July 1, 2001 (1:09pm): Ouch. My nose is sunburnt. It doesn't really hurt anymore, but it's peeling.
Anyway, it's another stupid Sunday. This time, though, I'm on campus. Ah. Change of pace. Stupid Sunday in Salem. Ooh.
It was raining earlier, which is great at the time, but later today it'll just be humid and hellish. I needs an air conditioner! I'm hoping I'll be getting another credit card soon so I can get one. Hrm.
Nothing much to do here... Think I'll print copies of my essays and stuff.
July 1, 2001 (3:38pm): Wow. I can't believe it's actually freezing in this library. Really. My nose is cold.
I've been in here nearly three hours. See, it's about half a mile or so from my apartment to here, campus. I walk out in the morning and do what I have to do. I finish around 1:00pm but wanna stick around for dinner at 4:00pm. I wouldn't want to walk all the way home and come back out, and walk home again (especially when it's 95F or just 5F degrees outside). So I kill time in the library or computer lab.
I'm trying to appreciate this frigid library climate. I don't wanna go home. TOO DAMN HOT!
C'mon, dinner... They's fixin' fried chicken t'night, don'tchaw know. Yum. Ah dawn't eat tha ack'shull chicken, but tha crust is mighty good eatin'.
Then it's back home to continue the on-going quest to resettle into my apartment. I have too much stuff. And it's all crap.
July 2, 2001 (6:58pm): Hrm. I'm in the midst of writing a report for my Earth Science class. Ugh! What tedious busy work...This is one of those classes in which the teacher has to layer project over project over project. He can't just lecture and interact, he has to mix it all up. Man, I hate this kind of class.
Anyway, I just have to write a one-page report, nothing much. Just a critique of an online article related to environmental science or some crap like that.
These little girls are everywhere, and it's bizarre 'cause there's nothing else like them around here during the regular school year. It's quite nice, actually. And a little frustrating. Particularly the red-haired one.
July 3, 2001 (12:33pm): Dammit. I hate having afternoon class. (That's when we have class in the morning, break for lunch and come back later.) It's stupid! STUPID!
We can't just go to class and get everything done all at once. No, we have to do a little now and do a little later. We get out for lunch at 11:00am and have to wait till 1:00pm to return. Do you know how difficult it is to fill two hours on a boring-ass campus such as this? Gad.
Bunnies are stalking me. It's true.
Before I went to Roane County this spring, I would walk back to my apartment each night, and there would always be one or two bunnies along the road. Not a coincidence.
Now that I've been back, the little fellows are out again. I saw three last night! The little bastards are just sitting along the sidewalk to my building, with their beady little eyes and big feet. Curses! Damn you bunnies, DAMN YOU ALL!
They aren't like Roane County (which I also saw in great number). Roane County bunnies are nice and pleasant. These Salem bunnies are evil. And wily. I can't catch them.
It's a conspiratorial network of bunnies and secret forest agents.
July 4, 2001 (5:55pm): I was talking online with someone yesterday evening.
Seems I missed my chance to say goodbye to her last week. She's leaving for college next month sometime, and I'll be here till at least October. It really hangs heavy on my heart.
She's really the only one I wanted to say goodbye to. I don't think I'll be seeing much of her anymore. We never really said hello all that often, but it still meant a lot that I say goodbye.
A few weeks before I left I told her that my class began the first week of July. She thought that meant I wouldn't be leaving till the first week of July. What it really meant was that I was leaving the last week of June.
So when she didn't call that last week, like she said she was going to, I called her house a coupla times. Never any answer. I thought she just didn't wanna say goodbye or anything. So I just left.
July 4, 2001 (8:37pm): It's Independence Day. What've I done on our nation's day of celebration? Well, I woke up at 10:00am, cleaned my kitchen (tipsy on vodka), showered, walked out to dinner, ate bananas and peanut butter sandwiches and bought some Heineken. Just like George Washington did.
July 5, 2001 (3:41pm): I can wait another day...
Pretty girls will be the death of me. They will, they will, they will. I can feel it. It's just that there are so many of them, and what can I do?
Aw, I'm just waiting for dinner. Then I'm going home and cleaning my bathroom. Whoo.
I'm really tired right now, actually. It's 'cause I got rained on walking here. Hrm.
But yeah.
July 7, 2001 (1:03pm): It's cold, it's hot, it's cold, it's hot... The weather's acting all screwy.
When I get up in the morning, it's chilly. When I get out for lunch, it's warm. When in class we go outside to dig up bugs, it's hot. When I go home at night it's cold again. Argh! I'm gonna get pneumonia.
I have stuff to do today. Hmm. That's different. And on a Saturday, too. Maybe I should wait and make Sunday eventful for a change... Nah. I'm bored now.
First I have to sit here and type up two "environmental news" reports. Easy enough. But then I have to go out into the forest and sit for at least an hour, take notes and report about what I see, hear, etc.
Hullabaloo.
So I'm gonna get to that right now. Busy busy busy.
July 8, 2001 (1:10pm): Well, I didn't go into the forest to do that "natural area observation" project. I didn't wanna 'cause the sun was out, not a cloud in the sky, and I wanted to sit outside the cafeteria and do some homework. Trying to get a little color in my skinny arms.
And no, there was no sunshine in the forest. The trees are too dense to let much light in.
So instead, I'll just bluster my way through. I can make up nonsense about "what I observed in the forest." Heh. (Though I usually abhor those who bluff their way through class.)
I woke up last night around 3:00am and it was storming like a madman. HUGE bolts of lightning were crashing down and scaring the shit out of me. I mean, I had just woken up. It coulda been the Apocalypse for all I knew. The window above my bed was open, so rain was tinkling on my legs. Felt nice, but I hadda close it.
It all sucks 'cause now today the sky's fulla clouds and humidity is rampant. Feels awful outside...
Whoa, and I just felt a huge wave of dizziness. Hmm.
I don't think I can handle walking home again. It's nothing serious. I just keep thinking of Rufus Wainwright's "California". Can't handle singing that again. Especially when I exaggerate the pronunciation.
Califawn-yah, Califawn-ya...
July 9, 2001 (5:35pm): I was a little inebriated when I went to class this afternoon. Heh heh.
Class is so boring, how could I not? It was Shawn and I. We were just a little bit tipsy. Tipsy enough not to remember what was going on. Something about mortality rates, I think. We hadda read through obituaries.
Hrm. Red-haired women. With curly hair, no less.
July 10, 2001 (3:00pm): I skipped class today. Well, actually, the electricity at my place went out last night, so my alarm clock didn't work this morning. And I didn't wake up on my own till, like, 10:00am. I didn't rush to get up and catch the last few minutes of class.
Luckily, the teacher still accepted my homework this afternoon.
Dammit. It's so humid.
I've been dizzy a lot lately. And I've been having terrible headaches. So if I keel over anytime soon, let that be a hint.
July 11, 2001 (3:14pm): I hadda watch some video of 60 Minutes in class today. It was about mountaintop removal, and in the course of the episode they showed a shot of the West Virginia State Capitol. I was staring blankly at the screen, then I saw it and really really lonely.
I just thought, "Aw, I wonder if my banana sticker is still on the bottom of that seat in the Senate Gallery?" I just had a lot more fun in Charleston alone, than I did anywhere else.
July 13, 2001 (12:43pm): "I've never felt better glued together."
Wow, it's a nice day. A curious quality for Friday the 13th.
It's a little windy, though. But those huge clouds look so keen, I don't mind. I have to get to class in a few minutes. We're gonna go digging through various layers of soil and stuff. Yippee.
"You think I'm licked. You all think I'm licked. Well, I'm not licked, and I'm going to stay right here and fight for this lost cause even if this room gets filled with lies like these, and the Taylors and all their armies come marching into this place. Somebody'll listen to me...."
July 14, 2001 (1:04pm): Golly, another nice day.
This evening I'm going to check out some Scotsmen playing bagpipes at Fort New Salem. Should be a hoot. And a giggle. 30+ kilt'd men playing bags of air.
July 16, 2001 (12:13pm): I have to go to class in a few minutes. We're going on a trip to some county park, and I'll have to splosh through a stream looking for invertebrates.
It'll be a hoot and a snort, to be sure.
On a shorter note, I still see bunnies. All the time, and in ever-increasing numbers.
There are some fun people here on campus at the moment. They're not regular students, just part of some "Bridge" program, but they're fun anyway. It's always jolly to pick on the goofy Russian from Wyoming.
For lunch today they were serving some kinda "bean tortilla casserole." Against my better judgment I passed on it. Now I wish I woulda had some. Yum yum. I was too busy giggling about stuff and gawking at the Japanese squirrely girl to get up and get some food. Well, much food.
July 16, 2001 (5:16pm): That cute red-haired girl just asked me if I had a calculator. I didn't.
Now, let me tell you precisely what I'll do now:
I'll go home tonight, get my calculator, put it in my backpack and wait for her to ask me again. Only, she won't ask me again. Why would she? Why would she need a calculator twice? And from me, no less?
What is this irrational behavior? She could ask me for a water hose with which to put out a fire, and if I didn't have it (which I wouldn't), I'd sure as hell carry one around for a few months.
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July 18, 2001 (3:33pm): It's raining today. A lot. It's rains, then the sun comes out, then it rains... I've been alternately wet and hot, and wet and cold. When it's wet and hot, I'm miserable. When it's wet and cold, I'm sleepy. Crimminy.
Right now I'm sleepy.
My class had to take a field trip to a water treatment plant this afternoon. It was boring as hell. I don't care where the water comes from. They don't have to show me. I trust'em to clean it. I think they're good for it. It's what they do. Clean the water. They don't have to put a show on for me. "Ooh, look at me, I clean the water! Ooh! Clean clean clean!"
Here are some songs for anyone to sing on a water treatment plant field trip. There is no tune, just hold the last syllable for an additional beat or whatever:
Oh, I'm singin' a song
On a water treatment plant field trip
Sittin' in a van
With some other people
Some old guy and a few nihonjin
It's rainin' so I got my pants wet
And I'm sittin' by the AC so I'm cold and stuff...
Oh, I'm standin' here listenin' to some fella
He's singin', er, I mean, talkin' about water
He's missin' some teeth
Hey, there's a security camera
Make faces at the security camera
What's the worse that could happen
At a water treatment plant
So as to necessitate security
What'm I gonna do, drink the water...?
Some woman's goin' on about e.coli
And feces, I don't wanna hear it
La la la la la la la, feces
Starin' at Maki, woo doo doo
Won't say what I was really singin'
But you can assume, woo doo doo doo...
I'm gonna fall asleep
If I don't first smack E-Dinger
For stoppin' the van
And makin' us get out to look at a hill
I seen hills before...
July 19, 2001 (3:14pm): Argh. I hate this time between class and dinner (and also the time between lunch and class). Hrm.
I've been wearing the same two t-shirts for the last, oh, six days. They aren't dirty, but...well, I should wear something else. It's just that it's been so damn hot. And these t's are the lightest things I have to put on.
Hooray for 99-cent Goodwill t-shirts.
July 20, 2001 (8:18am): William Elsner rocks.
July 20, 2001 (12:11pm): Hrm. Don't have afternoon class. Bored. Don't know what to do with myself. Four hours till dinner... Egad.
July 21, 2001 (12:58pm): Ow. My legs are sore. Last night I took a long, long walk.
And I'm used to walking, I do so every day, up hills, down hills, and all that, but for some reason last night just wore me out.
Hrm.
And my arms hurt. And my back. And my toes.
I'm going to Fort New Salem tonight to check out some folky-bluegrass band tonight. The Yahoes, I think they're called. There was a concert last week, too, a buncha bagpipers and dancing girls. It was pretty keen.
The Yahoes, I think, will be even better. I saw a poster of them, and some guy's holding a fiddle, and another has a banjo. Rock!
And the Fort's fun. The hokey-pokey little nature trail is all up-hill. My legs'll hurt more, but exercise is good. And there's a white kitty, and little century-old cabins, and a blacksmith's shop and the fun teachers from school. Whee.
BANJOS! ROCK ON!
July 22, 2001 (1:04pm): My legs are still sore. A little.
Anyway, I have to get started on this research paper for class. It's gotta be 5-7 pages long, about "environmental ethics" or something like that. I chose the topic, don't know what the hell I was thinking.
I might change the topic to something easier, like Blackwater Canyon. Maybe ol' Will Elsner wrote something about Blackwater Canyon...
July 23, 2001 (12:39pm): Please bless unto me a bounty of chicken and waffles, that I might know your glory.
July 25, 2001 (12:34pm): Whoosh. Man oh man, I just spent the last eighteen hours or so trying to piece together a seven-page research paper. I had, like, four weeks to do it, but hey, who does this shit when their supposed to?
Anyway, I hadda cobble together bits of information about Blackwater Canyon, some natural treasure here in West Virginia. Took a great deal of spin-doctoring, but I think I pulled it off.
Now my mind is shot and I can't think straight. I'm bored, too. And I didn't eat much lunch. Hrm... Damn learning.
July 26, 2001 (11:55pm): Well, I've come back to Roane County for the weekend. And I'm sure now that I won't be referring to this as home, not for a while.
As I was leaving Salem this evening I passed the school cafeteria. It was about 4:25pm, so I thought, "Aw... My friends are having dinner without me. Wonder what there is to eat..." And I was kinda sad. I wanted to get out right then and have dinner.
Oh well.
I'm finally outta Edinger's class. It was okay, overall, but, I dunno... Something about it was just plain abrasive. Although, despite the heat and madness, the trip to the power plant was fun.
I have to get to the Capitol Building Complex in Charleston tomorrow, see if I can get a copy of my 2000 tax return. I have to turn it in to financial aid as soon as possible.
Man... I'm just lonely as hell all of a sudden...
July 27, 2001 (1:11am): I'm tired...
July 28, 2001 (2:15pm): Eight lords a-leapin'! What a dismal place!
I'd jet right back to Salem this very instant if I could! (That's gonna come back to me when I'm actually in Salem, saying the same thing for Roane County...)
Anyway, it's just really really dull here. Gor.
I went into Charleston this morning. I hadda go to the IRS and get a copy of my federal tax return. I went directly to the IRS building and got it, then left town immediately. I didn't have any money, or really anyplace I wanted to go, so I just left. But as I was leaving I felt really terrible. I mean, all the time I'm in Salem I'm thinking, "Jeez, I'd sure like to be on Capitol Street right now... That'd just be swell!"
But when I get into town, I remember that it's not really being there that's so wonderful. It's the thought of how great it'd be to be there in some recognized urban scene, with friends and routines and just some kinda established self, that makes me daydream the day away.
Aw... Maybe that's why Salem doesn't seem so bad right now. I mean, some friends are there. And the school cafeteria's there. I know those things. They're tangible, they're mine. They're where I know them to be. And even if I don't like them now and them, they're what they are 'cause of how they reflect what my daily life is.
Blah. Bah. Rar.
Roane County is no fun. There are few friends around, and those that are don't answer the phone. And the internet access here bites compared to the school's relatively speedy access. Hrm.
I need a nap.
July 28, 2001 (11:22pm): I've slept a lot in the last 24 hours. Let's see, I got to sleep around 1:00am last night. Woke up around 9:30am this morning. Went out, came back, slept from 3:30pm or so till 6:00pm. And I'm still tired.
Um...
I need a haircut. I have a weird pseudo-moptop. It's a little too long in the back to be a true moptop, but...whatever. I need a haircut.
July 28, 2001 (11:57pm): Damn. I neglected to bring a radio or CD player. Stupid stupid stupid. I thought it'd be interesting to go the weekend without listening to any music, seeing as it's such a big part of my daily activities.
But, you know... It's just plain agonizing.
Dammit! What was I thinking!
I feel like Captain Britain. (A comic book superhero. The further he got from the British Isles, the weaker his powers became.) The longer I stay from music, the worse I feel. I need that background noise buffer, I think. Don't know exactly why.
July 28, 2001 (10:37am): Sell out with me, oh yeah...
The rain just follows me. Everywhere I go, it's raining. I was in Salem this week, it rained. I go to Roane County. Rain again.
Normally rain rocks, but everything's damp. And I hate that feeling. A thin layer of wet.
I'm hungry. I drank some chocolate milk. I don't really like chocolate milk, come to think of it, but, like I said, I'm hungry. There's no food here in the house. If I were at school I could leave right now and arrive just as breakfast was starting.
July 28, 2001 (1:04pm): I'm a-gonna go to Goodwill and snag some more keen-o one-dollar t-shirts (wow, so many hyphens). They're just default apparel these days. And I'd kill for some worn-out brown corduroy pants. Ah, yes. That would complete the manufactured image that I am.
Still raining... Someone once sent me an email survey. One of the questions was, "What's the most romantic thing?" And she said, "Kissing in the rain." So now, everytime it rains I think of that.
July 28, 2001 (11:04pm): Well, nuts. I'm going back to school in the morning. And I didn't really get anything done.
Odd. I just heard some loud crash in the basement. I got up, went over to the stairs and heard another loud crash, followed by a shuffling sound. Scared the crap outta me. So I locked the door and scampered away.
July 30, 2001 (8:03am): Hrm. My website for my email isn't popping up, and it's pissing me off. This always happens to me. Email provider after email provider messes with me. They either stop working altogether or decide to charge for their services. Curses.
Other than that...
I start a new class today. Whoo.
I'm freezing. It's the middle of summer, and the high's supposed to be around 83F degrees, but this morning it's about 62F. Brrr. Koohii!
July 30, 2001 (3:02pm): Hot damn! Ham for dinner!
July 31, 2001 (1:36pm): Class was easy enough today. I went in at, like, 9:05am and left around 9:55am. We just watched two videos (one about the Constitution and one about the Supreme Court).
I was thinking... As I was watching the video about the Supreme Court, there was made mention a few men who did a lotta things. I mean, some guys were governors who went on to Senate positions, then Presidency, then Supreme Court chairs, then... They were busy. How'd they manage to do all that?
Well, I was thinking. Maybe it was 'cause the country was young, and the population was mostly farmers and other low-level folk. They didn't care what the Founding Fathers did, and so the Founding Fathers did whatever the hell they wanted.
So I'm thinking, I'll start my own country. And I'll raze it to the ground, see. And all the residents will have to farm and stuff, and will be too busy to care what I'm doing. I'll be President, I'll be Speaker of My House, I'll go apeshit.
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