Day 100 - Freedom!

My day started with a 9 am meeting with Cynthia and Laurence. I asked Jenny Finn to come along with me because she is a wonderful person with an incredible ability to relieve tension and stress. I figured her presence could only help.

Turned out that I didn’t really need her there, though, as this meeting had a completely different tone. From the moment I entered, I knew it was good news. Cynthia and Laurence welcomed me very warmly, a complete 180 from the angry greeting I received the day before.

Laurence started by telling me that I would be able to return to my room immediately following the meeting. He had been up late talking to faculty, he told me, and concluded that I was a “good guy” and that he now believed my story. At this point, Cynthia piped up. Instead of expulsion, she told us, we would each have to perform 12 hours of shipboard service and would be unable to attend the Alumni Ball. She then proceeded to reiterate why were being punished (coming back late, not calling the ship, etc.), because she gets off punishing people. Seriously, she seemed sexually aroused.

The thing is, I didn’t believe their story then, and I still don’t, now. I’m sure Cynthia and Laurence talked to faculty, and I’m sure they had good things to say about me. I’ll bet it even influenced their opinions of me. But, ultimately, Laurence got a call from the ISE and was told we couldn’t be kept in solitary confinement for returning an hour late to the ship.

And it still irks me that I never received any sort of apology. I was put in solitary confinement by admittedly angry administrators for two days, without even being given a chance to defend myself. They made me grovel in that meeting, but never even said so much as “we could have handled it better.”

Current frustrations upon reflection aside, however, I was elated leaving the meeting. I’d received a fair punishment (ignoring the whole solitary thing) and, more importantly, I was out of that damn room!

Lunch was awesome. I ate outside and stared at the ocean. It’s the simple things you miss when you spend time in slammer.

After lunch I went to Digital Storytelling, where I told the story of the whole ordeal. The class was pretty appalled (though, granted, they were hearing a very one-sided account), and the vindication was satisfying.

Later in the day was our final Gamelan! It was almost bittersweet, except in the sense that the class sucked. So it was less bittersweet than it well sweetsweet. This class was the final tune-up for our big performance, happening the coming evening. As expected we were still really shaky, which made me somewhat dread the coming performance. On the other hand, though, we got to wear awesome costumes, and I got to lead a section. So I was stoked for those parts.

After an uneventful dinner, I headed back to the Union to get into costume. They were pretty sweet; we wore skirts and headbands. After goofing around and taking plenty of pictures, the crowd showed up and we performed. To my pleasant surprise, we didn’t fail. Sure, we were far from spectacular, but we mostly stayed on beat and got through each song without horrible incident.

My favorite part was the end, during which I led a performance of Kechak. Kechack is a three-part piece, done entirely vocally. Each group has a rhythm, which they maintain the entire piece. What they say to that rhythm depends on the leader. If I yell out “CHECK,” all three groups respond “CHECK CHECK CHECK” in unison. Then group 1 continues to yell “CHECK,” but to their beat. I don’t remember it exactly, but it went something like “CHECK (slight pause) CHECK CHECK (pause), CHECK (slight pause) CHECK CHECK (pause),” and so on. Groups 2 and 3 do the same, but they, too, have unique beats. To change it up I’ll yell different words, such as “CHOKE” or “CHOOK,” to which I’ll get a reply of “CHOKE CHOKE CHOKE” before the groups break into their separate rhythms. I hope you’re getting the idea, dear readers, because this is simply the best way I can explain it.

Anyway, the fun part is that I also get to lead dance moves. And I could do whatever I wanted. I did the shopping cart, the sprinkler, Soulja Boy, pretended to pick my nose, and pelvic thrusts. Better yet, we made the audience stand up and join in on the dance, and I got Academic Dean Mark White (I’m a huge fan, he is the man), who was sitting in the front row, to join in on the pelvic-thrusting action. It was amazing.

After the performance, I practiced with Tolan. Though there were no more coffee houses, we were headlining Comedy Night, which was four days away. Had to get the finishing touches on Life as Ballerz and The Ballad of Jedediah.

After practicing I went to bed in my own room. It was good to be back, particular to have my beloved Nicholas snoozing just a few feet away from me.