Oh, What a Night

I went out with a couple of my English buddies last night-one just got back to Winona and the other left today. I have not had a serious night out in quite some time, and I didn't do that much drinking this past year-I just never really had the time with all my school and club stuff- so I'm definitely feeling it today. After I finish writing this I think I'm going to take a nap, which I never do; even in Spain, where they have a designated naptime, I usually just wasted time online or read or did my homework. Today, though, I'm making an exception. I spent the night on a friend's floor because none of us were in any condition to drive and I had no desire to walk back to my sketchy neighborhood in heels at two in the morning, and while I was grateful to have a place to crash, floors are not the most comfortable places to sleep.

We only went to two bars, and I only had a couple drinks at the first place, but they hit me pretty hard; I don't know if it was because I hadn't eaten much that day, or if my tolerance has just gone down a lot since the last time I went out, or if they were stronger than I'm used to, but by the time we left for the second bar I was really feeling it. Oh. And I had a couple glasses of wine before we went downtown. That probably had something to do with it too. I sobered up pretty quickly once I got there, though, because as soon as we arrived I ran into my English professor-the one whose class I'm starting in a few days.

Well, "run into" isn't a really accurate description. Once we got there we went to the back room where they have a few tables and booths for people who want to be able to hear each other talk (they usually have a band playing in the main part of the bar) where the professor happened to be sitting with a friend. I hadn't talked with him at length in over a year, and the last thing I wanted was to do was attempt a conversation with my professor (who, I have to add, is kind of adorable, which made me feel even more awkward) when I couldn't even look at a fixed point without the scenery in front of me appearing to move. While my friends went to get drinks, I sat at a table, staring resolutely at my lap, thinking "Don't notice me, don't notice me, for the love of all that is holy, do NOT notice-"
"Hey, Laura!"
"...Heeey...."

I survived, though. He asked if I was looking forward to his class and what I thought about his book choice, and he was surprised to hear that I was already almost done with it, saying I was "already the star pupil" (dammit, now I'm going to have to put an effort into the class). And I did enjoy talking with him.

All in all, it was a really fun night, but considering I'm STILL nauseous, I don't think I'll be repeating it anytime soon.

DANGERRRR....?

A cop showed up at my apartment a few minutes ago. He was looking for the tenant of the house right behind mine and asked if I knew who the landlord was. I told him I didn't, because I'm a subleaser and just moved in. I'm assuming it's nothing serious because he just thanked me and left-didn't ask any other questions or for my information or anything- but, of course, now my imagination is running wild and I can't help but think that one of my neighbors is a serial killer or a member of the Russian mafia or something. I mean, this part of town DOES look kind of sketchy. There aren't a lot of businesses around here (most of them don't even look open most of the time), the houses and buildings are all pretty old and run-down...I don't know. It just seems like the perfect setting for something shady to happen, and after that little visit, it seems like whatever shady happenings there are are going down about ten feet away from where I live. AWESOME. I know, I know, it's probably nothing; the guy probably needs to pay a parking ticket or something. Otherwise the cop probably would have said more-right?

Either way, I'm avoiding walking home after dark.

UPDATE
I told my roommate about what happened, and according to her the tenant the cop was looking for is a total creep. He pretends to be nice to the neighbors, but he beats his girlfriend and his dog and deals drugs- not a serial killer or a member of the Russian mafia, but a massive douchebag nonetheless. I hope they found him.

I could fall asleep right here

I'm curled up on a super comfy couch in a secluded lounge on the third floor of the science building. I don't know why this has become my default hang out place on campus. I think I just need a break from Minne and the library. It's so comfortable here. Two of the walls are just windows so I have a gorgeous view of campus and the bluffs, it's completely silent in here besides the hum of the printer, and this couch is so squishy and wonderful. With the overwhelming comfiness combined with the lack of sleep I got last night, I'm seriously considering taking a nap here.

Ooooor not. A guy just walked in and is now sitting at the table around the corner. LAME.

I'm ready for classes to start. I'm enjoying the break-not having to worry about homework, getting to sleep in (well, on Wednesdays and Fridays, anyway), going out with friends during the week-but I'm getting bored. Besides a few hours of tutoring I don't have that much to do during the day. I know I'll be sick of classes about two days into the term, but right now I'm just looking forward to having something to keep me busy.

I'm taking intro to American politics, which is online; politics and the environment, which is a 300 level class (I was going to take an easy science class that fulfilled the science/social policy university studies requirement but it was cancelled), so I'm a little nervous; and advanced expository writing. I'm looking forward to the last one the most, obviously, since it's an English class. I've never taken a class with the professor teaching it-actually, that's not entirely true. He was in my poetry class a couple years ago as a student. He always called my poetry "badass," so hopefully he'll remember the good impression I left on him as a classmate when I'm one of his students.

I should probably head home. It's really cloudy now and it's getting kind of windy, so I feel like I should leave before it starts downpouring.

settled in

I moved into my new apartment a few days ago and I love it so far. It's already a million times better than my old place just because it's not a basement apartment. My room's small-ish, but not uncomfortably so, and it's painted dark red and the furniture (the girl I'm subleasing from is kindly letting me use hers) is black, which kind of appeals to the wannabe goth in me that I haven't completely gotten rid of since high school. My roommates are both incredibly nice. One, Brooke, is only here for a couple more weeks, but she's been really friendly and talkative and I'm kind of going to miss her when she moves. The other, Katie, invited me out for drinks before her humane society coworkers' volleyball game about two minutes after we met, which was really nice of her. Her coworkers were all really nice too, and I think I impressed them with my crazy ninja reflexes when I stopped a rogue volleyball from slamming into my face.

Both roommates have dogs, which has been loads of fun but also has taken a little getting used to. Brooke has a pitbull/boxer mix named Spud, who is super hyper and affectionate. Katie has a Newfoundland the size of a pony named Abby-the most chill animal I have ever met- and a shih tzu named Minnie, who looks like a mop with little legs and one blue eye and one brown eye (which makes me think of David Bowie...I want to watch Labyrinth now...). They're all really sweet and entertaining, although I'm still adjusting to the massive amounts of shedding and the dog smell everywhere.

Besides the move, there's not much else going on right now. I'm working a little and apparently I will be through June; I just found out there's one more Spanish class next session. It's only a few hours a week, but it's better than nothing.

Some highlights of summer so far...

-I went to Book World last week and got Everything's Eventual (a collection of short stories by Stephen King) and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (which is by the same author who wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies). I'm also reading Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut for my English class next month. I'm enjoying it, but not as much as I did Cat's Cradle; I couldn't put that one down. I'm almost done with it, but I'll probably read it once more before the class starts just so I'm prepared.

-I went kayaking last week and I'm going again in about fifteen minutes. This is definitely something I plan on doing a lot this summer; it's fun, it's relaxing, and it keeps me from being a lazy ass, sitting around on my computer all day.

-I MET PIRATE STEVE. I'd heard people in my classes talk about him wandering around downtown but last night was the first time I'd ever actually encountered him. Unfortunately, he was not dressed as a pirate, but he was still plenty entertaining. He says our big dipper is amazing; apparently it's bigger in Winona than it is where he used to live ("180 degrees on the other side," wherever that is). He is certifiably insane and I love it.

-Winona is FINALLY green and warm and beautiful. It was a little cloudy yesterday and this morning, but it's perfect now. I'm sitting on a bench in the middle of campus right now and I could stay here forever (if I didn't have to meet my friends for kayaking in two minutes). As it is, I plan on spending lots of time reading outside, sprawled out under trees or by the lake or in any nice sunny patch of grass.

Anyway, I have to run. Hasta luego!

procrastination

I am moving in two days. I should be at home packing, but instead I'm sitting in the science building lobby (I figured I needed a break from the library and Minne), wasting time online and stuffing my face with an iced mocha and a cinnamon bun approximately the size of my head. I have a tutoring appointment in an hour and a half (YAY for accelerated language classes-the stress they cause students provides me with work!), so I figured there was no point in going home; by the time I worked up enough motivation to get anything done I'd have to go back to campus.

I am SO excited to move into my new apartment, even though I'll only be there for a couple months. It's a huge improvement on where I'm living now. Let's compare my current apartment and my new one, shall we?

CURRENT
rent is nearly $400 a month for a damp, dirty, decrepit basement-level apartment that my dad has so charmingly dubbed "the bat cave"

NEW
rent is only $200 a month for a spacious, well-kept, main-level apartment

CURRENT
has provided a variety of nasty creepy-crawlies, from centipedes as thick as my finger to bats hanging out in my bedroom heating vent

NEW
has three adorable, well-behaved dogs (the girl I'm living with is a dog trainer for the humane society)

CURRENT
has a bird poop-splattered parking lot

NEW
has an actual yard with grass

The only real downside to the new place is that it's about a mile away from campus; my current place is only about two blocks away. Honestly, though, that doesn't bother me much. I had to walk even farther than that to get to school in Granada, and at least I'll be getting a little exercise.

I think I'm going kayaking later today. My friend Mako wants to go a lot this summer, so I know I have a kayaking buddy/someone to fish me out of the water if I capsize my kayak. It's been really warm and muggy these past few days, so being out on the lake sounds like a really good idea right now.

Okay, I still have an hour until my tutoring appointment and I've run out of things to say, so maybe I will just go home and get a little more packing done.

Besos!

summer bucket list

This is kind of sad. After this summer I'm going to have to find a real job-one that probably won't give me three months off during the summer, unless I end up teaching, and even then I'll still have to prepare for the following school year. Even this summer isn't a complete vacation since I start classes at the end of the month. Because of this, I intend on having as much fun as I can before I land on my ass in the real, grown-up world.

1. Go to the Great River Shakespeare Festival plays
This doesn't start until later in June, but I'm really excited for it. I've heard the past performances have been really good, and I'm looking forward to seeing this year's: A Midsummer Night's Dream and Henry IV.

2. Take advantage of the practice rooms in the PAC
I spent a lot of time in the practice rooms freshman year when I was in concert choir. I loved going late at night when it was nearly empty so I could sing loud and not worry about anyone hearing me mess up. I haven't had any reason to use them since then, but I kind of miss plunking out a melody on a rickety, out-of-tune piano and singing along. This summer might be the perfect opportunity since there are even less students on campus now.

3. Play hide and seek
A few English students suggested playing hide and seek in Minne. I'm not sure how well this will work out, because the only hiding places I can think of are classrooms and offices which would probably be be locked at night, but hey, we're English majors. If we're creative enough to write stories, poems, and screenplays, we're creative enough to find good hiding places in Minne.

4. Go ghost hunting
Yes, I'm a massive nerd. But hey, Winona is old and I like scary stuff, so just having a reason to let my imagination run wild sounds fun.

5. Explore downtown Winona
For as long as I've gone to school here, there are a lot of places I haven't been. There are so many great shops and cafes downtown and I haven't been in a lot of them.

6. Kayaking on the lake
I didn't even find out that they had free kayaking until last fall when it was too cold to go, so I definitely want to take advantage of that this summer...and if I don't capsize my kayak it will be a minor miracle.

What else should I add to the list? Not much time for fun stuff this week-I'm moving into a new apartment and I have to have everything cleaned and packed by Saturday. I should actually be packing now...OR I could go to bed and just put off doing everything until the night before it has to be done. That's always worked out for me so well in the past.

'Night!