Ron's Big Life Update - April 1995

"Hello BAYYYYYYYYYYY-bee." - The Big Bopper

No, in response to your last question, I have neither fallen off the face of the earth (which, for the record, is just outside of Bakersfield, California) nor been abducted by aliens. I have just been feeling guilty for writing abnormally long e-mail messages during work. Meaning: I don't really want to get caught. Because the punishment is tarring, feathering, and playing of the entire Barry Manilow box set, including his demo versions of "Mandy".

So...what's been going on out here? Nothing earth-shaking (read: no earthquakes), just lots of little odds and ends. I went up to Phoenix last weekend to see Los Lobos. They were simply amazing, and should be seen by all. I saw "The Hudsucker Proxy", with Tim Robbins and Jennifer Jason Leigh (no no no - I saw it with Margaret. Tim & Jennifer were the stars of the movie. You silly people...) Very funny - a la "Raising Arizona", which makes sense since it was also done by the same people (the Coen brothers). And I saw "The Shawshank Redemption" - I loved it. And based on a Stephen King story, too! And last night, we watched another Jackie Chan movie. Jackie Chan makes Van Damme, Stallone, Schwartzenehaygarr (sp?), and Seagal all look like weenies. Two thumbs up.

But enough of that. You want to hear dirt, so I'd best dish it out.

Things are going very well with Margaret. So well, in fact, that she invited me to her sister's wedding in Houston at the end of July, and I invited her to my University of Rochester 5th year reunion at the beginning of June. This opens up not just a can of worms, but a 55-gallon drum of worms. My parents have no idea that Margaret exists (if you know my folks, you can easily understand why I leak no details at all about my personal life). If I bring her out east with me, she will be subject to undue scrutiny by not only my parents, but grandma as well, who will be coincidentally in town visiting my folks. And one DOESN'T introduce one's ladyfriends to grandma. A no no. Margaret isn't Jewish either, and quite possibly the only person who will care is grandma. As you can see, there are many bugs to be ironed out in June.

I haven't bought the plane tickets yet, but here are the rough dates that I want to be back east, zooming up and down the east coast in mom's little blue Toyota (which is immeasurably better than my brother's crappy 1983 Chevy Celebrity which nearly got me killed two years ago in Delaware thank you very much, but that's another story entirely):
May 28th. I have a wedding to go to here in Tucson. As a guest, which is much more fun than a DJ.
June 4th. There's a Record Show in Montvale, NJ, so I have to fly in before this.
June 9-11. (Give or take a day.) Must be in Rah-chester for festivities. Should be fun.
June 25. (Give or take a week.) Fly back to Tucson.

That leaves a LOT of time to cruise happily up and down the east coast, visiting people I haven't seen in a long time. So I'll be hitting Rah-chester, Syracuse (if anybody is still there), Ithaca, DC (many people in DC, including Jon and Laura's baby boy - Congrats again.), Boston (although I really don't like driving in Boston and would greatly appreciate if the Boston people met me somewhere else), and finally Bangor, Maine. Mike (former DJ at KRQ, under whom I was Mr. Science) owns a radio station in Bangor, and I thought I'd pay him a visit. Of course, if it's a twelve-hour drive, I may reconsider. I should really check a map...

Anyway, I planned on visiting folks in the Rockland County/NYC area from the 5th to the 8th, and then bounce around from the 11th to the 25th. I still haven't bought the plane tickets yet, and I'd need to coordinate things with Margaret, who can't spare more than a few days off from work. (I'd like to minimize scrutiny.) As usual, details to follow.

I'll graduate by December, and if funding from IBM doesn't hold up, I may be graduating at the end of the summer. Cool! But kinda scary.

Nothing much else going on. The car still works. Crap From The Past still draws dozens of phone calls every show. And I owe my friend Matt a dollar. Life plods on...

Yesterday's high: 94.
Ron