What I Do

Me: What should I do this evening? ...besides a load of laundry...
E: Two loads of laundry?

And so it begins, another season of the dreaded Summer Conferences. Today was the official first day of hell, strike that, reverse it- Summer Conferences, I meant to say, meaning that I start my routine of bouncing around from one office to the next every day until I explode. It's not as exciting as it sounds- part of my job is to be the "Residence Hall Coordinator" for Summer Conferences and general scheduling bitch/office bitch/Physical Plant contact person. It's icky, and definitely not the reason I get up each day. A positive is that I get to supervise and get to know six sudents who are members of our crew, and even more of a bitch than I am. They get to do the dirty sweaty work out "in the field" while we sit around in the AC and tell them what to do. Fortunately, we usually get a pretty good crop of students (it's a highly desired campus job because it pays well) and they don't usually complain too much. I like them. They're about the only positive thing.

10 Things That I Hate About My Job During the Summer

1. Moving from one office to the next- mornings in one building, afternoons in the other.
2. Keeping track of information/paperwork/phone calls at two different desks/computers.
3. Not knowing what's going on in either office since I'm never around.
4. Not getting t do the work my way so that when there's a mistake (which I probably anticipated) I have to bust my butt to put the fire out.
5. One particular person who becomes more and more difficult to work with each year that I've tried it- I'm not kidding, this person is so disorganized that it affects the work I do.
6. Not being able to be in charge enough to "fix" what I want, but being in charge enough that I get blamed for stuff anyway.
7. Really, really boring days.
8. Really, really long days.
9. I actually miss the RA staff.
10. No vacations- it's my busy time of the year, but everyone else is taking time off. Sad face.

Outside of all that? At least I have my laundry...

The Cabin

A blurry cell phone picture of my
weekend getaway, complete with
mom.

What That's About

Not as possesive as this

A long time ago I was dating this boy who lived sort of far away in Philadelphia and every once in a while I would spring for a plane ticket and fly out to see him for a few days. The relationship was good because we communicated a lot (that's really all we could do, after all) and because I was still fully independent of any reliance on the relationship. In other words, if a day went by that I didn't talk to or see him, it obviously wasn't a big deal. Anyway, whenever I would fly out, I would have this incredible sense of independence. I could go where I wanted to, even if it was 500 miles away from what I called home. And when I got there? Anything I wanted, wherever and however I wanted. Not that college was constricting me from doing these things, but the reason to go do something new was obvious, and there was still that reassurance that someone would be there at the gate (because back then, you could still do that kind of thing) to greet me.

The picture of Gollum is funny for one reason and purposeful for another. 1. That boyfriend really liked science fiction, to the point that he actually had a staff (not like that, sicko) that he walked with when we went to South Street. It was mildly embarassing, but at the time I thought it was an indication of what kind of an individual he was capable of being. 2. Gollum, in the books anyway, is very much a hermit. Not an entirely appealing occupation, but intriguing nonetheless. I'm not planning on moving under a rock or anything, but with adulthood often comes the realization that we really are more or less on our own in this world. But not in an icky-Gollum-ish way.

Discount Drug Mart Saves You the Runaround

I was not more than a block off of campus today before that tiny taste of freedom had me thinking of how much I am looking forward to leaving. It is refreshing to know, given all the anxiety I muddled through surrounding the decision to move on from a career I no longer believe in. I had just finished helping on of my RAs find a home for the summer and had no sooner put my headphones on than I caught a glimpse of the horizon just over Dino's drive through, and realized how important my independence would be to me in the next few years of my life. While walking to the drug store and McDonalds is a nice 45 minute jaunt that accomplishes important errands (like buy chips and salsa), there is no trip that takes me to a museum, concert, or good friend's house for a visit. E tells me I am better than this job.

Wooster has treated me well over the past three years and has been a good place to transition from college, but there are bigger things in my heart and challenges I need to face before I'm too old to find a place for them in my life. Maybe I was listening to the right kind of music at the right time, but as I turned towards my residence hall and saw the empty parking lot, I did remember all of those things that I would look back at and miss.

Lending out various kitchen items (can opener, pots, pans, flipper, etc.). Waiting in the lobby before dinner. Loitering around the info desk with the Conference Crew. Sweaty hall checks. Committees. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" "This is your apartment???" Birthday drinks. Phone numbers. Business cards. Staff meetings. Staff meetings. Staff meetings. Cooking out. El Canelo. Margaritas. Rum and coke. Finals week. Kenarden parties that I broke up. Kenarden parties that I pretended to sleep through. Beer bongs. Singer/songwriters. My guitar. E's guitar. Deflatable bike tires. Taco Bell. West Wing season one. OC/Gilmore Girls/Alias/CSI/House/Grey's Anatomy. Trading CDs. Mike and Ikes on the coffee table. Training. In-service. Away messages. IM. WHN. TMA. RSE. Fourth floor of Armington. Propped doors. Thrown locks. Mass hysteria over graffiti. More mass hysteria. The Voice. Lacrosse equipment. Holden and the Annex. Mr. Arden. The interrupting staff triumvirate. Challenge of the Week. Staff development. "Staff development."

It's a long list, and I'm hoping maybe to add to it over the next few weeks. I'm also hoping to add to the larger list after these next few weeks. We shall see what the resume's bring back.

The Guest House

Well they've done it. They've gone and sent another batch of youngin's out into the world with all the "rights and priveleges afforded" to them as a result of their newly acquired degree. In many ways I am glad to see some of them go, and very excited for others, and proud of even more. So for those of you who read this (nosy) and who finally did it, after all those hours of (pointless- you'll see what I mean soon enough) work, congratulations to you. May your guest house continue to be full of the kinds of arrivals you've met here at The College.

The Guest House
The being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently
sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still,
treat each guest honourably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame,
the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each
has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
~Rumi

It's Time For Another Current Events Post

I have been reading about the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a couple of years now, and besides wondering why more Americans don't know about what the fuck is going on in the Congo, I've always thought that it is quite possibly one of the most appalling human rights concerns in the world right now.
Guerilla warriors in this central African country have developed their own weapons of mass destruction; rape.

Every one of dozens of armed groups in this war has used rape as a weapon. Amnesty International (AI) researchers believe there has been more rape here than in any other conflict, but the actual scale is still unknown.

You can read more about this over at the Ms. website.
You can flip out about it by donating to these fine folks:
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch

More Dry Than Sandpaper in Sawdust

I swear, there really just isn't anything to say. I'm still looking for a job, and things are still happening here, and I finally told my mother that I'm leaving this state. She was quiet for a minute and then didn't say anything negative. (Maybe that's as positive as you can get in this situation.) It's damn near finals week and I'm just ready for about 9/10 of the population of this campus to freaking LEAVE already. This includes administrators and faculty. Get out of my house. I unloaded about 65 pounds of old clothing into the reuse bin today- I don't remember what's all in there, since I created that bag about six months ago, but I'm planning to drop another 20-30 pounds next weekend. I wish I could sell my old clothes for newer, more stylish ones. Ones that are appropriate to wear to work. DANG! Cost of living... Last night there were three dudes outside my door (where the pop machines are conveniently located) yelling and kicking some things. So I put on my glasses and squinted out into the hallway, "You guys need to quiet down." Then turned, and went back inside. On my way, I overheard one of them say "Yeah come on guys we just got done killing like 5 or 6 people, let's be quiet now." I should have turned around and said, "Maybe not, but you did wake me up and that's almost as bad," but I was tired and it was 2:30. Grey's Anatomy is a pretty good show, and I feel like it really rounds out my evening pretty well- it's a good follow up to the mindless (and frequently sexist) humor of Family Guy and American Dad, and don't forget the classic Simpsons. They're doing some GD construction over the summer here and it's going to knock out cable for 3-4 weeks. I am devastated.
Ok, I guess there were a few things to write about, but honestly, you're not missing anything.