posted 2002/10/31 at 18:27
Tonight's Spectrum halloween party should go a lot better than the last one I was at. It's on campus, so there'll be no booze, and I'll know most of the people there. I'm actually excited about this one. (If you must know, I'm going as Anne Rice. I think this is the first time I've dressed up for Halloween since I was 12!)
posted 2002/10/30 at 22:05
New in .photography: Autumn on Campus at the University of Toledo. I'd wanted to take some photos of UT to show you all for quite some time. The fact that UT's got some of the few lovely-coloured trees after the hellish summer we just got through gave me the impetus to finally shoot over there. Hope you enjoy.
posted at 20:20
So not only am I stuck playing peacemaker for a couple of people I know when I don't really want to do it, but neither of the people involved really wants me to play peacemaker either. I don't know how I get roped into these situations, but I think it has something to do with bad karma. Either that or bad burritos. After a while they both seem so similar it's hard to distinguish between the two.
Oh, and please send me questions for the anniversary feedback column!
posted 2002/10/29 at 23:41
Go buy ten copies of Scarlet's Walk now. You heard me.
posted 2002/10/28 at 22:13
Well, so far there have been seven questions submitted for the anniversary feedback column, not to mention one copy of klez. There are some interesting questions in there, but I'm sure that a lot of the questions that are on your mind haven't been asked yet. So ask 'em already!
By the way, Sunday I went and snapped some photos for the site that should be up by the end of the month. It's a new location for .photography, too. Where? Just guess.
posted 2002/10/27 at 21:09
The party was ... well, I guess I don't really have a frame of reference to judge it by, do I? I had fun, if that matters, although it looks like everyone else was having a lot more fun than I was. Of course, I was the only one there who wasn't drinking, so read into that what you will. (I was driving home anyway, so I wasn't about to go trying something new there.)
Of course, the real fun came Saturday afternoon, as all the phone lines in the house went dead just after I first got online. It took about twenty-four hours for the phone company to come out and fix things, and in the end they had to replace a whole bunch of stuff. The reason? A mouse had come into our terminal and fried everything, including itself. Poor mousie.
posted 2002/10/25 at 16:02
I've actually been invited to a party tonight. Not one of those school-sponsored type deals either, I mean a real party. This is, like, the first time I've ever been invited to something like this. But I'm not sure I want to go. I mean, I'm beginning to realize just how few people skills I have (I may do a full journal entry about that later), and even at school-sponsored parties I seem to be the very model of a wallflower: sitting around looking at everyone else having a fun time while I feel left out and miserable. Maybe that won't happen at this party, but I've been on a real downer as of late and I don't want to go to this party and end up feeling worse than why I left it. What should I do?
In other news, I've decided to accept my invitation to join Golden Key. I'd like to think that this decision is unrelated to the previous paragraph, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it is. I really am hopeless, aren't I?
posted 2002/10/22 at 18:12
Both papers have been typed and printed, but I have the feeling that I'm in for a hell of a lot of rewriting once I get back home tonight. Academic writing has never been my specialty (even if my grades may indicate otherwise), but I've really had a thing for perfectionism in my work, especially this past semester. Thankfully my first class tomorrow was previously canceled, so I'll be able to take an extra hour tonight to tweak to my heart's content. I just hope that'll be enough.
What I'm hoping will happen is that I'll get spared in the homework department this coming weekend, as use it as a "vacation" since I really wasn't able to do much relaxing over this break. To be sure I've had time off, and I've read, played video games and all that, but when you've got two big papers staring you in the eye, it's hard to relax even when you're goofing off. So I hope I'm able to goof off some more come Friday afternoon, all the way to Sunday evening.
posted 2002/10/21 at 19:37
Nothing quite like having to go get a cavity filled to ruin a day off. Well, that and two big papers to do over break (in addition to the Plath paper, I also have to type up a midterm for one of my other classes). The best part is that now the novocaine has worn off, and my mouth is hurting like hell, too much for my extra-strength generic Tylenol to make a dent in.
On the plus side, Golden Key finally came calling for me today. I don't know, there's an old (Groucho) Marxism about never belonging to any club that would accept you as a member; I can't get it out of my head right now. I already spent nine years in private school learning what anti-social behaviours groups like that have the tendency to foster, and I'm not sure if I'm ready to willingly submit to a group like that. On the other hand, it would open up a lot more opportunities for me on campus, including scholarships, and it's hard to turn that down. And who knows, maybe they're not as bad as the stuck-ups I'm used to thinking of when I hear "honours society". I guess I'll just have to stop by their offices once class resumes to see how I feel about them.
I wish UT had a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, though; there are much more interesting members there. (Ha ha.)
posted at 18:01
Today's Doonesbury. 'Nuff said.
posted 2002/10/20 at 22:31
Object lesson from this week: perpetually depressed people should not try to do English papers consisting of a Freudian/biographical approach to Sylvia Plath's "Daddy". Don't mind that blue-gray blob flying past your window, that's just my brain being blown halfway across the galaxy. No wonder I've been going over her poems like Zapruder films this past year.
There was one bit of good news today, though: the Bengals didn't lose. ("They didn't play this week, Sean." "Shut up.")
posted 2002/10/19 at 19:14
Somehow I woke up more sore today than I was yesterday. Granted, I was still lugging my heavy backpack around campus part of the day, but I didn't think that would have so much of an impact on the way I felt today; I'm practically used to slinging that thing over my shoulders every time I go out. When I went grocery shopping earlier today and I didn't bring my backpack with me, it was almost like I felt sort of kind of naked. Sorry, that's probably the worst image I could have given you. Moving on ...
Anyway, I'm still driving the old van because the auto shop had to special order some parts for my Toyota. Not only did that little incident in RCR Lanes puncture a hole in my transmission fluid reservoir, but the reservoir itself bounced so high up that it stopped the car from going into first gear at all. (Hence why it wouldn't accelerate for crap after the bump.) I won't say how much the repair's going to be, only that it's halfway between outrageous and what the fuck. But because the bad spot of driveway is actually on the street in front of the bowling alley, I'm taking a friend's advice and I'm going to petition the Ohio DOT to pay for the repair since it was their fault. Yeah.
I've gotten some more questions for the anniversary column, and I appreciate them, but I still don't have that many. Don't just assume that someone else is going to ask the questions that are on your mind, people. All questions will be posted anonymously, so don't worry about embarrassing yourself or anything like that. Again, send those questions to anniversary@seanshannon.org.
posted 2002/10/18 at 17:36
Casualty total from volleyball last night: one twisted ankle, one jammed finger, one scraped knee, two hours I could have spent studying, and a very painful reminder of why volleyball was never my favourite sport in gym class. I said next time we try something like that, we do indoor soccer or something. The worst part is, I've been fighting some kind of bronchial infection the past couple of weeks that's shorted out my yoga schedule (well, that and a lack of time), yet I did volleyball anyway because ... well ... either because I'm lonely or because I'm a masochist. Probably both.
In other news, I'm dipping my toes in the job market here. Strangely, even though I'm taking more advanced courses this year, my homework load has shrunk, and I think I can finally fit a part-time job into my life without disrupting my studies. Time to be a wage slave!
posted 2002/10/16 at 23:09
Sit down. Just trust me on this, you'll want to sit down. Are you seated?
New in .fiction ... *THUD* Oh come on, you people are even more melodramatic than I am. Get up.
As I was saying, new in .fiction ... "Something Better". I actually wrote this story over the summer, but for various reasons I haven't put it on the .org until now. At any rate, at least I finally put something up there for the first time in ... ahem. Yeah.
And hey, maybe the story can incite some more questions for the anniversary feedback column, right? Come on, I know you've got questions on your mind, ask away!
posted 2002/10/15 at 22:15
Yahoo! Sports: MLB - Tigers add Gibson to coaching staff
Let the turnaround commence.
Oh, by the way, I've only received one question for the anniversary feature so far. I'm warning you, if I don't get enough questions then I'm just going to have Bridgette interview me (or maybe I'll interview Bridgette), and while that will certainly entertain the two of us, the rest of you might not be so lucky. Again, anniversary@seanshannon.org. Send those questions in!
posted 2002/10/13 at 20:55
Next month will mark the second anniversary of the .org, and I really want to do a reader feedback column for the anniversary, get to know what questions you all have about me and the site. The thing is, I asked for questions for reader questions earlier this year, and didn't get a single one. So just to make sure things are different this time ...
All topics are open for discussion. Yes, including that one.
Send your feedback questions to anniversary@seanshannon.org by the end of the month (though a couple of days into November should still be okay), and hopefully this time we'll actually have a reader response column. Yeah.
posted 2002/10/12 at 17:50
After the past couple of weeks, I am taking today off, and none of you can stop me.
posted 2002/10/11 at 15:32
Note to people in or going to Toledo: if you ever go to RCR Lanes, park in the Walgreens' next door. The RCR parking lot has a huge pothole right in front, and I wound up puncturing the transmission fluid reservoir of my car going across it.
And as to why I haven't been posting much lately, let's just say the car is the least of my problems right now. It seems like all I've been doing for the last twenty-four hours is sitting around and waiting, hoping that things aren't as bad as they seem right now. It feels like my skin just wants to jump off of me right now. Please, let things be okay.
posted 2002/10/07 at 16:38
Well, tonight's the farewell party for the Sound of Japan group, and I for one will be very saddened by their departure. It took us quite a while to figure out where our mutual knowledge of Japanese and English came together, but once we did I really had a fun time talking with them. Hopefully I'll still be here in two years' time, when they come back. (And by that I mean that I hope my GPA stays high enough so I can take an extra semester and graduate with Honours.)
And, of course, it's back to the grindstone on Tuesday with two, two, two big tests coming up. Yeesh. I'll have a bit of a break after that, but then comes the Matthew Shepard Vigil this Friday. I hope I fall into a coma after I come home from the vigil and don't wake up until Monday morning. Seriously.
posted 2002/10/06 at 20:30
Welcome, Björksdottir! Please tell me you'll make musical choices based on your mother, not your elder brother.
posted 2002/10/05 at 20:04
You know, earlier today I'd written a post about my returning to my private school for the first time in eight and a half years, and how much it hurt for me to be there. I'd written the post up and even tried to publish it, but then my Internet connection got screwed up and it wouldn't go. In the downtime, though, I thought about the post, and in the end I decided not to publish it. It was a little too raw, and some of the things I said in there, I thought were best to not mention in a public forum. (Nothing that would get me in trouble or anything, just stuff that's more personal than I like to be here.)
So of course I figured I could count on my family to talk to, to sympathize with me. But they all seem to be more concerned with mourning the Yankees being bounced from the playoffs.
Now I remember why I gave up sports. I think I will again.
posted 2002/10/04 at 22:57
So tonight was Sound of Japan's performance at the Toledo Museum of Art, and it was the first time I really had a chance to enjoy their playing. Oh ... wow. Some of the children in the audience didn't look too enthusiastic (and I should know, I wound up running the camcorder at the show), but the performance was just totally amazing. It's just a shame that their shakuhachi players couldn't make it, because that was the only possible way things could have been better. I'm really going to miss them when they're gone.
The good news is that now I'm not scheduled for Sunday, so I'll have one day where I can do homework and try to unwind. The bad news is that tomorrow I have to be up bright and early to help at the Japanese School of Toledo. Oh, and do you know where the Japanese School of Toledo rents out its offices? Right here. Hoo boy.
There's an old Japanese expression about conformity that I think fits my old stomping ground: "The nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down." Well, guess what? This nail hammers back.
posted 2002/10/03 at 22:44
You know, between my Sound of Japan duties and the Spectrum meeting tonight, I believe I have expended enough energy to be declared legally dead.
I have to say, though, as scary as it is to be around the koto players when I don't really know enough Japanese to communicate well with them, this has been a wonderful experience. They are all such wonderful people, and I only wish my schedule allowed me to spend more time with them. They come to Toledo every two years or so, and I'm hoping that I'll still be going to UT the next time they show up.
posted at 13:47
The Official World's Funniest Joke -- and I didn't laugh. Nor did I laugh at any of the other ones mentioned. Then again, my sense of humour tends to the bizarre anyway.
What I find most interesting is the finding that out of all the countries surveyed in this study, Canadians laugh the least. Now, I could go two ways with this: either I could use this for another round of Canadian-bashing (which is always in jest; I really do love Canada, you know), or I could say that Canadians' sense of humour is too refined from years of watching Royal Canadian Air Farce, This Hour Has 22 Minutes and The Red Green Show to fall for such simple drek as was mentioned in the survey.
Although, come to think of it, the fact that Canada produced Rita McNeil and Celine Dion may have Canadians crying in shame too much to laugh at all. Kidding, kidding ... maybe.
posted 2002/10/02 at 21:38
I think I just ate some bad sushi. Seriously. (Before anyone gets on my case, raw fish is sashimi. Sushi is vinegared rice, or "rolls" made of nori (seaweed), vinegared rice and other ingredients.)
posted 2002/10/01 at 17:42
The past couple of days have been relatively peaceful, since I'm not doing anything with the koto group. I had a paper due today, and there's a group project that I've got to finish up before Thursday, but otherwise the homework load's been pretty light. But starting with Wednesday, it's back to being around a whole bunch of native Japanese speakers and trying to understand what they're saying with only a little over a year of Japanese classes under my belt. I guess I feel kind of stupid because even though I do so well in all my classes, I still can't keep up with everyone's conversations.
By the way, I caught the game last night (and yes, I knew my predictions sucked this week), and why the heck didn't the Ravens put Chester in when they had such a huge lead? The kid's got potential, but he won't develop that potential without actual in-game experience, you know. At least I know that much about football.
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