So Terry Schiavo. That's a sticky situation, huh? I mean, the woman is alive. But, she's not really... alive. Her husband wants to remove her feeding tube and her parents don't want to. Anyway, alls I'm saying is I'm glad I'm not in that situation and I don't have to make any decisions. But, I do have problems with two groups of people involved in this thing. Or should I say, two groups of people who are involved but have no business being involved in this thing. Namely, the government and the protester people outside. One, I thought republicans were for less government. So what's the deal with legislation that directly interferes with a personal matter? I hate the government enough right now without them trying to directly interfere with our lives. They're already fucking up on a world scale with the Iraq invasion that was supposed to be over a year and a half ago. They don't need to fuck with us individually. I'm sorry that Christians have such a high value on everything that resembles life, but all because our president is a coke head... I mean a drunk driver... I mean a born again Christian doesn't mean that we can prevent people from dying. Bush needs to go back to Crawford, Texas or wherever he's from and just take a three year long vacation so he doesn't screw anything else up.

And speaking of Christians, there are a bunch of these holier-than-thou fucks stationed outside Jeb Bush's office and the hospital where Terry Schiavo is. What they're doing is telling me that because I don't agree with them that I'm a bad person. I resent that. If these people truly cared about anything besides getting on TV and trying to get laid by impressing other Christians with their holiness, they'd do something more constructive to the world. If they care about life so much, why not donate some money to some charities? Join the peace corps? Go to a third world country and work at improving the quality of life? Why not go home and try to improve the quality of life for people who actually live on a daily basis? Terry Schiavo had it rough, it's sad, it's unfortunate. But she's one woman who is basically a vegetable for the rest of her life. I'm missing the point of hanging out outside and reading from the Bible. I can't stress this enough: YOU CANNOT BASE YOUR LIFE OFF OF A BOOK. You can base your life off of the solid moral foundation that the Bible puts forth. But we don't live 2,000 years or longer ago. We live now. Things have changed a tiny bit since those days. Sodomy (and I mean stuff like oral sex, not just anal, and sorry if sex bothers you) is illegal in many states because people 200 years ago were puritans and couldn't stand the idea of someone putting something like that someplace like that. But nowadays we're much more openminded and I can't remember the last time anyone got arrested for sodomy in this country. What I'm trying to say is that rules change over time, and there are now situations where life is not so clearly life. Fetuses. Comatose people. Where were these protesters and pro-life fuckers when children got shot and killed up in Minnesota recently? Isn't their deaths more tragic than one woman who doesn't even know she's alive being humanely lead to sleep? They're down there in Florida because they want to be on TV. They want to impress people. They want compliments. They don't know or care about Terry Schiavo. They've never met her. If someone I loved was dying, I would be pissed if a bunch of strangers who don't know my loved one and don't have any idea what she's been through or what she was like, I'd be pissed if they showed up and started telling me how to handle it. This is a personal matter in the Schiavo family. Everyone else should stay the fuck out of their business.

I was talking to Max today about our pessimistic attitudes. People say we're negative. But you know what? We enjoy being negative. We enjoy doing things out of spite. For example, it's election time here on campus, and running are the yellow people and the green people. I don't know their names but those are the colors of their signs. A guy from the yellow camp came and talked to us while we were trying to get inside without being bothered. So we decided that if we were going to vote, we'd vote for the green people to spite the yellow people. Today we decided that this is a perfectly legitimate reason to do something. So if you know some pessimists or spiteful people, leave them alone, because that's all they really want. You have no idea how annoying it is to hear about how negative we are, or how quiet we are, or how we never smile. We smile. We talk. But we only do these things when we're around people we like. If we don't talk to you or smile at you, we don't like you. That's that. Go spite!

On basketball: It's boring. But it's marginally less boring during this march madness business, if only because of my strange affinity for brackets.

Snow sucks and I don't like walking in it because my shoes are old and have holes in them and my feet get cold and wet.

We made it back alive. There were some sketchy moments, but we managed to make it to and from Texas with no tickets and no deaths. The 14 hour drive into Dallas started at 3pm and ended around 5:30am Texas time. Then though I was too tired to do anything else and just wanted to go inside, Cam said it was too early (he was probably right) and so we drove around until 7, then we went inside and passed out on the couch or floor, depending on who we are.... yeah. So the next day we went via train and saw some of downtown Dallas, including where JFK was shot. We went through the museum. Outside crazy conspiracy guys talked to us and tried to get us to buy their crazy conspiracy books. Then we went to a delicious barbecue place that had fried okra! I was so excited! I ate it and it was delicious! I forgot I was in the south and wondered why they had fried okra. Then I remembered where in America Texas is.

Saint Patrick's day we didn't go out. We went and saw Sideways for free because Dave is a master lockpicker. Or he worked at the theater and knows how to do that. It was good but could have been half an hour-15 minutes shorter. Anyway... oh, that's what we did that day. On 7 bucks we played lazer tag, putt putt golf, and arcade games. Yay for middle of the day, midweek specials. I came in second in putt putt. I'm no good at lazer tag. I lost both games of air hockey. But I had a good time. And we met Dave's girlfriend and she seemed cool, but we were all tired so we didn't get much socializing in.

Third day was the Against Me! concert in Houston, which, despite being right next to Dallas on a map, is four hours away. We ate at a cajun place because Cam had never had Cajun food being from Oregon. It was good but the green beans tasted funny. Then we drove. Watched the concert, at which they played Impact, which they said they'd never play again, plus six new songs. The four opening acts were nothing to shout about. They ranged from bad (O Pioneers, Communique) to mediocre (Saw Wheel, Smoke or Fire). The place was all tiny though, which made for a good energy, but bad being able to see and enjoy the music show. Then we drove all 17 hours back home. We were driving having had no sleep for 27 hours. It was very bad and I don't think I would do it again. But it's like free drugs. Which is good or bad. We ate at IHOP smelling like cigarettes from the concert and sweat, our hair was all messed up, we hadn't shaved in a week. We couldn't think straight to talk to the waiter. Then I came home and went to sleep for like 14 hours.

Today I tried to read but I don't think it's happening. Too hard to transition back into school after all that time off. We visited lovely Kanorado, which is a scary, scary town. We got saved from tickets twice. The first time this guy kept following me no matter how fast I went, so I got upset, then he got pulled over instead of me. The second time we were following someone and I had to pee. Then we found them pulled over down the road a ways. Gas is expensive. The new Lucero song on the Atticus comp is way good. I'm hungry.

On the eve of the great Texas adventure, I am full of hope. Hope that this trip will be fun, that the concerts will rock, that it'll give me an excuse to listen to 34 hours of music, that I'll get a little bit of reading done, and that I'll maybe be able to think about my life enough to figure out what I want out of it. I'm going to make a delicious breakfast burrito tomorrow morning, pack lots of turkey and cheese and bread, some granola bars, combine this food with Cam's stash, and head out. If we live, which I don't see any reason why we wouldn't, I'm sure there'll be stories to be told. For example, if we drive by the World's Biggest Gopher, you can bet your ass we're taking pictures. So the 15th is the drive. We leave at about 2, get in to Dallas on the 16th about 9am. Sleep. Go to Queens of the Stone Age that night. The next day is Saint Patrick's Day, which I'm sure we'll spend out with Dave. Then, the 18th, is Against Me! Then we'll either sleep or just come back, getting back on the 19th or 20th. Wish us good luck.

Cam and I went hiking up Greyrock the other day and it was way awesome. I'm still sore two days later, but that's because I'm out of shape. The hike up kind of sucked, and the hike down definitely sucked (except for the rock, which was pretty neat), but up at the top, above all the trees, away from all the people, you can just see for miles. It's not quite a spiritual experience, but it's as close as I can remember coming. The wind was blowing like a motherfucker, and I felt like I could die at any minute because hopping along narrow rocks is not my specialty. But it was great, and I'd do it again anytime. Maybe even by myself when I just need some time to think things over. We took lots of pictures, which I'm sure some of you will be getting at some point because I think they're neat. Great scenery. It turns out there is some bonus to living in the mountains. I guess (and here I go again, getting all philosophical) that the lesson I'm learning is if you just look around, there's so much interesting stuff. You don't have to just settle down into a job or school and just do nothing but work all the time. That's just the image society portrays. Honestly, people get all worked about about all the minor shit, myself included, but fuck it man, just take some time for yourself. Hop in the car and go somewhere. Not a tourist attraction or anything, just drive somewhere new. It's so interesting, to me anyway, to see new places and things, yet I never actually take time to do anything. I get all involved in all my stupid reading, and Subway, and all that kind of mundane everyday stuff, that I don't even take the time to notice that the mountains pop up from nowhere just to the west of here. I never drive up the Poudre and enjoy the scenery. I don't try to meet new people. I just kind of wallow around not doing anything. But this spring break, I'm not going back to Conifer. I'm going somewhere new. I'm trying new things. It's going to be a great trip, if only because it'll get me out of Fort Collins, out of this part of the country, away from everything I see every god damn day of the year, and into a whole new place. I don't have to be myself, really, because none of these people I see down there will ever see me again (except Cam). It's so liberating. So what if it's just Texas, and everyone's been to Texas? I'm doing my best to be optimistic here, and that's not easy for me. Anyway, that's all. Have a good spring break, everyone who goes to CSU. If it's not your spring break, then just have a good week. Try not to let life break your spirit.

Here's a super depressing thought: somewhere there are people who actually enjoy watching The Simple Life. You know, that show with the stupid Hiltons and they're doing stupid things because they're stupid? Yeah. Well, that thought was enough to send me into a downward spiral of despair and melancholy that I have not yet been able to free myself of. Ok, that's an exaggeration, but still. It's true and that makes me worry about the world we're living in.

Speaking of worrying about the world we're living in, you should. There's just so much shit going on. Although my main sources of news are The Daily Show and Real Time with Bill Maher, I've got to be more informed than those nitwits who believe Fox News is a news channel. The things I've been hearing about recently, they scare me. Check out this bit Bill Maher did on his show a couple of weeks ago:

MAHER: And finally, New Rule: Leave the children behind! At least, that is, until they learn something. A new survey finds that only half of America's high schoolers think newspapers should be allowed to publish without government approval. And almost one in five said Americans should be prohibited from expressing unpopular opinions. Hey, let me tell you little darlings something: this is my livelihood you're screwing with now! So either learn the Bill of Rights, or you don't deserve Social Security. Now, to those of you who think I am over-reacting, yes, I understand that being in high school is still very young, and no one really cares what kids say anyway. It's not like priests are dating them for their brains. But the younger generation is supposed to rage against the machine, not for it. They're supposed to question authority, not question those who question authority. And what is so frightening here is that we are seeing the beginnings of the first post-9/11 generation, kids who first became aware of the news under an "Americans need to watch what they say" administration, kids who've been told that dissent is un-American, and therefore justifiably punished by fine, imprisonment or loss of your show on ABC.

I've used colons a lot in this entry: that's a fact.

It's been a while since I've written something in here. Not like anyone's complaining. But that's due to me not having a lot of time to write in here and me not having a lot of stuff in my life that's interesting enough to waste your time with.

I've also ended a lot of sentences in this entry prepositions with (5).

Before Spring Break, there was a really good show at the Court Square Theater. It was the first WXJM sponsored show of the semester, and three bands played: some guy (I missed his act because I was chained behind the cage [the ticket booth]), Invert (really good), and the Rachels (really, really good) (with or without an apostrophe, I'm not sure). Invert is a 4-piece with two cellos, a violin, and a viola. I know you're thinking, "That's a kick-ass combo," and it sure is. The Rachels/Rachel's is an instrumental band that played some silly trying-way-too-hard-to-be-artsy videos during their set, but the music was good, and that's the important thing.

For Spring Break I went to New York for a few days with Yannos and his swell buddies Terry and Mike. A fun time was had by all. Here are the highlights in 30 seconds: Central Park on a brisk, overcast winter afternoon. The 24 hour market across the street with everything you could ever want to eat - and more. "Death alley," which is easily accessible by opening the large window in your 12th floor hotel bathroom that has zero bars/locks/other preventative measures whatsoever. The Comedy Love Call (more on this later). Riding the subway. Finding handicapped accessible subway stops. Not finding handicapped accessible subway stops. Not relying on cars for transportation. Being able to find really good pizza at 1 in the morning on a Monday night/Tuesday morning. Plasma screen TVs and really bad cable programming. The promenade that overlooks Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge on a breezy, cool night. All the dining experiences (some Polish, some Chinese, some Italian - all very good). Feeling discriminated in Chinatown. Yannos swindling himself out of 3 bucks and a copy of "The Onion." Times Square at night. That feeling that you're never alone, that there's always something going on, that what's around you is beautiful and you're a part of it.

Parenthases have also been an integral part of this entry (but when have they not?).

So, the Comedy Love Call. What was it? It was a comedy show benefiting autism research and some amazing people stopped by to do stand-up routines/skits. People like: Jon Stewart, Lewis Black, Stephen Colbert and Stone Philips (Stone was quite the surprise), Al Franken (another surprise), David Spade (yet another surprise), Conan O'Brien and Max Weinberg (Max was, you guessed it, another surprise), Adam Sandler, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Horatio Sanz, and Triumph. And music by Fountains of Wayne and other people I didn't recognize. Yes, it was amazing. Yes, it was incredible. Yes, I got an overpriced t-shirt. But why not? It was a once in a lifetime deal, so I splurged.

The rest of my break will be less exciting, but much more relaxing. I will finally catch up on some much needed sleep and some much needed fun reading (currently: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers and McSweeney's Mammoth Collection of Thrilling Tales). In music land, you should listen to Lagwagon's Live in a Dive, Explosions in the Sky's The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place, and pre-order Fingers Cut Megamachine's self-titled CD - it'll be sure to impress. Until next time, keep your mind out of your pants your hand hands out of the gutter.

So today's Charlie's birthday. Happy 21st. Yay. To celebrate, Danny and Charlie and I went to Hooters and played trivia. We placed third and won ten dollars, which we promptly used to pay for our alcohol tally. I have to give a shout out to Cam for pulling through on the tie breaker question for us. Compuserve. Genius. Sometimes I wish I still didn't drink. Things were a lot cheaper back then. Tomorrow Cam and Charlie and I are going out for Charlie's birthday part 2, and we're going to the Rio for margarita night, then proceeding...somewhere else, probably. Who knows. Not having class early on Thursday is good. Then Thursday I'm taking Charlie to the airport so he can go to Florida for spring break. Huzzah.

I know I've said this before, and I know I've got some backing on this, but geese suck. I propose legislation that says if I see a goose standing in the middle of the road shitting on things, I can hit it with my car instead of waiting for it to take its sweet time to move out of the road. Geese should be made extinct. I walk to school to save gas and the environment and all that crap, and to get a little exercise, and it'd be nice to be able to look at where I'm going instead of making sure I'm not stepping in goose crap. Speaking of crap, there's some dog crap on my path too, and I'm having a good time watching it decompose over the past few weeks.

I got a story published in the honors literary magazine. The story is "Forever" and can be found at the website listed to the right. It's pretty cool. I'm going to submit some stories to a contest in the hopes of winning $1500. Right. That'll happen.

Listen to Armchair Martian.

The Facebook has become addicting. I like browsing through all these groups and crap. Damn that website. It has put me back in contact with some high school buddies, and that's kind of cool, I guess. Also, Mark Hanks from high school emailed me the other day and Mark is a cool cat.

I guess I'd like to take this time to thank my friends for being cool guys and all the stuff that's associated with that. I'm sure there was more stuff I was going to say, but I really can't remember any of it. I have to start writing things down.