escape to switzerland...

       coldplay rocks my socks. so do wonderfully escapist books. especially those, and especially recently. it's been a while since i've been able to devote any significant amount of time to reading. while working at the candy factory i was lucky to be able to get something in during lunch, between bites, but within the past month or so i've had the privilege to indulge as much as i've wanted. in reality, though, it's been more of a need--something to keep me going--than an indulgence. and that's where i've spent most of my time, trying not to feel anything but what the characters experience. i read the twilight series twice before the final book came out aug. 2, in the space of about a week. those books are amazing. meyer has a flair for amazing characters. i also read her pseudo-sci-fi "the host," which was also quite good. i've been going through the potter series again (no, i have no idea how many times that will be now), and david got me hooked on eiji yoshikawa's "musashi." gotta love them samurai. seriously, he's cool. i'll be starting book two as soon as it arrives. currently reading khaled hosseini's sophomore bestseller, "a thousand splendid suns." i'm not getting into it as quickly as i did "kite runner," but i still like it so far. oh, and i'm keeping the netflix rolling in. i don't care if i'm penniless, some things are just more important than food. i could stand to lose a few anyway.

       i've always been somewhat of an escapist, taking refuge in my sometimes too vivid imagination. i like that word, "escapist." sounds better than to say that i'm running from my problems, but i suppose it's still all the same. i think i'm going to put that in my "about me" on facebook. i've been contemplating an exodus, though--from columbia, from my current life. change needs to happen. any cullens out there willing to help out? :) i've lived in columbia for seven years tomorrow, with an eighth on the way. this whole college thing has been quite an experience, and yes, it has taken me this long for a four year degree. i thought i'd have that finished a long time ago, but that's a huge story best left for another time. anyway, it's looking like december will be the official date. while many of my friends, including my little brother, are out there married, kids running around (or may be in the near future), i'm still figuring out what i'm going to be when i grow up. i'll be a quarter century old in less than two weeks. not old, i know, but it feels like something needs to happen yesterday. i want to get out and experience things, not be stuck in the middle of corn fields and bars for the rest of my life. i've thought about going to a dozen different places, some in the u.s., some not. i think i'd like to be abroad for a while. couple years, maybe more, maybe less. had an offer to teach english in korea, but they wanted me to go now and, tempting as that is, i speak no korean and i'm still not sure what's going on here.

       i was fired from my job. i know, right? i finally get one, seemingly the perfect one, especially for my purposes right now with wanting to write and all, and i'm fired three weeks in. they're allowing me to stay as head resident (can't beat free rent), but only on the condition that i "behave myself." which means i can't really discuss the details of it here. but i've never been fired before. i was written up at hy-vee once, while i was in high school, because i skipped a shift (that they didn't really need me for) to go on a date. :) my boss at the time thought it was funny--he was impressed, actually. but the whole "fired" thing was, and remains to be, a rather horrible situation. they're making some pretty huge changes at the house. needless to say, this is going to be a very interesting year (re: hell). i still don't know if i want to be here to see it. well, i don't, really, but i can't afford to move out. so i'm looking for a job. i'm trying to decide whether to give up writing for a while in favor of a job. i really don't want to.

       it has also been a very long summer. not as long as last summer, but still a little too quiet. i'm by no means a social butterfly, but i like to have company when it's convenient. ;) that's another thing about getting older, especially in a college town, because most of my friends my age (or near it) are gone, and the new people coming in don't age. the new ones are always 18. it blew me away when i realized that this year's freshman class was born in 1990. the oldest of my close friends here is actually younger than my little brother. haha. and i'm really not an ageist, but there are still fairly different perspectives and experiences there. it doesn't help that i've never met anyone (actually met, at least) quite like me. brandon was a complement, not a soul-kin, which is kinda what i need. i could use some good competition. :)

       so here i am at one of my favorite places, ellis library, pandora tuned to coldplay, snow patrol, and lifehouse (you know, my holy trinity of music), along with some muse, regina spektor, dido, evermore, incubus, and a few others for good measure. ooh, mcr just came on. nice. khaled hosseini, my blackberry, and a water bottle are at my left hand, and my thumb drive is in the usb. no idea what i'm doing. see if i can write something. ideas have been coming, lately, but they're mostly formless still. i have to pee, but i don't want to get up. and i'm tired because i don't sleep. couple nights this past week i actually didn't go to bed at all. ooh, dashboard confessional. i love pandora.

       someone please tell me you understood the title. preferably a guy. i hate being the only guy i know that likes twilight. then again, i'm the only guy i know that reads. rainy day. i love rain. ooh, take me away, dido. don't leave me for aeneas. "i will go down with this ship. i won't put my hands up in surrender." hmm. applicable? i hope not. eh. the will is overruled by the bladder. i'm rambling anyway. be well, my friends. see you next month?