March 2007 Archives

Inspired by the workshop I'm sitting in today (and my friend keeping me sane):

I got no window, it is a pane.

more short & sweet breaths from the poets at one deep breath 

Spring has begun in typical Oregon fashion, with rainy days.  The combination of grey rainy days and missing my housemate that moved to Japan last Sunday has left me in a general state of melancholy all week.  I've been half-heartily searching for a new roommate all week, and my other roommate hasn't been around to do interviews (at least as much as I'd like), so that hasn't helped either.  I'd like to get the whole roommate mess sorted out before I leave for LA on Thursday, but I'm not sure that's gonna happen.

Wednesday night the video card in my desktop computer decided to commit hari kari.  I've got a new one on the way from Newegg, which will actually be a pretty significant upgrade.  Until then, I've got my desktop running headless so I can stream music off of it on my spare laptop.  But it is alas an unplanned expense.  Fortunately, for one of the first times in my life, I'm in a place I can absorb it.

After only a short hour and a half on the phone yesterday, I've reworked my flight schedule to NYC in April (Delta changed our intinerary on Sunday).  We'll be leaving PDX earlier, laying over in SLC for almost 4 hours, and arriving in Newark...instead of JFK.  But at least I will get into the NYC area in enough time to make it up to New Haven and check out Yale Divinity School.  In compensation for doubling our travel time (and the hour and a half I spent on the phone mainly on hold)...we are recieving passes to Delta's Crown Room (which may not even arrive in time, because they have to get sent out via the corporate office).  They also offered us $50 travel vouchers, however as neither my friend or I plan to fly Delta anytime soon...they would pretty much be worthless (plus apparently you have to take them into a Delta ticket counter to even use them).

Now I must figure out how to get from Newark airport to New Haven.  Yummy.

My (old) roommate made it safely to Japan, where she is spending a week in Toyko for unpaid training in a shitty hotel before moving to a small city of 50k north of Toyko.

I rented a car and went to the coast with a friend on Sunday after we dropped the (old) roommate off at the airport for her flight to Japan.  While the weather decided not to fully cooperate, I still had a good time, got my feet sandy and wet, and felt refreshed after the trip.

This week will involve yet more interviews trying to fill the empty room in our apartment.  So far, I haven't been that excited about the responses to my Craigslist ad.  

I'm excited for Spring.  I feel like this year spring and summer are going to be really good. 

For his friends, he gives everything.

Even when it is difficult or hurts.

It always amazes him when others don't (even though he's seen it time and time again).

It just seems so simple (even when it isn't).

And so his heart is torn...between passion, friendship and love.

He wished to know her better, and now he does.  He wonders if perhaps the passion will be muted.  He steps away, as he feels he must, hopeful, yet expecting nothing.  

He gave himself to the moments, worrying not about the past or the future (at least not much).  He is thankful for those moments, for they were wonderful.

We just dropped my roommate off at the airport for her move to Japan.  I'm really happy for her but I am sad to see her go.  We managed to have a pretty good going away gathering for her Friday night.  I got a keg of Rogue Hazelnut Brown and she invited over her friends for one last hurah.  Most everyone showed up and seemed to have a good time.  Lauren said she did and that was the most important part.

So already a little meloncholy, I return home this morning to recieve an email from Delta notifying me of a change in my itinerary to NYC next month.  Our non-stop flight from PDX to JFK has been canceled and they've rerouted us through Atlanta.  The problem is, now we've got an almost 4 hour layover in Atlanta and I won't get up to NYC in time to drive up to New Haven to check out Yale as planned.  Ugh...I guess one of Monday's plans will be to call Delta and see if we can get an earlier second leg of the flight.

Girls are confusing the fuck out of me right now.  I don't yet have the words to explain it. 

Can I have a redo on this weekend? 

Change is afoot.

One of my roommates is moving to Japan on Sunday.  I'm really excited for her, but I'm sad she's leaving (and a little jealous).  This week is a series of goodbye gatherings though...its a little bittersweet.

I've applied for an internship in LA.  It would start near the end of August. If I get the internship, I'll have to get my car fixed and insured again.  I'm anxious to find out what happens with the application.  I'm a little on the upper end of the age range for the internship and hope that doesn't work against me.

I'm getting a little stir crazy here in town.  The last time I left town was for an afternoon in early February to drive down to Eugene to get a letter of recommendation for the internship application.  Sadly, It doesn't look like I'll get out of town until I head down to Southern California at the end of the month for a conference I'm staffing.  I am however looking forward to going to New York City in April for a long weekend. 

The ones I've read are in Bold:

Beloved-Toni Morrison
Underworld-Don DeLillo
Blood Meridian-Cormac McCarthy
Rabbit Angstrom: The Four Novels-John Updike
- Rabbit, Run, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit Is Rich, Rabbit at Rest
American Pastoral-Philip Roth
A Confederacy of Dunces-John Kennedy Toole
Housekeeping-Marilynne Robinson
Winter's Tale-Mark Helprin
White Noise-Don DeLillo
The Counterlife-Philip Roth
Libra-Don DeLillo
Where I'm Calling From-Raymond Carver
The Things They Carried-Tim O'Brien
Mating-Norman Rush
Jesus' Son-Denis Johnson
Operation Shylock-Philip Roth
Independence Day-Richard Ford
Sabbath's Theater-Philip Roth
Border Trilogy-Cormac McCarthy
-- All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, Cities of the Plain
The Human Stain-Philip Roth
The Known World-Edward P. Jones
The Plot Against America-Philip Roth

It seems I have some work to do on this list.  Though at least I did get the top 3.