While We Were Eating...

sometimes there are things that you wish you had never seen. or occassionally you do things that you hope nobody else saw. you know what i'm talking about.

so last week i was eating in the cafeteria. obviously, since that's pretty much the only place i eat. "we" at my table were all just laughing and having a pleasant time. in the midst of the conversational pleasantness, i happened to look accross at the table next to us. my gaze was perfectly timed to catch the girl sitting there with her hands rested on the edge of the table clutching her utensils, lean forward, open her mouth, and dribble the entire contents of her mouth back onto her plate. obviously i was shocked and appalled and unable to move for several seconds.

then there was another anonymous person who sat right accross the table from me. throughout the meal i was mildly perturbed, facinated and concerned by and about the individual who appeared to be possessed of an eccentric personality, and who occassionally hunched down to the table level to better scrutinize his food, and mentioned giving up note taking for lent. after eating a portion of his meal, he took a large gulp of water and swished it around vigorously with his eyes balls bulging from his skull. then he reached into his backpack from whence he quickly extracted a toothbrush and began scrubbing teeth, without paste, but with unsurpassed enthusiasm and stamina. lastly, him-who-cleans-his-chompers-at-the-table unabashedly flossed his teeth at our gathering of about 10 people. i didn't notice where he put the floss after he was done. nor did i shake his hand when i left.

when you have three tables stuck together end to end, it's sometimes hard to participate in all the conversations and jokes going around. but i do my best and try to at least listen for something that catches my fancy. so there i was, munching my salad, and i guess someone told a funny joke. i really don't remember now. but i turned to my right to laugh at it/with everyone else who was laughing at it, just as the girl on my right turned to her left, and i immediately squirted pulpy greeness with ranch down the side of my chin. nice. what can you do? nothing. i look back to the left. she looks back to the right. rather quickly. and i go for the napkins.

pol·i·tesse ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pl-ts, pôl-)n.
Courteous formality; politeness: “the soul of uptown refinement and... politesse” (Russell Baker).

Fine Weather We Been Havin'

what a wonderful day. basically a fairly typical fine sunday. church was good both this morning and this evening. the weather was excellent, though perhaps a little windy. but i'm not complaining. so i was at the arboretum reading music lit, and waaaaay off in the distance i could see some people playing baseball. i found it facinating to watch the batter swing, see the ball soaring across the field and then hear the *crack* of the impact. cool beans. i mean, of course everyone knows about sound travel and delays due to distance, but still. it's neat. i also noticed that one third of the people on the field were left-handed. now that doesn't sound statistically correct. but yeah. i guess that's all.

Concert!

basically, that picture has been the last post for waaay too long. if anyone reads this in time, please note that there is going to be a concert tonight in cole concert hall at 7:30!!! this is the concerto/aria performance from the winners of the concerto competition. a must see, really. yu ching will be giving what i can only imagine is a stunning rendition of a rachmaninoff concerto. so that's my very sincere plug for the music department.

gosh, it seems like there's nothing interesting to say. which i suppose is why i haven't posted. guess i'll go fold laundry.

alfresco \al-FRES-koh\, adverb:1. In the open air; outdoors.
adjective:1. Taking place or located in the open air; outdoor.

The Phone

ahhh yes, hmmmm, locking ever in the bathroom? maaarvelous! 

Theory, Politics and Candy

i just don't know what's going on with theory. i swear it's getting easier! if this is semester four, of what supposedly is a progressively more difficult class, it should be getting really intense. so i've decided that subjects with cumulative ideas which are constantly reinforced by incorporation with new material, are my forte. strongly contrasted with such things as music lit (ahem) which never ceases to baffle me with its elusive nature. and poli sci... i just don't know. as far as my understanding goes, and the difficulty of tests, it's going to be comparable to regular history. my chance of success being supplemented by a totally awesome teacher. so yeah, basically i'm feeling really stoked about school. i think i should go study. not to mention eat more m&m's.

Grandpa's House

believe it or not, it's actually freezing for i think the first time since winter finally began here in nac. am i right? i seriously don't remember any ice before this past week. sam had to scrape his truck and pour water all over it to get in so we could go to church. then after church we noticed everyone still had icicles hanging from their cars. very impressive if you ask me.

for lunch i had the pleasure of visiting sam's grandparent's house, where we dined on sumptuous chicken express, nacogdoches-grown honey, jelly beans, and ice cream. i think grandpa was appalled when john declined any ice cream, saying he was too full. when john left the table he leaned forward and said, "is somethin' wrong with him? is he sick or somethin'?" then john came back and stated that he didn't feel inclined to eat it just then cuz he was taking the rest of the bucket home anyway. grandpa just stared at him for a second, chuckled, then busted out laughing, "HA-HA-HA!!! funny boy! thinks he's taking the ice cream home!" then he turned back to quietly share his mirth with his own dessert. then grandpa in turn appalled grandma by saying her cookies looked like biscuits, and that nobody would want to eat such things. turns out he was hoping to disuade everyone else from eating any so he could have more. hopefully that became clear to grandma, or (judging by the look on her face) he spent last night with rufus. once we were through with lunch we departed with warm hugs and our pockets laden with jelly beans. i hope i'm an awesome grandpa some day...

today i went jogging, ate yogurt and hotwings, played scales, and stayed up too late. i also accidentally sent this guy a random instant message saying "clearly you will always be awesome" when i was joking around with someone else and somehow mistakenly selected his screen name. three cheers to 8 o'clock classes.

it's really a good thing i've been jogging. with this huge bag of m&m's constantly calling my name, i'm probably going to bloat right up. i'm becoming so obsessed, i'm even thinking of getting an M tattoo. i'm also thinking of increasing my running time/distance. and on the topic of health... drink more water people! courtney r. told me yesterday that she hadn't drunk anything but dr pepper for three days. then today when we were eating lunch i asked her if she'd had any water yet, and she said no, while sipping yet another glass of dp. 4 days!!! she ignored my pleas that she give herself some real hydration. i swear a person should shrivel up like a prune after 4 days on dp alone. why in the world do i come in from class, sit in front of my computer, and eat 10 powdered donuts...? *sigh* class from 9:30 till 5 tomorrow. on the plus side, the week is more than half over. good day!

spoony \SPOO-nee\, adjective:1. Foolish; silly; excessively sentimental.2. Foolishly or sentimentally in love.

Happy Candy Day, and Other Unrelated Things...

honestly people... for all of those singles out there adopting the humbug "valentine's day *stinks*" motto of the week, look on the bright side. it's just another day to celebrate because stores are selling more candy than ever. like this giant XXL 3+ lb bag of m&m's. now that's reason to party, as you may be able to tell by the lusty glint in my eyes.


















in other news, i got a wonderful quote from dr tkacik in class today. let me go find it real fast...


so where was i? ahh yes, we were discussing the texas constitution and how the power is so fragmented, the central government so weak, and the chain of command so inefficient that nothing can be accomplished... basically the governor is like a figure head with no real power, unless he works really hard to get something done. and tkacik is like, "when you think of rick perry, what do you think? 'oh, that luscious head of hair... how does he do that?'" and we're invited to go to bull frog's with him on friday to discuss politics and/or ask questions. except, he said we should not show up hopeful that someone would ask a great question about the test from which we might derive helpful hints because he would be too liquored up after 30 minutes to answer it anyway. great. i'll be there. along with my pipe and longbottom leaf (from briana. btw, can you have that to me by friday?).

Happy Birthday Evan!

today we celebrate the birth and subsequent growth and aging of what has now become the lanky red-haired giant, formerly my "little" brother. some of his recent misfortunes will hopefully not continue down the family tree, but will perhaps go down in infamy. he is the first of the yerkes children to break a bone. but even better than that, he broke two, his wrist at the end of last year, and now one of his fingers. tsk tsk tsk... i'm just glad it isn't me. he's also the tallest of the yerkes, and not just the immediate family. i don't know of any other yerkes that are 6'4". he's doing well in the foot department at size 13, but i think that leaves him in 3rd place. :-D but seriously, nooooobody has his hair which, by the way, adds yet another couple of inches to his height. now that i've lauded his physical accomplishments, i shall... end this post and complete a theoretical analysis document. mhmm.

palliate \PAL-ee-ayt\, transitive verb:1. To reduce in violence (said of diseases, etc.); to lessen or abate.2. To cover by excuses and apologies; to extenuate.3. To reduce in severity; to make less intense.

You Rascally Ol' Lion You...

this is me having a kind of weird moment with my buddy einstein 

well, ever and i went to a wind concert. oh, surprise surprise, right? and only because we couldn't find anything better to do in the hopping town of nac. just as we were about to purchase our tickets, who should appear, but missy devine. she cocked an eyebrow and curled her lip. "well, i was just looking for two young men like you." "our services come at a price," i replied as i anxiously perceived myself being inlisted into devine service. "i demand... free tickets to this concert! no less!" so she consented (and took my recital card). after completing our duties of removing several old (and surprisingly heavy) tables and chairs which were marring the lounge ambience, we were each given a free ticket, and the lovingly bestowed token of 25 cents from the hand of our very own dear missy. "y'all go buy yerself somethin' nice," she crooned with sarcasm. "why thank you missy! you're absolutely divine! we can just put our money together and buy a snickers bar!" and that's just what we... didn't get around to doing. oh, and there was a concert. followed by cake and punch.

Fidgets

some people are just so fidgety, myself included. i'm always drumming my fingers, bounching my leg, popping my neck (ugh... i know), whistling (that's kind of a different category), and all manner of things. so i'm sitting in aural theory (which i think i actually whistled a little in there today) when i suddenly got the vague sensation that i was sitting on a running washing machine. now, sitting in vibrating chairs isn't really my thing ya know. unless i'm on a long trip and just letting myself be lulled to sleep by the eternal bumping of the tires. i also usually try not to fall asleep in class. but maybe someone already was asleep. namely, the girl behind me with her feet on my chair. perhaps dreaming of a road trip... then in music history i was looking around at people during a listening session. this is the only class i'm in, and ever have been in where i'm sitting almost in the back. every single other class i sit in the front, and the only reason i don't now is because i have another class going right up till the second before it starts, preventing me from ever being early. since seating is on a first come first serve basis, and there are fewer desks than students, i'm out of luck. but that has nothing to do with fidgeting. there i am in the back of the class room, where i can actually look around and not look like an idiot (gosh) twisting around in my chair. this one girl across the room started scratching the back of her head with the end of her pencil. the itch must have been quite extensive since she scraped at her scalp for a long time. i was facinated by the rat's nest that began to emerge in the swirling hair. so apparently after the itch was relieve it was simply a form of fidgeting. so we finished listening to haydn's symphony #95 and i ran off to go drum my fingers in accompanying. i jumped my bicycle off the steps between austin and rusk. it was fun. pretty sweet jump. i got like, 3 seconds of air. yeah man.

It's All So Clear!

do you remember that first pair of glasses you got? your incredulous awe at the brilliant clarity... looking in the mirror to see if you still look good with rings around your eyes, and then not caring... running outside and counting the leaves at the top of a 50 ft oak tree... (i just wrote pine tree before i realized they don't have leaves. ok, pine needles...) you remember. unless of course you're one of those people with immaculate physiques, which includes clear eyes with 20/20 vision. but you're just missing out on the revelation. not only do i vividly remember my personal experience with a second pair of eyes, but i love to share a little of the excitement with someone else when they get their first pair. as i rode my bike away from the music building this evening, i passed tiago on the sidewalk. he had the hugest grin plastered on his handsome face, and was pointing in mute ecstasy at his sharp new rims. "wonderful! you got new glasses?" "no!" he replied, in his thick portuguese accent, "my first pair! it's amazing!" i laughed, "didn't know what you were missing did you?" he walked off chuckling with delight, and i couldn't help feeling a little warm happiness myself as i rode on, wearing a bit of the smile he greeted me with. i didn't bother to extol the joys of contacts to him. yet...

so valentine's is approaching again (as it seems to do every year about this time). it comes bringing with it various reactions and sentiments, ranging from disinterest or despair, anxiety, or eager anticipation. personally, i fit quite comfortably in the category of disinterested, at least until last year. then i almost got hooked up to "attend" a double date with some people who perhaps fit in with the anxious group. once again in the bachelor household of ever and jordan, discussions of dates and double dates, dinners and movies, flowers and poetry... errr, maybe not that last... have been floating around. i have to admit i look at it considerably different(ly?) now than i did last year. for one thing, i have now been in a relationship which was quite wonderful. i also am not feeling ready to start a new one. however, because of my "experience" (haha) a double date with ever and one of his friends wouldn't be nearly such an uncomfortable or embarrassing experience as it might have been last year, and might actually be fun (especially since i'm rooting for ever and a certain special someone he has in mind, which probably puts him in the combo section of anxious anticipator). so i guess the last question is, where do i now rank? i have a feeling i still hang closer to the disinterested crowd... or do i??? anybody want to go jogging valentine's evening...?

Whatchoolookinat?

any chance this room might belong to musicians you think...? 

Pizza Night

ever and i pose, expressing varying degrees of enjoyment, after our run through the rain to pizza hut. you know you're in a bad way when you can't even smile with pepperoni in your hands. 

What a Guy

the schmo after some exceedingly great and unknow accomplishment. notice that from a distance the pattern on his shirt appears to be the same as the wallpaper... also notice the size of his chompers...