Ok, so I promised myself when I started this site that I wouldn’t ever post stupid, xanga-esque quizzes and surveys and things like that, and I’m not going to start now. This, however, is a slight exception; a friend of mine, Natasha, decided (practically at gunpoint) to ask me 41 questions that you wouldn’t think to ask, and in documenting it chose not only to type my answers to the questions, but also random pieces of the conversations that were going on in the background. These conversations are amusing and also give a pretty clear indication of what my life here in the dorms is like. I decided, thus, to present it in the social section of this website, submitted for your approval, a random sampling of the life of a group of 18 year olds.

The key players are: Natasha, the interviewer; Myself (Kevin) the interviewee; Jon and Medford, my roommates; Emily, the girl who lives in the next dorm down the hall and is always in here; Nicole, the hippie down the hall; and Jodi, who defies description. It is important to note here that the Nicole which I sometimes mention is not the same Nicole listed above, but my girlfriend; context should make it pretty obvious which I mean. Without further ado, here is the list.

41 Things You'd Never Think to Ask...
1. Have you ever been searched by the cops?
Nope.
Nicole: Searched? I HAVE! but they only found a baguette
Kevin: where? . . . sexual innuendo tried but failed.
2. Do you close your eyes on roller coasters?
Yea. Because I’m a wimp.
Jon: your boring
Kevin: well we havent gotten to the good ones yet
3. When was the last time youve been sledding?
probably around 10 years ago.
4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone?
Like actually sleeping? I don't know; but if I had enough room, then with Nicole.
Jon: What about me?
Kevin: No one's talking about you.
Jon: STFU, can I have a computer Emily?
5. Do you believe in Ghosts?
No.
Jodi: I DO!
Nicole: YES!
6. Do you consider yourself creative?
Jodi: I thought she said korean!
Kevin: No, I think I'm pretentious.
Medford: what does that mean
Kevin: that you think that you are better than you are
7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife?
Kevin: jon's answer for this question is horrible
Jodi: Yea asians suck
Jon: yea the koreans! they always talk by themselves
(It should be noted here that both Jon and Jodi are asian)
Kevin: Yea i think OJ killed his wife
8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?
Jennifer Aniston
Jon: I think my queen is drunk
9. Can you honestly say you know ANYTHING about politics?
Uh huh. Quite a bit
Natasha: I think kevin is pretentious.
Kevin: hey fuck you!
10. Do you know how to play poker?
Yes I know how to play poker. But i dont play often, Im not a big fan of it.
11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight?
No. Probably about 36.
Nicole: you better get on that! wait 48? i thought that said 24
12. Have you ever cheated on a test?
Not since elementary school
Nicole: are you serious???? in history we use to cheat hard core!.
13. Who was your first love?
Um ... Liza, though she was not the first person i told that i loved, but looking back she was definetly the first person that i loved
14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around you, do you run a red light?
a stop sign, but not a red light, they have cameras
15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you?
quite a few
16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees?
Jon: go angels
Kevin: im gona say yankees because i love the city of new york
Nicole: there is a band called ska rotum
17. Have you ever been ice skating?
Yes several times
18. How often do you remember your dreams?
very rarely, but when i do they are very vivid
19. When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?
Um ... actually it was about an hour and a half ago discussing oral sex euphamisms
20. Can you name 4 songs by The Beatles?
Uh huh ... why dont we do it in the road, revolution number nine, eleanor rigby, the things we said today
Emily: ding dong, long dong
Medford: my friend is johnny dong
Emily: Ram Pham!
21. What's the one thing on your mind?
Jodi: JODI! ALWAYS
Medford: natasha sucks
Kevin: always or right now? um ... chessy to say nicole ... taking from your glaring i guess yes, but i dont care
Nicole: Aww, he always thinks of me.
22. Do you believe in love at first sight?
no. i believe in love within an hour
nicole: i believe in love within a sight of a gun
Everyone: . . . wait what?
23. Do you know who Ba-Ba-Booey is?
All I know is that he has something to do with the howard stern show
24. Do you always wear your seat belt?
Nicole:yea!
Kevin:what? yea? nicole this is not your test!
Nicole: this is my test! everything is a test kevin everything!
25. What talent do you wish you had?
*thinks* People skills
26. Do you like Sushi?
its alright, i like california rolls, im kind of timid when it comes to food
27. Have you ever narrowly avoided a fatal accident?
only once on my driving test. (to Emily): fucking cutbank. (To Natasha):i was trying to make a left turn, and i nearly made the turn into a truck
28. What do you wear to bed?
uh, t-shirt and shorts
29. Have you ever been caught stealing?
uh no, I don’t steal.
nicole: someday I will get caught from stealing from ramonas. When I’m in a rush, if I dont have enough time I steal a croissant!
30. Does size matter?
no. I guess I have to say that because I’m short
31. Do you truly hate anyone?
no. people truly hate me though
32. Rock or Rap?
rock. please, I’m pretentious.
33. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be?
Jodi: COLIN FARREL! or gwen stefani, both of them together
Kevin: Liam Nesson? i dont know, im gona say natalie portman, no Kiera Knightley.
34. Do you know anyone in jail?
no.
Jodi: Kate Beckingsale
Kevin: yea she’s hot
35. Have you ever sang in front of the mirror?
yea.
36. What food do you find disgusting?
curry, i can’t eat curry
37.What is your favorite song?
Uh, I guess I’d have to say either “We’re No Here” by Mogwai or “Fake Palindromes” by Andrew Bird. The answer honestly changes every few days though.
Nicole: Don’t forget about Free Radicals.
38. Did you ever play, "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours first"?
emily: its falling in weird positions
kevin: no. I was always pretty sexually tame
natasha: pretentious~~
39. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their backs?
Yes.
40. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew?
yes, definetly, but i always have a reason
emily: it looks like its being born, its seriously looks like it when it goes between two of them
41. Have you ever been punched in the face?
yes, at a concert.

Well, that’s it. Hope you can get past the sophomoric nature of the post and see my intent, which was to capture the innate randomness of college life. Also, forgive the typing, it’s natasha’s fault, not mine.

Social events like movie nights are the center of a college freshman experience. Afterall, what makes someone feel accepted at college, a part of a new independent life, better than pizza, movies, and a large group of people? Indeed, if it is well run, an event like this is an excellent experience. The trouble comes when it isn’t well run; when the people in charge run around like chickens with their heads cut off. This, unfortunately, accurately summarizes my first experience with such an event, and like so many things I’ve discovered since coming here, I fear it is representative of a general trend in dealing with people in real life.

The group in charge of putting on these events at Cal is known as superb, and they run everything from movie nights to ice cream socials. About two weeks ago, they put up a poster advertising a free sneak showing of Tim Burton’s new movie, Corpse Bride, and like any good 18-year-old geek, I get in line about 45 minutes early because they’re first-come, first-serve. In fact, I’m so pleased with myself that I call my twin brother (who also goes to Cal - long story) and tell him to join me in line, knowing he’d like to see the movie too. The line is very well run, and I’m pleased to discover at the end of it that I get two tickets to the show, certainly a nice gesture but not one I was expecting.

Excited, I continue on with my week, until Thursday night, the night of the showing. Ellen (a friend of mine) and I both have an audition on Thursday evening for a play, so we audition and figure we’ll head over and get in line once the audition’s done. The audition runs a little long, but this isn’t a problem in my mind, because I can call my brother, and as a returned favor for telling him about the tickets and getting him into the line for that, I can wait with him in line for the showing. I call him, he obliges, and my friend and I head to his position to wait. It’s a long line, and while they’re using one of the largest lecture halls on campus, it is clear that there are more people in line than seats in the auditorium. Jokingly, I say to my brother and the companion he has taken with him that it’s a good thing he was here, or we might not get in.

As the event organizers realize that they’re not going to be able to accomodate all ticket holders, they extend their count out from the door, along the line. We feel confident as they approach, because there are quite a few people behind us and they haven’t stopped yet. They get to my brother, hand him the second “entry” pass, move on to his friend, do the same, and then look at Ellen and I with a sad look on their faces and inform us that all seats have now been filled, and unfortunately nobody past my brother and his friend will get in. Ellen and I laugh cynically, tear up our tickets, and walk away, ignoring the apologetic look on my brother’s face. We figure that the night is still young, we’re in a relatively big city, we can find something better than a movie to do anyway. Really, it’s not a big deal, we say, and move on with our evening.

Walking down the main drag in downtown Berkeley, we realize slowly that on a Thursday night at 8 PM, even paying for a movie isn’t much of a viable option, as they’ve all already started or won’t be starting for a few hours. As this realization kicks in, I get a call from my brother. It seems that superb has superbly miscounted, and is now letting in anyone lucky enough to walk by just to fill seats, regardless of if they have tickets. In one of the most pointlessly satisfying vindictive actions I’ve taken in my young life, I hung up on him mid-sentence.

I haven’t given up on events on campus, by any sense, but I lost a little faith in superb that day, and the news that the movie is apparently excellent didn’t change my mind.

This isn’t a revalation to anyone over the age of 19 or so who reads this (which is, incidentally, probably about 95% of my audience if not more), but college life is somewhat different from anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s somewhat of a mixed bag, too; there is of course the positive of new friends, new experiences, new freedoms, and of course not having to check in every five minutes when all you want to do is hang out. My parents were never overbearing and I’m not saying that they were, but it’s nice nonetheless.

Difficulty is, college is home to more than a few new experiences for me. I can deal with the freedom, certainly: I’m not finding too many contrasts between my dorm life and my home life, except a bit less space and a somewhat more unreliable internet situation. Never one to party much, and tied somewhat by a girlfriend 3000 miles away, the only thing that this really means is that I can stay up late without consequences and tend to eat more poorly. The tough spot, instead, is being out of my element. I moved around more than most kids, attending a grand total of approximately 10 schools in my compulsory education, but they were schools within the same two areas, and I usually had a relatively constant group of friends. The mercurial nature of college is somewhat of a shock to me, and the fact that within the two city blocks of residential housing that I am a part of, there are 4000 new people in the same situation looking for fast friends. I’ve never been this much of a part of a large, diverse, friendly, and most of all open-to-discovery group. It’s an experience that I’m sure will ultimately be for the better, but it’s difficult to handle in and of itself.

I have started new classes, and I love them; I have met new friends, and I love them; I have experienced only the surface of Berkeley so far, but already I love it. Come to think of it, I’m late on getting to tonight’s experiences.

The news section has felt little love as of late, more on that once I get over the initial shock of being in college. For now, I’m going to stick with updating on how my life is changing and what new developments that entails.

I apologize in advance for the unstructured nature of this post, however, it is a series of musings, rather than a coherent essay, and so I ask forgiveness and the creative license to simply ramble for a while. I’m going to be self-indulgent and introspective, because, afterall, what other use does the “social” section of a blog have?

Today is my last day of high school classes, ever. To say that it’s a last day is somewhat inaccurate, both because I’ve still got a few days of school-related business before graduation and because I haven’t done much rigorous schoolwork in any of my classes for nearly a month (because of AP Tests, which are taken for college credit and - well, I don’t feel like explaining them). There is one thing, however, that makes today truly a last, and it’s been getting to me a little bit. I will still see the other students in my class at graduating activites, but any students of my high school who are not seniors that, over the years, I’ve become friends with, I will not see again after today. Of course some of them I will, those that make an effort to or those that I couldn’t live without, but for the most part, they’re gone.

The thing that this has made me realize, more than any sentiments of lost friendship or missing people, is the death of routine that it represents. For the past 13 years I have lived a relatively unchanged routine; wake up at 7 AM, go to school until about 3 PM, see the same people, go to a series of classes, and then get home and do homework. That has been my life, much as it has been the life of everyone currently surrounding me. For the past six years, I’ve done this exact routine with the same 300-odd people, and I’ve gotten relatively used to them. Not only will they be gone next year, but I will be, and this routine will die. I will wake up closer to 10, I imagine, as my first class next year doesn’t start until about 11:30 (later on Tuesdays and Thursdays). I will be in school until 6, and homework will certainly comprise a larger portion of my life than it does now. I’ll also be experiencing freedom for the first time, and the things that go with it. In short, I’m excited, but more than a little grieving for the loss.

As my high school’s salutatorian, and ASC Vice President, I was asked to do a speech at our graduation. It was in writing this speech that I realized how deeply this thought had affected me, for I’ve been getting good at hiding this day-to-day. I didn’t write an inspirational speech, or one that will be quoted any time soon. I wrote that speech at first, but it was trashed almost immediately because it didn’t sound like me and that wasn’t exactly a fitting goodbye to my school, my friends, or my adolescent life. I started nearly from scratch, wrote a somber and inspirational beginning, but switched quickly to a wry and melancholy review of our four years together, the events which have made our class not only dysfunctional but loving, and what I personally would miss. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever written, and yet I finished it within 20 minutes.

I’m not sure how to end this post, so I’ll go out on the same words I plan to go out on next Thursday.

“This place has been a second home for all of us for the past four years; for some of us, at some times, it may have seemed more like a first home. Wherever you go, it will be a part of you. I will hold these memories close to me, and wherever I go and whatever I do, I will have them as an integral part of the person I become, just as you will. Thank you for sharing that with me.”

My immediate world consists of people aged roughly 15-25. I interact with plenty of people outside of this range, but most of those I would consider close to me fall somewhere in those ten years. Both my brother and I are this age, as are all of my best friends and at least half of my coworkers. Occasionally, this is inspiring, because there are a few of them with definite potential, people who have had profound impacts on my life and who I will remember long after they leave me for bigger and better things. More often, however, it is frustrating and mind-numbingly annoying to realize that in the eyes of the rest of the mass that forms society, I am viewed as essentially the same as these idiots who somehow don’t trip on their shoelaces. I don’t have anyone pinned down at the moment;those will come in future posts, whenever something pisses me off. I’m just establishing the idea that maybe just because a large majority of 15-25 year olds are blundering idiots who still think that MTv has been drastically improved upon since its conception (who would watch music on TV?), there are those of us out there who think and breathe at least vague hints of the normal, everyday, and blissfully mundane.

As one might imagine, leaving high school is a turbulent time. Growing up, I was pretty sure that it would be a time of sorrow and excitement, of dreaming of new worlds and making last contacts with old ones. It is all of those things, of course. However, much more than any of that sentimental tacky crap, it is a period of exhaustion and relief.

As I prepare to forever ditch the world of teenage angst for the world of adult angst, I realize that things begin to count. While I don’t wish to wax philosophic on my first day of blogging, I approach the first time in a month that actions have real consequences, and the changes that occur will not go away within a week. I prepare to leave good friends behind forever, to leave home and accept change and adulthood and (gasp) responsibility. As of late, I’m coming to terms with this, and as such I’ve been less than cheery these past weeks.

This is a partial blog, if only because I want to avoid seeming trite and cheap. I’ll want to wait until you become a bit more accustomed to my style before springing that one upon you. Until then, read something interesting under the college or news category. You won’t find it, but try.