It has gotten to the point where I would rather not see or hang around with some of the people on my hall. And these are nice people, but their priorities are so out of sync with mine. The same people who were Simpsons-obsessed and reference-happy and trivia-full and funny are now reduced to a group who spends all of their time in one of three pursuits — throwing things in the hallways, playing computer games, and playing poker. The poker is a constant daily thing, for hours each evening, and they are deadly serious about it. No noise, no superfluous conversation, no outside help or influence or commentary. Break the rule and you get a harsh reprimand. Not much fun to be around. Luckily, the year is almost over, and my so-called mates will be replaced next year by a new set of nice people, with different interests, and we can try again. Meanwhile, I still maintain that Kelson is a completely awesome person. And I’m amazed at the sheer variety of people with whom he can get along. Scary. Perhaps he really is an alien…