inspiration strikes - a break from the monotony

Friday, November 08, 2002

Poem

Alit on limpid pools
Swimming in the wind
Amid a world of fools

Alone amidst the gale
In storm the heavens spin
My ship is setting sail

Across the blue I go
The journey does begin
An end I do not know

mattchun 11/08/2002 07:03:00 PM [+] ::
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Weekend

Have a good one..

mattchun 11/08/2002 06:25:00 PM [+] ::
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Waiting...

...for the big boss to get in gear with his prior appointments, which are running late, so i can meet with him to discuss the presentation for the conference call, so i can make the necessary revisions to the materials, so i can get lunch before the staff meeting, so i can boost my blood sugar and avoid hypoglycemia, so i don't have the sudden compulsion to scream obscenities into the phone so the client doesn't get pissed off, so i can go home and do my laundry, so i have clean underwear, so i don't develop a foul odor. what the hell is taking so long?

mattchun 11/08/2002 12:29:00 PM [+] ::
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I work too much

I'm getting sick again because I'm not taking care of myself. BLAH!
I will stave off illness starting...now.

mattchun 11/07/2002 09:55:00 PM [+] ::
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Busy

Work is starting to interfere with my ability to post to inspirationstrikes.

mattchun 11/07/2002 03:01:00 PM [+] ::
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Back in Boston

So, I'm back in Boston following a brief sojourn in Philadelphia. Actually, I wasn't even in Philadelphia, I was in New Jersey (Cherry Hill), just outside the city of brotherly love. Short business trips always strike me as odd little occurences. I'm happy to build up the frequent flier miles and get the hotel points, but these days, I think I'd rather be at home.

Centennial Recap

The fraternity centennial celebration was a smashing success. There were over five hundred attendees, and a number of guys who looked like they were about to keel over from old age. I had the chance to speak with a couple of the old-timers, and it was a remarkable experience. They had a lot of the "when I lived here, we walked uphill both ways through the snow to get to class" sort of stories. I saw a number of joyful reunions, some in which fraternity members hadn't seen each other in several decades. The bonds and lasting friendships that I was able to witness are truly amazing.

The weekend was a blur. I saw the dozens and dozens of people that I lived with during my four years, as well as scores of other faces that grace the pictures on halls and stairwells of the chapter house. It was a treat to catch up with the guys I lived with, and reminisce about old times.

Then of course, there was the revelry. Most everyone flew or drove in on Friday night, and we convened at a local watering hole that was a favorite during the college years. We had rented out the upstairs bar, and by the time I arrived, the place was packed. I don't know how many people were there, but at one point, the bouncers stopped letting people in. Moving from familiar face to familiar face, drinks in hand, I had a spinning sensation much like riding the teacups at the fair. There was a lot of backslapping, "hey!s" of recognition and a whole lot of drinking. I returned to my apartment with the gang that was crashing with me around 2am, and we shot the breeze and caught up until close to 3am. That was early compared to Saturday night.

On Saturday night, after the annual meeting and banquet, we convened at the house for a night of drinking and merriment. We had hired a bartender to take care of the alcohol, and take care of it they did. I'm not sure how many beers or mixed drinks I imbibed, but it was enough to turn my face red, though not so much that I felt excessively drunk. I spent much of the evening holding court in "Senior Corner," the large bay window in the chapter room. There, I conversed with the many faces that crossed my path. I talked about work, family, fun and memories with what seemed like a million old friends. Eventually, we migrated to another part of the house, where the fun continued into the late hours.

At some point, I headed downstairs, where "Opie" and "Grandma" were cooking Philly cheesesteaks for everyone. If you've never had a Philly cheesesteak in the wee hours, you haven't lived. I checked my watch and did a doubletake when i realized it was already 4am. Soon after, I decided it might be a good time to get a little bit of shuteye, seeing that I would be flying to Philadelphia for work the next day.

Though I'm still a bit tired, and I'll be catching up on sleep for the next few weeks, it was worth a few weeks of drowsiness to reconnect with so many old friends. It was a memorable weekend, so filled with fun, that I've only presented a very small fraction here. I can't quite type fast enough to fit all of my thoughts on this page in a reasonable length of time, so I'll have to keep those memories to myself for now. Here's hoping the sesquicentennial is just as much fun!

mattchun 11/05/2002 09:51:00 PM [+] ::
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