Wow. I really fail as a blogger. Good thing I never did quit my day job, huh?
I really have no excuse for not writing. Except maybe to spare you from the somewhat-boringness that is my life. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy said boringness. In fact, I have proven that “down time” can make me quite productive. During the summer I got a stellar job with flexibility for the semester, found a great (although now I might say “okay”) apartment, and learned brewed green tea bags do wonders for the bags under my eyes. Impressive, right?
I’ve also learned, through the wonderfully informative Science section of the New York Times, that our fingers turn “pruny” after being in water for a while due to an evolutionary trait. Our bodies do this automatically to increase traction on slippery/wet surfaces. But anyway...
I realize I have a lot to catch you up on since we last met via this blog, but I feel I must first update you on how my whole “Quest for Tom Hanks” is going (I say “is going” rather than “went” because I’m not quite ready to give it up). Well, I never did run into him in NYC as I had hoped. I kept a lookout for him up until the second I boarded my plane, but to no avail. I did, however, see him over the summer… In his new movie, that is. Larry Crowne was everything I was hoping it would be: funny, sweet, and starring Tom Hanks. What more could I ask for?
In other news, Boston is making me realize how utterly unexciting I am. Mostly just because as I sit here writing this, I can’t actually think of anything to write. To risk boring you, I may take this time just to mention a few observances I’ve made in the past few months.
1. This varied Three’s Company living situation with my sister and her boyfriend is harder than I anticipated, albeit extremely entertaining at times. Living with a couple is hard enough. Now add in the fact that this couple is sickeningly “cutesy” — sometimes, I think, just to push the limits of my gag reflex.
“Hi Dear, how are you?”
“I’m feeling a little down today.”
“Oooohhh no. I’m so sorry, Dear. What can I do?”
“Thanks, Dear. Just having you here with me is making it all better.”
See what I mean? Gag. And then they have this ritual where they brush their teeth together every night and think they’re hilarious when they clink their toothbrushes together (cheering to healthy gums, perhaps?). But sometimes the boyfriend will decide to brush his teeth without her. Watch out! She doesn’t like that. And what’s really fascinating is the boyfriend never learns his lesson. At least once a week I must hear this argument; doesn’t he know by now? But I can’t really blame the guy. Sometimes you just want to brush your teeth on your own. I get it.
2. Grad school is simultaneously encouraging and disheartening. My professor’s introduction to Book Publishing began: “An awful lot of books die, and publishing is an extremely high-risk profession. If you’re here to make a lot of money, you’re in the wrong seat.” Well, the money part is not a deal-breaker; I’ve already resigned myself to not having a wildly successful career and instead just plan on marrying someone rich. But it’s proof that even the man who is supposed to be teaching the importance and need of publishing doesn’t have a whole bunch of faith that it will bring financial success. On the bright side, my classes this semester are looking very promising… if not for building skills, at least for building my resume with skills I’m going to pretend I have. Great plan.
3. Yes, public transportation CAN cause motion sickness.
Well, that’s it for my observances for now. I need to save some profound thoughts for future posts, after all.
And now I’m going to leave you with a quote that more or less sums up my life right now:
I tried not to think about my life. I did not have any good solid plans for it long term — no bad plans either, no plans at all — and the lostness of that, compared with the clear ambitions of my friends (marriage, children, law school), sometimes shamed me. Other times in my mind I defended such a condition as morally and intellectually superior — my life was open and ready and free — but that didn't make it any less lonely.
– A Gate at the Stairs, Lorrie Moore
