Nuances and Complexities

School year...one more time.

2006-08-26T19:24:54Z

So, I am sitting in my lovely new Ikea bed (named "Malm;" all Ikea objects have names provided by the company, as you may or may not know), and going over again in my head the story of how I acquired Malm, Ramberg, my dresser or Sultan Lillåker, my uppity bed slats (if Ikea can give them names, I figure I can give them personalities).

The story has since been called epicI get in to town from Minneapolis on Friday night with a bunch of clothes, a computer, and an air mattress for my as of then unfurnished room. Obvioulsy, air mattresses leave much to be desired (mainly their falling onto a busy highway), so I decided the next day would warrant a trip to Ikea. That was a week ago.

So Will and I decide to go the two hours to Canton to experience "Ikea." FIrst mistake: going on a Saturday. We weren't the only ones with the idea and the place was really crowded. It took us twenty minutes to find a parking spot by waiting behind someone who was leaving.

Now, because the store was so crowded, and we had only allotted ourselves three hours in the store, I decided I was only going to get the absolutely essential--bed/frame. So I get a bed and a box spring and some little legs for it and get in the hellish checkout lane.

At this point, I should probably tell those of you who don't know how Ikea works how Ikea works. There are three different sections of the store: the display floor, the marketplace, and the warehouse. Also, the way the store is structured ensures that you will go through each part of the the store without much ability to skip around. So, in order to procure the aforementioned bed I had to go up through the displayed floor to get the numbers of the bed and the frame, and then head down through the marketplace to the warehouse, and from there pick out the numbered boxes that I had written down upstairs. It's a seamless system, when everything works out.

So after the checkout we pull the car around and load everything up...except the box spring, which cannot fit in the back of the car. So we enlist an Ikea helper from Senegal who tethers it to our roof with more twine than I have ever seen. We take off at 4:58. Two minutes to spare. Life is looking up. We agree to always go 5 miles under the speed limit to ensure the mattress stays in place. Unfortunately, even this precaution cannot prevent the box spring from falling off the roof when we are going sixty miles an hour on the highway--during rush hour. So cars have to swerve out of the way of this thing, and we are very lucky we didn't cause an accident. One individual even has the foresight to pull over next to the box spring we were pulled over at this point, but about 200 yards ahed of the box spring) and pulled it into the median.

I tire of this story. Let's just say Ikea agreed to replace the thing and it took 5 more hours to ensure that could happen. Many line were waited in, many hot dogs eaten (not by me).

End Story.

Where was I? Wh-where were you?

2006-08-14T12:24:50Z

Well, early August means debate camp, for anyone who was wondering. I am really excited about the direction the team is taking. We have a new assistant who is at least enthusiastic and eager to learn (better than the type who thinks she knows it all already, but I wouldn't name names...; ). Further, last year's freshmen are really committed to debate, and I can say for the first time that I do not think the team will collapse when I leave.

That aside, I have to go to work now. Good to be home, but excited for school.

Right, so...where was I?

2006-07-23T12:15:35Z

It has been a little over a week since my surgery, and I am still resting. I would not say I am bedridden, though, as I do get up for a couple of hours every day. Tomorrow will be my real challenge as I go back to work, if only for four hours.

I kicked the Vicadin a few days back, and it had really improved my mental capacity to have done so. I am now able to read my book, and I have almost finished my latest--The Count of Monte Cristo. I am still watching plenty of TV (read: too much) and seeing the occasional movie. Usually this occurs at home, but I did feel I had the strength to go see Pirates yesterday; I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Also, I have a real incentive to get better soon--this weekend I am going to D.C. to visit Marianne. I am not going to wax romantic here, but I am sure you all know how important she (and consequently the trip) is to me. :)

I imagine I will be a more regular poster again, but it is not now my post surgery status that keeps me from as often as I have previously; it is that I am doing so little with my life that I have nothing to say. However, me having nothing to say usually hasn't stopped me from talking in the past.

...

2006-07-14T04:28:02Z

Alright, I am going to go on hiatus until I am not in serious pain.

How was my day?

2006-07-13T03:58:54Z

Got sliced up. On Vicodin. I'll talk later.

A Busy Week

2006-06-16T00:37:53Z

Well, even with the internet as bad as it is, I think I have been especially bad about posting lately. In all fairness, this week has been busy. I have been seeing a new chiropractor to try and fix my back. I have been helping my mom prep;are for her knee surgery (and been anticipating waiting on her while she recovers). I had a job interview today with an investment firm in Minneapolis. I want that job. I really really really do.

Without the job, things go like this:
~I have my surgery (hernia repair--it could wait...heck, it already did for eighteen months, but I just don't usually complain about it)
~I am immobilized for six weeks from fun summer activities
~I leave for Seattle in two weeks to work biotech for little money
~I go to debate camp
~I don't see my girlfriend

If I get the job, things look like this:
~I start work on Monday
~I work up until debate camp, making crazy money
~I go to debate camp
~Over fourth of July weekend I cash in my frequent flier miles to get my sweetie out to Wayzata for the weekend
~I get great experience and possibly a post-graduation job offer (they mentioned this in the interview)
~I get to run and play and whatever, postponing my surgery until Christmas break

No brainer: I want this job!

So, this week has been spent writing up a resume, talking with potential contacts and preparing a writing sample. I have also spent some time with a few MN friends, got a new cell phone, recovered from jet lag, have been reading Count of Monte Cristo and generally loving the summer.

The Land of Spotty Internet

2006-06-11T13:07:12Z

I'm at home. Remember what that means? Our internet is horrible. To be honest, posting is going to be limited at best. Besides which, it is Sunday; I got home Tuesday. Somehow I am not unpacked. Although, that could facilitate more extraneous activities rather than fewer. All I know for now is that I had better get out of bed, and get dressed for church. And I know I wish I didn't have this headache I now have...

It's 9;50 A.M. in England...

2006-06-07T08:55:03Z

...but I'm back in Minneapolis where it's 3:50

Today's Fortune Cookie

2006-06-05T12:45:35Z

"You can depend on the trust of the collective."

Duration: Today
Situation: My packing

Umm....

More Musings

2006-06-02T23:02:46Z

What is quorum for a posse? Anyone? I'm saying 8...

Term End Musing

2006-06-02T21:06:42Z

It's so nice to drop books off at the library, especially since I have had these particular books since the beginning of the term, and have just been renewing them every week, I would be writing more, but I honestly have little to say these days. When something happens to me, you'll all know.

Obviously...

2006-05-28T12:16:22Z

I should elaborate.

Me being sick means the following things:
-Watching "Murder, She Wrote" while curled up on a couch under my snuggle blanket and pouting.
-Working on and off on a paper (I am still at Oxford; I can't be fully sick).
-Listening to comfort music...like techno-remixes of eighties music, or eighties music in general.
-Making my favorite foods, which today will include chicken parmesan and fruits of various kinds.

...

2006-05-28T09:05:42Z

Sick'd

Marianne and a Marinade

2006-05-25T08:35:50Z

Part one of my story: Marianne left yesterday; she was here from last Thursday. Isn't it odd how the hole in my journal posting corresponds exactly with the days of her visit? Who would have thought? Anyway, her visit was fantastic; we had lots of fun, despite the rain, and it was really good for me to see her. I miss her so terribly. I have been told by so many people, people who haven't even seen us together, that we are a very cute couple; I can only imagine this is because we talk about each other so much. I hope this isn't annoying for everyone else.

Now, to help me with the pangs of loneliness, I am going to be making dinner for Di and Allison (also Hillsdale students), whose company has also been a great help to me. I have reason to believe Gray and I are going to be going out to coffee some time today, too. Anyway, I should go; I have to get started on my marinade.

I Caved

2006-05-16T07:51:52Z

I downloaded Mozilla Firefox this morning. It isn't because I don't like Mac Safari, and I would wager I still get fewer pop-ups than any of you pretentious Mozilla users, it's just that google has released Google Calendar, and it isn't available for Safari yet. Google junkie that I am, I have to have it, so, I have downloaded Firefox; I bet I will switch back when Google Calendar is open to Safari, but that doesn't mean I don't intend to give Fifefox a fair shake while I have it. In fact, I know it is good, as I use it on my PC back home, but I am not sure it can replace Safari in my heart as best browser.

Only time can tell.

Cricket?

2006-05-15T20:17:27Z

Yep. I watched cricket today, and not like one watches curling to laugh at it and avoid understanding it at all costs. I genuinely enjoyed it, too. I am starting to understand how it is played. Honestly, but for the length of the games, I think I get most of it. You know what? It is a really dignified, respectable game. It looks like the kind of game I would really enjoy watching for a day with a blanket and a picnic basket out on the lawn. I wish there were cricket somewhere on the lawn somewhere.

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Study Session...

2006-05-14T12:15:10Z

...to encourage anyone who reads this to have a listen to a musical anomaly: Gnarls Barkley. I have heard the hype for a while, and I was resistant, as hip-hop is generally not my thing. However, I got the album "St. Elsewhere" and...wow...

Time Flies

2006-05-13T11:37:46Z

Since I last posted on Wednesday night, I had the pleasure to host a good friend of mine, Hilary, for a few days. She just went back to Paris this morning, where she is studying this term. In fact, she is done with that studying and is soon going back home.

While I did have a tutorial on Thursday (which will probably show up in the autopsy under "cause of death") and a debate workshop on Friday, the two of us had a great time! Besides the inevitable catching up on all the Hillsdale gossip that we had missed from each other, we ate well, saw London and had our share of meaningful conversations.

I am really glad she was able to come up to visit, but I did feel bad I never saw her in France, although the past month saw me in Paris twice. Our schedules were incompatible at the times of my visits, though: we checked.

Another added benefit of the Hilary visit, of course, was how quickly it made the end of the week go. It isn't that I wanted my time with Hilary shorter, by any means, but the ends of the week can sometimes drag on, especially when your girlfriend is coming the next week, and now there are only four days until Marianne comes!

Let's hope I am still alive.

AHHHHHHH!

2006-05-07T11:27:17Z

I am so on edge. So stressed. I feel like I have one million things to do. My room is a mess (very unusual for me). I have been slowly descending into a madness of sorts over the last two weeks with the amount of work I have to do, and I feel it swallowing the years of my life, one by one.

Oxford is great, don't get me wrong. But when the stress comes, it comes like a flood.

The least stressful thing I have done lately is eat an apple this morning. It was actually quite relaxing. It isn't that I am not trying to relax, too. I will take a study break to watch a movie, talk to Marianne, or play a quick game, but I for some reason can't get off of this stress high I seem to be on. It is almost as though I am trying too hard to relax, and thus it isn't working.

I think a large part of it is how isolated I have (out of necessity) made myself this term. I quit debate (which is killing me--not doing debate); I have made sporadic appearances at my Bible study/church, but even that has been in drastic decline lately. I don't know what it is I need to do. I think I am going to clean up my room today and hope that helps. I should go out for coffee today. I need it.

Alright, I am sure you can tell by how poorly structured this is that my thoughts are a mess. I am going to go eat lunch now. At least it is a healthy meal, because this stress level I have if paired with improper diet could give me a heart attack...

I like that I am done with my work

2006-05-06T19:18:15Z

Really. I do.

Huh

2006-05-05T08:09:07Z

The Queen is in town today. Maybe I should go see her...

Okay, I am Officially Trashy

2006-05-04T19:04:30Z

BBC never ceases to amaze me. The show that is on right now: Bride & Grooming. Here's the premise:

A couple agrees to all kinds of crazy plastic surgery three weeks before marriage, and they only see each other on their wedding day.

Why I am watching this?

Well, it Really isn't All That Much When You Get Down to it.

2006-05-01T07:16:02Z

So, I thought I was going to be overwhelmed with work. Really, and this is not an unusual case for me, it wasn't all that bad when I mustered up the discipline to sit down and do it. I finished my philosophy of religion paper, which actually took less time than i would have expected. My econometrics assignment, on the other hand, was far harder than i had anticipated. *How do you teach yourself calculus?* I did it, too, however, and even learned a new differentiation technique.

Now I am not going to pretend that I am done with my work and that today is a day to relax. In all reality, I am not going to have any real time to relax until Marianne graces me with her presence. Until then, I am going to have to work hard, and not just to maintain my level of achievement from last term, but also because I am here to learn, and, hokey as it may sound, this is an opportunity I will not not easily waste.

Well, this is Annoying...

2006-04-29T21:11:16Z

I'm really really tired. Like I'm sick or something. There are no other symptoms, though, so take your best guess as to what is wrong.

Also annoying: I no longer feel suitable to judge BP debate. Why? It's too liberal. Now, I know what a lot of you are thinking "but Eric, CEDA is liberal, and you would love to judge CEDA, wouldn't you?" Yes, I would. The difference is that in BP debate they want the judge to weigh the issues herself. Neither team will weigh impacts, nor are they supposed to. In policy debate, it is easy to vote for the team that wins, regardless of what their specifics arguments may have been, but in a league where they tell you "if an argument is dumb, don't flow it," I find myself at a loss in some of the rounds regarding "how much money should we give the NHS" or "how much should the government pay for sporting facilities for the public." Every libertarian bone in my body shivers.

I can't do it.

I'm out.

Observation

2006-04-27T13:04:22Z

When the only light in your room has burned out, it always seems to be the perfect time for a nap--even when you just woke up from a nap.