Home again, home again, jiggety jig.
So I got into Bloomington at about 11:00 yesterday morning; the trip there was without incident. The trip in was very spiritual for me, in a bizarre way; it was a beautiful day, and a lot of the time I was on the state roads and the interstate, away from settled life (although I did go through Jasper and Huntingburg and Loogootee). Away from people and their effluvia, you can really get a good look at the land and the trees and everything that was there before you, everything that will be there when you're long gone. When I was a child, we took car trips everywhere; I was in a plane for the first time when I was almost 15. I remember looking out the window and thinking what the land must have been like when the Indians were there, and before them, when there was only wildlife, and before that, when there were giants in the earth. There's something comforting about continuity.
I was early. I found the apartment complex without difficulty and had lunch; the actual showing took only a few minutes. It was nothing fancy--just a one-bedroom apartment with a bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom. $395/month, and the only things I'd be responsible for would be water and telephone. The location was not great, not horrible; it's about a 20-30 minute walk to class, it's right across the street from the mall, and it's just behind the bookstore. It's also MUCH quieter than you would expect in a commercial district.
Then I went to the bookstore, bought the second volume of Samurai Deeper Kyo which I think I will like okay but it still doesn't handle some questions as well as Rurouni Kenshin did, and flipped through Vagabond, which I absolutely MUST own because Inoue Takehiko draws Miyamoto Musashi FIIIIIIIINE. (Well, also I enjoyed the novel upon which Vagabond is based.) Bear in mind that this is coming from someone who is not usually attracted to men.
Also, flipped through magazines. Raijin is putting out City Hunter. CITY HUNTER. CITY FUCKING HUNTER, which is one of X-chan's favorites of all time, in ENGLISH FUCKING TRANSLATION. If X-chan weren't in Hawaii and I weren't poor, I'd have bought it for her.
Why is it that the farther I try to get from my anime and manga days, the more insistently they seek me out?
Also, it appears that Tom Cruise is going to be in a movie called The Last Samurai. As a samurai. God help us all. I feel that it is my duty as a samurai dork to go see that movie. I also feel that it is my duty as a samurai dork to boycott it. I think I'll wind up seeing it, because if the word samurai is in the title, my will to resist is slowly eroded.
So then I went to look at an apartment which is actually in a rental house; there's a private entrance, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It's more divey than the first apartment, but it's in okay condition and far better than nothing, so I'm applying anyway. It's probably closer to campus as such things go, but since the neighborhood is mixed (in terms of students vs. non-students), I'm not sure about the noise level. The landlady's agent was very personable; he said there had never been a noise complaint (one of the neighbors used to be a deputy sheriff).
Just in case, I took the phone number for whoever owns that fucking dump out on 10th Street. Rooms to let are down to $160/month, and maybe the cockroaches will come and eat me, but it's better than nothing.
So I spent most of the rest of the day eating and reading. My favorite coffee shop on Kirkwood is closed, goddammit. They're replacing it with Don Chuy's Tacos, or some awfulness, like we need a fucking taco place with La Bamba's just a block away. When I was last there, it didn't seem like it was foundering. Oh, and the McDonald's on Kirkwood is closed; I'm not horribly upset about that, but it does seem like everything I knew is fading and passing and palling. The Von Lee is gone; Einstein's Bagels is gone; some of the clothing stores are closed; Ben & Jerry's is gone; Mustard's is gone; the Asian grocery on 10th Street is gone; Brad's Bagels is gone. Apparently, if I enjoy a place, that is the Kiss of Death for it.
So I ate and read, and then I hit it home. And I was very tired, and hit the sack promptly. I am putting rental applications in the mail tomorrow.
I was early. I found the apartment complex without difficulty and had lunch; the actual showing took only a few minutes. It was nothing fancy--just a one-bedroom apartment with a bedroom, a kitchen, and a bathroom. $395/month, and the only things I'd be responsible for would be water and telephone. The location was not great, not horrible; it's about a 20-30 minute walk to class, it's right across the street from the mall, and it's just behind the bookstore. It's also MUCH quieter than you would expect in a commercial district.
Then I went to the bookstore, bought the second volume of Samurai Deeper Kyo which I think I will like okay but it still doesn't handle some questions as well as Rurouni Kenshin did, and flipped through Vagabond, which I absolutely MUST own because Inoue Takehiko draws Miyamoto Musashi FIIIIIIIINE. (Well, also I enjoyed the novel upon which Vagabond is based.) Bear in mind that this is coming from someone who is not usually attracted to men.
Also, flipped through magazines. Raijin is putting out City Hunter. CITY HUNTER. CITY FUCKING HUNTER, which is one of X-chan's favorites of all time, in ENGLISH FUCKING TRANSLATION. If X-chan weren't in Hawaii and I weren't poor, I'd have bought it for her.
Why is it that the farther I try to get from my anime and manga days, the more insistently they seek me out?
Also, it appears that Tom Cruise is going to be in a movie called The Last Samurai. As a samurai. God help us all. I feel that it is my duty as a samurai dork to go see that movie. I also feel that it is my duty as a samurai dork to boycott it. I think I'll wind up seeing it, because if the word samurai is in the title, my will to resist is slowly eroded.
So then I went to look at an apartment which is actually in a rental house; there's a private entrance, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It's more divey than the first apartment, but it's in okay condition and far better than nothing, so I'm applying anyway. It's probably closer to campus as such things go, but since the neighborhood is mixed (in terms of students vs. non-students), I'm not sure about the noise level. The landlady's agent was very personable; he said there had never been a noise complaint (one of the neighbors used to be a deputy sheriff).
Just in case, I took the phone number for whoever owns that fucking dump out on 10th Street. Rooms to let are down to $160/month, and maybe the cockroaches will come and eat me, but it's better than nothing.
So I spent most of the rest of the day eating and reading. My favorite coffee shop on Kirkwood is closed, goddammit. They're replacing it with Don Chuy's Tacos, or some awfulness, like we need a fucking taco place with La Bamba's just a block away. When I was last there, it didn't seem like it was foundering. Oh, and the McDonald's on Kirkwood is closed; I'm not horribly upset about that, but it does seem like everything I knew is fading and passing and palling. The Von Lee is gone; Einstein's Bagels is gone; some of the clothing stores are closed; Ben & Jerry's is gone; Mustard's is gone; the Asian grocery on 10th Street is gone; Brad's Bagels is gone. Apparently, if I enjoy a place, that is the Kiss of Death for it.
So I ate and read, and then I hit it home. And I was very tired, and hit the sack promptly. I am putting rental applications in the mail tomorrow.