ted kooser and the remnants of a forgotten entry
Oh, so now Livejournal actually saves drafts now, does it? I'd written an entry about a month ago but I'd never finished it, but I'll post what I'd written anyway.
From before:
Things I've Been Up to Since My Last Post:
- had a breakdown in the food court of a Jakarta mall in which I confessed (or rather, blubbered) to my mom that I hate Ohio and I am miserable at the thought of going back.
- had a run-in with the Hong Kong police when they found a can of pepper spray in my carry-on, which apparently is not only prohibited on flights but is also illegal in Hong-Kong. As a result, also nearly missed my flight and made it purely through the urgent shoving and prodding of Hong Kong airport officials. In my defense, that pepper spray has been in my bag since July of last year. It has been security checked (before and after the liquids scare) in New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore. No wonder I thought it was perfectly fine.
(in case anyone was wondering, I'm not in any serious trouble. Because I was a foreigner all they did was warn me and confiscate the spray. but i do think i have a record there now. sigh.)
- returned to the cold, gray, wetness that is Delaware, OH
I'm still bummed and depressed and as such am terrible company. I'm not really talking to anyone except my good friends, and I'm not going to until I get out of this slump. Certain people here are irritating me -- my suite mates, the brown-nosers in my English class, the know-it-all guy in my other English class, and this one guy who's taking Creative Writing and comes off like a pretentious prick. He's all "You have to be wary of people who call themselves authors, or writers. There are so many posers out there you never know who's for real. I mean I'm doing this for real. I'm serious about writing. And I'm pretty good. I'm taking a Masters where your thesis is basically a novel. I don't think you can be a real writer until you're past your 20s, and until that point you don't know who's in it for real."
UGH. I mean I have no doubt he's good, and it's true that there may be some people who have
And I forgot my point so I won't continue it, plus things have changed now. I don't really hate Ohio anymore -- I've admitted to myself that the real reason I broke down was because I couldn't stand the thought of leaving my family, and instead of having the guts to admit that to my mom, I blamed it on Ohio. The brown-nosers are less annoying, and the 'pretentious prick' is actually a nice guy (still a little pretentious, but not a prick). And he actually is a pretty good writer. He seems like one of those types who would fit right into the literary scene and write literary stories and all.
So last night I attended Ted Kooser's poetry reading, and it was absolutely amazing. Ted Kooser was the US Poet Laureate from 2004-2006, and with good reason. His poetry is stunning without being too showy/grand -- the poems are quiet, simple, and subtle. He changes the tone of the poem from humorous to achingly profound with a single word or image (and damn his imagery is incredibly). I love how he finds magic in the every day ordinary -- I mean, who else can turn the basement of a Goodwill store into a misty catacomb, make an old beer bottle sound romantic, or find the quiet power of a leaky faucet? He even wrote a great poem on taking a urine sample, which was hilarious and definitely one of my favorites. If you haven't read any of poems, check them out because they are truly worth it.
Also last night I managed to have a lot of fun without having to go out / get tipsy/ pine for a man / whatever. My Indian and Pakistani friends randomly decided to make biryani (a spicy dish involving rice and chicken) at 11 pm, so we trotted over to Bashford to wreak havoc on their kitchen, and play pool and foosball. I can't really eat spicy food, but with the help of heaps of yogurt and a Diet Coke (I know that sounds amazing for my digestive system) I ate some. We ended the night with Pillsbury Dough Boy sugar cookies, an all out war involving crumpled balls of aluminum foil, and more pool and foosball. All in all, a good night.