December 12, 2003 - Long Silly Trip

As I looked back over these pages, some of them penned almost 15 years ago, I found it to be both entertaining and enlightening. It was interesting to look back at my younger self, and I wrote a musing about some of my discoveries.

Cause and effect became more clear, too. For instance, it suddenly made sense to me why a guy I'd chased for an entire semester stopped responding to me after we were alone in his dorm room and I didn't take a hint to kiss him.

And then there were the darker memories. It became clear to me why I ended up with Leechboy. You see, first one of my idols, Graham Chapman of Monty Python, died in the Fall on 1989, and then shortly thereafter, a cousin of mine died, both of cancer. I took it very hard but tried to pretend everything was OK, going about my daily life and not seeking any sort of emotional support from family, friends or others.

As evidenced by my journals, things were askew. I went from writing multiple page entries to maybe a paragraph of short sentences. While I was in the depths of this depression, at my most vulnerable, I met Leechboy. I think that otherwise, I would have given him no quarter.

Realizing this was liberating. Being able to assign a cause, being able to understand why something happened, helps me to avoid similar mistakes in the future.

As I was reading through these journals with an eye for the MPS history, I discovered there was a lot I wanted to share. It was a portrait of friendship, in many ways, and often entertaining and silly. I figured there had to be somebody else out there, besides myself, who would find it amusing.

So I went from the concept of a fleshed out timeline and a brief write-up about my involvement to essentially an epic narrative of the MPS as seen through my eyes. And me being a pop junkie and Broadcast/Cable graduate, I found a way to tie it all together at the end with a little mass communications theory and some philosophy (which I can do, because my name has an "s" in it).

I tried out a slightly different design style than the rest of my site. I wanted it to be colorful yet readable, and I wanted to use a lot of graphics but didn't want to rely on copyrighted images. This meant that I had to get more creative when it came to backgrounds. For some of the pages, I used some drawings I'd done either for the MPS newsletter or other events. In a couple cases, I colored them in using PhotoShop. In only one instance did I use a Monty Python image, and that was just as an illustration for something I was discussing.

The Gryphon mentioned to me that people love to find "Easter eggs" and that if they suspect there will be some, they will make an effort to find them. So for those who are curious, let me say there are some "Easter eggs" in the MPS pages: six, to be exact.

Working on this project makes me want to update my Unofficial, Incomplete, But Otherwise Completely Wonderful Monty Python Fan Clubs List. So I think I'll get the word out to the Internet community and see what kind of progress I can make, especially since it's still circulating out there, with an outdated e-mail address, no less.

Most of all, I'm happy to see this project finally come to fruition, and that I get to remove the Post-It note that's been on my computer monitor all this time.

The Monty Python Society has been a huge part of my life. If I hadn't joined it, I wouldn't have met many of the friends I have today. And it was because of some of these friends that I moved to the Philadelphia area.

As the Grateful Dead might say, what a long, strange trip it's been. And, I'd add, every step of it silly.

Musings an Online Journal of Sorts By Alyce Wilson
December 12, 2003 - Long, Silly Trip
	Nearly a year ago, Fred Coppersmith, president emeritus of the Penn State Monty Python Society, made a request. He e-mailed me an outline of the Penn State Monty Python Society history and asked if maybe I could fill in a few details for him about when significant events had happened. I told him sure. In an effort to figure out what to include, I went back and read my undergraduate journals. In those days, I kept a very detailed daily journal, ranging from the mundane to the more interesting. In addition to the time line, I figured I would write a personal reflection about the Monty Python Society and my experiences in it.
As I looked back over these pages, some of them penned almost 15 years ago, I found it to be both entertaining and enlightening. It was interesting to look back at my younger self, and I wrote a musing about some of my discoveries. Cause and effect became more clear, too. For instance, it suddenly made sense to me why a guy I'd chased for an entire semester stopped responding to me after we were alone in his dorm room and I didn't take a hint to kiss him. And then there were the darker memories. It became clear to me why I ended up with Leechboy. You see, first one of my idols, Graham Chapman of Monty Python, died in the Fall on 1989, and then shortly thereafter, a cousin of mine died, both of cancer. I took it very hard but tried to pretend everything was OK, going about my daily life and not seeking any sort of emotional support from family, friends or others. As evidenced by my journals, things were askew. I went from writing multiple page entries to maybe a paragraph of short sentences. While I was in the depths of this depression, at my most vulnerable, I met Leechboy. I think that otherwise, I would have given him no quarter. Realizing this was liberating. Being able to assign a cause, being able to understand why something happened, helps me to avoid similar mistakes in the future. As I was reading through these journals with an eye for the MPS history, I discovered there was a lot I wanted to share. It was a portrait of friendship, in many ways, and often entertaining and silly. I figured there had to be somebody else out there, besides myself, who would find it amusing. So I went from the concept of a fleshed out timeline and a brief write-up about my involvement to essentially an epic narrative of the MPS as seen through my eyes. And me being a pop junkie and Broadcast/Cable graduate, I found a way to tie it all together at the end with a little mass communications theory and some philosophy (which I can do, because my name has an "s" in it). I tried out a slightly different design style than the rest of my site. I wanted it to be colorful yet readable, and I wanted to use a lot of graphics but didn't want to rely on copyrighted images. This meant that I had to get more creative when it came to backgrounds. For some of the pages, I used some drawings I'd done either for the MPS newsletter or other events. In a couple cases, I colored them in using PhotoShop. In only one instance did I use a Monty Python image, and that was just as an illustration for something I was discussing. The Gryphon mentioned to me that people love to find "Easter eggs" and that if they suspect there will be some, they will make an effort to find them. So for those who are curious, let me say there are some "Easter eggs" in the MPS pages: six, to be exact. Working on this project makes me want to update my Unofficial, Incomplete, But Otherwise Completely Wonderful Monty Python Fan Clubs List. So I think I'll get the word out to the Internet community and see what kind of progress I can make, especially since it's still circulating out there, with an outdated e-mail address, no less. Most of all, I'm happy to see this project finally come to fruition, and that I get to remove the Post-It note that's been on my computer monitor all this time. The Monty Python Society has been a huge part of my life. If I hadn't joined it, I wouldn't have met many of the friends I have today. And it was because of some of these friends that I moved to the Philadelphia area. As the Grateful Dead might say, what a long, strange trip it's been. And, I'd add, every step of it silly.
Moral: Be careful what you ask me for; you just might get it. Copyright 2003 by Alyce Wilson Musings Index
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