Ah, dear spider diary readers. What can I possibly say about school from ten hours away? What insight can I produce from the depths of my college history that will be of any use to any of you? Hm. I’ll have to think about that for a moment. But that seems to be all that I have nowadays–I’ve racked up a lot of pondering time. I’m getting ready to depart for my study abroad–which in Jordan-speak means that I haven’t even started packing yet (and won’t until next week probably). I am, however, preparing to be a regional team-leader for TEAM MELBOURNE on CafeAbroad.com. I will be writing articles for their Melbourne page as well as posting reviews of restaurants and events in the Melbourne area (and in Australia while on my travels). I am also responsible for wrangling two other student bloggers who will be studying at the Uni in Melb. We will, over the course of the semester, work on a Melbourne city guide. I can’t wait to get started on all of this. I can’t wait to explore my city, meet the people, and get swept away (safely and in a smart way) by the current, spirit, and tone of the place. AH! I anxiously count seconds.
Which might provide a great pointer for Richmond. It’s an amazing city. The school provides a number of resources to explore the area (and cities near to it). There is a bus that goes downtown; there is a shuttle that goes to Cary Street and the malls near campus. There is even a path from the Campus Apartments to Pony Pastures on the James River (be careful walking or riding a bike across the bridge). The James River boasts some wonderful hiking trails for the adventurous among you. I remember last semester that while on a seven-mile circular hike around the James, I sampled Paw-Paws (a fruit) and walked through a field of wild watermelon that stretched for miles and buffered the initial semblances of the city of Richmond.
Get out there (duh, you might be saying). Be creative, curious, and cautious–three Cs that I think suit college pretty well.
Jordan
Quote of the week:
“The world can’t weigh you down when you’re standing on top of it.” - Nature Valley ad quote
D-Hall at Christmas–Nolan Hughes and Steph Langton acting like they’ll miss me, hehe.
Last night I had a pleasant dream about skydiving. I was soaring hybrid superman-batman style, my arms spread away from the center of my body like flying squirrel flaps (not bird wings—I wasn’t flying after all), warm desert air sheltering me like a translucent cocoon in the sky. The landing was of the sort described only in Gothic or medieval fantasies. Or, in my case, like the descension carried out by one of my favorite film characters of all time–Selene. I touched down on one knee like that sexy UnderworldKate Beckinsale “I’m all depressed ‘cause my family was killed off by monsters twelve-hundred years ago and I can’t let it go yet” landing. I could feel everything. Couldn’t tell you where I was or the identity of my skydiving companion (He never took off his helmet. Or landed, either, I realize now), but I can tell you it was the best decision I had ever made. Sad that it came in a dream.
The meaning of this vision is obvious, my friends. The restlessness of my present circumstances is infecting my brain—killer virus bent on subduing all coherent thought or rational patience. But who ever decided that patience is rational? If I’m honest I’ve always been torn by the concept of patience. Occasionally I wish that I could train myself to be more easy-going, but my ambition and curiosity knows absolutely NO bounds. None whatsoever. And that’s one thought that doesn’t trouble me in the slightest. I would feel crooked or unwound without that buzzing vibration in the back of the warehouse in my mind. It’s a warning system not so subtly telling me that elements of this reality have stagnated. And, all confessed, I would rather have agitation than stagnation. Sorry, was that whole paragraph disparagingly random?
I have twenty-six days in the frosted wilderness of my parents’ town where time’s speed is as disjointed as the rampant ramblings of my consciousness before I make my own descension into the rambling continent where time is frosted slow by my high spirits and the weather is more conducive to my olive skin and warmth-drawn personality.
Stagnated fantasies
Jordan
If you could imagine what phyiscal form my mind would take…this is pretty close. A tree in Florida that I fell in love with.
Quote of the week:
“So this I swear to you
and this I swear to me
I’ll never rest till I’ve seen all I can see. (2x)
I want to know where the strength of a person lies,in their past or their future.
Is in the way that they hurt or they love themselves? Or is it all an illusion?
I want to crawl from this skin that I’m painted in, body please let it give.
I want to find the creator of all good things and ask what it means to live.”
- “All I Can See” performed by Brendan James
Ah, January 6th. This has been an eventful break, dear Spider Diary readers. For the last week my parents, my friend Jordan, and I have been taking a break in a little wonder of a town called St. Augustine, Florida. If that name sounds familiar way back in the dark recesses of the mind reserved for elementary school knowledge, it’s because St. Augustine is the oldest city in the United States. My family loves it here and truly there are some great hidden treasures in this little historically military town by the sea. The sea has been a particularly lovely shade of jade these past few days and I’m pretty sure the sky stole the color gray from the rest of the world and is now parading around in it like a gorgeous silver gown.
The trip so far has served as a great escape from the cold of the north (although it fell from the seventies to the forties and is slowly building its way back up) and I loved having a good friend at hand to talk to. Now Jordan has returned to snowy (is it snowing there? Oh well) Pittsburgh and my parents and I will soon be joined by my grandparents (any moment now). We are now traveling on the second leg of our adventure to sunny Orlando (temp in the 80s!!!!) and I will spend the next six days riding the Hulk and E.T. rides at Universal.
If you’re asking what I’m grateful for, reread the sections above. And my writing is going well also.
double space. click click .typing.
Jordan
Fort in St. Augustine…photo courtesy of Kathy West.
George Street in glorious historic St. Augustine…courtesy of elitehospitality.com - hey, I don’t have the cord to upload photos from my camera…at least there are pictures.
Quote of the week:
“I took month long vacations in the stratosphere
And you know it’s really hard to hold your breath
I lost everything I ever loved or feared
I was a cosmic kid in full costume dress
Well my feet they finally took root in the earth
But I got me a nice little place in the stars
I swore I found the key to the universe
In the engine of an old parked car.”
-“Growin’ Up” performed by Bruce Springsteen
