“Temporary absence”

The title to this post is in quotations marks because I’m hoping I have the discipline to return to this, so my absence is actually temporary. But I don’t think I’ll keep up doing this for the next few months (Summer break) because I don’t really have any discipline right now.

Brief recap: Got home, unpacked, spent a week relaxing, started my Cambridge canvassing job and quit it already (2 days) and tomorrow I’m looking for new employment!

Summer’s goal: CASH and recreation.

The time draws nigh!

I set my alarm for 7:55 this morning, the earliest all semester. I woke up at 9:30. Damn that frustrates me, but that’s still pretty early considering.

I got into Armstrong library at 10:30 and worked on my Political Geography final / paper / thing until 1:20ish when I went to lunch until about 2. From 2 – 7:30 I was back in the library! I finished it, I believe, and while it’s not superb it is done, which is something. I don’t know about straight A’s again this semester, sorry Bumdaddy!

Well that leaves just one more paper! And it’s for Women’s and Gender Studies (WAGS), to boot. It’ll be a delight to write. We read the novel “Egalia’s Daughters,” the first novel I’ve read in college (I’d forgotten how quickly fiction reads, as opposed to journal articles! blech.) It’s a sort of utopia / dystopia book, depicting a parallel world in which the “wim” are the empowered gender and the “menwim” are the submissive, passive, and gentle gender. “Menwim” are biologically what we’d call men, and they’re all as straight as we are (however straight that is), the roles are simply reversed. Wim are given pay bonuses for maternity leave. Menwim stay at home and cook etc. It was interesting brain-bender. I’m writing my paper on the language the author invented (“wim” and all the corresponding pronouns, the philosophers Clara Sparks and Sigma Floyd (haha…), the unit of currency is a “dollable,” things like that) as an outlet for my linguistic cravings. It should be a fun and easy paper.

I’ve got some things to do before Saturday! I need to clean out my gym and music lockers, return my skiis to the alpine shop (pretty sure they’re 2 weeks overdue… shit.), unplug the fridge before it molds, sell my books, buy some books, fill out a nothing-in-my-room-is-damaged form, and clean up everything and pack it up. In a few minutes I’m headed to the “Otter Nonsense” show – this is the college’s improv group. My good friend Ken is in it this semester, but I haven’t seen any shows this spring so I’m excited. Afterwards, there’s Midnight Breakfast, which is always offered during finals week but which I’ve never had enough energy to go to. I still don’t have any energy, but I figure I should make an appearance at least once.

I got another call from the Cambridge office for the Campaign to Save the Environment. My other boss, Sarah (different Sarah!), was just checking to see if I had any other questions. The only one I really had was where the office is. So I have an address and directions! While I’m excited for the job, I’m going to RELISH the 10 days of pure vacation I have between college and work.

I keep asking Sarah (the girlfriend) whether or not I should invite her to the family reunion in June. As the date approaches it looks unlikely, mostly for financial reasons. Maybe next time.

May!

19 was a pretty good birthday, and the uber-musical weekend went reasonably well. The parents seemed to enjoy their visit!

The Madras Album was released in a great, plaid concert! The wine and cheese reception that followed was really nice, unfortunately I had a typically over-scheduled day so I needed to rush off to rehearse “Eli, Eli” with Cloe and Shelsey. That night, the jazz concert was pretty good. I’ve personally played the songs better, but I’ve also played them worse. I had a great solo, which is a rare but super feeling. The next day for Yom HaShoah my arrangement of Eli, Eli went off really well. I got complimented on it afterwards, not only on the performance but specifically on the arrangement. It’s nice to have people who know what an arrangement is, and who know what to listen to. Linda Schiffer, the coordinator of my commons, commended me yesterday and told me she’d been sitting with Peter Hamlin, somebody in the music department, who wanted Cloe and me to contact him re: singing with him. Recognition always feels good!!!

I just finished presenting in Arabic about “Amal Alsaif,” my summer job. It’s nice to finish things like that.
I have a pretty linear workload – linear, as opposed to a scrambled mass of gooey stress. I should be able to finish one after another so it should be a pretty steady stream of work. Time’s grooving like a soul.