A message under the cap of my root beer tells me, "The planet: they're renting it to you. Fight the power." Jenn and Nick broke up a while back and now Jenn wants to move. Daniel says there are two rooms available to rent in the apartment above his, which would be perfect for Iven and I, and now I'm really starting to realize that my plan to move in with Iven is more than hypothetical. I'm moving on October 1st. I am. I'm also the richest I've ever been now that my financial aid has arrived, while flirting with the biggest debt I've ever been in, and the adult thoughts in my mind lean toward investments or repayments. Hell, I could completely pay off the Great Dental Recovery in cash if I wanted to. Tomorrow. Better yet, I can get textbooks. Crazier still, I could get fired and be okay. Interesting I'd say that because yesterday's memo certainly put everyone's job on the chopping block, hinting that our school schedules were so inconvenient that someone would have to be let go. Today I think Jason assured me that I was in the clear. Next week's schedule looks like a dream. School starts on Monday. Orientation went well. Met all my teachers. Got inspired. Only six kids in the TESOL Masters Program. Six. And only one (me) doing it the Peace Corps way. Got more paperwork. Shook some hands. Afterward, I couldn't find the place to get my student ID, wound up wandering the tree-happy campus, witnessed a sorority sing-along, gave up and took the bus home. Bus ain't so bad. Bonfire that night, the slowest-to-start bonfire of all time. Opens with Iven and I ranting about work, plotting our move, getting stoned and having trouble with the fire. Next comes Brady, then Alan, then Drew, then Drew and Alan leave to get food, so it's just the three of us for a while. We're playing Speed in the background and it's such a calm evening, we smoke more weed. Kelly arrives after a dramatic day and gives us a play-by-play. The fire refuses to light despite our best efforts. Samir and Sarah show up not long before we hear the jingle of Murphy's collar and Julianne closing the gate behind them. The newly-single and change-seeking Jenn comes with her friend, Kaitlyn, but they leave a little bit after Tessa gets there with her sister, Amelia. Alan returns from the Garlic Shack with Drew, who gives his hamburger a 4 out of 10. It finally feels like we have a good group with an even gender ratio. Mary comes by--this being her last day at work, a week before moving to New Orleans. Glad she made it. Daniel's there soon after. Rob and Sarah swing by and I find out Rob films weddings and needs a video editor and Sarah's a professional self-made photographer. I'm impressed. Jenny comes home from work and joins us with a beer. Movie goes from Donnie Darko to the new Tron. The night ends with a talk about Twitter and the open rooms in the apartment above Daniel. Totally doable. Everyone leaves around midnight. I'm awake five hours later, going to work. It's my Tuesday. Megan checks her school schedule to see if she can clear anything up, make more room for Old Soul, but then she's like, "Fuck that. I choose school." Good move. She seems aware that she'd be the first to get fired from scheduling conflicts, should it come to that, especially when this girl came by today with a billion years of coffee experience and the right availability. Coffee is a brutal world sometimes. I hardly feel like my job is safe. Tamara came back from her European travels today. Long time no see. No word from Meredith since those Peru photos she posted a couple weeks ago. Started making a chess board, found unintentionally awesome animal-themed pieces at the Dollar Store. Finished the third draft of my book. Looking at agents, now. Getting hopeful. Had a solid talk with Jenny about our relationship after September 19 and we both agree that nothing should change, save for the ocean between us, that she'll be in South Korea rooting for me while I'll stay in Sacramento and root for her. I like that. Saw Fright Night, liked it, and Another Earth, which I liked a lot. Spent an afternoon at Kelly's studio, editing while she continued to unpack and clean. Had a birthday dinner for Lance at Hot Italian with some of his friends and Tyler, who was there for the boots but stayed for the pizza. Good stuff. Nice people. Happy Birthday, Lance. Iven put in his one-month notice at work. I want to get a job at the writing center at Sac State. I want to do everything that those teachers were talking about at orientation, the tutoring, the assistant teaching, the CATESOL conferences... Feeling that had me down about all the dull parts of work, the wasted energy. Made me want more than ever to sell a novel and never work again just to have the time to do all of these things I want to do. Old Soul will do, for now. Not sure how long "now" is. I'm guessing until December. With my financial aid, I can afford a ticket to South Korea. Gotta get my passport. Gotta finish my dental / medical forms for the Peace Corps. I'm excited to start classes. Excited to root for Jenny. Excited for the Naked And Famous show next Wednesday. Excited, slowly but surely, for Fall.
- Left to Fry
No comments:
Post a Comment