i'm on my third (and loudest) listen to "playthroughs" today, and i think i'm starting to believe the hype. maybe i should try it with headphones next. as i sit at my desk, the speakers are both to my right (as opposed to on my bed, where they're centered), so that's a bit of a problem.

i picked this up (a promo with kranky's trademark complete lack of art) from a stack of neglected review copies in the phoenix office when i went up there for my reapplication interview yesterday. funny thing; after i explained how, although writing record reviews was really my main interest, i was willing to occasionally turn out some living-section feature articles if it was necessary, they decided to do me the 'favor' of not hiring me as a living staff writer. instead, they're happy to print my reviews every week. i'm scratching my head for a way of interpreting this other than "keep writing for us, but we don't want to pay you anymore." sorry, ester, for paraphrasing my e-mail.

well, if they want to keep their $75 (yes, due to a 50% pay cut at some indeterminate point in the semester, we're being payed for the equivalent of 10 hours of work) i guess that's okay. but they really ought to treat me a little better if i'm not working for pay. and i think i'll let them know as much. meanwhile my real pay keeps coming in. black heart procession and large professor, along with oodles matchbooks and stickers.

last night was the surprisingly enjoyable SAC dinner. it ended up taking a little over four hours, all told - the drive to Vinny Testa's (a classy-ish family eye-talian chain imported from Boston, famous for its big portions) was about a half hour, and on the way back Jenny Yim took a detour through her neighborhood to show us the feuding christmas lights houses, which were certainly worth the extra fifteen minutes. Our group of eight (three 'pillars of power', two semi-quakers, a reformed bully, and a virginian or two, plus me), in the manner of affable folks who can speak as though they represent the whole of college experience, found enough of interest - sports, regional differences, educational politics, troubled-childhood revelations, drinking games, and mockery of people who think a five-page paper is a lot of work - to keep the conversation going for long after we had filled our stomachs past the point of comfort (even the oversized appetizers would have been enough, but i kept at it through to tea and stratified spumoni.) and like every other table in the plus-sized restaurant, we found a birthday to fabricate.

for bizarre nights of juxtaposition like this one, if for no other reason, i hope to stay on sac next semester. i'm not sure why it's even an issue, but apparently i'm going to have to defend the virtues of my memberhood sunday night. wish me luck.

well, after that wholly fulling experience, i sat back in mark's den of a room with a rum-and-cider, and that about did me in for the night, except for a pleasant brisk wee-hour walk to pitt singing "all i want."

today went as planned - s'more studying and then my seminar takehome final (eh, i spent 1:40 of the allotted 2 hours, and my interest definitely flagged towards the end, but i think it was adequate; i guess we'll see what happens) - until this bummer: edith called and said she's miserably sick. the plan was to go into the city to meet her for dinner and orchestra 2001 in the kimmel center (i've never been!). it would have been so nice. but no dice. even my sure things fall through. well, it's sure raining hard enough for a rain date. so now i can choose between the 4 (and counting) parties that are going on on/around campus tonight. and the dangerous imp, i guess. so, so, sharples.

what am i saying? i'm not even chinese!