Woke up and wished I didn’t, if only because I was tired still and did not feel like rolling out of bed, even if Lordi was blaring from the speakers in the other room. Put a pillow over your head, I told myself, but one or two songs later I did get up, turn down the volume, and stand under the hot shower until full wakefulness returned.<\/p>\n
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I rushed to the department, or so I thought; the bus (38) was late. I got a seat at the very back and read a few pages of Nice Girls Do<\/em>, got off on Linden, walked through the garage and met up with Cora Lee, and dropped of my things in the office. Such was my trip.<\/p>\n Last night I returned before 1a.m. and the real magic, as I walked along the street rather than the treacherous, icy, and slippery sidewalks, was in providing the first set of footprints in a region, virgin territory, if only until a car came by, another pedestrian, a shovel, a snow plow … but then<\/em>, for however long, It was my snow, my prints, and pure, undisturbed fields of white under the streetlights.<\/p>\n Teaching turned into talking about technology; it was a nice discussion, and if they (the students) are willing to speak in German, I won’t disturb the mood by making us talk about “academic” topics. Conversation and composition, after all.<\/p>\n I stayed around long enough for Mandy’s package to arrive: The Devil’s Backbone and Mighty Aphrodite on DVD, unopened. Sent priority via the USPS or such. Add that to Dave and Elaine’s copy of Eraserhead, and, hell, I have a few new flicks to view.<\/p>\n After getting the DVDs I headed down the hill, got lunch at the Mediterranean — the first time in weeks, so I splurged and got a sandwich and tea — and then headed to Fair Trade. I thought of getting a fritter, but when I reached in my wallet I had only $2, enough for coffee, so I took that and got the middle table in front of the window. The short-shorn blonde to my left had a paperback copy of Siddhartha<\/em> (English edition) on the table; had it been Steppenwolf<\/em> (old thesis topic) I would have felt obliged to strike up a conversation. As it was I minded my own business.<\/p>\n I managed to finish Nice Girls Do<\/em>, which was a “nice” diversion, but rather meaningless and unfulfilling in the end, just a formula romance with idealized guys and a wishy-washy female lead who was supposed to be “strong,” “independent,” and “smart,” but who was borderline neurotic and emotionally illiterate.<\/p>\n It’s 10p.m. now, Jen just called, and wants to make a late night Woodman’s run. Midnight madness, we’ll call it — the same as the name of a really bad early-80s teen flick, staring Michael J. Fox, I believe. I’ll restock my groceries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Woke up and wished I didn’t, if only because I was tired still and did not feel like rolling out of bed, even if Lordi was blaring from the speakers in the other room. Put a pillow over your head, … Continue reading