Just Keep Swimming

You know what's awesome and awful at the same time?

A deadline.

deadline: a line or limit that must not be passed, or - ironically enough - a boundary in prison that prisoners can cross only at the risk of being shot.

Deadlines are fascinating creatures. They're difficult to work with most of the time and they make you do the impossible: put your muse in a cage and make her dance on command. Have you ever tried doing that? It's not a very productive or pleasant process and it usually just makes you frustrated. But deadlines also give you structure, a goal. "You must complete something by this date." Even if what you produce is absolute shit it's something. At the very least, a stepping stone to something better and at the most the beginning of something amazing.

You're probably wondering by now why I'm rambling on about muses and deadlines. Or maybe you're not. The people who read this most often probably know exactly what I'm talking about and exactly where I'm going.

I'm just wondering when it became the custom for people to assign a deadline - which is supposed to be pretty concrete - only to just change it on a whim and expect 2 weeks worth of work to be completed in less than half that time... and still be effing amazing.

Anyone want to weigh in here?

Bipolar New England

So when I move to Florida I'm thinking I'll get a place within walking distance of the beach. Maybe in Tampa. Tampa was cool. And there will be lots of palm trees, surfers, tans, and HEAT! There will be freakin' heat! And there won't be snow. There won't be winter jackets or snow boots or scarfs or lame hats that make my hair go poof, or dry skin or black ice or super careful driving on unplowed roads. And I'll go walking and get in shape and invest in like 10 cute bathing suits. Maybe I'll get a dog.

If I ever create a band or something it's going to be called Bipolar New England.

uber?

By the way, forgot to mention that I got a page at a site called www.uber.com. It's pretty much myspace, facebook, and blogger all thrown together and it's geered more toward networking and showcasing art than socializing. My URL is www.uber.com/thenoelshow. It's pretty cool and once I figure out what I want to put up for art (and how to get it up there) you'll be able to see it. I'm still figuring out how to navigate it and stuff, so my page will probably change.

Goonie Weekend

Well, not really. More like a girly weekend... kind of... with homework. And lacking some cool girls. But still fun.

You know, when you have mounds of homework every day and then suddenly have a few days of free time, you get insanely paranoid that you're forgetting something and that you have no right to use this time to do something silly.

But that doesn't stop you from doing the silly things anyway.

www.youtube.com/stevethevagina88

See what happens when college students get bored on a long weekend?

Balancing

It seemed like the theme of the day today was balance. Seeing as just about every inch of pavement on campus is covered in ice, just getting to and from class without breaking, spraining, or bruising something was an adventure.

As I am walking from a building on one end of campus to my dorm on the other end, I'm stepping in a lot of big puddles. I think to myself, "Finally this shit is melting! It'll be spring soon," or something along those lines, and I step on a puddle that turns out to be a chunk of ice covered in water. I, wearing my fashionable but non-functioning "winter" boots, slide and start trying to save myself by twisting around and balancing. I didn't fall, but I did wrench my knee pretty good in the process, which came back to haunt me several times throughout the day whenever a similar involuntary ice capade took place or I had to walk up or down a set of stairs.

Other than that, I've also been trying to balance homework with something resembling a social life.

What have we learned from this blog post, kids?
Tread carefully through puddles in winter, know when to give yourself a break from work and have some fun, and never buy "winter" boots because they look cute.

Cold As Ice

The one flaw in my move to Florida plan? No snow days!

Since our campus is now a self-maintained ice rink and I'm sure the roads are no different, classes are cancelled today. Woohoo!

And what do I plan to do with a whole day off now that I've slept in and all that? Homework. I'm such a dork. I'll probably watch a movie or two as well. Writing will definitely be in there somewhere. It's days like these I wish I had my xbox up here, but if I did I'd never get any work done. I'd be too busy pretending I was Lara Croft and badass. Although it would be nice to look out my window and see snow while I'm swimming around in a pond in Africa as Lara.

Enjoy the lovely weather.

Anywhere But Here

Did I ever tell you about my plan to move to Florida?

No?

Well, I frequently have this plan to move to Florida, preferrably the Tampa area because I've been there and it kicked ass. The plan sort of revolves around this near-uncontrollable urge I have to not get frostbite. Ever. And to never slip on this magical camellion ice on my way up the hill to class and fall on my ass. Ever. Among other things.

So when these cold winter months of New England come around I make a mental note to move to Florida where it gets hot as hell, but everything is air conditioned and it never snows and barely ever gets colder than 57, which is usually the temperature of my house in the winter anyway. Am I rambling? I think I am.

Anyway, I'm in New Hampshire. It's cold as... well I'd say "cold as hell," but that just sounds silly. But it's pretty effing cold and I'm not liking it. So I'm finding myself playing the Anywhere But Here game as I'm walking up to class in the 13-degree weather that feels like -3 with the windchill. Fun times.