Thursday, August 31, 2006 | by nathan

Boost.

Day 11 without any alcohol. Doing fine, considering I have had neither time nor cause to think about it. Workouts have actually been fun this time around, which is weird, considering how very, very much I hate exercise.

Then there are days like today, when I have two stories due for the Bar Association newspaper, and all I seem to be doing is staring, blankly, at the screen, occasionally letting out a random laugh about absolutely nothing. So far today I have read an article on the Scissor Sisters on Wikipedia, perused the free papers they give out around here - including our local shit rag - and taken about four walks around campus just to clear my head - of what, I’m not sure.

I have taken my iPod with me on each of these constitutionals, as I’ve been spinning Neil Young’s new album, Living With War. It’s frigging blowing my mind. This man is a patriot on a new level of patriotism. The whole album comes off like this glorious celebration. I feel like I am at church when I listen to it, as the songs - with titles like "Let’s Impeach the President" and "The Restless Consumer" - hit me where I live. They are songs in the praise of fairness, and justice, and speaking out against evil. They’re hymns for the times we live in.

So then I come back in here and write profiles about the new additions to our faculty, which I find I am more than ready to do, now. And then I get stuck again, and go for another walk, and have another celebration. When I came back in this last time, I got stuck and began web browsing. I got curious what old King George was up to, so I went to fire up the White House’s website.

Instead, I typed: www.shitehouse.gov

Now I feel I can finish the articles. 

There will be a new music page up after Labor Day, so keep an eye out for that. In the meantime, grab Neil’s record and give it a spin. Seriously.  

Monday, August 28, 2006 | by nathan

alcohiatus

So I’ve been really, really out of shape for the past year. Like, really. I mean, first it was the summer of 2005, wherein I worked 7 days a week and had no time or energy to work out. Then it was moving into the new house, and my allergy problems, and the fall of 2005, wherein I worked 6 days a week.

Then it was the winter/spring of 2006, wherein my allergies got really, really, really, really bad, and I just gave up and started eating shitty food all the time.

And now, with my allergy shots, and 3 pairs of pants that actually fit, and just enough financial liberty to declare five out of seven evenings all mine to do with what I please, I am back on the workout wagon. The problem is, in order to really get back in the kind of shape I was in three years ago - and I mean, great shape it was - I am giving up alcohol for the next few months.

Brian’s birthday is October 25; Jaye’s is on Halloween. Other than that there really is only one event I can imagine which might warrant drinkage, and that’s the Flaming Lips concert, which I’m pretty sure I can get through sober, as it’s going to be hella-fun.

So I’ll leave my bottle of Effen Black Cherry to chill in the freezer for awhile as I try to regain some semblance of health and get my girlish figure back. 

Sunday, August 27, 2006 | by nathan

Fun With Photo Booth

After church Brian and I went to the mall. Mom got me a Macy’s gift card for my birthday, and I’m leaning very much towards using it for a pink Kitchenaid mixer. Then I’d be able to restart the muggin biz, AND KitchenAid would donate $50 to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. So it’s win-win.

Anyhow, after Macy’s we went to the Apple Store, where I had a ton of fun for about half an hour on the new MacBook Pro with Photo Booth. I made a whole bunch of fun photos, and each one links over to Flickr. So check it out:

Friday, August 25, 2006 | by nathan

Small Conundrum, But One That’s Bothering Me

I’m having a problem. It’s one of those really great, boring problems with which I wish my life was consistently populated, but it’s giving me a headache.

I love learning. Let me just start by saying that. I come by this honestly, as my parents always encouraged me in school, I was always good at school, having grown up with eerie similarities to Lisa Simpson as far as my overblown love of school. LOVE school. Love it. I love it to a degree that earlier this summer, when I thought I might not be able to go back, I panicked and almost cried daily until I was able to go back to school.

Let us balance this with this small fact: I work at a law school. The people in my office like me, and I actually find myself thinking that a lifelong career in higher education would be pretty rewarding. Okay. So. The people in my office are constantly telling me that I should go to law school, and it makes me want to bring an Uzi to work, which I will probably do, tomorrow.

So right now I am in a program for a degree called a Master of Professional Writing. The degree is essentially a combining of elements of journalism and creative writing, as we are taught not how to be good writers (they assume - often incorrectly - that we know what good writing is) but how to be professional writers. We learn how to write novels, screenplays, nonfiction books, etc. We get some cool classes like Humor Writing, and while we are cursed with an administration that couldn’t give less of a shit about our specific program - writers don’t donate as much as, say, PR professionals, broadcasters or ad execs - we are a pretty tight-knit group of grad students, more or less.

So going into this program I told myself I wanted to learn as many different types of writing as possible - you know, writing in ways that I never have. One of my courses this semester is Screenwriting. How cool is that? I mean, I have no dreams of being a screenwriter - I mean, God, it’s so precious, isn’t it? - it’s neat to get to learn how to do it.

Okay, to my problem. (Sue me, I love exposition).

I signed up for this course called Speechwriting. Sounds cool, right? I’ve given speeches before and rather enjoyed writing and giving them. And in the class we will be given a client - no, like an actual business client - and asked to write a speech for them. Sounds fun, right? One credit. Easy.

The problem is, the class is on two Saturdays - tomorrow and September 16 - from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. And honestly, the thought of going to class tomorrow all day is a little like death. As I said to Boss Lady earlier, "If you had to make me choose between dying and going to this class tomorrow, I might have to think about it for a minute."

I’d love to learn more about speechwriting, and to get my name out there professionally. But dammit - the first Saturday of the year? Really? I want desperately to drop the class, but I also want desperately to take it. I don’t need the credit, but I may need the extra sleep and the extra time with Brian. I could use the extra money from not having to buy the books, and on September 16 I will definitely need the time to recoup from the Flaming Lips concert.

And yet I’m still torn. Any suggestions? I need to make this decision before I go to bed tonight, and I’m stumped. 

Tuesday, August 22, 2006 | by nathan

Back to Basics

It’s an old story: on the way back from Dallas last month, my car overheated twice, causing us to sit in 100+ degree muggy Oklahoma weather waiting for it to cool back down so we could be back in the saddle.

Tonight when I got home Brian had the part my car needed - a fan clutch - and set to work putting it in. Then we took a drive around making sure that everything was okay, which, of course, it was.

One of the first things Brian did after we started dating was to replace the radiator in my car, which had also gone out. So now I feel that we are in a new phase in our relationship, as he has more or less replaced my entire cooling system by himself, by hand. I’m hoping that that phase involves not having to do any more work on my car for awhile; I need a new tail light, and then I’m completely good to go. In the meantime I have a whole lot of red gel tape, so I’m good.

I love that man so much; you just have no idea. 

Monday, August 21, 2006 | by nathan

Write Pretty

In my life I have had three grades lower than a B. The first was in the second or third grade - honestly I don’t remember - and it was a C for "Penmanship." Mine, apparently, was a mess.

So, after that, my mom would tell me every morning, "Write pretty." I never got another C in penmanship.  

Today I was walking over to Pad Thai for lunch and thought I should check my messages. There was one from mom saying, "I love you more than anything in the world." It was the most wonderful feeling; I felt, once again, like that incredibly optimistic third-grader who really believes he can do anything, because his mom believes in him. It was exactly what I needed, because I was still feeling a little vaguely panicky.

I love you too, mom. More than you know. 

Sunday, August 20, 2006 | by nathan

Bookends

I woke up in a random panic this morning; I attributed it to a strange dream which I did not remember upon waking.

I’m about to go to bed, and in the morning I will rush to Norman to begin a new academic year, and once again, I am filled with panic. Every year starts off this way - afraid. They added a new lecturer to my course, and a new lab section, which means that Monday and Wednesday, good luck trying to find me - I will literally be in class from 8:00 A.M. until 9 and 10 P.M., respectively, on those two days.

The new guys seem nice; one of them I know from last year, and from what I hear, the other one is a giant in the field. So that’s good. But all of a sudden, I miss Ana like crazy, because at least I knew what to expect from her. 

Sunday, August 20, 2006 | by nathan

24 Words That Describe My Life

After church today I said the following, and I think it so perfectly describes my life - for better or worse - that I have absolutely nothing to add to it. I said:

"You know, this might just be the hangover talking, but that was the most moving church service I think I have ever been to." 

Thursday, August 17, 2006 | by nathan

In A Yellow VW Bus

We just got back from seeing one of the best movies I’ve seen in a really long time: Little Miss Sunshine. Jaye and I went Monday and got free tickets for a sneak preview. I have been looking forward to this movie literally all summer, and it didn’t let me down at all.

It’s one of those movies that is cathartic. It was exactly what I needed, and if I were to gauge from the audience’s reaction, it was exactly what almost everyone in the theatre needed too. It was well-written, well-acted, and touching. It was not an artsy film about every single topic the screenwriter could think of - it was a pretty simple, quirky tale about family.

Go see it; seriously. 

Thursday, August 17, 2006 | by nathan

Now I Get It.

When I was living in Venice one of the three people I shared a room with was named Tim. Tim and a bunch of the people in our house went out to a bar one night, and for whatever reason, I didn’t go with them. But the next day we were talking about it, and Tim was telling me about some of the interesting people they had met.

"Dude, there was this one guy, and he was gay, right?" Tim said. "But he wasn’t, like, cool gay. He seemed like the kind of gay that would take you home and kill you and store you in his refrigerator."

I remember feeling vaguely miffed at this description; I didn’t know a single gay person who might do such a thing. Nor did I ever recall meeting a gay guy who fit that description. I just figured it was yet another example of the kind of homophobia that was common on my otherwise-cool southern college.

Until today, when this guy’s photo started showing up all over the internet because he killed JonBenet Ramsey. I mean, just looking at the photo is enough. Statistically speaking, he’s probably straight - most men who commit such crimes against children of any gender are - but either way I think I get what Tim was talking about all those years ago.

And what, one wonders, might someone who sexually assaulted and murdered a little girl be doing living in Thailand? I’ll just let you work that out for yourself.