Zo Ba Da Bee, Zo Ba De Bop

I did it! I got my certificate of completion in the mail today. It got a little scrunched up, but that doesn't make it any less official. I am proud to say that after an intensive sixteen-week course, I am now able to flawlessly pretend I like jazz. The course work was rigorous (sometimes unfair, if you want to know the truth), but damn if I didn't get some of the highest marks in the class. I don't know how long I've been trying to pretend to like jazz, figuring the passion for pretending to like it would just magically come to me one day. No one ever really told me that the only way to really achieve the appreciation and respect for pretending to like it could only come through sheer effort. This is going to be great---I cannot wait for JazzFest '06 on the common. I've already snagged my tickets. A whole day of sitting out in the sun and pretending to like jazz! Everyone should really come out with me, it's going to be great. I can't impart to you what I've learned, you'll just have to 'feel' it for now, but that doesn't mean we can't have a great time anyway. Newcomers to jazz can have fun just making an effort at trying to pretend to like it. Don't over-analyze; just give faking it a shot and see if it appeals to you, and you can work up from there! All it's really about is letting yourself go and grooving on the sheer vibe of pretending to like jazz.

Best two thousand bucks I ever spent.