A visit to Bates

I decided to visit a good friend of mine, Mark, at Bates last night.  I was with two other friends from home, Johnnoe and Stephanie, as well.  We ended up having an excellent time, and at the urging of Mark, may be "pulling the double" by going back up tonight to participate in "Discharge" a "performance art piece" that really just sounds like 4 or 5 DJs alternately spinning tunes, with the idea that everyone there is part of the art that is taking place, creating "positive energy" in "negative space" or something like that - a bunch of fuckin' hippies with these "energy" ideas, if you ask me.  That's what happens when you put a bunch of adolescents into these small liberal arts colleges.

But, besides meeting a bunch of people who know people at Carleton or who actually go to Carleton (wtf?), I learned a few things.  In no particular order:

1. Papa Johns takes way too long to deliver.  Furthermore, Papa Johns does not compare to Basil's gyro. "Garlic sauce". What? Really. Give me my tzatziki any day.

2. Ice is slippery.  I slipped on ice last night when leaving a party.  About a half hour later, I noticed my hand was bleeding in three places.

3. Bloody hands hurt.  This was apparent both this morning when I woke up, but also when I showered and got shampoo and face wash all up in the cuts.  Ouch.

4. Bates Security kinda sucks.  They came to a party and it was sorta like when the cops came to the party in Superbad.  They asked me if I lived at the house.  I said no, and ran.  Everybody was rushing to get out, and I didn't know what to do.  Furthermore, at the time I was in the middle of a conversation with a nice girl from Minnesota who knew people at Carleton, as well.

5.  Where's the ______ (name a competitive drinking game)?  At the party I was at (2 kegs) there was not a single game of Beirut or any other type of competitive drinking going on.  I was appalled.  So we stand there?  That's it?

6.  My friend Johnnoe has really weird dreams.  For example:  "So I dreamt last night that I ordered Indian food, right?  Except, I ended up ordering Indian food from India.  So, when I finally noticed that I did that, I called the place to try to cancel the order.  But, they had already made my food and gotten on a plane to deliver it to me.  So, I met the guy at the airport and he was like 'So it's $1800, please.' And I said, 'Sir, I can't afford that.' And the man replied, 'Well this happens all the time... It happened to me.  To pay for the food you have to take my job and be the international delivery boy.  So, you're now the international delivery boy, and you have to keep delivering internationally until someone else can't pay, and then you're free.' And that was my dream."

7.  My spring break beard is now so bushy that I must use shampoo to clean my face.  It will eventually need to be trimmed with a machete.

8.  Bates' food is much better.  For example, their muffins aren't shitty and soft.  They're crisp and delicious on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside.  They have donuts.  And they also have Stonyfield Farm individual serving yogurts.  Limitless.  Although that is an incredibly unsustainable practice, I think Bon Appetit should put on their man pants and start serving yogurt to us like that.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Now to talk a bit about the OTHER competition that occured in the past couple of days besides nationals...

Of course I'm talking about the "Favorite Stadium 110 Resident Poll."

After a tense two weeks or so, the Results are in...

(drumroll please)

The winner with 26 votes is... BK!
2nd goes to Toto with 23 votes.
3rd - Yours Truly with 14
4th - Ted - 13
5th - Nonberg with 6


There have been some reports of foul play, however nothing has been confirmed and no one has admitted cheating. However, one thing is certain; with the favorite resident now not living in the room anymore... who will now be the favorite resident? Will 2nd place Toto take his assumed position at the top? Or will Alfredo, our soon-to-be-roommate sweep in and win the hearts of tens of people to win the title.

Stay tuned and find out.

Also, keep an eye out for our next poll - coming March 30th, 2009.

More national video!

Here is the piece from Day 3. Hope everyone likes it.

We <3 Ted

Ted is a BAMF.
Taken from Carleton's Athletic Site:


MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Senior Ted Marschall (Burnsville, Minn.) added another All-America honorable mention award to his swimming résumé after winning the consolation finals in the 400-yard individual medley at the 2009 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships. Marschall amassed 23 points in the team competition. Without the help of other teammates or relays, he is 18th out of 41 programs to score at the national meet.




I know i've been glued to my screen looking at the live results. But i'm pissed because the "live video" that is provided my MAC/ CBS isn't working and sooo... I sit at my computer and press "Last Completed Heat" about every 4 min or so...

But how 'bout them Knights? Eh? You gotta love them. And i wish I was there to cheer them/you guys on. Keep up the great work Knights! And way to go Ted!

Nationals Videos

So I have been making these videos for each day of the division III swimming and diving championship meet. Each day I do a general recap and then highlight the swim of the day. Hope you enjoy them.

Day 1:




Day 2:

Holy Shit

So I don't know if you've seen this yet, but I think this is the coolest thing I've ever seen. Reagan is visiting Moscow and standing on Red Square. The man standing behind the little boy is none other than Vladimir Putin, KGB, posing as a tourist. A KGB agent was standing 4 feet away from the President. And he then became the most powerful man in Russia.

Jet Rock Bar and Grill: the buffalo chicken sandwich reinvented

So a few days ago I sat in the airport where I ate at a place called The Jet Rock Bar and Grill. The restaurant is located in terminal B, near gate 2, of the Philadelphia Airport. One would not assume much from this unsuspecting little restaurant. Inside there are about 15 booths and 12 tables (as well as a bar). But after you get your food you will understand why I felt it a must to say something about this place. I started off with the traditional glass-of-water appetizer which contained the most flavorful tap water I had ever tasted. To top it off, the glass had ice and a lemon slice.
After drinking my water, I waited for my waitress and thought that nothing could top that delicious H2O, but then I had the famous buffalo chicken sandwich with a beer (Anchor Brewing Liberty Ale). There is not much to this dish; simply chicken, buffalo sauce, blue cheese, hoagie roll, served with a side of fries and a single pickle. But these four ingredients have been modified from their modern brethren. For one, the hoagie is a cut into two pieces, so you basically have two sandwiches, and it's drenched in buffalo sauce. Secondly the cheese is no mere blue cheese, but bits of blue cheese in a dressing that melts in your mouth and mixes with the buffalo sauce that drenches the chicken when they serve it to you. I can not describe how good the combination of these four ingredients is!
The only disappointing aspect of the evening was the serving of fries. The fries were just not as flavorful as the other dishes.  The second beer made up for that though.
The bottom line is that if you are looking for a great place to eat in Philadelphia, this is it. Whether it is for a date, a long layover, or just a fun, unique evening out in the Airport, you can not beat this little eatery in the heart of the Terminal B. Reservations not required.

"The metaphor to end all metaphors"

"Why did I sign with the Nationals?" Tavarez said told a group of reporters. "When you go to a club at 4 in the morning, and you're just waiting, waiting, a 600-pounder looks like J. Lo. And to me this is Jennifer Lopez right here. It's 4 in the morning. Too much to drink. So, Nationals: Jennifer Lopez to me."

Ouch.

Shamlessly taken from the Washington Post  and Mr. Irrelevant

T: -1 days to nationals

I'm in the my room at the Radisson right now, I just finished warming up a little while ago and now I need to do some shaving, but I thought I'd write a little update first.

We left Northfield around 11:30; I rode with Brooke, Kate, and Kale. We had to stop at Brooke's house so she could get her shampoo and conditioner. We stopped in and chatted with Brooke's dad, Tim, for a bit. Highlight: Kate changing topics to "I have an eraser in my pocket" pretty much midsentence and Tim then telling us how to cheat on tests by writing the answers on our eraser.

After leaving Northfield we had a near death experience when the car in front of us braked really fast. We were saved by Brooke's superior braking skills. Nearly direct quote from Brooke: "good thing I have strong legs."

We stopped in B-ville (represent!) for some lunch at Breugger's. Sandwiches were delicious. Highlight: Maggie does short skit playing three characters using only a folded up napkin.

We got to the hotel and registered. My room connects with Kate and Becky's. The gifts this year are: Camelbak water bottle with candy in it, reversible NCAA championships hat, and a swimming/diving championship pillow and blanket.

The only downside so far is that the girls unanimously decided that my moustache has to go; they even threatened not to sit with me at the meet if it doesn't. I guess I'm going to have to trade in the power-moustache look for the clean-shaven-D-bag-who-thinks-he-looks-cool-with-his-hat-cocked look.



Post Dinner Update:

I'm now hanging out in the Alexander's room, but the Alexander's all left to see their parents, so it's me just Kale, Kaarin, and me.

I saw Karin (yes with one a) before dinner. She did not have many nice things to say about my moustache and said that I needed to shave it before dinner, so now I am moustacheless. It's a bit sad, but less itchy. Karin was doing well.

The Alexanders were searching for Gary Roberson from the Williams team earlier today; it went something like this:
At the pool to me: "Did you see Gary in the locker room?" Me: "I don't know what he looks like." One of the Alexanders: "He's tall and has abs." Me: "I didn't see anyone with abs."
At the hotel, the Williams team is in the lobby, each one of the Alexanders: "Gary?"
Leaving for dinner, Gary Roberson is standing outside his door (Williams is on our floor), the Alexanders: "Gary!"
Gary looks very awkward and doesn't really know what to do. He says hi, awkward moment, Andy introduces himself, awkward moment, we go to dinner.

At dinner Andy tells us about a study where they found that people are more likely to do what you want if you use the word because when justifying why that person should do it. After dinner Andy sees another coach with several plates of cookies and asks him for some because we didn't get any (we actually did). Several coaches spend the next couple minutes finding leftover cookies at other tables and bringing them to us. Success.

Most teams have left and Maggie goes up to the podium so that we can get a picture of her pretending to give a speech. As she's about to leave she decides to start saying something into the mike, as if she actually is giving a speech; it turns out the mike is still on; everyone who's still in the banquet hall looks up at her. We decide to stop making scenes, get someone to take a picture of us, then make our glorious exit, picking up all of the programs and other little goodies we see left behind on the way out. Success.

I'm going to go touch up my shaving job then relax before going to bed now.

The END of an Era

You're probably thinking, "The end of an era? WTF mark... " I THOUGHT THE ERA JUST BEGUN! (I know you think in caps...)

well it's really the dawn of a new era, a new world order, as BK's post below so eloquently described. And that is what I need to talk about:

So as Tim, Sydney and I left for the airport (Sydney so graciously drove us to the airport in alfredo's car because my father is a fascist when it comes to my grandma's old honda accord), we said our farewells to Toto and BK in Sayles. And BK goes, "This really is the breaking of the fellowship..." As I continued to go about my transitional travels from Sayles to the Alfie's Car to the Airport to Chicago, I couldn't help but think of this analogy. I (independently) realized that the 9 members of The Ocho could potentially fit the mold of Lord of the Rings members perfectly... I also (independently) considered Johnny V as Gandalf and I had some other great non-fellowship/ocho members as well. (Examples: Will Kruesi as Bilbo and Little Orphan Annie as Arwen, and I even had someone for Gollum)

So i've got this great, creative idea now that I think is awesome. "I'll just blog about the analogy when I get home! What a great entry it'll be!" But I get home and what do I find? No internet at my dad's house. Poop. "I'll go out and run some errands and see some friends and it'll be up when I get back."

It wasn't back.

So I wake up this morning. And what do I find? BK STOLE MY BLOG POST IDEA. The emotions flood over me -anguish, pain... the need for revenge...

But then something happened. I took a deep breath, walked to my window, waved to the tree trimmer that was in the tree DIRECTLY outside my window at 8 am this morning who I had flicked off after he woke me up. I soaked up a few of the pleasures in life - the 60ish degree breeze coming through screen windows as Belle & Sebas play in the background, the feeling I got after watching the "Cartman Goodbye" clip that BK provided, the fact that Tim had seen F.M.C. in the airport, the prospect of Inos for dinner tonight, and of course, that "moustache feeling" that everything will be okay.

The thought came into my mind last night as I headed home from my evening activities that I wasn't going to go home to stadium, and it made me a little sad. But there is adventure, glory, and a little bit of R&R for The Ocho in the next coming weeks. So enjoy your spring breaks and get ready.