Buon Anno!

It has been a while since I last visited the land of Chronopsis and there is much to be updated. Unfortunately, I don't have a great deal of time to share all of my wonderful stories so you must settle for, in my opinion, the most random and exciting event.

For New Years this year, I flew to New York City with my friends Chris, Kaitlin, and Ollie. Our arrangements were pretty spontaneous with no real plans, all we had were plane tickets and a place to stay. Those things are essential when planning random journeys across the country. We left on Tuesday, December 26th and returned to Minnesota January 2nd, just in time for class back at St. Olaf. In those 6 days, fun and frivolity were attained.

For me, my trip was complete when I was able to see Wicked with star Idina Menzel before she left for other projects. To make it to this show, I had to stand in lines for a total of about 14 hours over four days, but it was definately worth it. There had been rumors that she was getting sick and I was afraid that I would see her understudy, similar to my last experience, but fortunately she did not disappoint her fans and performed as scheduled. Even sick, she brought down the house. You could definately sense the energy this show has given her. Every song hit full force with Idina's famous rock-style voice. I left very satisfied.

After the show, I stood in another line for 2 hours waiting to get her autograph. Because of her health and time constraints, the crowd was not allowed personal photographs or to touch her, otherwise she would be rushed away. This also meant that she was only going to sign a limited amount of memorobilia. In the beginning, she passed over me twice and I was getting discouraged, but just as she was getting into the car, I yelled her name and she signed my program. That brought my Wicked epxerience to a close.

Other highlights of the trip were visits to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The MoMA was definately worth the 12 dollar admission as I was able to take many pictures. However, my camera died on the 4th floor so I missed getting shots of famous works like "Starry Night." My party also went to the United Nations, saw the Statue of Liberty, and other tourist type things.

New Years Eve was also a lot of fun as I spent it 4 blocks away from Time's Square. After a lot of shoving, lying to the cops, and some barricade jumping, Ollie and I made it a fair distance into the square and could even see the ball. When 12 struck fireworks went off both in front and in back of us.

Leaving was hard since my two week break never really felt like a break at all because I was rushing to see my friends before going to NYC and then rushing in NYC to see everything. Although hectic, everything was worth it and I would drop another 500 bucks to do it all over again.

Now, back on the hill, interim has started up and I am taking "The Beat Generation." One would think experimentation and drug usage are right up my alley (which is correct) so I am really enjoying this class. Our class just finished "On the Road" and now I have to write a response paper. Next is "The Dharma Bums" and we also get to read "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" and "Breakfast of Champions," two exquisite books.

Over January, I also have to beat my newest RPG, "Star Ocean: Till the End of Time." With all the secrets and multiple endings, this should provide lots of entertainment.

This concludes my experiences over break and now I must resume reading and writing. I hope this post meets the expectations of those who have been pushing me to post.
"Chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga..." (Claire Wellington, The Stepford Wives)

Nelli Notti del Fine Settimana

Well tonight was a surprisingly productive evening, more than usual that is to say. I finished a paper, reading for two classes, and having nothing worry about this week except for two tests on Friday, which are too far into the future to give any thought to at this moment. Speaking of Friday's, I get to go to Chicago for MEA and I am really excited. I look at Chi-Town as a cleaner version of New York, although I love both.

This weekend also helped me bridge some content problems with my screenplay. I managed to find something that would be so devestating to a marriage that all the depressing moments in the movie will make sense and not be over dramatic. This means lots of revisions. On the side table now sits my updated, modern version of Wuthering Heights. Want a challenge? That is a challenge.

I am keeping this post short tonight. I am feeling really tired and rather uninspired for to type anything too interesting. Instead, feast on this and I advise that everyone does this:
"Firefox, rediscovering the web." (Mozilla)

Il Film della Notte

Well tonight was very unproductive, as has been the rest of the week. Somewhat of reliever was the return of an Abnormal Psychology test. The teacher had leaked a few hints that as a class, we did quite poorly. Luckily, I still pulled off an A, don't ask me how, the test was a killer. The next obstacle of the week was another test in my Psychology of Personality class. There are only two, so they hold a lot of weight and I was feeling a little under-prepared for it. Again, lucky for me, it wasn't too bad and I am expecting hight results.

Other minor stressors that I had to deal with this week was the resolve of Quiz Bowl issues. Yes, as pathetic as it sounds, there is quite a bit of politics with the St. Olaf quiz bowl team and unfortunately it got out of hand. We came together as a group and resolved, for the most part, all of the complaints and problems. Everything seems to be going quite smoothly. The one, unresolved problem, was that of a relationship between myself and of another player. Without mentioning any specific names (if they ever come to read this, they will know its about them), but can I just say that it doesn't take my extreme dislike of you for you not to make the top team. This person sucks at quiz bowl, is at best an average player, and most importantly, upsets other players with his annoyance that key people do not want to play with him. I am sorry, but when you cause this many problems, you are not going to be a great player.... ever. Okay, I think I am done with that rant, but with one final comment, he is a fucking, whining, bastard and I get sick just being in the room with him. All better.

This evening, the most unproductive of them all, began with a routine visit to the Phonathon Calling Room. When I finished my shift at 9:00 PM, I promptly returned to Larson to be swarmed by three people, Emily, Joe, and Susan. They informed me that they were going to see the British comedy, Shaun of the Dead. I love that movie and I had already seen it once and with no major work needing to be finished, I was easily shoved into the Volkswagen driven by Lauren. Even the second time through, the movie still gets me. Its ups and downs and awesome comedy continues to make me laugh. I highly recommend it to everyone to see, well at least those without a weak stomach.

Seeing this movie brings up another point. I was coarced into starting up my movie reviews again so, when I get around to it, I will be adding reviews hopefully every other day onto my website. As of now, there are two present with many more on my computer which I will add this weekend. The site is G-Films.

Anyways, its late, and I still have a small lab report to finish. I leave you again with this quote from a great movie:
"Vacant, with a hint of sadness. Like a drunk who's lost a bet." (Dianne, Shaun of the Dead)

Il Fine Settimana (Un paragrafo o due)

After a full day of sobering up on Saturday, I was finally able to get some work done today. I woke pretty late this morning, 12:30 or something around then. It felt good but probably hindered some of my early productivity. One of the best things that happened today was the cancellation of me having to work today. So instead I went to an awesome Cello recital performed by St. Olaf's one and only David Carter. Afterwards, well there was some more procrastination but I had fun with my friends from Chicago. When I got back, I hit the books and got all my work done up till Wednesday.

This weekend really served as a time for some reflection. Some things happened that added a twist here and there with some other random epiphanies. I realized that eyes are something very important to me and the way I connect with other people. There is a lot of truth in someone's eyes and they can't lie with them... well not your average person. Sometimes the simplest opinions can be obtained just by looking at someone's reaction and expression, specifically in the eyes. I dunno, it sounds cliche but I guess its just one of those elements that I will fall back on to for an unspoken opinion. It adds another dimension to the personality.

Durning the recital I decided that my next screenplay is going to tackle Charlotte Bronte's Wuthering Heights, except update it and make it modern. This is going to be huge project and really difficult but I think if I pull it off, it will make one kick ass movie.

Thought for the evening:
"The sexiest part of the body is the eyes. Corny, but its what I believe. They're what connect us as human beings." (Clive Owen)

La Creazione di Chronopsis

Thus begins one of many of my endeavors. For all those who know me best, I have this seeming trend of starting things, tons of productivity in the beginning, but then it ends in laziness. Hopefully, an automatically formatted blog will last longer.

Where does the title Chronopsis come from? Its the title of my current screenplay. Yeah, it's one of those other hobbies that I have started up, but this one has lasted for over two years, so I think it has moved beyond the realms of possible dissertion. Look for it in theatres sometime.

Last night was wild. Drinking is one of those things that, at least at my college, is looked down upon. What's weird about that is everyone here does it, just behind closed doors... well not always. Shot after shot of vodka and some one o'clock frisbee playing is only a sample of what happened last night. The payment, well I felt like shit this morning but nothing really comes for free, there's always a price and I definately didn't mind paying it.

Plans for the rest of the weekend are hopefully to get some work done, but I really don't know how much of that will happen either. Tonight I was still recuperating and no books were ever opened but a cup of mocha was downed about four hours ago and I had some good talk with good friends.

Its now time for bed, and I leave you with this thought:
"It is the things in common that make relationships enjoyable, but it is the little differences that make them interesting." (Todd Ruthman)