Tonight I finished The Stranger by French author and philosopher Albert Camus. It instantly became one of my favorite books. The story is short. The premise is simple. Ward's translation is beautiful and I think accurately conveys the tone of Mersault into English. Camus effectively put me in the skin of Mersault, and by the end of the book, I saw the world as he did: dispassionate and absurd.
This semester will probably be the most relaxed I've ever had. I might even get a job this semester. As I'm typing this, in fact, I'm at Cool Beans listening to Ben Edwards and other musicians perform music. Last night, I tried to induce a musical high by listening to Binaural Beats. Then I laid out on my futon and listened to Pink Floyd. I really need a job. And I need to start some serious work on my senior project.
My classes are:
Environmental Science - I'm really excited about this class, because the environment is one thing in which I'm emotionally invested. Open discussion about environmental issues and a teacher that is actually a scientist (one of the few teachers on campus who accepts evolution, thank God).
Intro to Physical Science - Not excited about this class. Taking it pass/fail.
Concepts of Physical Fitness - bleh.
Folk Dance - Hell yes. This class is awesome. We've learned like 5 dances already, and we're going to learn a ton more by the end of the semester.
Okay, so I have more classes, but they aren't really classes. But I'm in the stage band and sax ensemble, and I'm in the choir and men's quartet. I'm not on the STIR this semester, but I'm still doing some journalistic activity for the underground paper: The Alstirnative. I can't say who's behind it: it's a secret. I'm also doing my senior project this semester - a documentary. I'll post later on how that's turning out, but my idea right now is to do an experimental-style documentary detailing how a selection of Sterling residents find significance in small-town Kansas.
I've been lazy and haven't posted the entirety of the Quandaries episodes. But here they are now:
Life
Morality
Love & Relationships
Truth
Evolution
Boundaries of Science
Beauty
I'm not doing Quandaries this semester. Instead, I am co-hosting a show with Brian Allen. We'll be going through several different genres of music in a music appreciation extravaganza. Our goal is to get our listeners to expand their musical interests.
December 28, 9:30am: Deposit $300 into my bank account and leave Hutchinson with Google map directions.
12:30pm: Arrive in Kansas City. Eat at Panera Bread with Katie. Then, we drink Boba tea at Tea Drops and take pictures in a red phone booth.
3:15pm: Leave for Ursa, IL.
9:00pm: Arrive in Ursa. Meet Brian's family. Play Apples to Apples. Sleep.
December 29, 10:30am: Depart for Chicago with Brian.
2:30pm: Realize Google Maps is leading us in a wild circle around Peoria, IL.
3:00pm: Realize Peoria IL is far outside the fastest route to Chicago. Realize it was foolish to come on trip without map. Stop in a gas station and figure out good route.
5:30pm: Entering Chicago an I-55. This is as far as we'd planned. We simply picked a road that traveled right into downtown Chicago. Panicked, I try to contact several friends who live in Chicago for advice. We pick up Sharon from the train station, find a parking spot, and meet Christina and Sarah at a deep-dish pizza restaurant.
8:30pm: All of us pack into my mom's car to see Christina and Sarah's apartment. The apartment is obviously inhabited by very artsy people. Sharon suggests we go to a coffee/dessert shop and an improv club. We leave Christina and Sarah and have coffee. The improv club had no showings.
11:00pm: Arrive at Jaci's house in Grayslake. Her dad gave us directions over the phone. I thought it would be simple, so I didn't bother writing them down. Halfway into the conversation, I realized he was expecting me to have been writing everything down. He sounded angry and I didn't want him to have to repeat himself, so I said nothing. I repeated as much as I could remember to Brian. We dropped Sharon off at a station and began the hour-long journey to Grayslake. My memory soon failed me and we were stuck with vague recollections like, "He said something about two stoplights, one stoplight, gone too far, Center street (or something like that), and a four-way stop. I don't know what order he mentioned those things in, but they were all touched on." By some miracle, we made not a single error and got to the house at the expected time. It was cool. We then watched Iron Man with Jaci and her friend Kelly.
December 30, 12:00pm: Leave Grayslake for Lynchburg, Virginia. On our way, we spotted the Newsboys traveling in their trailer truck. By the time we arrived in West Virginia, it was dark. We were tired. Google Maps must have been feeling mischievous, because it certainly had its way with us that night. It led us through the most convoluted, mind-numbing, twisting, freaky-ass route you could ever imagine. The crescendo of this wackness was our trip through the haunted mountains of West Virginia. I wouldn't have stopped the car in those hills, no matter what you offered me. It was perhaps the most traumatic thing I have ever experienced. We eventually get through Hell and end up in Virgina, where we easily find Daniel's house. It is about 5 in the morning at this point.
For the stay in Virginia, I will not record the times or days, because I cannot remember. In any case, we had lots of fun. Daniel showed us his college, Liberty University. Because of our shared disdain for the Institution and all it stands for, we (mostly Daniel) decided to "decorate" one of the buildings.
As far as I know, the lights are still stuck there.
We chose to actually wake up early one morning to go to DC. So we did. Highlight of that trip was probably the hammered dulcimer concert we saw at the Kennedy Center. We of course saw the monuments and some museums as well.
We did many other fun things. On the 4th, about 1:00pm, We headed back to Kansas. Made it back here in one shot. I had a few close encounters with sleep on the way, but we managed to get here without any traffic violations or deaths. I dropped off Brian at about 9 or 10 o'clock on the 5th in Caldwell. I then drove in a helpless daze around Wichita for a while before finally coming back to my senses and heading for home.
I'll be heading back to college tomorrow. Peace.
