Day 0

Most people have anxieties about education from problems with the work itself, authority figures, other students or something else. No one, no mater how smart or perpetually prepared, gets out of a learning institute scott-free. No one. To briefly tell you about mine, I attended many different schools that were pretty far apart and it ain't always easy being the new kid. I'd have trouble finding a class on the first day and get redressed for forgetting everything from last year. Summer reading lists never made it to me until the first day. Graduation, prom, and all that other crap is pretty meaningless when you graduate from a tiny school after only one year. I'll never forget all eyes on me during every 'people you've known all your lives/memories together' speech an administrator made. 'Ok, except for that weird guy in the back.' What's that you say, only teacher that was nice to me all year? You'd like me to write for the yearbook next year? Well fuck you, I'm going where no one will want my input until I find out I'm moving again. Again.

I guess I sound bitter but I'm really not. I met more people than most teens and got really comfortable about making friends out of strangers. I reinvented myself a few times, in the way that teens often do, but pre-internet no one could see the kid I had been. I was in every kind of band I wanted to be in and fell in with whatever kind of crowd I wanted. And most importantly, I hold no grudge towards my family or anyone. Life's kind of an adventure when you can't plan ahead. Maybe feeling that way explains my lack of savings and how I got to new york, but I digress...

Point is: These old feeling are resurfacing as I begin school again and I'm already a little behind. Due to some unfortunate scheduling I'll be missing orientation day and the first day of classes. It's a school for adults and I don't need a note and it's fine and the job placement is great and no problem and it's only a year of classes anyway so no biggie. I'm not a teenager nor is anyone else in my class and I shouldn't even worry about it at all. But you and I both know that that's not how it works. Sigh.

So rather than lay awake at night stressed out, I'm going to write about it. And I mean that awake thing. I typically sleep through everything, hit snooze for hours but I was wide awake this morning when the alarm went off. The administration, who has been super-cool with me being stressed about missing the first few day, gave me the paperwork I'll miss and my schedule. In the end it was a five minute tour and a chat about parking. And no daisy dukes. So why was I tossing and turning all night? Dunno. Here's to hoping I figure it out so I can get some rest.

I heart NY. Why don't you?

Whenever I travel anywhere outside my corner of the world a question pops into my head: Am I a New Yorker? This usually happens in quiet reflection after other thoughts like: Why don't you say what you mean? These bagels taste like french bread. Why are you bundled head to toe in 50 degree weather? Learn how to drive, why don't you. You really call that pizza? Next, I wonder if I have any right to these thoughts. Born in Virginia, then lived all over the east coast, raised by nice people from Jersey who've settled down in Alabama, I've been in NY for about a decade. But I've loved my time there. Here, I mean. And let's face it, NY is fucking gorgeous and has it all. Really. Great food, beer, music, schools, drugs, people, everything. OK, starting to sound like a demented travel agent...
Point is, Why do I get funny looks when I walk up to a counter (the place doesn't matter), politely say hello, and say what I need with a please and thank you? The answer is because I didn't chat about the weather, the game, the rodeo, or whatever first and then slowly (ohmygod, SO slowly) get to my point. I'm well aware of the reputation NYers have, but I found they simply don't fuck around. Not rude really, just honest. (btw, hearing "OH! You're from New York! But you don't seem rude..." can make someone rude) How dare I walk into a gas station and ask for a pack of smokes? That's all it takes for the 'you're not from around here' look/question/treatment. One time in a Huddle House in Georgia (Wafflehouse's evil, evil twin) it took about an hour for me and two close friends to place and get our to go order. I ordered off the menu and confused 4 employees, including the manager, by referring to peppers as 'bell' peppers, which, while clearly printed on the menu, was something they had never heard before. My friends sent back their completely wrong orders once, then kept the still totally wrong food they got next because of the amount of time it took. They said that they've never seen me so angry and I'm terrible at getting angry, almost never do it. But I think they were right. Fuck. I guess I'm a New Yorker.

Why airlines suck

I can't stop thinking about that southpark episode where Mr. Garrison invents a fast method of travel that is less terrible than dealing with airline companies. Without going into too much detail, the device employs anal-rape power and sells faster than anyone would expect. Thank god the US congress steps in, putting Mr. Garrison out of business to protect the airline industry. I'll skip over the ass thing and just make the point that my ladyfriend and I are missing at least two days of work (each) while incurring the cost of hotels, food, transportation (a needless trip to the airport and out), and other.
Well, to be fair to (should I? yeah) DELTA AIRLINES, they did give us a courtesy call to alert us of our canceled flight. After already being at the airport for about two hours and while talking to a ticket agent about how there were no planes to leave and no flights anyway, we got a call telling us not to get on the plane, that wasn't there, that was originally supposed to leave in less than five minutes.
Then a lot of other shit happened, flights changed a bunch of times, a quest to find a working Delta number (they officially state that they do not have enough phone lines to deal with weather changes), then a two hour on-hold session, and...
They win. I'll get home when they say so. Broke, tired, and beaten.

Gee, I hope congress gives these guys a few billions...

why New Mexico rules

So it's 1:15 in New Mexico and I should be sleeping because I do need to get up at 6:30 but I had this crazy(stupid) idea to start a blog. The main impetus for this is due to the 30thSWT/PCA Conference. Yeah, i didn't know what that stood for until a few weeks ago even though I've been stoked to be here for months. Just in case you're curious, that's the Southwest Texas Popular Cultural Association Annual Conference which, for some reason that has yet to be explained to me, has been happening for a while in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And it fucking rules. If you don't believe me check it out here: www.swtxpca.org, and what I've come to understand 'popular culture' to be is a catch-all for those with doctoral dissertations or master thesis on folklore, myth/fairy-tale, Buffy, comics, media studies, The Grateful Dead (yeah, not a big fan), Beat society, gender studies, sci-fi, H.R., technology, and a hell of a lot more. When you compare any of these fan critiques to any other bland old papers, they are probably going to get an A (which is what you want your professor to get on her/his papers) but, you know, who's gonna care? The Fans! The people who want to know why HIV in gay culture is analogous to Vamiprism in the Wheadonverse, why Native American culture has been hurt by Marvel Comics, what the Star Trek cannon has to say about whitewashed imperialism, why fairy-tales get fucked over and rewritten by whitey again and again and again... There are about 450 different panels with about 3.2 presentations on each panel. I've gotten to hang out and chat with (and drink/smoke/nerd-out with) people of all ages from all over the country, from France, Belgium, Austria, Germany, and a ton of people who I had no idea where the fuck they were from. This is the kind of doctor I want to be. A doctor of totally smart, cool-ass shit.