Hello, lamp-post. Whatcha knowin'?

Good evening, Internet. It's a balmy summer night here in the big city. Welcome... to 'Febrifuge After Dark.'

Tonight, we have a lovely skyline view, from here at Studio Dudeio's big window. We have a screwdriver, with good vodka, fresh OJ, and just a splash of pomegranite juice (and incedentally, we're refusing to give this delightful little drink a nasty name; there will be no "bloody screw" or "hematuria" here, thank you very much; in fact, "sunrise screw" is over the limit, that's just how classy we are around here tonight).

We have no particular plan, because today's tasks are accomplished. Shocking, I know, but true.

I also had the day off work, which is nice, because it's been good 'n' weird, down at the ol' ER. I emailed my sis a bit ago, and I think I said something like "it seems anytime some poor guy gets a limb sheared off, or a small child falls three stories, they come to my workplace." Which is true, of course. And that's good, in the sense that the care my workplace offers is bar none the best around, and folks in need get excellent attention. It's also gratifying to be even a small part of that, and humbling to be allowed a place in the ongoing battle between order and chaos.

But dang, a day off from that is a pretty sweet thing. I'll assume you understand.

Today I did more GRE prep. Math math math math. Math. Huzzah. It's to the point where I do verbal because I like looking at high scores for a change. I've become jaded on verbal. I know it's bad, but for now it's a coping mechanism and it's valuable.

For the "Feb About Town" part of today's festivities, I road-tripped down to the exurbs, to get an official transcript sent from the CC where I did my EMT class. Hey, I paid tuition; I got a grade; it was a good grade. Heck yeah, I'm sending that one. In reviewing the CASPA, I realized that all this time, I somehow left off the Vermonty grades. Heh heh heh. The transcript is in, and has been for a while, but CASPA has thus far had nothing to compare them to. Problem fixed. And by the by, this means my illustrious history involves more like 89 college courses. Um... yeah. Non-traditional student here. Hi.

I also did a complete practice GRE today. I will tell you the scores later, if by "later" you mean "once the real one is not only done, but I'm safely accepted into the Best School Evah(tm)." I'm not saying they're bad -- they're not -- but I hope to have scores that, as Eppie Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh said, "announce my presence with authority." These were more like "this is my first time taking this test in its real format." Thankfully, I know where the hand-holds are as I make my way back up the learning curve, so it'll be quick. This is why we practice, kids.

That's it from the professional and academic side. Now we turn to the social side, where the After Dark crowd likes it. Soon, I'll be over all this test silliness, and on to other things, like: hey, I live downtown. I can see n available parking spaces out my window right now, where n is a positive integer greater than or equal to 3. True, those spaces cost money until 10pm, but from that prime time until 8am, they are as free as sweaty hippie love, my friends.

And so, I'm putting you on notice, Internet. I'm putting out the call. I'm making it known. I live downtown, and I have a weird schedule. I have motive, means, and opportunity to have way more fun than I've been allowing myself, and soon I'll have a break between high-stakes, career-deciding moments. Let's catch up.

In a nutshell, it's like this: I have way more people I talk to on the phone, via email, or whom I see on the odd weekend than I do people who are ready, willing, and able to enjoy this swingin' downtown scene, and I'd like to remedy that somewhat. Because most of you are responsible adults with jobs and whatnot, I'm not going to roust you from your beds on a Wednesday at 11:30 and demand you hit the bars with me. I am a civilized brute, after all.

No, I'm going to issue a challenge. I'm going to throw down a gauntlet. I'm going to run up a flag and see who salutes. Come on downtown, and we'll hang sometime. Who's with me? ...Or are you going to make me bust out a St. Crispin's Day speech?

EDIT TO ADD: One reason for this desired change is that it's been wicked awesome to see my old friends M. Giant and Trash more frequently of late, since Trash is my GRE guru. Having a good excuse to hang with them has got me thinking: I can either come up with equally good reasons to see everyone, or I can just eliminate the need for an excuse altogether. So, to my friends with small children, naturally you need not come to me. I can be a bad influence on your kids just as well at your place.