Lazy Auburn Summer

Summer is a time often characterized by sun, sand, beach balls, and fruity cocktails. Summer in Auburn is characterized by construction, detours, constant deluges, and the omnipresent sound of the cricket symphony at night.

It feels like there is nothing happening on campus or in the residence hall this summer. Apparently, the trickle down effect of the subpar economy has caused Auburn to not offer as many classes this Summer. Obviously, fewer classes means fewer students. At times, there seems to be just as many or even more Camp War Eagle kiddies roaming than there are real students. Yes, I said it Camp War Eaglers, you are not real students yet.

I look forward to hearing underclassmen complain how their COMP 1000 two page essay on Auburn traditions is sooo difficult. It harkens me back to the simpler days before APA style bodyslammed me into a fourth dimension of English usage.

Auburn in the Summer is boring, there is no denying that fact. Don't let the Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau tell you otherwise; they're lying. It is what you make of it though, whether it be enjoying the scenery on a run through campus, or running through a Summer shower in an old t-shirt. For me, it's my last, so I am determined to enjoy it, boring or not.

Ends and Beginnings

This semester has been a whirlwind. Only taking 14 hours of classes isn't always a breeze, especially when there are so many other things going on. It seems like my feet haven't touched the ground so far this year.

Today is spring commencement for Auburn. The gears are beginning to shift, and I am quickly realizing that I'm a senior now. As people I know graduate today, the whole concept of "the real world" now isn't so foreign. The first of the lasts are right around the corner. The last football season, last time seeing the leaves turn orange and yellow. Sure, it's important to consider all of the "lasts," but I think it's even more important to focus on the firsts that are coming into focus. After all, these are all things I've done before (mostly); I should be looking forward to the things that I haven't experienced yet. 

In all honesty, I'm not sure what the future holds. I know for a fact that it's gonna be great though.

I love the Rain

There are often mornings when I wake up and wonder, "Did that just happen?" and soon realize that it was just a dream. On the contrary, it almost never happens that I am wide awake, something very bizarre happens, and I try to knock myself out of what appears to be a deep slumber.

The later of these two scenarios happened Friday night, when I went to what was supposed to be a relaxing night of Auburn University baseball. There was severe weather rolling in all day throughout the southeast, and it had really stormed bad that morning. I honestly wasn't expecting any rain at the game--just hoping for a win on the field. The Weather Channel had been hyping storms all day from--guess where?--in the elements, inches from the doors at their studios in Atlanta.

Anyways, we didn't expect much rain until a threatening cloud rolled in from behind Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum to rise in the horizon above the first base stands. This is where things get interesting.

If I remember correctly, it was the 5th inning when the skies started to darken. Then, to everyone's surprise, the tornado sirens sounded from afar. Uhh... What? Yes, apparently a tornado warning had been issued for the Auburn University vicinity. How lovely.

There was a pretty sizeable crowd on hand, and there probably wasn't one person who actually knew what to do. Where should I go? Where is the safest place to go? Why weren't the players taken off the field when a watch was issued? Was a watch issued? Has Jim Cantore been fired yet?

The PA announcer finally came over the speakers and suggested that everyone move to the Coliseum if they didn't have a safe place to travel to quickly. We of course could have walked to my apartment, but we instead chose to head on over to the Coliseum to relive some of our Lebo's Lunatics moments from the season past. We did this, walking around the court, strolling through aged corridors among several other baseball refugees, and then decided to take a seat near an elevator and just chill for a while. The evening had already been pretty bizarre--but what happened next made me think I was in a dream.

Auburn's famed radio announcer Rod Bramblett peeked his head around the corner to where we were and said hello. What? Now, I have seen Rod before, and have interacted with him many times at basketball games. He's even my friend on Facebook, but his presence there was just completely out of the blue. It's not that I was starstruck, I just was in such a state of awe from the whole night's events that my eyes were glazed and drool was starting to fall from my gawked mouth.

This kind of stuff doesn't happen every day (or night, if we're talking about dreams). It really made a supposed-to-be relaxing night turn into quite the adventure. We ended up being fine, getting out in about an hour. Apparently, there was just a little wind damage in the area. For me, the only thing that mattered was the smile on my face, the company of friends, and the raindrops I still couldn't avoid.

An Early April Spring Day

It's getting a bit late, so I'll keep this short.

Today was another gorgeous weather day in Auburn. A mini-cookout with a great friend and George Foreman really made the day. Minus a few insects and millions of yellow pollen bits, it really could not have been better. There is just something about soaking up vitamin D out in front of your abode, chatting about who knows what, and eating some really good food that was nearly just bought on a whim. It was really the most relaxing day I've had in a long while.

Also, I suppose I should mention that someone suggested I take a quiz on love languages. Now, I'm not really one to take quizzes that don't count for some kind of academic credit, but this actually sounded pretty interesting. How do I communicate my love for another? Flowers? Sappy phrases? A jab to the side? Actually, it was broken down into five categories: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving of Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch.

For me, I scored highest on Quality Time. This sounds just about right. With everything else gone, all I want (or need) is someone to spend, well, a good deal of quality time with. No matter where, how, or when, if I have that someone there, things are usually all good.

The lowest score I received on the quiz was Receiving of Gifts. Again, this is true. I don't want all of your cheesy presents, nor would I want you to waste your time going to great lengths to get them. I would much rather spend some "Quality Time."

All in all, this little quiz illustrates much of how an individual communicates his/her "love languages," and does so by asking just a few questions. Being somewhat of a stats geek and psychology advocate, I was skeptical at first, but now I have a better understanding of myself, and how others better behave if they want a piece.

Blog Challenge

I was recently challenged to write about something good. It's strange: I consider myself a very positive, uplifting person, but when I look back at several of my old posts, they seem to be really whiny and negative. This will change that streak.

I suppose I'll start by mentioning a sighting of some strange, foreign, yellow object that appeared high above the Auburn sky today. It was reported being seen from about 6:30 AM this morning and was eventually seen falling below the horizon in the west at about 7 o'clock this evening. That's right, the sun was finally out today for the first time in over three days. Looking around, the sky seemed extra blue and the grass seemed extra green. It was like I could see every speck of dirt of the infield at the softball game. Mother Nature's HD.

It was fun to consider the prospects of my future yesterday. I wonder where I'll be in a mere 10 years? I can't wait to marry my best friend. I can't wait to earn a living. I can't wait to see the look on my kids' faces when I tell them to get off the computer. I wonder if they'll be driving flying cars.

Even though the future is sure to be great, there are so many great things in Matt's 2009 existence as well: friends, family, school, banana split ice cream sandwiches, Advil Cold & Sinus, among millions of other things.

I am blessed.

And I only have One to thank.

Music These Days...

I think it is fair to say that music has been on a downhill slide for several years now. I haven't been alive that long (in comparison to the entire history of music), so I have a limited judgment ability, but I still think my reasoning is valid.

Even the artist names have gone bad. If you look at the Billboard Hot 100 this week, some of the top artists include Flo Rida and Lady GaGa. Apparently all the good names were taken.

One of the song titles is "My Life Would Suck Without You." Oh, artistic genius.

So what's the problem? The culture? The times? MySpace? Ronald McDonald?

Perhaps the problem is the same thing as the solution: a wide media market outlet full of readily available tunes. These choices--no matter what they are--allows us, the consumer (or theif)--to choose what we want. The most popular song wins right? Sure, if you're talking about an interview with Ryan Seacrest. What makes a song popular though? What is a good song? That really just depends on the person.

Of course, not all these songs are terrible. A lot of them are catchy. It's just a matter of opinion. To me, today's music is subpar, but to a 6th grader, every beat is a timeless classic.

NBC Does It Again: Fallon's Debut

I don't get it.

Jimmy Fallon's debut is tonight as the new host of "Late Night" on NBC. He is replacing Conan O'Brien who will be replacing Jay Leno in a couple months. This is sort of gettable, but their advertising for Fallon's new gig is confusing.

NBC has these ads trying to get viewers to watch the new show with Fallon, and stating all of the guests appearing during the first week. Cool. Kind of.

Shouldn't I be seeing some of the antics of Fallon, you know, the star of the show?

It's kind of like HEY! Come watch our new star ... aaaand the other more famous, personable, confident, smart, likable guests we'll have!

But hey, it's NBC, if it isn't screwed up, it's just a rerun from another channel.

Fortson Suspended, Lunatics Happy

Sometimes I wonder how much impact we as the Lebo's Lunatics have on other people--students, players, even coaches. Not a lot--just sometimes.

Well last night we beat Arkansas at BEMC, and we enjoyed heckling Courtney Fortson so much, it may have gotten to his head. He fouled out, and added a technical foul to boot. Six fouls--not too shabby.

I in particular had fun yelling at Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey. See, he left South Alabama (the other school I root for) a couple years ago to coach where he stands today. Sure, I'm bitter about him leaving the Jaguars, and I think that fueled the fire even more. I shouted a lot of things about discipline of the team since they had committed so many unnecessary fouls.

It really seemed to get into their heads, and today maybe, just maybe, we have seen the effects of heckling John Pelphrey: Fortson suspended. I mean, wow. I'd love to think that the Lunatics have something to do with this, and honestly, we may have. Regardless, it's good to see more discipline off the court.

John Pelphrey is a great coach. I want him to succeed because I know he has more than enough talent to do well at this level. It is a shame, though, that one of his players was such an easy target to such exquisitely crafted verbal abuse.