during shows. I think they are, on the whole, more mature as well, which means they stay focused in practice and care a lot about shows (even if they are being total goofballs on stage). Since they aren't college based, there's a lot less turnover than our group, which is a different dynamic too.
I would consider OSFA a professional troupe. They are independent, for-profit, and have regular paying gigs to perform for an audience. By this measure, I would consider the SoF a semi-professional group, and I would like to think I have the skills and talent to move up to the next level.
I'm considering "retiring" from the Ship of Fools (before I graduate, unlike most people who end when they leave Purdue - but then again most people aren't here as long as I am) and trying to join OSFA. I've gotten a lot of very positive reception from them when we perform together, and I'm excited about the idea of working with a new group of people and moving out of my comfort zone. New faces, new ideas, new games, new suggestions, new venues - and not being The Old Guy who runs things. It's exciting and it's a little bit scary, because I've been doing the same old improv routine with the SoF for over half a decade now.
And what about the future?
Improv always started off as a sort of hobby for me. Just something I did after my schoolwork was done to blow off some steam. But over time it's really become a big part of who I am - as I mentioned that's where a lot of my friends and even my fiancee came from. I use the skills I learned there all the time, and it gives me another identity, another skill set. I don't think I'm quite ready to entertain the idea of pursuing this as a job, as a career - though if the option came up I would be surprised but also intrigued - and I don't know that I'm quite comfortable saying goodbye to improv when I'm done with school, either.
Hopefully when I'm done with Purdue and move onto the Real World, I will end up somewhere that has a college or theatre or troupe nearby that does improv. And that that group is even half as cool as the Ship of Fools, the group that I have had the pleasure of being a part of for so many years. And that maybe, just maybe, this theoretical group might have me on stage sometime.
Anybody that knows me or reads this blog knows I spend a good part of my time hanging out with the Purdue Improvisation Club and the Ship of Fools.
Growing up I never really knew much about it. I watched a few episodes of Whose Line is it Anyway? and thought it was funny, thought I could probably do it but maybe not as well (not really knowing that they tape for hours and cut it down to make a half hour episode jam packed with the highlights). And growing up I never really thought of myself as a funnyman or a class clown - I would much rather make some quips to my friends from the back of the class or joke around with my brother and sister, quoting movies and listening to stuff like Monty Python sketches or dad's Bob & Tom tapes.
That all changed when Sis got to college and joined The Tower Players. She told me about it, and I went to see a few of her shows. I really enjoyed them, and that really sparked my interest.
That interest lay dormant until *I* got to college. I went to BGR (freshman orientation) and although at first I was smitten with the idea that I could be on the Crew Team, I did take a flyer for the Purdue Improv Club at the activity fair. My BGR team leader Ricky took us to see the *other* improv group on campus (The Crazy Monkeys) perform during that first week, and when I heard there were auditions he encouraged me to go because he thought I could make it. That was a pretty big boost during that very formative time. I was a wide-eyed freshman and the world was my oyster. Er, it was a giant sprawling campus filled with incredibly brilliant people and I was just a number.
My dreams of making the Crew Team died an embarassing death when I failed the swimming test and so instead I went to my first Open Forum of the Purdue Improv Club where I saw the Ship of Fools performing, that was in Fall 2004. By the end of the semester I was a regular, and it was more or less the highlight of my week going to laugh and hang out with everybody. A huge stress relief from the immense pressure I heaped on myself to do well academically, as well as a cool group of people who didn't want to drink and party all the time.
By March '04 I had been asked to join the Ship of Fools, along with my friend John "Tripod" Tubergen (who would later be my roommate in my first apartment). I loved it and dove headfirst into the club. I was very interested from the start in being a better performer on stage, but also in growing and expanding the scope of the club.
I tried really hard to improve our practices by adding feedback and show reviews. I created an Awards Ceremony and our holiday gift exchange, as well as some other traditions and celebrations. I had the good fortune to be in the troupe with some amazing performers who are to this day some of my best friends, and certainly they helped me make things bigger and better by participating in these events, giving me feedback, and adding their own ideas (Yes, And...).
Eventually I became Captain of the Ship of Fools and President of the Purdue Improv Club. By that point I had dozens of shows under my belt, and had the week-to-week operations of the club down pat. I tried to lead the group to even higher heights with more attendance, better performances, and more shows. All the while we had to deal with replacing what was really the first "class" of Fools after the founders, so recruiting was a big deal as well.
We took road trips and performed across the state. I used my contacts in University Residences to book regular gigs at the residence halls. We fought the Crazy Monkeys for fans and campus fame/recognition. We performed at festivals and opened for comedians, improv-ed for charity and put on shows with the Andy Ober Orchestra (a parody group). One of our biggest shows was at Elliot Hall of Music, the largest venue on campus. We teamed up with the Student Wellness Office at one point to help a broad initiative for student health. We trained and took workshops, then turned around and performed and tried to teach some improv as well. We even tried to expand our market, as it were, by jumping on the Facebook bandwagon and finding ways to advertise when they took away our sidewalk flyers.
But through all of that we still practiced once a week, and then had open forum every week - unless we had a show or it was a school break. And the semesters clicked by, even when I had trouble in school the group was and continues to be a great source of entertainment and happiness in my life. Heck, that's where I met my fiancee, at an improv Halloween party! And by the way, she's gone to just about every single show, so she probably knows more about improv than most of the new people in the troupe.
It's now been over 5 years since I joined the Ship of Fools. I still enjoy it, but for all the variablity of improv, I do feel a little bit stale. When I have played Chain Murder Mystery 200 times, it's rare when I get a suggestion that trips me up. I can run the meetings on the fly, and plan shows in my sleep. I've been in the group so long that I'm kind of like the Godfather. On one hand, it's great, because I can essentially snap my fingers and things get done just how I want them, and I can pick and choose which games I play and sometimes which shows to do just because.
I like to think I'm using my powers for good (I've gone overboard trying to steer the young ones towards what I hope is a stable line of succession), mostly by teaching the troupe why we do things and how, so that when I leave the club will continue to thrive at a high level instead of leaving some sort of power vaccum so the group has to reinvent the wheel and let those Crazy Monkeys gain any ground!
But I worry that sticking around will have an adverse affect on the group, where nobody gets pushed out of the comfort zone because they know I'll always pick up the slack, or nobody will try something crazy because they're used to doing things the same old way, my old way. And I don't think it's the case, but I worry I will live out my welcome and become That Old College Guy who doesn't know it's time to leave.
I love this group, and I want to do right by them. And if that means leaving soon so the new blood can spread their wings, then so be it. I will miss them, but the Ship of Fools have given me a lot and I will never forget that.
So what about me?
I know my first few years in the improv group I grew a lot. Some of it was life stuff - confidence on stage, in front of strangers, with public speaking, plus all the administrative stuff that comes with being a club officer like running meetings, communication and planning, and all the skills that come with negotiating show contracts and organizing shows, etc. But comedically? I think I have hit a plateau of sorts in the past few months. Like I said before, I don't think I'm growing as much because I keep doing the same improv habits. It's very much a skill that needs variety and to be challenged. So I've been keeping my mind open to the idea of maybe moving onto something new soon.
Lately, the SoF has been partnering with an improv troupe across town (not affilitated with Purdue) called One Size Fits All Improv (OSFA). They're an older group, made up of town folk that also do short form improv like the SoF. A lot of them have professional training in theatre or comedy, like Second City or ComedySportz or Improv Olympic. They're very funny and well trained.
They play similar games as the SoF, but they have a competitive game-show type format and play in venues that I'm not used to. They're a bit older so they have a different view than the college students I'm used to, and as I mentioned they have a lot of training and do a lot of good things in practice and during shows. I think they are, on the whole, more mature as well, which means they stay focused in practice and care a lot about shows (even if they are being total goofballs on stage). Since they aren't college based, there's a lot less turnover than our group, which is a different dynamic too.
I would consider OSFA a professional troupe. They are independent, for-profit, and have regular paying gigs to perform for an audience. By this measure, I would consider the SoF a semi-professional group, and I would like to think I have the skills and talent to move up to the next level.
I'm considering "retiring" from the Ship of Fools (before I graduate, unlike most people who end when they leave Purdue - but then again most people aren't here as long as I am) and trying to join OSFA. I've gotten a lot of very positive reception from them when we perform together, and I'm excited about the idea of working with a new group of people and moving out of my comfort zone. New faces, new ideas, new games, new suggestions, new venues - and not being The Old Guy who runs things. It's exciting and it's a little bit scary, because I've been doing the same old improv routine with the SoF for over half a decade now.
And what about the future?
Improv always started off as a sort of hobby for me. Just something I did after my schoolwork was done to blow off some steam. But over time it's really become a big part of who I am - as I mentioned that's where a lot of my friends and even my fiancee came from. I use the skills I learned there all the time, and it gives me another identity, another skill set. I don't think I'm quite ready to entertain the idea of pursuing this as a job, as a career - though if the option came up I would be surprised but also intrigued - and I don't know that I'm quite comfortable saying goodbye to improv when I'm done with school, either.
Hopefully when I'm done with Purdue and move onto the Real World, I will end up somewhere that has a college or theatre or troupe nearby that does improv. And that that group is even half as cool as the Ship of Fools, the group that I have had the pleasure of being a part of for so many years. And that maybe, just maybe, this theoretical group might have me on stage sometime.
9.04.2008
accelerated
Current Mood: behind
MAN school caught up with me quick.
I'll spare you all the play-by-play of each day, but here's the summary:
MA 266 (differential equations) - again
AAE 301 (signals and systems analysis)
AAE 352 (structures II)
AAE 352 lab
CGT 226 (computer modeling - part modeling and advanced surface design)
13 credit hours.
Same old, same old, really. Difficult classes, I feel like I'm in over my head, the math involved blows my mind. I feel really...sluggish getting used to the routine, the workload, etc. Not crazy about trying to pass DE again, but what am I gonna do? Worried about student loans. Of course it wouldn't be a semester at Purdue for Ryan without problems with scheduling, registration, and student loan acceptance. a;sljdf;aljdf
On a scale of 1-1o, with 1 being Ferris Bueller's Day Off and 10 being Alexander's Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day, my schedule looks like:
Monday: 6
Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 9 (5 classes spanning 7:30am to 5:30pm)
Thursday: 2
Friday: 7
A lot of my aero professors are downright crazy, but it's balanced by a generous amount of oh my god these guys are so smart. I also regret letting all my knowledge of CATIA atrophy over several years since CGT 163.
New apartment is nice, even though I kinda hate trekking up Chauncey Hill. Especially 3x a week at 7 in the morning. I am not used to early classes like this!
Improv is good. I've already seen a lot of familiar old faces, and it looks like we've got a good recruiting class, which couldn't come at a better time for us.
Several job fairs are coming up next week and I suppose it's high time for me to buckle down and try to seriously get myself out there and find some sort of internship for next year. If nothing else I do not want to work for university residences again (not that it is a bad job, I just don't think I can do it again). Side thought...the longest I've had any job so far was about 3 years and each time I started to get pretty stir crazy. I hope that if/when I get into my preferred "field"I will be more content and won't feel the need to jump around so much.
Lastly, Andy Ober gave Jenny and I some last minute freebies to go see another preseason game - Bengals @ Colts a week ago. So we got to see Lucas Oil Stadium up close and personal, and the Bengals won (something I am worried about not celebrating a lot in the coming months). That said, my new favorite Bengal is Corey Lynch - not just because he makes a great impact on our D, but he's also a rookie from Appalachian State. Which means he was part of the David team that brought down Michigan last year at the Big House, apparently starting a tradition.
:D Football season!
MAN school caught up with me quick.
I'll spare you all the play-by-play of each day, but here's the summary:
MA 266 (differential equations) - again
AAE 301 (signals and systems analysis)
AAE 352 (structures II)
AAE 352 lab
CGT 226 (computer modeling - part modeling and advanced surface design)
13 credit hours.
Same old, same old, really. Difficult classes, I feel like I'm in over my head, the math involved blows my mind. I feel really...sluggish getting used to the routine, the workload, etc. Not crazy about trying to pass DE again, but what am I gonna do? Worried about student loans. Of course it wouldn't be a semester at Purdue for Ryan without problems with scheduling, registration, and student loan acceptance. a;sljdf;aljdf
On a scale of 1-1o, with 1 being Ferris Bueller's Day Off and 10 being Alexander's Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day, my schedule looks like:
Monday: 6
Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 9 (5 classes spanning 7:30am to 5:30pm)
Thursday: 2
Friday: 7
A lot of my aero professors are downright crazy, but it's balanced by a generous amount of oh my god these guys are so smart. I also regret letting all my knowledge of CATIA atrophy over several years since CGT 163.
New apartment is nice, even though I kinda hate trekking up Chauncey Hill. Especially 3x a week at 7 in the morning. I am not used to early classes like this!
Improv is good. I've already seen a lot of familiar old faces, and it looks like we've got a good recruiting class, which couldn't come at a better time for us.
Several job fairs are coming up next week and I suppose it's high time for me to buckle down and try to seriously get myself out there and find some sort of internship for next year. If nothing else I do not want to work for university residences again (not that it is a bad job, I just don't think I can do it again). Side thought...the longest I've had any job so far was about 3 years and each time I started to get pretty stir crazy. I hope that if/when I get into my preferred "field"I will be more content and won't feel the need to jump around so much.
Lastly, Andy Ober gave Jenny and I some last minute freebies to go see another preseason game - Bengals @ Colts a week ago. So we got to see Lucas Oil Stadium up close and personal, and the Bengals won (something I am worried about not celebrating a lot in the coming months). That said, my new favorite Bengal is Corey Lynch - not just because he makes a great impact on our D, but he's also a rookie from Appalachian State. Which means he was part of the David team that brought down Michigan last year at the Big House, apparently starting a tradition.
:D Football season!
8.16.2008
arguably the best summary ever
Current Mood: summer is slipping away...
I've been slackin' on my goal to post once a week here.
Part of that was the early part of the month - I helped Jenny move from Hillenbrand to her new place, and then I moved out of both my old apt. and Earhart into my new place. Many thanks to everybody that helped.
I'm glad that's over, because it felt like a solid week of moving, and the furniture especially sucked to move. I guess I'd underestimated how much stuff I really left back at the old place. That's even with a concerted effort not to keep a lot of things, and even still it was a lot!
I'm more or less all settled in my new place, and it's really nice - a lot of that is just more space, but also the pool, laundry room, more a/c. Greg and I are hangin' all the time (I even have gotten him hooked on RE4) and it looks like it will be a blast living together. I have a slight suspicion that there's a bug infestation in a nearby apartment, but hopefully that's just me being paranoid.
Still need to get my registration and loans goin'...
The other big part of August so far has been Jenny and I's trip to Green Bay. Jenny posted pictures and kinda chronicled everything here: 1 2 3
We left Sunday morning and forgot about the time change driving through Chicago. I'm technically from Cincy, but I really am not a downtown driver. So of course I was terrified to navigate my way to my friend [from improv long ago] Scott's house in the heart of the city. Still, it was a Sunday afternoon and despite a few slow moments and a few tolls, we made it okay. I'll go ahead and mention here the weather was gorgeous the entire time.
Side note: later I want to take a trip to Chicago and get a CityPass because pretty much all of the stuff I want to do and see there is a nerdy museum of some kind. Also, the pass is good for 9 days, so it'll be a big expensive trip.
Had a great time with Scott and his girlfriend Allison. We walked like, 2 miles, trying to find Giordano's Pizza - in part because it's Stu's favorite chain, in part because I'd never had authentic deep dish. This was also my first time to Chicago, despite living 2 hours away for 4 years. After stuffing myself, we rode the 'L' into downtown Chicago (the whole time I kept fantasizing about skipping a day of school to see the sights, making dozens of police cars chase me all over town, and then hunting down the one armed man - and if I was very lucky, seeing Janitor [bonus points to anybody who got that one]).
An eerily quiet Chicago downtown awaited us. We saw the Magnificent Mile (why is it magnificent? because of shopping, apparently, not because of grisly murders), Sears Tower (from the ground), and the street they filmed some of The Dark Knight on. Took pictures at the Bean (sigh). Later that night Scott made us pot roast and we watched a bit of vintage Ah-nold.
The next day we drove to Green Bay. The drive up was pretty uneventful, even if Milwaukee was 50x bigger than I thought it would be (I guess when the only idea of Wisconsin I have is from That 70's Show, I kinda imagined the whole state looked like Eric Forman's house).
Green Bay The City is awesome. The whole town is just like you think - everybody there has a cute almost Canadian accent (mostly it's the drawn out "o"s) and a Favre jersey, even with all the crazy shit that's been going on with him being traded to the Jets. I watched Jenny buy a ton of Packers stuff she's been wanting for a long time, 'cuz it's cheaper/only found there.
Every fan we met there was super nice. Granted, it's not like the Bengals and Packers are hard-core division rivals, but basically it was nothing but smiles and waves. I got to try more local food: butter burgers, cheese curds, and a real bratwurst. Fantastic. My first NFL game was at historic Lambeau, and it was really pretty amazing, like any old stadium should be.
Our sign ("We drove 8 hours to get here, and the loser pays gas!") made some people laugh, but it didn't get us on TV. Oh well. Turns out the family behind us drove 18 hours from Montana, anyway, so it didn't seem so impressive. Plus it was a lie...beforehand we decided that I'd buy tickets, Jenny would buy gas. Yes, that's right, I lied to try to get on the Jumbotron.
Speaking of tickets, our seats were on the 20 yard line-ish, and the view was about the same as Ross-Ade watching the Boilermakers, that is to say pretty decent. The preseason game doesn't count for anything, but it was awesome to see our teams actually playing, tackling, passing, and kicking against each other. Bengals won 20-17, and I was happy to see Aaron Rodgers take over the Packers offense without Favre and do a good job. The drunkest fans we saw were middle aged schoolteachers sitting in the row in front of us. Odd.
The next part of the trip started right after the game. We drove about an hour and a half West of GB to a little town called Waupaca to stay with Jenny's aunt and uncle. They were really nice and drove us around the area to show us some parks and lakes and take us out to eat. Uncle Dennis had an amazing vinyl collection that I went really crazy for. Like for all of Jenny's family, I turned up the charm hoping they would like me. Like all of Jenny's family, I think it worked :D
Unlike the 2-day trip up, we drove back all in one day on Wednesday. We covered close to 400 miles. The rest stop was in Pleasant Prairie (right near the southern WI border) to take a tour of the Jelly Belly factory. Seriously, we only stopped here to stretch our legs, but it was a fun stop. Bought some JB irregulars ("Belly Flops") and some caffeinated "sport beans". The next "stop" was rush-hour Chicago. Seriously...close to 3 hours to go like, 60 miles, and I think we spent 20 dollars in tolls. In retrospect, FUCK toll roads. We drove s'more and had a nice dinner with Benji and Corrie in Valpo (and found a sweet water park for next year).
Whew. Next up: Judas Priest concert on Tuesday.
I've been slackin' on my goal to post once a week here.
Part of that was the early part of the month - I helped Jenny move from Hillenbrand to her new place, and then I moved out of both my old apt. and Earhart into my new place. Many thanks to everybody that helped.
I'm glad that's over, because it felt like a solid week of moving, and the furniture especially sucked to move. I guess I'd underestimated how much stuff I really left back at the old place. That's even with a concerted effort not to keep a lot of things, and even still it was a lot!
I'm more or less all settled in my new place, and it's really nice - a lot of that is just more space, but also the pool, laundry room, more a/c. Greg and I are hangin' all the time (I even have gotten him hooked on RE4) and it looks like it will be a blast living together. I have a slight suspicion that there's a bug infestation in a nearby apartment, but hopefully that's just me being paranoid.
Still need to get my registration and loans goin'...
The other big part of August so far has been Jenny and I's trip to Green Bay. Jenny posted pictures and kinda chronicled everything here: 1 2 3
We left Sunday morning and forgot about the time change driving through Chicago. I'm technically from Cincy, but I really am not a downtown driver. So of course I was terrified to navigate my way to my friend [from improv long ago] Scott's house in the heart of the city. Still, it was a Sunday afternoon and despite a few slow moments and a few tolls, we made it okay. I'll go ahead and mention here the weather was gorgeous the entire time.
Side note: later I want to take a trip to Chicago and get a CityPass because pretty much all of the stuff I want to do and see there is a nerdy museum of some kind. Also, the pass is good for 9 days, so it'll be a big expensive trip.
Had a great time with Scott and his girlfriend Allison. We walked like, 2 miles, trying to find Giordano's Pizza - in part because it's Stu's favorite chain, in part because I'd never had authentic deep dish. This was also my first time to Chicago, despite living 2 hours away for 4 years. After stuffing myself, we rode the 'L' into downtown Chicago (the whole time I kept fantasizing about skipping a day of school to see the sights, making dozens of police cars chase me all over town, and then hunting down the one armed man - and if I was very lucky, seeing Janitor [bonus points to anybody who got that one]).
An eerily quiet Chicago downtown awaited us. We saw the Magnificent Mile (why is it magnificent? because of shopping, apparently, not because of grisly murders), Sears Tower (from the ground), and the street they filmed some of The Dark Knight on. Took pictures at the Bean (sigh). Later that night Scott made us pot roast and we watched a bit of vintage Ah-nold.
The next day we drove to Green Bay. The drive up was pretty uneventful, even if Milwaukee was 50x bigger than I thought it would be (I guess when the only idea of Wisconsin I have is from That 70's Show, I kinda imagined the whole state looked like Eric Forman's house).
Green Bay The City is awesome. The whole town is just like you think - everybody there has a cute almost Canadian accent (mostly it's the drawn out "o"s) and a Favre jersey, even with all the crazy shit that's been going on with him being traded to the Jets. I watched Jenny buy a ton of Packers stuff she's been wanting for a long time, 'cuz it's cheaper/only found there.
Every fan we met there was super nice. Granted, it's not like the Bengals and Packers are hard-core division rivals, but basically it was nothing but smiles and waves. I got to try more local food: butter burgers, cheese curds, and a real bratwurst. Fantastic. My first NFL game was at historic Lambeau, and it was really pretty amazing, like any old stadium should be.
Our sign ("We drove 8 hours to get here, and the loser pays gas!") made some people laugh, but it didn't get us on TV. Oh well. Turns out the family behind us drove 18 hours from Montana, anyway, so it didn't seem so impressive. Plus it was a lie...beforehand we decided that I'd buy tickets, Jenny would buy gas. Yes, that's right, I lied to try to get on the Jumbotron.
Speaking of tickets, our seats were on the 20 yard line-ish, and the view was about the same as Ross-Ade watching the Boilermakers, that is to say pretty decent. The preseason game doesn't count for anything, but it was awesome to see our teams actually playing, tackling, passing, and kicking against each other. Bengals won 20-17, and I was happy to see Aaron Rodgers take over the Packers offense without Favre and do a good job. The drunkest fans we saw were middle aged schoolteachers sitting in the row in front of us. Odd.
The next part of the trip started right after the game. We drove about an hour and a half West of GB to a little town called Waupaca to stay with Jenny's aunt and uncle. They were really nice and drove us around the area to show us some parks and lakes and take us out to eat. Uncle Dennis had an amazing vinyl collection that I went really crazy for. Like for all of Jenny's family, I turned up the charm hoping they would like me. Like all of Jenny's family, I think it worked :D
Unlike the 2-day trip up, we drove back all in one day on Wednesday. We covered close to 400 miles. The rest stop was in Pleasant Prairie (right near the southern WI border) to take a tour of the Jelly Belly factory. Seriously, we only stopped here to stretch our legs, but it was a fun stop. Bought some JB irregulars ("Belly Flops") and some caffeinated "sport beans". The next "stop" was rush-hour Chicago. Seriously...close to 3 hours to go like, 60 miles, and I think we spent 20 dollars in tolls. In retrospect, FUCK toll roads. We drove s'more and had a nice dinner with Benji and Corrie in Valpo (and found a sweet water park for next year).
Whew. Next up: Judas Priest concert on Tuesday.
7.19.2008
on the verge
Current Mood: pensive
Somehow this wacky work schedule that I have opened up for a bit this month, and I just got back a few days ago from a whole week home, and I have to say it was one of the best visits home I can remember. Some highlights:
Got to hang out with Jared (one of Sis's college friends). Went swimming a lot. Burned myself lighting some rockass fireworks that we bought from a shady guy. Ate me some Gold Star chili. Visited Sis and Bradley's church and got to see what that was like - and hear Sis read one of her poems. Ate some of Dad's grill cookin'. Heard from an old friend that I kinda had fallen out of contact with. Gave some presents, got some presents like Bradley's old TV tuner card and a Carson Palmer jersey for my upcoming trip to Green Bay. Saw my Grandma's new apartment and learned some stuff about my grandparents. Rode a bike into a pool. Watched some great new movies. Went to a waterpark with some of my family courtesy of a family friend- and got my first sunburn. I ate downtown and tried sushi for the first time.
It was kinda like a whole summer break of fun compressed into a whole week. Awesome.
One other thing I got to do, which I'm setting aside as a special mention, was go target shooting with Mom and her fiancee Scott.
I've got "learn basic marksmanship" on my LoTtDBID. Previously, I've gone to the callout of the Purdue Rifle and Pistol Club and fired some handguns, I'd taken potshots at turtles with some small .22 rifles at Ronnie's house (waaaay back in the day), and fired some rifles and pistols with Kamikaze last summer. Still, I've never considered any of those any formal test of my ability, which is why I was excited to get to go target shooting. Up until that day the best I would say was that I'd messed around with some weapons but nothing more.
We went to the Elk Creek Hunt Club, a national target shooting circuit stop in Kentucky. I shot 12 and 20 gauge shotguns at small clay targets that were launched into the air by a mechanical thrower. I've never fired a shotgun before, never at a moving target, never at clay targets, and was using unfamiliar guns at a strange course - and I think I did pretty well.
Scott gave me a quick tutorial, and from there I shot four times at each of the 14 stations (for a total of 56 rounds, instead of the standard 100, to save money). The target shooting reminded me very much of Duck Hunt or similar games (which I suppose is the point) - except that it was much harder, and the targets moved with much more variety. For example, some arced down from over my right shoulder, some pairs criss-crossed, others rolled across the ground (called "rabbits"). I would guess that being good at shooting video games is a crossover skill to target shooting? I also learned the scoring system, the etiquette for being the thrower, and s'more gun safety. I ended up with a 54% accuracy over the entire course, with my best station being 4 of 4, and my worst 1 for 4.
I'm now a bit more confident that I can handle a gun, should the unthinkable happen.
And while I was home I really missed doing improv. It's been a long while since I've felt that...
Somehow this wacky work schedule that I have opened up for a bit this month, and I just got back a few days ago from a whole week home, and I have to say it was one of the best visits home I can remember. Some highlights:
Got to hang out with Jared (one of Sis's college friends). Went swimming a lot. Burned myself lighting some rockass fireworks that we bought from a shady guy. Ate me some Gold Star chili. Visited Sis and Bradley's church and got to see what that was like - and hear Sis read one of her poems. Ate some of Dad's grill cookin'. Heard from an old friend that I kinda had fallen out of contact with. Gave some presents, got some presents like Bradley's old TV tuner card and a Carson Palmer jersey for my upcoming trip to Green Bay. Saw my Grandma's new apartment and learned some stuff about my grandparents. Rode a bike into a pool. Watched some great new movies. Went to a waterpark with some of my family courtesy of a family friend- and got my first sunburn. I ate downtown and tried sushi for the first time.
It was kinda like a whole summer break of fun compressed into a whole week. Awesome.
One other thing I got to do, which I'm setting aside as a special mention, was go target shooting with Mom and her fiancee Scott.
I've got "learn basic marksmanship" on my LoTtDBID. Previously, I've gone to the callout of the Purdue Rifle and Pistol Club and fired some handguns, I'd taken potshots at turtles with some small .22 rifles at Ronnie's house (waaaay back in the day), and fired some rifles and pistols with Kamikaze last summer. Still, I've never considered any of those any formal test of my ability, which is why I was excited to get to go target shooting. Up until that day the best I would say was that I'd messed around with some weapons but nothing more.
We went to the Elk Creek Hunt Club, a national target shooting circuit stop in Kentucky. I shot 12 and 20 gauge shotguns at small clay targets that were launched into the air by a mechanical thrower. I've never fired a shotgun before, never at a moving target, never at clay targets, and was using unfamiliar guns at a strange course - and I think I did pretty well.
Scott gave me a quick tutorial, and from there I shot four times at each of the 14 stations (for a total of 56 rounds, instead of the standard 100, to save money). The target shooting reminded me very much of Duck Hunt or similar games (which I suppose is the point) - except that it was much harder, and the targets moved with much more variety. For example, some arced down from over my right shoulder, some pairs criss-crossed, others rolled across the ground (called "rabbits"). I would guess that being good at shooting video games is a crossover skill to target shooting? I also learned the scoring system, the etiquette for being the thrower, and s'more gun safety. I ended up with a 54% accuracy over the entire course, with my best station being 4 of 4, and my worst 1 for 4.
I'm now a bit more confident that I can handle a gun, should the unthinkable happen.
And while I was home I really missed doing improv. It's been a long while since I've felt that...
4.06.2008
the wrong side of the tracks
Current Mood: nostalgic
I found this on a friend's profile and thought it was funny, so I thought I'd share.
How to sing the Blues - a primer
1. Most Blues begins with: "Woke up this morning..."
2. "I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you stick something nasty in the next line like, "I got a good woman, with the meanest face in town."
3. The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes...sort of: "Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes I got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher and she weighs 500 pound."
4. Teenagers can't sing the blues. They ain't fixin' to die yet. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues, "adulthood means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis."
5. Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or any place in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the Blues in any place that don't get rain.
6. A man with male pattern baldness ain't the Blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg 'cause you were skiing is not the Blues. Breaking you leg 'cause an alligator be chomping on it is.
7. You can't have no Blues in an office or a shopping mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster.
8. Good places for the Blues:
- Highway
- Jailhouse
- Empty bed
- Bottom of a whiskey glass
Bad places for the Blues:
- Nordstrom's
- Gallery openings
- Ivy League institutions
- Golf courses
9. No on will believe it's the Blues if you wear a suit, 'less you happen to be an old ethnic person and you slept in it.
10. Do you have the right to sing the Blues?
Yes, if:
a. You older than dirt
b. You blind
c. You shot a man in Memphis
d. You can't be satisfied
No, if:
a. You have all your teeth
b. You were once blind but now can see
c. The man in Memphis lived
d. You have 410K or trust fund
11. Blues is not a matter of colour. It's a matter of bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the Blues. Sonny Liston could. Ugly white people also got a leg up on the Blues.
12. If you ask for water and your darlin' give you gasoline, it's the Blues
Other acceptable beverages are:
a. Cheap wine
b. Whiskey or bourbon
c. Muddy water
d. Nasty black coffee
The following are NOT Blues beverages:
a. Perrier
b. Chardonnay
c. Snapple
d. Slim fast
13. If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So are the electric chair, substance abuse and dying lonely on a broken-down cot. You can't have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or while getting liposuction.
It all kinda reminds me of that fateful car trip, and the legend of Spodiddly.
I found this on a friend's profile and thought it was funny, so I thought I'd share.
How to sing the Blues - a primer
1. Most Blues begins with: "Woke up this morning..."
2. "I got a good woman" is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you stick something nasty in the next line like, "I got a good woman, with the meanest face in town."
3. The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. Then find something that rhymes...sort of: "Got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Yes I got a good woman with the meanest face in town. Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher and she weighs 500 pound."
4. Teenagers can't sing the blues. They ain't fixin' to die yet. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues, "adulthood means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis."
5. Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or any place in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis and Kansas City are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the Blues in any place that don't get rain.
6. A man with male pattern baldness ain't the Blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg 'cause you were skiing is not the Blues. Breaking you leg 'cause an alligator be chomping on it is.
7. You can't have no Blues in an office or a shopping mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster.
8. Good places for the Blues:
- Highway
- Jailhouse
- Empty bed
- Bottom of a whiskey glass
Bad places for the Blues:
- Nordstrom's
- Gallery openings
- Ivy League institutions
- Golf courses
9. No on will believe it's the Blues if you wear a suit, 'less you happen to be an old ethnic person and you slept in it.
10. Do you have the right to sing the Blues?
Yes, if:
a. You older than dirt
b. You blind
c. You shot a man in Memphis
d. You can't be satisfied
No, if:
a. You have all your teeth
b. You were once blind but now can see
c. The man in Memphis lived
d. You have 410K or trust fund
11. Blues is not a matter of colour. It's a matter of bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the Blues. Sonny Liston could. Ugly white people also got a leg up on the Blues.
12. If you ask for water and your darlin' give you gasoline, it's the Blues
Other acceptable beverages are:
a. Cheap wine
b. Whiskey or bourbon
c. Muddy water
d. Nasty black coffee
The following are NOT Blues beverages:
a. Perrier
b. Chardonnay
c. Snapple
d. Slim fast
13. If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So are the electric chair, substance abuse and dying lonely on a broken-down cot. You can't have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or while getting liposuction.
It all kinda reminds me of that fateful car trip, and the legend of Spodiddly.
1.14.2008
face the music
Current Mood: limbo
Soooo...life. Stuff. Things. As thrilled as I am to be back in school with a schedule and a purpose and such, I can't say it's gone too smoothly. Here are some thoughts.
I'm on track 2844 of 6599 of the Great Alpha Scrobble, in the middle of the "If" songs. That's about 43% complete. The halfway track is "L.A. Woman" by The Doors, one letter short of the middle of the alphabet. Technically it's between song 3299 and 3300, but oddly they're both the same song - one is a live version. It's been a test of willpower at times to resist switching tracks to listen to what I want at the time, and to get used to Led Zeppelin to Freezepop transitions. While this is a great look at some of my rarely-played tracks, I also am getting a better idea of what music of mine I can safely get rid of.
I've got a more healthy outlook recently. I've tried to get some better foods like yogurt and such in my life, for example. I'm brushing my teeth much more, but that may be because I think I need to have my wisdom teeth taken out soon. :(
Purdue won their bowl game - barely (against a team we steamrolled earlier in the season). The Bengals had a losing season (again) and I hope they get some sweet draft picks. I won my fantasy football championship...it was much less exciting than I imagined. I was pretty good at picking playoff teams. Cowboys lost to the Giants and are out of the playoffs, which was shocking and quite frankly, disappointing. Looks like the Patriots are gonna win everything, which is also disappointing. I am rooting for the Packers all the way.
I still need to register to vote and get my absentee ballot. More thoughts on politics forthcoming.
It was nice to get home for Christmas and spend time with my family. I wasn't really comfortable at all with the two Christmas setup, but we had a plan and stuck to it. I got a tonnnn of DVDs, yay (I have restored my list of DVDs and added it to my links list).
I'm trying to avoid TV (American Gladiators, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) and video games (Smash Brothers, Metroid) in lieu of focusing on academics this semester. My schedule is okay but MWF are pretty long. It is super important I do well this semester. That said, my current financial aid situation is FUBAR and it's maddening to try and straighten it out.
Improv is back for this year and we've got our work cut out for us. We've got about half a month to prepare for our callout and a trip to Chicago, plus the return of the AOO and other shows booked for this spring.
Soooo...life. Stuff. Things. As thrilled as I am to be back in school with a schedule and a purpose and such, I can't say it's gone too smoothly. Here are some thoughts.
I'm on track 2844 of 6599 of the Great Alpha Scrobble, in the middle of the "If" songs. That's about 43% complete. The halfway track is "L.A. Woman" by The Doors, one letter short of the middle of the alphabet. Technically it's between song 3299 and 3300, but oddly they're both the same song - one is a live version. It's been a test of willpower at times to resist switching tracks to listen to what I want at the time, and to get used to Led Zeppelin to Freezepop transitions. While this is a great look at some of my rarely-played tracks, I also am getting a better idea of what music of mine I can safely get rid of.
I've got a more healthy outlook recently. I've tried to get some better foods like yogurt and such in my life, for example. I'm brushing my teeth much more, but that may be because I think I need to have my wisdom teeth taken out soon. :(
Purdue won their bowl game - barely (against a team we steamrolled earlier in the season). The Bengals had a losing season (again) and I hope they get some sweet draft picks. I won my fantasy football championship...it was much less exciting than I imagined. I was pretty good at picking playoff teams. Cowboys lost to the Giants and are out of the playoffs, which was shocking and quite frankly, disappointing. Looks like the Patriots are gonna win everything, which is also disappointing. I am rooting for the Packers all the way.
I still need to register to vote and get my absentee ballot. More thoughts on politics forthcoming.
It was nice to get home for Christmas and spend time with my family. I wasn't really comfortable at all with the two Christmas setup, but we had a plan and stuck to it. I got a tonnnn of DVDs, yay (I have restored my list of DVDs and added it to my links list).
I'm trying to avoid TV (American Gladiators, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) and video games (Smash Brothers, Metroid) in lieu of focusing on academics this semester. My schedule is okay but MWF are pretty long. It is super important I do well this semester. That said, my current financial aid situation is FUBAR and it's maddening to try and straighten it out.
Improv is back for this year and we've got our work cut out for us. We've got about half a month to prepare for our callout and a trip to Chicago, plus the return of the AOO and other shows booked for this spring.
11.06.2007
substitute
Current Mood: frustrated
NFL.com is being incredibly slow today, so I'm going to hold off on writing a bunch about football until I can watch all my highlight videos (32 teams - 4 teams on bye / 2 teams per matchup = 14 videos x 3 min. avg length = 42 minutes of video action). Lucky you.
Instead, here's a quick update on NaNoWriMo. As of this morning, the participants have written a total of 170,746,440 words since the start of the month, for really no other reason than a love of writing (assuming there's nobody writing to win a bet or something). I just find it fascinating to check the word count, since nobody is forcing anybody do this. It's as if thousands of people the world over decided to start Skipping-It and logging their cumulative skips. Yours truly has contributed (again, as of this morning) 6,195 words, or 0.003%. I'm a little behind, about 3k below the pace to finish on the last day or halfway to finishing 5 days early (the 2k a day average). It's pretty tough to write so much each day, but I've finally gotten past the slow setup part of the plot, so hopefully the action part will flow much easier. Writing in third person about myself is screwing with my head.
Good thing I love my current phone, because the Samsung Juke makes a pretty convincing argument to be bought.
My hair is really starting to bother me, because it's no longer curly and fro-y. It's gotten much longer and is starting to lay out. I'm not really crazy about it, so I may cut it. It will also be a great reason to bust out my favorite hat ever. That also reminds me to backtrack a bit...
NFL.com is being incredibly slow today, so I'm going to hold off on writing a bunch about football until I can watch all my highlight videos (32 teams - 4 teams on bye / 2 teams per matchup = 14 videos x 3 min. avg length = 42 minutes of video action). Lucky you.
Instead, here's a quick update on NaNoWriMo. As of this morning, the participants have written a total of 170,746,440 words since the start of the month, for really no other reason than a love of writing (assuming there's nobody writing to win a bet or something). I just find it fascinating to check the word count, since nobody is forcing anybody do this. It's as if thousands of people the world over decided to start Skipping-It and logging their cumulative skips. Yours truly has contributed (again, as of this morning) 6,195 words, or 0.003%. I'm a little behind, about 3k below the pace to finish on the last day or halfway to finishing 5 days early (the 2k a day average). It's pretty tough to write so much each day, but I've finally gotten past the slow setup part of the plot, so hopefully the action part will flow much easier. Writing in third person about myself is screwing with my head.
Good thing I love my current phone, because the Samsung Juke makes a pretty convincing argument to be bought.
My hair is really starting to bother me, because it's no longer curly and fro-y. It's gotten much longer and is starting to lay out. I'm not really crazy about it, so I may cut it. It will also be a great reason to bust out my favorite hat ever. That also reminds me to backtrack a bit...
Two weeks ago on Friday (October 26th) I had the pleasure of seeing the Dalai Lama speak here at Purdue. It was a...unique experience to say the least. Renee had procured the tickets the day they were available, and my sister drove my brother up here for the weekend since mom couldn't make it. We got there almost two hours early for security because some people aren't exactly crazy about the guy. While we waited, we spotted a local Purdue celebrity - former Purdue present Martin C. Jischke (Bradley ran over and shook his hand). The opening act (mongolian chanting) was a bit of cultural learning that made me feel sliiightly uncomfortable. The Dalai Lama was a bit hard to hear and understand, but he seemed very at ease, very informal, and at times unintentionally funny. The theme of his speech was "cultivating happiness", but for the most part I felt he spoke about rather vague concepts and rambled about being a good person. A notable topic, to be sure, but I didn't need to spend a lot of money to hear it from him (more like "Dalai Lame-a"). At the end he elected not to tackle very complex issues in the Q and A session such as the US involement in the Iraq war, instead informing us all that his favorite color was green. In retrospect, perhaps this was social commentary.
More than seeing world leaders speak, I was most excited to see my siblings. Things haven't been great between us lately, and I put a lot of that blame on my shoulders. I decided to tackle that head on and try to make sure they had an outstanding weekend here. I made them lunch Friday and breakfast the next day, and they stayed at my apartment which helped cut down on travel costs. They also joined me for our Annual Ship of Fools Halloween Extravaganza. Sis helped me with my costume (notably taming my hair). I went as an emo kid, and I it went really well. So well, in fact, that Current Roommate Alex didn't recognize me, as did others at improv. The response on Facebook has made me really happy - I wanted to shake things up and do something people didn't expect, and I think it worked quite well. There were several awesome costumes (Jenny went as Jessica Rabbit...she's not bad, she just dressed that way!).
The afterparty @ Peace's house went splendidly, even though we all left kinda early. Several former Fools made it to the party, and the fans seemed to enjoy it as well. Huzzah! The next morning, before Brad and sis left, we toured the new Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering and more of Purdue's campus. I should have classes in there in the spring, if things go as planned. Photos of the party here, photos of the party and time at Armstrong here.
As if that weekend wasn't amazing enough, Sunday was my 2 year anniversary with Jenny. We celebrated by going to see the hosts of Mythbusters (Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman) speak at Elliot Hall of Music (Purdue's College of Science celebrates 100 years). It was very informal and entertaining, funny and candid. Benji and Corrie, also staying with us for the weekend, joined us and participated in the Q&A. My favorite parts were when they spoke about buying magnets. Afterwards was a dinner with some of the Fools.
And speaking of improv, we've been very busy this fall with a number of community service shows and activities, which makes me very proud of the group. Blood donations, food drives, and now recently a benefit show [with the Crazy Monkeys] for Habitat For Humanity and the Timmy Foundation raised over $500. 00 dollars. The group is learning to incorporate change and new members, becoming a bigger part of the Purdue community, and casting away old rivalries. Quite impressive.
That's all for now. Why aren't busy I writing fiction?
More than seeing world leaders speak, I was most excited to see my siblings. Things haven't been great between us lately, and I put a lot of that blame on my shoulders. I decided to tackle that head on and try to make sure they had an outstanding weekend here. I made them lunch Friday and breakfast the next day, and they stayed at my apartment which helped cut down on travel costs. They also joined me for our Annual Ship of Fools Halloween Extravaganza. Sis helped me with my costume (notably taming my hair). I went as an emo kid, and I it went really well. So well, in fact, that Current Roommate Alex didn't recognize me, as did others at improv. The response on Facebook has made me really happy - I wanted to shake things up and do something people didn't expect, and I think it worked quite well. There were several awesome costumes (Jenny went as Jessica Rabbit...she's not bad, she just dressed that way!).
The afterparty @ Peace's house went splendidly, even though we all left kinda early. Several former Fools made it to the party, and the fans seemed to enjoy it as well. Huzzah! The next morning, before Brad and sis left, we toured the new Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering and more of Purdue's campus. I should have classes in there in the spring, if things go as planned. Photos of the party here, photos of the party and time at Armstrong here.
As if that weekend wasn't amazing enough, Sunday was my 2 year anniversary with Jenny. We celebrated by going to see the hosts of Mythbusters (Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman) speak at Elliot Hall of Music (Purdue's College of Science celebrates 100 years). It was very informal and entertaining, funny and candid. Benji and Corrie, also staying with us for the weekend, joined us and participated in the Q&A. My favorite parts were when they spoke about buying magnets. Afterwards was a dinner with some of the Fools.
And speaking of improv, we've been very busy this fall with a number of community service shows and activities, which makes me very proud of the group. Blood donations, food drives, and now recently a benefit show [with the Crazy Monkeys] for Habitat For Humanity and the Timmy Foundation raised over $500. 00 dollars. The group is learning to incorporate change and new members, becoming a bigger part of the Purdue community, and casting away old rivalries. Quite impressive.
That's all for now. Why aren't busy I writing fiction?
10.02.2007
no longer a backup, pt. I
Current Mood: recovering
Hawkins Hall held a blood drive Monday afternoon, and most of the Ship of Fools were there to donate (we'll be back Oct. 11th to perform there). I had been looking for a group activity for us, especially since we recently tapped two Friday night regulars to join as official Fools: Steve "Angel Hair" and Brant "Rubble", which brings our total back up to 10. This accomplished several goals of mine, including:
* working more community service into our group activities
* being more visible and part of the Purdue community
* bonding and getting to know the new guys
* reforming our group identity and friendships after losing two very crucial seniors last year and gaining the aforementioned new guys
* something that was meaningful and inexpensive
* something not crowding a local restaurant and then an expensive movie that we all sit and watch
* me, personally, leading by example
* no pressure to perform or be funny
In all, seven Fools (and Jenny!) ended up donating. I think that's a great percentage of the group, and from what I could tell, we boosted the donations at this event significantly. I'd like to think we were more entertaining and light-hearted more than we were annoying and in the way. Two of the Fools didn't come due to conflicts or personal reasons, and I respect that.
I felt that this was my pet project that I asked the Ship of Fools to join in on, and was blown away by the enthusiasm and support. Despite being unable to donate (he'd donated already a few days before), Eric still came with us, which I really appreciated. Renee helped me actually track down a drive that could fit most schedules, and even delayed her own [regular] donations to come this time. The two new guys jumped right in without question, which I really liked. Even Current Roommate John did his crazy homework early to try and make it (which he did). Jenny came without me even asking.
I don't quite know how much...credit to take? Not that I'm looking for credit, or anything. On one hand, I feel like I just asked, provided a time and date, and bam! 8 more units of blood. On the other hand, I want to feel like I made something happen, and that I upheld my leadership style of not asking anybody to do anything I wouldn't do myself. Still, I know Eric and Renee donate regularly of their own volition anyway, and most of the other group didn't need much convincing. I credit that to my outstanding group of friends/fellow performers. They are my heroes for today.
It could've gone better because this was a particularly rough donation for me. Second time I've almost passed out. I got really woozy, and nearly emptied my stomach. I had to wait forever before I could even sit up, and my arm is still bruised. Regardless, my friends were there...not quite cheering me on, but they did wait and were concerned. I admitted to them that I hate to watch the actual needle business, and usually have mom or somebody talk to me to distract me. Anyway, I made it through without losing consciousness and that puts me even.
Even?
I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this somewhere. I try not to talk much about my surgery anymore, but in addition to the five units of my own blood I pre-donated, I used two units of some stranger's blood back when I had my back surgery. I feel...in debt to society, and that until I'd given back two, I was "in the hole", so to speak. Now, anytime I donate, it'll be for somebody else. I think giving blood is one of those things that most people are loathe to even consider, yet in a time of need [say, a random car accident] they feel entitled to a hospital full of blood that matches their type? I dunno, I guess this is my crusade that came about through a personal experience. I hate to foist my views on other people, but this one is really important to me. Especially since most of my friends are healthy college age students - who better to donate? I also have O+ blood, which is the "universal donor" blood.
Some quotes:
"alrighty, enjoy your blood-letting" -Bradley
Brant: "Hey, they already stuck you! Awesome. I didn't even see it."
Ryan: "Neither did I, I looked away."
B: "Yeah, I hate seeing things stuck in me."
R: "Boy, is sex gonna be awkward for you, then."
*stunned silence by everybody in earshot*
Ryan: "Hey, thanks for coming. You gonna chase me down if I chicken out?"
Eric: "Damn right. You're losing blood today- it's up to you to decide if it ends up on the floor or in a bag."
Hawkins Hall held a blood drive Monday afternoon, and most of the Ship of Fools were there to donate (we'll be back Oct. 11th to perform there). I had been looking for a group activity for us, especially since we recently tapped two Friday night regulars to join as official Fools: Steve "Angel Hair" and Brant "Rubble", which brings our total back up to 10. This accomplished several goals of mine, including:
* working more community service into our group activities
* being more visible and part of the Purdue community
* bonding and getting to know the new guys
* reforming our group identity and friendships after losing two very crucial seniors last year and gaining the aforementioned new guys
* something that was meaningful and inexpensive
* something not crowding a local restaurant and then an expensive movie that we all sit and watch
* me, personally, leading by example
* no pressure to perform or be funny
In all, seven Fools (and Jenny!) ended up donating. I think that's a great percentage of the group, and from what I could tell, we boosted the donations at this event significantly. I'd like to think we were more entertaining and light-hearted more than we were annoying and in the way. Two of the Fools didn't come due to conflicts or personal reasons, and I respect that.
I felt that this was my pet project that I asked the Ship of Fools to join in on, and was blown away by the enthusiasm and support. Despite being unable to donate (he'd donated already a few days before), Eric still came with us, which I really appreciated. Renee helped me actually track down a drive that could fit most schedules, and even delayed her own [regular] donations to come this time. The two new guys jumped right in without question, which I really liked. Even Current Roommate John did his crazy homework early to try and make it (which he did). Jenny came without me even asking.
I don't quite know how much...credit to take? Not that I'm looking for credit, or anything. On one hand, I feel like I just asked, provided a time and date, and bam! 8 more units of blood. On the other hand, I want to feel like I made something happen, and that I upheld my leadership style of not asking anybody to do anything I wouldn't do myself. Still, I know Eric and Renee donate regularly of their own volition anyway, and most of the other group didn't need much convincing. I credit that to my outstanding group of friends/fellow performers. They are my heroes for today.
It could've gone better because this was a particularly rough donation for me. Second time I've almost passed out. I got really woozy, and nearly emptied my stomach. I had to wait forever before I could even sit up, and my arm is still bruised. Regardless, my friends were there...not quite cheering me on, but they did wait and were concerned. I admitted to them that I hate to watch the actual needle business, and usually have mom or somebody talk to me to distract me. Anyway, I made it through without losing consciousness and that puts me even.
Even?
I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this somewhere. I try not to talk much about my surgery anymore, but in addition to the five units of my own blood I pre-donated, I used two units of some stranger's blood back when I had my back surgery. I feel...in debt to society, and that until I'd given back two, I was "in the hole", so to speak. Now, anytime I donate, it'll be for somebody else. I think giving blood is one of those things that most people are loathe to even consider, yet in a time of need [say, a random car accident] they feel entitled to a hospital full of blood that matches their type? I dunno, I guess this is my crusade that came about through a personal experience. I hate to foist my views on other people, but this one is really important to me. Especially since most of my friends are healthy college age students - who better to donate? I also have O+ blood, which is the "universal donor" blood.
Some quotes:
"alrighty, enjoy your blood-letting" -Bradley
Brant: "Hey, they already stuck you! Awesome. I didn't even see it."
Ryan: "Neither did I, I looked away."
B: "Yeah, I hate seeing things stuck in me."
R: "Boy, is sex gonna be awkward for you, then."
*stunned silence by everybody in earshot*
Ryan: "Hey, thanks for coming. You gonna chase me down if I chicken out?"
Eric: "Damn right. You're losing blood today- it's up to you to decide if it ends up on the floor or in a bag."
9.20.2007
olympic laundry
Current Mood: regretful
I'm almost afraid that Purdue is going to have a late October meltdown because of record levels of win converging on our campus.
October 26th: Bradley is trekking up here to hang out with me and hear a talk by the Dalai Lama. Later that evening is the Ship of Fools Halloween Extravaganza (Friday night improv, and then our annual party), and I've got a costume that will blow everybody away.
October 27th: Neil fucking Armstrong and at least 14 other Purdue astronaut alumni are coming to Purdue to dedicate the newest engineering building on campus - the $53 million dollar Neil Armstrong Hall. Included is a special NASA presentation the entire weekend.
October 28th: Jenny and I will be celebrating our two year anniversary. Hints have been dropped that part of it will be spent going to see Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman (the hosts of Mythbusters) give a presentation on their favorite myths busted, outtakes, and other science.
October 29th: Monday Night Football with the Green Bay Packers. Sweet.
October 30th: new Avenged Sevenfold album release.
I'm almost afraid that Purdue is going to have a late October meltdown because of record levels of win converging on our campus.
October 26th: Bradley is trekking up here to hang out with me and hear a talk by the Dalai Lama. Later that evening is the Ship of Fools Halloween Extravaganza (Friday night improv, and then our annual party), and I've got a costume that will blow everybody away.
October 27th: Neil fucking Armstrong and at least 14 other Purdue astronaut alumni are coming to Purdue to dedicate the newest engineering building on campus - the $53 million dollar Neil Armstrong Hall. Included is a special NASA presentation the entire weekend.
October 28th: Jenny and I will be celebrating our two year anniversary. Hints have been dropped that part of it will be spent going to see Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman (the hosts of Mythbusters) give a presentation on their favorite myths busted, outtakes, and other science.
October 29th: Monday Night Football with the Green Bay Packers. Sweet.
October 30th: new Avenged Sevenfold album release.
7.05.2007
Brain Legbum
Current Mood: hooky
Current Music: "All Over Now" by Great White
Have you ever seen a commercial for a GPS navigator called TomTom? The mainly car-based device gives audible directions to direct you around and shows a digital real time map to help. Okay, so they're not the greatest commercials, but it's kinda catchy. It kinda gives an otherwise bland device a bit of friendliness, dare I say character?
At any rate, I had the pleasure of recently hitting the road to attend a graduation dinner for a dear friend of mine, Alex Semchuck (member of the Ship of Fools).
I was joined by other Fools Benji, Renee, Andrew, and Eric.
While on the road from Benji's house in Valparaiso to our destination in Illinois (making it the furthest West I have ever traveled), I had the unique pleasure of seeing a TomTom in action. It was actually kind of boring in retrospect, but I suppose the bulk of the driving was on highway. We could not find the volume, so the commands kinda snuck up on us...and while I could say that I would have liked the directions to come a bit sooner to the turn, overall I have no big problems with it. When we missed an exit, it automatically re-plotted our course. The visuals were pretty clear and colorful, though sunlight made a bit of a problem occasionally. Once the route was set (before the car was started), we didn't have to push a button the entire trip. Nobody even looked at the backup map. (Yes, we had a backup map. Benji was driving and I was the copilot).
The best part, though, was being in the car with the Fools and talking to TomTom like it was much more intelligent.
First, general car things, like:
* TomTom, can you vaporize the cars ahead of us?
* TomTom, is it gametime?
* TomTom, steer us away from that field of wrenches (one of the icons on the screen).
There were the submarine commands:
* TomTom! Ramming speed!
* TomTom! Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead!
Then the space ship commands:
* TomTom! Open the pod doors. (to which somebody thankfully replied in a robot voice "I'm sorry, Ryan. I can't do that.")
* TomTom! Engage the deflector shields and deploy the fighters!
Which of course led to endless Star Wars quotes:
* TomTom, that stabilizer's broken loose again, see if you can't lock it down!
* His TomTom is off. Luke, you've switched off your TomTom, what's wrong? Nothing! I'm allright.
* TomTom! Intensify the forward batteries, I don't want anything to get through! (reply: "Too late!")
The best quote, however, went to Andrew. TomTom got too interested in his personal life:
TomTom: So, how are the wife and kids?
Andrew: I don't have a wife.
TomTom: Maybe you should brush your teeth and bathe more often.
Andrew: Okay, MomMom.
If nothing else, I want a TomTom (even a broken one) in my non-existent car to bark orders at. So much fun!
Current Music: "All Over Now" by Great White
Have you ever seen a commercial for a GPS navigator called TomTom? The mainly car-based device gives audible directions to direct you around and shows a digital real time map to help. Okay, so they're not the greatest commercials, but it's kinda catchy. It kinda gives an otherwise bland device a bit of friendliness, dare I say character?
At any rate, I had the pleasure of recently hitting the road to attend a graduation dinner for a dear friend of mine, Alex Semchuck (member of the Ship of Fools).
I was joined by other Fools Benji, Renee, Andrew, and Eric.
While on the road from Benji's house in Valparaiso to our destination in Illinois (making it the furthest West I have ever traveled), I had the unique pleasure of seeing a TomTom in action. It was actually kind of boring in retrospect, but I suppose the bulk of the driving was on highway. We could not find the volume, so the commands kinda snuck up on us...and while I could say that I would have liked the directions to come a bit sooner to the turn, overall I have no big problems with it. When we missed an exit, it automatically re-plotted our course. The visuals were pretty clear and colorful, though sunlight made a bit of a problem occasionally. Once the route was set (before the car was started), we didn't have to push a button the entire trip. Nobody even looked at the backup map. (Yes, we had a backup map. Benji was driving and I was the copilot).
The best part, though, was being in the car with the Fools and talking to TomTom like it was much more intelligent.
First, general car things, like:
* TomTom, can you vaporize the cars ahead of us?
* TomTom, is it gametime?
* TomTom, steer us away from that field of wrenches (one of the icons on the screen).
There were the submarine commands:
* TomTom! Ramming speed!
* TomTom! Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead!
Then the space ship commands:
* TomTom! Open the pod doors. (to which somebody thankfully replied in a robot voice "I'm sorry, Ryan. I can't do that.")
* TomTom! Engage the deflector shields and deploy the fighters!
Which of course led to endless Star Wars quotes:
* TomTom, that stabilizer's broken loose again, see if you can't lock it down!
* His TomTom is off. Luke, you've switched off your TomTom, what's wrong? Nothing! I'm allright.
* TomTom! Intensify the forward batteries, I don't want anything to get through! (reply: "Too late!")
The best quote, however, went to Andrew. TomTom got too interested in his personal life:
TomTom: So, how are the wife and kids?
Andrew: I don't have a wife.
TomTom: Maybe you should brush your teeth and bathe more often.
Andrew: Okay, MomMom.
If nothing else, I want a TomTom (even a broken one) in my non-existent car to bark orders at. So much fun!
4.30.2007
contact poison
Current Mood: warm
Current Music: "Take Me Home" by Phil Collins
Idea:
John Stewart vs. Stephen Colbert on Crossfire.
How can that go wrong?
Speaking of YouTube, if you haven't seen it yet, please watch:
Benny Benassi - Satisfaction
and then gird your loins for this:
The Ship of Fools - Satisfaction
Current Music: "Take Me Home" by Phil Collins
Idea:
John Stewart vs. Stephen Colbert on Crossfire.
How can that go wrong?
Speaking of YouTube, if you haven't seen it yet, please watch:
Benny Benassi - Satisfaction
and then gird your loins for this:
The Ship of Fools - Satisfaction
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