Various decisions that have made themselves very difficult for me to...decide, in no particular order:

I came back from class recently after a long day, and realized that I had to poop. But I was also hungry. My urge to do each was so evenly distributed that for a moment I was sure that I would dump in my pants or faint from hunger if I didn't address one of the issues immediately. I froze, and the idea that time would run out, leaving me fainted on the floor AND soiled made me panic even more strongly.

Eventually it came to me that I could probably wait a few minutes to eat. But I remembered too late, as I sat and prepared myself to expel my waste, that pooping when hungry is never advisable because it makes you feel EVEN HUNGRIER.

Or maybe that's just me.

My second impossible decision was conceivably a bit more important. At the beginning of the week, I caught word that a recruiter was interested in me for the purpose of founding a new chapter of the Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity at my place of schooling. I ignored the voicemail, mostly because I had a similar phone experience recently that was definitely a crank call. But the man texted me, explained things a bit better, and asked when I wanted to meet to talk about it. By the time we met Thursday afternoon, I was intensely curious but still very wary of the idea.

For those of you who know me, you probably know that I don't really fit into the Greek scene very well. For those of you who don't, you also may have come to this conclusion. Who knows.

What interested me about what this guy said was that the main thing I was leery of, namely the stereotypical "frat" with the grotty parties and other undesirable qualities, was also something that he as a recruiter (and the national level as well) was trying to avoid. He was picking people who fit the older definition of "fraternity", especially those who'd avoided Greek life like me.

I also liked the part about being a "Founding Father." The group of us are the first, so we make the rules. We write the budget and charter, and make up our traditions. How often do you get the chance to say you started a fraternity at your school?

The issue was, I had to accept or deny my bid by Friday night...and preferably Friday morning. That gave me less than twelve hours to decide if I was going to go through with this or not. On the one hand, I'd never even planned to CONSIDER joining a fraternity. It seems extraneous to my preferred college experience, there's just no reason for it. On top of that, there is money to be paid, ridiculous formalities (which are never to my taste, anyway), and this peevish idea that you have to live for the brotherhood and it should be your number one priority.

On the other hand, there are the usual "give back to your community" and "develop a close network of friends" things to look forward to. I could honestly use a bit of responsibility...I've been lately thinking that I don't have enough going on with just schoolwork and the Physics club. I sort of like the idea of being a founder, and also the idea of being in a frat that isn't a "frat". And, of course, if something happens and I decide that things aren't turning out how I'd like them, I just walk away...provided I make that choice before my actual initiation in several weeks.

So I accepted. I'm officially a pledge for Alpha Sigma Phi. Not quite sure how I feel about it, yet. I think it's an issue with what I consider to be my identity; I've always been sort of a geek and now I'm a frat guy. Still feels weird to say out loud. Type out loud. Type explicitly. Yeah.

It could just be a geek frat. I mean, they do exist.
» randomjunk on 2011-09-25 12:43:31

Nah, I mean, you could MAKE it a geek frat. I should've said "it could just become a geek frat," probably better wording.
» randomjunk on 2011-09-25 04:16:32

type out loud. heh heh. Good luck. How did this guy get to know about you? Was he stalking you on the interwebz?
» Zanzibar on 2011-09-26 11:10:21

Stevo! This is jolly good news! I think this will be good for you.
» The-Muffin-Man on 2011-09-26 03:52:29

I think it will be good for you because everytime I read a post, I get the feel that you are looking for a little something more out of your college experience...so whether or not this is for you, you're trying something different, which I think is great.
» The-Muffin-Man on 2011-09-29 04:15:12

It sort of is.
» randomjunk on 2011-10-08 06:45:26

I would tell you if I could figure out how to send you a note. It freaked Muffy out though.
» randomjunk on 2011-10-08 08:59:13

Hahaha, are you sure you want to know, then? :P
» randomjunk on 2011-10-08 11:50:00

I'll tell you, but I don't think your profile has a link/button to send a note? You could send me one and I'll just reply to it.
» randomjunk on 2011-10-09 12:36:13

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