Something is happening here, but you don’t know what it is, do you, Mister Jones?

Today is the first day of my offseason, and it is a strange thing. My last race was on Saturday, and since I am not not eight on the team, I will not be racing Regionals this coming Saturday or Nationals the Saturday after that. That is not to say I will not be there.

I Just Felt Like Running

Most of what has happened since I last posted is very good. Only one thing sticks out as very bad. Okay, maybe not very bad, but kind of a drag. I'll go ahead and get that one over with first.

So let the memories be good for those who stay.

October means rain. I don't mind — yet. But I will soon. The last two weeks have been the most beautiful I've ever seen in Vermont, so I suppose we've earned a bit of dreariness. I'm making myself a promise, related to that. Next year, I am going to take a series of walks outside of campus and take pictures of the fall colors. I didn't do that much this time around, and now that the wet part is here, I think I may have missed my chance. I did take some though. The iPhone painting effect is on display here, and by that I mean a couple of these pictures resulted from close zoom-ins with my phone, which somehow end up looking like watercolors.

They laid siege to it for seven years.

I just completed by penultimate week of class today, and I realize you guys are even closer to the end than I am. I hope you're surviving. Most of you. After I blogged last Friday, I got in a bus bound for Tufts, which is pretty close to MIT. I thought about texting you, Raku, but it probably wouldn't have been worth it because I was occupied with the track meet all day. So I didn't.

Sympathy for the Devil

STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS START NEXT WEEK.

Earlier this week, the Ducks claimed their second ever Pacific Division title and clinched the second seed in the West. In the next two days, the standings will sort themselves out and the Ducks' first round opponent will be revealed. It's gonna be San Jose, Detroit, Minnesota, or Columbus. If it's San Jose, Jason, you should probably/definitely spend all the money you have in your pocketses and go to a game with Amanda.

On to less important things, like school.

"As it was supposed to happen," Bokonon would say.

That's not me, but you can pretend it is.

Guess what I did right after I wrote my post last Friday? Guess, guess! I did the thing I said I was going to do, which is snowmobiling. Now, I didn't take any pictures, and even though I think my mom probably did, well, her camera and her phone are each about three thousand miles away from me, and I'd rather write this post now than ask her to send me some pictures and wait and wait and wait. Instead, I'll just Google image search "Lofty Peaks Snowmobiling"(the company we used, duh) and see what I can find. Well, I found that picture that you're looking at now. Pretty much what we were doing. We rode a ways out to this meadow tucked away between some pretty big mountains, played around the meadow for a while, then rode back. Obviously, it was loads of fun, but I would have preferred to spend more time exploring different trails that just riding around in one meadow for such a long time. And no, I'm not apologetic about having a great time and wishing it was a little better. Nor am I apologetic about wishing the snow was a little better on Saturday.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Here I am in Utah. The skiing has been pretty bad because we haven't had snow in a while, but it's supposed to snow this afternoon, tonight, and tomorrow, so tomorrow should be a good day. Because the conditions suck so much right now, we're planning on going snowmobiling today. Can't wait.

We owe it to each other to tell stories.

This blog is a strange thing, particularly when considered with its relationship to the rest of my week. You see, throughout my week, I see and do all sorts of strange, wonderful, dreadful, or at least marginally anecdote-worthy things. Yet, when I sit down to write on the blog, as of course I am doing right now, I can't help but think that a thousand tiny stories have come and gone from my busy little head over the last seven days, a few of which I would have liked to share.
I suppose I'll have to stick to the big stories, for now. Let's start with the track meet.

The South Will Rise Again

Look at how pissed off all the fans are. I love it.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Howdy folks. Let's talk about my week.

You fail only if you stop writing.

My name is J-term Derek.
I take my time after workouts. I have walked slowly from one end of campus to the other. I came in third place in a game of Settlers because seven of the ten development cards I drew were Knights. I have found time to go grocery shopping in town. I did no better in a game of Cards Against Humanity later on that same night. I once went to bed at 9:00. Another time, I slept in until 10:00 (I have also woken up at 6:30, though.) I have gone an entire day without doing homework. I play Mario Cart and Return of the King on Gamecube, and NHL on Xbox. I have talked to friends, loved poems, and written short narratives that make my classmates laugh.
You may have heard of me.

Valaritas

Exactly one month from today, I will wake up in Newport Beach for the first time since February. That should be enjoyable. Also, I'm listening to KUSC right now. The answer to today's Great Composer Quiz was Beethoven. Real original, Dennis.

Instead of coal, Santa now gives the bad children . . .

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It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Welcome to the Hotel California

A black arrow, doused in snake venom, whizzed through the air for fifty meters, then embedded itself in the heart of a mail-clad soldier. His mail armor was weak, and he faltered, then fell off his mount, eyes full of death. The small scout force of humans braced for an attack, but too late. Forty lkaks, creatures distinguished by the smell of rotten eggs about them and three large horns sticking out of their forehead, leapt out of the trees, quickly cutting down the nine remaining humans. In a few short seconds, it was over.

It looks like the excitement of my artistic triumph is too much for Squidward.

Did you feel the eathquake? Only a 4. Weaksauce. It should be obvious which one of you I'm addressing here.

Advanced Darkness

10. ASPARAGUS

9. Without any milk.

During the August of 2009 I came up with a list of my top ten favorite Spongebob episodes. I know this because I saved the list on my computer and dated it. This small fact entered the royal realm of relevance relatively recently because a friend of mine, as it turns out, did not grow up with Spongebob.

The Ignorant Edema

You know what's funny about starting off a sentence with "You know what's funny about x"? It's just that, if you don't know what's funny about x you really don't have anywhere to go with that sentence. I say this only because I started typing "You know what's funny about" and I didn't really have anything in mind, so I just wrote this circuitous little justification for me starting out like that. Now I suppose I can get on with things that are actually things.

The last time anybody made a list of the top hundred character attributes of New Yorkers, common sense snuck in at number 79.

There comes a time once in every runner's life when he forgets what it is like not to be acquainted with the sport. More specifically, there comes a time once in every runner's life when he forgets what it is like not to be acquainted with people who wear very short shorts and think that it's perfectly normal. And for those not aware, I ought to inform you that I am using a very liberal definition of the word "once." But more on that in a minute. We're taking the chronological route for this one.

You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.

"It's funny 'cause it's true." - John Michael Gunn

 I saw this on a blackboard a little while ago. I don't know how well you can read it, so I'll spell it out for you. The y-axis is labeled "People's attraction to me" and the x-axis is "How well they know me." The rest should be self-explanatory. For most of you. And really funny. 'Cause think about it: you don't know this person at all and you love him already. (Sorry Rachael and Nicole for assuming that it was made by a guy. But seriously, there's no way that's not a guy.)

Saturday began as the worst day I can remember. We had a cross country meet in Albany. I thought the bus was leaving campus at 9:45 that morning. It actually left at 8:45. I missed it. I didn't race. Albany was the qualifying race to move on with the team into championship season. So, all things considered, it could have been worse. I could have woken up at 6:00 six days a week for the entire summer and ran obscenely long distances and then have it all not matter at all because I never got to compete in a meaningful race. Oh wait, that's exactly what happened.