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Coming to you LIVE from a brand-new Lenovo IdeaPad* ! *on the edge of the back porch of the house, with a mug of vanilla chai, Catch-22, a lighter and a cigarette which I'm holding off on smoking so the brand-new-sparkling-white keys don't catch smoke-smell. And a 101 fever, STILL. I feel like I've been juggling bronchitis, allergies and the flu forever. It's probably good that I didn't work tonight, much as I actually wanted to; would've been hard to stand in heels, or to hear the headset, what with my ears being full of swamp water, drowning my auditory and vestibular senses. Still, it's hard to be too bitter. I GRADUATED! And it's about time. Still, it doesn't feel quite right; I feel like a drifter now, like I was previously part of a conglomerate that has now dissolved, and I don't identify with any group anymore (I was talking with my friend Tyler about this and he agreed). And so it's a new feeling, an odd feeling, but not a bad feeling, necessarily, at all. Will take some getting used to. But I'm so stoked for college. My boyfriend thinks it's ridiculous how I geek out and go message-boarding with my future classmates pretty much every day. But really, there's so much waiting for me at college. TOP 10 REASONS I'M STOKED 10. Tanglewood Park. For real. I grew up in this park, and I miss it, I miss paddleboating and horseback-riding and renting the cabins in the woods. And the Festival of Lights, I mean, it's the meaning of Christmas. 9. Old Salem itself (the area encompassing Salem College). So beautiful. It's like a time capsule. 8. Dorm life! I think I find out my roomie in July. And the dorms are two rooms with a connecting living room (I think this is what is called suite-style, but that might be something else?), I mean, they're awesome, I stayed in one. Can't wait to decorate, have my friends at other schools come crash, get some music goin'... 7. Fall Fest-- Salem's big annual autumn festival. I'll be dragging all my friends at other schools out to come party. And fall itself-- while not as quickly as I'd like to be, I am gradually progressing northwards, and while this fall won't quite entail infamous New England foliage, I'm looking forward to the (slightly colder than Charlotte) autumn chill. 6. Winston-Salem restaurants: returning to the spots I used to drop in on when I was a lil'un. T.J.'s for deli stuff, Mayberry for bubblegum ice cream, Gloria Jean's Coffee in Hanes Mall (yes, the coffeehouse I went to before Starbucks monopolized. And this was back when the only thing that interested me at a coffee bar was the rock candy on the counter, far out of my reach.) And this one bakery-cum-eatery that I can't for the life of me remember the name of-- I stopped by after UNCG Fall Fest last year-- but I love it, and I know I went there when I was little. I feel like it's near Salem Kitchen (I have a vague and somewhat distorted mental map of Winston-Salem at this point...) but I don't know. Also near Boston Market,which was called Boston Chicken when we used to stand out in line there in the cold to wait for dinner, years and years ago. 5. Medical: and here's where I get a touch political. I haven't had my own real doctor since I've been out on my own. I'm uninsured, prescriptions are outrageous-- and some controlled substances (my ADD meds) are not distributed via the free clinic. I call B.S. on this one, since it seems to imply that the poor/uninsured (and I fall into this category as a young independent) are more likely to abuse these substances. I really need mine. Pass some effective healthcare bills, Barack! Until then, it'll be nice to be covered by some less-expensive (mandatory) college insurance to take care of that, check-ups, vaccinations, B.C., etc. (wow, it's getting cold out here... in mid-June? I mean, I guess I am sick, so I'm oversensitive. But it's windy!) 4. Urbex-- because Winston-Salem is preferable for exploration. It's older than Charlotte, more nooks and crannies to look for, more old buildings. I've already determined from discussion boards that at least one fellow Salemite will accompany me on adventures. :] 3. Classes. Just the school aspect of college is probably the most exciting part. I'm hoping to cross-register and take some more advanced photo courses at WFU and see if I can get in with the photo prof(s) at UNCSA. That, and courses like Twentieth-Century Poetry, Modern Art History, Major Issues of Philosophy, an entire course on Milton (!), and phys. ed. (ah, horseback riding, scuba diving, yoga, anyone?) have me pumped. I mean, even science gets to be fun-- I can take Women's Issues in Biology for my credit. I will really get to enjoy school, and that makes me happy. 2. WFU! Wake Forest is quite close, which means I can get my party fix (though I plan to get this fix minimally during the first few semesters... I promise.), go see football games (yeah, I know, I'm an art school kid, I know nothing of football. But I dig the game-watching experience, especially when it means stadium blankets and giant cups of Coke.), and walk around another absolutely beautiful campus. (I'm big on scenery.) 1. SLEEP. Yes. (Probably almost) Never having to wake up at 4:30 again. Never riding the rickety, jerky, loud school bus in the dark again. NeverevereverevereverevereverEVER. I mean, at worst, I may have to be up at 8 or something. And that is so okay with me. Not to mention that I'll be waking up in a beautifully historic room and walking down to a latte machine. I will be happy as a clam. 
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2009/06/iran-leadership-more-divided-than-ever-analyst-says.html Iran is about to be a big, big mess. I mean, big. Keeping an eye on this. God, I hate being sick. My lips are so chapped. The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame. Oscar Wilde I ordered these, and they will be in the mailbox soon. I love Amazon-- when books are 15, 20 bucks at the bookstore (and I only read most books once-- I think it was Oscar Wilde who said that a book was no good if you didn't want to read it over and over again-- and I personally think one good, attentive read with underlining, notes and plenty of discussion leaves time for other good books, in an age when we only have so much time in the day. Not to say that I wouldn't like to re-assess Harper Lee.), and I'm pretty broke, Amazon lets me pick up just about anything for three dollars plus S&H. The second one is my assigned summer reading for college (and JUST when I opened my mouth to say "No more assigned summer reading.." DAMN.) I also noticed Philip Roth at the Bull's Head Bookshop (one of my favorites) in Chapel Hill. I've heard his name dropped a hundred times and I have no idea about his books. So I think I'll check him out soon-- I flipped through one, which was in play format (?) and it looked really interesting.  Speaking of, Chapel Hill was excellent! Above, L to R, are Kevin, the design editor; Kyra, a staff writer; Meagan, a former copy editor (and now my replacement as editor-- yay!) and me, editor emeritus. I was pretty ready to not do newspaper again after this, make a beeline for college magazine, but we kicked ass at awards (I'll post the list when I get it from our adviser) and I kind of began to romanticize paper again. Haha. Depending on how intensive work at the Salemite is, I'll consider it. I placed first in photo and editorial, which made me smile, seeing as those are kind of the two things I really like to do. Sigh. Above, you can also see that I am really in need of a hair dye. And some sunscreen and makeup. Ick. And yes, I was missing an earring. About to go play Infamous again. I swear, Zack, I will beat it before you do. Just watch me catch up. And I need to find a gym nearby. I ordered a free trial pass for a women's gym in Huntersville, so I'm going to see if I can go tomorrow. |
