migration of the grokaloper

grokaloper @ 2006-03-26T14:13:00

2006-03-26T19:19:03Z

I've decided to create a livejournal of my day-to-day poetry bungling. So if anyone reading this is the voyeuristic sort (and aren't we all, really?) and you wish to follow this, feel free to respond to this entry with some expression of interest and I will be happy to add you to the friendlyst.

I find that spelling, "friendlyst," much more appealing.

heliodote.livejournal.com - Feel free to post there, too. :)

Another mountain climbed

2005-08-18T04:58:46Z

Again, I've been so busy that a lot of events occurred and now this journal is backed up a few days, so prepare for traffic. This long line of cars is all because of me.

We begin with Sunday, and a conclusion to the previous entry, at the end of which I asked you all to wish me luck and no one did. I'm not angry. Anyway, everything worked out by way of acquiescence. Eriko called me in the morning and said she couldn't make it until the afternoon, so I asked her to leave it under the couch outside the door of my old apartment. Then Nathan came over to help me finish the packing and moving, and we got a campus police officer to open my door to my new apartment. We left both doors open, and I convinced my sister to be late to the family gathering (she hates tardiness - she is punctual) and let me use her car to move. It was a million degrees and my ghetto boxes broke apart (should have used cowboxes) and it sucked, but I was able to laugh at myself and get the job done. Then I was incredibly relieved for the rest of the day, despite being around a million people at this gathering, many (I'd even say most) of whom I didn't know. That kind of thing used to bother me, but I have a knack these days for finding my niche wherever I am and being comfortable with it. I got back, got my key (thanks Eriko!) and was officially moved in. I did most of my unpacking immediately, and although I still have some left, I'm relaxed. And the stress of the day made me appreciate the relaxation more, just as the heat of the apartment (which has improved after a few days, thankfully) made me appreciate the air conditioning I no longer have.

But I like my new apartment much more than my old one, overall. The only major problem with it is that most of the lights in this apartment don't seem to work. The one in my bedroom works, but I've been using lamps for everything else. The kitchen light doesn't work at all, which drives me nuts at night. Here's a picture of me in my apartment, by the way:

You know why you can't see the (second-)most beautiful thing in the world? BECAUSE IT'S TOO DARK! Maybe there really is toilet paper here, and I just can't find it. Also: I don't really have white hair when it turns dark - except on my stomach. But that's because of a birthmark, and a racial war that must have been started by a Jewish, on the hard battlegrounds that are my abs. And yes. That's right, a Jewish. I bet you've never met a real Jewish before.

Random mid-entry book recommendation: The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.

Monday, Corey visited to check out the place and bring a bike, and we talked a lot and went to Subway and it was fun but mostly inconsequential visit. That night, however, I went for a walk with Nathan. Those of you who remember two years ago and my old journal remember how much I complained about how depressing it was that I had no one to walk with, especially at night. Now I have two people - Malorie and Nathan - who love to walk and apparently love to walk with me. And conversations with either of them, although different, share the same poetic concordance and smooth transition of tone and emotion. It's special.

That reminds me of something I noticed about music. It's one of only two things I can think of that can fill a room, the other being air. And coincedentally, we humans need both of them to live. We breathe music, while dissonance asphyxiates. Or finds some other way to kill you:

Today I ordered lunch from a local pizza place, Bruno's and part of my order included breadsticks. They cost $4, and as it turns out, they give you 10 breadsticks. That's 40 cents per stick, and they are large and filling. It's like 2 full meals, for $4, and they're excellent. It blew me away. I wish I knew that earlier.

At work, the tasks I've been doing make me not a circulation desk employee, but rather a maintenance worker and a skilled architect. I'm so damn underpaid, and they're so damn understaffed. But at least I'm mostly not underappreciated, which I mostly appreciate.

Yesterday, I went to an Aquabats concert with andshewalkedon and almightyspoony. It was fun, loud, sometimes crazy, sometimes humorous, and all around a good time. There was an evil tree. It was cool. Unfortunately, I have little else to say on the matter, mostly because I am so out of place at a concert that it becomes something I take in and process, but not something I mentally or physically participate in. I just find the experience interesting.

Today, after work, Asif and I ran our hill workout. We drove to Minnechaug High School in Wilbraham, and from there we ran 10 minutes to the infamous Monson Road, a steep 1.2 miles uphill, and then continued around the area (the richest and most beautiful part of the rich town) for a full 7-mile run. Here's the hill, drawn to scale with other major landmarks:

After hauling ass up the hill together, during which, on the hardest part, I am proud to say it was me, not Asif, who picked up the pace. He told me later he was surprised. He made up for it by outkicking me at the end of the run - which we ran the post-hill remainder of at tempo pace, for 25 minutes. It was a hell of a run. We're in insane shape, and we're both ten times more confident than last year. We did some strides and then drove (in his BMW!) to Stop and Shop, where I bought drinks and he was able to have an excuse to drive in his BMW. Then we hung out at my place for a while and played a game of Madden, which was really a game of trashtalking during a game of Madden, and I won 23-14. He demands a rematch.

Tomorrow:
1. *sunflowers sprout everywhere and cover everything*
2. Nathan cuts my hair!
3. But not my beard! Courtney said at work today that it makes me "distinctive" and even people who told me to shave it said I could just as well keep it and it wouldn't be bad. But it was funny - my half-sister Becca, the younger one (10 years old) can't stand it and practically begged me to shave it when she saw it. She kept looking at me and frowning and saying "you should shave your beard." It's become a part of me, and for now I want to keep it, regardless of good or bad reviews. I bet I'll kill it during the cross country season at some point, but we'll see how it looks with shorter hair.
4. Work, night shift, so I FINALLY get to sleep in, for the first time in weeks. Although I have to wake up early to let Malorie in. Maybe she'll let me go back to bed.

Just a few more days! I will run EVERYWHERE!

That reference to Jesse reminds me:
1. Wish Jesse luck at UMass, see if he has a new email address now.
2. Wish Coach Mike luck for his Springfield College team that I will be racing against several times this year.

As Asif once said, "it's gonna be win or go home." Not that we stand a chance against Springfield College's team at this point - their program has been around much longer than ours - but we should win our conference again. And then next year we move up to a better conference, and I am already working on strategies to get everyone running in the offseason, to offset our disadvantage caused by lacking a track program (and the lazy attitude of the classes prior to mine). I will change everything, here and wherever I go. People will remember.

grokaloper @ 2005-08-14T02:44:00

2005-08-14T07:08:22Z

These last few days have been so hectic that I had to make myself a list of things to write about so I'd remember them all. First of all, Nathan is all moved in now, although there hasn't been much time to hang out, and there probably won't be until I'm done moving into my new apartment tomorrow night. Speaking of moving into the apartment, here's a story: On Thursday I hung out with Nathan and Eriko and we checked out my new apartment, which smells like this:

Then we drove to a local coffee shop and hung out for a while. Then we came back, Eriko dropped Nathan and me off, and she went home. Of course, my key to my new apartment was not yet on the keychain with my other keys, so on the way out of the car, I grabbed my keys but not that one. So I was locked out and I had already made plans so that my boss Mike would help me move after work. So after work Friday, I called campus police to inform them that we were closed because they of course forgot to send an officer over on the one day I needed them to. And on the phone, despite my phone phobia, I made enough sense to convince the officer on the line to send someone to unlock my apartment. So they did, and they were really cool about it. And Mike and I successfully moved most of my stuff (and all of my bigger stuff). Thanks Mike! Problem: when we finished, without thinking, we decided it would be a good idea to close both of the doors. I didn't realize until several hours later that I was, once again, locked out. That's right. By then I had talked to Eriko, who told me she couldn't bring the key back until Sunday. So I'm locked out until sometime tomorrow, but here it is late Saturday night and I called Eriko and got her voicemail, and I haven't heard a time from her yet. Which leads me into the Puzzle of Three Tims, the first puzzle of this feature presentation:

Tomorrow, I have to be here waiting for Eriko to drop off the key for me. I also have to have time to move the remainder of my stuff to the new apartment and return the key to my old one before 9PM. I also have to go to my grandpa's surprise 83rd(?) birthday party (for which I am being picked up by my sister at 11:30AM), and I probably won't get home from that until at least 9PM. So how do I manage to be all of those places and get all of those things done on time? Here's the master plan: I wake up a couple hours before I need to tomorrow (9AM-ish) to get everything boxed and bagged and piled and packed properly, with Nathan's help. There is not too much left. But before that, I call Eriko again and hope to Goc! she answers this time, and see if she can get the key to me before 11AM. If she can, that makes everything a million times easier. Because then, after that phone call and the packing is done, I call up my sister and ask her to pick me up at 11 instead of 11:30 so we can use that 30 minutes to drive my stuff over to the new apartment which I will now have a key for thanks to Eriko. If she can't bring it by then, I'll have to ask her to leave it under the couch cushion in front of the apartment where I usually left my keys when I went running, and instead before calling my sister, walk to the Public Safety building and ask an officer from campus police to, once again, let me into my apartment. Then proceed with either calling my sister to come early or getting Seth (who will be here to finish his moving tomorrow morning) to help me move that stuff. Also, I'll have to ask around (probably ask Seth) to find out who to bring my old key to, because I have to return that before 9PM, which really means I have to return it before my sister picks me up, as soon as I finish moving. Then I'm all set to go to the family party and be my awesome self, and then get dropped off at the old apartment to pick up my new key, and then walk over to my new apartment and be freshly moved in. And then I can take a deep breath. Hopefully the plan works. If it turns out Eriko doesn't bring the key at all, I MUST REMEMBER NOT TO CLOSE BOTH OF MY DOORS. Don't be stupid, me.

Now, onto work puzzles and crises. The first issue at hand is that we only have two available study rooms due to a combination of construction (nearly finished!) wiping many of them out, and the remaining ones storing...prepare to raise your eyebrows...cowboxes. That's right. Here's one - I took the picture while it was asleep so it wouldn't get angry:

The school seems to have a working relationship with some company called "Gateway" who apparently owns a farm or a plantation somewhere, and they develop carboard cows so that we can stack them wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling in our study rooms. And every day, they multiply. Sometimes they give birth to computers, and people from the Office of Information Technology here record this and replace our old computers with these new ones fresh from the womb. So our library study rooms have become cowbox incubators. I think, however, I've come up with the solution to this problem and another problem in one shot:

The other puzzle is that of the missing chair. We ordered all new chairs because we're making changes everywhere, not just in construction. But it turned out that after a couple days, we were missing one, so someone must have stolen it. But it would be awfully difficult to do that unnoticed, and it's a pretty random thing to walk out with. Anyway, instead of dwelling on our great loss (it was an expensive chair and a friend to all whose asses touched it in its short life), here is the solution I conjured up:

Nathan and Eriko broke up, got back together for less than nine hours, and then broke up again. It is confusing and I have nothing more to say on the matter. But Nathan's mom is awesome - she's sending Nathan and me Hannukah gifts on each of the eight days. His family is so good to me.

I ran 8 miles today and a funny thing happened - 6 miles into the run, I'm going down a street and there is traffic coming in the opposite direction for a while, and then it stops. As soon as it's clear, I see three apparently identical raccoons bolt down a tree, across a lawn, look both ways as they are running up to the street, and begin to cross. Then they see me, stop dead in their tracks, and simultaneously the three of them turn around and bolt back up the tree they came from. I thought I had triple vision for a moment. It was really a pretty amazing thing. Less amazing was the pudgy toad I saw later, but that was pretty cool too. No offense, toad, but the raccoon thing was incredible.

Wish me luck tomorrow. Whatever happens, my philosphy can be summarized in a word: acquiesce.

This is better than any epiphany:

Dance moves that will blow you away!

2005-08-11T03:43:34Z

My fan is right next to me, and sometimes I just get up and bust out some dance moves with it. I bet you wish you could be a fly on my wall, and learn some slick moves like this:

The other day, while I was walking to work, a man and his son were walking in the opposite direction. Apparently the son was a prospective student and they were touring the campus on their own without the silly tour guides. Good move. Anyway, the father stopped me. He then proceeded to literally inteview me about the school. He asked about two dozen questions. Not an irascible fellow, I was happy to give my input. But the reason I tell this story is that I answered the questions so well, so confidently, and without hesitation, that the man seemed thoroughly impressed with both me and the school by the end of the conversation. He (and I) seemed genuinely surprised that I ended up doing most of the talking, and his "thank you" was a grateful one. I was very pleased with myself - it made me feel good not just to help, but to know that I spoke confidently and effectively for such a long period of time and felt comfortable doing it. Interestingly but perhaps not surprisingly, the indifferent boy said nothing, asked no questions, and barely made eye contact with me. I'm proud of myself for that. And to top it off, they later came into the library, where Priscilla (cleverly recognizing that they were touring by their deer-in-headlights look that I also noticed) asked them if she could answer any questions for them, and the man unabashedly replied, "No, that one already answered all of my questions," nodding at me. I couldn't help but smile. I've come a long way.

Then I moved books. Like every day. For interested parties, here is the process of the shelving of a library book:

But despite that, when I really get down to thinking about the job and all of the injustice and the fact that for my skills and talents and my sheer assiduousness, I am utterly underpaid, I am really lucky to work there and have that job with those people. My coworkers are generally good (especially the summer staff of Asif and Courtney) and my bosses are great - fun to talk to, easy to get along with, and they set you up to succeed, never to fail. They make it easy to ask them questions (which I do decidedly often) and they don't freak out about mistakes. Additionally, they are flexible and they greatly appreciate work ethic, and that is where I shine. And their sense of humor is refreshing. I am very comfortable working there, and the job itself and all of its little successes on a day-to-day basis has made me an exceptionally more confident person. It and they have helped me a great deal to get over most of my social fears. It's really an exciting thing, and it makes me happy to put the work in that I do. So here's to Nick and Mike and others for being a huge and consistent support for a person who has needed a supportive surrounding on a regular basis. I'm lucky in that everything fell into place for me to get that job, and that they noticed and found me. Although, when it comes to applications and interviews, I know I stand out. I have applied for two jobs in my life and got both of them, and have been offered (and I declined) several others.

Also, tomorrow is Subway day, so after work Seth (my summer roommate) and I will go to Subway for the last time together. "Eat fucking fresh, Timmy" he'll say. I'll probably get one of these:

Other random notes:

1. COUNTDOWN: TEN (10) (TEN!) (10!!!@!@!@) DAYS LEFT UNTIL CROSS COUNTRY SEASON!!!

2. Random shout-out: If you're reading this, you rock!!@!@!@!

3.

Time to go running and do some pushups and crunches. Then bedtime.

This post earned its cheesesticks!

2005-08-10T02:27:35Z

Nathan flew in from Oregon yesterday. It went like this:

The "you just earned your cheesesticks" thing was from Oregon, when I bought him, his brother, and his friend mozzarella sticks (and coffee) when we went out to eat for my last night there. They showed me a fantastic time, so I wanted to do that for them. Thereafter, every time someone said something funny, I yelled "YOU JUST EARNED YOUR CHEESESTICKS!" It became a running joke for the remainder of the night. We appreciate humor.

Anyway, Nathan is staying with a friend until he can move into his dorm on the 12th, so I might not see him until this weekend. I cannot understate his importance to my social well-being this semester. I really feel like I'm a much better person for having known him and for having the opportunity to see him on a regular basis. I love the way he deals with people. For example, he never excludes anyone from anything without a reason, and I admire that. Everyone loves him and he knows it, and the only people who claim to dislike him just seem to think they know him well when in fact they have missed the point. And even then, they wish they were on his good side, because his good side is great to be involved with. Additionally, he meets the "best friend" prerequisite for me, which is a rule that sort of formed itself when it turned out that all of the friends who I became really close with fit into this category: in all of these cases, there was something in particular that they saw in me, and simultaneously something that I saw in them, that led to a mutual decision of "we need to hang out more often." It was so with Everton, it was so with Jesse, it was so with Malorie, it was so with Nathan. I'm not sure what it was that he saw initially that made him keep telling me "come to my room" every day until I began to do it on my own, but I know there was something in particular. I think it had to be related to our similar sense of humor and sharp wit - some sort of shrewdness or sagacity that he could relate to in order to create a bond of understanding between us. I like that my close friends surprise me with things I never knew they were capable of, all the time. And I like to think sometimes I do the same for them.

On an arguably smaller note, the other bonus of his return is that he will cut my hair for free. And then I can shave. And I bought a new razor solely for these purposes. Check it out:

It's also known as the "Remington Precision" but that's irrelevant. I will post before/after pics as soon as the after part exists.

The cool thing about writing poetry is that it forces you to keep your eyes open to every detail around you. Anything keen observation I miss might have been an elegant divination, something fashionable into permanence through the most statuesque words I can conjure. So all of the daily mundane occurences that were once depressing nothings actually mean something to me now. I feel more fulfilled for it.

Potential pcoming events:

Friday, 8-12: Nathan moves back to campus. Plans made to picnic and go to Northampton with Malorie.
Tuedsay, 8-16: Aquabats concert with Malorie and Jay.
Wednesday, 8-17: Hill workout with Asif
Sunday, 8-21: 2005 WNEC Cross Country team meets for first time
Monday, 8-22: First XC practice, 90 minute run. Then, Yankees game with Dad and Sis.

Expect to hear about all of these upcoming events!

Yesterday's run: 12 miles, approximately 90 minutes. I got through 5 miles and nearly stopped because I just wasn't into it, but my legs felt very good and I felt obligated to keep it going until 8 miles. So I got there, and then decided I had to get this long run in while I had the chance. So I battled through 90 minutes and held a good pace, and got the long run in.

I'm going to listen to the end of the Yankees game and then get my laundry and then go for a late run.

If you're wondering what the hell a grokaloper is:

2005-08-08T23:42:19Z

I'm not telling you.

There are two weeks until the remarkably highly anticipated sophomore cross country season. I say "remarkably" because the excitement factor over the course of two months has traveled like a sonic wave throughout the class of 2008 members of the team so that it is no longer just myself, but several of us librarianing for this. Because librarians work their damned asses off. It makes me feel all warm and sweaty inside, really. Replace the minimum wage with the self-satisfaction, and you get me and a group of college kids wondering what the hell they're doing.

But the key point is feeling prepared. There is not a more comforting feeling than readiness. Asif and I, post-workout, were considering this at the gym. I'd like to note that the shape I am in right now is the greatest example of preparation there is, so let's take a look:

Check out that six-pack, and those biceps. You're jealous; I can feel it. I librarianed my ass off for that body, even if it is a bit like a ninja turtle without the ninja, without the turtle, and with an undersized shell.

But as I was saying, Asif and I were talking at the gym, and he took me into the bathroom and asked me to show him my abs. Without hesitation I whipped off the shirt. It looks a lot better having just finished 300 crunches and 100 pushups (actually 105, because I loved them so much I had to do five more). Here's a picture taken of the scene:

There should be toilets in the background, but I wanted you to get the full effect of my self-absorption. But enough about that. The point is, we're winning the damn conference again.

In other news, a few weeks ago our library director retired, and the new one is a workaholic. She gives good compliments, but she doesn't let up. She needs to relax and stop librarianing so damn much. It's a library, after all. Anyway, I worked alone with her on Saturday, which I was afraid of because she'll tell me stories of her previous jobs and the student workers there who were much better than I am, just to point out my inadequacies and make me feel small. Because this is how it is when she's talking to Asif and me, drawn to emotional scale:

But working with her Saturday was fine. She was pleasant to talk to, gave me enough breaks, and let me have my say as to what I think needs to be done in the library. She's going to make positive changes, even if she annoys me in the process. Soon I'll be working late nights and I'll almost never see her and her paper-white hippie hair, though.

Also: my fan oscillates when I don't tell it not to say shit anymore.
Also: I'm shaving and getting my haircut this week. I hate how these pictures of me come out - who's taking these things?

Now I believe I will go running (minimum 7 miles, maximum 14, depending on my knees) and then eat pasta for dinner. Pasta is wonderful. Thanks to andshewalkedon for bringing me to the sellers of the pasta and for her undying support and love in this momentous process, as well as for her help in getting these damn pictures to load.

You are cheap, easy, efficient, and tasty. And carb-saturated for my enthusiastic, energizing, and enterprising needs. And other words that begin with 2.71818

Hey look it's a grokaloper! What's a grokaloper? If you waste your time asking, you'll miss it! Damn!