a quickie in lieu of a popcorn break...

2005-01-31 / 11:49 a.m.

Brief entry: I don�t have sufficient time to write the update that all you lovely people deserve, but I thought I�d at least post my essay here�.if for no other reason than that it makes for good circularity, seeing that the original idea debuted here. The more I read it though, the more I�m disappointed in it. I wish they would have picked �Brave New McWorld�-- I really think that one�s better, at least content wise. Also, I think I�d rather been thought of as the kind of person that would produce an essay like B.N.McW. rather than something like �Dad�s Kitchen.� D.K. was kind of schmoopy to begin with, and the edit I sent to the festival (linked below) is even more maudlin and sentimental. I think I missed my mark with the spontaneous festival editing: my goal was to kind of disarm the I�m-looking-for-pity-and-sympathy mood that people picked up, and make it more an anecdote about growing up with my dad. This didn�t work. I realize that I could have just gone with the initial draft, which didn�t even mention him being dead, but that just felt cheap. I don�t know. Blargho. I should have submitted the fish one insead.
The Essay

There's good news, and there's bad news...

2005-01-26 / 10:02 p.m.

Bad news: I had to do, like, four consecutive hours of reading and two hours of writing for my senior seminar stuff yesterday.

Good news: I understood it way better than I thought once I got to class; also, the class was surprisingly fun.

Bad news: I have a flat tire

Good news: My mother is going to get it patched for me, because I don�t have time to wait on AAA before Friday.

Bad news: Still have a couple of weeks before I get paid, and I still made a contribution to the senior gift campaign.

Good news: I made the donation to a department I like, and I made it in honor of my cat. She�ll be getting a notice in the mail soon.

Bad news: I ate delicious junk food tonight that I should never have touched given my current state.

Good news: It was accompanied by free champagne.

Bad news: Tomorrow it�s back to the daily grind of going to the gym before sunup.

Good news: I�m in excellent health, and could probably run to Texas and back.

Bad news: I�m frustrated by my raging mediocrity

Good news: I�m a finalist in the writer�s festival. This was totally unexpected.

Good news for people who love good news

2005-01-24 / 7:46 p.m.

I got accepted to UGA today. Logically, I knew it was highly unlikely that I wouldn�t get accepted, but it�s still a relief to get the news in writing. While living in Athens is low on my list, UGA is a great choice. I�m also feeling a lot more confident in my decision to go the MPA route.

Financially, it�s looking good, better than I thought it would. Tuition and fees will probably total less than 5,000 yearly because I�m in-state. In the event that I get an assistantship, I�ll also get one hell of a tuition waiver, and end up paying in the neighborhood of $500 per semester, plus a stipend depending on which one I�m awarded. The likelihood of getting one of these assistantships is unknown. Living expenses are hard to pin down�.if I were to apply and get a spot in the graduate housing (which may be difficult, seeing as they say it has �an expansive waiting list,� but at least it�s a basis for estimating cost) I could pay as low as $416 a month, which includes rent, water, garbage, cable, DSL, local phone service, and a communal laundry. I have no notion as to what regular apartments cost, but next time I�m in Athens, I�ll pick up a handful of apartment guides. But this is good news, no? Ideally, in the event that I'm awarded one of these assistantships or fellowships, I could get by with a small loan and working a few hours on the weekends. It's sounding better and better.

The word of the day is palatial.

2005-01-23 / 7:06 p.m.

Since getting back to school, I�ve regained the balance of living alone and without the council of my mother (Don�t you think it�s a little late to be going out, Emily?). I miss Lucy, but other than that the move back to TheCollege has been sweet and delicious like vanilla frozen yogurt and coco puffs from the dining hall. I saw Ben sing at Under the Couch last Tuesday, which was doubleplus impressive. I�ve heard him play a couple of times, but never any of his own songs, which I got to hear Tuesday. He has a beautiful voice, and his rendition of Pink Moon was crazy good. I joined Ben, Kyle and Kristen afterwards for coffee and talking and eating pieces of Ben�s unusually thick French toast.

A winter break that included substantial time with Roger left me spoiled and eager to see him after a week. He voyaged from Athens Saturday afternoon, and we had dinner with Kristen and Kyle at Kyle�s parents� house in Mayretta. We got to meet the family�s new puppy, who is small enough to be easily stored in a large matchbox. I�m not a dog person at all, but this thing was admittedly way way cute. I think he ended up with the name Milo, despite forceful lobbying for other more, ummm, distinctive names, like �Spanish Inquisition,� �Dragon,� and �Purple.� One Sr. Roger and I returned to The College, we drank a healthy amount of wine, played smash brothers, and watched Venture Brothers. It was absolutely divine.

Last night, every time I had to declare, �Man on the hall,� the chorus of �Man on the Run� would go through my head. Were I the singing type�.

Non-Academic Resolutions for my Final Semester at TheCollege:
• To go to class in yoga pants or swishy pants whenever I feel like it
• To study outside once the weather is nice, and take advantage of the super beautiful campus
• To eat in the dining hall with other people more often.
• To take more pictures of people and places.

  To go to speakers and convocations I think sound interesting, and not to feel obligated to go to lame speakers and lame convocations.

• To be even less inhibited voicing my opinions.
• Go for Indian in Decatur and DimSum on Buford Hwy before I move away.
• To have another playground night once it isn�t so cold.
• To pursue weekend diversion as entertaining as last semester�s

I guess that�s all I have to say about that. Now that school has started, I�ve got more to talk about, and I�m too busy to spend so much time with the moping and self-loathing, I�m hoping my entries will be more interesting. Not that they aren�t already the best of any diaries that you�re reading, but perhaps they will reach a new height of insight and greatness. Now, to study the historical background of Latin America. Go Inca!

bits and pieces

2005-01-23 / 6:40 p.m.

A routine is forming; the pieces are falling into place. The semester feels like it�s rolling now: I�ve picked my classes (though I could, and may drop one); I�ve figured out my work hours; the gym should start opening its regular hours tomorrow, meaning that I�ll get up at the crack of dawn (projected temperature, 18� F); still teaching flute on Tuesdays; and my room is pretty clean.

So, after that long entry where I mulled over what to take, I bet you�re all itching with anticipation to know what I ended up registering for. All appearances may suggest that you don�t actually care, but I cannot be fooled; I know what is in your heart. So Spanish seemed too sweet a deal to drop. First of all, while the department may frustrate me, I like this professor. Secondly, the class is a mix of ability levels, since a lot of people from my more advanced class last semester took this one. Because of that, the students that were in the film class last semester have longer length requirements for written assignments (though there are only two), but we don�t have to come to class on Fridays. sweet.. I haven�t attended my senior seminar yet, though I was e-mailed reading to do�which is unfortunate since the book hasn�t gotten here yet. Anyway, I�m getting the sneaking suspicion that this class is going to kick my ass. So much time with Roger has convinced me that trying out an interesting-sounding philosophy class could be fun. I�m giving it a shot, and if I turn out to be too dull to wrap my mind around philosophical concepts, I can always drop the class. The professor seems an interesting character, kind of a cantankerous older man with a low tolerance for laziness and stupidity. I gather that he has a legacy of being a great professor, and also being a super hardass. He delivered his introduction to the class bluntly and to the point, cursed a fair share, and gesticulated with his cane. I think I�ll probably like him a lot. My history professor seems prone to heavy dramatics, her introductory lecture and discussion of the class were delivered with dramatically varying volume, from theatrical whisper to forceful fire-and-brimstone-style passion. She seems a little severe, but there�s no indication that the class won�t be good. Plus, there�s the allure of being familiar with the subject matter via every discipline other than honest-to-God history. (those of you who have short term memory classes: it�s a post-colonial latin American history course). The course I�m tutoring is a first year seminar, which means it�s essentially a class about how to write and research and do the whole college thing with some quirky theme determined by the caprices and research interests of the professor. The topics of these courses are usually pretty interesting, mine is about cultures of pilgrimage. It seems like a religious studies meets art history meets sociology, and I adore the professor. Things seem to be cruising along well with the schedule, and I don�t anticipate it being brain bakingly difficult other than perhaps senior seminar.