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May 21, 2001 (1:23am): In a natural progression backward, I'm sitting here downloading Woody Guthrie songs. I say it's natural 'cause I started off obsessing over Dylan, and Woody was, in turn, his obsession. But I doubt I'll be traveling to visit Dylan at his bedside.
May 21, 2001 (2:45pm): Goddammit. My room is infested with dust mites. Dust mites! What are those, anyway? They make me itch like crazy. My skin's all broken out. They're in my carpet, they're in my comics, they're on my stereo (stereo!). Yuck.
On a lighter note, I think I'm the first person ever to fall asleep while listening to the Ramones. I did last night. The Ramones lulled me to sleep! How intent I was to rest. Now Marvin Gaye rules the player, and I couldn't be more awake. Got my wires crossed.
Oh, and I ate some Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Got the cinnamon everywhere, all over my computer.
May 21, 2001 (6:08pm): Does anyone know how to get rid of dust mites? They're really bugging me. And freaking me out. My room wasn't cleaned while I was away at school, so the dust piled up, providing Valhalla for every pesky filthy insect in existence.
Can't find a job.
It's not my place in the 9 to 5 world, it's not my place in the 9 to 5 world...
Bob's asleep. Dreaming of me? Har har har.
May 22, 2001 (12:03am): I'M GONNA FUCKIN' SOCK SOMEBODY RIGHT IN THE NOSE!!!
GOD...DAMN!
I wanna sit in my room and listen to some music, but I can't 'cause those damned mites are everywhere. WHERE THE FUCK DID THEY EVEN COME FROM?
So instead I'm here on this computer, which keeps messing up 'cause some idiot fucks around with the programs. GODDAMN!
And I hate quiz shows. If you watch'em, you're on my list. You suck. It's ironic, but you'll watch a show based upon knowledge while actually possessing very little yourself. Watch The History Channel, for crying out loud! It's intelligent, and you actually LEARN. NETWORK TV IS FOR NAZIS!
May 23, 2001 (12:20am): Man... Today was just awful.
It's been raining all day, and I've just been sitting here with my chin in the palm of my hand, not really thinking much. Been kinda depressed 'cause of those damn mites are making me itch, and 'cause I'm broke, and 'cause...well, I don't know. Just seems the way to be.
How many times am I gonna leave "Tiny Dancer" on repeat...?
I just wish there were somewhere to go.
May 23, 2001 (2:14am): Got Bob Dylan's New Morning in the mail yesterday. Didn't listen to it till this evening. Don't particularly care for it. But I've only heard it once. I've come to realize that a Dylan album takes a while to sink it (unless it happens to be Nashville Skyline, in which case it doesn't; that's prob'ly why Nashville Skyline's my favorite).
Anyway, it just sounds kinda strange. I can hear hints of country rock that would dominate the '70s. But is that jazz piano I hear?
May 23, 2001 (6:29pm): I don't have dust mites, it turns out. They're spiders. Oh. Golly. So...much...better...
That's it. I'm goddamn declaring war on insects! Why? Well, there are four basic points... (Dr. Wainstock, be proud.)
1. Insects are wicked and commit atrocities.
2. Insects are the enemy of God.
3. Insects are out to conquer the world.
4. Insects are the enemy of civilization.
There. Thou hast angered me, verily, wee bugs. Have at thee, base villains! Anon! Verily, mine ire hath been raised... Pray thee thine thou hath verily anon base villain... [We're sorry, but Mike's anger programming has performed an illegal error. We suggest you close all programs and restart your Mike.]
Gah! I'm whuppin' arachno-ass!
Anyone know where I can get some Agent Orange? That should do the trick just fine. Sure, I'll get cancer and stuff, but my deathbed'll be free of bugs.
May 23, 2001 (11:01pm): What the...? My hair's falling out.
May 24, 2001 (3:09am): Heh. I keep weird hours, don't I?
I'm looking around for a new school. I went to this one crackhead website (which I shall not name), filled out a little survey, and it said my top three choices were 1) Texas Women's University, 2) Harvard and 3) Princeton. I cannot make this stuff up, it just happens to me.
Why was this utter nonsense? Well, obviously, I'm not a woman. But more importantly, I'm sure as hell not Ivy League material. Bah.
It's late and there's nothing to keep me awake.
May 24, 2001 (3:11pm): I...think...I've...won...the war.
Haven't seen too many spiders today. Either they're wilier than I, or I'VE KILLED THEM ALL!
Bwahahahahahaha!
Whew!
Minor victory. I'm still itchy, though. And my room smells like...well, bug spray. At what cost glory!
May 24, 2001 (8:12pm): I just wasted the evening cleaning my room. Cleaning my room. Man oh man, I need to get out. Fortunately, I'm not stuck at home alone. Some gin is here with me. And vodka. And wine. And a coupla bottles of Guinness, I believe.
Most importantly, I have a cheeseburger.
May 25, 2001 (10:19pm): Hrm.
Um...
Didn't do much today...
Still, feel obligated to say something...
I've been eating those little boxes of cereal. You know, the ones that come in packages of, like, eight. Corn Pops, Smacks, Cheerios, whatever. Been eating those a lot lately.
May 26, 2001 (1:51am): Ag, I have a headache. I think it's 'cause I have poor posture. The muscles at the base of my skull are contracted or something. It's just a numb pain, too. That's the worst. It spreads out in all directions and is very subtle, so you can't really tell where the pain ends and where your mind is just manufacturing phantom pain.
At any rate, a few weeks ago I got this little plastic toy in a box of Pop Tarts. It sat on a desk for a while, then I just decided to chew on it. So I've been chewing on it. It was a little animal thing. I've relieved it of its ears, two of its four feet, and most of its face is a gnawed-away blur.
I woulda made a good beaver. Or maybe even an aardvark.
May 26, 2001 (2:28am): Okay, I've listened to New Morning a coupla more times, and I can now safely say that I do not like it. I don't hate it, exactly, but I don't like it.
It just sounds so different. Really commercial, somehow.
Considering that the album before it, Nashville Skyline, is my favorite Dylan album (the country sound is great; the lyrics are somewhat shallow, but still excellent in songs like "Country Pie" and "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You"), I expected New Morning to be a great follow-up. Not true. The sound is far removed from any other Dylan I've heard.
It's still worth a listen, just 'cause it's Dylan, but don't expect much. You'd be better off just buying Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. 2, settling for the one track, one measly track, from New Morning that it has ("If Not for You").
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May 26, 2001 (3:41pm): Guh. This day has been for naught.
I was gonna go to the Vandalia Festival this morning, but I awoke with a headache ten times as terrible as it was last night. So I just slept till 2:30pm.
It really stinks, too, 'cause I was supposed to meet Sheeny there. Curses. I'll go tomorrow, but it won't be as fun.
Oh my. I'm hungry. I want a sandwich. Pastrami. Or even ham (irrespective of the Wahoo Creed).
Dammit. I don't have any. Wouldn't you know it...
May 26, 2001 (11:03pm): Saturdays are...so stupid.
They're always empty, and nothing good ever comes from them. Not for me, at least.
I should be more proactive. Horse's ass.
Argh!
Anyway... Nope. For a second I thought I had something else to say.
May 27, 2001 (1:56pm): I'm thinking of leaving Salem International University and attending West Virginia University instead. I'm not sure, though. I always laughed at those who opted for WVU. I mean, it's in-state and public. Not exactly prestigious.
Still, SIU isn't a riot either. The student body is a joke (mostly jocks and Equine majors), there are no opportunities, no culture to speak of... The only reasons to stay are finishing my Japanese and taking the rest of Wainstock's classes. I don't think that's gonna be enough. Though it would only take two more years to get a degree from SIU. It'd take three for WVU. But that extra year at WVU would just mean more quality classes, maybe.
WVU is larger, and the town, Morgantown, is larger. Salem is tiny. And I have friends in Salem, but no one with anything in common. I don't know what to do.
Anyway... I still missed out on Vandalia today. It was raining when I woke up, and it was cold, and I just didn't wanna face any of that. So I stayed in bed instead. Woke up, showered, put on some Velvet Underground. I hate Sundays.
May 28, 2001 (12:39am):Hrm.
Um... I've been reading this book, A Heartbreaking Work Of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers. Pretty good. Kinda schizophrenic. Good, nevertheless. I don't read it for too long, too often. Usually I just pick up ol' trusty On The Road or High Fidelity.
Think I might visit the Veterans' Memorial in Charleston tomorrow. Tomorrow, or later today, rather, it is early morning, is Veterans' Day. The memorial's really nice. Has four statues, one each for the two World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam. I'm not sure if all four are up yet, they were having difficulty with funding a few years ago. But that was a few years ago.
May 29, 2001 (12:39am): "He was simply a youth tremendously excited with life, and though he was a con-man, he was only conning because he wanted so much to live and to get involved with people who would otherwise pay no attention to him."
That's weird. I started my last entry the same minute a day ago. Hmm.
I didn't get around to that ol' Memorial today. Sorry, vets. I just didn't wanna get up this morning. A terrible affliction, believe me.
Instead I slept till around noon, got up, and went looking for a Woody Guthrie biography. Found it, read the parts about Dylan, decided not to get it. Got some comics instead. The right decision, maybe.
Came back home, read the comics, read some Kerouac, ate some French fries, generally horsed around... The usual.
Damn. Someone must have something to say.
May 29, 2001 (2:16am): I should get to bed earlier. I stay up too late, sleep in too late. 'Tis a vicious cycle most foul!
Oh, spinnin' outta control here...
May 29, 2001 (2:38pm): Wow. I woke up at 1:30pm exactly. Just rolled over and looked at the clock, it was 1:30. Heh.
So I guess there's not much to say about what I've done today, so far. Brushed my teeth, worked on the track list for a mix tape I'm making for a friend...um...watched Caroline in the City...
Just looking forward to getting drunk with Greathouse. Ah, big goals ahead.
Funny side effect of listening to Woody Guthrie music: you tend to say "lord" a lot. But I don't mean it in any religious reverence. Just a habit.
May 29, 2001 (11:08pm): Hmm. Maybe I should consider a new school, one on the West Coast, as a wise man suggested... Hmm.
At any rate, I'd kill for some Taco Bell. I'm eating Corn Pops, but they just don't cut it.
And I've had this line from a Dylan song stuck in my head all day.
Oh, mama, can this really be the end, to be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again.
It really makes no sense.
May 30, 2001 (6:38pm): Hey, I just realized that the new Rufus Wainwright album's out next Tuesday! Whee!
More importantly, today's Bob's birthday. And I kinda knew. I thought it was tomorrow, not today. 31st, not 30th. Ah, but I remembered, right?
Gonna head out real early tomorrow, hunt me down a job. Yup. Gonna get me employed. Be a workin' man. Get the workin' man blues. Quit. Get the lazy man blues. Er. I'm getting ahead of myself...
Alright, I gotta go eat my Taco Bell. Hot damn!
May 30, 2001 (11:28pm): I was insulted tonight, but I hesitate to call it an insult. It was just so eloquent, it can't be done justice by being called an insult.
An online friend spoke of me as a "charlatan prophet peddling thought and parading as a saint." Directly quoted.
Well... That's just weird.
May 31, 2001 (11:34pm): I didn't get around to looking for a job today. I awoke at 7am, and it was just too damn cold. And I figured that I'd get into Charleston around 9am, but not many places would be open or accepting applications or interviewing till around 11am. And I didn't just wanna wander around for two hours. (I had to go out at 9am 'cause I would have to ride out with my father, and he had a doctor's appointment at, like, 8:30am.)
Anyway, I went out this evening instead. Didn't do much. Walked around downtown, got some coffee, sat on the library steps. As much as I ever do. It's fun.
Starting to narrow down the parameters of my search for a new school. Somewhere in New England (Connecticut, Maine, or Massachusetts) or California (San Francisco or, gasp, dare I think it possible of myself, Berkeley). Anyplace will do, really.
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