I swear that all I ever(x8) believed in was all of us together all along/alone

It has been brought to my attention several times that I have not posted an entry in over a week. This serves as a sufficient motivator to talk about the past week, which has been pretty easygoing.

My last few classes were review for the most part and no one assigns homework this late in the semester. So it was pretty much a matter of simply showing up and sitting. I have not had to start studying for finals until now, so my week has not been at all dominated by schoolwork. Instead, it has been that magical week where most people don't have to study quite yet and are quite willing to stay up until all hours with you because they don't have class the next day and anyways: in just one week, I won't see you again for three months.

So, here begins the litany:
1) Tuesday night, from around 2AM to 4:30AM, was spent walking around/sitting around the campus with Ms. Fogarty just chillaxing/taking pictures/talking with Dave Rydberg.
2) Wednesday night from about 2AM to 4:30AM was spent hanging in the courtyard gazebo with Double-D, Ms. Fogarty, Elizabeth McMillan and Krempelor (Lord of Glaxon). I was actually the first to go to bed that night and Dan stayed up until 8AM (because the next day was Reading Day).
3) Thursday evening was Senior Honoring. We went to Imperial China Buffet (which is good eatin'!). My date was Brigid Prosser, who was my prayer-partner this semester, and is one of the chillest sisters around. We sat at a table with Mr. Tumnus and his "Friend" (since reinstated). A good time was had by all. Thursday night from about midnight to 3AM was spent chilling in Pinne's room, spending some good Soul-Mate time together.
4) Friday, after Household Life Mass (held in CTK chapel, 1,000 people in a tunacan with a fire-code limit of 300) I went to Linda Tran (another rockin' sister)'s house for a CTL/SOL bonfire. There were only about 15 people there, but it was good times. For most of the semester, my sisters have been kind of awkward around me, which has been really sad. But, this week at least, things really got better. I have hopes that maybe next semester things can be back to "normal". Walking back from the bonfire with Odin, I was possessed by a spirit of Whistling-A-Lot that hasn't been around for a while. That was a lot of fun. When I got back to the dorm, I saw Courtney and Tumnus watching a movie in the gazebo. I stole one of Mark's/my cigarillos while he slept and smoked it while watching "Life as a House" with them. That was a good time as well, even if Thomas did leave Courtney and I alone for the sketchiest part of the movie (it was a bonding experience).
5) Saturday I played about 4 hours of Halo. Good times killing friends. That night, I didn't feel like going to the FOP, and I'm past the point where I feel like I have to fake wanting to go, so I stayed in my room. I was planning on going to the foreign film playing in Anathan (some comedy about a Rock, Paper, Scissors Championship?) but ended up waiting for a phone call. Or, rather, talking for four hours with Zaza, MattMac and Dan Taibi about: school, philosophy, the state of youth groups, the state of the church, various paths to God, the state of the Liturgy and Vatican II.
6) On Sunday, I went out to brunch after Mass with Krakows and his friends from home. That was a blast. They were cool kids and I got totally wired on coffee. After that, I played a goodly amount of Halo (off and on throughout the day) up until the point when Mike came to find me for Men's Group. He had the privilege of hearing Big Al (the Prethe) cuss me out as I slaughtered him the last five times.
7) That brings us to today. I have a final at 6PM (I will post afterwards how it went). I have just kind of started studying, so I need to get cracking. It shouldn't be too hard though. I aced the midterm with only about 15 minutes. I hope Harold brings coffee though! I feel like getting buzzed.

Ross brings up an interesting point in his latest post. It is definitely one that I can empathize with. In it, he says that he often finds himself wondering if he doesn't spent too much time listening to music, even "spiritually positive" music. That is something that I often think about as well. It is part of why I give up listening to music for Lent, just for those 40 Days of cleansing and silence before the Lord. And generally, by the time Lent rolls around, I am ready for some silence. At times, music can be /so/ present in my life that it almost does become simply noise (at which point, ironically enough, I start hankering for the more noise-influenced/atonal/ambient "music"). Every new band (at least off of Tooth and Nail, but also in general) that someone introduces me to is merely "Deja Entendu", no matter how skilled. I definitely find myself needing periods of aural catharsis and cleansing, not /through/ music but through its absence. This past week, I have been very much enjoying the epic/ambient, bombastic/subtle, crashing/quiet post-rock of such as Explosions in the Sky, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and A Silver Mt. Zion. They fit very well with my artsy/anarchist sensibilities that have been resurfacing this past week/week-and-a-half. Currently I have one of ASMZ's songs stuck in my head, and will be listening to it while studying in my room in approx. 10 minutes when I get off of work. So, in short: I love music. Too much can really wear me down sometimes.

"And as we staggered towards a frightening dawn..."
-L