Adventures in Ohio.

Class cancelled all day for me and only me. I had told my boss that I'd review the new translation of Kafka's America. Now what better place to do that than an hour away?

Campus had begun to feel claustrophobic, and I've missed being able to go places and smell other people. So I drove to Columbus, parked at the grocery store and got an all-day bus pass.

A number of things:

1) Even if I broke even gas/parking vs. bus riding, it's still really cold out.

2) Who cares?

I parked and fumbled around trying to find the right bus. It's the typical Caste Cruiser system, it reminded me of the old "if you have to ask you can't afford it," rule with jewlery, only the complete oposite. Few of the stops mention which busses come there, even fewer have times posted, and none of them have a map of any kind.

This is the fun part.

You have to ask, to look around, to talk to the driver. To stand infront of the white line.

Of course, they're clean, empty, and futuristic. "[brrrring]This is the number two cross headed for..."

At the north market. I ate indian food for the first time in a month and read the book. Everyone told me that I'd miss abroad and find cafes and drink espresso and dish about this or that. I never knew that I would just long to feel confused, standing at bus stops in the cold and reading books at a table for one...

And I'm not even a poet, I just like design.

Today I would like to give a shout out to material possessions, all of which contributed to my current happiness.

This morning I woke up at 6, something that highschool self promised never to do to college self. Amanda and I made plans to go to the coffee shop on the way to school, but they were closed because of the crippling snow. Ohio people are incomprehensibly moronic abour snowfall. You'd think their shovels had rubber handles.

They never bother to plow the snow until it has started melting, and on the way to school I saw someone sweeping--fucking, sweeping the snow off their driveway.

But no worries, and I'll tell you why:

1) My new used camera finally came.

2) My mother sent me a valentines day package with vegan peanut butter choc chip cookies, chocolate, my grades from abroad, some styrofoam peanuts, and more vegan candy. She even re-used a box from the garage cause she knew I would like that.

3) Mailbox opened: New issue of The Week magazine and new issue of Esquire--I make no apologies for subscribing to Esquire.

4) My new boss signed a timecard for hours I never even did and told me to make them up after spring break.

5) I got commissioned to do a review of the new translation of Kafka's Amerika. Which I agreed to do because I feel very $trongly about the need for young voice$ in the media.

I'm going to go enjoy my new possessions.

Someone is paying in excess of $30,000/year for me to go to this fancy pants school, and 1/8 of that goes to pay for me to play on computers and pretend to make art.

Not a bad deal.

So I finally got a copy of Please Don't Kill the Freshmen by Zoe Trope. I can't recommend it enough. The author wrote it when she was 14 and it just recently got picked up by Harper Collins to be expanded into a hardback novel. The one I have is stapled, 44 pages.

When I was 14, I was working on getting my hair to come out really green, she is systematically dismantling post-modern pretensions.

Examples:

1) She opens up the novel with a cast of characters, from her best friends to the creepy teachers: "Midwester Tackiness- extremely neurotic French teacher. you know the one teacher you had in high school who was an utter bitch no matter what you did? Yeah, well, she's it.

2) She gets hauled into the vice principals' now and he threatens her with lawsuits and libel cases. I miss those days.

3) She named all her characters the way I would: Braid Bitch, Techno Boy, Curry, Greasy Buddy Holly. It reminds me of freshman year at Kenyon when we didn't know anyones name and rather enjoyed giving them new ones: Mutton Chops, Pseudo English, Cape Girl...