Afterthought

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Maybe He Should Have Driven the Freshmen Out Instead . . .

In a few short hours I'll be headed down to Champaign, where the students are green and the campus is trashed. No, seriously. See, a few years ago they began holding an "Unofficial St. Patrick's Day" down there, since March 17th usually falling during Spring Break, the bars couldn't bear to lose the revenue. So by this time tomorrow half the student body will be pickled kelly green, and a couple hundred MLS students will be wandering around looking for parking. That's the fun part, that our on-campus weekend falls on the same spring weekend as this silliness. Honestly, I'm not offended--although this guy is--so much as annoyed. Haddayr told me last night that the old Irish tradition of St. Pat's turns out to be remarkably similar to ours, i.e. passing out in the street and peeing your pants. And granted, I was as stupid as this when I was an undergrad. But I'm not sure that's something to be proud of, and the parking situation is crappy enough down there without having to watch for children in belly shirts.

Anyway, this is my disclaimer for the lack of posts the past few and next few days. Mid-semester stuff coming due. Next week I'll let you know how my extemporaneous telling of "The Elephant Who Overslept" went for my Storytelling class. Nervous!

Becoming the Alien

I went to Catholic school through third grade, CCD through ninth (the extra year was punitive for refusing confirmation), and mass every Sunday until I moved out of the house. I suppose it's a mark of how deeply Satan has his nails dug into me that every year at around this time, I end up staring at the first otherwise normal-looking person with a stain on their forehead, wondering why the fuck they don't wash their face. I am so completely removed from that tradition now that the mere existence of Ash Wednesday fails to register until it's there in front of me, begging for a handkerchief and a wad of spit. It's so bad that I even forget the Mardi Gras/Lent connection.

I guess I've just blocked it all out. No wonder I can hardly remember my childhood.

Just a Song

Cuz it's on my mind:

There's nothin' for us in Belfast
The Pound's so old it's a pity
OK, there's the trident in Bangor
Then walk back to the city
We ain't got nothin' but they don't really care
They don't even know you know
They just want money
And we can take it or leave it
What we need

[Chorus] An Alternative Ulster
Grab it and change it it's yours
Get an Alternative Ulster
Ignore the bores and their laws
Get an Alternative Ulster
Be an anti-security force
Alter your native Ulster
Alter your native land

Take a look where you're livin'
You got the Army on your street
And the RUC dog of repression
Is barking at your feet
Is this the kind of place you wanna live?
Is this where you wanna be?
Is this the only life we're gonna have?
What we need is

[Chorus]

They say they're a part of you
But that's not true you know
They say they've got control of you
And that's a lie you know
They say you will never be
Free free free

Get an
Alternative Ulster
Alternative Ulster
Alternative Ulster

- Stiff Little Fingers