Chapter 7: A $352 water polo joke

There's a buzz around me. Things are pretty good. Not, like, fireworks - I'm not having some kind of karmic bonanza - but this are running smoothly, so long as I keep the fire on.

I'm starting to straighten my shit out. For instance, I'm actually writing notes during some classes now. It's crazy.

I'm starting to climb out of this cold. Something weird happened yesterday morning. I sneezed - and threw out my back. Maybe because I was carrying more books than usual in my backpack, maybe because I was walking all hunched over like I do. Maybe because I'm getting old. I suggested this third alternative to Claire before Shakespeare and she laughed it off, "You're what, 19? 20?" I told her, "I'm 21." Her reaction was one of exaggerated surprise. I guess this kinda thing doesn't come out all by itself. I remember when I was surprised to learn how much older than me Jasmin was. In the seminar, I guess we're all just left to assume everyone's 18. "I wasn't the only one," I told her. There was a girl named Sarah who was substantially older. "And David," a dude with a pretty hefty handlebar mustache, "Was about 55." Ha ha. Funny me. Anyway I was sore for a while.

It was a decent day. I took notes in CanLit and contributed to group discussion in Film History. Good times. In Sci-Fi, we talked about Metropolis. I'm of two minds on that film. One half completely understands on an intuitive and sensory level, both the narrative and thematic structure of the movie. The other, analytically, can't make any damn sense of it.

For AmLit, I read some stories by Fitzgerald and Hemingway. I felt very in tune with their styles of writing. Moreso than a lot of what I've read to this point in any class, it made me think about my own writing and what I want to do. In fact, I ought to be doing real writing right now. But that notwithstanding, I really absorbed them better than most of what I'd been studying up to this point, and all but a few of the stories from first-year narrative.

Anyway, for the most part, my life is revolving around all these upcoming papers. I actually went in today - on my day off no less - to talk to a TA about my Shakespeare paper, to get some direction. I think that's gonna be my weekend. No fun for me. Two papers due, Monday and Tuesday. At least I'm mentally prepared for now. All I need now is to actually write them. I'm thinking Friday night and Saturday night for that. Oh youth. How tortuous. I'm still not really one for time management.

But like I said, I had to go in. I didn't say much to her, but she had some good thoughts on where I might begin and now I have a better idea than before I started. Good direction. On the train on the way in, I ran into Becky. I'm always looking around to see if I notice anyone I know, and I saw her getting on so while she wasn't looking I sat across from her and read the paper until she noticed. I'm a sly dog. We did the usual catching up, hashing old times. Talked a lot about River Oaks, which we don't always (since we didn't know each other THAT well in grade school.)

But anyway. I was going to watch a movie for film history, and even went all the way to the Media Commons entrance at Robarts, but then decided I'd be better off getting food and going home. So I did. Tomorrow for that.

I got home and swung by HMV to see when I was working. Sunday. Nice. Kinda nervous but also looking forward to it. I remember when I started last time I was kinda overwhelmed, kinda getting emotional and Lindsay - who at the time was the assistant manager - asked me if this happened often, and I had to swear it didn't. It got easier as time went by and I think this time I'll feel more at home, hopefully able to reconnect with my previous experience.

I'm not perfect, I've still got stuff to work out, but there's a buzz. And there's a really cool girl who wants to hold my hand. Life don't suck.

No sir. Now I'm gonna go rest. I don't really want to go to school tomorrow, but my effort is up. I'm in a groove.

Keep on rockin'
-Scott