An Epidemic

Alright. I wanted to blog last night, but I was exhausted. So as the snow falls outside and yet another possible snow day looms, I sit and type.

My fourth and final Winter Formal was last weekend. Alaina wore a crazy Black Swan-like dress, and I wore my new suit. Out of all four years, this one was my favorite. I had a lot of fun mainly due to my small, tight group of awesome friends for whom I'm super thankful for.

However, another school dance once again brought to my attention a major epidemic that is sweeping the nation (I think). Grinding.

For those of you who live in a cave or are home schooled, grinding is the latest dance craze - if you want to call it dancing.

I was going to use an Urban Dictionary definition, but they were all kind of vulgar. Basically, grinding involves a guy rubbing his junk all over a girl's rear end. Grinding really doesn't involve any dance skill. You just have to be able to move your hips. Let's not kid ourselves - grinding is pretty much sex on the dance floor.

I've included some beautiful, hand-drawn sketches to illustrate the various grinding positions.

Now while engaging in said grinding, one has a few options.

A girl can...

• Close her eyes.
• Work her body up and down.
• Rub her hands through the boy's hair.
• Play with the boy's tie.
• Gasp.
• Moan.
• Etc.

A boy can...

• Turn into a robot drained of all emotion.
• Stare into space and think about things such as flowers and baseball in order to avoid becoming too "excited."

I don't know if it's like this at every school, but no one dances at McCort dances. Everyone grinds. And I mean EVERYONE - jocks, cheerleaders, drama geeks, nerds, goths, religious zealots, the people that don't know where the heck they belong, and the people who you would never expect to see grinding.


You look around, and everyone's going at it with concentration only matched by a roomful of tired teenagers taking the SATs. And they grind to every song. My favorite grind is the "awkward grind." This occurs when a non-rap song begins to play, and everyone tries to adjust their rubbing. They always find a way - even on country songs and pop ballads.

Then these people will try to talk to you. Do they realize they're getting it on while trying to talk to me about the weather outside?


The scariest part is that no one is safe. You don't need permission to grind. Girls will come up to you and just stop rubbing on your crotch without warning. It's like you need to walk around with a sign on your neck. "Please don't grind me."


And all of this leads to the question of the night. I do everything in my power to keep this blog to a PG rating, so please know that I chose the wording of the next sentence with great care.

I don't care if you have the self-control of Ghandi, no guy can handle all that rubbing for an extended period of time without getting a visit from his "special friend".

I asked some anonymous girls at lunch, and they reported that guys have gotten visits from their "special friends" while grinding with them. They further stated, "It was kind of awkward and uncomfortable, but at the same time it was like, wow, I'm really turning him on."

So then what? Are there hundreds of "special friends" out on the dance floor? When did this become socially acceptable? I'm not a prude, but as a beloved french teacher stated, "Why would you want to do that in public?" What memories are you going to take away from that night?


If you must bump and grind, why not later in a dark basement or in the back of a car where no one can see you? And why not with someone special? I personally prefer not to rub my junk all over some stranger.


I'm not telling people what they can and cannot do. But take a step back and look at it. It's sort of awkward, funny, and weird. Dances are becoming chances for teens to let out all of their stored up sexual angst. It should be called Winter Orgy.

Whatever. I'm a nerd and a hopeless romantic. I'm more of the "old fashioned, black and white, kiss me in the rain" type than the "we met in da club and went back to my place" type.

Moving Forward

Formal weekend is over, but it was freaking awesome. After catching up with sleep last night, I am now good to go.

Tomorrow marks the last episode of the Voegthly Show, which I'm excited for. However, even more snow and freezing rain are in the forecast. I'm almost sick of snow days.


I have projects and junk to work on tonight, but when I get a chance to blog in the near future, posts will include:

• Formal!
• Alaina and Black Swan
• An exclusive look at grinding
• And of course, Forever Voeghtly: The Final Episode.

By the way, my French teacher and various other people told me that I need to shave today. Ka-Ching! I am a man.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

So it's Christmas Eve. Feels weird, doesn't it?

Last night, Ryan, Adam, and I helped decorate our cathedral. Setting up the trees and the nativity scenewas difficult but fun. Then we joined Alaina and her brother to hit up Dunkin Donuts and Coney Island.

Oh yeah. I also saw Black Swan yesterday. It was crazy but very good. It was a sort of film that I have not seen before - very dark and artsy. The whole movie had a dancing movement to it, and you can't help but get completely lost in it. Definitely check it out.



So far today, my family and I have been busy preparing - cleaning the house and baking cookies. The holidays always end up being stressful, and we started the day with an argument. After everyone had their say and cooled down, we sat in the living room with our heads in our hands. Now things are better, and I'm looking forward to break.

For some reason, I really missed my grandparents today. My church had a mass dedicated to them this morning at 7:00 am but none of us made it. I hope they're somewhere warm.

Well, wishing you all the best! Less than 24 hours until Christmas!

Movie Love

This past weekend was a little crazy, and it felt never-ending. But Monday brought a new week and so far, I am as happy as can be.

It feels like Christmas. I'm working to get stuff done before break. Man do I need one! I think we all do.

Besides Christmas, this is one of my favorite times of the year for another reason: movies! And most of the best ones! The only downside is that Johnstown hardly ever gets any of the limited releases. But that won't stop me. As of now, I'm driving an hour away with some friends on Thursday to see Black Swan. I'll drive all Oscar season if I have to. There's a buttload of films I want to see.


I'm almost done with my final college application - LMU. I've been working on the film essay. I have to write about the elements of the most powerful stories and storytellers. The essay has actually been giving me a hard time.

When I was searching for inspiration the other day, I stumbled across a dude who makes a movie montage at the end of each year. They were really cool. Of course, I'm a sucker for those montages at the ends of movies that give you little heart goosebumps (see Annie Hall, Slumdog Millionaire, 500 Days of Summer, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix).

Anyways, the Cinema 2010 montage was uploaded today. Make some popcorn and enjoy!

Also, only four days until Christmas! I can't believe it!