magic bus

05.09.03 @ 5:57 p.m.

5:25 p.m.

Just a little bit ago, as we pulled up to the house, my copy of Who's Next started up "Behind Blue Eyes.

My dad: Whoa! This is the Who? I know this song!

I should be pleased (as I'm the kind of person who wants to brainwash everyone else into liking the same albums that I do) that Dad elected to drive off to go get Grandma without giving back my CD.

1:45 p.m.

Because I'm on the bus and I have nothing better to do, y'all will be treated to what I'm sure will be an insanely long entry.

How nice for you.

One thing that popped into my head while we were waiting for the bus to take off was the phrase "the newspaper boxes that time forgot," which was in reference to the array of newspaper boxes outside the Eugene Amtrak station. The only one that had a current newspaper in it's little window was the Daily Emerald. They were so old and weathered, and if they had all been the same date, rather than random dates spanning the last six months or so and if there weren't a crowd of people lounging around waiting for the bus to pull up and another crowd of people being disgorged from the train that had just arrived (an hour late), you could almost have one of those freaky post-apocalyptic moments. Or am I the only one that has those? I read too much old science fiction, perhaps, since post-apocalyptic things are always occuring to me. Hell, I even started writing a short story called "Rael" that was set after a major bioengineered plague wiped out, oh, 9/10ths of humanity. It's not going anywhere, though, because I don't know where I can possibly take it. I have no experience travelling across country sans automobiles and I don't know much about the region I set it in. Which is perhaps a huge mistake. I'm thinking about rewriting one bit from the perspective of different characters and setting it around my house. At least I'm more familiar with the area west of Portland. Beaverton-ish. (For the benefit of someone who hasn't heard me tell this story before, it's called "Rael" because it's was inspired by a joke I heard on NPR back when the Raelian cult claimed to have cloned a baby--the host of the program said something like "Oh, the Raelians... don't they base their philosophy on that 1968 Who song?")

I spent an hour talking to Slavik again last night. Of course, that was an hour I really needed for studying and it meant that I completely missed CSI even though I had the TV on. My fault, though, because it was the first time he'd been on all week and curiosity has been gnawing at me. I wanted to know why he had been asking me if I smoked pot down here in Eugene. Why he'd ask me was the real mystery. He said it was just curiosity and he was wondering if everyone down here submitted to the peer pressure. I told him I just assumed that everyone knew that Andrew, Martha and I are pretty much straight edge. "Completely straightedge?" he asked, in what I imagined to be a disbelieving voice. "Well, not COMPLETELY," I said. He philosophically wondered if anyone was ever totally and completely straightedge, and I mentioned Garrett. I think that this is the first time I've ever made mention to finding a particular guy attractive in my conversations with Slavik. I seriously inflated his ego, though, in the course of the conversation. I told him the story of the conversation between Beth and I... oh, here (and I'm removing his AIM name because... well, because it's a sensible thing to do):

modsandrockers4: hmm, should I totally boost your ego by telling you a story?
[slavik]: yes!
[slavik]: preferably by adding 'in bed' at the end of every sentence
modsandrockers4: I was talking to one of my hallmates, Beth, and she asked what I had done that night
modsandrockers4: uh, no
modsandrockers4: and I had talked to you so I said "Oh, I just had an AIM conversation with my friend Slavik"
modsandrockers4: Beth: "Slavik? That's an interesting name, where's he from?"
modsandrockers4: "Oh, I think he's Ukrainian"
modsandrockers4: Beth: "Ooh, they're hot!"
modsandrockers4: the end
[slavik]: really?!
modsandrockers4: really
[slavik]: thats amazing!
[slavik]: she must have a very limited experience
[slavik]: ukrainian women are hot.
[slavik]: but the guys. psha

I find it amusing that Slavik doesn't think his looks are distinctive, because they totally are. Apart from some mutual rhapsodizing about the Beatles, the two big ego-boosting (my ego, that is) events of the conversation were: A) For the first time since I've IM'd with Slavik, he changed his icon... to one of the ones I made. *insert big, stupid grin here* It's just John Lennon wearing that New York City t-shirt, but still! I'm so proud of myself. B) He actually downloaded the Who and Townshend MP3s I had up in my profile as things I adore. He reads my AIM profile. Of course, almost everyone I know AIM-stalks everyone else, reading profiles and away messages all the time. But still. The only other person who ever says anything about the stuff I put in my profile is She-Who-I've-Been-Ranting-About (AKA poser). And I don't think she cares about what I listen to (except of course all those punk issues I've been ranting about lately....)

Listen to all this... I think that every six months I'm going to be wildly infatuated with Slavik's personality. I blame the fact that I think he's cool and he actually deigns to talk to me. And that kind of surprises me. After last night, it's hard for me to not want to sit him down and force him to listen to every album I really love. Mainly Quadrophenia, though. Meh heh, I've already gotten him to listen to "I Am An Animal," "Jools and Jim," "Empty Glass," "Long Live Rock," "Pure and Easy", and... ooh, drat, what's the other one? "Naked Eye." (Odds and Sods version.) Mostly I want him to listen to the Live at Leeds "A Quick One While He's Away" (because it's the song that made me fall in love with the Who) and "Doctor Jimmy" because... because I just love that song. The Beatles talk of last night makes me want to go on and on about Abbey Road to him. Maybe it's all the music-snobbishness we indulge in. Perhaps. Hmmm.

I did a horrible thing and was a name-dropper when I ran into Moni today. "When I was talking to Slavik last night..." So now I've been told to tell him to get his Ukrainian arse down here to visit us. While I'd like to see him, I don't imagine visiting with me and Moni is high on his list of fun things to do. Um, no. I'm thinking he needs to go on a beach trip with us, though, or a Corvallis gathering at Andrew and Amy's.

The upshot of this is that I only did half my journalism assignment for this week, though I did get my interview done and I think it went quite well. I told my mom that we definately need to get Margaret a present. And she found a bunch of documents and statistics she gave my mom to give to me. So that's good. It went much quicker than I thought it would, and I wish I had prepared more questions, but she lead me to a bunch of good sources and gave me a nice contrary opinion to the No Child Left Behind Act (parts of which horrify me). Education reform is nice in theory, but the Bush plan is impractical on so many levels *sigh* It's sad that I feel lucky that I graduated when I did. I remember being upset that 5th grade Outdoor School got cut, which I thought was so unfair because I'd only get to go to 6th grade Outdoor School. Now I consider myself lucky that I got to go at all.

And, um... what else? I'll probably quit writing before we get to Salem, and we're just pulling into Albany station. The reason I'm going home this weekend is to go to the German Shepherd National with my dad. Everyone seems to be feeling sorry for my mother because my dad and I will be gone on Mother's day, but hey, what better gift than having the house to herself for once? We've also decided that the Wait Wait Don't Tell Me tickets would be her Mother's Day present. Nothing like a present someone else pays for and you benefit from, eh? Everyone wins! Except maybe Dad. There's no clear benefit to him, except maybe he gets us out of the house.

Doesn't this tell you something about my family? You'd think we hate each other, the way we always seem thrilled to have the others go away. well, I like house-to-myself more and more now that I'm in a communal living situation (the dorms), Dad doesn't like his daily routine mangled (though he does seem upset lately about how much my mom is gone to meetings and things), and Mom just likes freedom from interruption.

So yeah. Big dog show. All German Shepherds, which will be interesting. I've only been to one National, and that was the Pembroke Welsh Corgi National last September. I imagine there will be unbelievable amounts of German Shepherd-related items for sale, much as at the Corgi national. I bought Roxy, my stuffed Corgi, at the Corgi national.

Random: We just passed a sign that said "Hereford Steer Lounge". I cannot think of Hereford cows (I don't even know what they look like) without the name "Hereford" bringing up images of Henry IV. Mainly the character of Henry Hereford in Richard III who became Henry IV.

I'm getting a headache. Time for the laptop to go back in my backpack.

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Previously

fuck it @ 08.01.05
fanciful imaginary sea voyages to come @ 07.20.05
*dies* @ 07.19.05
more ootp @ 07.17.05
harry potter: driving our children into devil worship @ 07.17.05