My thoughts are with VA Tech

After I finished my last post, I went to Dan's and walked into an apartment of guys crouched over a computer screen, using the SlingBox to watch coverage of the VA Tech massacre. It didn't really hit me at first how far reaching this is. Along with all those people gone, something else came to a screeching halt on Monday - going to college in the US will most likely never be as free, just like how going to high school changed after Columbine. I won't say much more here, since I'm sure you're tired of reading about it and I don't want to talk politics on this blog (if you're not tired of it, check out my sister's thoughts from Australia and I've found Xeni Jardin's ongoing analysis on boingboing.net really interesting. And the wikipedia article on this thing is really astounding). I think it'd be accurate to say it's the end of the age of innocence for the American college experience.

On to sunnier topics...

Yesterday, as predicted, was spent roaming around town with Mom and Dad, making some last purchases, and then finally taking a nap. I got a phone call at around 5pm from someone involved with the Prague Playhouse (the group that produced my play). They want me to play a role in a staged reading they're putting on in a few weeks. The part seems really fun, full of improv; I hope I'll be in town to do it! Had a great dinner last night with Mom, Dad, and Dan, then said goodbye till May, and went out on the town with Dan and some other folks.

Which made today, my classically busiest day of the week, quite the experience to get through. It certainly had its highlights, though - my Cinematographer's Influence class, while being a large waste of time for all students involved, has established a kind of irresistible charm to it. There's something so cute about how drunk our professor always seems, the way he'll ask a question, and then in the process of explaining the question will suddenly ask another question (completely unrelated), and then expect the class to know which one we're supposed to answer. And when we do answer, as I did a few times today, if we get it wrong, we get one of a few classic responses (today, I said something was the index of reflection and he responded by looking me straight in the eye and saying "I go to kill myself now." I'm still not sure if I was wrong or right). And then my last class was canceled.

At home for the evening, I read some more news articles and took a nap before dinner. With Zuzana gone, I'm being introduced to a whole new side of Czech cooking, what Tomas says are all the dishes college students all make for themselves. So we began the week with that Slovak dish, and tonight we had another new delicacy: fried bread. Bread, soaked in garlic oil and fried like French toast, served with beer of course. The great thing about Czech food is it's all comfort food!

Tomorrow I'll relax some more, and probably Friday too. This weekend, Dan and I are thinking of spending a day at the spa town of Karlovy Vary. Assuming we go, it will be our last weekend trip together...I know I'm upset, and I'm sure the thought of no more stories of Dan seriously injuring himself is upsetting to you too.