Chapters ending, beginning

It's been a little while since I posted, but I wanted to be sure I was "settled in." I'm not sure I'm there yet, but there's promise. The place I'm subletting is working out fine, except for the fact that I have no Internet there and the guy who I'm subletting from neglected to tell me he only paid the cable bill through June. So, I'm not necessarily "roughing it," but it's not something I'm used to, either.

I found a new place a couple of blocks from where I live now that's $20 cheaper a month and has two bedrooms. I'm not sure what I need with a spare bedroom, but for the dates I needed to move and the price range I had, it was the best bet. I will probably sign the lease on that tomorrow, when my mom and nana come up to visit. Exciting times.

My brother decided that he's going to join a fraternity when he starts at Mizzou this fall. This caught me off guard. I immediately told him I didn't think it was a good idea, but my mom broke it down for me, and for him, it just might be a good fit. To each his own, that whole thing. Here's the thing (and I realize I might offend some people with this): I've never met anyone from a frat who turned out to be a good person. The few I did meet who seemed like good people actually quit their fraternities during the time I knew them. For me, there's just something wrong about paying to live in the same house with a bunch of guys you don't know. Most of the frat guys I ran into were egotistical morons who thought belonging to a frat somehow upped their status on campus (which it did, to my dismay). I've always felt some of the best friendships I've had were because I was put into a situation where I met the other person by chance, not by paying to be put in that situation. When I moved into the dorms, the guy across the hall introduced himself the first night, as did my next-door neighbor. We lived by each other in the dorms for two years, then in an apartment complex for two more. We never would have known each other existed had we not been placed in the same dorm purely by chance. Some say fraternities build on this concept and make it better by having a bunch of guys with similar interests live together. Now, I haven't really gotten into frats, so I don't know which ones specialize in what, but really, can there be that many different groups of guys who share the same interests? When I moved into the dorms, I found out a guy down the hall from me was on my hockey team back in middle school. I ended up rooming with him for two years in an apartment. I didn't have to pay to live with him (well, I paid my part of the lease, but that's not the point). I'd rather know the person I'll be living with than pay dues to be put in a house with other guys who share "similar interests." And besides, so much of college was learning to fit in all over again, just like in middle school and high school, that I'd rather not have one more group of guys I don't even know that I have to impress enough just to feel I belong there. But like I said, to each his own.

The part that threw me about my brother, though, is that, up until this decision, he's always followed in my footsteps. It's not that he really had a choice; being four years apart, I was always just finishing a chapter as he began it. Thus, I was already a year into high school when he started middle school, I got my diploma when he graduated eighth grade, and, just this summer, I walked across a stage in a black robe in Columbia right before he walked across one in a red robe in St. Louis. He's always taken slightly different paths once he got into these new parts of his life (I played an instrument for seven years, he gave it up after two; I worked on the newspaper for three years in high school, he shifted more toward different extracirricular activities), but he's always entered and left them the same way I did. To wit, when I started school at Mizzou, I moved into the dorms, as did about 70 percent of the freshmen class. When my brother received his housing assignment in May, it was for the same dorm I lived in for two years. I was looking forward to showing him around, getting back to the old stomping grounds, etc. Most importantly, I had a loft built in my old room, and I still know how to put it together, which I would have been a big help for him. Now, with him joining a fraternity, I'm not sure what kind of help I could be moving in. I'm sure he'll have plenty of "brothers" and "pledge fathers" helping him (another reason I don't like frats -- too much coddling). That's fine with me, but different. Maybe this is where he's supposed to be. Plus, it's not like I can't give him all my old notes to look at and help him.

On another front, I've started a new workout regimen and diet just this past Saturday. Since money's tight and it's summer, I'll wait to sign the gym contract for a few months. That means salads and soups for a while -- no chips or junk food -- and limiting my beer intake (which won't be hard since I'm already low on funds and in a new place with few friends). I'm trying to lose at least 40 pounds by October 9, which would be three months. Every time I post here, I'll keep a section for this stuff, just so I know how far I've come. It won't be everyday, because (a) the body's weight fluctuates too much on a daily basis, and (b) there's no way I'm posting everyday here. To wit:

Vital stats

Days into workout: 2
Current weight: 245 lbs.
Miles ran today: 2

Starting weight: 246.5 lbs.
Desired weight: 200 lbs.

We'll see how this goes. It's at least a step in the right direction.

I think I'll stop there for now. That's a hell of a post, even for me. Catch ya on the flip side.