"O-H-I-O" (Ohio Players, Angel)

Notes from Oberlin, OH, where I visited my friend Kat before she graduates.

1) I like this place. Liberal, friendly, nice campus, renowned music conservatory (am I the only one who thinks of cellists being protected like sparrows when I hear that phrase? eh, probably), far lower cost-of-living, etc. It's small, and it's probably a good thing I didn't go to school in a place this secluded, but it wouldn't've been too bad either. And some cool people were brought up in Ohioian (sp?) academic places like this.

2) If I was in college again, I would fucking rule. It. I mean, I do rule, but...well, y'know. I think I've been practicing too much honesty in actually telling people I graduated school nigh on three years ago. But the intention of the trip wasn't to go all sketchy-super-senior and attempt to reenact College Girls Gone Wild Vols 1-3,025, so perhaps honesty is good.

3) On second thought...man, I fucked that one up.

4) Stores in Oberlin, and there aren't very many, all clustered around College and Main Street, all sell more than one thing, and it's pretty awesome. The ice cream place, for example, is also a liquor store. Won't someone please think of the children?! (Or won't someone please think of merging the liquor and ice cream elements? Mmm...vanilla ice cream + sloe gin = crazy delicious.

5) The train from New York to Cleveland was an enjoyable 10 hours spent reading, watching Blazing Saddles for the first time, a long overdue experience, and not spending nearly enough time in the cafe car, as a bunch of people, including one girl claiming to have snagged a role on a show with the WB, got real drunk and slowly conversationally deteriorated into...well, you, dear reader, have seen drunken stupid people, be they stupid before bullshit hit brains when bottles hit lips or not. The black dudes laughing and playing hearts said I shoulda tried to get some head in a bathroom, but I had already taken a sleeping pill prior to entering the car, and it did take its effects. Plus, I've totally stopped getting oral sex from random women on Amtrak. There's a story there, but...oh, wait, there is no story there. I'll invent one later.

6) Drinking the leftover Jim Bean a David Bowie cover band (called The David Bowie Cover Band) left behind after practicing in the basement of the joint I'm staying at, on the front porch, smoking a stolen Camel, watching the rain fall...it goes on my top 100 moments of solitude. Way too many of that top 100 involve alcohol, but the top 10 are all playing with He-Man figures and shit. (At age 6-7-8. Mainly.)

7) Cavs-Pistons Game 6 tonight will be awesome to watch with tonight amongst people who really care: it is sorta the biggest game in Cleveland Cavaliers history. As Thirst, my favorite corporate mascot (the little guy in the Sprite ads who's all like, "Back off, LeBron, it's mine!"...ask me some time and I'll do a mean impression for you), might say, "Back off Rasheed, the Eastern Conference is mine!"