Fuck yo’ ankle, Charlie Murphy

Why does my ankle hurt again?  Didn’t I wait long enough after I injured it the first time to start running again.  Why is my body punishing me?  I’m about to turn 31, not 41.  Sheesh.  Well, in any case, my ankle feels like I had an encounter with Tonya Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly.  I suppose I should have decided to get in shape before my body decided it was going to fall apart.

Also, I read today that Maine voted gay marriage down in the election on Tuesday.  WTF?!  I mean, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.  Still, I don’t think I understand the reasons people have for limiting certain people’s rights because of the way they choose to have sex and the people they choose as their romantic partners.  WHAT DOES IT MATTER TO ANYONE BUT THEM?!  You don’t have to go to the wedding.  You don’t have to buy them a gift.  If Christians are so concerned about homosexuals “tainting” the “sacred” institution of marriage (um, the one that ends in divorce over 60% of the time? That one?), then they should be worried about my fiance and I getting married.  We are only getting married in a church because we found a place in town that was more affordable than anything else we looked at (it’s $150 for the ceremony AND reception.  Oh, and it’s a Unitarian church, so they don’t hate gay people and those from other ethnic backgrounds).  We don’t go to church.  We listen to music that most Christians find grossly offensive.  Quite frankly, we find religion in general to be rather silly.  Why aren’t there demonstrations protesting the marriage between two people like Sarah and I?  To be honest, we’re just in it for the tax break and the several other benefits offered to married couples.  If that wasn’t the case, we would be just fine living together.  So does the Christian Right simply not want homosexuals to have these benefits?  That must be it because marriage is clearly becoming less associated with religion.  Everyone I know that has been married hasn’t set foot in a church since they tied the knot.  Well, I can think of one exception.  Still, you get my point.  Either way it’s totally fucked up.  They must think that gay culture will explode if they are granted the same rights as everyone else.  As if people will choose to be gay if that happens.  Believe me, nobody would choose to be gay in a country like ours.  Why would you expose yourself to the ridicule and prejudice the LGBT community faces every day?  Um, yeah.  They wouldn’t.  OK, I’m done ranting.  It’s just been kind of bittersweet celebrating our engagement.  Of course we’re happy but we’re also sad and frustrated that some friends of our cannot enjoy the same financial benefits but also the social status that a married couple has.  Freedom, eh?  Bullshit.

Paranormal Activity and other ‘Bull Shit’

My fiance and I went to see Paranormal Activity on Friday.  That film is absolutely HORRIFYING.  I’m being completely serious.  I was skeptical because of all the hype, but the movie delivered.  There are some critics that panned the film saying it relied on cheap thrills.  If you didn’t like The Blair Witch Project, this may not be the flick for you.  However, people that like to be scared and haven’t destroyed their imaginations with television should check it out.  There were people crying in the theater I was at.  I suppose a good crowd will enhance the experience.  Just make sure you see it in the theater.  So scary you’ll poop your pants.  When we got home, there was an argument about who had to go into the basement to get the laundry.  We were both too terrified!

I dressed up for Halloween this year.  I was the kid from The Jerk who was wearing the tee-shirt that said ‘Bull Shit.’  Everyone thought it was funny (which it was) but only a few people got the reference.  The best costume was this guy that dressed up as The Crow.  However, he didn’t try to look like Brandon Lee from the film.  He thought that costume had been played out in the nineties (and he is correct).  Instead he sewed large eyes on the hood of his sweatshirt and wore a two-foot homemade beak on his face.  He terrorized the other party-goers by flapping his arms like wings and screaming “Caw caw cuh cha!  Caw caw cuh cha!”  I almost peed myself laughing.  I think he may have been under the influence of a powerful hallucinogen, although I don’t feel qualified to make that assessment because I was pretty drunk.  Best Halloween in a few years!  Still, I’ll never beat my Steve Irwin costume that I wore just weeks after he died.  Good shit.

ouch!

i started running a month ago.  i’m almost 31 and the mcdonald’s i eat at 4 right before falling asleep no longer magically melts away.  the exercise has been going rather well.  i didn’t think i was capable of running 4 miles without stopping but my friend and i managed to do it last week.  unfortunately, this past monday, i sprained my ankle (shit!).  whyyyyyyyyyy?!  seriously though, i’m pissed.  luckily the sprain is relatively mild.  it’s swollen and bruised but there was no serious tear.  in order to make sure it gets better, i have to stop running.  there is certainly a concern that i’ll have trouble getting back into the swing of things in a week or two.  also it’s gonna be colder than a witches something or other (maybe?).  dammit!  time to spring for a gym membership.  i just got engaged recently.  maybe 4 seasons will give us the family rate…

also, with regards to last night’s top chef,  HOW THE FUCK DID ROBIN NOT GO HOME AGAIN?

just wondering.

strain

sprain

pain

lame

Intertubes

So I haven’t blogged in a while.  A long while.  That is not to say, however, that I haven’t been writing.  I have gravitated toward my journal for some reason.  I suppose it isn’t portability because I have a 13″ laptop.  Maybe it’s because my notebook doesn’t heat up like a sonofabitch.  I don’t know.  Regardless, I plan to write on here more often and save the more personal or adventurous entries for my journal.

Saw John Waters last night.  He was outrageously funny.  I had no idea he would seem so at home doing what was essentially a brilliant stand up act.  A friend from the English department here at ISU made a great point: The assholes in this town that complain of nothing to do need to shut their fucking mouths.  NOBODY SHOWED UP TO SEE THE SHOW.  I somehow managed to score 2 seats in the center of the thrid row 2 hours before the performance.  Granted, part of that was due to the BCPA’s (Bloomington Center of the Performing Arts) incompetence but it was also because hardly anyone showed up.  I have friends that are really into Waters’ work that didn’t show up because they didn’t have enough money.  Bullshit.  They could’ve spent half of their bar tabs from last night to see something far more entertaining than anything Blo-No’s nightlife has to offer.  Oh well.  I’m sure the BCPA won’t risk another scandalous guest because of the low turn out.  Fuck.  I’ll just have to continue to make the drive to Chicago or possibly Champaign to hear people talk about “blossoms” or “upper-decking” the local corporate video store (Yeah he went there.  Seriously.  SO FUNNY!)

Moving

VENT:  I feel that I am now actually comfortable in my new apartment.  Moving during the school year is NOT something I would choose to do again as it had a serious effect on my performance during the first few weeks (<———- Excuses!).  However, my girlfriend and I are settled in and, even better still, WE HAVE THE WEBERNETS!  Verizon actually listened (sort of) when I explained to them how important it is for me to have internet access during the school year.  I got a tech out here and he resolved the issues that had prevented me from wasting hours at a time on the intertubes.

I really take internet access for granted.  I’m constantly whining about how it has replaced television (which I no longer watch.  Except for films.  And sometimes the news.  Oh, and those few shows that I’m hopelessly addicted to.  Shit.) as the vehicle for wasting the majority of my free time.  Nevertheless, I rely upon it so heavily during the school year.  I don’t think I could spend three weeks without access at home again.  Almost lost my mind…

POVEL!

Wow.  Geraldine Kim is hilarious.  So far I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.  It took me a few pages to decide how I needed to approach the text but I’ve decided that it is very much like reading Naked Lunch in that I’m sort of letting the text wash over me.  That’s not to say I’m not paying attention to it.  There just isn’t any clear linear narrative or any discernible structure that I can see.  I am very insecure about my own writing and feel I can relate very much to the author (unfortunately not in terms of talent).  I like that she undercuts herself by beating the reader over the head with the idea that she doesn’t take herself (or seemingly anything) seriously.  As you read on, however, there are some very personal confessional moments where she lets her guard down.  Like the line where she mentions that the vomit was green from her Vicodin overdose.  She masks her pain in humor but I feel that the more you read, a much clearer picture of Kim begins to emerge.  I feel this way despite the fact that she has established in the introduction that it is quite likely that a large portion of the text is fictional.  The book is rife with pop culture and academic references I recognize, which is also very satisfying.

The challenge I’m now facing is how I can incorporate her style into my writing without the connection being too obvious and while still remaining original.  Only my next workshop shall tell.

Blog #1

I really enjoyed the writing exercise from Tuesday.  A lot of the art I appreciate surprises me.  Automatic writing and the exercise we tried seem to be great ways to break out of our normal modes of writing and surprise ourselves and our audience.  This ties in with the concept of enstrangement from the reading.  I think that doing something unexpected is an excellent way to engage the audience, however I need to be careful not to force this concept on my writing too much.  The fact that these concepts are new to me leads me to believe that I could easily fall into a trap where I rely on them too heavily.  I’ll have to show some restraint when applying them to my writing this semester.

It was nice to get my first workshop out of the way.  I was really nervous about sharing my work with the class and maybe even more nervous about getting feedback and hearing what people thought about it.  This is the first time I’ve taken a creative writing class.  However, the session went rather well.  Some people seemed to genuinely enjoy what I had written and the criticism I received was quite helpful.  I’m really looking forward to learning more concepts in class and growing as a writer.  I think I needed a creative release like the one this class affords.