Video of the beast…
Lola’s Video Debut (QuickTime – 9 MB)
God, it was incredible to get the hell out of here for just a few days. Now that I have paid time off, I’m taking way more three day weekends. I’m seriously breathless with the joy that was getting away for just a little bit.
I really had a great time with Angela over the last few days. On Wednesday, after getting pathetically lost just a few miles from her apartment, we went to Nifty Fifties for an ultra-unhealthy meal. Then we picked up Adam and James and drove to “The Hook” to laugh at the ghetto-ness and breathe in toxic fumes from the factories. *mmm* Angela and I drank Sparks with the boys when we got back and laughed until 4 AM. Thursday was spent sleeping in, having breakfast at a rad little diner by the train station and then my interview (see below.) Friday was for Tom Jones (imagine the diner in Pulp Fiction), meeting Matt at Acme and general fucking around. I cleaned Angela’s apartment for three hours and then we trashed it by having a little get together after. Finally, on Saturday we decided to drive around aimlessly for about two hours since maneuvering on Baltimore Pike a week before Xmas is a grand idea. Grand. I made James an omlette for dinner and Angela tried to convince me to not leave…or at least not to take Lola with me.
Now I’m back for five days before I head home for ten. I’m locked out of the Studio and working in Rider II instead. Not a lot to do, really. My main question now that I’ve returned is whether it is really all that hard to run a vaccuum or use a broom. On the surface, the answer would appear to be no, but apparently this top-level view is incorrect. All I really wanted was to find that my life wouldn’t be inconvenienced because my roommate moved out. Thanks. 🙁
This has actually been an enjoyable break at home for me. I’m not going to repeat what Dusty has posted about right below here, but I will reiterate that last night was a lot of fun. Today, I spent my time helping Jayme & Mike clean out Barbara’s spare bedroom. We dragged everything out into the hallway, organized by crap/not crap and packed up a truckload of junk to take to Clarion to be thrown away/donated. A highlight-worthy conversation:
Jayme: Mom, can we please get rid of this macrame lamp?
Barbara: Jonette made that and I was going to have Chris rewire it.
J: Really?
B: Well…maybe…
J: I’m going to put it in the junk pile.
B: Alright…keep the clay pots, though. They were worth good money.
J: It says $4.99 right here on this one.
Tonight, I walked over to Angela’s after making a slammin’ dinner for my mom upon her arrival. I got Kenny all sexy with Tiger, had cigarettes in the garage with Bill & Kim, played with Cutie and watched The Lizzie McGuire Movie following a game of Old Maid. Yes, with real Old Maid cards.
Despite all the fun and being surrounded by wonderful people, I can’t help but feeling supremely lonely. My first holiday season alone is nowhere near as terrible as I thought it would be, but it’s not easy by any means. 🙁 Just Xmas and my birthday to go and I’ll be in the clear, I suppose.
…that you are depressed when The Abyss makes you cry.
Where are my purple aliens to take me away?
I think that, after a warm and wonderful night like the last, I’m having a very hard time spending this day alone at work. I’m so bored here with absolutely nothing to do (specific or otherwise). It’s definitely loneliness, in the clichéd sense of “all alone in a crowded room.” The lab is full of students, talking and chattering away, but I’m sitting here feeling completely cold and listless. I finally broke my isolation with a walk to the ATM and a stop for some food and a soda at UniMart. (Hmm…maybe my blood sugar being below the bottom has something to do with how I’ve been feeling?) Sitting outside, with my back against a tall oak tree, sun beaming on my face, I realized just how depressed this stupid Sunday shift makes me. I am usually pretty glad to be at work in the FMC – there’s Denise to entertain me, interesting clients, the usual little challenges, etc. Here, I’m going stircrazy, and it’s putting into motion a very odd series of thoughts.
But yes, last night, Emily came over to join Nicole and Mike on a quest to drunkeness. We had sangria (in this beautiful new pitcher I picked up yesterday), ‘red headed sluts,’ and a meal of slow-cooked split pea and ham soup. Watched some Monty Python for as long as our attention spans could hold us and then Party Monster. It was an enjoyable time for all…lots of laughs, especially over the slippery kitchen floor…and I got to round out my night with a much needed cuddle.
Today, though, I really need a hug or at least human interaction. Students do not count. Somebody kidnap me.
Chinchilla in (hopefully) two days.
Ah, real fall weather…in October! The novelty of it all. I drove in to work under a mottled grey sky with beads of last night’s rain as constellations on my windshield. The yellow lines were the perfect shade to contrast the slate colour of a wet road. I took a picture with the ‘imaging phone,’ as Nokia bills it.
My weekend trip home went very well. I really went into it with no plans whatever and I think that was probably the saving grace of the entire visit. My mom was pretty busy the entire time with her fundraising activities. My dad had odd jobs around the house and most everyone else had school or was working. But, I fit myself into enough schedules to feel like I had seen everyone that mattered. My car was cleaned and I got to walk in the crunchy leaves with Ebony and Zoe, so I really couldn’t ask for anything more. Of course, there were dysfunctional family dramas, as always, but I think I’m getting to the point where I can just let them roll off…and even chuckle a bit while they are happening. There is a sense of permanence in the people that fill my life, so I let most of the daily happenings take a backseat to the relationship underneath.
Helps a lot.
And now I’m back. Sitting for day two in Studio 204, staring out the window at the soccer fields and Eisenhower parking deck. The football asshole-try of yesterday has given way to a near silence on campus and I am happy to have it. Normally, I don’t really care about football – it exists, I don’t like it, but we give each other space. However, seeing as I had to rearrange everything from what time I came back from home to when I came into work and where I parked when I got here to avoid the OSU/PSU game, I’m rather sick of sport in general. *blah*
But, I have a lunch guest coming around noon and then I’m helping Morgan with programs after work. Plus, Nicole is on a cooking kick and has decided to make me chili tonight! So, I guess today might not find me in a perfect mood, but at least I have things to look forward to. 🙂
Oh yeah! I watched Crash with Dusty at mine on Friday night and I fucking loved it! It was confusing enough to be real life but not gimmicky or wholly dependent on the quirks that some films are (ahem, Memento). Defo not moving to LA ANYtime soon.
Welcome back, Hoover.
So, the last few evenings have actually been really good. I feel like there is an equilibrium in my life that had been missing for awhile.
I watched The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy last night with Hannah. It was her first time ever being exposed to this story and all its absurdity and it was pretty magical to watch as she was initiated. I’m certain that she was hooked, so I’m sure the BBC series and perhaps even the book are in order. It was a short evening but it felt very full and I really enjoyed myself. Why she walked home in the rain with no umbrella is still completely beyond me, but that kind of weirdness is what makes us get along so well.
Poor Brooks…
I’ve decided that growing up really just means that you start to care less and less about the frustrations of work. Hanging out in the FMC with Denise this afternoon was amazing. She just doesn’t give a shit…and who can blame her after all the years she’s put in under an ever-changing roster of managers and officials? She’s seen it all and really can’t be bothered to get worked up about anything anymore. I admire that. We spend a lot of time laughing and just learning from one another. I don’t think a day has gone by where one of us hasn’t surprised the other.
So, dinner out tomorrow after my hair(s) cut? Not sure yet, but perhaps. If not, I’m happy to spend another evening in. I’m really starting to enjoy them, actually.
Dusty came down on Friday evening, just in time for some Chinese from the Bellefonte Wok. After dinner, we picked up a bottle of wine and had a glass while waiting for Nicole to return. Upon her arrival, we finished our last episode of SeaLab 2021 and headed out to Premiere to see Tim Burton’s: The Corpse Bride. While the film was a little kid-dy and Burton’s work looked essentially the same as always, I really enjoyed the visuals. The last scene, where HELENA BONHAM CARTER (that’s for Dusty) turns into a cloud of glowing butterflies was just amazing.
On Saturday, Dusty came into work with me. I think he should bill the university for consulting. Just send them an invoice for 6 hours of work at $60/hr. We met up with Nicole at the hookah lounge following our day at the office, picked up a movie at Mike’s and headed home. Dusty and I swapped a ton of music (well, more like I took a ton and gave him the few things that he doesn’t have in return) while Hilary and Nicole played with jewelry/Playstation. The four of us made a bit of dinner, had some wine and mixed drinks and watched two more films. On deck for the evening were Sin City and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, both of which were very good, if violent.
And that brings me to today. I wonder how the girls slept in Nicole’s twin bed? I’ve got an apartment to tidy up when I get home and I’m sure a nap is in order…after this music junkie finishes polishing the details on his new albums.