UPS has all my shit. It's in Watertown. I don't actually know where Watertown is, but I also have to go there to get a new driver's license so the federal government will give me more cash money for school.
If the previous tenant of my apartment had gotten out on the day he was supposed to and not 5 days late - especially being that he was already 3 weeks late - I would have been there when UPS tried to deliver all the packages I shipped to myself and they wouldn't have gotten sent to a warehouse in idontknowwherethefuckitis. But I guess I'm going down... going down to Watertown.
Today I would like to get my cats into the apartment. They've spent almost a week living in my sister's place, rotating between rooms so they don't meet the dog. There have been 2 cat-dog encounters, neither of which have gone especially well, so I don't enjoy the situation. I also don't enjoy kenneling the cats while I move boxes in and out of my apartment, so there's that, too.
It's still very drab here, and Becky tells me the weather in Chicago is not any better. Ordinarily that would be bad news, assuming the weather moves to the northeast as it usually does, but the forecasters in the area seem to disagree. They are predicting sunny days in the low 70s for the rest of the week. Still, that's much cooler than I am used to. It will be nice not to have to put on sunscreen in September, though.
At this point I'm really searching for things to write, so I'll cap it and come back later.
It's cold here. And really, I mean that. I have been here since the morning of the 24th and it has not once been above 70 degrees, which frightens me. I've lived in cold climes before, Chicago being extremely cold, but not the same kind of cold. In Chicago the wind blows 35 miles per hour all winter long and it's as dry as a desert. It also doesn't come down from the 80s until the end of September. Obviously being at a more northern latitude and right next to the ocean in this city is going to change the dynamic a bit. If it's 65 degrees on August 27th, I am slightly concerned about what it will be like on Halloween.
Remember sniglets? Do you have any favorites? Have you ever made up your own word? (Now's as good a time as any.)
Actually, Glen and I made up a word that is so useful it will soon dominate pop culture:
Jick.
It occurred as we were driving around Hoffman Estates, and I was punching him or something of the like. He tried to simultaneously say "jerk" and "prick." The resultant concoction has gone on to become, in essence, a non-specific epithet that can mean anything from "fucker" to "teetotaller." Next time you want to swear at someone without using a (conventional) foul word, use jick. You'll be glad you did.
It took 18 hours of driving - which is far longer than it has taken in the past - several highly caffeinated drinks, loads of effort, and a significant amount of money, but I am in the Boston area. I am not, however, in my apartment. The previous tenant extended his stay even further to the 27th of August, meaning he has now taken up almost an entire month of my lease and I will probably have to sign a new one.
Unfortunately, SBC is a company staffed by idiots. So when I requested that my DSL be shut off on the 23rd, they of course shut it off a week early.
The Doug and I today ventured into political discussion, as we are wont to do, and hit perhaps the biggest stumbling block of them all: How does one ensure, and for that matter measure, equality?
Effeminate men are ridiculed. Feminism has lost momentum in this century because of the stigma associated with being a feminist - the loud, obnoxious, whiny femi-nazi that hates men - that for the majority of women, could not be further from the truth. Our social structure is becoming increasingly polarized and forces individuals to make decisions about what parts of their personality to embrace and what to hide, rather than acting as they naturally would.
I think a systemic change is in order if we are to have real equality. What do you think?
It was probably not a good idea to have a going away party with my friends on a Sunday night.
I just woke up, it's 3:30 in the afternoon, I have tons of shit to do, and the first thing I want to do is lay in bed. Even my cats think I'm lazy.
On a slightly more positive note, I am enamored with the new piece I have just begun to work on. Jacques Ibert's Concertino da Camera pour Saxophone Alto et Onze instruments is like taking a weekend in Paris; there is the calamity and enormity of the city around you, overwhelming you until you begin to feel the life of the land and the people; anxiety turns to excitement in quick fashion as you walk about the city on a pleasant day, with all the sights and sounds you've never experienced. You come upon the Tour Eiffel, soaring far above you, its size and scope dizzying, but your attention falls back to Earth and the beautiful city you are in. You are there, but such a small part of this place that you are only a mere wisp compared to the noise of the city. The magnitude of the place never leaves you, the constant motion, but you always come back to the beauty and life of the City of Lights.
I should be a music critic.
I just woke from a dream in which the Yakuza were after my cat. Rereading that, there is no way for me to continue this post and sound sane.
I've seemingly been packing things for a month, but yet there are still only 10 boxes ready to ship in my living room. I packed another one today, full of dishes and serving plates, and I have to pack tomorrow a box of things like a waffle iron, blender, and other assorted kitchen appliances. What comes to mind is, how often do I use this waffle iron? When do I need a sifter? Have I ever even made gravy with this separator?
