The End of An Era.

The next few weeks of my life will be the last that I spend at my apartment in State College. I have had a great run here. The first year was with my elementary friend Matt Serniak, my longtime friend and band mate Mike Ghigiarelli and his person that comes from the same family [Mike doesn't like the term brother being thoughtlessly thrown around when it comes to this issue] who for lack of worse words we'll call Brian.

Brian tended to stay out of our way for the majority of things. He took part in a few of the earlier parties but was essentially just some guy who lived in the third bedroom of the apartment. The first year was by far the most exciting-- mostly contributed to the fact it was my first year not living in Carbondale, PA. I did, however, still maintain a closeness with my oldest roommate ever-- my brother, Rich Beneski. He lived just a stone's throw away from me during the first year in an apartment with his soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend. There were great times and there were better times. Classes were missed but shit got done when it needed to be done and we all had an amazing school year together.

While this new location also put some distance between me and Danielle, it was also a new and exciting tradition of road trips for her to come and visit me in my new habitat of cheap take-out and walks around campus.

The second year had the making of a college withdrawal with the addition of the rest of my band; Ed Cuozzo, Dan Buchinski, and Eric Foster. But little did we know that this formula would soon result in a dud. Ed struggled to find a job while Dan and Eric held on to a solid gig as Sandwich Whores at the Subway across town. My brother, now broken up with his girlfriend and living even closer to my apartment, was able to spend a lot more time hanging out over at my place with all of us. Needless to say, the band went on but just not as seamlessly as our plans would have suggested. The apartment also saw the addition of a kegorator and a second semester, late arrival of Casey Telesk-- one of my greatest friends through my first girlfriend and all of high school; also a former band mate.

These last two years have flown by and have given me brand new experiences of living on my own and having the time of my life with friends. Moreover, returning to Happy Valley with my family and friends during some of my uncles' insane tailgates will be even more fun as they will provide me with a chance to relive these moments with nostalgia.

Speaking of tailgates, my semester here will essentially have grand finale come this April 19th for Blue & White weekend. We are looking into the logistics of renting a dunktank for the front yard and accommodating my best friends from back home-- John Mroczka, Dylan Denike, Mike Mroczka, Bob Dunning and some others.

God-speed and drink plenty of fluids,
Bradley Martin John Ezekiel Beneski