I went through my J.D. Salinger phase junior and senior year of high school. I liked Franny and Zooey way better than Catcher in the Rye, though, and Nine Stories best of all. I even wrote a ten-page research paper on the Glass family (whose names I can still rattle off - Les, Bessie, Seymour, Buddy, Boo Boo, Walt, Waker, Zooey, Franny).
The best part about coming home is grabbing a book at random off the shelf in my room, opening it to a similarly random page, and plowing in. I can do that for hours, and I often do. I reread a couple of the stories from Nine Stories last night. I enjoyed them well enough. I still think Salinger's a good author, but he's not my favorite anymore. Couldn't tell you why; he's just not.
His dedications still crack me up, though. Here's the one to Franny and Zooey:
"As nearly as possible in the spirit of Matthew Salinger, age one, urging a luncheon companion to accept a cool lima bean, I urge my editor, mentor and (heaven help him) closest friend, William Shawn, genus domus of The New Yorker, lover of the long shot, protector of the unprolific, defender of the hopelessly flamboyant, most unreasonably modest of born great artist-editors, to accept this pretty skimpy-looking book."
And here's the one to Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction:
"If there is an amateur reader still left in the world--or anybody who just reads and runs--I ask him or her, with untellable affection and gratitude, to split the dedication of this book four ways with my wife and children."
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Status
Updating your Facebook status is the quintessential path to instant gratification. Feeling lonely? Send a quote, an inside joke, an offhand observation, or a gripe out into the void, and nine times out of ten, you'll get a couple "likes" and a sympathetic comment or two within an hour. It doesn't matter that they're usually from people who'd forgotten you exist until it popped up in their minifeed. It's human contact, it's validation, and sometimes, that's all you wanted.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Winter Break '09: To-do list
To-do list for Winter Break '09:
-Apply to Teach for America. Deadline is January 8th, so I still have some time.
-Apply to ACE. The Alliance for Catholic Education is basically like TFA, except it's run through Notre Dame. It's a two-year commitment where you're teaching in Catholic schools during the year and taking classes to get a Master's in education over the summer. My mom found out about it when she was dropping Katherine off at college in August and has been pushing it ever since. It's a good deal and all, probably the better of the two, but I'm applying more to placate her than because it's what I really want to do. Eight years of Catholic school was enough, thanks.
-Finish the first draft of my thesis. We were supposed to have all sixty pages done by the end of the first semester, but I told my supervisor around mid-October that that just wasn't gonna happen. He laughed and said to do as much as I could. I submitted a fifteen-page story and a twenty-page story, but the second one is a complete do-over that I wrote in 36 hours so I'd have something to turn in. Coming up with ideas, brainstorming in my Moleskine, jotting down outlines are easy. Writing is the hard part. I have to learn to to silence my inner editor, to write crap knowing that it's crap, to get quantity down on paper and worry about turning it into quality later.
-Set up a move-in date / cable / electricity for my new apartment. Just a few phone calls I have to make. I'm moving out of Jefferson West into my own place at 37th & Speedway next semester, and that's all I care to say about that on the Internet.
-Hang out with Danny, Emily, Michelle, and others TBD. Now that I'm back in town for good, I can start making plans with people. Danny and Em are no-brainers; we keep missing each other when they visit Austin. And now that all but the closest of high-school relationships have faded out, I think we're at the point where "catching up" is enough of a reason to get together with anyone we ever knew, regardless of how close we were or how long it's been.
-Read. Just finished a book of short stories by Breece D'J Pancake and loved it. A lot. Colum McCann's new book is next. Ham on Rye, by Charles Bukowski, is after that. I like how I can read for fun as much as I want and chalk it up as thesis research.
-Watch movies. I've been keeping a list of movies I learned about in my film history class (shudder, long story for another day) all semester, and now it's time to rent 'em one by one and enjoy. A lot of it (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, for example, or Annie Hall) is stuff I'm kinda embarrassed to have not seen yet.
-Apply to grad school. Oh, yeah, that. It's a back-up option.
-Apply to Teach for America. Deadline is January 8th, so I still have some time.
-Apply to ACE. The Alliance for Catholic Education is basically like TFA, except it's run through Notre Dame. It's a two-year commitment where you're teaching in Catholic schools during the year and taking classes to get a Master's in education over the summer. My mom found out about it when she was dropping Katherine off at college in August and has been pushing it ever since. It's a good deal and all, probably the better of the two, but I'm applying more to placate her than because it's what I really want to do. Eight years of Catholic school was enough, thanks.
-Finish the first draft of my thesis. We were supposed to have all sixty pages done by the end of the first semester, but I told my supervisor around mid-October that that just wasn't gonna happen. He laughed and said to do as much as I could. I submitted a fifteen-page story and a twenty-page story, but the second one is a complete do-over that I wrote in 36 hours so I'd have something to turn in. Coming up with ideas, brainstorming in my Moleskine, jotting down outlines are easy. Writing is the hard part. I have to learn to to silence my inner editor, to write crap knowing that it's crap, to get quantity down on paper and worry about turning it into quality later.
-Set up a move-in date / cable / electricity for my new apartment. Just a few phone calls I have to make. I'm moving out of Jefferson West into my own place at 37th & Speedway next semester, and that's all I care to say about that on the Internet.
-Hang out with Danny, Emily, Michelle, and others TBD. Now that I'm back in town for good, I can start making plans with people. Danny and Em are no-brainers; we keep missing each other when they visit Austin. And now that all but the closest of high-school relationships have faded out, I think we're at the point where "catching up" is enough of a reason to get together with anyone we ever knew, regardless of how close we were or how long it's been.
-Read. Just finished a book of short stories by Breece D'J Pancake and loved it. A lot. Colum McCann's new book is next. Ham on Rye, by Charles Bukowski, is after that. I like how I can read for fun as much as I want and chalk it up as thesis research.
-Watch movies. I've been keeping a list of movies I learned about in my film history class (shudder, long story for another day) all semester, and now it's time to rent 'em one by one and enjoy. A lot of it (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, for example, or Annie Hall) is stuff I'm kinda embarrassed to have not seen yet.
-Apply to grad school. Oh, yeah, that. It's a back-up option.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Bunny
At home in Dallas for the night. Saw Bunny on the top of my bookcase and picked him up. Bunny and I were inseparable from before I started remembering things till longer after that than I'd care to admit. Took a second to wonder how things have gotten so complicated since losing him was the worst thing in the world and finding him again was the greatest.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Life
The past few days have been pretty representative of my life as a whole lately, for better or worse. Mostly worse, to be honest with you.
Skipped all my classes on Thursday. Classes, studying, tests, grades just aren't on my radar as much as they've been for as long as I can remember. Call it sleep deprivation, apathy, senioritis, whatever you want. I'm not failing anything, not even close, but I just can't bring myself to care like I used to. Maybe it's a good thing I'm taking a year or two off before grad school, if I even decide to take that route at all.
Got a text from my roommate Thursday night that they wanted to throw a bachelor party for one of their friends. I said it was fine with me, went home, packed a bag, and spent the night on Michael's couch. Pretty good night, too - watched Dark Knight on TV, went to Whataburger afterward. I feel like that's the kind of night I should be having a lot more often as a college senior, instead of locking myself in my room and plugging in my iPod to block out the stonerbabble from the living room. Got home Friday morning (well, afternoon) to find a hole kicked through the living room wall. About par for the course.
Friday night - found out this girl I've been talking with over the last couple weeks has a boyfriend. And this is after I spent 5 of my last 20 dine-in dollars on orange juice and soup because she was sick. That's the worst part.
Texan party Friday night was fun. Slept till three the next day. Not hungover, that's just a usual Saturday. Rest of the day--nothing exciting. Caught up with Lauren on Facebook chat and then the phone for a while. Also called Sean for the first time since he moved back to New Mexico. I didn't realize how much I'd taken hanging out with him for granted until he left. We talked for a good hour and a half while I wandered around West Campus. He's doing well enough, it seems like, so good for him. Got back to my place, tried to get together with a few different people, but no one was up for anything. I ended up going to Arab with Michael, though, which was a nice surprise. Not that I hung out with Michael, or that we went to Arab, just that plans fell into my lap for a change.
Sunday, up at 4, which is late even for me. Went to 7-11 for groceries. I need a car in the worst way. Work from 6-3. Hanging out with Stephen and Olivia on Sunday nights and the gang on Wednesday nights is starting to be the highlight of my social life, and that's really, really sad. I thought junior year was rough when everyone moved out of the dorm, but this year, everyone's moved out of Austin. Sean's in New Mexico, Danny's in Dallas, Emily's in Lubbock, Joe's in Houston, Paddy's in Florida. I mean, I saw this coming and all, but still. Too many work friends, class friends, Facebook friends. Not enough friend friends. Home at 3, couldn't sleep till 5, work at 8.
Happy Monday.
Skipped all my classes on Thursday. Classes, studying, tests, grades just aren't on my radar as much as they've been for as long as I can remember. Call it sleep deprivation, apathy, senioritis, whatever you want. I'm not failing anything, not even close, but I just can't bring myself to care like I used to. Maybe it's a good thing I'm taking a year or two off before grad school, if I even decide to take that route at all.
Got a text from my roommate Thursday night that they wanted to throw a bachelor party for one of their friends. I said it was fine with me, went home, packed a bag, and spent the night on Michael's couch. Pretty good night, too - watched Dark Knight on TV, went to Whataburger afterward. I feel like that's the kind of night I should be having a lot more often as a college senior, instead of locking myself in my room and plugging in my iPod to block out the stonerbabble from the living room. Got home Friday morning (well, afternoon) to find a hole kicked through the living room wall. About par for the course.
Friday night - found out this girl I've been talking with over the last couple weeks has a boyfriend. And this is after I spent 5 of my last 20 dine-in dollars on orange juice and soup because she was sick. That's the worst part.
Texan party Friday night was fun. Slept till three the next day. Not hungover, that's just a usual Saturday. Rest of the day--nothing exciting. Caught up with Lauren on Facebook chat and then the phone for a while. Also called Sean for the first time since he moved back to New Mexico. I didn't realize how much I'd taken hanging out with him for granted until he left. We talked for a good hour and a half while I wandered around West Campus. He's doing well enough, it seems like, so good for him. Got back to my place, tried to get together with a few different people, but no one was up for anything. I ended up going to Arab with Michael, though, which was a nice surprise. Not that I hung out with Michael, or that we went to Arab, just that plans fell into my lap for a change.
Sunday, up at 4, which is late even for me. Went to 7-11 for groceries. I need a car in the worst way. Work from 6-3. Hanging out with Stephen and Olivia on Sunday nights and the gang on Wednesday nights is starting to be the highlight of my social life, and that's really, really sad. I thought junior year was rough when everyone moved out of the dorm, but this year, everyone's moved out of Austin. Sean's in New Mexico, Danny's in Dallas, Emily's in Lubbock, Joe's in Houston, Paddy's in Florida. I mean, I saw this coming and all, but still. Too many work friends, class friends, Facebook friends. Not enough friend friends. Home at 3, couldn't sleep till 5, work at 8.
Happy Monday.
Friday, October 23, 2009
One of those nights
Class: 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Copy editing: 5:00 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. (ish)
Impromptu rooftop party on the roof of Walter Webb Hall, complete with accordion player: 1:30 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.
Kerbey Lane, party of 11, $3 migas: 3:30 a.m. - 5:30 a.m.
Crashing on one of the way-too-short couches in the Carothers lobby: 5:30 a.m. - 7:55 a.m.
Desk shift: 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
Sleep: 12:10 p.m. - ???
Totally worth it.
Copy editing: 5:00 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. (ish)
Impromptu rooftop party on the roof of Walter Webb Hall, complete with accordion player: 1:30 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.
Kerbey Lane, party of 11, $3 migas: 3:30 a.m. - 5:30 a.m.
Crashing on one of the way-too-short couches in the Carothers lobby: 5:30 a.m. - 7:55 a.m.
Desk shift: 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
Sleep: 12:10 p.m. - ???
Totally worth it.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Things I'm Excited About
Too much negativity lately. It's all I see in the news, in Daily Texan comment feeds, on Facebook statuses, just a constant barrage of bitching and criticism. The sheer volume of it just kills your spirit after a while. It's been a rough semester so far for multiple, unrelated reasons, but that doesn't mean I get to wallow in self-pity and subject others to it on a daily basis. I'm gonna change my tone for a minute and list things I'm excited about; maybe that'll help me start off the day right, for a change.
--Where the Wild Things Are opens this Friday. Trailer was awesome. Spike Jonze seems to know what he's doing with this one.
--A Serious Man - new Coen Brothers movie. I hear it's a downer, but they could take a shit on celluloid and I'd still pay nine bucks to watch it.
--The Office - Jim and Pam are getting married this Thursday. I'm aware they aren't real people, and I'm equally aware that it's not a real wedding. Really. I am. That doesn't stop me from pumping my fists and drumming on the nearest surface every time the promo comes on (gotta link this one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnU9566Tfgo). Bottom line, this payoff's been five years in the making.
--weekend in Chicago - my dad and his twin brother are turning fifty on the 26th, so we're doing a big thing up in Chicago on the weekend of the 16th-18th to celebrate. Hanging out with the Jones side of the family is always a blast. In Austin, I'm a pseudo-adult. There, I'm just another cousin (that's a comforting regression, btw).
--my new job in the Quad - speaking of comforting regression, I picked up a CA job in the Quad eight hours a week. Being here is as close to feeling at home as I'm gonna find outside of Dallas.
I feel a little better already?
--Where the Wild Things Are opens this Friday. Trailer was awesome. Spike Jonze seems to know what he's doing with this one.
--A Serious Man - new Coen Brothers movie. I hear it's a downer, but they could take a shit on celluloid and I'd still pay nine bucks to watch it.
--The Office - Jim and Pam are getting married this Thursday. I'm aware they aren't real people, and I'm equally aware that it's not a real wedding. Really. I am. That doesn't stop me from pumping my fists and drumming on the nearest surface every time the promo comes on (gotta link this one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnU9566Tfgo). Bottom line, this payoff's been five years in the making.
--weekend in Chicago - my dad and his twin brother are turning fifty on the 26th, so we're doing a big thing up in Chicago on the weekend of the 16th-18th to celebrate. Hanging out with the Jones side of the family is always a blast. In Austin, I'm a pseudo-adult. There, I'm just another cousin (that's a comforting regression, btw).
--my new job in the Quad - speaking of comforting regression, I picked up a CA job in the Quad eight hours a week. Being here is as close to feeling at home as I'm gonna find outside of Dallas.
I feel a little better already?
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