David’s Ramblings

I’ve currently got my iPod shuffle filled with Overclocked Remix music. www.ocremix.org is a place where you can download (or contribute to) a collection of nearly 1500 video game tracks, remixed. There’s all the classics: Sonic, Tetris, Mario… all there. People take the original game tracks and totally revamp them. It’s some pretty good stuff.

Anyway, drop them onto a CD/MP3 player and you have yourself your very own video game music. If you listen to the music and try to visualize it, you can feel like you’re in a video game. Seriously.

I came across this realization while I got on the bus this morning and the track suddenly changed to this perfect traveling music. I could suddenly visualize a top-down view focusing on the bus as it zoomed me along to it’s destination, as if it were an old game of Final Fantasy. 8 bit graphics, everything. I could see it. I couldn’t help but smile in my nerdery.

The amazing effect this background music brings is amplified by the fact that you can take it with you. I highly recommend the iPod shuffle. It fits so nicely in the pocket. Then, whenever you’re taking a short jaunt across campus, you can reach into your pocket and have instant entertainment. Video games are always more fun than life. Just imagine you’re moving your character around in one of those RPGs. With the right songs playing it works so well.

Remember that scene in the Matrix where Neo finds out that he’s in the Matrix, and then they get him out of the Matrix? The one that pretty much ends with Morpheus saying “Welcome to the real world”? That’s the point we are at in my life now. Not saying I’ll now be jumping buildings in a single bound or learning to fly, but the basic idea is still there.

High School, my friends, is like the Matrix. You may not see the parallel, you may not of seen the movie (shame on you), but the truth of it isn’t lessened anyway. I’m going to show some examples to help you see my analogy:

——
*Interrogation Scene*

COUNSELOR THOMAS
As you can see, we’ve had our eye on
you for some time now, Mr. Haslem.

She opens the file. Paper rattle marks the silence as he
flips several pages. David cannot tell if she is looking at
the file or at him.

COUNSELOR THOMAS
It seems that you have been living
two lives. In one life, you are
David Haslem, student at Cyprus High.
You take go to class, you’re rarely tardy
and you even help Mr. Child teach his
dumber students.

The pages continue to turn.

COUNSELOR THOMAS
The other life is lived at home
where you search google for scientific
articles, research topics on Wikipedia,
and even read books —
learning, as it were…

DAVE feels himself sinking.

COUNSELOR THOMAS
One of these lives has a future.
One of them does not.

She closes the file.

COUNSELOR THOMAS
I’m going to be as forthcoming as I
can be, Mr. Haslem. You are here
because you need our help.

She removes her glasses, her eyes are unnatural ice-
blue.

COUNSELOR THOMAS
We know that you have been thinking
of trying to get out of the state for
college.

She leans closer.

COUNSELOR THOMAS
My colleagues believe that I am
wasting my time with you but I
believe you want to do the right
thing. It is obvious that you are
an intelligent man, Mr. Haslem,
and that you are interested in the
future. That is why I believe you
are ready to put your intelligence
behind you and get on with your
life.

DAVE stares to match her stare.

COUNSELOR THOMAS
We are willing to help you get into
SLCC, to give you a fresh start and
all we are asking in return is your
that you don’t try to apply to any
of these big-wig colleges like MIT
or Georgia Tech.

DAVE nods to himself.

DAVE
Yeah. Wow. That sounds like a real
good deal. But I think I have a
better one. How about I give you
the finger –

He doesn’t. In fact, he doesn’t even mention giving a
finger. But he thinks it, and that satisfies him.

DAVE
And would you please send my transcripts
to the schools requested?

COUNSELOR THOMAS puts her glasses back on.

COUNSELOR THOMAS
You disappoint me, Mr. Haslem. Think of
all the money you could save your parents
by going to SLCC.

DAVE
You can’t scare me with monetary logic
crap. I know my rights. I want my
transcripts!

COUNSELOR THOMAS smiles.

COUNSELOR THOMAS
And tell me, Mr. Haslem, what good
is a transcript if you are unable to
get into the college?

The question unnerves DAVE and strangely he begins to feel
his world closing in around him.

DAVE feels his brain grow soft and sticky as it slowly
goes over the possibilities. What if he couldn’t get out?

Wild with fear, he lunges for the door but the counselors
restrain him, holding him in the chair.

COUNSELOR THOMAS
We are going to help you, Mr.
Haslem, whether you want us to or
not.

——

More or less, this describes my meeting with my counselor when I said I wanted to go out-of-state for college. Sure, the counselors didn’t restrain me, but she sure as heck was trying to convince me of the value of staying in-state.

——
* Pick a pill *

TIFF
Let me tell you why you are here.
You have come because you know
something. What you know you can’t
explain but you feel it. You’ve
felt it your whole life, felt that
something is wrong with the world.
You don’t know what, but it’s there
like a splinter in your mind,
driving you mad. It is this feeling
that brought you to me. Do you know
what I’m talking about?

DAVE
High School?

TIFF
Do you want to know what it is?

DAVE swallows hard and nods.

TIFF
High Schools are everywhere, they’re all
around us, here even in this town.
You can see it out your window or on
your television. You feel it when
you go to work, or go to church or
pay your taxes. It is the system
that has been pulled over your eyes
to blind you from the truth.

DAVE
What truth?

TIFF
That you are a slave, DAVE. Like
every other student, you were born into
bondage, kept inside a prison that tells
you when to think, when to learn,
even when to go to the bathroom.
A prison for your mind.

The COUCH CREAKS as she leans back.

TIFF
Unfortunately, no one can be told
what horror High School is. You have
to see it for yourself.

TIFF opens her hands. In the right is a college application. In
the left, a piece of chocolate.

TIFF
This is your last chance. After
this, there is no going back. You
take the chocolate and the story
ends. You wake in your bed and you
believe whatever you want to
believe.

The pills in her open hands are reflected in the glasses.

TIFF
You fill out the college application,
and you’ll be able to see how deep the
rabbit hole goes.

TIFF
Remember that all I am offering is
a good education. Nothing more.

DAVE opens his mouth and takes the chocolate.

TIFF
Follow me.

TIFF
The chocolate you took is part of a trace
program. It’s designed to disrupt
your input/output carrier signal so
we can pinpoint your location.

DAVE
What does that mean?

MIKE (yelling from couch)
Nobody knows what the hell she’s talking
about. You should just fill out the college
application and get her out of your hair.

—–

Dramatized just a tad, this is basically how it is… High School is a prison for the mind. Think about it. You are, for the most part, told what classes you can take. You’re told how you should do assignments and hardly ever expected to learn anything above passing a test. You’re even told when you can go to the bathroom. Interestingly enough, a look in history will show that the modern school system was developed for juvenile detention originally. Enough on that point though.

—–

* Flush *

The pipe is a waste disposal system and DAVE exits, along
with the clot of of other graduated students.

Flushing UP and out he comes into the real world as a high
school graduate.

DAVE begins to drown when he is suddenly snatched from the
flow of waste by his aunts and grandmother.

The car door opens and drops the half-conscious DAVE
onto the floor. Human hands and arms help him up as he
finds himself looking straight at TIFF.

She smiles.

TIFF
Welcome to the real world, DAVE.

He passes out.

FADE TO BLACK.

FADE IN:

INT. DORM ROOM

We have no sense of time. We hear voices whispering.

DAVE (O.S.)
We found it, DAD. We finally
found it.

GRANDMA (O.S.)
What if this isn’t the One, DAVE?
How can you be so sure?

DAVE (O.S.)
The key fits the door to this room.

DAVE’S POV

DAVE’s eyes FLUTTER OPEN. We hear the alarm clock.

DAVE (O.S.)
… am I dead?

ROOMMATE
Far from it.

FADE TO BLACK.

FADE IN:

DAVE

He opens his eyes again, something tingling through him.
He focuses and feels his brain pierced with dozens of
acupuncture-like needles.

PROFESSOR
He needs a lot of work.

TA
I know.

PROFESSOR and TA are teaching DAVE.

DAVE
What are you doing?

TA
Your brain has atrophied. We’re
rebuilding it.

DAVE
Why does my head hurt?

TA
You’ve never used it before.

—–

Yeah. College is quite a different experience from that of High School. For the first time I walk into a classroom expecting to learn something. That’s not something that happens often in High School. I guess that’s probably enough ruining of the Matrix script for one day though, so I’ll close with a final point – it’s nice being out of the Matrix.

The last week has been quite exciting. I went from being a teenage slacker to a college student, a transition which included moving away from the only state I ever remember living in as well as a lot of money spent on books and fees.

The week preceding my move to Georgia I had been spending some time at my dad’s home in Virginia. I hadn’t been to Virginia, but I found it to be a very enjoyable place to spend a week. I’d have liked to spend more time out there, but that just wasn’t much of an option with school starting.

So, after getting my things together and packed into the car, I got the wonderful chance to ride in a car all the way to Georgia from Virginia, a good, eight hour voyage. Driving eight hours gets very old very fast, but I found it almost preferable to the strip search required to get on a plane these days. At least we (we being my father and I) got the chance to stop in some places and stretch our legs.

We spent that night in the hotel and then spent the next day exploring the campus and checking out my dorm room. The Georgia Tech campus seems really nice, but I don’t make a habit of exploring campuses around the country, so I don’t have too much to compare it with. I can say that it’s better than any others I have seen. It’s very green, the buildings are nice, everything is well kept, etc, etc.

The next day my father and I attended the “FASET” (freshman orientation). We also go the chance to explore the campus a little more and try out Rocky Mountain Pizza and the Varsity, both excellent places to eat. The Varsity is actually the world’s biggest drive-in, if I understand properly. They have to have a two level parking deck to accommodate all the customers, and the food is definitely worth the attention. Lucky to find that my dorm is right next to it.

I spent my first night in the dorms and got a chance to start arranging my stuff. I’m going to be living here for the next year, so I think it’s probably good that I at some point make my self comfortable.

The next morning I finished orientation and registered for my classes. 14 hours, a fairly standard load for a full-time student at Tech. Then I got the chance to say goodbye to my dad and was on my own for the first time in my life. It feels kind of nice, the freedom of being on your own. Of course, being on your own doesn’t mean you have to go it alone, and I got the chance to meet my roommate. His name is Tom. He’s a pretty good guy. We went to have dinner at his grandparent’s house the next night (friday). His family was quite nice, and I’ll hopefully be seeing a little more of them soon.

Saturday was a bit of a road trip up into northern Georgia, and then Sunday involved last minute preparations for classes and just general relaxation and such. Then came Monday, first day of classes. I was quite excited. It was awesome to go to a class and for the first time be taught instead of tended. High school was always about keeping the kids in line. It’ll be a nice refreshment to actually learn something in class.

Nothing bothers me more than an idiot whining about something they know nothing about. That’s why it pains me so much to hear all these activists whining about video games, especially the main target – Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. There are pounds upon pounds of “studies” about how violence in video games is damaging the poor. little children’s minds, and more and more push for legislation to do something about it.

One recent topic in the ongoing debate has been Grand Theft Auto, with its unlocked, sexually explicit material. It’s okay that we have a video game where you can steal a car, pick up a hooker, do your business with her, chase her down and bash her head in, kill all the witnesses with a chainsaw, and then slaughter any cops stupid enough to visit; but it sure is horrible to let that video game go further and not delete completely unaccessible code allowing for you to get a cup of coffee in your girlfriend’s house. A simply absurd stance, in my opinion, to take on the game.

Of course, many people have been against violent video games long before someone unlocked damning code from within. Many people are crying for legislation to ensure that kids don’t have access to such things. Hmm… maybe we should ask for ID’s on any game that’s rated mature. We could do it at every store even. How would we decide something was rated mature? Maybe we’d put a rating on it like we do movies. We could call is an ESRB rating, because that’s a cool name….

When I hear all these parents ranting and raving about the kids being harmed by the video games, it’s almost hard to conceive that the system I described above, for those that didn’t catch on, is already in place. Who’s fault is it kids are getting these video games? Adults. The manufacturers are doing all they can. Only adults can buy Grand Theft Auto, so if you’re scared of the impact, maybe you should stop whining and start parenting, start telling your children that you’re not going to let them play a game like that.

Earlier today I left for Virginia, the last stop before I grace Georgia with my presence for college. When I say earlier today I of course mean last night, but when you get less than four hours of sleep they feel like the same day. I find myself pretty energetic for running on four hours of sleep though. I may even finish this post tonight.

My day started out with a fun-filled yesterday. IHOP is a wonderful place to start a fun-filled day, especially when french toast is involved. I decided to try the cinnamon french toast. It was good. I had an enjoyable chat with Riley, my only friend who was cool enough to go to IHOP with me.

After saying goodbye to my friends, I spent some time with my family — meaning I basically watched TV until my flight was ready to leave. It seems my mom had already forgotten what I liked to eat and where my room was, but that was to be expected. What was also expected was a classic ‘remember who your are and what you stand for’ speech, that one that every family member feels the need to give at some point.

So then I arrived at the airport. After some hassle with my baggage that weighed around 3 pounds too much in one bag, I managed to get to my strip search early so I could make sure to be on time for a boarding. I don’t know why I bothered, since we ended up being an hour late anyway. The Delta employee didn’t know what he was talking about, but he was trying to make us feel updated.

‘It looks like the engine is running up now, if they don’t get the results again, they’ll probably have to go back and troubleshoot and stuff. But there’s baggage going in. That’s a good sign,’ said the employee that sounded very much like he was trying to use every airline buzzword to keep the masses from turning against him.

They soon found a replacement plane that was able to take me to my first destination 0 Las Vegas. The connection was a little too close in boarding time with my next connection, but I managed to get on before half the others anyway. The flight to Georgia was a long one, but I managed to cope with the doldrums by sleeping, leaving a horrible kink in my neck.

(To be continued after around a week of living in a stone-age wi-fi-less house)

I spent a little less than a week in Virginia, occupying my time with Halo 2 with my brothers and a visit to Busch Gardens, intermingled with a lot of TV and sleeping. It was the last of my vacation away from Georgia. As I write this I’m sitting in a hotel right near the campus awaiting my orientation and registration.

Virginia was beautiful, and from the looks of everything so far, so is Georgia (but of course most stuff does look good after 8 hours of driving). Things are much more green over here than in Utah. I look forward to writing about my orientation tomorrow.