Of Late

Tropical Storm Hanna seems to have swept through the area, no harm done here. Just a lot of water coming down. It reminds me of early summer in Iowa, flood watches and alerts on the TV, tornado warnings, and the relentless streaming of water over everything. Fortunately, I don't think Hanna is quite the catastrophe that Flood 2008 was.

Life in Iowa City is apparently moving along fairly well. I have been assured that my presence is missed so that makes me feel good but also sad. It's become apparent to me that I really don't have that many friends in the Pennsylvania area anymore because they've all moved on to nobler things. And I don't make an effort to see people. But I can change that.

My list of graduate schools is growing rapidly. This is a ploy to avoid actually applying to the couple of schools that I really do want to attend. However, I've recently discovered that Berkeley is one of the top programs in the nation so maybe I should put it in the 'reach' category. I don't know what my criteria for schools are so perhaps I ought to reflect on that for a time.

I sent an email to a friend in Iowa. I hadn't heard from him in months and he promptly responded. It was nice to hear from him and it made me miss our conversations. I think he misses them too. I suppose things changed but even his email made me realize that he was one of the few people who listened, I mean really listened, to me and to whom I didn't mind talking. He's a very preceptive guy. Anyway, I'm glad we're back in touch. It's spurred me to revive those other friendships that are easy to let go.

Alisa told me I should work on my writing while I'm being unemployed and not a student. She's right; it's what I intended to do but I can't seem to write anything worthwhile. And then who is going to workshop it for me (someone who isn't one of the people I'm writing about)? And then when am I going to get up the courage to actually submit something?

I've had far too much time alone to think about my life. I may be getting a little crazy. But craigslist is good for up to three hours of entertainment.