So a lot has happened since my last entry. I have made a couple friends, one of whom I think is going to be a very good friend, had coffee with the head of a christian organization on campus gotten my first taste of rain, had my first class and stayed out till 2AM shopping. Not kidding about any of that.
We’ll go by days (assuming I can remember one day from the next)
I left you on Thursday afternoon before my hall meeting, which was (shocker here, people) a meeting about staying safe on campus. Including not having exorbitant amounts of sex, and if you do, don’t get noise citations for it (I heard some of that last night from across the street). Alcohol stuff, drugs stuff, don’t be a moron stuff. Which was followed by us going to a big to-do at the EMU (student union equivalent of the U of O). That was really fun at times, and ridiculously boring at others… Fun times included some dancing with Alex, being cynical with Megan, watching crazy people dance to the concert outside and there were black lights in the fishbowl (the big room that animal house was shot it) and so I did some glowy contact juggling in there, and impressed some people and maybe recruited someone too! I know that doesn’t sound like a lot of fun stuff, and it wasn’t – I spent about 3 of the four hours being very bored indeed. This was pre-meeting new friends.
SO! On to Friday!
This is what happens when I take too long to write an entry – I forget things. I have no recollection of what I did on Friday. AH YES! Casino night, again at the EMU. This name is a bit misleading, there was far more than that. It was huge. There were carnival events going on in the east lawn area, there were info booth set up all over the place (including an LGBTQA booth that gave me more information about their group than I could handle – yes people, I am finally getting involved in an organization) and a concert outside. There was a “hit a friend with a pie” booth and a “put on funny hats and take a picture” booth and a giant trampoline with bungees and I pulled off a back flip (not a back tuck, there is a difference) and a double back tuck. Yay on me. AND THEN! The casino opened, and we played some seriously fun Texas Hold ‘Em. And we were really competitive, and then we asked someone to find out what we were playing for (the more chips you cashed in with, the more raffle tickets you had in the raffle). Turns out the raffle was for a pizza. And we stopped caring about winning and just made outrageous bets. Which was fun. Until Ben got a straight flush and took… well, I believe it was upward of $2000 in chips. Let me make this clear, you are only given $1000 to start with. He did well that night (although, did not win the pizza). Then there was (terrible) Karaoke, and lots of Beatles rock band (Revolution is the greatest song ever) and then I crawled back to my dorm at 2AM. It was this day that I found out just how well my roommate and I are going to get along. I can in at 2AM, and he wasn’t home. He got back 20 minutes later, and he was hanging out with some friends. We have gotten in within 30 minutes of each other every single night without fail, be it 2AM, or 10PM. Its awesome.
SATURDAY PEOPLE!!! NO MORE FRIDAY, FRIDAY IS DONE!
Saturday was by far the best day so far. The majority of the day was boring, I went and got my books and school supplies (which I do not recommend getting in the same trip when you are on a bike, they are very difficult to get back to your room if you only have one backpack). The rest of the day was filled with youtube and lunch and 2 hours of ultimate frizbee. It was seriously intense. Evan (my roommate) and I slogged out way up the stairs to our third floor dorm and collapsed. This was followed by a very amazing dinner – because we were starving. BUT THEN! Graham (guy I met an intoDUCKtion – yes, it is a terrible pun, and yes U of O is full of them: DUCK the flu and so on and so forth) invited me over to his room to hang out, and we all ended up in his friend’s room with 4 other people. This total of 6 people turned into about 20, at which point we decided we were officially a party and needed to move downstairs to the lounge. We then spent the next 2.5 hours playing childish camp games (mystery, screaming trees – I won that one, and a 20 person human knot along with other things of that nature). Then it was time for FREEBIES AT FREDDIES, which is where Fred Meyer is open only for university students and they have tons of discounts! Which is code for if you spend $60 on stuff you forgot, you will only spend $53. So: lots of stuff? Yes. Lots of discounts? Not so much. But I got myself a laundry hamper, and some detergent and some other stuff I needed.
But the best thing I found that night by far was allison. She was one of the girls at the “party” in Walton Hall, and when we were playing more childish games (never have I ever, Waah, things of that nature) while waiting for the buses to come for Fred Meyer (we were there for over an hour in the cold) Allison and I got to talking. When we got to the store, she asked if we could stick together and be shopping buddies, and we did. We had such a fun time, and I could not imagine shopping for a hamper to be so enjoyable…
Well, we are friends, we have meals together sometimes and I went over to her dorm the other night to watch waitress (till 2AM, and my roommate got back 15 minutes after I did that night too). Her carpet was amazing. It was a carpetgasm. While I was watching the movie I just couldn’t stop moving my feet around on it… and neither could she. And we got all hot and bothered talking about Keri Russell (star of waitress) and Johnathan Rhys Meyers (they were is August Rush together). Good night indeed. Followed by fantastic sleep.
I’m gonna end this one here so the entries are pretty short, and write entry 4 immediately.
Coming soon to a blog near you: Sunday, a day in which absolutely nothing happened, and Monday – juggling club and other fantabulous nonsense
Tuesday – class and the coffee I am drinking right now!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
University of Oregon Entry 2
U of O moving in, Day 2
September 24th, 2009
4:51 PM
So we got up at 8:00AM this morning in order to get to check in early and they let us do our thing at 8:30. We started moving things up slowly but surely. I am in the 3rd floor of a 3 story building. I am staying in Bean hall, Ganoe section (ganoe is pronounced guh-no. It’s amazing how much pronunciation changes from canoe to ganoe with one letter) and my roommate’s name is Evan, and he is from Eugene, so he can show me the ropes. Moving in went smooth, and we did a bit of shopping to get the things we forgot (shaving supplies, pillow case, comforter etc.) and I FINALLY HAVE A BLACK BED! That’s right, with the exception of my green sheets, I have a black pillow case and black comforter, which I think looks fantastic. I’ll hang up my posters, including my 6x4 Van Gogh poster of the sunflowers later tonight I think, and then I shall declare myself fully moved in. Classes start next Tuesday, and honestly, I cannot wait. The next five days are filled with hall meetings and other “exciting activities, but I would rather spend every minute at the gymnastics and aerial center down the street. That’s where I am now actually, watching their classes, getting a feel for the teachers and students. The aerialist is really excited about having a single-point guy around, because nobody there knows a thing about it – so I am the expert now!
I had to say goodbye to my dad today, which came really suddenly, and was gone just as much. I walked him to his car, we said goodbye and there was some serious crying going on, but we were both clear on the fact that this was a good thing and that I was going to have a blast. His parting advice was “be safe, be smart, learn a bunch of stuff” to which I replied “yep, that’s the plan, and in that order too.” Then there was some more crying on my part on the way back to campus and I got some info about the things around campus, and the different groups (there was no LGBT booth to be found, but my RA is gonna find me some information about them so I can get involved) including way more religious groups than I was expecting. The RA is my neighbor, and he is a very cool guy, I actually think we are gonna be friends.
I have a hall meeting tonight at 7:45, and then I really have no idea what I am going to do tonight. Maybe I’ll get together with Andy, Graham or Rachel (kids I met at orientation a couple months ago) and see if we can find something to do. I’ll write again in a few days (or maybe tomorrow, I really do enjoy it) with some more news of my classes and books and whatnot.
September 24th, 2009
4:51 PM
So we got up at 8:00AM this morning in order to get to check in early and they let us do our thing at 8:30. We started moving things up slowly but surely. I am in the 3rd floor of a 3 story building. I am staying in Bean hall, Ganoe section (ganoe is pronounced guh-no. It’s amazing how much pronunciation changes from canoe to ganoe with one letter) and my roommate’s name is Evan, and he is from Eugene, so he can show me the ropes. Moving in went smooth, and we did a bit of shopping to get the things we forgot (shaving supplies, pillow case, comforter etc.) and I FINALLY HAVE A BLACK BED! That’s right, with the exception of my green sheets, I have a black pillow case and black comforter, which I think looks fantastic. I’ll hang up my posters, including my 6x4 Van Gogh poster of the sunflowers later tonight I think, and then I shall declare myself fully moved in. Classes start next Tuesday, and honestly, I cannot wait. The next five days are filled with hall meetings and other “exciting activities, but I would rather spend every minute at the gymnastics and aerial center down the street. That’s where I am now actually, watching their classes, getting a feel for the teachers and students. The aerialist is really excited about having a single-point guy around, because nobody there knows a thing about it – so I am the expert now!
I had to say goodbye to my dad today, which came really suddenly, and was gone just as much. I walked him to his car, we said goodbye and there was some serious crying going on, but we were both clear on the fact that this was a good thing and that I was going to have a blast. His parting advice was “be safe, be smart, learn a bunch of stuff” to which I replied “yep, that’s the plan, and in that order too.” Then there was some more crying on my part on the way back to campus and I got some info about the things around campus, and the different groups (there was no LGBT booth to be found, but my RA is gonna find me some information about them so I can get involved) including way more religious groups than I was expecting. The RA is my neighbor, and he is a very cool guy, I actually think we are gonna be friends.
I have a hall meeting tonight at 7:45, and then I really have no idea what I am going to do tonight. Maybe I’ll get together with Andy, Graham or Rachel (kids I met at orientation a couple months ago) and see if we can find something to do. I’ll write again in a few days (or maybe tomorrow, I really do enjoy it) with some more news of my classes and books and whatnot.
University of Oregon Entry 1
So I am going to try to keep a blog for everyone back home of the happenings of my life over here in Oregon, starting this week when I moved in. The first two entries have my own time stamps on them because I wrote them without internet a couple days ago.
So here we go
U of O moving in trip Entry 1
September 23, 2009 10:46
So once again, I’m in a hotel room, and I can’t sleep because I don’t sleep until midnight. And soon I will not be able to sleep because my dad will be snoring. So I am watching Mamma Mia! And writing this journal.
So we managed to navigate all the way from Tucson, AZ all the way to Eugene, OR without using a single I-anything, and used US routes and other roads like that. It meant that we could go slow (which was necessary, given the shitiness of my car combined with the really large amount of weight in my car) because there was not a single person around, cool for us indeed. So we got to enjoy the scenery of ne.va.da (or lack thereof) by ourselves. I did a lot of sleeping due to the large amount of sleep not had by me the night before (which I will have to write about another time – was a night worthy of at least a few words) so I missed out, but we did get to see lots of flatflatflatflat. And lots of buttes, and lots of shurbs.
And we finally settled in a town which took me two days to be able to remember the name of, and I can now tell you confidantly several things about it. First, it is called Tonopah. Second, it is one of the small towns in Nevada where brothels are not legal. This came as a shock to me, not that there were no brothels, but that brothels are legal ANYWHERE! We did pass some on the way, one of them was called the shady lady, and there was only one reaction that my father and I had: laugh for 5 minutes. So, everyone raise your hands if you knew that…
Moving on!
Tonopah, boring, small, and full of people who smoke way more than they should. Oh, and I should add that this was after more than 12 hours (straight with no breaks for more than gas) of driving. My ass hurt to say the least.
Day two was much the same, driving for a long time, with hoover dam in the middle. If you’ve never been there, do. It is something to see indeed (plus the new bridge they are building is gonna be a stunner when it is finished). The architecture is amazing, and the fact that it is so BIG. I knew hoover dam was large, but this was anything beyond my imagining. No kidding.
So, got past hoover dam and got to california, and got all the way to Reno (which I do not advise trying to get gas in, getting back on the freeway post tank-up is a nightmare) and I got a break after almost 3 hours behind the wheel. Then we drove the way to Klamath Falls, OR. We planned on staying there, but I said “Screw it, lets just go all the way to Eugene, I wanna get there tonight.” And so we did. We drove in the dark for 2 hours with ash falling all around us from the multiple wildfires going on at the time. When we got to Eugene, it was 9:30, and we had breakfast at Denny’s because it was next to the hotel (yes, 9:30 PM). This was in fact our 3rd breakfast is a row, given that there were no dinners at Tonopah the previous night that I could eat – so I had a veggie omlette. I still havn’t had dinner. I did have a lunch at 9:00 PM today at subway though…
Eugene day 2, I went to the admissions building and ironed out a payment issue (one of my scholarships hadn’t been applied, and that was a difference of about $13,000 per year) and then on to breakfast #4 (by far the best, french toast slathered with berrys and custard). Then we decided to go check a possible outlet for aerial work (they do gymnastics and aerial work).
Well, I get there, and they have a circus trap, 3 silks, to cordes, a floor covered in crash pads, trampolines, sky swings, bungies for trick training, and a tight rope. This is Bounce Gymnastics school looking to expand to become Bounce Gymnastics and Circus school. And I mean all kinds of circus arts, including acrobatics, juggling, circus and aerial trapeze (single point and static), and stilting. They have the facilities, and the financing, but what they lack, is teachers. I may have quite the job waiting for me in a couple weeks teaching aerial and other circus arts. Yeah, no shit. Benefits of the job (apart from getting paid) include free studio time on any of the equipment whenever there isn’t a class. So this is pretty much a dream gig. I’m gonna be teaching everyone from little 7-10s (what I’m used to) all the way up to beginning and intermediate adult classes. You should have seen the woman when I told her everything that I do, and how excited she was when I told her that yes, I do have teaching experience. So yeah, I’m excited to say the least.
The rest of the day consisted of me wasting time juggling in a quad and getting some more college type supplies. AND I SAW TEXAS!!! Well, his name is Mark, and I met him at orientation. And now I am in my room, waiting for tomorrow, which is check in and move in. I get to meet Evan, my roommate and see my new home for the next year. Very exciting times, and I will write some more the next time I get a chance.
So here we go
U of O moving in trip Entry 1
September 23, 2009 10:46
So once again, I’m in a hotel room, and I can’t sleep because I don’t sleep until midnight. And soon I will not be able to sleep because my dad will be snoring. So I am watching Mamma Mia! And writing this journal.
So we managed to navigate all the way from Tucson, AZ all the way to Eugene, OR without using a single I-anything, and used US routes and other roads like that. It meant that we could go slow (which was necessary, given the shitiness of my car combined with the really large amount of weight in my car) because there was not a single person around, cool for us indeed. So we got to enjoy the scenery of ne.va.da (or lack thereof) by ourselves. I did a lot of sleeping due to the large amount of sleep not had by me the night before (which I will have to write about another time – was a night worthy of at least a few words) so I missed out, but we did get to see lots of flatflatflatflat. And lots of buttes, and lots of shurbs.
And we finally settled in a town which took me two days to be able to remember the name of, and I can now tell you confidantly several things about it. First, it is called Tonopah. Second, it is one of the small towns in Nevada where brothels are not legal. This came as a shock to me, not that there were no brothels, but that brothels are legal ANYWHERE! We did pass some on the way, one of them was called the shady lady, and there was only one reaction that my father and I had: laugh for 5 minutes. So, everyone raise your hands if you knew that…
Moving on!
Tonopah, boring, small, and full of people who smoke way more than they should. Oh, and I should add that this was after more than 12 hours (straight with no breaks for more than gas) of driving. My ass hurt to say the least.
Day two was much the same, driving for a long time, with hoover dam in the middle. If you’ve never been there, do. It is something to see indeed (plus the new bridge they are building is gonna be a stunner when it is finished). The architecture is amazing, and the fact that it is so BIG. I knew hoover dam was large, but this was anything beyond my imagining. No kidding.
So, got past hoover dam and got to california, and got all the way to Reno (which I do not advise trying to get gas in, getting back on the freeway post tank-up is a nightmare) and I got a break after almost 3 hours behind the wheel. Then we drove the way to Klamath Falls, OR. We planned on staying there, but I said “Screw it, lets just go all the way to Eugene, I wanna get there tonight.” And so we did. We drove in the dark for 2 hours with ash falling all around us from the multiple wildfires going on at the time. When we got to Eugene, it was 9:30, and we had breakfast at Denny’s because it was next to the hotel (yes, 9:30 PM). This was in fact our 3rd breakfast is a row, given that there were no dinners at Tonopah the previous night that I could eat – so I had a veggie omlette. I still havn’t had dinner. I did have a lunch at 9:00 PM today at subway though…
Eugene day 2, I went to the admissions building and ironed out a payment issue (one of my scholarships hadn’t been applied, and that was a difference of about $13,000 per year) and then on to breakfast #4 (by far the best, french toast slathered with berrys and custard). Then we decided to go check a possible outlet for aerial work (they do gymnastics and aerial work).
Well, I get there, and they have a circus trap, 3 silks, to cordes, a floor covered in crash pads, trampolines, sky swings, bungies for trick training, and a tight rope. This is Bounce Gymnastics school looking to expand to become Bounce Gymnastics and Circus school. And I mean all kinds of circus arts, including acrobatics, juggling, circus and aerial trapeze (single point and static), and stilting. They have the facilities, and the financing, but what they lack, is teachers. I may have quite the job waiting for me in a couple weeks teaching aerial and other circus arts. Yeah, no shit. Benefits of the job (apart from getting paid) include free studio time on any of the equipment whenever there isn’t a class. So this is pretty much a dream gig. I’m gonna be teaching everyone from little 7-10s (what I’m used to) all the way up to beginning and intermediate adult classes. You should have seen the woman when I told her everything that I do, and how excited she was when I told her that yes, I do have teaching experience. So yeah, I’m excited to say the least.
The rest of the day consisted of me wasting time juggling in a quad and getting some more college type supplies. AND I SAW TEXAS!!! Well, his name is Mark, and I met him at orientation. And now I am in my room, waiting for tomorrow, which is check in and move in. I get to meet Evan, my roommate and see my new home for the next year. Very exciting times, and I will write some more the next time I get a chance.
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