2 times the fun

I'm eating a cheese and lettuce sandwich. For lunch I had a pb &j sandwich. I think there's some childhood revisiting going on here. Probably because I went on a "trip" this weekend, which always makes me feel like a little kid again for a while. It was a wierd one. I did 2 things at the same time and it was a little overwhelming. It was hard to differentiate the 2 competing effects, though at times one or the other became more dominant. I'm glad I did it, especially with my newer friends, but probably won't do much of anything again for a long while. I've been getting better and better at living lately. It's easier to talk to people, be independent, find meaning in small places, and I don't want to disrupt the flow. Anyway I've gotten all I could ever hope to get out of vowel #2. I've had deep meaningful conversations, been a superhero, been a sex goddess, ran around like a little kid, decorated, made art, helped beginners out...I feel like when I do it now I'm searching for something that either I've found already or that won't be found with substances. I've done it 11 times now and I think that's enough. It was great to finally be the host for this sort of event though, especially with the beach across the street. There's something really fantastic about being at home with all your stuff, and letting your friends run wild all over your house. Oh god, and the cats. The best conversation I had all night was with The Sneak. Most of it was nonverbal. She put her eyes up very close to mine and licked my face. We used to do that sometimes when she lived on my bed at the Highland House.

There's a short story contest, run by a few of my favorite web comics, going on here. I'm really excited to enter. I've been writing a bit lately, in part because writing this blog is so much damn fun, and it turns out I've got some skill. Maybe because I read so much and just know what things are supposed to sound like. Joe and I have been brainstorming a bit, and are coming up with some kickass ideas. I can't bear to look at the web forums about it though, because either the ideas will throw me off and get stuck in my head, or they'll make me feel bad about my own ideas. It's fun to be writing again, I didn't even notice how much I missed it all these years.

Temping isn't so bad. It's kind of zen, scanning thousands of pages a day. They don't care when I arrive, leave, or take lunch, and tomorrow is Waitangi Day so already I get a holiday. People are nice enough and there's a gazillion places to eat downtown. I can deal for 5 more weeks. Strange how I've already settled into this new pattern. I'm very pleased with myself. Was a bit concerned about going to this new job with a day 2 hangover, but it turns out all the produce I've been eating basically obliterated any sign of physical or mental depression. I have incredible superpowers this week!

My Mom has been writing promotional material for a new college campus loosely affiliated with her jobsite, SUNY Stonybrook. It's an environmental program where they have sustainable agriculture on campus in addition to more politically-oriented studies, are required to do environmental volunteer work to graduate, and live as sustainably as possible for a modern university. It sounds really fun, and she wrote some good stuff about it, very simple and straightforward, no bullshitting around or using college promotional catchy phrase language. If I had any desire to move back to Long Island and if the graduate program was starting soon (right now only undergraduate is starting up), I would definitely apply. I gotta give props to SUNY Stonybrook, they're always experimenting around with small unusual programs, and there's probably no way I would have gotten into MIT if I hadn't participated in a couple of those science summer programs. For a state school, not bad, not bad.