Still Puzzled...

I'm starting to think I should sell ad space on this page, but it seems of late that the most interested buyers would be Nyquil, Gillette razors and Prozac. And I won't cater to those.

So, last nite: a great time. Went to Indy for an ATO bro's 21st, two days after the fact. Five of us ate at Nickel Plate in Fishers [I recommend any of their burgers, mmm] then headed to my big bro's townhouse in Carmel. From there, it was on to Broad Ripple, for Kretz's and my virginal B.Rip experience both. Actually, it served to be the first B.Rip foray for a lot of people. I guess that explained a lot...

It was an oh-so-random nite. We slipped into Landshark's twice briefly, jumped next door once for open mic nite at Whatever That Dive Was Called and saw the largest singer/songwriter ever flexing his chops and his 'ceps on the acoustic axe. The guy had to be 300 pounds easily, yet he possessed this strangely soothing-yet-raspy voice. I doubt anyone else noticed, let alone cared.

Anyway, we -- meaning 9 or 10 ATOs, a trio of "friends of ATO" and Leesa [what a sport -- man, she's fun] -- headed over to Pepper's for the rest of the nite at about midnite. Some cover band [maybe their name was Lame] sucked it up for a while, shuffling anxiously thru mid- to late-90s hits by the Pumpkins, 311, Bush, et al. before thankfully breaking. Soon after entering, we simply took to some stools and tables in a back corner and talked. And talked. It was great. I talked to guys I hadn't seen more than once in the last four to six months and loved it. Olds' flame Sucily [sp, prolly] was a riot too. She reminded me of Nerecia from high school in the 'Saw, and that's a good thing.

We headed next door where randomness took a stranglehold on the nite for good. In short, Kretz and I "broke up" a fight outside the pizzeria [thankfully escaping being impaled by the spikes on the jackets of some guys] and talked to an old guy on a crutch who loiters in Broad Ripple every nite and goes by the moniker "Blue." Jimi and I encountered, and I conversed with, the coat checker at Pepper's -- all 3 feet of her. She was as tall as the doorknob on the restroom door at the pizza place. I know that because I measured while the three of us were trading spaces inside the women's restroom. Whew. Too much subtle humor for this forum, I think.

On the whole, the nite was a blast. I seriously can't wait for the pics to come back that Leesa took ever-so-subtly took for me. Now more than ever, I pine for ATO being an active fraternity on campus. My brothers are the best. There's really no way of saying that without sounding totally "greek," and I don't care. I'll call it a frat too. Why? Because I live for abbrevs. Anyone who knows me at all knows that. Back to the point, I am thrilled that my qualms about not being recognized by the university and brothers graduating have been refuted by the facts. We've banded together, and it's more of a true fraternity. We spend time together because we truly like each other. Yeah, yeah, there are problems and personality clashes and what-have-you, but I love those guys. I'm not sure they know that, but it's truf. And the guys who've graduated -- most importantly to me, my big bro -- have wanted to stay in contact beyond "college." It's encouraging, and I guess I'm hoping it's a precursor to the future.

I'm excited that Pollen and "Nucklet" will be back next semester from London and France, respectively. I'm excited at the possibility that they'll both return as eurometrosexuals. Hah. I'm stoked to see Gus again, fresh off his sabbatical/internship in Miami. I'm excited for the prospect of getting down to Jimi and Baker's townhouse in Carmel before semester's end to hang out with them. I am excited for my big bro's steady ladyfriend, and the fact that he has her on his mind when he goes out. He told me that going out and spending a lot of money or gazing at girls isn't so appealing when you have something like he has going on. He has no idea how heartening that was to me.

Being a music aficionado, I have to say a smile comes to my face every time I think that the two most memorable songs of my fraternity experience have been Billy Joel's "Piano Man" and "Jump On It" by Sir Mix-A-Lot. I don't think I would have it any other way.


This has been a lot longer than I intended for it to be, but it was just a running thought process, and anyone who cares, deals. This all wouldn't be complete without a little...

Ruh-rah-rega
Alpha Tau Omega!
Hip-hurray, hip-hurrah
Three cheers for Alpha Tau
A-T-O!