Hello all. Today I awoke with a dull throbbing in the back-alleys of my brain, a hangover, if you will. Yesterday was a day and a half.

I'm so desparate to be in school that I went to Dawson and attended class with one of my friends. It was a Philosophy course and the teacher doesn't take attendance. I sat in the back of the room and tried my best not to arouse suspicion.(sp?)

It was a really interesting course & I hope to attend another in the future. The prof was a white-haired old genius of the tweed & gin variety (tweed on his back, gin in his gullet). He spoke about where the word inspiration came from. Apparently, Pythagoras didn't just rob the Egyptians of their Geometry--he also invented a religion that mixes mathematics with faith, including a rule that one must never eat beans because they have souls. Their souls try to escape from your ass in the form of flatulence. For this reason, it was forbidden to consume the bean.

According to the prof, Socrates was a follower of the Pythagorean faith and wasn't a Monist (they believe that we're all made of one element, such as air, water, or fire. Anaximander was a smart cookie because he thought we were a mix of all four. Present day scientists know that there are over a hundred elements but all matter came from Hydrogen, originally.) So I guess Socrates didn't eat beans, either.

Needless to say that it was a great class. (If it's needless to say something, why bother saying it? I'm breaking literary rules for you all, and I hope you appreciate that). At one point, I was forced to speak up because he mentioned how some people believe (including one of my faves, Noam Chomsky) that we are born with a certain predetermination to achieve or err in life, an idea that runs contrary to the standard politically-correct belief that we're all clean slates (tabla raza, as he put it).

I raised my skinny arm and spoke. "Doesn't that raise the nasty specter of eugenics?" He nodded visciously (sp?) and said "Yes, the Nazis would have loved to spread this theory but I don't believe it, myself." Then he went on to reveal that the precursor to the Canadian Alliance, the Right Wing Looneys from back West, once sterilized all the Disabled (Retarded, in modern lingo) people in the 1930's. I'll never vote for a party that has such little regard for human existence.

After we got home from class (we walked all the way from Atwater metro downtown back home in NDG), I cooked the spaghetti sauce that was festering in the bottom of our fridge & talked to my one and only on the phone. Kate is everything I've ever wanted in a woman--she's intelligent and beautiful AND opinionated. Plus, she has a way with words that makes me feel inspired. (Again, back to the ancient Greeks. They believed that a babys first breath was when he gained all of his ideas and an old mans final exhalation was his ideas escaping back into the air, from whence all ideas come.) Everything Kate says to me gives me ideas (some not appropriate for younger audiences!) and that's why I feel really comfortable with her. I hope we can make this last forever.

After supper, Shady & I walked up to the gas station on Sherbrooke where I used my Visa to buy a case of Molson High Dry (it was either that or Black Label, and Carling makes you black out, hence the name). We went home and I burned a hip-hop CD for commercial breaks during the bizarre reality TV show Cupid.

When midnight rolled around, Shady got a crazy look in his eyes. We went outside and took a stroll. Upon waking up this morning, I realized last night's folly. We stole a couple of street signs (I'm sure we'll have some explaining to do next time the cops visit) but I think that this time, we've gone too far. You just don't take a one-way sign. It's plain wrong.

Anyhow, I'm off to boil some water to add to instant oatmeal. I'll try and give you folks something to read tomorrow. Rock on, everyone, and remember to breathe deeply. Some of the grandest ideas have arisen from deep gasps of air (or weed smoke, whichever you prefer!). Peace.