a history of me

It's full-on Autumn right now in New York and I love it. I understand why people retire to Florida but I could never abandon Autumn. It's so beautiful. Driving through the Hudson Valley this weekend twice was an amazing trip. It's getting pretty cold at night now but I hope winter doesn't rush in too quickly. At least not before my birthday.

As promised I went "home" yesterday. Of course, this dorm is technically my "home" right now, but I still think of Croton-on-Hudson fondly since I spent most of my life there.

My friend Ben generously allowed me to stay in his home for the night. Dave, Ben, and I went to see our friend Dylan but they didn't tell Dylan that I was in town. Big surprise. Many drinks were drunk, and we had a civil discussion on social construction vs innate compulsion, a.k.a. "nature vs. nurture." I shan't elaborate as we contemplated some of the more controversial (re: disgusting) aspects of society. I hope none of the rednecks at the bar overheard us.

We caught the never-funny Tonight Show for one reason: a William Shatner musical performance. If you haven't heard, Bill's got a new album called Has Been, and it's awesome. Give it a listen if you can.

Today was a curious day. I ended up gathering some books I had left in my friend Mike's garage, then I helped him move his aunt's things into a truck. There were about eight of us there so it didn't take very long. Afterwards I stuck around to help Ben hook up a stranger's computer so I got kind of a late start back. But I made it back to my current "home" safe and sound.


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As promised, I wrote up my feelings on supporting the slovenly Red Sox in their bid to win the World Series. And no, it has nothing to do with my feelings for or against the St. Louis Cardinals; their opponent is immaterial in my argument.

I'm actually going to jet down to Croton today for a little rendezvous with friends. Be back tomorrow.

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Sure, I'm disappointed by last night's ALCS results, but not as much as you might think. In fact, I'm considering rooting for the Red Sox in the World Series. I'll explain in greater detail, but rest assured, I haven't flipped out or anything.I don't have a favorite in the NLCS, but I am partial to the Astros because they've never played in a World Series before and it would be cool to see Roger Clemens pitch against his former team.

Tonight I had a midterm in my Soviet/Russian Cinema class. I think it went pretty well, thanks to a free afternoon of study now that my quarter courses are over. In fact, I had so much time this afternoon I watched Battleship Potemkin, the famous film by Sergei Eisenstein, to get "in the mood" for class. It was a good movie and a good decision, because there was a question about the movie on the test!

This semester is going very quickly. October is almost over, which means my birthday and Thanksgiving are fast approaching. Feels weird.

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The Red Sox have an 8-1 lead in the fourth inning of Game Seven. Jesus Christ has done most of the damage, hitting two home runs (one was a grand slam). The Yankees aren't hitting and they certainly aren't pitching. I can't possibly imagine how the Yankees can come back. So it's over and I accept it. I hope the Sox don't win the World Series but it certainly seems like this is, in fact, their year.

Go National League, I guess.

Fuck.

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I've got a midterm in my Soviet/Russian Cinema class tomorrow evening, yet I also have to make time for tonight's ALCS finale. If it's anything like games 3-6, it should take at least four hours, possibly five. One more reason it's totally illogical to start these games at 8PM.

The Yankees' inability to put this series away is very frustrating, but I have little choice but to hang on and try to enjoy the ride. There is a silver lining, of course: if the Yankees win tonight, it will make the lives of Red Sox fans pure hell. Winning three in a row had put them on top of the world and convinced them that this is their year. Of course, if the Yankees don't win, I'll have to quietly watch the World Series on the edge of my seat, waiting for something to somehow undo the Red Sox. They cannot, no, must not win the World Series.


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Raining again here in Albany. It's nice and cold now, but we've been getting a lot of crummy rain, which takes all the fun out of the chill in the air. I have no choice but to lug around an umbrella which sort of feels authoritative when retracted, like a cane or staff, but an open umbrella always looks dorky.

My first two classes of the day were more of the same. My English teacher still hasn't finished grading our papers that were due on October 5th. I'm disappointed but I am compassionate as she has been suffering from "violent vertigo" which is why she called off class last week. Apparently the symptoms can return at any time. If she pukes in class I'm going to puke too. That'll suck.

Today's big event was my Confucianism and the Samurai Ethic final exam. I spent extra time studying last night as this class counts towards my major, so it's imperative that knock this one out of the park. It must have paid off because I found the test quite easy. The multiple choice questions, which are typically not the most challenging part of an exam, were very easy because Professor Fessler is found of "joke" answers which occasionally lowers the number of legitimate choices from four to three (and sometimes two). However, I credit my success to paying attention, as it wasn't the kind of easy test where the answers are obvious whether you took the course or not. (Nearly) every question would have been impossible to answer without first taking the class.

My confidence was further raised after I turned in my exam (approx 45 minutes, first!) and got the rest of my grades for the class. Without breaking it down, I will say that I already have a 76.75% score for the class without the final, which counts as 20% of the total. So even if I do really badly and get a 69, I'll still end up with a 90.55% overall, a A in my book.

Now the Yankees could just let me get a decent night's sleep...

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Today was a leisurely day. I slept in until I remembered I had an appointment with an acting professor at 1PM. And I don't mean "acting professor" as in "acting captain," I mean a professor who teaches acting. I know, I know, it's a crazy idea, but I'm looking ahead to the spring semester right now and there is a dearth of required courses in my major and minor. Beyond studying the Japanese language and maybe a cultural course or two, I'm going to have to stretch myself a little to fill the necessary five courses. Acting, as some of you know, is a pipe dream of mine, so I figured a lesson or two couldn't hurt. I figure it will either cement or erase my interest in "the craft."

The real action was this evening in my East Asian Cinema class. We had our final exam. I knew exactly what would be on it, so I feel confident that I did well, but I have a nagging feeling it (and the class) will only net me a B. I'm smarter than that.

Irregardless, my next objective is review for my next final, which is tomorrow afternoon. I'll tell you all about it after dinner.

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No, I'm not talking about the Yankees losing to the Red Sox. They lost when they chose to deviate from the formula that won them over a hundred games this year. Instead of using Quantrill-Gordon-Rivera to pitch the final three innings, or even just Gordon-Rivera for the last two, they tried to have Mariano Rivera pitch the eighth and ninth innings by himself. So he didn't make it, giving up one run to tie the game. Meanwhile, Gordon pitched a scoreless 10th and 11th. Quantrill lost it in the 12th.

Anyway, that's not the shocker, because the Yanks still have three more tries to win the series. The shocker is this patently bizarre website. I know this person, which makes it slightly more shocking, but not by much. Even if he was a total stranger I would be just as frightened and confused as I am now.

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Why "DeSalvos?" Because the Yanks strangled Boston last night. It was kind of a wacky game, going back and forth for three innings with both teams hitting and scoring often. But the Yankees broke out for five runs in the fourth and never looked back. 松井秀喜 had an incredible game: five hits (two doubles, two home runs), five RBI and five runs scored.

It was the longest nine inning game in postseason history at 4:20. (ha!) Likewise, the teams combined had 37 (ha!) hits, another record. The Bombers' 22 hits was a new LCS record. Their 19 runs was a team postseason record, and considering how many postseason games they've played, that's saying something.

But the best number here is the final score, 19-8. Look at that figure carefully. It's looks like 1918, doesn't it? For you baseball newbies, that's the last year the Red Sox won the World Series.

Game 4 tonight!

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