Recap - Finishing Up in Austin. So my time in Austin is kinda wrapping up, and I guess I've kinda been trying to do some of the things I always meant to but didn't get around to.

I went and watched the Prokofiev Romeo & Juliet ballet. Yea, yea, "ballet is for giiiiiiiiirls!" Say what you will, but I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was only the second ballet I've ever watched, and I must say, this one was definitely a lot better. The prancing around during the "fighting" was still pretty funny though, heh. But really, I came away with a newfound respect for the capability of dance as a medium for emotional expression. My previous idea of attraction expressed in dance would be like, I dunno, getting a little frisky, maybe some dry-humping... hahaha, j/k. Naw, but seriously, I didn't think stories and emotions could be conveyed so effectively without words... well, the music helped, I suppose. (I really liked one of the recurring musical themes.) So did knowing the Romeo & Juliet plot, heh.

My parents came down to Austin for the formal graduation ceremony. It was kind of a satisfying "end" to things. (*Though there was kind of a sour mood cast over the weekend cuz of an [ill-portenting email]... read later posts.) The ceremony for the college of engineering (the one where we actually walked) was good. The ceremony for the entire college was kinda dull other than the fireworks and the lighting of the tower.

Went and hung out at Lake Austin with Alan and his fob posse. Got lost really bad on the way there though- drove like an hour in the wrong direction. =/ Anyways, we did the whole jet ski thing or whatever- was pretty cool. A few days later, went tubing down the Guadalupe when Pearl came down to Austin. It was ok I guess, nothing amazing- didn't live up to the hype (it's supposed to be some kinda quintessential Austin experience), but I bet it woulda been a lot more fun if I was a lot drunker, hahaha.

Went and visited the Blanton museum of art that opened up not too long ago. I actually went to the place on opening night too, but saw a line wrapped around the building, so I said screw it. Went back a few weeks later and, for the most part, liked what I saw. I liked the modern (well, post-1900ish) collection. I don't like all the Victorian era rip-offs of classical Greek/Roman works though, blehhh. And I wasn't too terribly impressed by all the Medieval/Renaissance stuff either.

Stuff still on my list of things-to-do: see the bats, see the icebats, see more live music, Mt. Bonnell, Midnight Rodeo, take a tower tour, explore the UT catacombs (or see if they even exist)

Recap. So this past week in school was one of the most hellish I've ever had. It culminated in two all-nighters in a row at the very end. The culmination of aircraft design and senior design classes at the same time = killer. Anyways, so what've I been up to recently?

Went to the UT China Care banquet; made me regret that I never got myself involved with any "meaningful" organizations during college. Food was decent; had myself like 10 slices of chocolate cake, heh.

Went and watched the opera Don Giovanni; it was ok I guess- not nearly as amusing as Marriage of Figaro. And I'd always thought the Don Juan character was just a charmer, but turns out he's something of a serial rapist as well??

Watched Mr. Sinus Theater or whatever doing Top Gun at Alamo Drafthouse for Rex's b-day. Anyways, it's where they have guys making fun of the movie as it's playing. Was quite amusing. I had meant to go to a party afterwards but ended up just staying down at 6th. Met up with some other friends and got separated again. Ended up with my original group down at Rain, the gay bar, which was certainly a [different] experience for me, seeing as how I'm not gay and it was my first time in a gay club. Anyways, due to a miscommunication with the bartender, I ended up buying a round for strangers. It got me a lot of gay hugs and air smooches by the cheek... yea, it was kinda weird, hahaha. Oh well, it was a fun experience overall. No one mad dogs you at the gay club, they're all real friendly. Ate at Katz's downtown afterwards. It was ok I guess- not a bad place that late, but nowhere close to the Katz's in NY.

Watched the Yo Mama's Day Showdown, the girls' tackle football game. I was quite impressed by some of the girls' games; they've got more juke than I do, haha. Walked away with a bit of a sunburn though. =/

Jerry, Paul, and Jeff came and visited from out of town. Hung out with them a bit and played Bang!, a card game that's kinda like a cross between mafia and Magic: the Gathering. It's just ok in my book, though the rest of the guys all seem to really like it. I guess I'm just not into the trickery, subterfuge, and occasional backstabbing that goes with games like this. (Kinda like how I don't like Risk for the same reasons- even if it IS in-game, I don't like betraying or being betrayed by my friends.)

Watched a decent amount of movies recently. In roughly descending order of my liking: Fearless, Thank You For Smoking, 40 Year-Old Virgin, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Prime, Serenity, Full Metal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shambala, Final Fantasy: Advent Children, Memoirs of a Geisha, She's the Man, God of Gamblers, Whisper of the Heart, Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human, Donnie Darko, Unleashed, Goodbye Lenin, Howl's Moving Castle, Clerks, Shopgirl, Tom Yum Goong, Rent, Nightwatch, A History of Violence, The Aristocrats

Somebody stole my grill! Grrrrr. I had left it out on my porch for about a week and a half, and I come back from class this afternoon, and it’s gone. It coulda been worse though I guess; I had both my own grill and the one I borrowed from Kent out there, and for some reason they only took mine.

And you know, it’s not even really so much the material/financial loss that upsets me. It’s the fact that I had JUST cleaned it the night before. I’m mad that I expended all that effort cleaning, just to have some chump steal it. I wouldn’t be nearly as angry if they’d stolen it dirty. I mean, it was only like a $20 grill… not even worth the trouble of reporting the theft, in my opinion. But I guess it’s the principle of the matter. They stole my cleaning effort!

I dunno. I left a sign out on my porch that’s like “please return my grill by Friday. No hard feelings for borrowing without asking.” Kinda giving ‘em the benefit of the doubt, cuz if they really had stolen with malicious intent, there was plenty more stuff that they could’ve taken. Whatever, perhaps it’ll get returned, though I’m not optimistic.