Thanks to be Given…

[Dave/Scott]
Exceeding Expectations. Jack’s helped me out a lot lately, especially after the whole car accident on Saturday night. He really didn’t have to, especially that night when the game between GT and Miami was quickly coming to a close with Georgia Tech actually on top. Two days later he drove me down to the shop to pick my car up during rush hour despite his hate for slow moving traffic. I have to say my respect for him has gone up a notch. It was pretty high already because I admire his choice to be self-sufficient despite the fact he could probably chose an easier life due to his family being relatively well off.

The Afternoon at the Symphony. I went with Christine to the Atlanta Symphony on Sunday so that I could write my last concert report. It was an all-Beethoven concert, so I knew it couldn’t be that bad. I felt rather tacky taking MARTA in a suit, but the signal lights on the car weren’t functioning and I didn’t feel safe driving that heap in the condition that it was in on Peachtree. The concert began with a piano concerto which I zoned out during. After the intermission the conductor came out, quickly bowed to the audience, leaped up to his stand and the symphony orchestra quickly began Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, which was great.

Thanksgiving in Augusta. After my car accident I originally intended to stay in Atlanta and work, but the auto repair shop made the fixes far quicker than I had expected, lightening my mood. Jessie calls that same day offering to take me up to Augusta to have Thanksgiving with her family and friends. I decide to be their “charity case” this year and rode up with her on Wednesday afternoon. I figured that since Jessie was sort of a prude that I would have a peaceful environment to do work at. Boy, was I wrong.

That night Jessie’s friends wanted to go barhopping, and I was dragged along. We barely stayed in any one place long enough to start a tab, yet I still managed to spend around $50 in alcohol. The last bar we stopped in was of the Jazz variety and I had to use the restroom in there. Came back to find a big black guy with dreads trying to hit on Jessie and her friend Shari. I figured a little flirting never hurt anyone and was only concerned with being able to get back to my seat. He looks back and asks me something along the lines of, “Are you in charge of this group?” Not entirely sure of what he asked, I said, “Um, sure.” The guy then just walks off and I sit down somewhat confused and finish off another beer. The following morning the story is relayed to Jessie’s mom who then says I should always have to go to bars and clubs with Jessie and her girlfriends.

After Thanksgiving dinner the next day Jessie’s friends decided to go to a party, dragging me along as usual. It was pretty low key and most of the partygoers were navy guys. Jessie wasn’t very fond of smokers, so she spent most of that night with an annoyed look on her face while sitting at one of the couches. One of the guys there comes up to her, takes her hand and kisses it. I’m sitting there trying not to laugh while the poor sod was making no headway with the annoyed girl. On the way home Jessie yells at her friend, Sarah, whom she’s known since for a long time, for the first time in their friendship from what I was told later. I zoned out most of the conversation during the drive and when we finally got to Jessie’s house, both were uncomfortably silent. To try to break the ice I said something against my better judgment, which was, “We’re still going to the club tomorrow, right?” Both said yes pretty quickly because of their enjoyment of dancing while I was repeating the word “fuck” within my head knowing that I was going to be dragged to a club the next night.

I haven’t been to a club in a while, so I decided to take a couple shots and drink some beers before going out that night to avoid being a prick that refused to step onto the dance floor. The cover charge was $15 for guys, which pissed me off, especially with better clubs in Atlanta costing less to get in. The objective here was not to make an ass of myself, so I decided to keep things simple. Luckily for me one of the girls that Sarah was nice enough to dance with me for a while and provide me with something cover for my lack of skill in dancing. I guess in the end the experience was fun, despite the ringing ears and being rather drunk.

The next morning before we left to go back to Tech, Jessie’s mom asked me to go answer the door because she saw two girls who she thought to be Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses. I open the door to see two cute girls probably around the age of 18 give or take a couple years and said, “Hiiiiii, my name’s David. You two are?” I guess the way I delivered the introduction put them off but they quickly gathered some composure and began reading me verses and letting me know that we should be wary of Satan. I interrupted them while they were talking about the Devil and asked in a joking manner, “Well, who do you think you’re addressing?” I saw that they were confused so I followed through with, “Well, I guess it’s hard to see now that I’ve filed away the horns this morning, but anyways.” I got a slight laugh out of that and they handed me some pamphlets and headed on their way. Jessie’s father was watching through the window and told me that it looked like they were talking about me on the way to the next house. Jessie was like, “Mom, why’d you make David talk to those girls?” Her mother freaked, asking if I would’ve been mean or something. Jessie decides to be an idiot and say that I was going to going to ask them to join my “hooker brigade.” What the hell? I have a hooker brigade? Why wasn’t I told of this?

All in all, the time in Augusta was fun and the company was very welcoming of despite me being a stranger. I wasn’t expecting all of the craziness that transpired on those few days though.

It’s a Bird? It’s a Plane? It’s a Teaser? I’m pretty skeptical with how Bryan Singer’s doing Superman Returns, I’m not going to lie, especially after how good Batman Begins was. The fact that he’s using the first two movies as a rough continuity for this newest one seems like a step backward. The teaser went online a couple days ago and it did what it was supposed to do: tease the viewer without revealing too much. There was one shot at the end where I thought perhaps this new movie wasn’t going to be too horrible. It was like something out of an Alex Ross painting, with Superman hovering in orbit with his eyes closed, listening to find where he was needed, his eyes opening a second before he begins a quick atmospheric reentry.

♪…SO YOU BRING THIS POOR DOG IN FROM THE RAIN
THOUGH HE JUST WANTS RIGHT BACK OUT AGAIN

AND I CRY TO THE ALLEYWAY
CONFESS ALL TO THE RAIN
BUT I LIE, LIE STRAIGHT TO THE MIRROR
THE ONE I’VE BROKEN TO MATCH MY FACE…♪

Song of the Moment: “Low Man’s Lyric” by Metallica