TAC (An afternoon at a very nice college)

On the 25th, not the 26th, we drove down to Santa Paula to see a performance of a Gilbert & Sullivan play (and check out my brother's dorm and tour the college). I really am sorry for not having any pictures of the campus, because it is simply the nicest place I have ever seen, but I was never quite sure whether it was ok. The day went like this: Got up early, sort of did our thing, until we finally left our driveway around 12:20. This was an unusual car trip, because no one said a word until about 2: 00, when, after determining that no-one would be startled, I got my parents to turn on the score to Master & Commander, which my family all likes because all but two tracks of it is either classical or semi-classical. For the next 45 minutes, the only sound in the car was the music. By the time we reached the 9th track, we had also reached the college.The first thing my dad and I and my brothers did was to go straight to my other brother's dorm room, where we found him alone, practicing the music to the night's play. Strange as it might seem, I was surprised to find that he lives with another guy in a room barely eight by ten feet, if that. When we left him, we began our tour. In reality, we did not actually tour the place; my dad simply took us to the center of the campus and pointed out what was what. Then we went into the library, which is an enormous building which has room for at least half the student body, I'm sure. Absolutely no one was inside that we saw, though, as it was Friday afternoon, when everyone is free. Leaving my grandma and my younger brother in the library, my dad and I went straight to the chapel at the edge of the campus. The enormous dome on the chapel can be seen from a mile away; I know because I'm sure that's how far away we were. We only entered to admire the building and meditate, but before we knew it, (neither of us had a watch) a Mass had begun. When we left the chapel an hour later, we were raving about the almost-perfect acoustics. Check off a second reason why I suddenly want to go there. Next, we went to the chow hall to eat dinner. The food they gave us was not bad, but not very flavorful. When dinner was over, it was finally time fore the play. The orchestra played an overture for about five minutes before anything happened. Some highlights of the performance include lines such as "We were boys together... at least, I was." "I was happy to get to know myself, but then I reminded myself that I'd been acquainted with myself for years already" and songs such as "When I went to the Bar" which I believe is probably the funniest song in the show. Unfortunately, due to my poor hearing, and the fact that the speakers weren't working, I was unable to hear much of the performance, even though we were sitting in the third row. We left immediately after the show and didn't reach home until 12:30 a.m. And so we are all tired today.

A reminder That I Am Still Here (An Update on my Boring Life)

Few things have happened since Lent began except that Lent began. As you might have guessed, I stopped posting after Ash Wednesday. This was because I have discovered that the Internet swallows up too much of my time, so I am ignoring it, except on Sundays. During this past week, my mom and my older brother celebrated their birthdays. On the 26th of this month we are going down to Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula to see a performance of Iolanthe, a not-so-famous play written by Gilbert & Sullivan. For the past few months, we have been enjoying fresh homemade bread and cookies, served up simultaneously to save the cost of buying and because my mom has joined the Bread Bakers Guild of America and is practicing to open her own bakery There is an awful rainstorm blowing through our area right now; the wind is tearing roofs off of sheds. So there you have it, the boring life of JT, King Valun, and The Phantom.

The Wal-Mart Saga, Parts 1, 2, and 3

There once was a relatively sleepy mid-size mountain community, known as T_____________. Then one day three or four years ago at the most, the supreme council that rules the Wal-Mart empire observed that "Hey, there is a community out there which has not been infiltrated by one of our infamous fortresses of cheap Chinese goods. We must build one there, stat!" So the Wal-Mart leaders soon approached the much weaker supreme council of T______________, and offered ____________________ dollars for the rights to the big empty lot at the center of town. Soon afterwards, a rumor began spreading around town; 'Wal-Mart is coming' Some said it cheerfully, looking forward to patronizing the most powerful corporation in America and the miserably underpaid Chinese workers who supplied its goods. But most said it with despair in their hearts; soon, 100 people would become Wal-Mart greeters, a hopeless future. So ends part 1.
Part 2 of the Walmart of T_________ saga: For a couple of years, nothing much happened in T__________. The town grew and (mostly) thrived, holding it's first annual Best of T_________ competition, in the course of which it was discovered that the town celebrity is an old-looking guy who is out on the corner every day to wave a sign for a pizza joint. His competitors for celebrity status were a rescue dog, and a naturalist who shares his name with the instigator of Jurrasic Park. The first two T__________ Idol contests were also held, proving that no town is safe from throngs of people who think they can sing. But to return to Wal-Mart: late last year, the signs finally went up, proving many people's fears: "Future site of Wal-Mart Supercenter" (read "there are no two ways about it. Your town is doomed!") Soon afterwards, the supreme council of T___________ began to put the matter on the agenda, to find out if anybody disliked Wal-Mart. They (no surprise here) found that many people dislike this corporation. But (surprise, surprise) they also discovered that many people actually enjoy shopping at Wal-Mart. The general public discovered this through the vast number of letters to the editor in the paper, which were pro-Walmart one week and anti-walmart the next, for about six weeks. But alas, despite the opposition, Walmart was approved, even though it's going to clog up our main road (so people say) So ends part 2.
Part three of the Walmart saga. Foes of Walmart, rejoice! (for a short time, anyway) The money has been paid about a month ago to appeal Walmart. I'm not sure what may come of this, or if anything already has, but rest assured that I believe part three: the appeal, is ongoing at this point. Let's hope it goes!