Labor Day Weekend: Friday
Ah, Labor Day Weekend. I don't remember that last time I had a really good one. It was always around the time where you're just about to go back to high school and that's never an eventful last few days. I didn't think that this weekend was going to be one either. Ya see, the good friends that I've made at college aren't exactly a braintrust of ideas. I like them, there's no doubt...but we always tend to do the same things. They like to relive their childhood and watch the same movies and shows over and over. Which is great, but I just can't do it all the time. The previous weekend had been horrible because we aren't beer drinkers and there wasn't really anything else going on. If fact, I even resorted to going to the big football kickoff party. What a mistake. Linebacker bouncers handing out $5 plastic cups on a dead end street for your "unlimited supply of beer". I left after 5 minutes. I realized that it wasn't my thing to get drunk en masse just because it was something to do. Why do all the girls get dressed up just for that? In fact, I even tripped on my way there and got called a "FAGGOT!" by a guy with a girl on each arm. My point is that my college friends are useless when it comes to actually doing new ideas and the alternative just isn't my cup of tea.
So, I thought that this isn't going to be my college life. I'm going to have to get involved and find things to do. During the week, I started going to seminars and joined the school's alternative newspaper. I also began a gym schedule where I found time to work out every muscle and could run everyday. However, I was really at my high point when I went out exploring the city of Ithaca. I just biked around and discovered new places. That was when I was really in my element. I'd have Frankenstein in my pocket and I'd find a shady tree in the park or a bench by the river to do some reading. I pretty much went down to the Commons (think Woodstock's main street) everyday and found something new. I even found Ithaca's version of Mother Earth for both Saugerties and Kingston. They have a main store with everything and I finally got my hands on some Hemplus granola as well as the strawberry(!) version. I also found the smaller store called Oasis that is actually really close to my college. So, I got up the nerve to actually look for a job there since I know exactly what I'm doing and I'll get that small store job that I miss already. They told me to come back on Saturday when the assistant manager would be there.
So, I figured Friday was going to be like any other day and it was for awhile. I did my best to pick apart Frankenstein for my Fiction class. I mean, this is where I really excel, analyzing things. I had a lecture for autistic children in my psychology class. Then, I was in my room reading and my friend, Greg Krupp, IMs me saying that he's going to see me soon. "Wait, what?" I forgot that he was planning on busing up from Binghampton to see me and I didn't actually think he'd do it. "Yeah, man, I've gotta go. I'll call you when I get there." It was really awesome because it meant I could start doing things that I couldn't do with my college friends. I finished up some reading and went to my seminar on creativiy. We debated whether or not Japanese students who don't cite sources should be considered plagerists. Since I'm pretty vocal, I really love how people in the class actually know my name and say things like, "Yeah, I agree with Dan." It's just a really nice small victory. So, anyway, I do a quick paper due for that class and hit the gym before Greg was going to get here. However, I got back and there was a message on the answering machine saying that he was going to be late. So, I got started on another paper. Around 8:30, he called and told me he was at the campus center. I said, "I'll be down in a few minutes to collect you." I jogged over there and I just had this big smile fixed on my face when I saw him. The first thing he said to me was, "You're wearing that hat again?" refering to the irish cap I sometimes wear, and with that same smile I say, "Yeah, to stand out." He told how ridiculous the buses were getting out of Binghampton and we finished the conversation in my room. So, I said, "Hey, listen, you hungry? Because I wanted to try the sushi here and nobody else will." He said, "I could go for some sushi". Finally, I was going to do things that I was holding back on. Part of the reason that my college friends annoy me is that they always complain about walking up and down the hill that you have to take to get to the commons. People have become so lazy these days. I told Greg that I hoped he didn't mind walking a lot this weekend and he said something like "'Course not". We played catch up on the way down and went to a really good sushi place. But Greg accidently ordered too much because the Japanese waitress misunderstood him and he ended paying $23 for his meal. Then we went a on a quick walk around town. We talked about how different it is to meet to people and desperately try to make bonds whenever we have something in common. We kinda agreed that it would be hard to find friends like our group in high school. It was really good though. It was one of those sitting-on-curb-late-night-talks. We then got some ice cream (don't get green tea ice cream, it's not what you think) and headed back up the hill. We actually went to bed because I needed to get up to meet the assistant manager of Oasis before 2.
So, I thought that this isn't going to be my college life. I'm going to have to get involved and find things to do. During the week, I started going to seminars and joined the school's alternative newspaper. I also began a gym schedule where I found time to work out every muscle and could run everyday. However, I was really at my high point when I went out exploring the city of Ithaca. I just biked around and discovered new places. That was when I was really in my element. I'd have Frankenstein in my pocket and I'd find a shady tree in the park or a bench by the river to do some reading. I pretty much went down to the Commons (think Woodstock's main street) everyday and found something new. I even found Ithaca's version of Mother Earth for both Saugerties and Kingston. They have a main store with everything and I finally got my hands on some Hemplus granola as well as the strawberry(!) version. I also found the smaller store called Oasis that is actually really close to my college. So, I got up the nerve to actually look for a job there since I know exactly what I'm doing and I'll get that small store job that I miss already. They told me to come back on Saturday when the assistant manager would be there.
So, I figured Friday was going to be like any other day and it was for awhile. I did my best to pick apart Frankenstein for my Fiction class. I mean, this is where I really excel, analyzing things. I had a lecture for autistic children in my psychology class. Then, I was in my room reading and my friend, Greg Krupp, IMs me saying that he's going to see me soon. "Wait, what?" I forgot that he was planning on busing up from Binghampton to see me and I didn't actually think he'd do it. "Yeah, man, I've gotta go. I'll call you when I get there." It was really awesome because it meant I could start doing things that I couldn't do with my college friends. I finished up some reading and went to my seminar on creativiy. We debated whether or not Japanese students who don't cite sources should be considered plagerists. Since I'm pretty vocal, I really love how people in the class actually know my name and say things like, "Yeah, I agree with Dan." It's just a really nice small victory. So, anyway, I do a quick paper due for that class and hit the gym before Greg was going to get here. However, I got back and there was a message on the answering machine saying that he was going to be late. So, I got started on another paper. Around 8:30, he called and told me he was at the campus center. I said, "I'll be down in a few minutes to collect you." I jogged over there and I just had this big smile fixed on my face when I saw him. The first thing he said to me was, "You're wearing that hat again?" refering to the irish cap I sometimes wear, and with that same smile I say, "Yeah, to stand out." He told how ridiculous the buses were getting out of Binghampton and we finished the conversation in my room. So, I said, "Hey, listen, you hungry? Because I wanted to try the sushi here and nobody else will." He said, "I could go for some sushi". Finally, I was going to do things that I was holding back on. Part of the reason that my college friends annoy me is that they always complain about walking up and down the hill that you have to take to get to the commons. People have become so lazy these days. I told Greg that I hoped he didn't mind walking a lot this weekend and he said something like "'Course not". We played catch up on the way down and went to a really good sushi place. But Greg accidently ordered too much because the Japanese waitress misunderstood him and he ended paying $23 for his meal. Then we went a on a quick walk around town. We talked about how different it is to meet to people and desperately try to make bonds whenever we have something in common. We kinda agreed that it would be hard to find friends like our group in high school. It was really good though. It was one of those sitting-on-curb-late-night-talks. We then got some ice cream (don't get green tea ice cream, it's not what you think) and headed back up the hill. We actually went to bed because I needed to get up to meet the assistant manager of Oasis before 2.