09 July 2003 19:32
back to north dakota in mid-may. we we get to the awards banquet, all decked out in our suits. bored stiff (it was agonizing, believe me), one of the guys starts searching his pockets. lo and behold he finds his banquet ticket from regionals, back in november. i start searching mine, lo and behold i have my ticket too. the irony is is that it's not my suit, i borrowed it from schooby. but i have my doubts he wore it in the interm either.rock climbing gives one that exhilerating rush in the fingertips. it's like standing up to do a speech. through sheer determination, you've quelled any anxiety you have, but you can't stop the rush of adrenaline to the finger tips. the time i had it worst was on my granddad's back deck before he put the railing on it. the floor is 53' above the water level in the river below. both my toes and fingers were practically screaming from the rush. it's like a reward for anxiety or fear... provided you're determined to enjoy it.
in ND the team went to a mexican restourant called Paradisos (accented i). that's not really important though. we waited in the waiting area (duh) with the delta state team (who beat us at regionals). we weren't very social, but then again, neither were they (they were completely different btwn regionals and nationals.. i think they were intimidated). but that's not improtant either. we had a pretty waitress, but i guess that's not really important either. i guess ;). i had LOTS of root beer. hehheh.. that's probably important. both because it made me hyper and becuase i had to use the restroom. people in the US are so unsocial in restrooms. even if you know the person (like at work), even though your standing in adjacent stalls, chances are only about 30% you'll talk while you're there. i'll grant that that's overdramitization (mennonite church restrooms for instance, get talked in). i'm also referring to guys, no telling what the feminine species talks about.
anywayze, so i'm in the rr at paradisos and Ephesus comes to mind. well, and Phillipi too. those are the two places i remember most clearly where the Roman era latrine was laid out in a U shape and it was simply benches with holes in them. you'd waltz in, have a seat and have a grand social time conversing with those around you. compare to isaac asimov's view of the future where it was a complete social taboo to speak in a restroom. you were considered obscene if you glanced at another person in the room, even if they were just washing their hands at the sink. privacy was tatamount, where in roman era, it wasn't so much that you didn't have privacy but rather that it wasn't needed. what determines the social expectation of privacy? how does the line get drawn, or shifted? first we stop waving at each other as we drive past. then we stop smiling. i say we should blame it on the telephone. it's too easy to call somebody and be rude, thiinking "i'll never see them in my life".
okay, that was fragmentary, but my complimentary hour is up, i need to go find another library that'll give me a guess pass :). adios
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