strikinghelix

OH MY FUCKING GOD. I feel a moderately long entry coming on. I am kind of full of sharp and jagged edges inside right now so it will probably get ripped and torn a little as it is born.
I had such a good time on New Year's. This is what happened:
I awoke for the first time on my awesome new mattress. Stretch & warmup; performed postures 29-35 of the Yi Jin Jing(Muscle Change Classic), Xiao Chang Quan(Small Long Fist), & Hai Long Zhang(Sea Dragon Cane). Laundry, coffee, brief stop at the lab to read my little library of E.coli cells a bedtime story about how one day, if they're really lucky, they might grow up to be sequenced. They seemed pretty excited, but I don't think most of them realize that it means they'll have to die by swelling until they explode. A few more errands were ran.
I came home and busted out some simple jazzy beats on the drums for awhile. Just as I switched to some more aggressive, louder(and shittier) playing, my new across-the-street neighbors pulled up in their driveway--this was my first time seeing them, as I was staring out the 2nd story window. They got out of the car and looked at my house, seeming a bit nonplussed by the racket. I just started playing even harder, thinking, "Yeah, you didn't know about this when you signed the lease, did you, fuckers?!" Being an asshole is fun. I am actually a pretty considerate neighbor, but I thought it would be fun to fuck with them a little bit while they were moving in. So I turned on my roommate's guitar and set it right up against the amp while I rocked out. It was horrendously loud. But they'll see I'm only noisy during reasonable hours.
I cleaned myself up and met my girl at around five. I drove us in order to pick up a traditional Chinese dress(chipao/cheongsam) that I had altered for her so it would fit just right. She looked really great and got hit on by boys & girls alike at the party later that night--but she couldn't really conversate too well because of laryngitis or something like it. We drove into ATL and had dinner at a Japanese steakhouse called Happy Sumo. While I must concur that the mental image of a sumo wrestler, with all it entails(Yokozuna!), is not particularly appetizing, the food is quite excellent.
Then the party. Oh my yes. I did choose to remain relatively sober because I feel more comfortable playing with fire(and driving home) in an un-plastered state. My friend's house has a refrigerator modified to hold a keg, with a tap coming through the door, so people were hitting that shit all night and the keg was changed several times. Somebody also brought a case of the "original" Red Bull drinks from Thailand, which I liked.
There's a room there that is set aside for playing music, so I got a little more drum practice while being accompanied by several talented guitarists. Then a guy named Adrian got on the throne and he just kicked ass...I have a long way to go if I want to play like he did. But I got some good ideas from watching him.
For me, however, the best part of the evening was FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE FIRE. Fire. Fuego, mi amigo. One of my friends bestowed a most magnificent gift upon me--my first firestaff. Wood. 5 feet long, perhaps an inch-and-a-half in diameter, kevlar wicks at both ends. A small section of the shaft protrudes at the termini, ready to smash your skull into charred flinders and set your brains ablaze. But that would be reallybad. We set off a few fireworks at midnight and Randy & I put on a little fireshow for everybody in the backyard by the bonfire. He did used the flaming devilstix, whip(which ruled), and spitting fire acts, whilst I stuck to my staff. This was only my 2nd time with a firestaff; I was pretty nervous at first but the routine went quite well overall. I got to show off my newest little trick, which is to perform a squat on one leg while holding the other straight out in front and spinning the staff overhead in a helicopter-like fashion AND rotating the body with the movement. It actually probably doesn't look that cool, but I was pretty proud to pull it off because it is very difficult for me. I'll post pix if I can find my camera!
I totally thought my new friends optimistress and daniel13 were gonna dis me, but they showed up around 2:30 and I was really happy. I had a little lamp oil left, so I showed them a few fire staff tricks. I was feeling a little ballsy so I tried blowing fire twice. I am happy to report that my face and trachea are still in good condition, and that blowing fire is fun. I was too tired to break it off proper, though--I collapsed on the 1-leg squat! I decided to let this other guy play with the firestaff for a sec and he set his hair on fire! He didn't even notice--I just told him to stop and give me the stick, then I threw a wet towel on his head.
Several people were trying to convince me not to drive back to Athens at 4:30; they were just concerned for my safety but I assured themthat my level of sobriety was more than sufficient for the task at hand. Besides, dammit, I had a new mattress at home that was begging and pleading for people to come and have ludicrous amounts of sex on it for the first time. And that's just what it got. I finally fell asleep around 9 or 10 AM on New Year's Day.
I was only awake for a few hours yesterday; I got pretty fucked-up once I finally got home and didn't have shit to worry about, so I guess I needed rest.
FUCK NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS! The fact that I need a holiday as an excuse to make a change in my life indicates a high likelihood that I am not serious about the decision. Not that I consider any of you silly or insincere for making ones of your own.
Allow me to hippy-out for a moment and offer a prayer for all you artists out there:

Divine imagination,
Forgive our blindness,
Open all our eyes.
Reveal the light of truth.
Let original beauty
Guide our every stroke.

Universal creativity,
Flow through us,
From our hearts
Through our minds to our hands,
Infuse our work with spirit
To feed hungry souls.

My thanks to Alex Grey.

As for all you non-artists out there, well you can just fuck off and die. Just kidding. We are all artists in some way. My best wishes to you. Keep doing what you love--unless you suck at it, in which case you should just save yourself a lifetime of suffering and disappointment, do us all a favor, and kill yourself right now so none of us have to hear you bitching about your shattered dreams.
Now why did I have to go and ruin a perfectly nice and sincere wish with something horrible like that? I am too perverse for my own good sometimes, I think. Seriously, though, please take care of yourselves and others, and try to improve yourself this year. I have faith in you.
Bye!