Month: August 2001

How is it that I manage to keep myself so busy? I think I might just disappear this weekend. Maybe go hiking in upstate New York. It’s that time of year in which it’s good to do some self-reflection and to re-establish personal goals (objectives?)… or something like that. Or maybe just get some fresh non-New Jersey air.

Yesterday was Darren‘s twenty-fifth birthday. To celebrate we (a Large Group of People) played Laser Tag, which is fast becoming a birthday staple. We also used the occasion to celebrate Becky Ray’s impending Monday birthday. Unfortunately unlike last time, there were no little kids in the laser tag arena to shoot. The red team (of which I was a member) beat the green team three out of five games, even though Alissa‘s gun didn’t work. She threatened to write them a letter.

Today I saw As You Like It as interpreted in the Wild West by the Princeton Repertory Shakespeare Festival. They performed in the middle of Palmer Square, which was an interesting location. They always seem to come up with strange ways of performing Shakespeare. Last year, they did A Midsummer Night’s Dream set in some strange time or location as well.

Thanks to some tips, I discovered Aaron Copland‘s original 13-instrument version of Appalachian Spring. It’s a great change from the orchestral version. Find a recording and check it out.

Tonight, I saw a house-to-share that I really liked. Unfortunately I have to wait until September 5 to find out if they want me more than they want other applicants, and then I would have to wait until October 1 to move in. The roommates are nice too, and I’m not just saying that to kiss up. (They’re probably reading this. Hi, Laura.) They also had a René Magritte poster on the wall in the living room. That has to be a good sign.

Two more houses-to-share to look at tomorrow. Good prices. Friendly people. I may be making some progress…

If you didn’t notice, I saw Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back last weekend as a sneak preview. It was hilarious, in a crude sort of way.

Darren‘s birthday is on Saturday. His wife, Ali, and her family saw Contact today, and it seems like something I might enjoy. Anyone know about it?

I had a great weekend, but if I tell you about it, I’d have to kill you.

This is the next potential living place I will look at. It’s a little more than I wanted to spend, but something has got to give.

I’m becoming more adept at database-driven websites. Aren’t you excited for me? My latest project is [DELETED]. Not very exciting, but very useful, if you’re into that sort of thing. I also created [DELETED].

My office is in the process of upgrading the computer system. It should be nice when it’s all done, with remote access and everything.

I don’t think I am being too picky. It just seems to me that $700 is too much to spend every month on a fourteen foot by twenty-four foot by seven foot room. Is this the price I must pay if I want to live in north Jersey? What is the price I can pay if I don’t want to live in north Jersey?

I looked at another “potential place of dwelling” this afternoon. It was the basement of an older lady’s house. Although I didn’t meet the owner, I’m sure she’s very nice. I’m going to extend my search over the next few days. Of course, if I had a roommate, this process would be a bit easier. Is there anyone out there who’s looking to move to the Bergenfield area? There’s direct public transportation access to New York City, if that’s your thing.

Here’s something interesting that happened Saturday night. After Finals, all the drum corps are on the field during the awards ceremony. After the trophies are given out, over 1500 fourteen to twenty-two year-olds say goodbye to their friends that they’ve made, some to never see each other again. Suddenly, there is a lot of commotion in front of one of the corps, the Boston Crusaders, who had a good year, but not nearly as good as last year. A lot of the kids are cheering and jumping up and down for some reason.

The camera crew runs over to the scene. Some shaky pictures are flashed up on the JumboTron screen. The announcer then says over the stadium-wide speakers (with names changed here, since I don’t really remember what they were), “Ladies and Gentlemen, we have an announcement. Brian, from the Crusaders, has asked Jen to marry him, and it looks like she said yes!” On the JumboTron, we could see a close-up of Jen’s new engagement ring.

The audience, well the thousands who were sticking around to see the winner’s encore performance, cheered for them. It was an amazing experience… and we can only imagine how many drum corps engagements there will be at Finals next year.

This weekend, Stacey and I traveled up to Buffalo, New York, for drum corps championships. We caught semifinals on Friday and finals on Saturday. We also took some time before the show on Saturday to go to Niagara Falls. We went on the Maid of the Mist boat ride, which was nice but not nearly as wet as I hoped. The traffic on the way back to the United States almost kept us from being back to the show on time. Luckilly, customs didn’t give us much of a problem.

And here are things I learned this weekend:

• Although NY-17 is called the “Quickway” (as opposed to “Thruway” or “Expressway”) it might not really be. Especially if you need a gas station in the middle of nowhere.
• Getting an overtime penalty will make some corps angry. The Madison Scouts performed for too long in their quarterfinals appearance, and made up for it by starting their show before the announcer turned the field over to them.
• Banner plane pilots don’t always follow instructions. Parents of a Crossmen member hired a plane to fly a banner reading “BEST CROSSMEN SHOW EVER – WE LOVE YOU MELISSA” while the corps was warming up outside the stadium. Athough the instructions apparently were to fly far enough away from the stadium so the audience wasn’t distracted while watching the show, the pilot thought it was a Sunday football game. He circled the stadium for a half an hour, annoying the spectators.

Tonight Stacey treated me with good, free seats to see Anton Checkov’s The Seagull (the new version by the Eminent Tom Stoppard). The show was put on by Shakespeare in the Park in New York City. The cast was made up of mostly famous people, including Kevin Kline, John Goodman, Christopher Walken, Natalie Portman and Meryl Streep. Also, the guy who played the failing writer in State and Main played the failing writer in the play.

Tomorrow morning I’ll be on my way to Buffalo for Drum Corps International Championships. Watch for me on live TV Saturday night, on PBS at 8:00. Well I probably won’t be on TV myself, but feel free to tune in anyway. I’ll be back on Sunday…