not falling down

Things I Fervently Hope I Will Never Have To Use

• the Xavier Protocols
• the word “plethora”
• a steel guitar

This morning I got up at 6:30 and, after a little wait, drove to Lexington, where I stripped down to my swimsuit and a 10th Planet t-shirt, then jumped in an outdoor pool.

I yelled on the way in, and then got out, because it was very cold. There were still pieces of ice floating in it. I felt like I was getting out pretty quickly, but on the version in my aunt’s camcorder, I’m moving roughly as fast as you’d expect someone to move when his lower spinal functions have just shut down.

My uncle Cliff, meanwhile, moved like a man possessed. By speed. This is most likely because he went in with Cole and Clint, my eight- and nine-year-old (I think) cousins, and had getting them out of the water as his chief concern. He used to play football, and can still put an impressive spiral on a smallish human being.

It was wonderful. Also, painful. I wish I had another year at college now, just so I could make all my friends go back with me next time.

Whooo! I’m done applying to grad school! (Here’s a hint: never apply to eight grad schools).

Anyway, that’s one major load off my back, and that’ll hopefully translate to a little more time to write entries for this thing. Also, on the topic of resolution, welcome to the century of litigation:

Hatfields, McCoys Appear Before Judge

That’s… that’s a little scary. I’m imagining her with red skin and horns now. Which, I don’t know, maybe this spam is targeted for people who are into that. Although the idea of spam being targeted is pretty funny.

Coming soon: a real entry!

Stephen (formerly Imgruv2, now Sham’s Mom or something) tells the sweetest stories! Like this one.

The Dog Saga.

Jon was joking on the way to the GSP reunion that we run a group home, here at Rodes 2; it was a joke, but it’s funny because it’s true, to a degree. I can’t think of a night in recent memory when less than three (nonresident) friends have at least stopped in to hang out. I wouldn’t have it any other way, and we’ve taken some steps to make this a place where almost anyone can come for a drink, a game of Halo, a kind word: comfort.

It’s gone a bit far and aggravated us at times, too, which is why the rules on the front window point out that the apartment is not a public theater, an open party space or a long-term kennel. Still, there’s a feeling of stability here for a lot of people. This was illustrated late last Thursday night, when Katie and Emily T. found a stray puppy wandering out into the street and the cold. Told by DPS to leave it alone, they instead did what people who find puppies do: they brought it home.

Having already set the precedent of taking care of animals in the short term (turtles and frogs, stray kittens), David and I agreed to house her for the night, check with the neighbors and then take her to the Humane Society the next day. We gave her a towel and some water, put her in the back entry room, waited for her to stop crying and went to sleep.

You’ve probably figured out by now that the dog (there were several names for it, none of which I will use) didn’t go home Friday. Katie hates the Humane Society and so tried to solve the problem by refusing to take it there and then pretending she had no obligation to take care of it. Emily thought Katie was taking it, and by the time I got off work and found Jon and Amanda here, puzzled and playing with the puppy, they’d already closed for the day. We tried the local animal shelter (takes only abused dogs, not strays), vets (don’t take dogs; suggested the pet store) the pet store (don’t take dogs; suggested the vet), and a local nice lady who was rumored to take care of dogs (had her son’s large dog in town and didn’t recommend letting it near a puppy). We did manage to borrow a pet carrier to keep her in from the latter, and Amanda was generous enough to buy some food, and Emily and Kim bought it some chew toys in a roundabout way.

Oh, yes, I forget: the puppy was teething. There are few objects or people in the apartment now that do not bear the scars.

Audrey came over that night like an angel in the, um, night, and though her presence relieved what was fixing to be a really bad weekend, we didn’t have a lot of fun trying to sleep. The puppy was considerably more lonely the second night, for some reason, and made its point vocally.

That night was also party night, for those of us without dogs to take care of, so a fed-up me had more than a little trouble locating anyone to take the (expletive of choice) dog off my hands the next morning. Emily and Kim finally stepped up to the challenge around noon, and took the dog to the Humane Society at last with more than a little weeping involved. (They, coincidentally, slept just fine.)

We weren’t sending it off to guaranteed euthanasia, actually, as Katie seemed to think: we put a found ad in the local paper, and it was an adorable dog, so it’s bound to find a new owner if it doesn’t find its old one. Even if it doesn’t, we left our number to call if its time should run out, and we’ll find it another more willing home.

If this were a Hallmark movie, right around now I’d find it in my heart to love the dog even after its rascally antics, and I’d go rescue it from its pirate kidnappers and it would bite one of them on the butt and we’d all live happily ever after. Meanwhile, in real life, I don’t miss it in the least. I did like the dog, but it wasn’t a responsibility I asked for and it wasn’t something we were prepared to take care of.

Lisa and I had a long conversation tonight, and I think it helped both of us to figure some things out. I won’t go into details, obviously, but I did get to work out for myself part of why I feel the need to throw open my (our) doors to people and animals in need. In a way I am grateful to that dog, because if there’s one thing I won’t be doing again, it’s taking in more stray dogs. I think that’s a healthy thing, especially since I’m still living on a tiny income in college housing.

Now if I could just make myself want to set up rules for stray people, I’d have it made.

My ribs and stomach and cheeks hurt from tonight. It was the GSP reunion, and I did a lot more laughing than I’d expected–enough, in fact, that my whole body aches from it. And I’m tired, but it’s because of that, and it’s a really good tired.

Apparently a lot of my old hall reads this thing (word from your mother, Todd 6), which flatters me to pieces. They also apparently did a lot of stuff this summer that I didn’t know about, which frightens me. I mean, I knew about a lot of stuff they thought I didn’t know about, but then there was MORE stuff, which makes me wonder what they didn’t tell me tonight. Maybe I should implement some kind of surveillance next year, and also not spend all my time on the phone with another RA in another building. Ahem.

I also got to spend a lot of time talking with Jon on the way up and back, and that was a fine thing. The way a certain social circle has settled down in the apartment this year hasn’t exactly driven him out, but circumstances have made it very easy for him to be other places. I understand that, but I’ve missed him. I’d started to forget how well we bounce jokes and ideas off each other. It’s a kind of chemistry that has nothing to do with Meg Ryan movies, and I think it’s worth hanging onto.

Speaking of social circles, I’m also overdue for writing a little miniessay on the case study this apartment has become. Next: The Dog Saga.

I’m living in a small apartment with some of my best friends, apprenticed in a trade I find fascinating, dating an amazing girl, working with a dream cast on a play that really excites me and playing in one of my favorite bands. It occurs to me that these are probably the best days of my life.

Forgot to mention that yesterday (technically, the day before yesterday) was also my first day of running again, and today (technically, yesterday) was my second. Since it seems to take about two days for the pain of any given new start on fitness to catch up with me, I should be really feeling it tomorrow. Just in time for the GRE!

Mom was very helpful to my new winter-running idea–she got me not only several useful long-sleeved t-shirts and some gloves, but my shiny new Captain SpaceDork running tights! They do a much better job than I expected of keeping my legs warm, so I haven’t pulled anything yet, thankfully. I only wish they made something like that for my lungs.

So yes, you can prepare for another onslaught of stupid running entries, combined with whatever my brain kicks out after trying to absorb enormous amounts of information on Photoshop and Mac OS X. I’ve never done more than play around with either of them before, and they’re both pretty crucial to the internship, so today I learned a lot very quickly about both. I’ve used older Mac OSs before, of course, and my beloved PSP isn’t that different from Photoshop in principle, only in implementation. But, y’know. Still.

Also today, I actually got to help with preliminary inspiration sketches on the next project at DD–a design theme for a medical symposium on bone pain. My actual graphic design work is only that of a questionably talented amateur, obviously, but I’m hoping watching my aunt and uncle at work will give me a crash course. I felt more confident drawing the comic today than I have in a while, at least. I still don’t know why I tried to draw hands on purpose.

Also, I hereby promise not to go the typical cartoonist route and do a recurring series on running (as my analog to golf, or athletic activity of choice). I hope I never get that desperate.

First day of the term, first day of the internship, first day of table work for the play. I win a lot at Halo, now that Ken’s gone to Italy, and Lisa brought back her SNES even though Ian dastardlily (?) managed to hang on to ours. Katie’s back but I haven’t seen her, and I can almost say the same of Jon. It’s going to be a very busy term. It’s going to be a very good term.

Oh, and two hundredth entry. Pretty soon I’ll write my two hundred and first.