March 2005 Archives

Every school has a certain amount of urban legends, right? You'll hear the occasional tale of a group of guys pushing a vending machine off the roof of one of the dorms, or maybe a story of a student's mysterious death one night. Most of the time, only the littlest grains of truth back up these stories, but here's one that's very true: the underground network of steam tunnels that interconnect most of the buildings on Tech's campus.

This type of thing is also incredibly interesting to me, even though I'd never actually go out and do any exploring of these tunnels. For one thing, getting caught prowling around down there can be grounds for expulsion (or at least a hefty JR if you live on campus), and in the worst cases, death. But perhaps that just adds to the mystique of the tunnels. They're off-limits to the ordinary person, and they represent a frontier of the unknown, a dark underground to the familiar campus we know.

That's probably why there have been bands of "tunnel rats" that have been exploring these tunnels for decades now, and over the years have established websites and guides to VT's steam tunnels. Again, I do NOT advocate actually going out and doing this yourself, but these sites are still fascinating, especially the sections that talk about old basements and abandoned parts of old campus buildings, and those that describe Stroubles Creek (which now runs under downtown Blacksburg).

A few sections of the sites have pictures detailing their exploits, so give them a once-over, and then start dreaming about your own urban exploration fantasies.

UPDATE (6/15/05): After being contacted by the owner of the former mindtrap.net/tunnels site, I can now direct you to the freshly-updated www.explorevt.net. It's got all the original tunnel info, plus a bunch of interesting background information on some of the Tech buildings, as well as cool pictures of secret goings-on at Tech. The guy who runs it is a current student as of this update, so there should be updates to the site for a few years to come.

As I was researching some sources for a class project, I inadvertantly rediscoverd the Virginia Tech Imagebase. The university is home to many old collections of photos and special historical collections, donated from various sources. Thanks to the Interweb, most of them are online for everyone's viewing pleasure. I got on a kick of looking at old pictures of Tech's campus for a while tonight. That kind of thing just fascinates me. No joke. I love looking at pictures of buildings that still exist today and comparing how they look now to when they were new and in a quieter, simpler time.

Take this aerial view from 1967, for instance. I've circled what I believe to be a then nearly-new Wesley Foundation building (though it may not have been Wesley back then yet), where I currently reside. How many campus buildings do you recognize?

If this kind of thing blows your mind like it does mine, go on and do a few searches. I'll be posting more as I find ones that pique my interest.

I'm taking time out to post again after a great Easter weekend! I hope you had an excellent one.

The only bad part about relaxing with my family, watching a lot of basketball, and sleeping a lot back home is that it had to end pretty quickly, and now I'm back to being tired again. That doesn't mean, though, that I'm going to let up on the job. No, I have many things to be excited about, as well as many challenges in the week and months ahead. April is going to be one big log flume ride, but I think I'm going to be ready for it. One thing I'm going to promise to be better about is to make my posts as interesting as possible. And I'm going to listen to more music, and write more songs! And learn how to play the violin. And swim the English Channel! Or how about even just going to England?

Ah well, buckle your seatbelts for the bumpy ride you're sure to hear about on these pages from here on out. I need to come up with a snappy name for this period in my life leading up to graduation, so that when I talk about it later, I can reference it - like The Hundred Years War. That's not what I want to call it, but I'll use it as a placeholder for now, until I come up with something better.

Peace out, everyone. I survived the first day of The Hundred Years War!

I'm back in the Fort for the Easter weekend. I hope you all have a wonderful time wherever you find yourselves today. I just have a couple of things to share with you today:

... Yesterday morning, on our way to Database class, Tom and I ran across a team of VT employees watering the plants near the Donaldson Brown Hotel. This in itself wouldn't be worthy of note, except that it was already raining. And they were in a truck equipped with a snowplow. We felt sure that they were the new guys on Tech's clean-up crew, and their boss had given them this greenhorn job as a practical joke. I later saw them by the Drillfield, still diligently watering the flowers, so at least they're dedicated professionals.

... I watched Stand By Me last night, a DVD I'd bought on sale months ago and had never gotten around to looking at. I remember watching this movie on TV with my brother when I was in elementary school, probably around the age that the four kids are in the movie. The one scene that still stuck in my mind after all these years was the swamp with the leeches - though I never swam in places where leeches could be a problem, just the vivid image of those four guys flailing around trying to get the bloodsuckers off pretty much scared me.

What really impressed me, though, is how accurately Rob Reiner depicted those little conversations and interactions that define twelve-year-old friendships. In short, what a great movie. And of course, it was cool seeing child actor Wil Wheaton (who I knew on TNG, of course, and now admire because of his blog) and a younger Kiefer Sutherland being mean. Good stuff. It's a good throwback to childhood, for at least two or three generations.

I've backlisted this entry to Thursday the 24th, because that's when I meant to post it. In the midst of all the packing and hanging out and shenanigans that usually accompany the Thursday before a lot of people go home, though, I forgot. To continue the Sneak Peek theme of the week, here is my President's Corner article for the upcoming issue of Wesley's newsletter, The Flame. It offers up some final reflections on Tour and the innertube water polo mythos:

Wow, what a Tour! This is always an exciting time of year for Wesley. It always seems that after Tour, everyone gains a lot of energy for our ministry, and we always ride that energy through to the end of the year. This year is no different, and it seems like the Tour energy is still a huge part of our group. It痴 made recent Wesley events, like a free alternative Christian rock concert we hosted, a thrilling success. I, for one, am very excited about ending year on such a very high note. As for the Tour itself, I hope you enjoy reading the journal entries contained in these pages as much as we enjoyed living out the week that they describe.

As you can read on TSPN, the Wesley Maroon co-rec innertube water polo team (the team I'm on) won the championship last night! This was my first intramural championship in my five years here; it will also likely be my last, but I'm thrilled. I've never been what you would call an "athletic" guy. I never really played many sports of any kind on any level all throughout high school; it's really only been in college that I've even attempted to play competitively. Oftentimes, my contributions to our Wesley teams aren't what you might call "substantial." So, to be a part of something like this, even in a sport called innertube water polo, is something for me to really celebrate. This one's for you, dorky sixth grade Bret!

All of the guys on the team made a pact to shave their heads after we won the semifinal game. I didn't quite want to go that far, but I did agree to shave something. For comparison, I looked like this directly after winning the game, in a version of the photo that will be shown on the VT Rec Sports page later this year (I'd also like to point out that The Prettiest Towel from Tour 2004 has resurfaced and is making public appearances again. It's also notable that Tour 2004 was the last time I didn't have my goatee - that's foreshadowing for you, kids):

Now, I look like this:

Notice the subtle differences? Gina was a bit worried about it all, but at least I didn't shave my head. The beard will be back in about a week, whereas my hair might not have been so lucky. As for my part, I don't think it's a big deal, although I do keep thinking I'm back in my junior year of high school when I look in the mirror.

And though the Women weren't quite able to pull out the victory after our game on Monday night, they still played hard and can hang their heads high. Thanks again for a great season, Wesley Maroon! It's been a great semester for Wesley sports.

Posted below is my entry from the 2005 Tour Journal, which will be posted alongside the other entries in Wesley's next Flame newsletter. Think of it as a sneak preview, released in conjunction (junction?) with my Tour 2005 Pictures! (Yes, finally a new photo gallery.) Enjoy, as this wraps up my Tour entries for now.

(And on a quick note before the meat of the story, congratulations to the Wesley Orange water polo team on claiming 3rd place in CoRec A! The CoRec B and Women's championships are tomorrow, so I'll be playing in and watching those. Come watch us or wish us luck! Also, happy birthday to Matt, and belated birthday wishes to Brittlea.)

There's a lot going on in the world, but there's also a few simple things going on that you can feel free to be excited about (I know I sure am):

• The Wesley Innertube Water Polo juggernaut has rolled on throughout the regular season and the playoffs, and now our women's team and the co-rec team I play on are both going to the intramural championships this coming Monday night. This is going to be the first intramural championship I've ever played in, so no matter the outcome of Monday's game, I can at least say that much. It really means a lot to a guy like me, who's never been all that athletic. All the guys on the team were talking about shaving their heads if we win, which may be presumptuous, but it's funny anyway. As for me, my pate will stay covered, but I think my goatee will have to go if we pull out the championship. It'll grow back in a week, anyway.

  Funny hats and innertubes that level the playing field? Brilliant!

• Second thing to be excited about right now: this trailer. I don't know if I can make it to May 19th!
• Third thing to be excited about right now: this album. It seems like most of my favorite bands and artists are coming out with new material this spring and summer, and that should equal lots of good musical times for me!

So lift that chin up, folks! Get out there and find stuff to be excited about! Spring is almost officially here!

I just wanted to give a quick link-off to PaaKow's LJ. He's the master of collecting quotes from Tour, so if you're interested in the kinds of things goofy college students say whilst on Spring Tour, check out his listing.

Plus, if you were there, add some quotes if you remember any more.

If you ask PaaKow nicely, he may also let you have access to read the writings on his site. He's quite the eloquent poet.

On And On, Jack Johnson's second album, was not a bad one. On the whole, though, the songs were shorter and more compact than on his debut, Brushfire Fairytales, and that to me was not necessarily a good thing. I loved Brushfire, so to me, an album that maintains the same feel and sound as that one and yet still progresses musically is going to be a fine achievement. In Between Dreams is such an achievement.

The songs are longer; the lyrics have the usual depth and rhythm that you'd expect from Johnson. The melodies are instantly catchy and infectious, and it seems there's no shortage of single material here. This will be a great album to pop in as the weather gets warmer; it just seems like the perfect CD to listen to while cruising with the windows down. I dig it, in other words. Give it a look-see at the link on his site.

Thanks to everyone who went on the trip for making it a great time! I still have to write my final Tour Journal entry for the last day, so I'll post that when it's finished. Think of it as a sneak preview of the Tour Journal newsletter that will be coming out at Wesley and online in the coming weeks. The short version, though, is that I love making music, doing service for the Lord, making new friendships, and strengthening old ones. How else can you do all that in 10 days than on a Wesley Singers Spring Tour? Though I got sick again after the first weekend and had to sit out the work project, I still feel like I packed as much fun as was possible into six or seven days, and that was largely due to the great group of people we had on the trip. Thanks again, guys! The best part is, we still get to do a few more performances and a Coffeehouse before the end of the year!

I'd write more, but I still need to unpack and get some homework done. Plus I've been reading too much Rob and Elliot.

Cheers!

Well, the big ol' bus is about 15 minutes away from pulling out. Everybody, including me, has been going crazy from all the last minute errands to run that have piled up. But, we made it, we're alive, and it's Tour time! I'll talk to you when we get back on the 13th.

First off, I've gotten a lot of annoying Trackback spam lately, so until I figure out a good way to block it, I'm not going to allow pings on any future entries. Does anybody have any good ideas?

Thanks to everyone for their get well wishes! Today was a nice day off. I slept virtually all day and drank many ounces of Gatorade, and by this evening, I was feeling much better. I think my fever might have passed, but I don't want to speak too soon. We'll see how I feel in the morning.

The only other news to report for today is that the Amazing Love Tour is right around the corner, and the t-shirts for said tour came in today. I was a little worried that something would go catastrophically wrong with these shirts, only because I designed them (with help from Gina, Sarah, and Katie) and I figured it'd be my luck that I'd mess up some facet of the design or order. Well, my fears were unfounded - the shirts came in, and they look great. Take a peek below (the red is for short-sleeved, the blue is for long-sleeved, but they both have the same design).

Le front:

Le back:

Tomorrow, my last Spring Tour begins!

Well, I put up a valiant fight, but I believe I've come down with the flu today. At the very least, I've been sporting a nice big fever of 102 all day, which effectively put me out of commission. I know there's probably never a good time for someone to get sick, but this is probably the crappiest of times. Tour is right around the corner, and I have two tests at the end of the week.

Well, I shall overcome. I'm going to try to reschedule or get out of the tests (something that's proving a lot more difficult than it should be, given that I have the freaking flu and that would be enough for me to say "naaah, don't come take the test and infect the whole class" if I were a professor). As for Tour, I'm going to do everything in my power to not have to miss any of it, especially since it's my last one. This may involve driving separately or some combination of different options, but I'm going to try it.

Until then, it's back to bed for me.