Traveling East-Saratoga Spring, NY
It’s a quarter to 10am and I am pants-less and blanket-wrapped, sitting on a couch in a pretty luxurious home where my friend is home-sitting a professor’s fancy pad in Saratoga Springs, NY-a place for Skidmore College students and upperclass folk looking to bet on horses. Mike and Adina have yet to wake, so all is still and silent and even the house-with-at-least-two-of-everything itself feels like it has yet to wake. The sound of my typing feels as if it would carry throughout this home. Through the sizable living room windows I see a suburban neighborhood with very green summer-qualities. Birds interrupt the silence with morning song, but all I see are the motions of a light breeze bullying the surrounding flora.
I have spent my entire summer (starting from the moment I walked out of my final) juggling a series of items on an ever-growing To Do list and keeping as busy as my dense schedule required. Five days after my accounting final, my Intro to American Politics course began. It was only a four-week gig, so we met every school day for over two hours. During this time, I started interning at Rhino’s, the local media youth club slash concert venue. As well, I’m employed by Indiana University as a composer for the music of a biology department documentary. So, often times, my day would have me wake up, do my homework, attend class, intern at Rhino’s, and then return home. . . where I would then begin to create some pieces for waiting footage. I wanted to spend the other time looking for apartments in Finland, practicing my Finnish, selling things that weren’t coming to Finland, and addressing the laundry list of chores that needed addressing. Fortunately, I opted to coerce myself to put aside time for a video game. I wasn’t going to last this way if I didn’t push time for non-work activity into my day. I beat that game. Then, another. After this, my summer course ended, the day after Anti-Swag Fiend Party took the stage for our last shows, and then two days later two more summer courses began. No more time for video games. At this point, only a couple weeks before my departure from Bloomington remained. I was trying to power my way through my internet summer courses. So, daily I would wake up between eight and nine, arrive at the local coffee shop between ten and eleven, and there I’d stay for hours as I tried to chuck through multiple quizzes and papers a day (of course, after this I then interned, worked on music, and so forth). On one particular day, I stayed at Soma for nine hours, of which only one hour was used as a break (I need to eat, I guess). I showered when I returned home and the bathroom began to smell of coffee. I was trying my best to cram in seeing friends wherever I had time, but it was very difficult and I knew that I’d have to give in to the fact that some people just weren’t going to make it into my agenda (especially you who put less effort into actually reaching me-that’s right, I’m looking at you). In a week and a half, I managed to get to and take my finals for two separate eight-week classes. And I did find an apartment in Helsinki. Or, more accurately, it found me. (But that’s for another time.)
Eventually, the day came. I had packed my entire life into a sedan and took off for Indianapolis where I would spend the night with my chum Lia. The stay was short, but sweet, and the morning after I began my 13.5 hour drive to Saratoga Springs, NY. With the way I drive, it took 12 hours. I drove from 10:30am to 10:30pm while listening to movies play through an mp3/video player I found. Imagine me sitting in that car seat for 12 straight hours, part of which was spent quoting Mulan, Super Troopers, and The Fifth Element out loud along with the lines as they were spoken during the movies.
Within a few hours of my arrival, I passed out. The day after, we woke early enough and went to the local farmer’s market. The goods included all the healthy-looking veggies and fruits you’d expect at a farmer’s market, enticing baked goods, and even homemade catnip. We found breakfast at a local coffeehouse and it was at this place that I realized something: I had spent such an incredibly long time (starting even before the summer began) being so incredibly busy and stressed that it was making me anxious to suddenly be on a sort of vacation. There is nothing that needs to get done in Saratoga Springs. I’m here solely to spend time with my close friends. What furthers my anxiety is that I know I’ll be going somewhere soon after, where responsibility will yet again pick up. Nonetheless, I knew that this was actually a good thing. I needed to engage, as Mike put it, this “work detox.” Later in the day, we went swimming in a lake. We walked through forest to a rockface that slid into the body of water. On this stone, we de-clothed, put on sun screen, and assured Adina’s friend Julie that she didn’t have to worry about the tick on her leg. A man emerged from the forest with a dog that showed us up by diving into the water without any hint of hesitation. So, we each set ourselves to follow suit. The edge of the rock was obviously slimy and the closer you were to the water, the more difficult it was to dip in slowly. Of course, everyone knows you’re supposed to just dive in. That’s how these things work. Still, I was used to doing it AFTER having just been in a sauna. As well, there was no dock to run on and dive off of. So, I babied myself by getting up to my thighs before saying “screw it” and submerged myself in the water. Indeed, it was amazing. The sun was hot and the water was cool. It reminded me a lot of Finland (where else do I swim in lakes?). I began with big strokes. immediately heading farther into the lake. There, I leaned my head back, let water cover my ears and compromise my hearing, and stared up at the sun. My breathing became increasingly heavy and as I swam my muscles made sure I knew they were being used. Eventually, I returned to the rock with sore muscles and overly sensitive ears. We sat here for a bit before eventually deciding our appetites demanded action.
So, later, Mike, Adina, and I made dinner. Or, more accurately, Mike and Adina made dinner and I helped. The bruschetta and zucchini casserole were both extremely tasty. And we all hung around for a bit before Adina decided to lie down. The remainder of the evening was filled with great conversation (and Adina did eventually rejoin) about a variety of things with varying degrees of intimacy. I then Skyped Tuula long enough to wish her a good morning, got onto my couch-bed, covered my body entirely with my blanket to avoid the mosquitoes, and fell asleep.
And here I am.
I have spent my entire summer (starting from the moment I walked out of my final) juggling a series of items on an ever-growing To Do list and keeping as busy as my dense schedule required. Five days after my accounting final, my Intro to American Politics course began. It was only a four-week gig, so we met every school day for over two hours. During this time, I started interning at Rhino’s, the local media youth club slash concert venue. As well, I’m employed by Indiana University as a composer for the music of a biology department documentary. So, often times, my day would have me wake up, do my homework, attend class, intern at Rhino’s, and then return home. . . where I would then begin to create some pieces for waiting footage. I wanted to spend the other time looking for apartments in Finland, practicing my Finnish, selling things that weren’t coming to Finland, and addressing the laundry list of chores that needed addressing. Fortunately, I opted to coerce myself to put aside time for a video game. I wasn’t going to last this way if I didn’t push time for non-work activity into my day. I beat that game. Then, another. After this, my summer course ended, the day after Anti-Swag Fiend Party took the stage for our last shows, and then two days later two more summer courses began. No more time for video games. At this point, only a couple weeks before my departure from Bloomington remained. I was trying to power my way through my internet summer courses. So, daily I would wake up between eight and nine, arrive at the local coffee shop between ten and eleven, and there I’d stay for hours as I tried to chuck through multiple quizzes and papers a day (of course, after this I then interned, worked on music, and so forth). On one particular day, I stayed at Soma for nine hours, of which only one hour was used as a break (I need to eat, I guess). I showered when I returned home and the bathroom began to smell of coffee. I was trying my best to cram in seeing friends wherever I had time, but it was very difficult and I knew that I’d have to give in to the fact that some people just weren’t going to make it into my agenda (especially you who put less effort into actually reaching me-that’s right, I’m looking at you). In a week and a half, I managed to get to and take my finals for two separate eight-week classes. And I did find an apartment in Helsinki. Or, more accurately, it found me. (But that’s for another time.)
Eventually, the day came. I had packed my entire life into a sedan and took off for Indianapolis where I would spend the night with my chum Lia. The stay was short, but sweet, and the morning after I began my 13.5 hour drive to Saratoga Springs, NY. With the way I drive, it took 12 hours. I drove from 10:30am to 10:30pm while listening to movies play through an mp3/video player I found. Imagine me sitting in that car seat for 12 straight hours, part of which was spent quoting Mulan, Super Troopers, and The Fifth Element out loud along with the lines as they were spoken during the movies.
Within a few hours of my arrival, I passed out. The day after, we woke early enough and went to the local farmer’s market. The goods included all the healthy-looking veggies and fruits you’d expect at a farmer’s market, enticing baked goods, and even homemade catnip. We found breakfast at a local coffeehouse and it was at this place that I realized something: I had spent such an incredibly long time (starting even before the summer began) being so incredibly busy and stressed that it was making me anxious to suddenly be on a sort of vacation. There is nothing that needs to get done in Saratoga Springs. I’m here solely to spend time with my close friends. What furthers my anxiety is that I know I’ll be going somewhere soon after, where responsibility will yet again pick up. Nonetheless, I knew that this was actually a good thing. I needed to engage, as Mike put it, this “work detox.” Later in the day, we went swimming in a lake. We walked through forest to a rockface that slid into the body of water. On this stone, we de-clothed, put on sun screen, and assured Adina’s friend Julie that she didn’t have to worry about the tick on her leg. A man emerged from the forest with a dog that showed us up by diving into the water without any hint of hesitation. So, we each set ourselves to follow suit. The edge of the rock was obviously slimy and the closer you were to the water, the more difficult it was to dip in slowly. Of course, everyone knows you’re supposed to just dive in. That’s how these things work. Still, I was used to doing it AFTER having just been in a sauna. As well, there was no dock to run on and dive off of. So, I babied myself by getting up to my thighs before saying “screw it” and submerged myself in the water. Indeed, it was amazing. The sun was hot and the water was cool. It reminded me a lot of Finland (where else do I swim in lakes?). I began with big strokes. immediately heading farther into the lake. There, I leaned my head back, let water cover my ears and compromise my hearing, and stared up at the sun. My breathing became increasingly heavy and as I swam my muscles made sure I knew they were being used. Eventually, I returned to the rock with sore muscles and overly sensitive ears. We sat here for a bit before eventually deciding our appetites demanded action.
So, later, Mike, Adina, and I made dinner. Or, more accurately, Mike and Adina made dinner and I helped. The bruschetta and zucchini casserole were both extremely tasty. And we all hung around for a bit before Adina decided to lie down. The remainder of the evening was filled with great conversation (and Adina did eventually rejoin) about a variety of things with varying degrees of intimacy. I then Skyped Tuula long enough to wish her a good morning, got onto my couch-bed, covered my body entirely with my blanket to avoid the mosquitoes, and fell asleep.
And here I am.