Michael Braun's Blog

Alright, I realize that I left you all hanging about the outcome of Woodie’s birthday party which extending from Wednesday until today (Saturday).

Wednesday was the day before Woodie turned 21, so he was able to go out to bars for the first time legally at midnight. Of course, Woodie is old hat at the bars having used someone else’s old ID for a long time. We had people over here on Wednesday. Usually our crowd is a lot of minorities and I tend to be the only white male, but this time this was not the case. Why am I bringing this up, you ask. The white people that were over here are the kind we call “regulars.” They meet all the stereotypes of white drinkers. The group arrived at the dot of nine, a party faux pas, took one shot of alcohol and immediately became loud and belligerent. I found this highly uncomfortable. I am never around those type of people when they are drinking. I tried to stay far away from them. Anyway, one of these regulars was named Lee. Lee was in our dorm freshman year, and I never thought highly of him. He is an idiot, especially when drinking. He proceeded to try to get Woodie very drunk. He succeeded. Dan had very little to drink, and neither of us went out with Woodie and company. Dan and I did stay up until 1:30 (bar time) and then found Woodie to make sure he was okay. He wasn’t, but someone else helped him home, and he went to bed. We stayed up until three to get the few people who were here out. I then got up at 8 to go to work. Surprisingly I wasn’t tired.

Thursday was very different. Some female friends came over to cook us dinner. Also, Dan’s childhood friend and Megan’s college friend Antonio was over. I hadn’t seen him in over a year so that was really awesome. I commented to Dan that he and Antonio only know each other pre-college, and I only know the both of them in college. It means I can relate more to them now whereas they cannot do that. SO we ate and people headed out again with Woodie. Woodie barely had anything to drink and got home before 2. It was really nice.

Friday Anthony and girlfriend Kristine came up from Chicago. It was really great to see them. We also had two hotel rooms reserved at the Madison Concourse Hotel (read “plush”). We checked in there and then went to see the movie “The Island.” If you suspended reality, it was definitely entertaining. We then went to a restaurant called “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and had a great meal. After that, we headed back to the hotel, listened to some live jazz in the hotel bar while enjoying some drinks (for you non-drinkers out there, I highly recommend tonic water and lime juice; it was delicious). Around midnight we walked to the Majestic, a hip-hop club, for their 18 and up night since Dan and Kristine are still 20. It was pretty fun, though I didn’t really get to dancing until 1:30 or so. We returned to the hotel and went to sleep. In the morning, we ordered room service for breakfast and checked out at 11. It was a really fun time.

In other news, today is Megan’s birthday. I called her up to be nice after seeking counsul from my roommates who all agreed that it would be nice of me to call her. She seemed cold on the phone even though I was trying to be upbeat and cheery. She also said that she had a boyfriend now, this guy Rusty who she met… somewhere. She told me a while ago but I don’t remember. He had asked her if she wanted a relationship with him earlier and she said no because she said she needed to figure herself out before dating someone else. She then proceeded to feel really guilty about that. Anyway, so I guess they decided to date. It’s interesting how formal that seems. There was no courtship, simply a relationship. Anyway, try as I might, I still felt a little upset. It wasn’t that I was jealous, more that I was kind of upset that she has never truly experienced being single, which is why she told me she wanted to breakup in the first place. She has also had some guy in her life. When she doesn’t, she gets depressed and leans on me. Maybe this relationship will be a bit more productive and she can grow dependent on someone else. I would not mind that at all.

Also, she seems to find guys very quickly, whereas I have trouble finding women who meet my standards. I wouldn’t say they are too high, but I am looking for a certain set of values that the two of us can share, specifically about religious and moral issues. I haven’t found someone who holds that set as I do. But, I keep looking, and who knows what the school year will bring. I will try to let Megan be happy and not think about our breakup.

Tonight I am leaving to go home. My dad and I will leave Sunday for Michigan via the Lake Michigan ferry. We are talking the midnight boat, which will but us in Ludington at 5. We will then bicycle north for two-three days before heading back south and back again on the ferry. I am really excited for this trip, though I need to get to packing. Expect silence on this blog until I get back, but by then I will surely have a lot to tell.