The Great Blog of Indifference

I'm in Representative Alice Wolf's newsletter. Woop.

"Joseph Gravellese, a graduate of Revere High School and currently a senior at Boston College, also spent the summer with us at the State House. Joseph is passionate about government and politics, having previously interned with U.S. Representative Michael Capuano and worked on various campaigns at the federal, state and local level. He is particularly interested in public transportation and services for those living in the inner city, as well as support for the homeless. During his time at the State House, he researched public transportation funding and projects in Massachusetts. He also sought solutions to bring in more funds for the Franklin Park and Stone Zoos, by researching what other cities and states do to fund their zoos. Additionally, he played a role in planning Representative Wolf’s ice cream social events around Cambridge, giving the representative a chance to meet and talk with elderly and low-income residents. Joe, an avid supporter of Boston College hockey and the Boston Bruins, will be graduating in May with a degree in political science and communications. He hopes to be back working in the State House next year, although “preferably receiving a paycheck next time.”"

In no particular order, things I've found interesting on my cruise through the interwebs today:

-This is just too funny to be true. I really don't think I could have come up with something like it in my wildest dreams. Kenneth Gladney, a conservative activist and a hardcore member of the teabag movement, was injured in a ruckus at a health care town hall in Missouri. [Gee, I wonder why there are ruckuses at health care town halls? Could it be the direct instructions for teabaggers that say things like 'don't try for intelligent debate, try to shout them down,' and 'shout early and often'?]

Gladney has become somewhat of a cause celebre on the right, a victim of the Evil Left-Wing Thugs who are out to get the good, honest, god-fearing conservatives. The problem? Gladney was recently laid off and, because we have a lovely employer-based health insurance system, he has no health insurance. He is soliciting donations to pay for the health care required to treat his "knee, back, head, shoulder and face" injuries.

Conservatives around this great land are sending him money to pay his hospital bill, while simultaneously not realizing the irony. God bless America.

-Paul Krugman's new column has gotten a lot of play on the 'net today, so I don't need to comment on it extensively; this is also true because anyone who's taken a basic high-school level economics class understands that cutting government spending during a recession would be even dumber than raising taxes (also dumb).

-Bruins first round draft pick Jordan Caron has fractured his collarbone in training for Team Canada. Does this really surprise anyone? The Bruins have been made of glass the last few years, between Bergeron's devastating injury in '07-'08, to guys falling by the wayside late in 2008, to the walking wounded that somehow managed to go to seven games against Carolina in May. It looks like the Bruins have Newcastle United disease.

-As UniversalHub blogged about earlier, the new Maverick Station opened today- which was long overdue. That's always the most crowded and dilapidated station on the perpetually crowded and dilapidated blue line. I'm going to Eastie for a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I will comment on what I see.

-If you wanna blow your mind a little bit, go read the wikipedia article entitled "reality." Just do it.

-Also: LOL


[crosspost from my Universal Hub page]

[crosspost from my Universal Hub page]
Nobody will ever accuse me of not taking sports seriously enough. In fact, the property damage my friends and I may or may not have done after Boston College lost the 2007 NCAA hockey national championship game is the stuff of legend, and I vividly remember crying myself to sleep as a 15-year-old when the Red Sox were knocked out of the ALCS in 2003.

With that said, I really can't help but shake my head at my friends and neighbors demonstrating Red Sox angst today on the heels of the Sox' 4-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees. I really, truly, honestly can't see how anyone over the age of 15 can't have a healthy attitude about the Red Sox under all circumstances since 2004.

My favorite Red Sox blog, the Joy of Sox, has a post today that sums up my attitude. Prior to 2004, all we wanted was to see just one god damn World Series. I was just a teenager, and I assumed that I'd never see them win it all. When the Red Sox lose a tough one now, I might throw my pillow against the wall, but generally, I don't lose any sleep over it and am already moving on to the next one.

"[That mindset] is because of 2004. Prior to that, who knew when the Red Sox would win a World Series? Would it be another five years, 10, 40? When the team was a contender, every game was a crucial battle, because this loss right here could end up being the one game that kept us out of the playoffs. And so there was plenty of anxiety, frustration, rage, despair. It's exhausting to keep that up for six months. Waking up still fuming at the previous night's loss is not healthy. I know some fans still think that way, and if I asked them "Why?", they'd give the same answer I do when asked why I am less intense: I just am.

Now not only do I intuitively know that the previous night's loss is history, its result unchangeable, and tomorrow's game is far away, so all we can hope for -- and the only thing the team can do today -- is win today, but I can actually have it work in my brain.

..

It is the same attitude I was forced to take when things looked dark in 2004 and 2007 (and 2005 and 2008, for that matter). Take a deep breath and boil it down. No team can win three or four games (or make up 6.5 games in the standings) at once. It is a waste of time and energy to fret about winning on Tuesday when you play on Monday. So win Monday's game."

I don't like it when non-sports fans condescendingly rip on fans for getting upset when their team loses (it's only a game!), so maybe I'm way off base here. But really, Red Sox fans, how many of you would have sold your soul to see them win it just once? Let alone twice?

This weekend's series - and, particularly, last night's game - was like jumping into a time machine and landing in 2003. The parallels were hilarious (I was actually bursting out in laughter on my couch when the Yankees hit back-to-back homers to take the lead in the 8th; you can't make shit like that up).

But there's one big difference between now and 2003. Rather, two big differences - World Series championship flags hanging over Fenway.

So relax and enjoy the ride. Baseball is a funny game anyway, and a team that looks dead can be the hottest team in baseball by the time you come home from a long weekend.

The Red Sox play again tonight at 7 p.m. That's the great thing about baseball. I'm more of a hockey fan than a baseball fan, but that's one thing baseball has that other sports don't - a game every day. So like I said before - relax, folks, and enjoy the ride. We're lucky to be in this generation of Boston baseball fans. Never forget that.

You're right, Nancy. Revere does deserve better. That's why so many "amateurs" are running for public office.

On a side note - I don't think I can even write like this any more. I reached my writing prime at age 17 and have been on the decline ever since. I used to write every day. Now the only writing I do is for class. I suck...

--------FLASHBACK-----------------

"As a certain mediocre, zero-credibility newspaper recently decided to shower more unnecessary praise upon one of the most egotistical people I have ever met in my entire life, I feel it is necessary to re-post this classic rant from my LJ on January 24, 2006. It remains one of my most popular posts to date.

(By the way, note the horribly offensive descriptions of Revere on there. 'She does such a great job teaching in an impoverished area!' WOW! I was not aware that I grew up in Sub-Saharan Africa; thanks USA TODAY! Also, Nancy braves 'gang-ridden streets' each day... gimme a friggin' break.)


------FLASHBACK: 1/24/06--------
It seems like a certain English teacher at Revere High School views him or herself in a rather high esteem. I, for one, am sick of it.

Oh, sure, it gives her a great power trip to try to act like she's the queen of everything. Like yelling at Ada because she was late showing up to our insignificant homeroom-type period during finals because she was FINISHNG A FINAL. That was nice. And then, just to prove how Strong and Bold she is in her unfair reprimanding of the 2006 Valedictorian and all around wonderful person who would never do anything wrong ever, she has to come up with a new Rules & Procedures sheet that specifically says "You may not enter my class late under any circumstances because you have a pass from another teacher." Granted, it's a legitimate policy to have, but the whole entire thing was just a power trip from her and a way to further make herself feel good about her putting someone down. Okay, Nancy, we know, you're a Strong Woman who won't be Bossed Around by our Patriarchal Society. Give it up.

Speaking of which, that act is old, too. Any time there's any sort of reference to anything at all that either does or does not have a penis, the whole entire lesson, if there ever actually is a lesson, is centered around the subject of gender. This elicits three responses from clear-thinking people: 1) There are more important lessons to discern from, for example, Hemingway's work, than how he wrote about women; 2) No, a piece of literature, for example "Things Fall Apart," is not automatically trash because it's "mysoginistic" (I don't care how you spell it)- NEWS FLASH, in African tribes, dudes have seven wives and the women are subverted and don't have any rights. That's the way it is over there, Achebe isn't making up some sexist fantasy world. It's called portraying the truth. "Things Fall Apart" is a masterpiece of our time illuminating an issue that is overlooked in our culture, but because the guys have seven wives, it's trash. 3) No, it's NOT okay for someone to kill her husband because he killed her pet bird, or Subverted Her in Some Way.

Of course, I lament the overcooking of the feminist theme during lessons, altohugh I should probably appreciate it because at least it's an actual lesson, the concept of which seems to be lost on Barille. Our AP class goes as follows each day: occasionally write down word-for-word previously written notes regarding her opinion on certain novels that we read without questioning them at all; these notes always follow this structure: 
1. The novel has some sort of historical context. 
2. The novel is considered great because of its theme of overcoming societal circumstances. 
3. The novel was considered risque and thus was hated by certain critics because of its a) language b) sexuality c) controversial political views d) nonconformist structure. 
4. But everyone wound up liking it anyways. 
5. This is why you, too, must like it. 
6. And it must be for these reasons. 
7. Ha ha ha, you are incapable of independent thought. 
And on it goes, minute after mind-deadening minute, until finally we change it up and go to.... answering mundane multiple choice questions on said novel and listening to her read off her opinion on what the answer is and not listening to any sort of discourse about it. Granted, the multiple choice is good practice for the AP test and we have to do it but 1) we don't have to do it every single god damn class period 2) we should have intelligent discussion about the novel and our interpretation of its context.
This problem is even worse with poetry, a subject notorious for its vagueness of theme/plot/interpretation/whatever. But no, you can't get a word in edgewise, especially if you're a man, because then you're only degrading her opinion because she's a woman.

And then of course there are the delightful Merzudin updates, which are nice, becuase I have incredible respect for Merzudin and his amazing ability and great story of survival from a difficult situation & going on to make something of himself. But for a woman who screams and yells at someone for being 3 minutes late because they were finishing a final exam because it Takes Time Away from Her Class, it seems a bit hypocritical that she would spend upwards of 20 minutes at a time discussing the various episodes in the life of everyone's favorite Bosnian track star, such as today when she went on and on trying to figure out what the extent was of his scholarship to Wheaton. Nice, I agree, but can we get back to To Kill A Mockingbird?
Answer: Yes, sort of, but it's going to be stupid multiple choice questions again.
Maybe we should just listen to her talk about Merzudin.

Aside from talking about Merzudin and not teaching, her main hobby is snapping at people for no reason other than to go on a power trip. For example, review this scenario:
SCENARIO: Student prints out a paper single-spaced, presuming that a 1-2 page paper would be really short if it were double spaced and thus should probably be single spaced. Innocent mistake.
IDEAL RESPONSE: OK, it's not going to kill me to read this single spaced.
REASONABLE ALTERNATIVE: OK, I don't like things single-spaced, but it was an honest mistake, bring future papers in double-spaced.
REASONABLE ALTERNATIVE #2: I'm sorry, but I need room to put in my editing comments in red pen and I can't do that without the white space from double spacing, so I can't take this until it is double spaced.
BARILLE'S RESPONSE: GRR I DON'T TAKE THINGS THAT ARE SINGLE SPACED, THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE, GRR I HATE MEN, GRR

I'm not even going to go into how I write essays that are horrible and they get good grades, and good things get poor grades, because I finally just give in and write the only thing she wants to read: Her own opinion, regurgitated; along with the opinion of literary experts, regurgitated. I learned quickly that, for some unknown reason, the student's opinion didn't belong in an AP class. Bizzare. Like, if you don't write about how Edna is justified for being an adulterous slut because she was Oppressed, you're wrong - no questions asked.

We have seen a situation where a teacher's ego really does outpace just about everything else, including, but not limited to: teaching ability, and amount of time actually spent teaching. I'm not saying she's a bad teacher, because she writes good notes and assigns interesting assignments. What I am saying is that an AP class is not suited to be run in an intellectually strangling, Nazi kind of way, and that it's unnecessary to go on a power trip about everything. Also, she needs to realize that she can be wrong some times, or, at least, if she's not wrong, it's possible that at one point, someone other than her can actually be right. Until she realizes that (I'm not banking on it), it's going to be a miserable rest of the year for me. "

I find that I read through my old LiveJournal entries when I'm battling insomnia. This tends to happen to me every other week or so; thus, I am quickly running out of entires. So it's time to add some more substantial entries, so that I can read them in future months/years when I'm putting things off.

In about six and a half hours I will be leaving for a weekend trip to Maine with Jesse's family. I haven't had a relaxation-oriented vacation in a long while, so I'm looking forward to it.

I've been lazy and listless and mostly enjoying it (surprisingly enough) since school ended, but things will pick up once I get back from my vacation. I'll be working a few nights a week as a bar back at the cigar bar in the North End, which ought to be interesting, seeing as I get viciously allergic around smoke. But this place is apparently a haven for the wealthy and influential, who (in theory) give generous tips, so it could be worth it.

I will also be serving as a legislative intern at the Mass. State House. While I still firmly believe that most of what goes on at the State House is a waste of taxpayers' money, I can rest assured that I am actually giving the taxpayers good value, as the state won't be paying me a dime. Thus, I'll be getting paid approximately what most Beacon Hill employees are worth. The difference is, I hope to do some actual honest-to-goodness work while I'm there, so hopefully I can be of positive value to the state in some way.

Thanks to the kind folks at the Clough Center at Boston College, my unpaid internship has landed me a $2,500 grant from the school, so I'll be able to bank a decent amount of money despite doing "unpaid" "civil service" work. Thus, even if this position doesn't lead to positive networking (although how could it not?), I'm at least putting away some money.

I've also opened up a credit card, since I'm going with the "I'm gonna be a senior, so I might as well enjoy myself" philosophy this coming year. I plan on making a few very substantial road trips - Notre Dame, Minnesota (twice), Detroit for the men's Frozen Four, and anyplace else I goddamn please. Reality is going to hit me soon, so I should enjoy being mindless while I can.

**

Walking past the gorgeous, multi-million dollar houses on Beacon Hill, Jesse always confidently says things like "Maybe I'll live here some day when I'm rich." She believes that if she thinks good things are going to happen to her, they will happen to her (self-fulfilling prophecy) - so she chooses to "assume" that she is going to be successful. I hear this, and all at the same time I am envious and scornful, amused and confused, delighted and a little angered. In some ways I wish I could think the way she does, but in other ways I would never want to think like that. I'd like to think that I'm mature enough to know that we're just different, and have different mindsets. My way is fine and her way is fine, and neither of our ways would work well for the other; the key to figuring out how to compromise with people on anything is to learn this fact and treat it as gospel.

I'm a bit of a chronic worrier, but it pushes me to work harder. Bad circumstances have struck me a few times in my life and I wasn't really prepared, so I'd like to think that I'm more aware now, more ready to tackle adversity.

I also have this raging lower-middle-class sensibility which makes me always assume that I'll be of modest means, so that no matter what happens, I'll remain of modest taste and behavior.

I suffered from about a two-year-long bout with the affliction of thinking I was better than everyone else, then another two-year-long battle with the thought that I was stupid and worthless compared to people I respected and admired. The knowledge that both of these characterizations are completely untrue has been the most important thing I've learned during my time in college.

In many ways I feel like I'm still carving out my real identity, my real sensibilities, and my real tastes. As corny as it sounds, I'm trying hard to be true to what I like and what I want. Once I can do that, I can leave behind some of my childish quirks. And that, my friends, will be a good day.

For a while, I was starting to worry. (I cleverly masked my worries as excitement.)

I've felt a strange detachment from the Bruins since I started to believe they could actually win the cup.

All my life, the B's are where I've turned to let out my frustration and anger and disillusionment. The club I latched on to partly because they were so unfashionable was suddenly the toast of th town.

So even though that OT goal by Scott "assface" Walker was a kick in the nuts, the Bruins were really just doing their jobs.

Thanks, boys.

Bruins fans, ever the outcasts. We can't have nice things.

I am now actively pursuing a summer hobby that is unrelated to team sports. I plan on doing lots of reading about history and music and psychology, plus learning how to play tennis and watching some tennis with Jesse.

I would also like to travel a little bit, but I have negative money. Oh well.

Mission accomplished.

For all my teeth-gnashing and paranoia and frustration, I'm pretty sure I pulled somewhere around a 3.5 this semester. (Of course, once I get my grades, I could get smacked down to earth, but whatever - I feel pretty good right now.)

This was, without question, the most eventful academic year of my life. It was also both the happiest and most stressful and most aggravating, all at the same time. My lifelong battle with anxiety seemed to reach its zenith, but I feel like it's been subsiding. 

All in all I feel like I have control over my life, and I'm happy about where I'm at. Can't ask for much more.

One more year and it's off to the big, bad real world.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)
Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT)
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN)
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN)
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Sen. Kay Hutchison (R-TX)
Sen. John Isakson (R-GA)
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL)
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Sen. John Thune (R-SD)

Those twenty senators voted 'yes' to bail out Wall Street with $700 billion dollars, but voted no on loans to American auto manufacturers, supposedly on grounds of 'saving taxpayers' money' and 'honoring free market principles.'

Of course, as is often the case, this has nothing to do with 'free market principles,' since those 'principles' don't apply to the very wealthy. For the Republicans on that list this vote was about one thing and one thing only - a very poorly disguised assault on working men and women. They're still pissed off that working people got all uppity during the progressive era and formed unions to right for their rights... only rich people are supposed to be able to collude to help out one another. Duh.

The message being sent is pretty clear... if you're a big time Wall Street bank and you f**k up due to your incompetence, it's okay, because Uncle Sam will bail you out. If you're a working class person and you're in trouble because your upper management is incompetent and doesn't know how to adapt to the 21st centurty, sucks to be you... you should take minimum wage and go work for the Japanese.

All 20 people on that list can go screw. Hypocrites.

It's been exactly one month since I posted here last, and it's been, to say the least, an eventful month. Believe it or not, plenty of interesting things have happened since my last entry, although to be fair, one could argue that none of these events were as bad-ass as Milan Lucic absolutely dismantling Mike Komisarek, or as stunning as the Bruins destroying the Canadiens.

Nonetheless, it's been an interesting journey, and I'll discuss it here in more detail in the future. But the Cliffnotes version, for those without Facebook or who never see me around campus: I'm in the early stages of a new relationship, and it's going very well. I didn't expect to be dating again so quickly after getting the unceremonious boot from my previous relationship, but these things happen... and as long as I'm happy, why fight it?

This 'big stuff' never makes me feel compelled to post, though; it's always the small stuff, and two things made me want to dust off this journal:

-Last night, a band I've blogged about in this space frequently, This Blue Heaven, had their triumphant CD release party at the Cask 'n Flagon in Boston. It was a fantastic show, but for me, it was most memorable for the way I got home. Since the T stopped running, one of the band members graciously offered me a ride back. Unfortunately there were more passengers than seats in the car, and the quick-thinking solution [there were a bunch of very well-educated people in this car] was to lie a bass guitar across the laps of the three passengers in the back seat, and have me lie on top of said guitar. The ride gave a new definition to the term 'bitch seat,' as I felt very likely to die every time the car hit a bump or made a turn. Thankfully, I somehow survived, although my neck still hurts.

-The other night while at work something reminded me of an acquaintance of mine who graduated from BC last year. I wanted to send her a Facebook message just to see how she's doing and what she's up to these days... you know the drill. When I entered her name I found that she had deleted her Facebook account, which meant..... poof, she's completely out of my universe. 

I was never very close with her or anything - not close enough to know phone numbers, addresses, and the like - but I did talk to her often, and now she's pretty much vanished from my life. Odd how that works. I'm still trying to decide if the lesson here is 1) it's scary how quickly people you know become memories after graduation or 2) how dependent this generation is on Facebook as a means of contact with old friends; either way, it's food for thought, yah?

I really want to name my first-born son "Milan Lucic Gravellese." Personally, I think it rolls off the tongue.

This video is just so awesome:



I can't remember ever seeing the B's demolish the Habs like that for 60 minutes. What an awesome night. Old-time hockey is back.

Reason #12412313 why I love hockey:

Last night, late in the second period, the Habs were on a power play trying to pull back within two goals. Andrew Ference had his back turned to the play and was hit in the unpadded back of the knee by a bullet slap shot from the point. Ference hit the ice hard and couldn't get up for several seconds, giving Montreal a de-facto 5-on-3 in the offensive zone. Ference eventually mustered enough strength to pull himself up, then he stayed in position for the next :30 of the PK, essentially hopping along on one leg.

With the puck in his corner and 15 seconds left in the power play, Ference took control of it and hummed it 200 feet down the ice, killing the penalty; he then limped slowly to the boards and left the game for good, but not before making a huge play that helped his team keep control of the game. What a warrior. He'll probably miss the next few games, but he still managed to make a great defensive play despite being in excruciating pain. When people say there aren't good role models in pro sports, it's obvious that they're not watching these guys.

And while toughness is a big part of hockey, the game can also be beautiful for its players' brilliance. Marc Savard is brilliant. Not only is he physically gifted with the ability to make astonishingly good passes, he's also so intelligent and makes such great decisions on the fly. The game is flying by at lightning speeds but Savard always manages to read it brilliantly and make the exact pass the Bruins need. And whether he is wide open, double covered, on his ass, on his stomach, or up against the boards,. Savvy's passes are almost invariably right into the tape of his target player's stick.

Last night was exhibit A. The first few seconds of this video show the B's 3rd goal against Montreal - Sturm from Savard with six seconds left in the first period. With 11 seconds left it looks like Montreal is about to clear the zone, but the B's keep it in; Ryder feeds a wide open Savard to the right of the net, who has a pretty clear shooting lane. 99 people out of 100 - myself included - are thinking SHOOT THE PUCK, the period's almost over! But Savard knows Price is in good position. He drags it back a little bit, drawing in two Canadiens defenders, then makes a perfect pass to Sturm crashing in from the point; Sturm bangs it past a hapless, out of position Carey Price. And this all happens within a matter of maybe 5 seconds, with the pressure of knowing there's less than 10 seconds left on the clock. Absolutely frigging brilliant play.

 WE'RE BACK!

Love,

The United States of America

 This is the time when I'm probably supposed to make some sort of happy non-partisan post about how we should all make sure we exercise our right to vote, regardless of who we vote for. 

 You both suck. Get off of my television! I hope you both lose to whoever is running on the Green Party ticket.

One of the many bad things about living right next door to New Hickshire is that we get constantly bombarded by political advertisements intended for New Hampshire voters that have no impact on us. That fact alone is bad enough, but the Sununu-Shaheen thing is just driving me up a wall.

Why is it that these two candidates have contested every single New Hampshire state election since 1842? Senate, Governor, you name it, it always ends up being between Shaheen and Sununu. 

Here's a warning to the state of New Hampshire: You provide two new candidates for your next major statewide election, or else we Massholes will stop propping up your economy by the purchase of booze and fireworks.

I'm aware that all political candidates take liberties with the truth on the campaign trail. But some candidates seem to treat truth as a luxury that can be disregarded at will..

I was watching John McCain's rally in Ohio this morning [not my choice; my desk at Congressman Capuano's office has a TV above it that is always tuned to CNN], and he said something along the lines of "We need to clean up Washington. As President, I would never waste $700 billion of the taxpayers' money just to bail out the fat cats on Wall Street; Senator Obama would."

I did a double- triple- quadruple-take, and felt compelled to yell at the TV in a way I usually only reserve for diving Montreal Canadiens forwards: "YOU... VOTED FOR THE BAILOUT! YOU VOTED FOR THE BAILOUT!!! YOU "SUSPENDED" YOUR CAMPAIGN SO YOU COULD HELP DEVELOP THE BAILOUT BILL  THAT YOU VOTED FOR! NO! NO!"

This is before even mentioning the fact that a Republican talking about 'taking on the fat cats on Wall Street' is fucking laughable. Isn't that socialism, Mr. McOld? (Speaking of which, can we put this fucking 'socialism' thing to bed? "A progressive income tax" is also directly out of the words of Karl Marx, but I don't hear John McCain calling for a flat tax. Commie.)

Do people actually listen to this guy?

 So I open up the latest copy of The Observer, Boston College's conservative newspaper, and in there, there's an article extolling the virtues of the Vineyard Vines brand. ["High quality ties, belts, pants - you name it."] I'm wondering, did the writer not realize that this would look pretty ridiculous? Talk about stereotypes... the Boston College Republicans pumping up Vineyard Vines. Sheesh.

Also, yesterday, while working out in the Plex, it happened to me again - I got onto a treadmill, and the person on each side of me already looked reasonably tired and worn from having already run for a while; I did my time [eighteen minutes, maybe?], then got off, and the people on each side of me were still going; then I looked up at the treadmills as I exited the building and they were both still going strong. Should I have felt bad about myself?

And then while working in the admissions office, I heard a few of my friends talking about the football team; their consensus was that 1) anything bad that has ever happened, including global warming, is Chris Crane's fault; and 2) we'd best get our 'problems' 'straightened out' in time for the Notre Dame game, before which they are going to have some kind of leprechaun effigy-burning ceremony. [And people wonder why I'm glad we're not playing Notre Dame any more after 2011. I say good riddance to the series.]

Y'know, I love this place, but sometimes I scratch my head and wonder what's wrong with many of its inhabitants.

 I made the following election prediction in, I think, June, and was roundly laughed at by friends liberal and conservative alike:

http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-snc1/genericv2b/1766/106/01AwcA9g28Q_AAAAADAAAAAAAAAAA:.png
Obama 314, McCain 224


Now it's beginning to look like I might have under-estimated Obama. The only way he doesn't hit 300 EVs is major election fraud (not that I'm counting this out).

In other news:

I survived midterms... barely.

And I have a feeling that my life is gettin' better, day by day.

I'm already receiving brochures and crap, so I'm thinking a little bit about grad school, and here is my rudimentary places-to-possibly-apply-to list 

BC
Northeastern
UMass
UNH
Harvard
George Washington
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Michigan

And before you ask: Yes, I am aware that 8/9 of those schools have D1 hockey programs; no, that is not a coincidence; and yes, I know that that is pathetic.

Dear Bruins:

Alright guys, you suck at symbolism. This was supposed to be a night where, with my spirits finally lifted after a rough spell in my life, my first love treated me to a triumphant victory. That's the way it works in the movies and in my imagination. You guys fail.

Also, this is supposed to be a year where my devotion to you- a devotion that often feels like a wart - occasionally embarrassing, almost always painful, and rarely rewarding - is vindicated. I believe in this group, and think you can do great things this season, but starting the season with two wins in seven games is not the way to fire up the faithful.

Of course I know there are 75 games left in the season, and the Bruins do look much improved in many facets of their game so far.... but, the symbolism, man. You ruined the symbolism.

I still love ya, Bruins - I'll be one of those people who are there to see you play a meaningless game in March against the Atlanta Thrashers or the Columbus Blue Jackets - but you continue to hurt me. It's not cool, guys. Step it up.

1. Cope

2. Re-read the entirety of Fever Pitch.  [The soccer book, not the silly baseball movie]

3. Re-read the entirety of High Fidelity.

4. Stop worrying about the fact that regular season Bruins games shoot up my blood pressure by 400%, and just enjoy the fact that I can get so swept away in something totally out of my control

5. Begin Facebook-promoting This Blue Heaven's Halloween show at Boston College.

6. Listen to my entire Boomtown Rats catalogue, start to finish. I have woefully neglected the Rats' music lately.

7. Re-acquaint myself with the Midnight Riders.

8. Drink [kind of goes hand in hand with #7].

9. Teach myself economics before Tuesday's midterm.

10. Improve my French skills.

11. Enjoy the fact that in a couple of weeks, I will be voting for Barack Obama.

12. Pray that he wins.

13. Try to establish some sort of regular sleeping schedule.

14. Talk to my sister more often.

15. Learn a little something about myself.

 "It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings. And then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops - and leaves you to face the fall, alone."

-A. Bartlett Giamatti