AHQ at BMA Update #3
2/11/03, Last Tuesday
Written by Tom Troyer
Here we are again. It has been extremely busy here. It also has
remained frigid and arctic. But I have managed to stay out of the ditch.
I've also been brushing up on old and long-forgotten skills.
Among recent developments, I'm currently engaged in a "friendly" weight-loss competition. Remember my bud Reuben who cut my hair? Last week I mentioned something about my burgeoning weight, and he challenged me to a duel. Well, not a duel, but an intense competition. He suggested we see which one of us could lose the most weight in the next week. Not being one to turn down such a lucrative suggestion, I quickly accepted his challenge. We weighed in that night (Friday), and the games began.
The thing he's got going against him is that he is skinny! The
advantage I have in my favor is that I am fat! Although when I asked
Sherri, Debbie, Jewel, Emily, Ruby, LaDawn, Heidi, and Shannon if I was, they all said
no. Konrad, Byran, and Wendell on the other hand, wouldn't give such
an answer. At least the right people said no. Who cares what those
other guys think.
If you use your imagination you might recognize our baritone.
Incidentally, Reuben is the youngest male student here and I am the oldest. A vast gulf measuring ten years separates us. So I feel almost obligated to "take him to school," so to speak. Which I fully intend to do. My goal is to double him. Oh yeah, what's riding on this contest? Loser buys the winner dinner at Applebee's.
Our quartet car is a Caprice, and we like it. Our dream car is a Caprice wagon, this one in particular!
So I've been eating less, and last Saturday I went on a 5-mile jog. Remember, there's snow on the ground here, and it's very cold. It takes a great deal of determination and no small measure of insanity to spend that much time outside. Nevertheless, last night (Monday) I jogged to dorm meeting, another 5 and 2/10's mile run. Reuben jogged there too from his house, but that may have been about a whopping half-mile total for him. He's starting to feel the pressure, today him and Sherilyn jogged from church to the gym, somewhere in the 4-5 mile range. I also ran there from my house, probably around 2 and a half miles. I think another old fat man has been underestimated! That's a total of over 12 and a half miles in four days.
Last Sunday we had talent night. Productions ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime, side-splitting to sober, thought-provoking to pointless. My far-and-away favorite was the "new-and-definitely-improved" version of AHQ. Heidi, Debbie, Ruby, and Sherilyn wore our suitcoats and lip-synced to "Lookin' Up." Our deduction? We've never looked better!
AHQ has improved by leaps and bounds!
Konrad and Forrest did an instrumental duet on "Chariots of Fire." Kon played his flute and Forrest played a plastic harmonica capable of a whopping two different notes.
AHQ even joined in on Talent Night, oxymoronic as it sounds! We displayed our "versatility" by trading parts with each verse until we all had sang each part. Here I'm viciously attacking the bass line. I put this picture in because Debbie likes it.
By also sang in another quartet on Talent Night. These guys were actually good. They did a cantata from Go Fish entitled "What Did You See With Your Little Blue O's?" If you use your imagination you might recognize By on the right.
On the emotional side of things, time does bring healing, albeit very slowly and not without setbacks. I did send my former fiancée's mother a letter the other day, and I just received a reply. It was not very encouraging. As I desire reconciliation, I had implored for help from the homefront, but alas, that is not what I received. Her mother seems bent on diverting my attention from her daughter and setting me up with someone else from their area!
Come to think of it, things could be a lot worse.
What hurts the most, though, is I found out (through some investigative work)
that Emily herself was the one who suggested this course of action to her
mother!
Kon has been having trouble with his computer. So he tore it apart and it's working again.
2-17-03, Monday
I had intended to get this update sent before now, but it has been insanely busy. Finals week was a mess of getting assignments done and evening activities and all kinds of things. Staying up late to study, of course, too. But in the dark, because lights out is at 11. Anyway, we finally got all (or most) of our assignments turned in, tests taken, banquets attended, and parties thrown. Then we immediately headed out on chorus tour, and we've been having a great time on that. Next (and last) BMA update will be devoted to the tour!
The chorus giving a program at Mt. Zion last Friday night.
Oh yeah, the weight-losing competition! The last few days we both slacked off a little bit. We were too busy to run much, and it was hard to keep skipping and skimping on meals. So Friday night came and we went to the official scales and weighed. But first we had a huge argument about whether or not I had worn my shoes on the weigh-in. After that was settled (I hadn't), we bravely stepped on the scales to face the music.
I was disappointed. I came nowhere near doubling him, in fact I was very impressed with Reub's performance. Skinny as he is, he lost four pounds! I lost five and a half, so I won, but not very convincingly.
Well, it looks like he must have lost a lot more
than me!
To wind up on an inspirational note, I have something I'd like to share. I got an email from my college choir director asking the question: Did you hear about the tenor who was so far off key that even the other tenors noticed?!
Ha ha!!