Dog Days Are Over

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I haven’t blogged in such a long time.  Apologies for that, Amanda, as I’m sure she’s one of few who might actually be reading this.  I think I can say that this semester has undoubtedly been one of the busiest of my life.  Although I’m only enrolled in 13 credit hours, that one hour seems to make quite the noticeable difference.  My class schedule is as follows:

Monday/Wednesday – US History 121 9:30-10:45
                  Biology 101 2:00-3:15

Tuesday – Developmental Psychology 233 9:30-10:45
                  English Literature 244 2:00-3:15

Thursday - Develop. Psych. 9:30-10:45

                    Bio lab 11:00-12:50

                    English 2:00-3:15

Friday – MY DAY OFF!

So I guess my schedule isn’t all that bad, and I know it could be much worse, but these 9:30 classes are really kicking my ass.  Still, my attendance has been very good.  I have never missed a single class of History or English, 3 Psych lectures (I was sleeping! and, let’s face it, I’m very competent in Psychology, and I’m only a few points away from an A), and one Bio lecture because at the beginning of the semester, I took a nap after History and forgot to set an alarm.  Only four total absences…that’s really good for me!  And I even dragged my sleepyhead out of bed this morning and got my ass to Psych even though I was exhausted.  My self-discipline is getting a lot better. 

My grades are pretty good: two A’s, one B (almost an A!), and a C.  The C is in Biology.  I’ve never really liked sciences other than the social ones, so it’s been a bit of a struggle.  But my professor is confident that I can finish with at least a C or higher, so I decided not to withdraw.  I’d say my easiest class is either History or Psychology, although there is certainly more busywork in History.  We have to do this stupid weekly assignment where we explain the historical relevance of events and people and answer four review questions.  They’re nice for points, however, as I get near perfect scores on them. 

Enough about school!  In other news, I got hired at Culver’s (which is new for Quincy) in September and I’ve been working there for three weeks now, including training.  During training, I worked about 20 hours, and during opening week about 30.  My only day off was Sunday, and I slept till 2 p.m.  I felt digusting, self-indulgent, and idle, but I guess I really needed the sleep.  As much as I anticipated dreading the thought of working in the food industry, it’s actually been a lot of fun!  Fortunately, I work on custard, so I don’t have to be in a greasy kitchen all shift.  We get insanely busy a lot, and most people say they feel sorry for me when they drive by and see 20 cars in the drive-thru and a teeming parking lot, but I actually appreciate the constant flow of business.  It makes for the seemingly fastest shifts I’ve ever worked.  Last night I worked 5-8, and it only felt as if I were there for an hour.  It probably helps that all of my managers and coworkers are the shit, and we have a lot of fun, while still getting everything that we need to accomplished.  Apparently I’m doing so well that they’ve already been considering me for a promotion!  Something like a Crew Trainer, I believe.  That would be really nice, but I’d miss working on custard with my girls.  (Note: I’m the only guy who makes custard there.  Haha.)

In Chicago-related news, I sent my petition for reinstatement to Roosevelt a few weeks ago, and they made their decision this previous Saturday.  It’s supposed to take 7-10 business days for me to receive their decision, but I’m hoping it shows up in the mail sometime this week.  The suspense is fucking kill me!  If I do get readmitted, which I’m 99% positive I will (good grades and a killer petition), I’m gonna be sad about leaving my job at Culver’s!  How much better it would’ve been if they had opened in the early summer.  I’d've been able to make a lot more money in the time I have remaining here, and more time to spend with my indelible coworkers.  It’s likely there’s a Culver’s somewhere in Chicago, but I dunno if three months of experience qualifies me for a transfer.

Anyhow, I’m sitting in the library at JWCC, got out of Psych an hour ago, and I haven’t done any homework yet.  I have ANOTHER inane History assignment due tomorrow, a Bio test on Wednesday, and an English essay due Thursday.  Thank God I’m only working for an hour tonight, instead of five, or else I would’ve been screwed.  Time to get to work!

 

 

A New Beginning

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Hello to anyone who is still reading.  I do apologize for my lack of updates, and it’s rather depressing when you grow up and start to not have time for the things you once loved so much.  Don’t get me wrong, because I still love blogging.  It’s just that I don’t have as much time for it anymore.  In the past year, I have changed so much, and I’d like to think it’s all for the better.  But there are some changes, however, that are extremely saddening, such as unemployment and academic suspension.  Once I left for college, I intended on coming back to the movie theatre, but whenever I returned on break, I was so stressed out about school because I was so behind—thanks to all the crazy partying in which I partook—that I never worked on breaks like I said I would.  Now I’m back in this awful town till January and I don’t have a job.  I’ve applied many places, but Quincy is shit for jobs and the economy is fucked.  It’s pretty miserable not making money.

My freshman year of college was extremely unorganized, and I had all of the wrong priorities.  I figure it was a bit inevitable seeing as I spent my senior year of high school hating socialization with anyone but a select few, spending my days and evenings writing novels at Starbucks.  When I got to Chicago, I was so excited and I was experiencing a definite culture shock.  There were so many great, diverse people.  So many stores from which to shop.  So many sights to see.  So many parties to attend.  So many pictures to take.  So much homework to do that was all being foolishly placed aside and giving precedence to a life full of hedonism.

You may be wondering, what good changes did you make to yourself?  I often find myself asking the same thing.  But I have realized that I really like the person that I am now.  I spent so many years loathing myself and suffering from exorbitantly low self-worth, but now I really can practice self-love and feel confident that I am not a fat, ugly, inadequate, dumb little queer.

It’s undoubtedly karmic that I ended up at community college.  I used to talk so much shit about people who attend them.  I had a strong aversion toward them, and I still do.  If anything, taking two summer courses here has induced a more passionate hatred for CCs.  On most of the quizzes and tests I took for Economics, there was a multitude of typos, and it pissed me off and made it difficult for me to take the institution seriously.  Also, many times the same question was repeated twice, sometimes thrice!  So if I incorrectly answer a question, I’m being penalized two or three times!  All rants aside, I am proud to say that I got a C in Economics.  Pretty good for a class I had to teach myself; JWCC calls it “Open Learning”.  I also took Math 113, and most English majors at RU take nothing beyond Math 110, and I got a B in that class, so I feel pretty accomplished.  I really did work my ass off in these classes, and it took much more effort than I had anticipated.  It’s such a relief now that summer school is over.  Just one more semester of classes here, and then I’ll be back at Roosevelt in the spring.

I forgot to mention that I’m going to see Death Cab for Cutie live!  

Besides the whole academic suspension thing, I’d say I’m pretty blessed and a lot of good things have happened to me.  For my 19th birthday, my father got me a Starbucks gift card and a YMCA membership—I’m getting into shape again—and my mother got me a professional massage (which I still need to schedule!) and an iPhone 3GS!  I’ve been wanting an iPhone for years, so I was beyond elated.  I really don’t even care that it’s not the 4.  To add onto my gratitude list, my father, the amazing dad that he is, purchased tickets for he and I to see my all-time favourite band Death Cab on August 10th!  I’ve been obsessed with Benjamin Gibbard and his music since the 8th grade, when I was seriously addicted to The O.C.  At first I reckoned that “Death Cab for Cutie” was a fictitious band created just for Seth Cohen.  I was so glad I was mistaken once I discovered their brilliant music!

The concert is in Nashville, where my father and his wife live now.  They just bought and their old one is on the market.  I’ve been taking care of the landscaping and my father has been paying me for it, so that and my weekly chore money has been my only source of income since I returned home.  It helps get me by.  Anyhow, I’ve been driving my father’s Montero Mitsubishi Sport and I really love it!  I’m actually driving it down to Nashville and staying there for a couple of days before the show.  And, hopefully, he’s gonna let me drive it back.  Either that or his old Audi, but I hope not because its A/C is broken and he says one of the windows is jammed.  I’ve spent too many years of my life driving a car with no working A/C, and it’s just not even fair to any Midwesterner!  The humidity is suffocating and I hate showing up places with a lacquer of sweat having accumulated all over my body, and before you know it, I’m dripping.

In regards to my writing, I have a few new novel ideas, and they are just stored in the back of my head till I have the time to work on them.  But I’ve been revising my memoir of rehab and it’s on the site Authonomy, a site by HarperCollins which is supposed to help aspiring authors get published.  Whether it’ll get me published, I don’t really care because I’ve met a lot of great other writers on there and they’ve given me indelible, unbiased feedback I wouldn’t've received otherwise.  And there are some really talented writers on there with fabulous novels and memoirs.  I hope to get a lot of revision done on this Nashville trip!

I’ve been reading a few different books simultaneously, and I’m enjoying them all.  I’m reading a comedy, Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me, because I need some laughs to make me feel better sometimes.  Some self-help literature, The Easy Way to Stop Smoking, because I’m sick of being a slave to nicotine, suffocating myself, and spending $1,000 a year on cigarettes.  And On the Road by Jack Kerouac for some classic literature.  I really love it a lot and that’s the one I’ve been reading most often.  I can’t wait to finish it.  But I should probably go shower, as it is nearly 3:30 p.m. and I’ve been up since 10 a.m.  Hopefully things continue to get better!  Hooray for new beginnings.