Art Fair and Writer's Block

Holy crow (like it? People say it around here. I think it's fun) it's been a while since I've updated. Sorry about that! Every time life gets interesting, I seem to forget about the internet and especially blogs. There's so much to talk about. I hope I can do everything justice. Life has been incredibly interesting these past few weeks. There's a lot to talk about, and a lot I hope I remember!

First, the art fair. I had no clue what I was getting into with that one. I figured the art fair was like a Friday night on Myrtle Ave- vendors selling slightly-overpriced, but well-made crafts and such, food from many of the restaurants around Downtown, a bunch of people walking around... and not enough to see to occupy an entire day. Well, three out of four of those was correct. Art fair is HUGE. Like.. takes up entire blocks of streets and all of downtown HUGE. There were vendors of all shapes and sizes selling art of the same. Everyone who's anyone (or even some no ones) were there showing off what they had made over the past year. It was so overwhelming! I could only think of how great it would be to have a booth there, and show off my own work. I know it would take years to make so much, but it's definitely a cool goal to have in the meantime.

That day Crysta and I also found my new hangout spot- Connor O'Neil's Pub. Outside is blue and quite welcoming, but inside feels like I've stepped into the past... or into a Lord of the Rings-era tavern. Filled with dark wood, rustic tables, and old Post Office furniture from who knows when, O'Neil's is absolutely perfect. It's so befitting of fantasy, that I have to use it in some story. I sit in there and expect to see all sorts of shady characters making unspeakable plans up against the painted and mural-ed walls. One of these days I'll have to go in with the intention to write.

The afternoon of the art fair was by far my favourite part, however. Just as we walked out of a closing Borders (RIP), it started to pour. I mean, rain harder than anything back home can produce. Crysta and I ran for the car, but there was nothing we could've done to prevent how soaked we got. It was SO much fun! Yes, Pina Colada song, I DO like getting caught in the rain. It was exciting to be stuck in such a downpour. Weather is awesome (you know, original sense of the word).

It's difficult now to even remember what happened after the art fair. I want to say camping, but honestly... that might have happened before the fair.


In any case, I'll be handling it in another entry. I haven't felt like writing at all lately, and everything I write sounds terrible. Hopefully I'll feel better the closer I get to school.

Won't it be great to go Downtown?

Again, I know that I've got Steam Expo and Canada backed up, but I wanted to share a little piece of my heart here in Ann Arbor.

I practically live in the downtown area of A2. It consists of Main street and some of it's cross-streets right in the heart of the city, and directly next to U of M. It's bustling nearly all of the time (minus early mornings of course. You know, when you'd expect a coffee shop to be open, but isn't?), and is filled with so many great shops and restaurants that it's contributed to my big lack of money. Downtown is where all the artists go, me included, to be inspired and meet people like them. It's a great place to people watch, to write, to draw, and (in the case of Violin Monster), a fantastic place to perform for the masses.

My favourite shop down there is the Chocolate House of Ann Arbor. It serves all kinds of cafe style drinks, many different flavours of ice cream, and has a full assortment of chocolate and chocolate-covered goodies. While I was tutoring, I spent every Monday and Wednesday within the CH's walls, nibbling on delicious chocolate brownies and sipping on caramel blended coffees. I'd sit in the main window and look out at the Seafood Co, M Den and many jewelry shops. It is my favourite place to get some writing done, and even a little tutoring. The music is always great, and never too loud. The decor is simple, never cluttered and with plenty of space to imagine and daydream. All of the baristas are incredibly friendly, and don't mind if I hang around there for hours at a time. Unfortunately the place is usually dead, but occasionally there's a huge wave of patrons (usually with children in tow) who keep the place in business. It's been there for a long, long time (starting as a sandwich shop), and I really hope it's there for another age or two.

I've shamelessly promoted 826 Michigan before, but I can't stress how amazing that place is. Robot supply shop in front, free homework help in the back. Once I get more money I can start sending Miles more robot parts, but until then it's still fun to look around and see what's new in the shop. The homework help is only during the school year, and so I won't be back there until August for volunteering, but the shop stays open all year. It's on Liberty, a perfect spot for a tutoring center. It's not as loud as Main, but still one of the prominent streets and very close to the parking garage on Fourth and William.

My absolute favourite shop in all of Downtown is Vault of Midnight. Owned by the son of one of Crysta's coworkers, it's the local comic and boardgame shop. It is huge and has everything a comic nerd could ever want. The comics are on the main floor with the boardgames in the basement, and everything is open, friendly and blessedly nerdy. I ask to be hired every time I walk in the store, but to no avail. Once you're in a comic book job, you never leave. This always makes me one sad panda. I wish I could go more often and buy more games/comics/plushies/shirts/posters/etc. Everyone in there is exceptionally nice, and more often than not covered in tattoos and piercings. It is my kind of place. Vault is on Main street, just past Liberty. After tutoring I love to just pop in there for a minute or two, just to look around at all the pretties I can't have!

If I've got the money and the friends, The Jolly Pumpkin is a great place to eat and drink. It's atmosphere is very me- dark, stained wood, elaborate wallpaper and pictures all over the walls. It reminds me of being in the hull of a very fancy ship. The food is excellent, and I love their hamburgers. They're so juicy and you can get all kinds of toppings. They have many kinds of drinks, all of which are fabulous. Unfortunately, I've only been there once, but I can't wait to have a job that lets me eat out more often!

Downtown is very near and dear to my heart. It's a huge part of where I live, and when I leave Michigan I think I might miss it most. Southern California is severely lacking a little district like this, and it makes me sad to think that all I have to go back to are Starbucks and Coffee Beans sitting along massive boulevards being completely corporate and expensive. I'll miss my little Downtown full of artists, performers, vegetarians, hippies and parents. For now, I'll spend as much time as I can down in the CH, writing my little heart out and dreaming of the day I'm good enough to perform on the street for change.

Cause I'd get a thousand hugs from ten million lightning bugs...

Wow. It has been nearly a month since I've updated. So much has gone on- Memphis swallowing a needle, World Steam Expo, meeting Chris Hardwicke, my birthday... but what has me completely enraptured right now are tiny insects with bio luminescence.

As you probably know, since most of you are in the state currently, California doesn't have fireflies. I've searched the internet, and there doesn't seem to be any good reason for it, either. Some say it could be too dry for them. I've lived in Oregon during the summer, and stayed in Washington for a week in the summer and they don't have any fireflies. They're not the driest states ever, so why don't they have any? Whatever the reason, I have grown up firefly-less.

Now, I have seen plenty of movies and TV shows, and heard a lot songs that mention the little bugs. They have a certain symbolism in my head of serenity (ha, so many Firefly jokes in here...), of classic childhoods I wasn't in the right place or time to have. Fireflies are very antique to me, nostalgic. Lightning bugs are what grandmas and grandpas talk about to their children's children when they speak of how they grew up "way back when." Fireflies aren't something modern children get to enjoy. They were only of an era long past.

So to my surprise, as you can imagine, last July I had a heart attack over the little balls of light in the grass as Crysta and I sat in her car waiting for a phone call. Crysta, probably thinking I was nuts, told me they were fireflies. I proceeded to freak out more. Fireflies? REALLY? they exist? They're not just made up be the media? I was overjoyed at the thought. Had there not been a thunderstorm on the horizon, I would've been out of the car and in the field.

But I left Michigan and came back to California, and to my lightning bug-less life. I forgot about them. I visited again in October, but summer was long gone and so were the fireflies.

Then, in April, I moved to Michigan to finish school. And now it is the end of June, and the first day of summer. Man, were those fireflies on top of it! They showed up for the first time last night- just boys, out early and lookin' for love. Crysta came in and nonchalantly said there were fireflies out! And that it must be summer.

And I freaked. FIREFLIES! Finally! I get to see them again! Not only that, but I get to live with them! So we went out to our little courtyard and she caught the teeny bugs while I took pictures and video. I went back out tonight to feed the little lost kitty that lives by the park, and to take more pictures of the only bugs I will ever like. There are so many more out tonight! I took a few videos and just stood and watched. Had it not been lightning I would've stayed out there for a lot longer.

I am completely enamoured by Fireflies. They represent so much to me that I can't even find words for. I'm in awe of the things, and all they do is glow and have sex (not a bad life, really). But seeing them flitting around the courtyard, or the park... I'm stuck there. Crysta said it's like a Toreador, and I'm inclined to agree. Just like they could stare at a painting until the sun burned them to ashes... I could stare at a group of fireflies until dawn. They make me more appreciative of where I am, and why I'm here.

Summer won't be such a bad thing with them around. If I get lonely, all I have to do is walk out my back door and stand in the midst of fireflies.

My First Tornado Warning...

...And I'm currently in the closet, 'cause I can't figure out how to work Sawyer's harness, and he won't sit still long enough for me to try.

And Crysta's at mom's house. JOY.

Amy (an old friend in MI) said not to worry, and I'm trying not to. But, for all you tornado-survivors out there, imagine your first 5.0 or 6.0 earthquake. Freaked or would freak you the hell out, right? Well, that's what a Tornado warning does to me. So I'm sitting in the closet, listening to grainy radio (cause we have no TV), and trying not to flip. Sawyer is above me, on the shelf, purring away and looking generally content.

Freaking cat.


So until 6:15 I will sit here, having to pee, and wait until the warning is over. It was a little cool hearing the sirens for the first time, though. Had I had Netflix playing, I wouldn't have heard them at all. They are VERY far from my apartment, it seems. Not good for nighttime. I sleep through anything.

I've opened windows, made sure I have stuff in the closet, and have the radio on and to a news channel. You may think this overkill, but if you know me at all, you know I'm paranoid, prepare early, and over prepare... just in case. It never hurts.

So... I'm going to scoot to the bathroom quickly, then settle in with some NPR and wait it out.

While birds sing, and squirrels bark...

...life goes on in Michigan, if a little more humid, a little more stormy, a little more gloomy. Sorry I haven't updated in over a week. I'd like to say that life keeps getting the better of me, and that my adventures are never-ending and  oh-so-fun. Life, however, has gone back to what it was in California- an endless cycle of classes, homework and job-hunting. The more time I have to sit, the more homesick I get. Homework is fairly easy to get done (except the paper I'm ignoring to write this), and I don't have a job to lose myself in (more on that below), so I spend a lot of time calling or texting friends and family back in my home state. I kind of understand now, leaving and not staying in total contact with everyone you left behind. It's heartbreaking to hear about all the things you wish you could be doing. In my case, it makes me think about how little friends (actual, real, solid, always-by-your-side-know-everything-about-you-friends) I have here, and how much I wish, despite my unhappiness in Southern California, I was back home. Maybe it's the gloomy weather, maybe it's my lack of anything to do, but I'm hardcore homesick.

I did get to talk to Chelsea two nights ago via webcam and Skype, and that did lift my spirits a lot. I miss her more than anyone, I think. I wish I could join her in LA, or just hang out in her livingroom surfing through channels and eating good food. I loved seeing her artwork, and getting to see weird Chelsea, whom I miss a LOT. I miss Miles, and his crazy family. I miss going to $2 movies and drinking in the theatre. I miss having two-hour long talks with my brother in the livingroom about nothing particularly important. I miss Pat's hugs and scolding looks. I really, really miss Kurdt.

But, I do have clients slowly trickling in for tutoring sessions. I do have an interview next week about a delivery job that I really, really want. I still have tutoring on Mondays, which I am terribly excited about. I love the environment and helping students be better students. So I do do some things in Michigan. I have a few school friends, and we talk before class, but I'm still lacking those friends that you love at first sight, and feel like you've known for years despite it being days. Maybe those don't happen as often in adulthood as they did in childhood and adolescence. If not, that's really dumb. Open up, people.

Next weekend is the World Steam Expo, and Crysta and I have been finishing up out outfits for it. We're still waiting on our corsets, set to arrive from the UK about a week ago. Without them.. we're kind of screwed. Neither of us has a back up plan good enough to show off at a Steampunk convention. Here's hoping our corsets arrive sometime this coming week. We'll be going to the Expo with our gaming friends and Crysta's beau. It will be great to spend time with them outside of game night. I'm trying to attach myself further in the group, even though it kind of feels like they want to keep me outside longer. I feel like there's some test I haven't passed yet, that would get me full disclosure. I hope it comes up soon so I can get on with it. I promise I'll pass with flying colours.

I've been craving canine attentions for weeks now, and it's driving me mad. I like cats, and Sawyer is pretty damn close to a dog, but I demand the real thing. Dogs are so much easier to care for than indoor cats. I keep secretly praying that I'll find a stray wandering around our apartment complex and get to keep him. But now Crysta knows my plan, and I'll have to come up with a new one. I don't feel as happy of a person without a dog. Cats are nowhere near the same. They're great in some ways, but they're not willing to meet my needs like a dog would. When I come home from school, I don't want to be meowed at for ten minutes because I haven't fed them yet. When I come home I want something to be there that goes "OMG YAY! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" Our cats are more like "Why the hell did it take you so long?" It's kind of like having two mother-in-laws in the house, berating my every move. I just want a little dog, I promise. No one will even know it's here. :(

Other than that, nothing has really gone on in life. I love my Psych classes and despise English (methinks I picked the wrong major five and a half years ago, oh well), and am just waiting until mid-June, when I go on my short little summer break. Not much going on on my end, but I love and miss you all terribly!

Sorry for the depressing blog this week, folks. Next week will be better, I can feel it.

Will work for.. well.. work.

 Wow, it's been a week since I've updated? I would say I've been busy, but that's not the case. I did finish my first week of school at Eastern. Honestly, there's not much to say about it. I'm taking classes that I've either taken something similar before, or that is so far below my level that sitting through two and a half hours of lecture kills me with boredom. I'm taking a Psychology 101 lecture, and a lab that kind of goes with it. Both are incredibly boring, and in the worst classrooms I have ever been in (and I went to PCC). The lab isn't too difficult, but the book was $50, and it's seriously a throw-away class. It's only one unit. It's dumb. The psych lecture is SO BORING. My prof is the most boring woman on the planet. I would have SO much fun in psychology class, but she somehow manages to make it torture. Two and a half hours of boring writing. And I never think writing is boring. English, despite the friends I've made in the class, is horrific. I despise analyzing literature. I hate it. I hate it more than I can say. As an English Major I know I'm not supposed to, but it's seriously the hardest thing for me to do. I have never been able to look at a poem or a piece of writing and tell you my interpretation of it. I never have interpretations of writing. I take it either at face value, or I'm too worried about trying to get the right answer. And this prof listens to others' opinions, but she ultimately wants a right answer.

Also, we have TWO group presentations, and I do not work in groups.

But tutoring at 826michigan is still SO fun, and I think I'll get my credentials to teach after I graduate. I'll probably try to get them in California so I can get them with the higher standards that let me teach more places. So, for all you wonderful people pining for me, this means I'll probably come back. I don't know for how long, but I'll be there.

Mother's Day was lovely, and it was the best I've had since Mom died. The Tulip Festival in Holland was so very pretty, and mom had a great day out. Crysta and I made breakfast for the family, and Jay (Crysta's brother) made dinner. I love family time. And dogs. I'm still pining for one, but Baggins and Higgins calmed me down a bit. I just wish I could see them more often.

I still don't have a job, though. I'm nearly out of money and I'm getting desperate. I've applied to at least fifty places, with an average of three applications being sent out a day. Everyone in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area has my resume. I'm about ready to play my guitar on the curb and put out a hat. Hell, if I knew more than one song I'd be out in Downtown every Saturday.

If you could, I'd love some prayer on that. Pray that I find a job quickly. It doesn't have to be great, or pay me exactly what I'm looking for, but I need something, anything.

Oh no. I'm a teacher.

I had my first day of volunteer tutoring today at 826michigan. It's the writing center that's disguised as a Robot shop. It serves as a free place for kids to go to get help with their homework. Today I got to work with the smartest, most level-headed girl in the universe. She's trying to get into Northwestern's summer program that focuses on changing communities for the better and creating awareness and programs to help solve social problems. It's something that I would love to do as a college student, but it's even better that it's for high school students. She's writing her entry essay, and I barely had to do anything more than give her the idea opener of "I want to join this program because..." It was amazing. She flew through those reasons and laid them out with more thought and eloquence than I could have ever written with a million years to perfect it.

Crap, I'm going to be a teacher, aren't I? Although, I like volunteering as a tutor a lot more than working as one. There is so much less stress as a volunteer, and my job doesn't have to come home with me. I'm excited to go there every Monday, and I wish I could volunteer more often. I'm still looking for that glorious tutoring job, but for now I think this will suffice.

Now if I could just get that REAL job people keep talking about.