Well... YES

I tried I really did. I waited for ted's post about musiz or about christmas tunes. but it never came or it will come.

but i promised alredo or was it tim or was it toto? i saw them all in the last week. that i would drunk blog. it happned. now. but it will all be good. i challenge all to look back a ytear ago and see drunk blogging to the extremem. its awesome.


well to us, i guees..
i cheered to stadium with the rainbow.
yes.

Stadium 110/The Ocho: A Mistake? A Loveable Bastard Child?

I spent my evening yesterday enjoying homemade pizza, good conversation, and a game of Mad Gabs (!) with a few other Carls in St. Paul. It was an enjoyable evening and I left feeling full and content. One of the most notable occurrences of the evening was when one person commented that all of the "Stadium 110 Boys" love each other so much. That being the case, I did not deny it. However, since I am funemployed and have plenty of time to think, I thought about said assertion for a quite a while. What I will now speak of is what I concluded:

The Ocho was a Loveable Bastard Child, a Cherished Mistake, a serendipitous rooming situation, a fortuitous outcome from a confluence of (at the time) not-so-fortuitous events. Our 2008-2009 school year would not have happened as we know it but for a series of individual events that occurred and that because of which we are better off (does this count as a hanging preposition?).

As you all may recall, we entered room draw as a fragmented set out eight. If I remember correctly, Mark, Ted, and Elliot wanted to live together. John and I wanted to live together. Nonberg, BK, and Toto were planning on living together. We all are vying for Sevy, and planning on combining groups as was sensible at the time. While many enter senior year room draw with a battle-plan and a sure idea of what would happen, we "hadn't the foggiest". We weren't really helped by the draw either, as group after group snatched up Sevy quads and quints, and we were left scrambling.

John and I would not have even been at room draw had John not decided to go off campus winter term. As you may recall, John and I were about "this close" to living above Erbert and Gerbert's. Had that happened, there would have been Six. Maybe Stadium 202 would have occurred (is that the Sextet?). But, where would Alfredo have fit in all of that? We'll never know.

What if one of the Sevy rooms had been open? I believe they are almost exclusively quads. Nonberg had the lowest number, so he would have drawn BK and Toto and... who else? That would have left me, John, and two of Elliot, Ted, and Mark. I have a feeling Mark would have been fucked because, well, he was a freshman and in his words he "didn't really have any say at all" because of that. If Nonberg had opted for Sevy, John and I had taken Erbs and Gerbs, that would have left presumably two of Ted, Elliot, and Mark out in the cold. Elliot and Ted had terrible numbers. Burton double?

When Elliot, John, and I were picking our triple, we picked 203 almost randomly. I remember standing there and being like "Oh, which is bigger? Hmm I don't know. Okay we'll take 203." Surprisingly, we didn't think about proximity to 110 at the time, and to this day, I'm not sure why. Furthermore, we must consider that Stadium 110 dropped incredibly low in the draw. It should not have gone that late. Those triples usually go fairly quickly too. Yet, they didn't. Was it meant to be?

So many things occurred senior year that would simply be unthinkable without the existence of The Ocho. We didn't plan The Ocho. The Ocho was a mistake. Yet it was the best year of our college lives. Funny how that works, right?

I'm Down With Tim's 12 Step Program

So I think yesterday was one of the greatest days of my life.

Just putting that out there.


What made it so great? Well we all woke up, planning to watch Lord of The Rings because its fuckin awesome, but then realized it was way too nice out to be inside staring at a screen for even more than an hour. After Alfredo found various types of currency in my L. Ron Hubbard book (more about this at some other time), we decided that the best thing to do was use our new found fortune to buy some burritos. So Toto, Dave, Ted, Annie and I headed over to the mexican market for some yum yum. We decided that since it was so nice outside, we should eat them on the bleachers.

Did I say bleachers? I meant pirate ship. We hoisted the jolly roger as any good pirate would.

We then pretty much spent the entire day out there.

For further analysis, let's take a step back and review a post made by our dear friend Tim at the beginning of the term. Tim provided 12 Steps to The Best Spring Term ever... Let's go through them and see how many applied yesterday.

1. Good music - We had The Decemberists playing on a iPod player until batteries ran out and after that, we got serenaded by Johnny V (aka Buster/Viggy Stardust/JV)'s soothing banjo playing.

2. Outdoor cooking. We BBQed on Friday so it counts, because this weekend is one big ball of fun.

3. Outdoor sports. The Vortex, 16in Softball, and an IM Softball game. Nuff said.

4. Minimal studying. Let me just say this: Tim and I told ourselves the day before we were going to work on our final paper for our 5 week Diplomacy class... and at the moment I am at the library trying to figure out a thesis.

5. Good weather. BAM!

6. Rotblatt. Doesn't apply, but will be awesome.

7. Spring Concert. Same as above.

8. Baseball Challenge. Same as above.

9. Plenty of Ocho parties. We haven't been having as many people over lately, but we have had what I consider the only two things I ever need for an enjoyable evening: good company and good music.

10. Live blogging. Toto watched me as I drunkenly blogged about those damn murderous egyptians. Does that count?

11. No inhibitions. We ate free Cheese/hoisted a pirate flag/watched Top Gun AND Tropic Thunder and have been giving 100% at everything we've been up to lately.

12. Beer (or other booze). This is a given. Although the decathlon (10 different drinks throughout the course of an evening) failed, we did a powerhour and also drank a lot and drank well.

So by my count, we succeeded at 9 out of 12... Sounds good to me.

Best Mid-Term Break ever? I mean its all relative, but to me, I had the fuckin time of my life...

Life Under The Bleachers

One of the largest structures on Carleton's campus is Laird Stadium. The brick structure is the 11th largest Division 3 football stadium. Moreover, the stadium was originally built as a half of a stadium for later expansion as Carleton made a bid to join the Big Ten.
Aside from the storied history of the building, Laird Stadium boasts one of the most unique features of a college stadium; student apartments. Imagine during college football season being able to walk outside your door and be right down on the field. Also imagine that instead of a lounge, usually populated by people fighting over the remote to the television, you have a weight lifting facility known as "The Cage".
Contrary to life in the dorms, Stadium life offers an escape from the mundane. You don't have people reading in the hallways. You don't have "study breaks" in which the RA comes around and tries to get you out of bed. Essentially, life in stadium offers its residents independence.
Even though stadium is only home to 15 or so residents, it often becomes the social hub on weekends. The larger apartments often throw some of the most fun parties on campus. Thanks to its rather isolated location, the noise in stadium does not reach the ears of those who usually break up events.
I am writing this because all of this will not be available starting in the fall of 2009. As of the end of the final term of this year, stadium is closing it's doors to students. Its a shame because one of the most fun and interesting places to live will not be able to be enjoyed by future generations.