The past days... Illness... Six Feet Under Finale... Gotta have more cow bell... Club Serpico... and What I wanted to do today, and am doing tomorrow.

Sorry for the last few days of not blogging. I've been really busy... but here I am now!

So, I am sort of going to bounce around with this post. I will start with today, I suppose, because I will be able to recall more of what happened...

The day started at 5:30am, as always, and I woke up... clogged up, stuffed up, and dried up. Crap. I have the loathsome twice-per-year allergy-induced sickness that I abhor. Time to break out the Claritin-D, Robutussin, Advil, Tylenol, Alka Seltzer, Airborne, Emergen-C, those funny prescription pills, pseudaphed... yeah, you get it.

I was so stuffed up, that I used my personal steamer twice before I went to school, and took it to school with me. Yeah, I'm a dork. Who the hell takes a personal steamer with them to school? Also, in an uncaring manner, I took a roll of toilet paper with me to school, from which to blow my nose. Screw tissues. Toilet paper is softer, and provides for a lot more usage. Long story short, I got a lot of odd looks when I took out a roll of TP, and blew my nose. Meh, whatever.

Last Sunday, I had the Exalted group over to my house. It was fun, things happened. I'd rather not have it at my house in the future though. It's just easier at Darren's.

On Sunday night, however, my favorite show, Six Feet Under, was ending. I was sad, but I watched it. Oh man, oh man, oh man! What a show, what a show, what a show! The ending montage, priceless, the consolidation of plot, incredible! That last episode brought everything together in such a good way. Watch it.

So moving on... the other day, at school, my great friend Sergio (nickname Serpico) switched from 4th hour music theory to 1st hour, with me. Dude. This is going to be a sweet semester! Sergio told me about a band he had discovered while he was visiting Mexico this last summer. They're called Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. They're great. They're awesome. Their Latin beats, combined with syncopated rhythms make for an incredible musical experience. He and I tried to play it on the big Band Room speakers, but Mr. S wouldn’t allow it... here's where the fun starts.

Sergio and I started digging through cabinets in his office, looking for this 10 year old CD player that has been sitting somewhere or other in the Band Room for the past 9. We found it, tucked inside a closet. Then, he and I took it, and went back to the practice rooms, trying to open them up. Why Mr. S wasn't yelling at us at this point, I don't know, but we tried to open every single practice room, and when we got to the last one... eureka! It opened...

The last practice room... this is the sort of room that, when someone wants to throw something away... they just open the door, throw it, and try not to breathe while the door's open. Sergio and I, being the brave should we are, though, ventured in to the small circa 8x8 room, with our CD player, and sat down on two chairs.

The smell wasn’t actually as bad as one might have thought, actually. However, the room was full of trash... to paint a scene: the back right corner of the room had piles of sort of wet foam that was very mildew smelling. In the back left corner, some candy left over from my freshman year, in a bag. In the forward left corner, some old clothes, smelling of Jason Blomberg (ew). In the forward right corner, paint cans and utensils left over from... you guessed it... my freshman year.

And all over, there are old drum heads that some douche bag drummer just threw in there. Damn drummers.

So, Sergio and I put our stuff in the room and left, heading towards the bookstore to get his textbooks for the class. We enter the bookstore, and they are watching television, as always... we ask for the books, and while the elderly woman is in the back room, we hear on the television... none other than... Blue Oyster Cult's Fear the Reaper. Sergio and I look at each other, and we, nearly in synchronization, say "I gotta have more cowbell!" To make a long story short, we started saying it, and now the whole band wont stop saying it. Wonderful.

We walk back to the Band Room, reenacting the "Gotta have more cowbell" scene the whole way. Joyous.

We get back to the room, and head back to the practice room. I try to turn on the little CD player we got, and BOOM. There is a flash of light, and many sparks. Short Circuit. I freak, Sergio laughs. He and I then manage to get it started, and begin listening to Los Fabulosos. We find a tube of old lip gloss on the ground, and decide that the room needs some decoration, so he wrote "Los Fabulosos Cadillacs" on the soundproof tile, along with all the other vandalism. Lovely.

So we're sit there, and light bulbs go off over our heads. We decide that we need to turn this practice room into a cool place to be... a regular Studio 54. It will Be a place for the AP Music theory Students to hang out and do their shit. We begin to throw stuff away.

By the time we're done, the room looks great, and the bell rings. Thankfully, I have another band class after Music Theory. I decide I'd rather not play, so I stay in the room and begin to organize it. It's fucking COOL. We've got a piano, congas, a boom box I will be bringing in, writing on the walls, two tables, and chairs. Hell yes. I then sit down, and think about it.

"It needs a name" I think... "Club Serpico" I think. Sounds good. Sergio likes it, I conferred with him. I then decide that I am gonna bring in some posters. It'll be cool.

So, the plan was that I was going to go out with some friends tonight. Didn't happen. No one could, and many of us are sick. Joy. So, instead, I stayed at home, sporadically napped, watched "Real Time," and "Reservoir Dogs."

Tomorrow though, with John's mom, I am going to a Chicago and Earth, Wind, and Fire concert. It'll be fun, it'll be awesome, it'll be wonderful. Two bands I love. I'm looking forward to it.

On a last note. I am watching "Reservoir Dogs" right now, and I just remembered how awesome it is. I love that film, and Quentin Tarantino. Sweet.

Night everyone, stay in touch.

The Saturday Spent up North... How Much I Absolutely Love Bylaws... DM3, and Sen., Chairman Mitchell.. .The Mormon Dance... And Why I Grow Impatient

Sorry for the posts that haven't been made these last few days, things have been busy. I am now, however, rested, and ready to write another installment of this new blog of mine.

So I woke up at 6am on Saturday in order to get myself ready, and get to ADP HQ on time. I got there early, and when I pulled up, was greeted by none other than E-Rog. We had a short discussion about how good the settlement against Merck was before Alicia pulled up.

Alicia informed us that DM3 was running late, and was probably going to head straight to Flagstaff, so we'd be carpooling with Jessica and Fletcher. No problems there, but E-Rog decided that she wanted something to eat, so we went to Jack in the Crack right down the road and got some French toast sticks.

We got back to the ADP, and she offered me some, so I bent downwards, took my hands, and wafted the scent towards my nose, and inhaled accordingly. She began to laugh at me, and said that I was "such a yuppy" and wafting scents was "such a yuppy thing to do." She then called me "Alex," a joke which at first, I did not understand... until she added the "Keaton" to it.

She then decided that it was her sole mission in life, that morning, to make people start calling me "Alex Keaton," you know, from Family Ties... yeah, that Alex Keaton... wasn't gonna fly.

Anyway, I had a French Toast Stick.

The drive up was fine... nothing too exciting happened.

We arrived at NAU, and immediately encountered Ruben and Tom Reade, then began to look for the room in which the YDAz Exec Board meeting would be taking place. We found it, and yes, it did smell like vomit... apparently it smelled much worse before we arrived, and only began to clear up when Tony opened the windows.

So the meeting is about to begin and I am standing there, holding my just-taken-off blazer in one hand, and a pen and pad of paper in the other... then it happened.

From the other side of the room I hear: "Hey Alex!" and, to my horror, I see, flying towards me, a canister of that damned syrup from the French Toast Sticks that E-Rog ordered.

Who in their right mind would throw a canister of maple syrup at someone? That just isn't something people do!

So, this thing is flying towards me, and I see the entire room sort of look over and begin to watch it, expecting an explosion of stickiness, followed by a Stephen hissy-fit. I make a feeble attempt at catching it, and Ruben Alonzo steps out of the way.

Thank god for packaging because, much to my relief, and E-Rog's dismay, it didn't pop open and turn me into an angry, sticky person.

Tony then, after the initial shock, made a side comment about how she decided to throw it at the only person who actually cared about their clothes... then E-Rog called me Alex again, but it never caught on... she still says it will though...

So, the meeting happens... The HS Caucus is created, and I am formally appointed chair, and the workers, and college caucuses are created. yay! Then some other stuff happened, like the "Change for Change," recurring donor club (www.ydaz.org) and then the real fun the reason we all are YD's... Bylaws amendments... basically, hell on earth...

I was planning for more on the bylaws, but I'll save that for the entry later this week after we actually finish the revisions.

The State Committee stuff went smoothly; elected DM3 Secretary, and Harry Mitchell Chairman, as well as a few other things... it was a good thing.

So we all headed home, and I picked up my car, and decided I would head to John's house, where I am right now, writing this blog entry. We needed something to do, so we called our now mutual friends Cory and Randon, and planned to go to a movie. Little did we know, we were in for so much more!

We ditched the movie, and decided to go to a dance at the local LDS church by John's house. Randon had an invite since he happens to be Mormon, so it was all cool... one thing, Cory and I were both drinking Venti Frappachino's at the time, we caught some backward glances from the older Mormons at the dance, but all-in-all, it was ok...

So everything was cool, dance was moderately fun, until I told some uncouth jokes, and we decided it was time to leave...

The night went on, and John, Cory and I were the only 3 left out of the original Valiant 4... so we decide to go to a burger joint... they were closed, so we got Chuy's instead.

What a day, I did a lot, and look forward to tomorrow, when I shall meet with my friends at 4pm, and rush to get homework done before and after they arrive. Joy.

Sleep well, world.

Day Three... The English Project... Flagstaff on Saturday... Moving the game to Sunday... And What I'd Rather be Doing Tomorrow Night

Well, day three went pretty much as it should have... with a little bit more "oomf" from Mr. S when it came to him getting all agitated over my questions. I can never really figure that out. I mean, every question I ask he aknowledges, and fixed the problem in the band, but always he goes on with the rolling of the eyes and the huffing and the puffing and the "What is the this time Stephen..." oh well.

I listened to Tito Puente all during first hour. The drummers seemed to like him, but it surprised me that none had ever heard of him... damn fools.

I started my first English Prohect of the year today - I'm making a video to present to the class. They always generate "oohs" "aahs" and of course "A" grades. So far it seems pretty good. Definitely an A.

I talked to Tony yesterday, and decided that I am going to go with some of the other YDs to Flagstaff for the State Committee Meeting... it should be a good time, and a good opprtunity to build YDAz's image.

Because of the Committee Meeting, I of course had to mediate between my Exalted roleplaying game group members to renegotiate a time to play, other than Saturday Night... we decided Sunday at my place would be good. It'll be a good time.

Man, tomorrow night, another evening band practice. Hopefully it's better than Tuesday's. I'm gonna have to get Stevie to shut up, or else Mr. S. will really have it in for me... man, I'd rather be doing something else tomorrow night. Oh well.

See you later.

Teachers.. Fear and Loathing in the Chemistry Classroom... The Bayeux Tapestry... The English Project... And Why I Think Band Four Times a Day is Rock

Well, my second post in two days... how terribly exciting.

OK, so the second day of school happened. As usual, it started with me showing up at zero-hour 6:30am Wind Ensemble Class looking good among those who look not-so-good. Wind Ensemble was fun, Mr. S got upset only a couple of times at me, and likewise with the three subsequent classes I had with him... except for the last one... but more on that later.

So anyway, I'm afraid that I've misjudged at least two of my teachers...

Keller, my chemistry teacher, is a Republican, so no wonder the striking resemblance and sound of voice exist between him and Jeff Sessions... oh well, he's a nice guy. It struck me as odd though, when, in the middle of lecture, he brought up Forensic Chemistry, and pulled out a bunch of bullet casings, and described the differences. That didnt bother me nearly as much as him looking and sounding so much like Jeff Sessions...

I confirmed that Murphy-Tick, the English teacher is in fact not a Republican, but a Democrat who loves to bash Bush... man, first impressions huh? Anyway, she gave us this project that seems pretty cool, I get to talk about myself in front of the class... I'll probably say something and make a short MovieMaker thing... people are so easily impressed.

Now moving on to my History Teacher, who I still think is an "R," today in class, something very awkward happened. She was going around, asking people if they knew about sources yadda ya... she points to me "Stephen, name a primary source." Me: "The Bayeux Tapestry."

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She didn't know what it was. Oh man, was I mortified... I didn't show it of course but MAN she's a HISTORY TEACHER who doesn't know what the fricken BAYEUX TAPESTRY is... I hope for a better experience tomorrow.

After the AG's Office today, I had to run over to School for a two-hour marching practice. Joy. I spend four hours a day with Mr. S, our Band Director, and while I will say that, on the large, he is a nice, great guy, he has a temper that flares often, and at the people who happen to be messing up at the time, which seemingly is usually me. So I got shouted at a few times at practice... meh.

Not a very exciting day... but tomorrow I will probably have something better to write.

Have a good day.

The Blog... Ted Kennedy... The First Day of School... And Putting it all Together

So I decided to start my new blog on the first day of the 05-06 school year. Brilliant isn’t it? A fresh start in the learning environment, as well as online!

Yeah, I'm full of bullshit. The fact is that I should have started this during summer because while in actuality I actually has less time on my hands, I would have had more interesting things to write about.

So, for all of you out there who know me and are reading this, you probably know how much of a blog-basher I am. Hypocritical, isn’t it? Well hey, what can I say, I had to hop on the bandwagon or would that be blogwagon… nevermind.

So, many of you non-political types (or even some of you politicos) are wondering why I decided to use a Ted Kennedy Quote to name my blog... well, to be blunt, I think that Teddy's totally awesome, and in 1980 he gave one of the most resounding speeches of his career, or any career. His work is something to be admired, and he is someone who has done more for america than most people will ever know, and in my opinion he should go down as one of the greatest Democrats of our times... but I digress, this should be a warm, getting to know you post...

Anyway, my summer was awesome. I had the incredible opportunity to work at the Attorney General’s office and begin my work as Chairman of an organization which I am sure will grow to be an incredible voice in Arizona Politics, the Young Democrats of Arizona High School Caucus.

So, now school’s in, and I just spent a buttload on new clothes and school supplies for the upcoming year… now comes the 9 month period of me trying to find that happy balance between work and school, and a little play thrown in here and there.

My teachers are cool. I have three band classes this year because I am that much of a dork, but thankfully they make up my first three periods, one of which actually starts at 6:30, an hour before school.

Band teacher is of course, Swearingen. What can I say… he’s nice… liberal Democrat... from Oregon… funny, but boring more often then not… he’s nice though.

My Chem teacher is Keller. He seems pretty awesome… a liberal most definitely… however his mannerisms are very creepily like Jeff Session’s though… so much as to make me cringe when he says a word like “bunson” or “burner.”

For AP American History I have Mrs. Wilkens… she said she wouldn’t tell me if she was a partisan or not, but she and all of her “Freedom isn’t free” and “How did government get so big” stickers pretty much paint a big “R” on her forehead.

For Pre-Calc I have Milburn… there’s only one way I can describe her… 1981. Her life was progressing nicely, but then in fall, 1981, she stumbled across a perm, leopard print jumpsuit, and some purple leg warmers and decided never to take them off. I haven’t talked politics with her yet, but I get a strong “R” vibe.

For AP English I’ve got Murphy-Tick, who is really cool… she’s letting me do Hunter S. Thompson as my American Author study, and Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72 as my guy… and we had a nice conversation about William Jennings Bryan… but man, she really gives me the Repulican vibe… talk about cliché bumper stickers in her room… ick.

Man… what is it with me and my Republican teachers? Oh Well.

So my summer went awesome, as I said earlier, but most of it was because of the first two weeks of this month… firstly the YDA National Convention, YDA by the Bay, but that’s a whole other post.

Band camp was really awesome, but again another entry in and of itself.

I will also write another entry about when I went back to San Fran and saw Dave Matthews Band twice. It was awesome.

Just some teasers about what all is to come!

Anyway, I need to get up at 5:30, and I am still tired from all of the above… talk to you later… stay good.

First Post

Well, it looks like I've finally done it.

I have a blog.

More posts soon!