wide_smile

Kindergarten Open House

This must be what hell is:
to be the man drawn by the child
not yet dextrous enough to keep
his insides within the lines.

One of his eyes floats like a pesky fly
above his head,
his smile starts below his nose but crosses
the border of his face, reaching into space.

He looks like he was drawn on the run,
blurred by wind, or suffers radiation
from a dropped bomb, his body scrambled.
The blue of his shirt is liquid leaking
to the left and right of him, at least obscuring
inner organs surely painfully dislodged.

You want to help but can't
since crayons don't erase.
You want to tell him he really doesn't want
his brains back inside his head,
he's more creative than his buddy pinned
on the wall next to him with perfectly spaced eyes,
nose with nostrils, lips even.

Maybe he's the perfect drawing of a man in love,
all his insides a gooey mess.
Maybe we can't see, off to the side, outside the frame,
the similarly blurred woman telling him
he's loved back.

Maybe the child who drew this is a genius.

This must be what heaven is:
to be stuck this way forever
before the picture starts to focus,
you want to whisper in his ear —
the one connected to his head.

-Neil Carpathios

I learned something today. Like, a Red Eye (that's coffee + espresso for those of you who don't know) on a mostly-empty stomach equals a less-than-happy laurastomach. But it'll give you a hell of a buzz.

My pastor's wife died yesterday. That's really sad and weird; I've known her forever--not well, but still.

My Shakespeare midterm will be over in less than six hours. Then I can die.

I have to go play one game of badminton this morning. Wish I could get it over with rightthissecond so I could get down to studying.

Logan's play(s) last night really kicked ass; very funny and well-performed. It was nice to have a work break.

Woke up several times during the three hours I was in bed and found myself reciting Shakespeare. I was like Becky, except half-asleep instead of drunk, and I don't think I was getting the quotes right except "Was ever woman in this manner woo'd? / Was ever woman in this manner won?" because Mayberry's said that one so many times it's engraved on my brain in a southern accent, which makes no sense.

I need to do laundry so badly right now. But i won't.

The scent of Dove soap brings forcefully to my mind memories of my going to grandparents' house when I was a kid. Ain't smell something?

It's damn cold this morning. I don't think I really have any cold-weather clothes here. What, Alfred? It's cold here? I've only been here for two years? Whatever, I'm improvising the clothes situation and drinking lots of hot coffee.

I realized yesterday that I have fucktons of work to do between now and the semester break. This past weekend was probably the last substantial bit of down time I'll be able to allow myself until mid-October. Good thing I enjoyed it!

Last night I dreamed that a giant with psychic abilities got mad at my mom and so made her eyeballs disappear. I think this was a result of finishing Jane Eyre before bed.

Apparently this is another entry with random statements, so here are a few more for the road:

I was amused last night when my roommate let our suitemates dye the tip of a tiny bit of hair pink. She found this to be a radical move. Was tempted to show her a pic of Jess, just to give her some perspective. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

I lost my blue pen two nights ago. Suspect the couch, which is growing at an alarming rate, ate it.

Corey took out the trash.

Thought last night about getting some Neil Gaiman books to read. Then remembered have no time for recreational reading.

I'm glad the rain stopped.

Good things about last night:

1. Surprise phone call from Heather in England
2. Got good work done on short story
3. Actually listened to a song at open mic night; not only was it original but actually good
4. Asia; The girl's a trip

Good things about today:

1. Finally did my laundry this morning
2. Found $3 and so was able to buy lunch
3. Actually found table in Nana's and was able to have actual conversation with Biz about art, writing, and creativity in general
4. Got in four hours' writing time and the ideas are still coming
5. Cannolis at dinner
6. Heard some Bob Dylan on WALF
7. IM invite to Megan's for dinner

Good things about tomorrow:

1. Can sleep in, else make good use of morning as don't have badminton
2. Friday
3. Jess coming
4. Seriously, it's FRIday

I'm enjoying myself lately, how about you?

My sister came over yesterday and dusted my room. She didn't owe me a favor or anything; in fact she called me earlier this week and asked me specifically not to dust anything before she got there. She's a bit of a freak.

Last night had second-to-last hanging out time with Heather and Jared before I leave for Alfred. We watched This is Spinal Tap, which, if you haven't seen, you truly should, and if you have, isn't it funny? Yes, it is. And Jared got me a White Stripes book for my birthday, and Heather got me their last cd I didn't have yet. So hurray for them all around. Tomorrow we're going to see The Brothers Grimm, which may or may not be stupid, but should at least be entertaining. I mean, the wigs alone are amusing.

Other than that, my life revolves around cleaning and packing, which is about as fascinating as it sounds, by which I mean not at all.

I think I've finally finished shopping! That's it, I'm done, anything I've forgotten will just have to be purchased in Alfred. I'll have you know I've replaced my crappy old hair dryer some of you mocked, and also the stapler I broke in one of my anger management sessions last year.

Mom and I got our pedicures today, and it was just. Nicccce. And after spending so much time on my feet this summer, I feel the pampering was well deserved. And free, since my mom won gift certificates to the place. So yay for that; my toenails are now colored "Romeo and Juliet."

Lastly, I was a little disturbed to learn that a kid I used to baby-sit for and have known his whole life has been downloading porn. It's like that episode of Roseanne when DJ discovered masturbation and was spending all his time in the bathroom. Oh, DJ.