It's Thursday Afternoon; You Know What That Means

Liquor run! And I really don't think I could have waited any longer. I know it's only been three days, but this semester is really hard! I'm taking 14 credits, and even an idiot like me knows that 14 credits is too many.

Not to bore you (well, actually, it is to bore you. Sorry), here's what my schedule looks like:
1. Cultural Studies In Sex...(blah blah blah...). I took intro to women's studies last term, because Vlad told me it was a great place to pick up dates. I can't say it's any better than a frat on a Friday night, but I definitely got more digits there than in my Intro Psych class.
2. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual....(blah blah blah...). Like I said, I took intro to psych last term, and I really liked it. When I looked on the course listings for other psych classes I could take, this is the one with the lowest course number (309). I hope that means it's easy, or at least easier than all the higher numbered courses.
3. Ragtime (finally a class without a three-page name). This 2-credit class is what makes me a full-time student. I'm taking it pass/fail, and I probably won't even show up to lecture.
4. Logic somethingsomething Analysis. Intro Philosophy courses are the bread of Wash U slackers (see below for butter). No further explanation needed.
5. Epic of Evolution : Life, Earth, and the Cosmos (I have typed the whole name because... well, just look at it! How could it be anything less than pure awesomeness?!). Though low-numbered Earth and Planetary Science courses are the butter of Wash U slackers, I swear that I'm actually going to care about this class. I read the syllabus (are all syllabusses(??) this useful? Is it wrong that this is the first one I've ever read all the way through?) and slacking never looked so engaging. Plus, if I need any help, I can just ask Vlad "Cosmos" Wipidowsky to help me out (if he ever shows up for second semester, that is).

Anyway, that's what the boring half of my semester looks like (by half, I mean the part before 3 PM). As for the fun half, I'm thinking about rushing again (heh heh. Better not go to the same frats as last year). I'm hoping that (hint hint) some of my suitemates will come along and (this means you, Alfonzo) try to enjoy themselves.

Seriously, you guys, there's no commitment. You just show up at the right time, and they treat you like royalty (up until the moment you pledge, when everything turns to shit for a while).

Anyway, there's booze to be bought, and I'm gonna buy it. Hope the police don't read my blog.

-Chaz

Goodbye, Hollywood Blvd

Let me just say that I started this post last night, then I popped onto Facebook to dig up some dirt; I said to myself, "You know you'll close Firefox and lose your post. Save it, copy the text, or do something. I decided to trust in my ability to not completely fuck it up, and I closed Firefox just the same. Alan has often said that "The Internet Is A Dick," but I think I'm the dick here.

Okay, so it's been good to get away from the internet for a few weeks. Nobody loves the blog liek Chaz loves the blog, but if you spend too much time writing down everything that happens to you, the internet eats your soul. So it's been good to get a little part of my soul back, even if I had to hang out with my high school friends to do it. Dave, Blake and Cody, this one is for you:

Backgrounds!
I've known Cody the longest, since summer camp between 3rd and 4th grade. He didn't come to Oakwood until high school, which is when he got really into drama and putting on plays and things like that. I met the other guys through him.

Blake is, has been, and will probably always be Mr. Center Stage. He met Cody at the beginning of freshman year, and I met him that spring, when Cody dragged me to an audition and I got the part of the janitor who doesn't talk much, but when he does say something it's really important. Anyway, Blake used to call himself the "Drama King," and nobody could really argue.

Dave is just like me; a normal guy who got stuck in the acting troupe and can't remember how or why. I think, maybe, he had a girlfriend who did plays, convinced him to join, then broke up with him. I think I met Dave my sophomore year. He just started showing up, you know?

Anyway, because scheduling conflicts (vacations, internships, drinking until blackout) have kept our foursome apart since last winter break, I invited everyone over to chill and catch up. I know that a lot of people "find themselves" in sophomore year, but it seems like these guys have changed a lot.

At first, we basically did what I do with my friends at Wash U: we sat around watching TV and movies, drinking, smoking and talking. Thanks to Vlad, I can hold my liquor better than these guys; Dave is just too short to drink, and Cody and Blake rarely drink real booze. I evened things out with a triple tequila shot. We turned the TV off and started talking.

I told them all about everything, as quickly as I could. I told them they could read the old blog posts for highlights (see, part of my soul has been eaten). Dave went to school up in Portland, and he's now a bisexual hippie stoner dude; I probably could have guessed the stoner bit, but where the hell did the bisexual thing come from? Cody and Blake both ended up in NYU's acting and film school, and they pretty much study what they did for fun in high school. Apparently, they got some money and equipment and made a porno last summer.

Growing up in LA, I'm pretty comfortable with porn and things like that. I won't say I enjoy it; just that I'm not opposed to it. The mention of porn made me curious, so I asked more about it.

"It's a standard delivery-man premise. Blake plays the pizza guy and (this is where they lost me) we got Blake's boyfriend to play the 'grateful recipient'."

It was weird. The word "boyfriend" just bounced off of my ears, at first. I nodded, said "awesome," and then it hit me. Apparently, Blake and Cody has discovered their homosexual sides since going to college. Cody said that he's always known he was gay, but didn't feel comfortable coming out in high school. Blake was less certain, but dated three guys in the last year.

I'm not bragging, but I'm the least homophobic person I know. Still, this puts a whole different spin on everything that happened in high school. Did people know about Cody? Did people suspect Blake? Did they suspect me for being their friend? Even Dave, straight-arrow Dave, is not quite as straight as we thought. I know it's dumb to worry about what people used to think of me, especially since I don't really see anyone from high school, but I can't help wondering....

Everybody found a couch or a bed to pass out on, and they all left the next day. I got a few calls from Cody and one from Blake, but I didn't call them back until the end of the week; I was still sorting everything out, adjusting to the my new old friends. I finally called them back, and we all spent the rest of the break mixing high school traditions with college ones; more drinking and smoking, but also hitting fast food places, seeing movies and things like that. It was chill, but a tiny bit awkward.

It was a tense moment, lined up at the box office, trying to pick a flick. All eyes fell on Brokeback Mountain, and then on me. We saw Syriana, instead, but I still felt weird about it.

Were the signs always there? I used to be really close to Cody, so how come I never knew? Was he sending hints the whole time? Am I just a moron?

The answers to these questions and more on the next, Chaz Durango Post.

-Chaz