Far from Western
It is a Thursday night. I had a fun day; was productive in my morning meetings, had lunch with Becky, office hours in the Student Organization Center (SOC) was a good time as usual, went shopping to the mall with Hermen, and got a different phone (hopefully this one will work better).

However, it is late and I am not going out. Why? You might as yourself, I ask myself the same question. When I got back from the store, I munched on some chips and salsa and chatted on IM with some friends, caught up with some olds ones, and got to know some new people better. I love AIM, I used to hate it, but I have grown to love it.

Tonight my excursion is to the laundry mat. Not just any ordinary place, it is in a Speedway gas station. I am not alone, Hermen is with me. If I am hungry I can grab a hot dog, microwave a sandwich, get a 64oz pop (who needs that much liquid?) or buy some animal crackers and bleach. This place has it all. But I am still wondering, why am I here on a Thursday night? And what does it have to do with the title "Far from Western."

When I was at Western Thursday were the big night out. We (Vic, Doogie, Gary, Megan, Rudy, or whoever was around) would generally start the night at good ol' Waldos. Mixed drink pitchers were like 5-6 bucks and it made a good place to meet up. Depending on the night, or who I was with would determine which location we would hit next. If I was with Megan and some other IFC/NPC Greeks we would hit up the Tap Room (affectionately called the Frat Room because of the high Greek attendance). If it was a night Vic and I managed to drag Rudy and Gary out of the house we would hit up Club Soda for Latin Night.

The Tap Room trips meant talking about Greek stuff, cute sorority girls, fraternity guys hoping to impress girls with their car or buying them enough drinks so they do not realize they lacked personality, non-Greeks wondering why they came, and the DJ pretending he was in a real club like in Chicago or something. All around a typically good Kalamazoo time.

The Club Soda trips were something else. Glad we never paid cover, teaching gringas how to dance, pretending we were better dancers then we really were, seeing the same people who were there when we started Latin Nights there four years ago, half off drinks 'til 11, and trips to either Big Burrito or Chester Chicken before heading back to the Epsilon Estate.

But tonight, Hermen and I sat at Speedway, wondered why our socks and jean pockets never get dry, used lots of quarters, were impressed by how many other people eat their hot dogs besides us, and came home with some Burger King (extra zesty sauce, its the best).

I miss Western, Homecoming is next weekend there, I am very excited to be back again. I have made trips there a few times this semester, but I am seriously looking forward to seeing some old friends. I never went back to Homecomings for High School, I guess I am excited to make up for that and keep up with WMU friends. Tonight got me nostalgic, I know the Betas and Gammas from WMU are out at Club Soda, and I really wanted to be there, but I was at Speedway.

Well I need to finish my Burger King. Busy day tomorrow.

My apartment complex and the polar bear.
Colleen has requested I post the picture of the polar bear driving my car. So here it is:

Can you see him? He is doing the gangster lean over the center console.

Well I have received many questions about my apartment complex. It is an exciting place, most of the time. I have some very different characters there, which make it fun. I will start the description right inside my own apartment.

Four Betas live there, Ramon (UoM) and I are both alums, and Hermen and Ramiro attend GVSU. Our landlord is crossed eyed and did a terrible job of painting out apartment. Everything is off a little, and pretty much all the trim has some paint on it. Our kitchen counter tops are orange, and the corners are held together with yellow tape. Very classy. We painted the basement floor purple (we are Betas!) and we tried our best to make the place look presentable. I think we did a good job. And no, do not use the towels in the bathroom, they are for looks only. Towels are in the closet.

Our complex is a bunch of duplexes. The partners in our duplex are girls, five of them. Over the summer we made friend with Joy, Casey and Libby. The other two moved in late and we never see them anyways. Libby drives the Mitsubishi 3000GT, well I wouldn't say she drives it... Really she cleans it, washes it, loves it, and tries to drive it. Her skills with a stick shift are very limited, she is getting much better then before! Joy plays rugby, and I promised I would watch a game. I guess buying from the bake sale was not enough support for the team, I need to sit in the stands and watch a game I don't understand. Casey about drove Parking Lot Performance crazy this summer when Hermen and I racked our brains trying to hook up a cool sound system in a Cavalier. We made that job much harder then it needed to be. These were the neighbors who struggled over the weekend on how and where to hang their rainbow flag. Such a funny site, you had to be there.

What was more comical with the neighbors was when I met Joy's mom. She is a sorority advisor so I met her at an advisor dinner. When I told her I lived next door to her daughter she seemed very surprised and said, "I thought from their description of neighbors they lived next door to girls!" I was not sure if I should be offended, or flattered. Was it my dashing fashion sense with the curtains and matching towels? Hum.

Now the real adventure is with the guys down around the circle drive. These guys can party, the fact that most of them are in the mid 20s, and mostly high school girls hangout there... I won't hold that against them too much. I have never seen such responsible partiers. Seriously. When they party they stand out in the parking lot and make sure people do not take our parking spots. Then they get up at 10-11 AM and hose down the parking lots and clean up all the bottles. How nice is that? Then promptly at noon, once the place is clean, they pull out the ping pong table and start playing Beer Pong. Never too early to drink according to them, my favorite quote I often hear early in the morning, "Wake up and Drink!"

Now across the way... pugs. Yes pugs, and lots of them. You know, those dogs with way too much skin for their little bodies. I want to call it a Pug farm, but that does not sound right. There are about maybe 20-25 pugs over there. They yelp all day, but are normally quite at night which is good. One time the gate broke, and we had pugs all over. It was funny helping Casey chase a bunch of pugs around the complex. Ah good times...

The other best highlight of the new place, we are one block away from Tolman Auto, and Tolman Auto Supply. Oh yeah, very convenient. I got new wipers and turn signals bulbs on Saturday. Took 15 seconds to drive there. Nice, very nice.

End of story. Tonight I am playing catch up. Fun.

Last Tan
It is getting cold in Michigan already. This weekend was a lot of fun, despite the cold, and the sun peaked for a few seconds when needed. Let me recap the weekend.

Friday the dance lessons went great. We had a good turnout, and everyone who came enjoyed themselves and had a good time. Santos as usual did a great job teaching the uncoordinated how to dance, but for some, like Santiago... the cause was lost. Hey Santi, don't try blaming it on the person next to you, that excuse can only get you so far.



Saturday woke up early and cleaned my car. Put my new clear front lenses on the car, and drove to Holland for the SpeedWise grand opening. It was a good time, the Nissan guys from the Forum were late, so I was representing NISMO, or more importantly the SR20 by myself. The rest of the SR20 Forum guys finally showed up though. Let everyone know what a real import can do! Check out the pictures, click on the SpeedWise link from my car page. My NX.

The sun came out a few times during the show. I got some sun, not a lot. Usually at shows I get a little burnt and then it turns into tan. No tan for the white boy this time. I am guessing no more tans for this year. Unless I fake bake...


Then Saturday Night was IFC bid acceptance. The event went off without a hitch, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. They made it more fun then ever and I was glad Hermen, Santi and Colleen saw it as well. I know often times the Betas and Gammas don't know what the "other" groups are doing, they enjoyed it I think. After that the girls next door had a party, we hung out over there, I watched them carefully decide were to rehang their Rainbow flag. Quote of the night, "Don't worry if it is crooked, the flag isn't supposed to be straight." My apartment complex is one fun story after the next.

Sunday was hard work... went with Hermen to help his mom move stuff. I never seen someone have so many heavy items. Beds, dressers, night stands... that couch, or sofa sleeper is a better description, weighed a ton and I think I pulled my leg muscle. It was a good work out, I needed the work out. Then to end that workout I cleaned our bathroom today (we finally started cleaning rotations, I got the bathroom). I did the tub. Four men live here. No one has done it in 2 months. It is clean now. End of story.

Homework time.