Appalachia Year

Worst "daily" "blogger" ever. It'd be pretty inauthentic at this point to go and backdate two weeks' worth of entries, so I'll just try to summarize things best I can. As I write this I'm in a pretty comfortable state of transition: done with final/coursework, thesis looming over my head. Moved out of my big lovely house in Athens, moved into Nick and Jason's Washington Beach bungalow. Looking for the perfect house in Clintonville to share with my favorite L.A. malcontents.

Last year, for Nick's birthday, I made a pretty great-looking Flash cake. In keeping with the DC comics theme, this year I did Green Lantern cupcakes instead. The Green Lantern symbol didn't translate as well to candy as I had hoped; they ended up looking like cupcakes topped with some bizarre Martian rune. Still, they were tasty. So, Nick! It was good to celebrate another birthday with you. I am happy you were borneded.

It took Sjanneke and me until finals week of spring quarter, but we finally cycled out to the Athens farmer's market. We ate sour cherries and little peach tarts. Last fall when I moved, I thought it would be strange to see her all the time. We went to different colleges and really only spent time with one another every couple of months up to that point. Now, it's strange that I can't just call her to drink beer on my porch.

These are the faces of two people who made my life exponentially better while in Athens.

My parents helped me move last Sunday. How many adult moves do I have left where it's okay to draft my parents and their cars? They were a little late getting into town so Nick and I took the moped around. I love the whine of that two-stroke engine.

Columbus welcomed me back with a baptism of fire (oh, and a potluck. Thanks, Ana). Clearly I am up to my old tricks, evidenced here in my scaling of something huge, mechanical and likely dangerous on High St. I'm sorry, officer. You're right. Construction equipment is not a toy. I won't be able to keep up this behavior all summer but it was nice to have a "vacation week" after grueling final exams.

This week, I started my internship and started back serving at the restaurant again. The internship is just wonderful. It's so refreshing to ride my bike to a creative, well-designed space where I can get waist-deep in stuff that actually interests me. Serving has been fine. I'm sure by next week I'll be recanting the hell out of this statement, but it feels good to do honest labor and get gratified almost instantly for it. And I work with six of my closest friends. Not exactly a coal mine.

I'm annoyed by blogging that seems self-deluding or rationalizes away every disappointment: "my life couldn't be more perfect!!" But honestly, things feel level, positive. Brenda is back, my roommates-to-be return soon, and Comfest is right around the corner.