My ears will never be the same...

Hey all,

Here is the much awaited update, etc.

Okay...my life lately has been busy busy busy. These past few weeks have been full of paper writing, studying, and as of late, packing. I really had no idea just how much stuff I crammed into this little dorm room. I stayed up till about 2:00 AM yesterday morning packing up all my non-essential clothes and stuff. Also, I have fallen a bit ill...I probably have swine flu, but you know, finals first.

Oh yes, I wanted to be sure to tell you about fruit golfing. I experienced it last week. My friends Jack, Adam, Nick, Kyle and I all smacked some fruit from the dining hall into the pond out front. It was really fun. I recommend it to anyone needing to alleviate stress. Oh, and in our case, the turtles really dig it. :D

Anyway, it's about 2:00 AM, and here I am blogging. I just got back from one of the most intense experiences of my life. I don't know if you know, but one of my passions is live music, and I went to a concert last night...the line-up of which was like this:

(I've included a 30 second clip of each band, just so you can get a feel for their style. If you would like to listen further, simply click the "click here to hear full song" link in the box.)

Municipal Waste

Substitute Creature - Municipal Waste

Unfortunately, we showed up a bit late and didn't see Municipal Waste, but I wasn't too disappointed. The artists I came to see were on later.

God Forbid

Antihero - God Forbid

God Forbid threw down a good set of songs, and I really enjoyed them.

Children Of Bodom

Hate Crew Deathroll - Children of Bodom

Children Of Bodom have been a long time favorite of mine. They are a Swedish Black Metal band, and their frontman, Alexi Laiho has been rated as one of the worlds best guitarists, and to many is the figurehead for metal guitar. We found out early in their set that Alexi had broken his shoulder while being drunk on the tour bus, but he played the whole show, solos and all. I was very impressed.

As I Lay Dying

94 Hours (live) - As I Lay Dying

The above song was As I Lay Dying's closer, and the first full song of theirs that I ever heard. I really enjoy this group a lot, with their blend of American Metal and a little bit of California punk vocals. The set they shared with us was intense, and it was then that I really started to mosh. For those of you who don't know what a circle pit is, let me explain. A circle pit is a group of crazy hyper metal head freaks running around in a giant circle, pushing, shoving, and punching, depending on the show. This particular circle pit probably involved a solid hundred people or so, and I only stayed in for a single lap. I got elbowed in the back of the head and poked in the eye a couple of times, so I decided to hang on the edge and push everyone else around.

Lamb of God

Now You've Got Something To Die For - Lamb of God

Lamb of God is one of my all-time favorite bands. A lot of people don't know it, but I went through a huge phase where all I listened to was metal. I was sort of obsessed. Since the end of my junior year of high school, I have expanded a lot, and I listen to a lot of underground hip hop and some alternative rock now, but my roots still lie in metal. Anyway, Lamb of God have been a part of my life for a long time, and it was a huge privilege to see them in the flesh. The above song is one that they played midway through their set, and is one of my favorites. I'm also very happy to report that Randy Blythe has his hair back. :)

Anyway, that was one of the most exciting things I've done in a long time, and I don't know if I'll be able to walk tomorrow after all that moshing, but it was well worth it; a very good break in pace before finals.

Okay, that's life lately...here is the Grand Canyon Adventure, Chapter 2:

After the oil changing fiasco, it was time to head out. We left bright and early and the weather was phenomenal; a perfect day for a drive. As we left Pagosa and got out on the open road, our attitudes took a dive. We began to notice that the car's automatic transmission would not shift any higher than fourth gear. After the tachometer got to about 4,000 RPM, the car would buck a little, and just stay in fourth gear. This was a bit of a problem, not to mention a huge irritation. It required hills and a lot of time to reach actual highway speeds in this current state, but what to do? We couldn't go back now.

We made a stop in Durango, CO, an hour away from Pagosa to buy stove fuel. Then it was off to Arizona. As we drove the mountain pass right outside Durango, it became increasingly evident that it was going to take us a very long time to get to where we wanted to be before the end of the day.

After we left Colorado, and all of it's cool airy-ness, we began to descend into the New Mexico/Arizona area. We decided with the current state of affairs that it would be bad to use the A/C, so we just toughed it out. I was in the backseat with the giant pile of gear next to and behind me, and I got very hot. Forrest didn't roll down the windows either, for the sake of aerodynamics, so I, being a large hairy male, got really sweaty. I ended up taking off all my clothes, short of my underwear and passing out. I think that Forrest got jealous of my slight comfort and whenever I would drift off into a nice, warm, peaceful nap, he would open all the windows and startle me awake. I got sort of angry at this, so I made extra sure that he knew just how much sweat I was tarnishing his interior with. It was quite the ride.

We drove like this for many hours out across the flats of Arizona, making a stop every now and then to use the restroom and buy a cold drink or a snack. We got to the Grand Canyon National Park at about 5:00 PM, about two hours behind schedule. Before finding that evening's camp site, we decided to visit the visitor center. By this point, I'd drank a lot of tea and/or Gatorade and quite frankly, I needed to pee. I had to run across and through the visitor center like a freak so as not to humiliate myself.

After our brief touristy visit, we found a good spot in a campground to stay the night. We set up our bedding under the stars and set the alarm for 4:30 AM.

To be continued in Chapter 3.

I'll talk to you soon!

-Brad

P.S. Here's your entertainment.