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Dismiss the endless frustration.
The ground covered is vast. And although I feel like I begin each little update of my life in the same fashion, it goes without saying that I've neglected journaling, in all forms, for far too long. Damn it, I'm supposed to be reading Norman Mailer. But, sitting in this huge room on the fifth floor of the art building, I am jumping around my i-Tunes library and CCR and Lauryn Hill and Daft Punk and Dave Matthews Band and Madonna have created an environment in which Carrie finds it difficult to paint projected images of intestines, and I find it difficult to digest rhetoric on the white negro hipster of the 1950s. More than anything, it would be nice to just get up and fucking dance with Carrie to this ridiculous play list that I am compiling. But, responsibility somewhat prevails. That is, Carrie is painting, that much is good. However, I'm writing this. Sorry, Norman. You'll have to wait until tomorrow.
Since I never really explained, my spring break was this sort of tragic experience. I slept myself into headachy lethargy for nearly a week, and normally, that's all you'd need to know to understand the gist of it, but I know you crave more than that. I cried to my parents and required hugs and hugs and hugs and another viewing of Into the Wild for their emotional enlightenment. Other things: I ran out of money. "Tyler Durden" almost scammed with his facetious wholesale camera deals on eBay. (This is a long story, perhaps for another unproductive evening.) To my amazement, I discovered the loss of eight pounds in weight and the gain of one inch in height (my chiropractor, not satisfied with my response as to how tall I thought I was, insisted that my dad re-measure me immediately). I cleaned my parents' house for them, as I so often do when coming back to Bucyrus. I sorted through old family photographs and established a "MUST SCAN SOON" pile. My hands were, night after night, sticky and sweaty on my keyboard until early hours of the morning, and what did I have to show for it? Each day began around four in the afternoon. Once, I finally prepared myself and rose early enough to visit Mr. Funigiello and Ms. Fischer at the high school. I talked to Funi for over two hours, and, as expected, felt so validated by the end of the conversation. I can, and have, told the man everything, and he has never made me feel so ridiculous in my frustrations. I feel so fortunate to have him as my friend.
Luckily, Shannon rescued me in the final days of the break, whisking me off to Bluffton to experience quaint and humble spaces. Her friends are lovely. We ate out, shopped, and stayed up late, deep in conversation like the good ol' days of Songer Avenue. Of course, as I write this, Shannon has been graduated for exactly a week now. Last weekend, I returned home for the event. It was the first time I've visited home for a weekend since I've been in college. Many reasons: 1. In the past, I have only gone home during breaks. 2. The drive is long. 3. Up until this year, I didn't have a car. 4. I'm busy. I woke up at 8 A.M. both Saturday and Sunday, and I spent the entirety of both days in Bluffton partaking in the graduation festivities with my family (which included several free meals). Extremely exhausted with two papers yet to write, I woke up at 5 A.M. on Monday morning, showered, ate toast with my cat Tyler, and drove back to Athens. It was a beautifully invigorating drive. I watched the sun come up and sang along with Thom Yorke, and, if you haven't driven through southern Ohio Appalachia in the early morning hours to see the foggy mist meander above the mountains, I highly recommend doing so.
To make a long story a bit shorter, Shannon's graduation weekend was a great time. I had many bonding moments with my parents, and at one point during the drive back to Bucyrus from Bluffton, I decided that I might be fun to play my i-Pod on the stereo for my parents to hear. I DJed for them, but I chose songs that put me in a reflective mood, both good and bad feelings traveling through me. The inevitable tears flowed, but my dad reached back from the steering wheel and put a comforting hand on my knee, and he knew exactly how I was feeling and why. He and my mom knew how to make me feel better in that moment. And it felt so good to connect with them like that, especially with the music playing in the background. It felt like childhood all over again. Everything is made better with a hug and a tickle under the arms. And if you have a bad dream, you don't have to wake up sweaty and upset in a concrete slab of a bed. That, I've determined, is the loneliest feeling in the world. You just want someone to hold you and tell you it's all okay.
I've jumped around too much so far.
Spring quarter has been confusing and nourishing. My classes are fulfilling, minus management, which is a huge waste of my time. However, I must fulfill my eight required hours of business-related study if I plan to comply with the "commercial" aspect of my major. So it goes. Fortunately for the majority of us Ohio dwellers, the weather has been beautiful, and that has made everything all the more rewarding.
One Friday last month, Carrie, Jill, and I ventured to Pittsburgh to see John Vanderslice perform at the Andy Warhol Museum. As far as the actual performance, us ladies sang on stage with JV during the show as we're all well acquainted and on a first-name basis. He gave us hugs and fellowship, and he was delighted to see us. We also visited and stayed with Jill's friend Billy, who attends Pitt. The school is quite captivating, and I was envious of everything from the expansive cafeteria to the classrooms located in a beautifully rustic cathedral. But anyway. Saturday, we drove back to Athens and saw JV perform at the Union. He asked us to sing on stage yet again. What a beautiful man. He smells like burritos, though.
<Insert photos>
Also, Carrie's birthday last month consisted of many, many balloons
<insert photos>
Now, since I have become weary during the course of my blogging, I am just going to list some recentness for you:
- I know how to use a medium format film camera. (See below.)
<insert photos>
- Speaking of cameras, I own a new Canon 5D. Sadly, to sustain myself, I sold my Canon 20D with two lenses. Many memories were captured on that camera, and I already miss it.
- I applied, interviewed, and was hired for a job on-campus this summer. That means I will be living for free, eating for free, and maintaining a very laid-back occupation in Athens, along with Rachel, Susannah, Jill, Carrie, Jacob, and Nick, who are all working the same job as I. I am rooming with Susannah in the swanky new residence hall on South Green. At the end of the summer, I will move into my apartment with Jill and Rachel. I am also applying for the photo editor position at Speakeasy Magazine. Interviews are this upcoming week.
- Once again, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza are the scheduled festivals for this summer. I am very excited. Carrie and I began purchasing necessities for the Bonnaroo trip today. Emphasis on creeper backpacks, peanut butter and jelly, Gatorade, baby wipes, tissues, sun block, and Off Deep Woods (Carrie insists on the latter).
- For Susannah's birthday, Jill, Carrie, and I bought her pet snails and pet ghost shrimp. The ghost shrimp are especially amazing, and yesterday, I felt the profound presence of God while studying their ever-so small and intricate bodies floating in the fish bowl. Some things in this world are truly overwhelming when you stop and pay attention.
- Carrie dyed my hair red last night. It's fiery and quite catching.
And, to end happily:
- A list of things I currently love: grilled cheese, Coca Cola, History 314G: Cultural Rebels, "Was It You?" by Spoon, "Super Sexy Woman" by Sufjan Stevens, Thursdays, my family, astrology, lunch time, maintaining my Green Patch on Facebook, dancing to Rage Against the Machine, cranked, with the windows down whilst driving with Carrie to get hair cuts, heartfelt conversations that bring clarity, dressing up, naps, brushing my teeth, ridiculous photo sessions at birthday parties, slap-happy late school nights in the room with Jill, and Carrie Anne Rumancik
Dismiss the endless frustration.
The ground covered is vast. And although I feel like I begin each little update of my life in the same fashion, it goes without saying that I've neglected journaling, in all forms, for far too long. Damn it, I'm supposed to be reading Norman Mailer. But, sitting in this huge room on the fifth floor of the art building, I am jumping around my i-Tunes library and CCR and Lauryn Hill and Daft Punk and Dave Matthews Band and Madonna have created an environment in which Carrie finds it difficult to paint projected images of intestines, and I find it difficult to digest rhetoric on the white negro hipster of the 1950s. More than anything, it would be nice to just get up and fucking dance with Carrie to this ridiculous play list that I am compiling. But, responsibility somewhat prevails. That is, Carrie is painting, that much is good. However, I'm writing this. Sorry, Norman. You'll have to wait until tomorrow.
Since I never really explained, my spring break was this sort of tragic experience. I slept myself into headachy lethargy for nearly a week, and normally, that's all you'd need to know to understand the gist of it, but I know you crave more than that. I cried to my parents and required hugs and hugs and hugs and another viewing of Into the Wild for their emotional enlightenment. Other things: I ran out of money. "Tyler Durden" almost scammed with his facetious wholesale camera deals on eBay. (This is a long story, perhaps for another unproductive evening.) To my amazement, I discovered the loss of eight pounds in weight and the gain of one inch in height (my chiropractor, not satisfied with my response as to how tall I thought I was, insisted that my dad re-measure me immediately). I cleaned my parents' house for them, as I so often do when coming back to Bucyrus. I sorted through old family photographs and established a "MUST SCAN SOON" pile. My hands were, night after night, sticky and sweaty on my keyboard until early hours of the morning, and what did I have to show for it? Each day began around four in the afternoon. Once, I finally prepared myself and rose early enough to visit Mr. Funigiello and Ms. Fischer at the high school. I talked to Funi for over two hours, and, as expected, felt so validated by the end of the conversation. I can, and have, told the man everything, and he has never made me feel so ridiculous in my frustrations. I feel so fortunate to have him as my friend.
Luckily, Shannon rescued me in the final days of the break, whisking me off to Bluffton to experience quaint and humble spaces. Her friends are lovely. We ate out, shopped, and stayed up late, deep in conversation like the good ol' days of Songer Avenue. Of course, as I write this, Shannon has been graduated for exactly a week now. Last weekend, I returned home for the event. It was the first time I've visited home for a weekend since I've been in college. Many reasons: 1. In the past, I have only gone home during breaks. 2. The drive is long. 3. Up until this year, I didn't have a car. 4. I'm busy. I woke up at 8 A.M. both Saturday and Sunday, and I spent the entirety of both days in Bluffton partaking in the graduation festivities with my family (which included several free meals). Extremely exhausted with two papers yet to write, I woke up at 5 A.M. on Monday morning, showered, ate toast with my cat Tyler, and drove back to Athens. It was a beautifully invigorating drive. I watched the sun come up and sang along with Thom Yorke, and, if you haven't driven through southern Ohio Appalachia in the early morning hours to see the foggy mist meander above the mountains, I highly recommend doing so.
To make a long story a bit shorter, Shannon's graduation weekend was a great time. I had many bonding moments with my parents, and at one point during the drive back to Bucyrus from Bluffton, I decided that I might be fun to play my i-Pod on the stereo for my parents to hear. I DJed for them, but I chose songs that put me in a reflective mood, both good and bad feelings traveling through me. The inevitable tears flowed, but my dad reached back from the steering wheel and put a comforting hand on my knee, and he knew exactly how I was feeling and why. He and my mom knew how to make me feel better in that moment. And it felt so good to connect with them like that, especially with the music playing in the background. It felt like childhood all over again. Everything is made better with a hug and a tickle under the arms. And if you have a bad dream, you don't have to wake up sweaty and upset in a concrete slab of a bed. That, I've determined, is the loneliest feeling in the world. You just want someone to hold you and tell you it's all okay.
I've jumped around too much so far.
Spring quarter has been confusing and nourishing. My classes are fulfilling, minus management, which is a huge waste of my time. However, I must fulfill my eight required hours of business-related study if I plan to comply with the "commercial" aspect of my major. So it goes. Fortunately for the majority of us Ohio dwellers, the weather has been beautiful, and that has made everything all the more rewarding.
One Friday last month, Carrie, Jill, and I ventured to Pittsburgh to see John Vanderslice perform at the Andy Warhol Museum. As far as the actual performance, us ladies sang on stage with JV during the show as we're all well acquainted and on a first-name basis. He gave us hugs and fellowship, and he was delighted to see us. We also visited and stayed with Jill's friend Billy, who attends Pitt. The school is quite captivating, and I was envious of everything from the expansive cafeteria to the classrooms located in a beautifully rustic cathedral. But anyway. Saturday, we drove back to Athens and saw JV perform at the Union. He asked us to sing on stage yet again. What a beautiful man. He smells like burritos, though.
<Insert photos>
Also, Carrie's birthday last month consisted of many, many balloons
<insert photos>
Now, since I have become weary during the course of my blogging, I am just going to list some recentness for you:
- I know how to use a medium format film camera. (See below.)
<insert photos>
- Speaking of cameras, I own a new Canon 5D. Sadly, to sustain myself, I sold my Canon 20D with two lenses. Many memories were captured on that camera, and I already miss it.
- I applied, interviewed, and was hired for a job on-campus this summer. That means I will be living for free, eating for free, and maintaining a very laid-back occupation in Athens, along with Rachel, Susannah, Jill, Carrie, Jacob, and Nick, who are all working the same job as I. I am rooming with Susannah in the swanky new residence hall on South Green. At the end of the summer, I will move into my apartment with Jill and Rachel. I am also applying for the photo editor position at Speakeasy Magazine. Interviews are this upcoming week.
- Once again, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza are the scheduled festivals for this summer. I am very excited. Carrie and I began purchasing necessities for the Bonnaroo trip today. Emphasis on creeper backpacks, peanut butter and jelly, Gatorade, baby wipes, tissues, sun block, and Off Deep Woods (Carrie insists on the latter).
- For Susannah's birthday, Jill, Carrie, and I bought her pet snails and pet ghost shrimp. The ghost shrimp are especially amazing, and yesterday, I felt the profound presence of God while studying their ever-so small and intricate bodies floating in the fish bowl. Some things in this world are truly overwhelming when you stop and pay attention.
- Carrie dyed my hair red last night. It's fiery and quite catching.
And, to end happily:
- A list of things I currently love: grilled cheese, Coca Cola, History 314G: Cultural Rebels, "Was It You?" by Spoon, "Super Sexy Woman" by Sufjan Stevens, Thursdays, my family, astrology, lunch time, maintaining my Green Patch on Facebook, dancing to Rage Against the Machine, cranked, with the windows down whilst driving with Carrie to get hair cuts, heartfelt conversations that bring clarity, dressing up, naps, brushing my teeth, ridiculous photo sessions at birthday parties, slap-happy late school nights in the room with Jill, and Carrie Anne Rumancik
VIEW 4 of 4 COMMENTS
i had a pharmacy practice management course last semester which was a total waste of everyone's time and is just so stupid that i dont want to talk about it.
and grilled cheese is amazing too. i forgot how good it was until i ordered it at a diner a few months back.
knowing how to use a film camera really is pretty neat stuff - film itself really is slowly becoming a lost art and it's really something to know how everything used to be done before the days of digital.
If remote, computer-based hugs counted (sending you one now), you'd be set.