Tuesday, October 29, 2002 :::

You really shouldn't see The Ring.

That said - go see it.

::: posted by AJBrotz at 1:28 AM

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Monday, October 21, 2002 :::

so...the whole "abandoning AIM" thing didn't work, and the proposed banishment of cell phone use never stood a chance at being successful. that's all fine. my friends are a huge part of my life, and it follows that communication with them (you) is essential for any motivation in general, let alone scholastic.

every time i enter this library, i'm motivated to write in this blog - even if nothing particularly inspirational has recently occurred.

saturday's game was a welcome change of pace - we actually won! - barely. we still sucked hardcore toward the end of the game, but the Gators' "allowance" for the Tigers to tie the game arroused every nerve within every body in that stadium. All in all, the UF-Auburn game was my favorite thus far. The main reason for this preference:
Before each game, FDL (Florida Drum Line) and the rest of the band perform a "pre-game" show. 3/4's of the way through this, we line up along the path that the football players run across when they come out onto the field. Before the Gators come out, the visiting team runs out onto the field while their band plays their fight song - an age-old practice, but still, a sort of hospitality from the home team to the visitors, know what i mean? like, "guests first." its origin was politeness, i'm sure... - manners, whatever. you get my drift. anyway, after the entrance of the away team, the band normally stops playing, and we have a little televised intro that is displayed with sound and music on the huge monitor above the stadium, and as soon as it ends, the Gators rush out onto the field, and we play our fight song. simple enough. WELL, saturday night, the "Tiger Band" or whatever shitty-ass name they call themselves proved to be complete assholes. just as our intro thing started to play on the monitor, this shit-sucking band started to play some run-of-the-mill stands tune, and continued to play other shit WHILE our team ran out onto the field - WHILE we played our fight song! FUCKERS! oooohhhhhh i was so pissed off. HOWever...this anger made me feel more connected with the band - with the university - than i'd ever felt before. something just went off inside me, and it was like..."you bitches," and i felt that they had insulted me in insulting my school...so in response, i destroyed my cymbals as violently as i could, playing harder than i ever had before. it was wonderful...to feel so much a part of something that a slight insult arroused that level of loyalty and defense. i'm still extremely pissed at that band for having no respect, but i suppose it's like Gail said: "At least we can say that we're not like them." Experiences like this one make me want to stay in band for as many years as possible...

...but i'm still very seriously considering transferring to the University of Miami. I don't want to leave UF... - our campus is beautiful, i'm completely content with my living situation, and i don't know how i could manage without drew...but I really, really want the degree and the knowledge that UM offers. Music Engineering is something I've always wanted to do...and i KNOW that i would appreciate and utilize that degree, whereas here at UF, i'm still unsure about what i want to word towards. Psychology has become very interesting to me, but...i don't see myself as a professional psychologist. maybe i will eventually...but i've always (and currently) pictured myself working a job related to music. Maybe i could major in psychology here, and go to Miami afterwards to study Music Engineering? I know that that sounds kinda' crazy...especially to myself... - it's a lot of schooling, and a LOT of money...but would it be possible? I wonder if i'd be able to make it through all of that. Plus...if i stayed here and majored in psychology, i'd have more time to study mallets and snare, which would be necessary if i wanted to do well on the audition required by Miami for Music Engineering. wow...i only thought of that whole possibility while typing it. i'm enthused... - could this really be a possibility? yes, I'll be in school for a while longer than my friends...but it'd be worth it to me. what do i do? oooo i'm excited...

speaking of excitement...i haven't mentioned this in my blog until now:
I'M GOING TO ITALY!!!
Six weeks in Italy this summer!!! May 18 - June 27! Drew and I will be partaking in UF's Rome Home study abroad program, wherein we'll be taking Italian 2 and Anthropology of Religion. Can you feel my excitement here!?!? Freakin' ITALY, man...home of 75% of the world's artistic masterpieces - 30% of which reside in Rome, where we'll be studying! I really can't fathom any of this just yet - i mean, i've never lived out of state, nevermind outside of the country! overseas... - it seems like an entirely different world. different government, different language, different currency, different food, different television formats (PAL instead of NTSC), different-shaped outlets in the walls - EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT, and quite possibly even BETTER! And it's so ideal that Drew is coming with me. My only little..."whatever" is that i KNOW i'll be wishing that i had someone..."special" to share all the beauty that Italy has to offer. Drew and I saw pictures of gorgeous sunsets over mountains and ancient architecture, viewed from beautiful, tall structures...it was literally breathtaking, and we both looked at each other simultaneously, relaying without words the same sentiment - we are going to be longing SO HEAVILY for someone to hold...someone to experience those moments with. That's enough...i don't want to think about that impending loneliness. But freakin' !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - I'M GOING TO ITALY!!!

To anyone reading this: this saturday night is FDL's Annual Halloween Bash. It's going to be a HUGE party. If you're interested, let me know - we'd meet at my place saturday night and go together, of course. The catch is that you have to be in costume. It'd be freakin' awesome if you guys could come, so try really hard to free up your schedules, and let me know!

Ho fame...arrivederci, amici!

-aj

::: posted by AJBrotz at 9:37 AM

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Monday, October 14, 2002 :::

this won't take long

abandoning AIM for an indefinite amount of time

possibly banning use of the cell phone

considering transferring to the University of Miami
or just dropping out of school
though the prior seems more realistic

music

i possess little knowledge that is actually worth knowing
but at least i know that much

change

::: posted by AJBrotz at 4:03 PM

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Friday, October 04, 2002 :::

the new COLDPLAY album is now in my possession, thanks to Balky, my perfect stranger. still evaluating it, but it's quickly growing on me. the first record, "Parachutes," immediately found a place in my heart, but "A Rush of Blood to the Head" may take a bit longer to find its niche. Definitely good stuff, though... - can't really ever go wrong with Coldplay.

Jimmy Eat World's "Bleed American" is concretely among my top five records of all time. Absolutely outstanding. Five out of five stars - not that this is news or anything - i'm just reemphasizing how wonderful this album is. If you haven't picked this one up yet...do yourself a favor. Seriously. 9 out of 10 ninjas recommend this sweet disc, and you do NOT want to make a ninja flip out.

Speaking of ninjas...
WWW.REALULTIMATEPOWER.NET

After further review of the new Lifehouse and Splender records, I've come to the conclusion that the first brings me no satisfaction at all, while the latter is exceptional. I really can't say that i enjoy the new Lifehouse disc, which is truly unfortunate, considering how great the debut album was/is. Luckily, Splender's sophomore record ("To Whom it May Concern") has turned out to be a worthy follow-up to their debut cd, "Halfway Down the Sky." Rockin' stuff.

Quick apology to anyone sick of hearing primarily about music that doesn't really appeal to them. Moving on...

Halloween Horror Nights in exactly one week! I cannot wait. It's not like the event itself is particularly amazing, but for some reason, I always, always look forward to it each year. I think its the departure from normality...sharing that departure with my closest friends... - it always leaves a strong impression in my head. and Bill and Ted rock. MAN! I can't freakin' wait till next Friday!

it's definitely nice not having a game this weekend...or practice - yesterday, today, AND tomorrow. very very nice to have a break.

is anyone goin' to the Further Seems Forever/Finch/Something Corporate/New Found Glory show on November 12? I sure as hell hope so, 'cuz that show is going to rock my socks off. if you aren't going, trying to convince yourself that you aren't missing out will be like playing handball with a curtain. seriously though, let me know if you're going so we can meet up.

that's all for now...expect a more substantial entry soon, though. arrivederci...

-aj

::: posted by AJBrotz at 11:04 AM

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