This poem was on the back of a hand-out for class, God bless paper conservation.

"This makes the madmen who have made men mad
By their contagion; Conquerors and Kings,
Founders of sects and systems, to whom add
Sophists, Bards, Statesmen, all unquiet things
Which stir too strongly the soul's secret springs,
And are themselves the fools to those they fool;
Envied, yet how unenviable! what stings
Are theirs! One breast laid open were a school
Which would unteach mankind the lust to shine or rule:

Their breath is agitation, and their life
A storm whereon they ride, to sink at last,
And yet so nurs'd and bigotted to strife,
That should their days, surviving perils past,
Melt to calm twilight, they feel overcast
With sorrow and supineness, and so die;
Even as a flame unfed, which runs to waste
With its own flickering, or a sword laid by
Which eats into itself, and rusts ingloriously.

He who ascends to mountain-tops, shall find
The loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds and snow;
He who surpasses or subdues mankind,
Must look down on the hate of those below.
Though high above the sun of glory glow,
And far beneath the earth and ocean spread,
Round him are icy rocks, and loudly blow
Contending tempests on his naked head,
And thus reward the toils which to those summits led.

-George Gordon, Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage: Canto the Third (pertaining to Napoleon)

Put 'em all in a jar, shake it up, and see what happens.

I was worried this weekend might be a fiasco out of high school, what with a few disparate groups of friends getting tossed together, but on the whole I think it was a success. If anything, I sure had a great time. Balazs, Kelly, and Mike came down from Cleveland, Classic Zach came up from The Nasti, and got shuffled in with the boys, Jim and Whitney, and Alaina and Matt. First Aaron, Zach, Mike, Katie, Kelly, and I went to dinner at the Claremont with Katie's godfather. As soon as I met Bill I knew Aaron would love him, so I was happy to see them seated next to each other. Aaron was at his charming best, and seemed to have a good time. Zach was working his mojo on Kelly, Mike and Ramone were immersed in wrestling talk, and Katie was facilitating every conversation at the table when they happened to lag (a born hostess). Bill is such a wonderful man, its always a pleasure spend time with the most charming, roguish Buckeye there is (don't worry, Aaron, you are heir to the throne). After dinner we circled the wagons at the BER house. There was panic, disarray, and in the end Aaron did have to make calls and point us all towards the cabs, else we would have kept circling in confusion. Alaina and her Matt ended up catching a ride out with Jim and Whitney. These two couples didn't know each other at all, but were game to meet up and drive out, a fact which I am endlessly grateful for, as it was my own logistical incompetence that fudged things.

Howl at the Moon. Fabulous. Mike was buying drinks by the bucket, we all tested our "tying cherry stems into knots with our tongues" prowess, and just generally rocked out and had a great time. Zach put me up on stage for my birthday, but I think the piano player took pity on my high level of sobriety and simply sang a dirty song, rather than one that required me to touch myself or others. The song also included the line, "Talk about how big your old boyfriends were," and it was convenient that all ex boyfriends were in the audience for me to flick off simultaneously (while Aaron toasted Mike, cheeky bastard). At the end I got to prove that I can touch my toes now (yeah, yoga!) while I received the ceremonious "Follow me to the Moon" bumper-sticker across my rear.

I had a great time hopping from conversation to conversation (and often lap to lap, with the lack of chairs). Upon returning to BER house, Mike tried to pick the lock into Bauer's room while everyone else took off for Sara Stephan's and more party. I then received a piggy back ride four blocks and two flights of stairs, Mike not even breaking a sweat. Knowing once Mike has decided to give a piggy back ride there is no way off, I enjoyed myself thoroughly by yelling, "Onward" and waving my arms in a cavalry saber fashion. Good times. Chaos ensued at Sara's, as expected, and I somehow ended up walking Kelly a block over to her friend's house to visit. It was a very nice, clean house, and I engaged a pre-dentistry business student in conversation while Kelly said her hello's. Adam M- was a nice guy, knew Rick Cavolo, and very personable. Kelly said he normally doesn't talk to girls, and that's probably why we got along. On my way out the door I met a man whose last name was "Butts." I tried to commiserate by sharing my nickname of "But" and last name of "Payne," but in the end we both agreed that his name was the most character building. Then onward to BER house...

Now, time to get everyone tucked in. As who, what, where, and with whom would be incriminating, I'll simply say, all were happy by the time I tucked myself into the couch in the living room. Katie, Kelly, and I had a few moments of bonding in Bryan's bed before they took off early for Cleveland (we were still two guys and two cheesecakes short of Bryan's bed's occupancy record). Zack headed back down to Cincinnati with a wink and a smile, and I convinced Mike to hang out with me for the day. He napped/talked to me while I made pasta sauce, kindly unclogged our toilet, and announced that he had discovered a big contributor to the boys' affection for me: backrubs. As he was rubbing my feet at the time of announcement, I simply agreed him. The apartment smelled heavenly and the game was a complete heart stopper. Mike took off, the game ended, and my cold, sobering up guests began to arrive. Duval brought his mother's apple pie (purrrr). I took the sleepy people home, and Mike Hussey, Alaina and Alaina's Matt all went down to the Drexel to see Bubba Ho-tep, as per Trevor's recommendation. Bizarre, hysterical, and scared me quite a bit more than the Ring (in a boo! scary type way). Mike H., Alaina, and Matt were the perfect people to see it with, fun all around.

And that leads me to this morning... sleeping until noon, left over pasta sauce and garlic bread, synchronization of weekend stories and pictures with friends... "Good stuff" as Will Farrell would say.