muse

America the Island.
And me without my telescope.

maybe its my own blind ignorance or my tendancy to focus on, well other things. when it comes to the discussion of world politics i'm at a bit of a loss. i'd like to lump in the rest of america with me, but i do know there are students my age with vast stores of important dates, names and the current status reports of every nation on the globe. i don't mean to jest. there are those who get more enjoyment out of world politics than the average american could ever fathom outside of sporting events and sex. while you may not have to cancel monday night football, having at least a general understanding seems to be important. while there are these elite few who truly understand, maybe more than i realize, i get the feeling that relative to the remaining civilized world america is slightly...isolated. once again, possible its just me. its incredible how every movement made in the states is observed from abroad. decisions are calculated with all eyes turned towards the man across the water. i am troubled because my knowledge of world happenings is a bit subpar. maybe i should have been reading more than the sunday comics. earlier this week in conversation, a student suggested that when america holds an election the rest of the world should be counted in the vote as well. i imagine its not terribly original, but it did make me think. go read a newspaper.


classes start tomorrow, but i dont have class on mondays so i have another day to wait. i've been sick for the past few days so have been laying low. i wanted to write something here about vampires and how ridiculous they must feel running for cover when the sun comes up. its possibly the most inconvenient thing i can imagine and also why can't they see in the dark, like a bat can? i was watching this movie and the vampire had to use a flashlight. she even used a glow stick at one point. kind of real lame. get a job. so i did write something.
so classes start tuesday and i'm a bit excited and hope to take a trip this weekend somewhere into the country side in honor of mountain day, maybe every monday will be mountain day. i'll attempt to take pictures eventually, i'm awkward enough without the camera at the moment.

simple difficulties

I'm a junior in college studying philosophy, i have traveled great distances, i spent the past summer using a chainsaw, and i even cook my own meager meals. yet, i spent the past half hour attempting, unsuccessfully mind you, to dry my clothes with the most complicated drying machine i've ever encountered. The girl who lives on the first floor is working on her Phd. and when i asked her for help, she told me that she just ended up laying her clothes on the radiator. This can't be right.

Classes will finally start on monday. i'm very ready for them to begin, while i'm not yet registered they tell me it will be ok. i just want something to occupy my time.

dis ain't wyomin

yesterday as i browsed through the store in basement of the student union building i stopped at a stand full of umbrellas and contemplated if 6 pounds was a reasonable price for rain protection. i decided to search elsewhere, being it was only cloudy out and if anything it would only drizzle. i payed for my coffee and outlet adapter before heading up the stairs to find, in a beautiful twist of irony that only real life can provide, heavy drops, nay bombs of rain racing through the sky towards earth. for reasons of pride and simple disregard that only some will understand i didn't turn around to buy the umbrella but walked home through the downpour.
so england. the milk is either whole, slightly skimmed, or skim, none of that % crap and they drive on the wrong side of the road. i may get used to everything else, but in the end their driving will still scare me. i'm sure of it.
i'm living in leeds and the city is gigantic. even bigger than coopersburg. i know. nearly every afternoon for the past week i've set out for a walk and when i become disoriented or tired i wander back towards campus. although i've spent countless hours walking, and today taking the newly discovered free bus, i have yet to explore everything. i live in an apartment with 7 other students, only three and a boyfriend of whom i have met. its a general consensus that not everyone has moved in. my flat mate across the hall is a grad student from spain studying philosophy. it made my day when i found out. my room is the corner of the attic and bit cozy but will do just fine. the skylight, or slanted window, the roof being the only wall open to the outside provides hours of rain watching enjoyment.
Classes don't begin until the 25th so i'm not entirely sure what i'm supposed to do until then, but i'm exploring and attempting to converse with the many other internationals as well as the few english students who are already in leeds. it should prove to be an interesting year. i'll send my address to anyone interested, i may even get a mobile phone, going against all principle, but a necessity if i wish to exist. and i do. Cheers.

box turtles and billy bragg

Steve Irwin is stabbed through the heart by a sting ray and died earlier this week. through the heart. The story has been plastered across the news media. I'm sure you've noticed. Only the first few hours after his death was it necessary to ask, "have you heard?" As I paced back and forth across the house this past week i contemplated his death. the death of an incredible man who was more cartoon than real flesh and blood. through the heart. a man i didn't know personally. In the very same week Facebook ignites a revolution by displaying how creepy and close the internet can really make people. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1532225,00.html?cnn=yes
They then apologize, "We really messed this one up. When we launched News Feed and Mini-Feed..."
What is one to do? I've paced and packed and visited friends and family in anticipation of my rendezvous across the big water. After returning from wyoming, meeka and i visited juniata and jonestown, monogohela and coopersburg as well as some northern industrial town. its good to see family and friends. the family/friend relationship is an interesting concept that some claim to understand. people who truly care about you under any circumstances. incredible really. a constant in a revolving door world? possibly. maybe i'm being naive. but i'm rambling. i hope to update and such, later on. to be entirely honest i do not know what lies ahead, and i guess i'm ok with that. keeps things interesting.