They're Back!!!!!

well, maybe not the exact same individuals, but i just couldn't let the tank go on without these fish. for those of you who are not familiar with what i am talking about, see previous entries about 'the curse of the party' etc etc. either way, i am quite happy now. i realize it's been quite a while since i have updated (there was a general lapse in the david-family blog entries) but i will post more sometime soon (especially since i still need to cover sarah's epic 21st birthday celebration). good night! <:><

Tank IV & Twenty-Four...

damon, james, and i have decided we are watching the show '24' this season...this was pretty easy since it was hyped up quite a bit throughout the NFL playoff games and came on right afterwards yesterday. we watched the second half of the 4-hour season premiere event tonight, and it looks to be a very promising season for the show (i have unsuccessfully watched full seasons in the past, but with a little effort and extra motivation from the team, we should be able to pull it off this season).

anyway, enough of that. this past saturday was 'Party at The Tank IV'. as you may have guessed from the name, it was the fourth official party at The Tank and i must say that our parties have not suffered any ill-effects of 'sequel syndrome' yet. in my opinion, and that of many others in attendance, the tank parties have proven to be progressively better than the predecessor. this one was going to be risky since it's winter semester and a heck of a lot colder...some of our traditional tank events were in doubt (at least in the planning stages) and organization was pretty crazy at times...but we pulled it off and i think everyone had a great time! so before getting into anything else, thanks to everyone who came, and i hope you all enjoyed yourselves at what was by far the biggest party at The Tank thus far!

because of some events on friday (which is an entirely different, but also entertaining story), there was little cleaning and preparation done until the actual day of the party...but why i wouldnt i set myself up to be stressed out up until the last minute??? needless to say, damon and i got the supplies together, coupled with a new idea for the punch, tentative plans for cold-weather flip-cup, and our best guesses as to how many people to expect. thank goodness our friend beth showed up early, as she helped with everything from figuring out how to work my iron (damon needed it, not me) to logistics with the snacks and keeping everything running smoothly from that end. thanks beth!

the proposed starting time was between 8-9pm, but of course most people came after 9...but it was generally in steady force and the kitchen, living room, and eventually basement quickly reached capacity and beyond! james (who was absent on a ski trip) room became the storage area for a mountain of coats (thanks for your help with that sarah) and the overflow went into storage for later sales on e-bay. if you are missing anything, i'll gladly sell it back to you. there was also some confusion as to the shoe policy, but that eventually worked itself out with similar results to the coat-overflow solution.

people in attendance ranged from all groups of our friends, fish labmates, the fish nerds, the SPH crew, friends from high school, neighbors, MSU & EMU students, SNRE folks, and family...the diversity of numerous group pictures was pretty indicative of those present. although we don't have exact numbers at this point, it was definitely well over 60 people over the course of Tank IV...at several points we couldnt even hear the music over the conundrum of the numerous conversations.


there were some new and old aspects of tank IV as well...we kept up with the fish tours for the newbs present (special thanks to kate for helping out with those, as i would have been doing that for much of the night without her help!), and yes, we eventually moved out onto the deck (in below freezing weather) to play flip-cup...which has been a tradition since Tank II. as could be expected, Team BOWFIN returned in full force and went on to dominate the competition over the course of the evening! nice job to the team members, you know who you are :)


and let's not forget the latest addition, the beverage of choice for a party at The Tank...fish tank water! you read it correctly, and if you were there, you probably tried it...even if you hesitated upon first look. special thanks to erin for the recipe for the 'invisible punch' used for the recent party at her place. i thought this would be perfect for our party since the beverage is perfectly clear (and therefore won't stain) and also tastes really good. we modified the recipe to taste for ourselves, and came up with the idea that this beverage should definitely be served from...yeah, a FISH TANK. we set up a new 5 gallon fish tank complete with an airstone and pump to keep things bubbling. people thought it was a normal fish tank (although it appeared empty) until others started filling their cups from it. the comment: "wait, the fish tank water IS the punch?" was heard many many times over the course of the evening, and was just as entertaining every time.

since this is already getting quite long (i've gone back to intersperse pictures from the party throughout the thread) i'm going to wrap things up with bullets so you can check out more pics from the party.

- i should also (and very importantly) add that ALL the david siblings (yes, even rachel made the trip up) were in attendance, and our cousin from seattle, sunny, was also there for the festivities.


-there was much speculation as to whether or not damon and i coordinated our shirts...i assure you we did NOT! we decided early on that we would dress up a bit for this one, but the fact that the shirts looked similar was pure coincidence! next time we're just going to go ahead and get t-shirts that say 'event staff'.

-swedish fish were also a big hit...although not mixed with jello shots like last time, they quickly went extinct. i remember fishing one or two out of the 'fish tank water'...

-the mounted alligator gar head ended up wearing sunglasses by the end of the evening. today james pointed out (the gar is still wearing the glasses) that gars wouldnt really need sunglasses, and he's never seen one wearing them.

-if you are missing a scarf and a pair of gloves, please reference the e-bay comments earlier in the entry.

-although they were very few in number, the 'casualty' stories by the end of the party (reviewed the next day) were quite entertaining.

-hal's coat looked like the gore-tex coat george costanza wore...

-i believe i told kara i'd give her nalgene back (a sort of re-gifting) when she graduates, and that i had not in fact melted it down into a plastic cube.

-ly & vidya were more interested in the fishes/tanks than anyone else i have seen come through The Tank thus far.

-sarah does NOT know how to order a latenite (4am in this case) pizza, but she does know how to fight for the last piece...i believe my half was bigger though! on a related note, hilary did not present the marinara sauce until all the breadsticks had been consumed...i was not necessarily pleased.

-double D and gwen are doing better with their arrivals to the tank parties, they went from 3am (Tank II) to 12am for Tank IV, good improvement people.

-there were more indians present at this party than any other tank party; surprisingly it didn't make me nervous either (as indians can sometimes do, haha). i believe the count was around 10...too bad we didn't get an all indian pic, but we did exploit several combos, including the asian-south-asian theme.

-shaw was rummaging through our freezer for some reason. i don't know why this is, but i'm now missing a couple hot pockets and some smelt.

-julia has some explaining to do the next time we hang out...

-we discovered (when they made a surprise -and welcomed- appearance) that our neighbors had not been building a time machine in their garage (as james/damon/and i thought) but in fact constructed an artificial intelligence-operated drink maker: A.I. Bar. fascinating.

although i don't believe i actually got to sleep until 7:30am or so, it was a great time and i was glad so many people were able to come out for Tank IV!

...we'll see how the next in the series holds up...

<:><

idiots...

what's worse than being stuck behind slow people going up the many flights of stairs within the parking structure? being stuck behind slow people WHO SMOKE!!! basically this guarantees that you're going to be going much slower than average, i mean, how many smokers do you know that can easily make it up 14 flights of stairs without slowing down or needing to catch their breath? regardless of that, it really baffles me that there are still people (especially our age, or students of any kind) that smoke. for all the people who get cancer because of other causes on this planet, these people are just taking their own gambles by poisoning themselves. if you ask me, THEY should be the ones who get cancer and clear the way for smarter individuals. seriously, there is no excuse, and yes, i feel strongly about that.

why do the nuts at blockbuster CONSTANTLY try to get me to join their 'blockbuster rewards program'??? everytime i go there i have to be hassled by the same people...i KNOW they recognize me and know i havent accepted it the previous 50 times, but yet they still give me the same speech. the 'rewards' program allows you to get one 'favorites' movie with any other movie rental you make (new or old). now, the 'favorites' movies are all old movies. why the heck would i want to watch old movies? me and my roommates already OWN all the old movies we want to see, so this does me no good. you can't use this little bonus rental thing every day either, its limited to MTW...yeah, BIG movie-watching nights. if it were the other days of the week it MIGHT be worth it, but its not. i was part of this for a couple years when i lived back at my old apartment. back in the day there was absolutely nothing to do, so this 'rewards' club was somewhat useful.

as we all know, i go to a lot of movies in theaters...that is an understatement. those movies that i dont get around to seeing in theaters, i rent. i dont rent old movies, and there are hardly any exceptions. these people need to stop hassling me before i take my business elsewhere...to someplace like campus video...right. that place sucks big time. guess i'll just have to start making up more clever excuses; so far the following have not dissuaded these people:

"im not sure if i'll be renting many movies this month" - this doesn't work because lately i've been in there just about every weekend...this will all change pretty much after this weekend at which point everyone at the tank will have to buckle down and get a lot more work done.

"i'll run it by my roommates and see what we decide" - i'm the one who is usually in charge of renting, so they don't get much say anyway. that and damon and james usually depend on me to make those decisions or we end up renting something like 'random hearts' or 'march of the p*nguins'.

"i only rent new releases" - they try to combat that one with the fact that for every 5 rentals you get a free one for anything. well i won't be renting much in the near future, and for some reason this doesn't appeal to me at all. i don't want to give them any more money.

some new ones im going to try:

"im going to be downloading all my movies from the internet from now on"

"i dont like the name 'blockbuster rewards' and until it changes im not going to join"

"i'm giving up watching movies for lent" - this is obviously a seasonal one, and wont happen anyway.

"throw in about 20 boxes of M&M's and you got a deal"

"i only rent movies in beta max"

ok well its time to get some sleep...still a lot of work to do in preparation for Tank IV coming up this weekend, and of course some real, actual work. good night <:><

random pic:
i know i've posted one similar to this in the past, but here is another shot. this was my first gar caught on hook & line (this past September in Miami, FL). i was pretty happy about catching this fish!

The Curse: Reloaded...

as in the past, before any major social gathering (usually a party) at The Tank, something bad has always happened with the fishes. unfortunately this time around was no exception. after prepping all the larger tanks on monday night for the Aquarium Society of Ann Arbor tank tour (which was today -tuesday-) this morning i came downstairs to find my second (and last) Cuban gar dead. yup, my favorite and rarest species of gar dead (no prior symptoms, perfectly normal the previous day). needless to say i was not pleased...and that is an understatement.

i was somewhat cheered up by the fact that our place was the highlight of the tank tour as it blew anyone else's place away (and given the level of insanity/obsession of the inhabitants, why shouldnt it?), but i was still kinda down for most of the day. i don't understand how the curse keeps happening...they went for all of Christmas break with no problems, but just before a major social event...BAM! dead fish. and it's never the common or cheap ones that seem to go. guess its a risk of the hobby, but that doesn't make it any easier to accept; it's not a dog, but it's still a pet. hopefully tomorrow gets off to a better start <:><

Atractosteus tristoechus
R.I.P. guys

the epic adventure begins soon...

once again its been a while since i have updated, but due to time constraints this will again be pretty short. now for the bullets:

- see Munich - well done, and very interesting depiction of the events which occurred at the Munich Olympics.

- see Hostel - saying this movie was over the top is a definite understatement. if you are squeamish or scare easily, don't see it. if you are looking for a bloody thriller definitely see it. we saw it on thursday and the tank crew definitely enjoyed it...but i never said it was for sane people either.

- good times can still be had at Charley's. yesterday evening snowballed from damon and i looking for something to do, to a cycling get together of a plethora of friends, former roommates, etc etc. definitely good times.

-and finally, here is an excerpt from my cousin sunny's AIM profile. he will be visiting this saturday and staying for about a week here in Ann Arbor/Ypsi, sarah and i are very much looking forward to the visit and it should prove to be a great time. i found the story quite entertaining, and it merely forshadows the events to come...
===
1.8.06: On the eve of the sixth day henceforth, I shall once again return to the mythical land of Ypsi, bearing a flask of whiskey and several loaves of Lemba's bread. Young Sarah has outlasted the average lifespan of those in her fearsome village, and a celebration is at hand to commemorate her arrival at twenty-one years of life and her future as a hard-working apprentice in the grueling communications major. The wise Golden Child will be present, spreading joy with his elaborate collection of aquatic creatures and uncanny knowledge of popular culture, while keeping a wary eye for the Orc. Though mysteriously dormant for some time, once the Orc suspects that a significant gathering is taking place she shall resurface and venture forth from the slimy depths of little Mordor and pillage the celebration with her array of "beatdowns" and sarcastic remarks. Our only hope may lie in the fate of an epic flip cup battle waged at the legendary fortress/aquarium known as The Tank.

Addendum:
Sarah posted this same excerpt in her live journal (guess we do tend to think alike) only she included a key to some of the characters to help out the reader (perhaps all those communications & culinary skills classes are paying off), so i will include that here:

to break it down for you,
*the golden child = solo, because he's the parent's favorite, and can aparently do no wrong.
*the orc like beast = rachel, because she really lives in the slimy depths of mordor...and only resurfaces once in a blue moon.

===

good night <:><

random photo: one of the newest and yet automatically most treasured items to be added to the tank...the Michigan vs OSU fish figurine. i never thought michigan football could be combined with fish in such a way, but rachel proved it possible with a VERY cool Christmas gift.

vince young steps up, troy falls...

thank goodness it FINALLY happened. congrats to the longhorns on a well-deserved victory and national championship. now pete carroll knows what we felt like last year <:><

odds & evens...enter 2006...

welcome to 2006. i know i already made an entry for this year so far, but that was primarily to explain the whole return of saltwater thing - it was pretty important and had to be done.

moving right along, i'd just like to say thank goodness 2005 is over with! on a worldwide scale the past year was treacherous at best with a massive wave of natural disasters, gas prices going nuts, bombings, and some poor decisions by those in relatively high position in the government (but then again that last one is never isolated to one year). there were plenty of good things to come out of the year, but they seem to have paled in comparison to some of the major tragedies. i don't want to get all philosophical or preachy, so i'll just say once again that i'm glad 2005 is over with.

on a more selfish note it was a crazy year for me with a lot of big changes (moving after 4 years), some disappointments (not teaching in the fall), some great times (establishment of/parties at The Tank), and several surprises (publishing on a favorite topic in a worldwide-circulated magazine). i'm not really complaining, because as janine said in her 2006 opening entry "my loved ones are healthy and happy. That's what matters." and that's the definite truth.

i'm really excited about the new year as historically the even numbered years seem to be much more eventful, exciting, and positive than the odd numbered years. broad generalization? yes, but i'm sure you all have your relatively baseless theories on pattern as well...go write your own blog entry with that. either way, 1996 was a great year and i figure 10 years later and ending in the same number (6, for those of you keeping track) can only be better. yikes, that was the year i graduated from high school! 10-year reunion here we come...and when i say "we" i definitely refer to the pact that myself, matt and jeremy made to actually show up instead of ditching for a movie (like we did the 5-year reunion). go figure.

so anyway, i wish you all a happy new year. new years was ushered in in a memorable way as i got together with some friends and we all went to dinner at The Chop House in ann arbor for new year's eve. i had wanted to go to this place for quite some time, but it never worked out. i must say the food was exquisite and better than i had expected (and i had expected quite a bit). the service (gasp!) was superb, even moreso for an ann arbor establishment (which are known for horrible service throughout the city). i had by far the BEST swordfish steak i have had anywhere else, and i tried it (being the fish-consuming person) at a lot of places. they also brought a new definition to the term 'blackened' as this was also the spiciest blackened food item i have ever had. and yeah, ironically no one in our party actually ordered steak, but all that was ordered was top notch and worth every penny. and it was A LOT of pennies...mainly because we all paid in pennies. yeah, we all had to roll them up the previous night and that took forever -- but i digress.

either way the chop house was phenomenal, and i would recommend it highly. after that we went back to brenda's place for the new year's eve party and were later joined by more people from SNRE and EEB (latter is the biology unit of UM). it was a lot of fun and as we watched the celebration on tv (including all the relatively annoying hilary duff songs and commentary...how the heck did ryan seacrest get that gig???) andrea and i were deemed the pop-culture gurus of celebrities, movies, and music...whether or not that was a good thing i don't know, but i think we shocked a lot of grad students, but then again they were quite interested in knowing the stories behind the pussycat dolls, 311, and why Three Doors Down is NOT one of the greatest bands of all time (as announced by hilary duff). overall a good time was had by all, and if it wasn't 6:10am right now, i would type more.

either way, 2006 should definitely prove to be memorable, and a new year is always fun to speculate about and plan...this year i'll learn to cook more, run more, get more work done and maybe even get a panchero's t-shirt...we'll see how many of those i pull off, but in the mean time TEXAS better put up a good fight tomorrow and MICHIGAN better do a heck of a lot better! after all, the even years are always better <:><

probably one of the biggest highlights of the year came just days before it ended; my uncle, who currently lives in new zealand, visited with his family...my aunt and cousins of which i have not seen in 14 years! yeah, that's an incredibly long time and it was great to spend time with them. also visiting with them was my grandma from my dad's side, who i had not seen in about 5 years, so that was another definite highlight.

ushering in the new year in style at The Chop House! (L-R) me, andrea, casey, brenda, in back - shinsuke.

andrea (eating some banana bread that my mom sent up to A2 -some of which i have been surviving off of for the past couple days-) and casey at brenda's place.

and finally, some favorite pics from the past year (primarily this past semester). as you can see, family and friends make up most of the pics, and that is what has definitely been most important. there are a lot more pics, and those will be posted in an album a bit later. enjoy!