Sudden Doubts

Settled back in here, finally. The job is going okay, but the first few weeks are very slow, with a lot of inventory, maintenance and cleaning. Things should pick up towards July and August, but for now, it's a bit grueling.

I've met up with some old friends from middle school, which is bizarre to say the least. They're doing okay, going to MSU, and staying in a cheap but lavishly furnished apartment for the summer- 5 fish tanks, dishwasher in the kitchen, great new couch with two incredibly comfortable chairs, Xbox, carpets and rugs out the wazoo, not to mention a variety of soft lighting, and what I'm fairly sure is a 42" plasma flatscreen. Not bad for a student apartment. makes me wonder what sort of off-campus options are floating about in NYC for the coming fall. Maybe it'd be better than my 81 sq ft single, but on the other hand, apartments on the upper west side wouldn't be coming cheap.

My latest ponderings are largely focused on my choice of major. It seems to me that perhaps, I may have made a mistake. My peers -friends, enemies, and associates in the wonderful college world- all seem to have a rather passionate drive to pursue their major. Pushing a 4.0 GPA, finding internships in the field, constantly reading news related to their industry- they all seem very interested in their major. Don't get me wrong, I've had my fair share of fun with creative writing, and I think, egotistically perhaps, that I have some talent with it. Not a great deal, however, and perhaps not the passion I should have. I'll keep thinking this over, and perhaps doing some side research after work.

Oh- almost forgot! Saw a decent reading of a Mamet play recently- Glengarry Glen Ross. It went up in the slowly degenerating Blue Slipper in Livingston, maybe thirty minutes away. The theater needs new lighting to meet fire code, and seems to be one of the last classical stages in my area of MT. This reading was just part of a series of fund raisers. Richard Moreland, who played Richard Roma, stole the show. His physicality, including his hand gestures and facial features, were incredible. As it was a staged reading, there was a minor snafu with another character missing an entrance queue, but with a responsive audience (what fund raiser doesn't have wine?) he ad-libbed slightly and had the entire crowd in stitches, including, almost, himself. A great show.

That's all for now sports fans!

Setting Up

Well, I've just started this doohickey up, argued with the software for a bit, and made my first post. Hooray? Anywho. Things are looking pretty good for this coming summer- I'm living at home with the parents (which is free), and returning to my job from last summer on a manual labor crew as a team leader (which means a raise). Overall, finances should be fantastically set for me to enjoy a good fall in NYC, and hopefully, a solid spring in Ecuador.

Also, a few old friends will be in town over the summer, and the crew I'll be working with should be pretty young and outgoing, so fingers crossed for socializing aplenty. I'm also looking at going back to an internship I held last year with the Yellowstone Parks Foundation, but I'm unsure if I should spend my time volunteering/interning somewhere else. The YPF was okay, but I feel like I should try to get a little more involved with something related to publishing or teaching (good luck in MT, right?).

I'm also thinking that I might shop some of my work around to some short fiction contests. It's $10-20 entry fee, which is sort of a scam, but the prizes range from $400-$4000, plus publication. I figured that I might spend $10-20 a week on scratch-off lotto tickets after the interesting and potentially lucrative ventures I went through over spring break in CO, but maybe I'll just invest that money in a more professionally viable lotto. I figure my chances are about the same, so no harm, no foul there.

Anywho, This is running a bit long, but stay tuned and stay in touch wonderful readers. I'll see you all on the flip side!