Tonight, like many nights anywhere near the start of May, is a formal night for people in school. In particular, I'm off to the Orange & White Ball - basically UT's prom-like thing. I'm dolled up, I have a date, and I haven't left to pick up 'the girls' because 'the girls' have taken much longer than necessary to get themselves ready. Normally, this would be an exciting evening, but it's had a bit of a damper put on it. My amigo Andru - a friend of JA, for a while an officer of TGA, and one of my own students when I taught on video games - killed himself a couple nights ago, and the news went public today. Apparently he got into a fight with his girlfriend (also a friend), left her place, went for a drive (he was a car guy), then went home and offed himself.So now we have a party tonight accompanied by the somber occasion of paying our respects for Andru. But it's undeniably awkward. It would be one thing if he went for a drive and was plowed by a semi. But how are we supposed to celebrate the life of a man who didn't value his own? Thanks to the slowness of 'the girls,' I'll be showing up late to this ceremony. And for that I truly feel bad. It's not like I'll be there wearing a symbolic blue ribbon, but I am dressed in black for the ball. I'm honestly there for my JA family, because I may be of some help or modicum of comfort to them. So apparently tonight's a celebration, like many other nights right around the start of May. But something tells me most people won't be in the mood to party.