I had a roll of film developed the other day, here are a few of the trees around campus during the spring time. The transitional seasons are my favourites - usually because the weather is so mild and the colours are fantastic; my only complaint is that autumn and spring do not last too long in this state. These were taken with a disposable camera - I like those a lot even though I have nicer cameras.
So, I've managed to be successfully sick for a little over a week now, and it has been nothing but a hassle. I've already spent over 10 dollars on medication (thanks Daquil) and have been drinking nothing but hot tea almost exclusively for the last three days. I'm quite ready for this cold/virus/whatever to be over and done with, because I can only assume doping myself up every day can't be healthy. At this rate I'm sure I'll develop a tolerance to the medication, at which point I'll never be able to use the next time mr. cold comes a-knockin ,,, which conveniently happens to be right around the corner, when flu season starts.
*grumble grumble*
Summer isn't supposed to be the random sickness floating around time; January and February had that locked up I thought. But noooo, instead I'm trying to sleep in everyday, with the hope that soon this blasted sickness will leave so my nose clears up and my throat stops being irritated and scratchy.
someone get me some enemy bait; maybe it'll clear up my sinuses.
There is no discussion of how they feel or what they want out of life; there is only the descending order - grandmother, mother, daughters - with the back yard outside under rain, and the dead vegetable garden.
Jeffrey Eugenides, The Virgin Suicides
I cannot say with any sort of certainty that I have interpreted this quote as the author intended, but I have at the very least tailored it to my own experiences and to my own outlook as a woman in this family. Yes, we are all individual women, but at some point the melancholy of our family history swallows me as it did the other women, and I cannot see each of us as a separate entity, but instead a sort of collective heartbreak, a longing and loss, a history and future of failed relationships, of betrayal and mistrust and hesitance. It is something that, like folklore, has been just as generational and has achieved the supernatural qualities of destiny.
In the last couple weeks of July, I'd lost about five pounds, and within these few weeks I have lost another five pounds. I am sure I sound like someone who is trying to lose unnecessary weight, but within my last failed relationship I gained a lot of weight and quickly. I wasn't living a healthy lifestyle - my eating choices were poor and I never exercised. It's true that everyone should have the right to choose whether or not they want to be healthy, and if people want to be unhealthy, it is a choice they make for their body. I chose something else and I wanted to reawaken my old & fantastic metabolism. I didn't want to eliminate breads and pastas from my diets because I didn't want to change my diet in a way that was torture for me - not only that, I don't eat red meats or pork, and I would be missing out on a lot if I threw breads out.
I switched to whole wheats and organic foods. It's always a bit difficult if you get a sandwich at a restaurant, because most of those have enriched wheats and sometimes you have to make realistic allowances, particularly when you've got a budget, but for the most part, I've maintained this diet change throughout the summer and I am happier for it because I am not starving myself in the least. In fact, I am eating three meals a day and sometimes snacking, and I am not working out until I am over-exhausted and my limbs are breaking off, I am focusing on areas I would like to tone.
I get all my organic foods at Hy-Vee because I think they have a fantastic section. I understand that shopping at places like Hy-Vee and getting organic foods can seem a bit pricier, but I think that quality always costs more. Also, some places that claim to have 'low low' prices do not have store-brands that are that much lower than the store-brands of other markets. Additionally, there are some big box companies in this city whose businesses are known for lowering property value - so even if you aren't paying much in store, you're going to pay a whole lot more later. I also like buying free range meats. I wasn't always like this, but when I started grocery shopping elsewhere and noticed that I had the option, I chose it. Inititally I started going to Hy-Vee because they have one of my favourite snacks, "Fruity Booty" and "Pirate Booty." The liquor section is also nicer than most of the places I've seen here - though Arena Liquor has my favourite beer (I never even drink anymore!)
At any rate - for college students and residents, I definitely recommend spending the few extra dollars on higher quality food. Even if you don't care about organic food, I certainly recommend visiting a few different grocery stores to see what they have to offer, because not all grocery stores are the same.
Friends
Since Scott has been working nearby & moved to a building across the street from Paul's apartment complext, we have been hanging out and talking every day. I think what is especially nice about it is that we have a short history, and though I usually say I have so many male friends, it's a nice change of pace to have a friend who isn't a hardcore gamer.
The other night (this means I can't remember if it happened this week or last) we went to a barbeque he held over at his new place. It is a few stories up on an old wooden staircase that overlooks the parking lot and the deck is a bit small - not surprising for housing that is taken up by college students. I get a major case of vertigo whenever I look over the edge and so the whole night I tried to avoid looking down. I recalled, as I walked up those stairs, a time in my life when I had been walking up to an old water tower that had been transformed into a bedroom by my uncle and aunt who live on a ranch in mid-California. Dogs had been circling my legs excitedly and it caused me to lose my balance on the steps and fall down each stair until I was stopped by a brick patio. Not a fun time and I was hoping I wouldn't relive the experience or worse, fall off the deck and die. I'm a bit dramatic, I know this.
They made a variety of kabobs with shrimp, eggplant, onions, etc. I was surprised that I enjoyed the eggplant so much - I don't know that I ever had any opinion on eggplant but it never seemed too appealing, though eggplants are pretty. For some reason I always picture a character from Fraggle Rock driving an eggplant shaped automobile - were those toys at McDonalds? I know there was a beet one.
We sat in the living room listening to music and it occurred to me that I was temporarily wedged in some picture of the indie scene. It was very scenester-esque (I didn't know how else to describe it) which is different for me because I am the sort who rarely goes out and socializes. Sitting around in a room and listening to music is, for me, preferred to going to clubs. I just don't have the desire to get groped by skeevy people and for some reason I am the skeevy person magnet.
When the room began emptying out, I remained with one of Scott's friends and his two roommates - all girls - and we talked about anything. I really like them and I was happy to meet some genuinely nice people. It's just a big change for me to be around girls who are not ripping you apart or throwing themselves at every guy who walks in the room. I think I've just had a lot of bad experiences which had more to do with holding on to friends who changed radically the moment they were free from their parents' supervision.
This entry is far too long as it is. Paul & I are going to the supermarket because he needs food, which in turn means that I need to shower.
It's funny how bored I get sometimes. I came home today with nothing planned to do; mostly just sit and play some video games to pass the time until work. Well, I booted up my 360 and spent the next 4 hours playing Geometry Wars, trying to beat my roommate's score ... it even moved beyond obsession at some point. I only took a quick break to shower and get ready for work; I didn't even bother to eat (I didn't have food at home anyway!)
Luckily, on the last game I could play before coming to work, I triumphed; I topped his score as he said "Well, at least I'll have something to do while you're in St. Louis." Oh, did I mention I'm heading home for a few days?
Anyway, I went to work with a band-aid (yes, the trademark brand) on my thumb, something I can't remember happening since the first years I owned a NES. Microsoft has finally done something right; it's given gamers from that era the games they want; something fun and simple that is based on score, and a competition base to keep them playing over and over again via Live Arcade. They're even rereleasing the games our parents and older siblings always claimed to dominate. Now, you can actually find out if your brother or sister or mother or father were really that good in Galaga, and soon Pac-Man.
It's an exciting time to be a gamer, but not because of the games you find on store shelves. I'm more excited about Live Arcade and Nintendo's virtual console than almost any major-market release. In fact, with MS releasing the XBLA games on discs, that may be worth a double dip. Maybe this will be a wake-up call to Sony and Microsoft that bigger isn't always better; that graphics truly don't make a game, and in fact can be a detriment to it.
2 am & we go to see Tony & Kyle at KOPN. The studio is full - Hannah & the cookies she brought, Cletus & a boy in a woven cap & an older man who also has a show & is wearing tye-dye. He tells stories of Columbia & Chicago in the 1960s, of disco records that he hated & points to a song on a a Jimmy Buffet album record & tells Tony he should play it. I hate Jimmy Buffet but this man in the studio seems nice.
Just as the room begins to empty out, two girls arrive - both friends with Scott & we sit there listening to the music while everyone talks & then, by 3:30, it is just us & the Moser's Report. We play 'The Price is Right' on air with Ken who tells us about the time he shat his pants on the way to work. Paul is laughing so hard that a sound cannot escape his body; he is convulsing & tears are in his eyes while he slaps his leg. During our game, Tony continuously yells '2 for 5!' & we are all laughing.
They tell stories of their trip to Chicago, of an inflatable penis emerging out of the tinted windows of a stretch Hummer, of Real Sex (for dummies) & of a Jim Brewer look-alike.
Kyle pulls out a compilation of Brasilian music & I restrain myself from jumping over the table & snatching it. Listening to music - this music - helps me forget that I am here or at the very least it transforms my perspective.
