And I Laughed

I'm doing a very good job with my New Year's resolution, and I'm very glad that I've done so. It's made me a better person and everything - in my opinion at least. And no, I'm not telling anyone what that resolution is, nor will I ever tell anyone what it is. You don't need to know and it's really none of your businesses.

Sorry for sounding a bit harsh there, but the truth is the truth.

Mm, and college started for me on Monday. Back to the old University of South Carolina in Aiken I went, driving along in my repainted car and with a smile upon my face. I entered into the campus a bit early, if only to get a feel for everything again, then headed off to my initial class: American National Government; or for your picky little twirps out there, Political Science. I must say that the teacher really surprised me when I saw him. He wasn't some old fart, and he was very honest with his feelings, which really got a great deal of us laughing.

"Alright, at this ripe old age of mine, I've given up the hope of dreams and fantasies in my life, knowing they will never come true. But, just for the heck of it, do we have any Political Science majors in this class?"

And everyone stayed silent.

"And... I thought as much."

I have a good feeling about this guy. On the first day of class, we were instructed to take a research test that we wouldn't be seeing back - ever - for some survey. Apparently, researchers wanted to see how a semester's worth of knowledge in politics would change over time. I managed to get through a nice chunk of it, but couldn't finish when the teacher told us to pass them to the left. A bit distraught, I reluctantly gave up my test and sat quietly, waiting for our next instructions. And, it was at this point that I learned just how great this teacher was.

"Class, I'm going to trust you in never telling a soul what I'm about to tell you. What I am going to say will never leave this room," says the teacher, moving across the room, "In my personal opinion, those tests are complete and utter [crud]. No one is ever going to ask you such stupid questions as how many people are in the Senate, or how long the term of a certain office is. Those are trivia questions, not Politics. The only place those questions could possibly help you with is on Jeopardy."

I told you he was a great guy. I love a honest, open teacher that isn't afraid to voice his opinion about a matter. And thus, my newest semester started off.

I departed from my Political Science class with a smile on my face, and a cheer in my step. However, I became even more cheery as a bright, pale face met with mine and nearly pounced on me. Yes, it was Lisa, my old friend from Philosophy that was an avid participant on Gaiaonline. She quickly broke from her group of friends and followed/led me outside, happy and cheery as she gave me some good news. A few days previous to that one, she completed one of her quests on Gaia - the one to obtain a Jacked-Up Shirt. She thanks me profusely for having given her two pitchforks and even made a thread dedicated entirely to me in her guild. Needless to say, I was a bit flatter. With this young woman bouncing around and all, I couldn't help but cheer up even more so than before! However, I had to depart from her after my time ran out, and headed over into my World History class.

As I entered and sat down in the very back (one of the few seats elft, mind you), my ears rang with the sound of Beethoven's 5th Symphony, a musical masterpiece. The teacher there was an old, wrinkly man, and heavy-set to boot! I was a bit intimidated by the look of him, noting how the music made him seem even more powerful than before. Previous to this semester, I would pass by his class and hear these melodies ringing through the halls. I always wondered why he played such classical music all the time, and what sort of class it must have been. However, Dr. Luman's was hardly the man I envisioned him to seem.

"Good morning class! I think you've all noticed the music we have playing. And I play it because I think it's a nice addition to the class when everyone's coming in, and I personally like it as well. So, before we start anything, I was wondering if anyone could possibly tell me what song this is, and who wrote it. Well, not wrote but composed it."

"Beethoven's 5th?"

"Very good!"

Turns out this guy was a very jolly old man, and had a very kind spirit about him. It was like Santa except missing a beard and less hair. Still, a nice old guy nonetheless. Also, he was the head of the department, so any little problem could go directly to him. Pretty handy, in my opinion. So his class wasn't too bad either, and I found it a bit interesting.

And thus, I left that class as well, going off and heading over to the library. After surfing Gaia for about ten minutes or so, I decided to go get some lunch while I had time. Fifteen or so minutes later, I returned to my college campus; a McDonald's Mcflurry in hand, no less. They aren't nearly as good as Sonics' Flurry ice creams, but they are there when you need it. And considering how hungry I was, I certainly could have used one. I decided to head up to the Quad, parking my rear on a bench, and ate the little morsel while trying to look busy. I'm a people watcher, so I tend to do that so I won't be distracted by others.

That and it allows me time to scheme. Heh heh...

After finishing that up, I decided to head over to the H&SS building while I still had some time, and check out some stuff at the English department while I was there. However, I was greeted once more, and in a most peculiar way.

"Airez!"

...
...
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That's right, folks. I was called "Airez"; in real life, no less. In a real, public place with over a dozen people standing around me. I was referred to by one of my online nicknames, something that has never happened in those circumstances.

As I turned around, I looked over and saw Lisa covering her mouth, laughing uncontrollably as I gave her a weirdly amused look.

"I meant James!"

"Airez? You actually called me by that name?"

"It just slipped and came out and I just-"

"Sure, sure [namewithdrawn]." I respond with a coy grin.

"No no no! Don't call me that," laughed Lisa, trying to cover my mouth, "Okay, I'm a dork for it, I know! But come on, what have I been calling you over the past month?"

I just grinned, "Well, considering we've only been online-"

"Yes! That's why I slipped it up!"

Her defence was fine and all, but I'm never letting her live that one down. I walked back inside after she begged me to go away (and save her from embarassment), headed around to the English department and took care of a little business, then walked back out and snuck up behind her once more, comforting her on the fact that she pronounced my name properly, something that surprises even me! I asked a friend a while back how she would pronounce my name, and she said that most everyone said "Ie-rez", which would be the Spanish or Japanese pronounciation. Still, props to those that did was I did and Americanize it. Go USA!

We joked about it for a while before heading off into our classes. And my next one was (dun dun DUN!) Psycology.

In I went and enjoyed the light-hearted people there, listening into their conversations and making a few of my own. I noticed one guy in particular that I recognized, Jason, and waved at him. He was a good friend of mine back in my French 3 class of highschool, and I spent many hours just talking with the guy and never doing my work in that class. My reason? I really didn't want that class anyway and the guy was always fun. I'm surprised I managed to get the grades that I did.

So, that aside, I took notice of two other highschool faces that I recognized, and nodded at them as well. During class, we really didn't do anything better than go over the syhllabus, but the teacher there was quiet fun as well. She was very outgoing, and had a nice sense of humor. It was nice to have so many good classes this year, and I was happy knowing that I recognized so many people this time around. Who knew Sophmore year of college was so much fun?

But, alas, I departed from that class and happened upon my Sociology class. I had high hopes for this place, and was thrilled knowing that I was in the same room I started in. Not only that, but two individuals from that class were in my Political Science class as well, so I quickly got to socializing with them also. And we waited... and waited... and waited some more... for our teacher. Eventually, the old coot finally showed up, apologized for his tardiness, and started with class.

Oh man... it was torture. This guy was very old, had a monotone voice, and didn't seem to know what he was doing half the time. Also, he admitted that he didn't have a teaching plan prepared for class, and that he'd be winging most of the lectures he did. This sent up the first red flag for me. Next, after going through the syllabus, he mentioned about how he wanted cellphones turned off.

"Okay, you can call your drug dealers after class."

... I kid you not... he really did say that. He's old, he's tiring, and he's trying to crack jokes that are difficult to discern from seriousness and sarcasm. Not only that, but he kept going with it and made more humorless jokes that just seemed to go on and on with no end in sight. Needless to say, I was more than ready to get out of that class, especially since it was the longest one I had all day. Oi... but at least some good came out of it, as it some how manages to happen whenever I leave a class.

"Well that was interesting." I said to a girl behind me, who quickly lunged forward (so to speak).

He leaned in and looked at me wide-eyed, blinking many many times. I just stared back as she said, "Oh my gosh! Do you remember me?"

"Oh course I do, Amy."

Amy, a friend of mine from St. Mary's, was standing there, seemingly amazed by me. And I'm really not saying that in an egotistical way; she seemed utterly dumbfounded in the way I had changed.

"Wow! James! I didn't recognize you at all. I was going "It can't be!" And I had to see your face to make sure who it actually was!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, and wow... you have changed. I mean, you look different, you're taller and ... you've gotten big..."

I'm seriously going to assume she meant my muscle mass. The way she made it sound was as if she was enthralled by the way I'd changed, and I don't blame her. Back when she truly knew me, I was just some pasty-white kid with a bowl cut and thick glasses. Now, however, I have a very muscular build, have slicked back hair (which I'm proud of), and I got rid of the glasses nearly a year ago. I look like a completely different person from the one she knew, or anyone knew for that matter.

Yes, I am very proud of the change I made.

We conversed and walked side-by-side, exitting the H&SS building while laughing about how everything had changed. It was a fine little meeting that I wasn't expecting, especially since I knew what sort of person Amy had become (of which I won't disclose at this point). I'm just happy she decided to come up and talk with me, until the hawk came into being.

The highlight of my day! A hawk was stalking a squirrel on the same tree in the quad. A whole group of people were gathered around and watching as the bird moved from branch to branch, moving slowly after the little critter as it skittered around the sides of the tree, trying its best to stay out of sight. Amy departed and waved to me as I joined Brandon (friend of college) in talking about the bird and wishing it would catch the squirrel.

Sorry, as much as an animal lover as I am, this was better than National Geographic channel. Heck, there must have been thirty-some people just gathered around and waiting for something to happen. A teacher actually came outside with a camera, taking pictures of the bird as it puffed its chest out - which led me to believe the bird was putting one one big show for everyone. It was strangly enchanting to watch this event... surrounded by spectators, waiting for the suspsence to draw to a close.

Eventually, people began to disperse and the bird left the tree after I waited a good thirty or so minutes. Afterwards, I headed home and enjoyed a nice, long nap.

I love college. And I'm going to cut this entry off right here. It's gotten long enough!

Ciao!