That'll be a cold day in... Gainesville!

GAINES-VEGAS – I got home late Thursday afternoon. It was around 4:30. I bombed the last final, but that was the last thing on my mind. A wiser man would have stayed in Athens and waited for the ice to melt before trying to brave the roads. I was not that wise. I left Athens around 2:30 to make the forty-five minute drive home. That time would be doubled (at least). 316 was fine; no ice on the road or trees or power lines down. It was when I got off of 316 that things went south… quickly. I spent the entire remainder of the trip dodging trees, downed power lines and patches of ice that covered large stretches of the road. It took an hour and a half, but there was no damage done to me or anyone else, so I counted my blessings. As I rounded the corner and saw my house (completely decorated for Christmas and with ice in the trees in front of the house and along the driveway), I thought to myself that I had surely made the right decision to brave the ice and cold and come on home. It was when I pulled up the driveway that I immediately reconsidered that decision. My dad and brothers exited the garage in full winter gear carrying chainsaws and instructing me to unload, change clothes and quickly accompany them out to the street to begin moving downed trees. I could tell already that I had made a huge mistake. As I entered the house, I noticed that it was as cold as __________. Apparently, the power had been off of some ten hours. It was cold and dark. I changed as quickly as I could under the circumstances and ventured outside to begin chopping and removing fallen trees from the road in front of our house. It wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated, but I still missed Athens and I had only been home for eighteen minutes. How long 'till the Sugar Bowl trip?

MORE TO COME.......

It is finished!

STUDIO 48 -- Athens is under a thin sheet of ice. The weather is the nastiest it has been in recent memory. However, today is a great day in the world of Matt. The sun isshiningg on me, and the skies are nothing but blue. My friends... FINALS ARE OVER!!! It is finished. Done. No mas. So as I finish cleaning up Studio 48 and pack up for two weeks away from the Classic City, I do so with a smile on my face. I will not think of college classes or books or studying again until after the bowl trip. Wow, two weeks of relative freedom.
I will spend part of the break in Gaines-Vegas with the fam, then maybe a day working at the Hartwell cabin, and then will be in the mountains for a few days of true relaxation. And then to top it off, I will watch my Dawgs take care of business.


As you enjoy your break and I enjoy mine, let's all try to remember the real reason that we celebrate this season...

And so it was, that, while they (Mary & Joseph) were there (Bethlehem), the days were accomplished that she should deliver the child. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger".

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men".

~Luke 2:6-14

Merry Christmas everybody!

Wild West in Studio 48

STUDIO 48 -- Being immature is a lot of fun no matter how old you get. Last night, instead of studying my room mates and I had a Wild West shootout with plastic Nerf guns in our apartment. I won! We turned off all the lights and battled until everyone was dead... except me. I did get clocked in the mouth by the barrel of Lobert Rundy’s gun, but I’ll be ok. Now I have to make up for not studying by cramming like mad.

One down, two more to go...

STUDIO 48 -- I am back in the Classic City. It was a very prosperous trip home. I learned a lot about myself in three days and even found time to study a little bit. I have absolutely no regrets for agreeing to participate in the Christmas thing at church. I was even blessed by it (who knew?). I have finished my first of three finals and am feeling good. Who knows what kinda grade I’ll get on that History exam (because the grading is über subjective), but I know that I was as prepared as I could be and did the best that I could (sounds like a Lifetime movie waiting to happen). I am now waiting on Ru$ty and K-diddle to get back from Gaines-Vegas so that diddle and I can quiz each other for the Speech Communication final. I’m not worried about it, but I still feel like I need to ‘hunker down’ and study tonight.

As I re-read my previous Blog, I feel that I need to apologize to my loyal readers (both of you) for how sappy it is. Sorry! I try not to get that way too often. Let’s just say that that particular entry was more for me than you guys. I do stand by the validity of the feelings mentioned in it. I’m a new proponent of solid and consistent communication. I don’t always practice what I preach, but I’m trying to get better.

I got my history paper back (sidebar: I did not read the novel that the paper was about and, consequently, the entire paper was fabricated bull----). I got a better grade on it than Lobert Rundy (who did read for his paper). That makes me happy deep down. Is that wrong or is it just my competitive nature coming out? Either way, I WIN!

The Lady Dawgs beat the starch out of Savannah State on Saturday (it was the largest margin of victor in school history). The boys team beat Ga. State to complete the sweep over in-state schools and capture the state championship. I am really glad I decided to do basketball band this year.

That’s all for now. I’m gonna get back to studying. More later...

When a man loves a woman... (or visa-versa)

GAINES-VEGAS -- Over the last three years, many times I have been put in the situation in which I have had to reject someone who had strong feelings for me. I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, but that it would be for the best in the long-run. I hate when I work up the nerve to show a female any sort of interest only to be rejected. So, likewise, I hate being the one that does the rejecting. I know that when a girl develops feelings for a guy that does not have the same feelings for her, one of two things will happen. 1) They will never reveal their feelings and always wonder what might have been, -- or -- 2) she will tell him, and he’ll try to let her down easy. I don’t think it matters how old you are… rejection sucks! BOTH WAYS! But I’ve learned that keeping your feelings to yourself is more torturous than the worst rejection could ever be. It’s hard, but go for it!
It’ll all be worth it when that girl that I have feelings for ends up having them for me as well. Some day… ;-)

Home before finals???

GAINES-VEGAS – I’m at home even though it is the weekend before finals. I'm only in town from today (Friday) until Tuesday. It is not a trip that I would have made voluntarily, but I was offered an opportunity to perform in the Christmas presentation at my home church. It would have been simple to simply turn them down, as it is time for finals and there are plenty of other things that I might occupy my time with, but I decided to go for it. I am afraid that there are big changes afoot at this church. I’m not one to assume that all change is bad, but I’m really afraid that this might be my last opportunity to be apart of something like this. Please pray for this church.

I had been sort of regretting my commitment to this for several weeks, even going so far as to search for reasons to skip rehearsal. When I try to make decisions on my own, I am consistently slapped in the face by God. One such slap came last night as I crossed the bridge over the lake and into town. It was overcast and the lights of the city made the night sky glow a reddish-orange color that was truly breathtaking. As I crossed the bridge and looked off into the distance across the water, I could see lights from the cabins on the mountains. It couldn’t have been any more amazing. But then it was. The bridge across Lake Lanier is almost ¼ of a mile long. As I reached the half way point, it started to snow… abundantly. As you all know, we don’t get a lot of snow in Georgia in December, but it was truly special. It was at that point that I knew that my purpose for being apart of this was bigger than me and that God would use me in spite of myself and my poor attitude. This is a lesson that He has taught me many times before. I hope it sticks this time.

Evaluating as a student

STEGEMAN COLISEUM -- I realize that Student Evaluations are just a way to make students feel like their opinion has some value, but here’s my evaluation (as turned in) regarding the RCB director...


To whom it may concern,

I am writing as third year student at the Univer$ity of G-orgia and as a third year member of the R-dcoat B-nd. I want to be tasteful, respectful, and constructive, while at the same time being strong and utterly critical. I honestly thought that the leadership was the main thing that kept the 101st edition of the band from being the best. We were so close. Don’t get me wrong, this was still a good year. But that can be attributed to the character of the people in the organization and the success of the football team, not the leadership. There were times when I felt like we didn’t have a ‘plan of attack’ for rehearsals. Most weeks I, as a section leader, didn’t know what to expect upon my arrival at rehearsal. Communication is the name of the game and it was sketchy at best and downright shoddy at times. I think if I could suggest one thing, it would be a weekly newsletter to the leadership that at least clues everyone in on what the goals for the week are and what we intend to march on Saturday. I can do my job better if I know what we are trying to accomplish. I need the support of my superiors, not to be fussed at constantly or worse yet, uninformed regarding their opinions.

I think that rehearsals were poorly run, especially late in the season. Running a show set to set is a great way to learn that show. At band camp and whenever we introduce a new show, we should defiantly run it page by page to get it in our feet. Running a show set to set the night before a game is a waste of everyone’s time. The R-dcoat B-nd ran show three set to set on the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning rehearsals the week of the SEC Champion$hip. I looked the other way on Wednesday. I bit my tongue on Thursday. But how do I defend the leadership’s decision to run a rehearsal the day before the biggest game of the year in such a manner. The answer, in short, is that I cannot. It is hard to maintain discipline on the field when that is how rehearsals go. If nothing else, give the band an opportunity at the beginning of rehearsal to run the show down so we can see where we are. If it is good, then we know that have rehearsed that enough and can move on. If not, then we know what we need to fix as we go set to set. Rehearsing just for the sake of rehearsing is a great way to kill any and all momentum that an organization may have accrued. The members of the Redcoat Band are very intelligent. We know when we are wasting time and there were several rehearsals this season when it was abundantly clear to everyone on the field and nobody on the tower that we were wasting time. The flagline and drumline can’t learn their music and routines without multiple runs. The band losses the ability to fix on the fly and dress forms when the only way they rehearse is set by set and perhaps once through the whole thing prior to a performance. Give us a chance to fix a form as the accomplished musicians and marchers that we are. This situation must be addressed prior to next season.

I implore the band leadership, especially at the very top, to address the way in which they present themselves socially. I was asked as a section leader at the very beginning of the year to be sure that “I welcomed, and that my section welcomed the rookie class with open arms and a helpful and friendly spirit”. I feel that I accomplished this goal to the best of my ability. I can say with no reservation that the leader of the R-dcoat B-nd did not do this. On one occasion, he lambasted a freshman mellophone for missing horns-down in a Pregame rehearsal in front of the entire ensemble. He singled out the individual, and then proceeded to threaten his status in the band, embarrass, and yell at him. On another occasion, he yelled at a freshman sousaphone player for talking in a tunnel beneath the Georgia Dome when the individual had not heard that we needed to remain quiet because of the Sousas location in the stands. When informed of his mistake, he shook it off and made no attempt at retribution. These are a just a few of countless instances when I felt like our director was out of line and showed utter immaturity and a lack of leadership skills. He is not approachable by anyone on staff or on leadership. If I am supposed to welcome freshmen and returning members as a section leader, then I expect my superiors to lead by example and do the same. I think that college students respond to positive attitudes. Speaking to someone only when they are wrong is not the way to show a positive attitude.

I plan to return to the R-dcoat B-nd next fall out of my sheer love of the band, the football team and the Univer$ity of G-orgia as a whole, but some changes must be made. I fell that we can no longer assert ourselves as the ‘finest in the land’ and this disturbs me greatly. I feel that it has very little to do with the members of the organization. Success and failure both start at the top. The band was successful this year, but we failed at the top. I hope that the concerns that I have spelled out as well as those that others will surely spell out will be addressed before our failure at the top trickles down and causes the entire organization to fail. I care a great deal about the band, its proud tradition, and its exciting future and only want what is best for it.

Thank you for your time,
Matthew Ph-ll-ps

MOTIVATION!!!

STUDIO 48 -- Today is one of those days when I find it hard to be motivated. All the work is done. All that is left is the fun-filled world of final exams. I often reveal myself to be a huge dork. It’s true, I am. The following is a primo example of that.

To motivate myself, I am looking to football. Not just any football, but GEORGIA FOOTBALL! I keep thinking about what it means to be an underdog, to be counted out, to be left be left behind in everyone’s mind. If Georgia can accomplish what it has, then how can I sit and be unmotivated to achieve to my fullest, even if it is just stupid exams?

Last August, I proclaimed my belief that Georgia would go 7-4 at best. I didn't think Shockley would get all of the way through the season as a starter. I think I had reasons to believe that, and as hard as it is for me to admit, I was absolutely dead wrong.

As many have already said, D.J. has to go down as one of my favorite Dawgs ever. I think it has more to do with his character than his accomplishments on the field. The fact that he sat for four years and waited patiently and without public outburst is admirable, but many thought it was stupid. I include myself in that group. That he accepted circumstances that should have relegated him to status as an also-ran in the history of Georgia football was portrayed by many to be either foolish or indicative of a lack of confidence in his own abilities. I include myself in that group also. That he took his only chance and turned it into success is nothing but magic and a testament to the fact that loyalty and belief can still result in something great in a world based more and more on probability and actuarial tables.

This is obviously not the ultimate feat in football, but for myself and many others it is as sweet as sugar.

The statement "there were no expectations this year" is stupid. There were expectations (there always are). We expected not to be in this game. We expected D.J. to take one for the team and regret having ridden this thing out to the end of the line. We expected to be average. It's one thing to be expected to dominate a season and to fulfill that expectation. It is a far more rewarding end to be expected to be average and to emerge a champion.

At a time when I had lost just a little bit of the width in my eyes... at a time when I had begun to stop believing in fairy tales, in risk... at a time when I started to think that the smart money was with the oddsmakers, D.J. reminded me why I needed to keep my belief in the infinite and the preference for being the underdog.

This was so much sweeter because it was all but impossible. No one believed it. I certainly didn’t.

I love it when the little guy, the underdog, pulls it out. I love the vision of a 5'8" defensive back intercepting a ball against a man 6 inches taller than him, and outrunning faster men as assistant coaches and trainers fall to the ground, pounding the artificial turf with their open hands, and screaming their vocal cords into nodules, "Go, go, go, run, run!!!" I love Sid Bream running on a bummed knee, lumbering around the bags, running a race that he can't win against a 9-inch-around ball that can travel over 100 mph, and winning. I love the unsinkable shot from half court that swishes. I love beating a team that nobody thought was beatable. I love the Hail Mary that connects, the ugly guy that gets the girl because he's funny, the cancer patient that beat 10-1 odds and lives to become a successful physician, the no-name candidate that shocks the world, the royal flush, and the 400-pound guy that whittles it down to 185.

Success is great. But I think that the people who really experience euphoria are the ones who find the impossible and unthinkable missions, fulfill them, and have learned to experience the moment.

I needed to be reminded to get to know the quiet, reserved kid that looks like he will be picked last. I needed to remember to eat at the hole in the wall. I needed to recall that the guy with the rough voice might be the most beloved radio personality. I had to remember to love the one you can't have even when you know you're going to have your heart broken, to speak the socially unacceptable, to take the scenic route, and to risk imperfection for a chance at immortality.

I believe that the euphoria of beating the odds makes you virtually forget your failures. I believe that riders on the bandwagon experience empty victories. I believe that those who seek to live lives devoid of complication and frustration will get exactly that, and that nothing that is worth doing is easy.

MOTIVATION!!!

A Special thanks to Br-tt B-wc-m for giving me the idea

SEC Champs!!!

STUDIO 48 – WE WON!!! SEC Champs, baby! The game has been over for nineteen hours and I’m still giddy like a little kid in FAO Schwartz. To top it all off, our women’s basketball team took care of Tech’s team this afternoon. The athletic association took Le0nard Pope’s website off the internet and we’re going to the BCS (which still eats it as an institution, but I’m happy to be there). What a great weekend for UGA!

I had really bad intuitions about the SEC game all week, but as Sam and I led the RCB through the bowel of the Georgia Dome and through the tunnel and into the stadium, I had a sudden feeling of calmness and peace about the whole thing. The band was loud and raucous even before we entered the stadium. We barked and chanted and acted a fool, but had a great time. We we’re not going to be denied. And not just as a team but as students, as a band, and as a fan base in general. We wanted this one and we were (pardon my redneck) DERN loud for our boys.

The final score was 34-14, but it wasn’t even that close. LSU was out manned, out coached and out classed. We destroyed them from the very beginning. It was amazing! I’m so pumped! I will close with this: Georgia has won two of the last four SEC Championships in football, we have been to the title game three out of four, and we are proving once again that you cannot (hard as you may try) spell sugar without UGA!!!
Goooooooooooooo DAWGS... Sic ‘em!

It’s the principal of the thang!

STUDIO 48 -- I am proud to say that after my email (see my Dec. 1 entry to view the email), the Leonard Pope website has been removed from the world wide web. This a victory for me, Leonard, the Athletic Association, UGA in general and Georgia fans all over the world! Now that all the "adademic stuff" has been tended to we can focus on more important things like winning football games! GO DAWGS!
<http://www.arches.uga.edu/~popel/about%20me.htm>

Burning the midnight oil -- but not on purpose...

STUDIO 48 – Do you ever have one of those nights when you just can’t sleep? You try and try but nothing seems to help. As I write, it is 5:04 AM. I have not slept a single wink so far this night.
I think this problem is due to many factors. For one, I might have developed a minor addiction to NyQuil. I had a nasty head cold earlier in the week and took a stout dose of the amazing potion every night in order to ensure that I got as much sleep as possible under the circumstances. It’s kinda ironic that I took the green stuff (because Kroger was out of the cherry flavor) to help me sleep and it is the very thing that is keeping me from sleeping now.
The second thing hindering me from slumber is just the fact that I have a lot on my mind right now. Finals are less than two weeks away. I’ve been working on papers all week and tonight was the first chance I’ve had since Thanksgiving to do nothing for a few minutes. I think it freaked my body out a little bit. I went out to eat at Mexicali with Kev1n, Le0n, Rob1n & H@yley. Boy, did I need a night out! We all vented a little bit about obscure things and it was just what I needed.
I got home around 11:30 and got completely prepared for an amazing night of sleep. I watched Letterman with Lobert Rundy, K-diddle and Ru$ty. Then, I retired to my room to watch Conan as I drifted off to sleep. But the sleep never came. Conan ended and I still was still wide awake. My mind couldn’t settle down. I was thinking about everything from Redc0ats, the SEC Championship, girls (past, present and future), spiritual stuff, and life in general. It is funny how sometimes you think about a given scenario, or dream about a given scenario so much and so often, that the line between that dream and reality becomes skewed. You can no longer tell what is real and what your mind just made up out of the blue. It is really weird and out there, but kinda cool at the same time. For my own sanity, I’m going to count it as creativity and not craziness. We’ll call it a blessing rather than a curse.
I gave up on getting to sleep about 4:30 AM and got up to take a shower. I am now planning to get ahead on some reading so as not to count all this time as a complete waste. I know that I will be so dog (or Dawg) tired tomorrow night that even a slight addiction to NyQuil won’t keep me from sleep. I wish that this ‘not being able to sleep’ thing had happened earlier this week when I had tons to do. Tonight was supposed to be a full night of solid rest. Oh, well...

42 and counting!

42 hours 'till kickoff...
Holy crap!

An open letter to the UGA Athletic Association

To whom it may concern,

I’m writing to you as a lifetime and die-hard Ge0rgia fan. I’m also currently a student at the Unvers-ty of Ge0rgia. The purpose of this message is a website that was recently brought to my attention. It is the personal webpage of Le0nard P0pe of the football team. Mr. P0pe is using U~G~A’s own arches server to publish his site. The URL is <http://www.arches.uga.edu/~popel/about%20me.htm>. (If you navigate to this site, please pay special attention to the “about me” and “resume” sections.) My concern is the content of the site. It shows a complete lack of understanding in how the English language works. There are sentences with no subject and others with no verb. There are misspelled words and incorrect uses of prepositional phrases. He claims that he “is on schedule of graduating” and that meeting his standards “will keep him at wonderful school like U~G~A”. I am pleading with you as a Ge0rga fan who cares about the reputation of the institution he loves and as a student who is concerned with the value of his diploma to please have Mr. P0pe remove or at least proofread his web site. I understand that athletes are sometimes held to lower academic standards than the mainstream student body but this is ridiculous and it is on the WORLD WIDE WEB! It makes our school look like a joke. This horrific display of the English language was brought to my attention by an acquaintance who is a student at the Ge0rgia I^stitute of Techn0l0gy. The word is out. Please stop the bleeding now, before it gets any worse.

With sincere concern,
***********
~Matt Ph-ll-ps

The list(s) of favorite (and not so favorite) things/people...

STUDIO 48 – It occurred to me that I have been a 'blogger' for almost a week and haven’t told you guys anything about me... So here goes:

These lists should get you caught up in the world of Matt...


~These are a few of my favorite things/people.........
(in no particular order)

--sunrises/sunsets;
--sleeping in;
--meeting new people;
--north campus;
--swimming pools;
--the Florida game trip;
--deep conversations;
--Jell-O;
--spontaneous road trips;
--playing basketball;
--lake days (see also: water sports);
--roller coasters;
--K-bob;
--Athens trivia nights;
--per diem;
--thunderstorms;
--trampolines;
--my family;
--eating peanut butter strait from the jar;
--Seinfeld re-runs;
--ridiculously long showers;
--scenarios;
--prayer;
--foosball;
--classifying mullets;
--sweet tea;
--victory cigars;
--crisp autumn days;
--quoting movies;
--all-you-can-eat buffets;
--chilling out with friends (old and new);
--the yellow sauce @ Inoko’s;
--Jacuzzis;
--Krispy Kreme Doughnuts;
--Redcoats (it’s a love/hate relationship);
--grandparents;
--Oreo Blizzards;
--long walks on the beach;
--backrubs;
--GAMEDAY;
--afternoon naps;
--sitting in the car until the song is over;
--March Madness;
--casseroles;
--staying up for Conan;
--girls that have the personality and character to equal their attractiveness;
--UGA baseball games;
--driving in the mountains;
--the silent majesty of a winter’s morn;
--singing in the shower;
--tailgating;
--the antics of the Basketball Band;
--cuddling / snuggling;
--going home after a long time in Athens;
--getting back to Athens after a long time at home;
--bowl game trips;
--music! (country & rap do not qualify in this category);
--snow days;
--green Kool-Aid


~These are some things/people that make my life hard to tolerate.........
(in no particular order)

--studying;
--alarm clocks;
--Satan;
--Oprah;
--The French;
--Steve Spurrier;
--the color orange (includes the shades of AU, UF, UT, and Clem-p-son);
--Michael Adams;
--women who don’t know what they want;
--Parking Services (minions of the Anti-Christ);
--waiting in lines;
--classes in which attendance is taken;
--guys who are ‘Fratastic’ and ‘Sorostitutes’;
--liberals (some are nice, though);
--speed limits;
--The New York Yankees;
--SEC officials, umpires and referees;
--people who load/unload on Baldwin Street;
--Hurry up and wait;
--Dr. Phil;
--UGA students who wear shirts, hats & other apparel that support another school;
--people who talk on their cell phones IN CLASS;
--mono-tone professors;
--The North Ave. Trade School and it’s fans;
--spelling;
--people that wear air-brushed t-shirts from spring break;
--The Metric System;
--The BCS
--GA-316;
--over-weight women that dress like they aren’t;
--fair-weather fans;
--reality TV;
--Mark May;
--Yankees who come to the south and brag about the north;
--The Arcade Police Department;
--the “preacher” at the Tate Plaza;
--Hilary Clinton;
--logistics;
--Gainesville High School University;
--terrorists;
--consecutive rainy days;
--femi-nazis;
--the mic “man”;
--know-it-all-s (see also: May, Adams, Oprah...etc.);
--GT nerds;

(You can also find these lists on My Facebook Profile.)

WOW, a win!

STUDIO 48 – The boy’s team won!
It wasn’t pretty. In fact, you might say it was the ugliest 25 point win in the history of college basketball. But heck! We’ll take any wins any way we can get them.
The basketball band was loud when they had to be, but mostly laid back. Ham Sjort and H.D. Capple went at it as usual because Moug Dackensie wasen’t there and H.D. took his spot on Sousa. I would say that Moug is about one miss away from being in deep with the directors. He’s already in deep with me. So deep, in fact, that I have given up on him.
I had to make a decision about who has to stay behind and play the game on Saturday and who goes on to Atlanta for the SEC Championship. Such decision making is not one of the perks of my job. Mr. K-ck decided that it should be Erc, A$hley and Moug (if he shows). They were not too happy about it, and I don’t blame them. We could have used their sound on Saturday morning. But it wasn’t my call.

All is well in the world of Matt. I’m feeling pretty close to good. We’ll see how long it lasts this time...

attitude = reality

STUDIO 48 – I have figured out that attitude is about 90% of reality. If I wake up thinking my day is going to suck, then it usually does. On the other hand, if I wake up and smile and think about how great my day is going to be, then the day is usually great. I think that this philosophy works with almost anything. Just speculating...

Illness, Women, SEC Championship & UG@ Basketball (pretty random!)

STUDIO 48 – I’m feeling somewhat better today. My breathing is almost back to normal and my body aches are tolerable. I’m grossing fewer people out with my drippy nose—and that is always good. Who knows, maybe I’ll be 100% by this weekend!

Alli$on and I had the ‘ole DTR (define the relationship) last night. We both are kinda in the same place... enjoying each other’s companionship, but not really having strong enough feelings to prompt us to commit to anything other than a close friendship. I think it will be nice not wondering about our relationship anymore. I won’t say we broke up because we were never really dating. I’m encountering relationships such as this more and more: girls that I try to date--but have zero romantic feelings for--but try to force things because the girl is just so perfect that I just assume that the feelings will come in time. Needless to say, I have made some incredible friendships over the last year, but I’m ready for something more.
I know very little about relationships, but I do know that it is never best to keep feelings to yourself. If the other person doesn’t know how you feel, then they will certainly not respond to it. Sure, they might rip your heart out, but the suffering you put yourself through by keeping your feelings bottled up to yourself is much worse than anything they might do to you. Rejection sucks either way. But it is better to have given it a chance and to have been shot down then to wonder about what might have been. I think I’m most comfortable being single and I used to be completely content being single. But those feelings are starting to change......
I’ll keep praying and being patient.

In lighter news...
The SEC Championship Game is only four days away. I promised myself that I wouldn’t get all excited and make a fool of myself, but I can tell already that I’m not going to make it. I really want to win this one. Going to tomorrow’s RCB rehearsal will only make my frenzy grow. Practice will be tough this week and rightfully so... We do have to compete with the G-lden B-nd from T-gerland and they are (pardon my redneckness) dern good. Memories from the utter embarrassment of two years ago are still oddly fresh in my mind and I’d love to reciprocate them to L$U. We shall see

Tonight is the first home men’s (boy’s?) basketball game. I’m very interested to see how this team shapes up. There is no way they will be as bad as last year. Basketball band promises to be a blast (again) with Mr. K-ck at the helm. He is assimilating to Georgia quite nicely.

More to come...

North Ave. Trade School

STUDIO 48 -- I'm still celebrating my Dawgs big win over the Dirt Daubers of GAy Tech. I witnessed a defensive battle on historic Grant Field. The final score was 14-7. After my second visit to the Joke next to Coke as a member of the R-dcoat B-nd, I can (without any reservation) say that the N.A.T.S.'s students and fans are the rudest of any that I have encountered. I have been to Death Valley (both Baton Rouge & Clem-p-son). I have been to Neyland Stadium. I have encountered fans from Florida and FSU. I have been to 'Bama and Auburn. None are as rude and violent as the Nerds of North Avenue. They hurled insults and cups of liquor at us all night. As a representative of THE University of Georgia, I was limited in how I could respond. I will say that any questions that I may have had as to the quantity of class possessed by Tech and its fans was answered with a resounding NONE. I will not dwell on there behavior for long, for I have to focus on winning the SEC Championship. But I hope to educate the insects on how to properly conduct themselves next year when we beat them between the hedges.

I'm a tool

STUDIO 48 -- Ok. I caved. I am now one those people that I have made so much fun of over the last year+. Sure, I made fun of you guys, but I also read your blogs and Xangas religiously. So now, I am one of you. Please welcome me with open arms.