OBLIGATORY RENT QUOTE WHOOOO!
So, as of last year I kind of fell out of the habit of recounting the events of the year by month, mostly because it got annoying trying to find something to mention in the boring months. I do, however, want to mention a few things.
This past summer, for me, was very significant. I went to a fun wedding, I finally got the incentive I needed to break up with Jason, I saw Rent and went to a great concert, took on more responsibility with Rocky Horror and came to some important decisions because of it, I turned 21, I had a hard time at work but got through it, and generally got to know myself a little more. I think I'd lost a lot of myself during the past year, so it was good to discover that. I also got a lot closer to my friends.
This past fall was similarly significant. I took a lot of writing classes and so got to explore my own style a bit, I expanded my social life, I got more involved in Spectrum, and...well. Halloween. I just happened to have a date with my best friend, it progressed logically, Paul is now my boyfriend, and I could not be happier at the moment. In fact, Paul helped me through the tougher parts of my semester even before we were dating, and I love him for it.
In the next few months, I will be in London. I'm not sure what the summer will bring, because I've got some options and I don't really know which of them I'm going to choose. The future is fast approaching and I don't think I can avoid it, and that terrifies me.
Here is what I am afraid of.
I am afraid that if I spend this next summer in Seattle, I won't ever be able to go home again for more than a short period of time, and that I'll completely lose my place in the order of things.
I am afraid of ceasing to be a big fish in a small pond. I'm talking specifically about Rocky Horror here, because that's the community I care most about. I love the group we have now, and when I've gone to Rocky Horror with anyone else it just hasn't felt right. Plus, and this may sound self-centered, but I love the niche that I've found in that community, and I don't want to have to start all over again somewhere else.
I am afraid of being too far away for too long, and somehow losing the things and the people that I care about.
I am afraid of leaving my childhood home forever.
I am afraid that I will get robbed in London, or that the plane will crash, or that I will forget some tiny but significant thing and won't be able to go on the trip.
I am afraid of the changes I've seen in people's interactions, both with me and between other people.
I am afraid, so afraid, of change, and I don't like that about myself.
I am afraid nothing will turn out like I want it to.
I am afraid of a lot of things, but I am doing my best to get past them and face bravely whatever the world has to offer. It isn't easy.
This year's resolution is to do what I feel is best for me, and not to let other people affect my decisions. It's going to be harder than it sounds.
Sheeeeeesh, this post is depressing. I'll end this by saying that I went shopping today and bought some great stuff, and that I just finished watching two fun movies and stuffing my face with delicious junk food as per the annual Chicago New Year's tradition. So all is not lost.
Happy new year, everyone!
See you in 2010!
Hmm, so I guess I haven't been around Vox in a little bit. I'm home for the holidays and have therefore been occupied with work, Christmas shopping, baking cookies, and other such enjoyable pursuits.
Some noteworthy things that have happened in the past week or so:
1) I arrived at home, went to watch Janna's dance team perform, and almost immediately afterward hauled my ass to Jackson to be a lovable stalker.
2) Went to the late showing of Home Alone and discovered exactly how much of it I know word for word. (answer: a lot.) We then went to Denny's and it was snowing a little.
3) Saw Boondock Saints II with Paul. Screw what the reviewers say; it was awesome. I loved how many shoutouts there were to the first movie.
4) I returned to work. My manager is not nearly as annoying as she was over the summer, and has apparently whipped the place into shape since I was last there. I also got to see my favorite coworker, George (or Sasha on the weekends).
5) I found fun Christmas presents for all of my friends and family members.
6) I had breakfast with Lauren and Paige at Panera.
7) I had an epic party last night. The last of the guests didn't leave until almost 4. Mulan, the Random Book, cookies and cake and fizzy grape juice, Telephone Pictionary, really long Burger King runs, exchanging of gifts, illustrating the Sex Deck, "That's what she said!", and late-night rantings about people we hated in high school. Good times.
As you may have gathered from the numerous poems I've been posting over the past few months, I had a really fun poetry class this semester. Now, don't get me wrong; I like writing poetry as it is, but what really made the class fun was my professor. He is crazy in the best way and I think I have at least one Random Book quote for every day of class. This class was the only one I consistently looked forward to every day, and for that I think he deserves a lot of appreciation.
So what I'm going to do is this - first I'm going to post several more poems from the packet I turned in last week, then I'm going to finish up the post with a number of quotes from the man himself. Pete Davis, I salute you.
If My Favorite Movies Are to Be Believed
Flat tires will lead to unplanned sexual encounters
and a broken wheelchair.
All murder mysteries have three possible solutions.
Police officers can be stopped in their tracks
by chanting “Love,” six times in succession.
Robots frequently have human emotions.
Stalking is okay as long as the stalker is an opera buff,
because then
he just becomes that weird guy
who lives in your basement.
Never wish your siblings away to David Bowie.
(Or, alternatively, always do this.)
Barry Manilow does not, in fact, know you raid his wardrobe.
Drag queens find strange ways to make money
and any handy café table
will easily support the weight
of ten dancing people.
Fifteen minutes is sufficient time to traverse the city of Berlin on foot,
but only if you run fast enough.
(It’s okay, though;
you get two do-overs.)
You will keep forgetting about that goddamn tiger.
Booby traps can still be fully functional
after hundreds of years,
so for god’s sake, don’t pull that string you found in the dust.
No one will notice if you are serving people other people.
There is no limit to the number of times the word
FUCK
can be used in a sentence.
(Also, keep your guns away from that cat.)
That word doesn’t mean what you think it means.
Even important political figures dance to the radio
when they think no one is looking.
Under certain circumstances, you CAN cross the streams.
Magic Trick
I carry a short length of chain in my pocket
in case I need to make a quick escape.
The trick is simple;
you just can’t let the audience
see the slack.
Sweet Tooth
I’m up to my waist in French silk
chocolate
goo
real whipped cream
and curliques
with enough slices left
to feed a small army
(but not my family).
Plus four pumpkin pies, apple, blackberry
and two kinds of cheesecake.
(Try the peanut butter cookies
with canned whipped cream.)
Never enough.
I will neither confirm nor deny
that this is my fault.
And now...the quotes.
"You're driving a car and you're like, 'Oh my God, what is Bob Dylan telling me to do???'"
"I'm thinking about the junior high and the high school kids and the having the sex."
*looks at me intently* "What, are you making SENSE over there?"
"Wouldn't it be awesome if we just woke up one day and they were like, 'There's no more internet. Some kid ate it.'"
"People usually lose their virginity. That's the whole point of having the damn thing, so you can get rid of it someday."
"It's banana...No! It's a popsicle!"
"You stutterer! Go run around the field until you can talk better!"
"When you're sleeping, you're really just participating in BRINGING PEOPLE DOWN."
"The snakes are like 'Wooooo! I'm gonna come eat you!'"
"I don't remember what day it was, but it was a day, trust me."
"The old think-melon's working great today, guys."
"I read about a guy who made a bear suit, and I was thinking, that's probably like...a house. 'Cause, you know, that would work. Bears could never attack you."
"Hmmm, we don't have any condoms. That's okay, we'll use abortion."
"Simple is way better. I prefer walking to hurdling."
"I like this idea of us all being murderers."
"Hey, let's get some food, adulterated."
"God is dealing out abortions as he sees fit."
"I can imagine if I licked this table, it would have a taste. A table-y taste."
"I love...headlice."
"Do we really need a book of poetry devoted to Hitler's mustache? The answer is...yes..."
"Juicy slice. Juicy sliiiiiiice."
"All I can think of was how Max was humping the bed, and my wife was like, 'Max is humping the bed!' and I was like 'Get used to it, honey.'"
My Nook was delivered yesterday! I'm so excited about it - its
everything I was expecting and I'm excited to buy books for it. On
Tuesday night we drove to a Barnes & Nobles about thirty miles away in
order to get a cover for it (our B&N didn't have cases, just a
display) and I'm really happy with the one I choose. It was between
the brown one and a red one. The red one was nice, but I was looking
for low-key.
I was also happy to go online and see that B&N has adjusted their
eBook prices to MATCH Amazon! I bought "Her Fearful Symmetry" -
originally $26.99 in hardcover, now $7.29 in hardcover - for $5.79!
Brilliant, isn't it?! I've got so many books I want to buy - let's
just hope that I can hold back!
I should has it by Thursday night!!!!
[sent from mobile]
Here is kind of how my day went:
1) I was awakened before my alarm went off by a phone call from the guy who was coming to pick up the mini-fridge that I rented from his company, telling me he was stuck in traffic in Indianapolis and would be about half an hour late. Good, I figured, more sleep. So I slept in a little bit and got up in what I thought was going to be plenty of time. I went down to the front desk, checked out an elevator key and a cart (read: laundry bin) and spent an uncomfortable fifteen minutes trying to wrangle the fridge into the bin, the bin into the elevator and then down the hall, across the street and around the next building to the place I was supposed to bring the fridge.
There were then stairs, which luckily the guy helped me navigate. I returned the fridge and then had to haul the empty laundry bin up a different set of stairs to return it. Again, luckily, I was helped with this. I returned the things to the front desk with just enough time left to make it to class, which would be good except for the fact that I was going to fill out an independent study form before class and I didn't have time to do that.
2) I watched three presentations in media class that, while entertaining, were also kind of painful to watch. One of them clearly had involved no research into what is involved with being transgender, and the other two had some glaring anachronisms. (The skits were supposed to take place in the 90's, and one of them involved texting, sleek laptops and iPods; the other one was a Twilight parody. Just...don't.)
3) Biology class took way longer than anyone wanted it to; in the meantime, I was developing a headache. After class I went back to my room and slept for about half an hour in the hopes of sleeping it off; no dice. Because of this, I couldn't fully enjoy the party we had in poetry class, although I will admit it was fun nonetheless.
4) It started raining and hailing, which not only washed away what little snow we've gotten and made the ground ridiculously soggy, but also managed to be simultaneously gross and painful as I walked from class to class.
5) I had a group meeting directly after poetry class, for which I was basically no help due to the extent of my headache. Luckily for me, my group members are awesome and let me leave early so I could nap for a couple of hours before work, which is where I am now. Luckily, the second nap did manage to clear up about 85% of the headache, which made it manageable.
On the bright side, I did compose a little poem that makes me feel slightly less depressed about the weather.
Warm December
I've stopped asking where the snow is,
because now I know;
the snow is off somewhere fucking the rain.
It must be good, too, because
lately they've been coming together,
and when that happens
we all have to deal with the mess.
We have to write ten poems for next Thursday's class. Here are two of them. The first one should not be taken as a commentary on my mental state; it's meant to be dark humor.
Creative Suicide
Take a tip from a frozen pole
and make out with an iceberg.
Lips, tongue and teeth.
(You know you like it.
That jarring stabbing pain
just masks the pleasure.)
Stuck fast.
Success.
Now call on Thor
(he owes you a favor)
or maybe just that friendly orca you saw
on the way over.
(you know, the one with the seal carcass
trailing blood?)
In any case, something heavy and blunt.
Use some force to
CRACK
and you're going down.
When the waves disappear over your head
you'd better pray
that the light fades
and your heart freezes
and your lungs implode
and you die
before the gulpers find you.
Snacking
Apple slices, peel still attached, doused in spiced yogurt.
Blue cheese crumbles and Wheat thin crackers.
Watery soup (steak and potato).
Banana, sliced thin by shaky hands.
Half-melted chocolate bar.
None of these things should be eaten together.
When will it snow?
The holidays are in full effect, so tell us: What's your favorite holiday song? Bonus points if you share it with us!
This song has been a part of my life since I was old enough to understand the lyrics. Both this movie and the John Denver and the Muppets Christmas album (which also includes the song) have been staples in my family Christmas celebration for as long as I can remember; we watch the movie every year on Christmas Eve (along with Raymond Briggs' The Snowman ) and listen to the album while we decorate the tree. (For a long time we had it on vinyl; now we use a CD.) So this song is not only beautiful; it's also deeply emotionally linked to every stage of my growing up.
