You know how, in college, each class had its own up-and-down cycle where the workload was really high as a test or large assignment approached, then got easier for a while until the next big exam or assignment? It was like several parallel waveforms with different frequencies, and at the points where they all line up, you get constructive interference. The resonance can destroy bridges or shatter a wine glass — in college, it just shatters your social life.

Anyway, Thursday was a day of constructive interference of a different sort — after days filled with boredom and uneventfulness, Thursday seemed to try to pack in as much enjoyment as possible.

Cat mentioned to me last week that Maria would soon be flying down to Tennessee from Connecticut to visit her grandmother, and she suggested that I contact her to see if we could meet up. I sent Maria an email, and she said that yes, she was flying into Nashville on Thursday morning, and we arranged that I'd drive down there and we could hang out for a few hours before she drove the hour and a half to her grandmother's house. She asked me to pick somewhere to meet up, and after some online searching, I suggested Cheekwood, an art museum housed in an old mansion, surrounded by acres of botanical gardens, and she agreed it sounded like a cool place to check out.

As I got in bed on Wednesday night, Leslie called out of the blue to say that she had gotten her and me on the guest list for the VAST concert in Knoxville on Thursday evening. I explained that I was heading to Nashville in the morning, but I should be back in time to make it to the show.

So that morning I got up early and set off on the 3-hour drive to Nashville. I met up with Maria, we explored the botanical gardens scattered with creepy sculptures, sat and enjoyed the silence of the Japanese rock garden, and then tracked down a real Japanese restaurant, which I'd been craving for a while. It was fun, and I really like Maria, so I had a great time getting to spend a few hours with her exploring and conversing.

Finally she had to set off for her grandmother's, so we parted ways and I drove back to Knoxville. I got back home just in time to clean up and get ready for the VAST show, but in the 20 minutes I was there, the doorbell rang. When I opened the door, there were three 8-year-old girls on my porch, who said, "Hey! We wrote a note to Somebody," and handed me an envelope adressed, "To Somebody." I opened it and found the letter at left. It was oddly coincidental timing, given the fact that it was such a great day. I thanked them and gave them high-fives and went to finish getting ready.

The VAST show was fun as well — you feel so cool walking up and saying, "I'm on the list," and them looking you up and waving you through. I got there just as VAST was about to go on, and since the show wasn't packed, Leslie and I were able to get right front and center. The other nice thing about the fact that there weren't tons of people there is that there was more of a social atmosphere amongst the audience — we got to know the people around us.

During one song, Jon Crosby (the band's frontman) brought out a camcorder, saying, "You guys are always putting videos of us on YouTube, so we're gonna do the same." They shot video throughout the next song, alternately filming the band and the audience. Often, though, he'd stop moving the camera around and concentrate on singing, and since Leslie and I were right up front, the camera usually ended up pointed straight at us for a minute or so while he sang the next verse. I hope they edit that video down, because otherwise there's going to be a whole lot of footage of me nodding my head and trying my hardest not to look awkward.

After the show, the band came out and hung out with those of us who were still around. They invited us all to go out to a bar with them, but I'd been up since 8am so I headed home. I'd had more than my share of fun for the day already, no need to be greedy.