This weekend, Chris and I met Beth, Mr Beth, and their friends over by Alfred University for Hotdog Day. What follows is a brief (brief!) glimpse of some of the weekend, with links to photos I took from the trip.
The fun started when Chris decided that it was a good idea to completely ignore any specific directions given and simply head West on Rt. 17 to Alfred, and once in Alfred find the tree (where we were to meet up with everyone). Easy enough, given the assumption(s) that (1) there is only one Alfred college/university, and (2) that Alfred University has only one tree (which is coincidentally also 600 feet tall, because it ate all the other trees). Needless to say, we got lost, and we got lots of strange looks when we asked people where the big tree was. We did eventually make it to the tree, and later, the hotel, where we met up with the rest of our party.
The next morning, we got up early(ish) to go to a parade that didn’t end up happening until significantly later than it should have happened, so until it started we thought we had somehow missed it. After that, we split up for a bit to go fooding, or to purchase various chotskys (penguins for me, as per usual) from the assorted booths. Then we met up again to tour some of Alfred’s resident weird art (ginormous disembodied heads with holes in the top, for instance).
Later on during the day we got to see (and climb up) Alfred’s resident bell tower (actually, a carillon), check out the “band” (actually, just Pete and Ethan) Pethan (who did the best rendition of Crazy Train done with a violin I’ve ever heard).
That night there was a nifty light show (ooh, neon!), which was shiny and blinky and therefore kept our attentions for a while (we’re such geeks!).
Before we left campus we checked out the theater to see FNL (Friday Night Live [nevermind that it was Saturday]), who mixed video (not live) and theatrics. Some of the more memorible stuff they did involved mixing Batman characters and the free money guy (if you’re unlucky enough to have seen his comercials you are well aware that his costume rips off the Riddler) and having a cast member sing I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General (he only messed up once, and finished the entire song in about 45 seconds, which was awe-inspiring). After FNL’s all-too-brief performance, we stuck around to watch Robby Prince, a comedian. There’s not all that much one can say about a comedian- he was funny, but you really just have to be there.
After that, some of us went to do the party thing. I’m not a big fan of parties*, so quickly made myself scarce. Eventually Chris got tired of not knowing anyone (or he felt bad that I was hanging out on the porch playing game boy) so we cut out and called it a night.
Overall, it was a great weekend. Hopefully Chris and I will be able to hang out with Beth and the other Chris again soon :)
*Let the record show that I’ve never been a big fan of parties, particularly where I know next to no one there and the room is so crowded that moving about in it is akin to wading through a neck-deep pool of drunken bison. I much prefer small gatherings with a handful of close friends.
My disdain for crowds, lines, and things of that ilk has only grown since I read, The new Prehistory, by René Rebetez-Cortes a few months back. Now, whenever I’m in a line or a crowd, I tend to make a concerted effort to get out of it as quickly as humanly possibile, even if it means forgoing such trivialities as food or companionship ;)
