C:\VIRGINIA>

I've been home since late Friday night but still haven't gotten around to getting an Internet connection on my computer. Rather than install the bulky free adware service my parents use, I'll probably just stay net-less, and upload sparse updates from one of the family computers.

I left Tallahassee early Thursday and arrived in Blacksburg that afternoon. Construction on the 460 bypass is finally complete, and the road drives an S around Christiansburg and Blacksburg, with the real 460 slicing through the center to form a figure 8. Tech hasn't changed much beyond the new buildings that always pop up on the outskirts. The Music Department is in bad shape from all the budget cuts, and they've been forced to retire several professors and leave their positions unfilled. Pretty soon a Music degree at Tech will be completely self-study. The Marching Virginians were also gearing up to head for San Francisco, but only 100 of the full 330. Dave McKee was hard at work rewriting all the drills (including the ubiquitous state of Virginia) for 1/3 of a band, and supposedly drum majors will be forced to march when they aren't conducting.

Beyond school folks, I also had the chance to catch up with some old friends (although there aren't many around anymore) and visit other folks around campus. I finished the trip Friday afternoon and got home arond 9 PM after a brief stop in Chantilly. Since then, I've been busy cleaning out my file cabinet and getting situated in my room, which gets a little more filled with random paraphernalia every time I visit.

This evening I'm treating some friends to a showing of Les Miserables at the National Theater in DC, so we'll be braving to cold to take the Metro into the city in a few hours.