MKOTBlog

I can’t remember the last 11 days of my life.

Okay, that’s probably a bit of a dramatic over-exaggeration, but the point still stands. After a rough morning of waking up at 5 am after two hours of sleep, flying back to Philadelphia (thankfully the plane was nearly empty), and almost napping through my LSAT class which was the reason for my early return (the rest of the guys are coming back tomorrow), I reflected back on the trip and realized I couldn’t distinguish the different days of our Georgia excursion. All the events and people blended together into an incomprehensible pile of miscellaneous memories… and it wasn’t for the lack of sleep.

The unfortunate thing is, its not like I was partying myself into a drunk coma every night, which would somewhat explain this mental week-long blackout. To be fair, overall I had a great time hanging out, relaxing, and taking in the new experiences of the Deep South. I do hold incredibly fond memories of golfing, catfishing, swimming, etc… however, unlike the Florida writing retreat of last year, I felt that the bad outweighed the good of this trip. As the week progressed, in conjunction with the mad cabin fever caused by the frequent thunderstorms and the general lack of things to do in Douglas (the best restaurant in town, for example, was a Ruby Tuesday), I began to realize that Mask and Wig, despite all its positives, is full of its share of drama and politics that have really begun to wear me thin, and that I no longer care to remember as distinct memories.

The worst part of it all, I realized this week, is the double-edged impact on friendships these types of organizations have. If it wasn’t for Mask and Wig, I probably wouldn’t have met all of my best friends in college, with whom I have shared life-defining experiences. This side of it, I would not change or give up for anything in the world. But on the other hand, as the years go by, and you get more involved with the behind-the-scenes work, I’ve realized that some people have stopped seeing each as other as friends, and rather only judge each other by the achievements they have accomplished within the context of the organization. I don’t place blame on anyone, as I am also guilty of doing this, but I’ve been incredibly disturbed and saddened by this trend, and only recently realized how common this was throughout the entire group.

Now, at this point, my dear friends and cast members of Mask and Wig, I have realized I have no idea what I’m trying to accomplish by writing this post. Don’t get me wrong, I love Wig, and believe whole-heartedly that it’s one of the best things to have ever happened to me. But it is also true that nothing else brings me more challenges and difficulties on a day to day basis. I guess all I’m trying to do is explain to you my quiet aloofness that some of you noticed this week. So that’s it.

On a positive note, though, I have come away with a back up plan to my life if my current non-existent life plan fails: a veterinarian. Well, not really, because to become a vet requires years of education… so a pet-owner. But I guess owning a pet isn’t really a career, so let me rephrase: I have come away with a back up hobby for my life, regardless of whether or not my current non-existent life plan fails. As any of the guys will attest, I was found at any given point during the week playing with Pat’s dog, Misty. I didn’t care that it was covered with fleas and smelled like, well, a bad-smelling dog, but I couldn’t help but play with it, feed it, and pet it all week long. And then, half way through the trip, a stray but incredibly gentle cat started to follow us around in the neighborhood. It eventually made Pat’s house its home (which I’m sure the family isn’t all that crazy about) and whenever I wasn’t hanging out with the dog, I was playing with and feeding the cat. Normally I HATE cats, and still probably will hate most cats, but this was one was too cute and amazing. Anyway, I picked up a new nickname on this trip: the dog whisperer. So watch out if you have a dog, because I will be… okay, I’ll stop right there because this passage already sounds incredibly creepy.

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And in other, completely unrelated yet exciting news: I have been accepted to be a blogger for The Spin, the Daily Pennsylvanian’s opinion blog! I don’t know any specific details yet, but stay tuned…

Thoughts?

I apologize for the lack of updates in the last few days. I know I haven’t exactly lived up to my promises of a daily photo blog, but we have literally been trapped indoors for the last three or four days thanks to the rain brought on by Tropical Storm Fay down in Florida. Not much exciting to blog about under such conditions…

Decaf 5-Hour Energy? What is the point?

Abbey Golf Course

Last day in Georgia today… driving down to Jacksonville to Pat’s beach house tonight. Back in Philly tomorrow for the school year…

What would a trip to the Deep South be without overhearing some prejudice-filled remarks? Some racist things we’ve heard said so far on this trip:

“That’s some good food right? I’ve got me some good black people workin’ for me… don’t worry, it ain’t slavery, I pay ‘em all, it’s legal, it’s legal.”

“That’s a dark catfish you got there, you must’ve caught yourself a brother!”

“George C. Wallace is the greatest American who has ever lived.”

The thing is, none of us can figure out if the people saying these things are either 1) putting on a show for us to fit our preconceived notions of the Confederate South or 2) just awful, awful racists. According to Pat who’s lived here his entire life… it’s option number two. It’s weird though, because everyone we’ve met so far here has been incredibly kind and generous to us, and showing us that good ol’ “Southern Hospitality.” They have made/cooked us dinner, paid for our activities, and taken the time out of their busy days to show us around town… and then all of a sudden, a comment like those above will hit our Northern liberal brains like a ton of bricks and blow our minds.

Anyway, the above photo was taken at a local pizza joint called Danny’s. There were a number of TV’s around the restaurant, all accompanied by this short message forbidding CNN. When I asked my friend the reason behind this, it was because the management refused to show anything besides Fox News on its TVs. I’m glad the people at Danny’s chose to censor a news station that sells T-shirts of its headlines, and instead are showing quality, worthwhile coverage like this (yeah, I know it’s old, but it’s still ridiculous):

Quick update from the South… it’s been some very Southern days indeed.

Activities so far – flag football, swimming, “cooking out”, drinking beer, shooting beer cans with BB guns, going to Wal-Mart supercenters, catching catfish at a lake, etc. It’s been like summer camp.

Catchin' frogs, Drinkin' Beers, Shootin' Guns

Catfishin'

Drive by Gunnin'