Well, the D & D guy took me to D & D yesterday. I'm very conflicted about the whole experience.

First of all, they picked me up at 3:30, and I didn't get back until after 12. So... though there were a few breaks and they didn't start immediately and everything, that's 8 and 1/2 hours of D & D. I don't know if I like doing 8 1/2 hours straight of anything.* Plus, I'm having a hugely busy semester. Do I really need to chop out 8 hours a week out of my already hectic schedule? I'm already going to have to spend my whole birthday programming and half my weekend splicing audio tape because of this first session. Also, it was almost 8 1/2 hours on a hard chair. My butt was throbbing, man. Not to mention that I was ravenous, even though they offered me food I would not eat it, because I did not want to be kicked into colitis mode in some stranger's house.

And here's a strange twist--I actually went to high school with almost all of them, though they were a class behind me. The two guys who came to pick me up and I were really surprised to find we went to high school, because we didn't remember each other at all. It was kind of creepy to both be making this claim, but not recognizing each other. But then, weirdly enough, I did recognize (and they recognized me) two of the other guys, from this awful drama class we had together. I totally wanted to bolt the second I saw them. As weird as it is to beg strangers on the internet to be your friends, at least you sort of have a fresh start with them. People that I acted like an ass in front of in high school honestly frighten me. I'm like thinking, "Do they remember me trying to act out Yertle the Turtle? God that was an embarrassing class."

But what was cool is that they were really nice to me. They really made an effort to try and make me fit in a little, and would ask me how I liked it from time to time. I think this was also an effort to get me to talk more, because I was uncharacteristically silent. Basically, partly because I didn't want to embarrass myself, but also because it was hard to come up with things to say. They talked a lot about video games, of which I know nothing. And made all these references to movies that I had about a 50/50 chance of getting. Same with music. And then, even if I did know and like the song, I felt stupid being like, "oh! I love that song!" multiple times. It's like, "Good for you!" And also, though they were pretty funny, and I laughed a lot when I got the jokes, a certain amount of their humor involved verbally abusing each other. Which, I couldn't really join in on, because I don't know these people, and they don't know me.

Anyway, at one point I was all thinking, "I'm never coming back." Because I had a headache, buttache, and I had only been watching so far, which gets pretty old after a few hours. But they kept asking me what I thought, and if I wanted to come back and stuff. And seeing as how I had several hours left to go, I didn't want to make it all awkward for the rest of the time left by being all, "No. I don't like it." Because I couldn't really leave without one of the other people having to leave to drive me back. So I think I'm going to come back at least one more time. And if I still don't think I like it enough to spend 8 hours a week on it, I'm going to somehow find a way to gracefully beg off. If at all possible.

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* Okay, I used to be able to read that long if I picked up a suspenseful book. I could've possibly done that with a computer game (if my mom had let me) back in the day. But NOTHING else except for sleep can I honestly say I love to do for 81/2 hours in a row.