I'm going to be so hot in Japan...

So I was walking out of Hillsdale's NASCAR-themed diner after brunch on Sunday with a few compadres, when a trio of well-dressed Japanese people who looked so far out of their element that they might as well have come from another planet walked up to me with a TV camera and a microphone and politely asked if I knew anything about Michael Sessions, our new 18-year-old mayor. They explained that they were the New York-based American correspondents for some Japanese TV station or another, gathering "people on the streets" segments for their coverage of Sessions' election. I warned them of my lack of informedness, but since they're the media they seemed to welcome this, so they stuck a camera and a microphone in my face and I told them that I knew very little about the whole ordeal and was somewhat skeptical of the ability of someone to fulfil civil service who has only just become eligible to vote, but that I admire his ambition, they asked a few more random opinion questions, and we parted ways. I sort of expected to run into Rod Serling on the way back to the car, but he didn't show up, so I'm compelled to beleive that the surreal episode really happened. There were even witnesses. Weird.

Not to degrade the folks, they had to drive their news van out from NY to some obscure hick town in Michigan and they have my pity, but why does anyone in Japan care about Michael Sessions? I barely care, and I've lived in this town for the last three school years (no, I'm not registered to vote here). In other election news, although you've probably both heard by now, everyone's favorite thug named Kwame somehow managed to get re-elected to the Mayorship of Detroit this month, despite rampant and well-known corruption throughout his administration. The only effect this has had on me personally thus far is that I've ceased to feel sorry for Detroit the way I used to. At this point, they've got what they deserved. Get elected once, shame on Kwame. Get elected twice? Shame on Detroit. Shame.

Today I had to bring the trusty carhart out of retirement, and I expect that it will probably stay in use until March. It really has been beautiful, though. Even as I write there's a light dusting of snow blowing around in the heavy winds, and if I step outside, my face will be frozen within a few seconds. Ah, winter.

Finally, I've stolen some pictures from the inimitable Jonathan Walker's blog (http://corkfork.blogspot.com/), which he took at a recent Searching For Shoes gig, again featuring yours truly on bass. Enjoy!

Noah on guitar

Tory on vocals and keys, and me on bass

Josh on drums

Cameron stepped in to work his magic on the keys for one song, and a splendid time was had by all. That's all for now I hope you're both having a great week thus far. Thanksgiving is only a week away...

November, Part II

I did it again this morning. After showering and brushing my teeth, I put shaving cream into my hand, put it on my face, rinsed the excess shaving cream off my hand, and shaved (No, I promise I won't give you my whole day with this much detail). Why is it that I never manage to put the right amount of shaving cream in my hand? I always, always put too much shaving cream on my hand, and then always end up rinsing it down the drain. I've been shaving how long? Since I was fourteen? I don't even know. Ye gads, how much shaving cream have I wasted in that time? How much money have I wasted on shaving cream that I never ended up using? Aaaaaaaaah! I'm a failure! Ok, sorry. That was the random thought of the day, I apologize. The rest of the day was pretty normal (actually, come to think of it, so was shaving), not much to report. It's been quite windy today, and for the first time in years I had short hair and wanted to wear a hat. This is not to say that I haven't worn hats in years, mind you, I often wear hats. Ok, why am I even talking about this? Moving along.

Reens finally got her Lucy pics developed and sent them to me this morning, I have to admit that I got a bit choked up. I haven't seen every baby in the world ever, but she definitely has to be the most gorgeous of the bunch. Alright, this is ridiculous. I'm giving up sleep to post on my stupid blog. I'm going on my evening walk, and then to bed. Good night.

November

A cloudy autumn day today, although not especially cold. The past weekend's wind and rain have taken the majority of the leaves off of the trees, but they haven't lost their color yet, and now colorfully blanket the ground, offering a nice contrast to the sky above, and the moist air carries the familiar and somehow comforting scent of dying leaves.
Life's busy as it always is, but I'm trying to look at it as an adventure more than just drudgery, the way I see it the difference is mostly in the way you approach it. It certainly doesn't always work, and sometimes I catch myself wishing I was at home. Somehow after three years here it still doesn't feel much like home. Campus life can still seem like a strange environment at times, with the irregular schedule, and the fact that everyone I relate to is within three years of my own age and doing almost exactly the same thing with their life at the moment. Oh well. Like I said, it's not bad. It just feels odd when I stop and think about it.
Last night I spent about an hour playing bass with some friends on a few tunes, which was fun. I looked up while playing to see at my own reflection in a pane of glass, and couldn't help but remark "Man, that guy looks old." Not especially old in a practical sense, I'm barely in my early twenties for crying out loud, just older than the seventeen-year-old with long hair and baggy jeans who used to play that bass. Even now, the image in my mind of me in a flannel shirt and jeans, with a beard and the increasingly apparent early symptoms of male-pattern baldness is sadly comical. I'm not saying that I'm especially more mature than I used to be (I suppose that the contrary is even possible), but then I guess I'm not really sure what I'm saying at all. It was just odd, that's all. Either way, don't put on any airs when you're down on Rue Morgue Avenue, I hope you're enjoying the autumn weather, and that life isn't too busy to stop and sit down every now and again, but I guess that if it wasn't you wouldn't have time to read this, would you? Come to think of it, I shouldn't have the time to sit down and write this nonsense. In spite of that, I'm sure that the slacker hidden not-so-deeply under my skin will come out again to put up tommorow's ramblings, so check back if you think to.

Donna eis requiem

A bit of a crazy week thus far, although that doesn't leave me too much of my own life that's actually worth relating. "Today, I did homework and took tests, and tommorow I'm writing a paper." Fantastic. The good news of the day (and good news it is) is that my first neice was born today, a healthy little kiddo with blue eyes (duh), weighing in at a little over eight pounds. She was born at about noon, and I got the news a little after two, which for my family may in fact be the fastest communication on record. Anyways, that's far and away the coolest thing to happen all week. The only problem is that the kid was born just a few days after the end of my four-day weekend at home, and there's almost no chance whatsoever of my being able to come home this comming weekend, which leaves the time at which I'll be able to meet the new bundle of joy a complete mystery. Oh well, I'll figure something out. The rest of the week is looking about par for the course, research to be doing for papers to be writing, piano lesson to practice for, my life to sort out, etc... The break was a lot of fun, I didn't really do much except hang out with sibs and friends and girlfriend and go to a few parties. Considering that I don't usually celebrate holloween, this one was actually pretty fun, and I getting to see my friends in goofy costumes was nothing but a good time. Anyways, that's all for now. I'm sorry about the relative brevity of today's post, I'll try to give more updates as events occur.