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So Ben Folds came to Tech last night. He rocked my socks absolutely off. I was sitting right-center JJ, but I don't think there's a bad seat in all of Burruss Auditorium, at least not for a show that big.

The opener was a guy named Eef Barzelay. He's the frontman of an "alt-country" band called Clem Snide. I haven't heard the band, but Eef has an interesting sound (and I don't just mean his name.) It's quirky. He also covered a bit of Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable" and all of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" in his own style which was interesting too. I definitely plan on checking him/them out.

After Eef went off, house lights came up and crew were running around doing those things that crew do before the main act goes on, and the crowd grumbled because that's what they do. Suddenly the lights go off and "The Final Countdown" comes on. Ben and his accompaniment on bass and drums launch into the first two songs before introducing themselves or saying anything. He made a joke that he would work the keyboard part from "The Final Countdown" into every song, and he did slip it in to the first few but then decided to skip it. He did slip it in though whenever there was a little lull in the show, and it always got laughs.

In my opinion, one of the best parts of a Ben Folds show is the audience participation. The man is as amazing a songwriter as he is a musician, including a number of very interesting harmonies. He had the audience sing backup vocals (and flugelhorns) on a few songs, which was super nifty. There was even a three-part harmony on "Not the Same."

When he played "Gracie" he started over three times from the middle plus a number of restarts right at the beginning, because people were hooting or hollering at some point. I thought that was adorable. Granted it was annoying, but I was annoyed with the audience, not with Ben. This is a song he wrote for his daughter, and he just wanted to get through it.

While I'm raving, I'll mention how impressed I was with some improv he did. He just started playing, then started singing about Blacksburg, saying that it had a distinct lack of "black... buildings." What can you say? The south isn't known for being especially hospitable towards black... buildings. He also worked in the local pub where he ate, and plugged Gay Awareness Week. Afterwards he asked if it was Gay Awareness Day or week, and said "As long as you're fighting for some time for recognition, you might as well go for a week."

So basically that was one of the top two rockinest shows I've ever seen. The other one was also a Ben Folds concert.

On a side note, guys yelled "I wanna have your babies" on three occasions, whereas I didn't hear any girls say that. Now Mr. Folds is married with twin daughters, so I'm afraid these gentlemen are going to be disappointed. It does raise the question though, do more men or women ask to have his babies?

We finally got what I consider to be a substantial snow yesterday. It's the first time I've seen proper snowfall all winter. It's been mostly bitter cold and windy, or raining and damp. Needless to say, I was very excited. There's even enough left on the ground now that sledding would be feasible.

Unfortunately, snow in Virginia seems to transform normally passable drivers into elderly grandmothers. It took me twice as long to get to class as it normally does. I grant that you should not speed when there is snow on the road, but even the hill that I live on wasn't bad enough to merit traveling below the speed limit. Over-cautiousness is as likely to create an accident as recklessness.

But maybe that's just the New Yorker in me talking.

There are reasons that I get upset sometimes. For example:

And tomorrow on the Drillfield from 9-5 there will be some awesome festivities!!

• Shirts for sale!
• Vagina pops for sale!
• Wage gap bake sale (.75 for women, 1.00 for men) OH SNAP!
• Positive v. negative body image displays!

I guess I can't complain though, I did see it on lj

There was a massive effort on Friday to remove all the leaf litter from campus. There were crews with mowers, leaf blowers, and a couple of massive trucks with three foot wide hoses attached. I could see the plumes of leaf dust and fungal spores rising off the vacuum truck.

Why on earth would they do that? I understand the need to remove a portion of the leaf litter, or at least get it broken down. It keeps the grass prettier. Why on earth would they have to put that much dust and allergens in the air in the process? There has got to be a better way.

I have a terribly scattered schedule. I have to be on campus for a brief period every morning and for most afternoons, with a big empty space in the middle. Gives me time to blog... er... do homework. Yeah. Homework. My schedule is below.

There are a lot of things to say about my hiatus, but first, breaking news!

William Morva escaped custody at the Montgomery Regional Hospital yesterday. He was being held on charges of armed robbery. He stole the sherrif deputy's sidearm, wounding the officer and killing a hospital security guard in the process. He shot and killed a police officer while being pursued early this morning.

As of 11:30a all classes at Virginia Tech have been cancelled. There were rumors of a hostage situation in Squires Student Center, but they turned out to be unsubstantiated. Students not residing in dorms have been evacuated from campus, and all dorms are closed to non-residents.

I'm sitting in my apartment chatting with some friends about the situation. Charlotte, started at VT last year, had told me that there was almost no crime here. I didn't hear of a single incident of this magnitude in the 4 years that I've known Steve, most of which he spent in New York City.

What a first day of classes!

link

[UPDATE: 5:13p]
Morva has been taken into custody.

Summer is officially over for me. I start classes at 8a Monday morning.

I spent June and July in Bloomington, IN with my Steven, volunteering at a vet clinic and a wildlife rehabilitation shelter. I have a number of experiences to relate regarding my time there.

I am currently in Blacksburg, VA, attending Virginia Tech. I'll be here for at least two years.

I really need to update this website.

goodnight.

I had a conversation today with a Virginia Tech admissions representative, because I was concerned about the fact that I hadn't heard from them.

Me

Hi, I'm calling about the status of my transfer application.

Admissions

It appears your application has been withdrawn.

Me

What?

Admissions

It says here that we didn't recieve your FLCC transcript. Wait, it's right here. Hold on.

... Ten minutes later...

You are being offered admissions for fall 2006 to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Me

w00t.

I didn't really say "w00t". That would've been cool though.

UPDATE (15.May.2006):

I've pretty much (through the help of an email conversation) gotten over the whole maroon/orange thing. No, that doesn't mean I like orange. It just means I've come to terms with it.