Blog by Sumana Harihareswara, Changeset founder

14 Dec 2001, 10:52 a.m.

So last night, for the first time ever, I attended…

Hi, reader. I wrote this in 2001 and it's now more than five years old. So it may be very out of date; the world, and I, have changed a lot since I wrote it! I'm keeping this up for historical archive purposes, but the me of today may 100% disagree with what I said then. I rarely edit posts after publishing them, but if I do, I usually leave a note in italics to mark the edit and the reason. If this post is particularly offensive or breaches someone's privacy, please contact me.

So last night, for the first time ever, I attended a SANE event. SANE held an end-of-the-semester party at Mel's, a "'50s diner," and I went and had a grand old time. As predicted, I knew at least one person there (if only because I had met him in the OCF three hours before), and I discovered one-degree connections between myself and three of my new acquaintances. (I know Kenny Byerly who knows Keith because they both take film classes; I know Melissa Coats who knows Alex Wallerstein because they went to the same high school and even went to the prom together; I know Jeff Good and Julianna who know Pierre via Quiz Bowl). Very satisfying.

Alex proclaimed that he had seen a free preview screening of "Brotherhood of Wolves" and thought it pretentious and silly. Native Americans who know kung fu? Slow-mo shots of water splashing? His comment card asked which of three scenes he had liked or disliked, and he scribbled, "It was all goddamn ridiculous." I found this hilarious.

I felt as though I'd met Pierre before, but I guess I've just met other sardonic erudite mid-to-late-twenties types before. We conversed even after the party. He was impressed that I knew about Linear A and transsubstantiation and the blasphemy of chewing the communion wafer (I hear you're supposed to just let it melt on your tongue). I was impressed, among other things, that he pegged me as a youngest child, what with my tendencies towards rebellion, lack of discipline, and use of comedy to get approval from others. As he put it, "score one for psychology." Remind me not to dis birth-order patterns.