Weekend recap: 4/24 - 4/29 - Part II

Friday was spent recovering for the most part.

I attended the CM Life banquet with some of the people I work with at the paper.

It was a good time.

I never really partied much with them, but I had a lot of fun.

Saturday was the grand daddy of them all: Reggaefest!!!

Technically, it’s called “Rock-n-Reggae,” but no one calls it that.

It’s held on this Indian reservation about 15 minutes outside of Mount Pleasant.

You can go there and basically do whatever you want.

It’s kinda like a giant outdoor tailgate/party/Woodstock-type deal.

People bring kegs, blankets, grills, chairs, food, beer and uh, other stuff.

My buddies Paul and Robert were scheduled to make the trip.

The plan was to leave our place around 10 a.m. and get there about 11 a.m.

Since Paul and Robert were at the Tigers game the night before, we were skeptical about them making on time.

Schulte went to down to Michigan State the night before and we were worried that he was gonna miss out too.

O ye of little faith! They did make it and we were off in plenty of time. Schulte met us there.

It was an amazingly gorgeous day!

70 degrees and sunny. We really couldn’t ask  for much more than that!

It’s really a great atmosphere to be in.

Everyone is partying, everyone is having a good time.

The reggae-style music really puts everyone in a good mood too.

To reference John Lennon, it’s kinda like “instant karma.”

Reggae really is an end-of-the-year tradition for CMU students.

But the great thing about it, is that it’s not just for CMU students. Everyone can experience it.

Man. It was one of the best times I’ve ever had.

I was smiling all day.

And while I was pretty much intoxicated from the moment of arrival, I remembered to take it all in.

“This is it,” I kept telling myself.

I told my friends that I loved them and how glad I was that they were there with me.

It was a celebration.

Some people just wanted to celebrate getting all messed up.

For me, I celebrated for a lot of reasons.

My best friends.

My college career coming to an end.

But just life in general.

Celebrating being alive.

I’ll never forget these memories.

~ Mike D

What a long strange trip its been…

Well, it’s all over now.And it went by way too fast.

I’m referring to this past week.

But in reality, I’m talking about the past five years.

But this past week is what the past five years has led up to.

There was a culmination factor involved.

A certain feeling that, “This is it.”

And it was.

It was my last weekend as an undergrad student at Central Michigan.

There was so much anticipation involved.

At the same time, there was anxiety involved too.

One of those times you can’t wait to happen, but realize that after it’s gone, there is no more.

As I sit here and write this on Sunday night, I have come to the realization that it is in fact over.

I have three finals this week.

I graduate on Saturday.

It really is over, isn’t it?

I am so scared.

You have no idea.

I am deathly scared.

Not only am I scared, I’m worried.

I’m nervous too.

But, the feeling that is most overwhelming at this point is sadness.

I am so sad, I almost can’t describe it.

So sad to say that this five-year journey is just about over with.

However, none of these emotions I have described to you should EVER be confused with regret.

I do not regret one single thing in these past five years.

In the words of the late Hunter S. Thompson, “Buy the ticket, take the ride.”

The ride HST was referring to is called life.

The ride I am referring to is called college.

And what a long, strange trip its been…

~ Mike D

Weekend recap: 4/19 - 4/22

Ehhh.

I have to say, this weekend was disappointing to some degree.

It had it’s ups and downs of any normal weekend, but not as many ups as usual.

At certain points, I didn’t get to see the people I really wanted to see. 

Pretty much out of my hands.

Other times, I saw people I didn’t really want to see.

Again, out of my hands.

Thursday night was spent at the Wayside once again.

Drew and Annie came up, which always makes for a great time.

After walking around a few times on the dance floor, I noticed that the level of crowdedness wasn’t as bad as normal.

That changed real quick…in about 20 minutes it was packed as ever.

Of course, I lost track of my friends and I was out wandering by myself.

As I walked around on the dance floor, people pushed and shoved like they usually do.

But this one guy pushed me pretty hard, so I pushed him back.

Then his boy started waving his finger in my face, putting his forehead right against mine, talking some nonsense.

I told him, in a very non-polite way, that he should probably stop doing that if he values his well-being.

He stopped.

I held my ground and didn’t back down. Basically, he didn’t want any.

After that little incident I was pretty rilled up. That kid definitely got my blood boiling.

Since I couldn’t find anyone, I decided to walk home and blow off some steam because I was pissed.

I couldn’t believe it because that was the first time anyone has really tried to start shit with me like that.

Honestly, I’m not a hardass at all. But please believe that if someone tries to start something with me, I will not back down. Period.

Besides, I’m a lover, not a fighter.

Anyway, Friday was spent enjoying the beautiful weather.

Tossin the ol’ pigskin around, havin a few beers with all the fellas, you know.

At night, we hit the Blackstone.

I didn’t even drink, and let me tell you something: being at the bar sober, without a drink in your hand, is zero per cent fun.

Saturday was the best.

JD and I walked over to the high school to watch the club baseball game at noon.

I got burnt pretty bad  because I was wearing my Pistons jersey (Yes, it’s true. Sometimes even I burn).

After that we headed to the CMU spring football scrimmage.

Actually, let me rephrase that.

We headed to the CMU spring football scrimmage tailgate.

I was surprised how many people actually tailgated. The weather was definitely the main factor in that.

I also got a lot more sun in those few hours of tailgating. Not good because now, I look like a tomato.

Note to self: sun + beer = getting drunk.

After stopping into the game for a minute, we headed to the store and got some stuff to grill up.

Eventually we made it out to some parties later that evening.

Stash Bash was pretty insane.

Picture a couple hundred college kids wearing fake mustaches, partying in a huge alley/parking lot with amazing weather. Too much fun!

And naturally, as expected, the cops showed up about 12:30 a.m., ruining everyone’s fun.

The rest of the night was a bust and Jeff and I ended up at Taco Bell. Always a great ending to the night.

Today (Sunday) was definitely a lazy one, but still productive because I got a lot of homework done.

I also got dinner plans canceled on me (what else is new?). More to come on that in a later entry…

All-in-all, another successful weekend in the books.

One more week of classes, one more weekend of fun in the sun…

~ Mike D

A-N-T-S-Y!!!

Ahhhhhhhhh!!!

I am in a 100% party mood right now!

I just got out of class about an hour ago after I finished my presentation, which went extremely well, thank you very much.

When I walked out of the door, I was blinded by the light (kinda like that Manfred Mann song).

“What the hell?” I thought. Is that…is that the sun?!

As I began walking, I couldn’t believe how nice it was outside.

The sun was out, it wasn’t raining and I wasn’t wearing a hoodie.

62 degrees!!!!! Awesome.

I walked from Anspach to Moore, just people watching as I usually do.

I have to say, everyone was looking great.

I was wearing a t-shirt. Some girls were wearing less, which damn-near made my day.

Then I came to the realization that this was going to be one of the last times I walk around on campus.

I know, I know. It sounds corny. But I just can’t help think like that lately.

I mean, I really do love CMU.

I remember the first time I realized it.

It was a really nice spring day, similar to this one, probably about two years ago.

It was early evening, probably around 6 p.m. or so and I was walking by the library.

There weren’t many people walking around, just a few here and there.

I looked around me and the sun was starting to go down.

And I don’t know why, but I remember just smiling to myself.

It was kinda surreal. You don’t really know why those moments happen, but they just do.

That’s when I knew. I realized that this is where I belonged, right then, right there at that very moment.
 
And I stopped. I stopped and I stood there and I took it in. There was no question in my mind.

And there isn’t any doubt in my mind right now as I sit here any type this.

This place has been such a big part of my life, I think it’s only natural.

But as I think these things, I just remind myself to enjoy it.

Not only enjoy it, but take it all in and absorb it.

I want to remember every single little detail possible. I want to hold these memories forever.

I want to remember things like walking to class. I want to remember the people I’ve met.

I want to remember going to the bar and parties. I want to remember hanging out in my apartment.

And yeah, I even want to remember my classes, no matter how hard they were.

I do not want to take ANYTHING for granted.

To me, times like these are going to define who I am as a person and a man.

No, I’m not talking about the whole walking on campus thing. But it all ties in to my point in a way, I suppose.

About a month ago, I told my roommate Jeff, ”These next few weeks are going to determine the rest of our lives and who we are.”

I’m not sure if he agrees with me completely, but he did agree to the importance of what is happening to us.

Graduating college, getting our degrees, moving on to the next chapter of our lives.

I think I talk about it so much because I know it’s inevitable.

Another weekend is here. Another week has gone by.

Dates fly off the calendar before you can even realize it.

Two weeks left and this chapter will be closed.

I want it to be the best two weeks of my life.

I want to remember everything…every single little detail, not matter how small.

It’s been one hell of a ride already…

~ Mike D

Time to start listening sooner

I’m still in shock about the shooting that happened at Virginia Tech yesterday. I think everyone is still in disbelief.

But, should we be?

This obviously isn’t the first time something like this has happened as far as school shootings go, everyone knows that.

There have been 19 school shootings in the U.S. since 1997: two in ‘97, five in ‘98, three in ‘99 (including Columbine), one each year in ‘00, ‘01, ‘03 and ‘04; two in ‘05 and ‘06 and now one in 2007 with Virginia Tech.

Fourteen of those tragedies were committed by teenagers.

Another news flash: if you look closely, this stuff is not happening in urban areas.

Mississippi, Kentucky, Arkansas, Oregon, Virginia, New Mexico, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin.

Not East L.A., not Compton, not New York City.

Hell, for all I know, I could be walking on Central Michigan’s campus tomorrow and someone could open fire.

Right in little ol’ Mount Pleasant. Right in the heart of Michigan.

This stuff can happen anywhere at any time. That’s the scariest thing.

What I want to know is, when are people going to start listening?

When are people going to start reaching out to troubled kids?

The youth in this country is far out of touch with what’s going on in the world.

Or is it the fact that the world is out of touch with today’s youth?

Every time something like this has happened, we soon find out after the fact that there were tell-tale signs to this occurring.

Reports are now saying that Cho Seung-Hui, this guy who shot up Virginia Tech, had shown signs of violence in his behavior and in his creative writing class as of late.

They (whoever ‘they’ are) referred him to the school’s counseling program.

They referred him? That’s it? What they should have done was made it a point that this kid was getting help! Don’t just refer him.

The kid was a loner. He didn’t have any friends and he showed signs of violence. Essentially, they didn’t do anything to help this kid.

I’m sick of hearing about what should have or could have been done to prevent something like this after the fact, when it’s already too late.

Then everyone sits here and points the finger at who gets the blame.

Is it the Republicans and their gun toting friends the NRA?

Is it the kid’s fault because he went out and bought the gun?

Is it the person who sold it to him?

Is it his parent’s because he wasn’t raised normal?

Is it insensitive college students for not trying to be friends with him?

But here’s the real question: does any of that really matter right now? At this point, does it matter whose fault it is?

The answer is no.

And to be completely honest without being insensitive, what can be so horribly God-awful with your life that you feel the need to kill someone?

Obviously, this guy had problems. Anyone who would bring themselves to this has a serious amount of problems.

I mean, what is going on in the world today? It sounds cliché, but it’s true!

Today, I turn the channel and I see this woman on trial who killed her husband and children.

A few months ago, this guy kills his wife and cuts her whole body up.

Wars, natural disasters.

Some of this stuff boggles my mind.

As humans, it seems like so much is brought on ourselves.

And then on top of it, it seems to me that God is so pissed off at us for doing such stupid things, that He might turn around and…who knows.

Look, all I know is that we, as a race of human beings, are messing up…big time.

Not blacks, not whites, not latinos, not all the rest of that nonsense.

There are no races. There is one RACE: humans.

And we are blowing it right now…have been for some time.

It’s time that we look at ourselves instead of others to blame.

~ Mike D

:: :: :: :: :: ::

Weekend recap: 4/12 - 4/15

Another weekend in the books.Chalk it up as a victory.

In a successful attempt, the boys and I made it one to remember. No doubt about that.

And, in a rare and unexpected twist, Rinks, Paulie G AND Rob Alg graced CMU with their presences for the entire weekend. Unheard of!

It was quite an eventful few days.

Thursday was a typical time at the Wayside for me.

My normal routine: I usually grab a drink immediately after entering. Then I’ll stand around and drink it with whoever. Mingle it up a little, you know how it goes.

Once I finish it, I head directly to the dance floor.

You have to realize that once you make this move, you’re on your own for the rest of the night. Every man for himself. It’s an unwritten rule of bar life for guys.
 
It’s usually too packed to move out on there, but I make it a point to go through at least one time.

After that, I’m usually just walking in circles for the rest of the night until it’s time to leave.

Friday, Paul and Rob came up and we headed to the Blackstone.

The bar was at a good capacity. A nice amount of people, but not too many.

That night, I felt pretty good about the interaction with the opposite sex. My game was on point, as they say.

Saturday night was the culmination of the weekend.

We began the evening at our apartment with the normal rituals, of course. (i.e. getting ready, jumping around, acting stupid, listening to loud music, freestyling.)

After that, we headed over to Jamestown to play drinking games with some lovely ladies we know.

Unfortunately, we were destroyed in flip cup…an embarrassing 10-2 defeat. Sad, I know.

Anyway, we made our way to the Blue and Pink birthday bash in Bluegrass, hosted by our grand friend JR.

Sidebar to that: I only saw JR for about five minutes the entire time I was there.

Also, I want to stress the importance how how fly our group of guys were looking this night. All blue, all smooth. Jeff and myself in particular, due to the ties. So smoove! 

I was asked several times at the party if I was going on a job interview. Apparently people don’t appreciate a well-dressed young man these days. Haters.

I had drank enough beers not to care at that point.

I had a really good time at the party. I think we all did. Therefore, mission accomplished.

Today, Robert and Paul had vacated the premises before I arose with the biggest headache EVER. Must have been pretty early.

I was worthless today. I watched sports and napped all day.

What can I say? I was really hurting from the night before. None the less, a small price to pay for the great time that was had.

To be honest, I’m just really happy that my friends came up to visit me.

I bug those guys all the time to come up, especially since I only have a few weeks left.

There’s nothing better than being able to party and have a great time with your best friends. Nothing that I’d rather do more.

I guess the best way to sum up this weekend, along with countless others, would be to quote a favorite rapper of mine, Common:
 
“When drunk nights get remembered more than sober ones.”

Well said, my friend.

~ Mike D

April + Snow = !?@#%&!$^

It’s been snowing all day.I don’t know why.

It’s now 12:55 a.m. on Thursday morning (technically Wednesday night) and I’m looking out my window.

I see snow. Lots of it.

Hmmm…

I can’t seem to figure it out.

I check the calendar.

April 12th (11th).

Hmmm….

It’s the middle of April.

Didn’t we just have the first day of spring not too long ago?

I thought so.

I think it’s supposed to snow tomorrow too.

What the…

I mean really, what’s goin on here?

What’s the deal?

What’s the score?

OK, I don’t mind wearing a hoodie when I go out, but for real…do I have to break out my winter coat again? Is that really necessary?

The answer is no. No, it’s not necessary.

Can it just be spring already? Please?

Look, I don’t even mind if my allergies act up. I’ll deal with it.

Just a little sunshine…maybe even a little warmth. That’s all I want.

People are looking to shed layers right now.

And then we get this? SNOW?! IT’S THE MIDDLE OF APRIL!

I just wore shorts a few weeks ago!

I’m sick of being bundled up all winter and so is everyone else.

Shorts. T-Shirts. Flip flops. Baseball hat.

My wardrobe.

That’s all I want.

Good weather = good times.

Good weather = BBQs.

BBQs = good times!

Good weather = less taxi rides and more walking.

Less taxi rides = less money spent!

Less money spent = more spending money!!!

More walking = great times!

(You don’t even know about the adventures that happen when you walk home from the bar!)

Good weather also = more skin! (Niiiiiiice! *Borat voice*).

So there you have it. Just one of my many formulas for fun.

Snow is not involved in any way. Not in April my friends.

~ Mike D

City of Champions

*Photo from Detroit Free Press*

I just read the story about Gordie Howe being honored by the Red Wings with his own statue outside of the Joe. (Detroit Free Press, 4/10/07) That might be one of the coolest things I’ve heard in a while. It says a lot about the Wings organization and the Detroit’s sports teams in general.

I love being a Detroit sports fan so much.

When I went to that World Series Game last year, I was so happy I damn-near cried. I have loved the Tigers my entire life.Detroit sports fans are the hardest and most loyal fans in the country. (Notice I said THE, not some of).

Hardest meaning, we want to win. We want championships. We expect championships. At the very least, we expect competitiveness. But, wanting is different from expecting (See example: Detroit Lions).

We do not put up with any kind of B.S. when it comes to winning (again…Lions). In the world of sports today, if you don’t win, you’re out. Simple as that.

*I should make clear that I will try not to mention the Detroit Lie-Downs (Lions) from here on out since I have disowned them. Thank you.*

Anyway…

Loyalty is definitely a factor. Coaches and players are always wanting more. More money, more championships. It’s rare that a professional player will want to finish something he started in any given city and there is a constant coaching carousel in most professional sports. All revolve around money.

However, with all that money being thrown around out there, how can you blame them? It’s hard to sit here and talk bad about an athlete leaving your favorite team for money. DAMN YOU BEN WALLACE!

For more on that, read one of my previous blog entries about the worst day in Detroit sports history.Ah well. It’s just because I love the Pistons.

But aside from my ranting…right now, at apex of this particular entry, I bring to you, my joyous reason for writing it!

PLAYOFF TIME!!! Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

This time of year is my definitely favorite as a sports fan.

Red Wings playoffs start Thursday. Pistons end their regular season next Thursday = PLAYOFFS. And the Tigers just started their season.

I’m counting on the Wings making it past the first round for once (pleeeaaaaaassse). Hasek needs to catch fire and Datsyuk needs to produce since we just spent that ass-load of money on him.

Pistons are winning the East without question. Forget Dwayne Wade and the Heat because we have C-Webb and I’m willing to bet he has more motivation than ever in his life to win a title in his hometown. 

The Tigers have a giant bullseye on their backs, but they’re going to make it back to the World Series and win it.

Write it down, take it to the bank. You heard it here first.

My other favorite subcategory of this eventful season is catching all three teams on TV in one day. Can’t ask for much more than that. 

But, I don’t ever recall all three of them winning on the same day.

It’s obvious that I’m overly excited. What can I say? I love my teams.

You know…now that I think about it, this is all my parents doing.

I’ve been going to sporting events my entire life. I’ve rooted for the Red Wings, Pistons, Tigers and yes, even the Lie-Downs for as long as I can remember. Win or lose.

Funny anecdote: One time when I was young and the Bad Boys were playing the Larry Bird and the Celtics, for some reason or another, I told my dad I wanted the Celtics to win.

Vince blew up.

At the time, I didn’t know any better. Looking back, not only do I think it’s hysterical, but appropriate as well.

I will definitely go off on my kids if they ever try to pull that crap. YOU STICK WITH THE HOME TEAM. That’s it and that’s all.

If it wasn’t for my parents, I probably wouldn’t even watch sports, let alone Detroit sports…

And that would just be a travesty.

~ Mike D

Do I Have to Graduate?

Tests. Classes. Teachers. Grades. Homework. GPA. Diplomas. Degrees.

Eighteen years.

Nine years of grade school, four years of high school and soon-to-be five years of college. Eighteen damn years I’ve been dealing with this school non-sense. But, I’m almost done.

To be completely honest about it, I can’t believe I made it this far. I’m one of the worst students I know. Some of it’s my fault, I know, but I can’t help but think that some of it isn’t. I promise you that I’m the worst test-taker in the history, no matter how much I study. But, I made it this far.

And in four short weeks, it will all be over. Scary. I can’t help but sit here and *shake my head.* Where did the time go? It’s kind of hard for me to deal with sometimes.

I remember feeling like this when I graduated from high school. You don’t really want to leave, but you know that your time has come. When I graduated from high school, I knew I would be going to college. When I graduate from college I know…..I’ll be…..moving home? That’s about my only certainty right now.

It’s a strange feeling not knowing what comes next. Really scary. I mean, what can you do? Sure, I’m doin the whole applying for jobs thing. But, there’s a part of me that’s thinking, “Do I have to graduate? Can’t I stay? No! Don’t make leeeeeaaaave!”

I know every college graduate goes through it. Some of my friends can’t wait to graduate. I feel like that on occasion. The whole thing is very bitter-sweet.

I never thought I would say this, but damn it, this place is a part of me. Mount Pleasant…well, not so much Mount Pleasant…but CMU. (Seriously, I hate this shit-ass hick town.) But, Central has a piece of my heart forever. Going to college here has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me.    

Not only did I get the opportunity to go to college, I found something that I believe is my calling in life: writing.

It’s really crazy how I came to be a journalism major. I never, ever thought about writing seriously before college. When I got here, I thought I was going to be a computer science major. Stop laughing! 

Sounds cheesy to say, but I truly believe that fate had something to do with it. But I am so very glad it did happen, because damn! I really do love it when it works. Writing, that is. When it works, it’s the best feeling in the world. You just want to go, “Weeeeeeeeeeeeeoooohh!” Yeah, I like it.
   
Man…I made a lot friends here. More than I ever imagined. Some were pretty cool, some were full of shit. It’s easy to tell the difference for me. But I know who is true and who isn’t. Fortunately for me, I did make some true friends.

Friends. That’s what I’ll miss the most. For me, that’s what school is and was all about. School may be for 18 years, but true friends will be for a lifetime.

And the females! Ahhhhhhhhh! Don’t get me started. Geeeeez. Quite possibly my favorite thing about college, to be straight up with you. Do you blame me? You better not…hater.

I don’t know. Maybe this whole schooling thing actually does work.  I always had so many doubts. I always talked shit about school. It’s just such a long, on-going process that lasts almost your entire life. My view was that school is just a means to an end. Get your degree, get a job. Work the rest of your life. I always preferred the idea of street smarts over book smarts.

But there’s so much more…so much more to college than classes and tests. I finally learned that. College doesn’t just teach you about B.S. that you learn in your classes. College can teach you about life if you let it.

Maybe you just have to realize that school isn’t the most important thing in life.

I remind myself to take a step back once in a while. Put things in perspective.

The best thing in life, is life.

~ Mike D