This week has been crazy. We got about 5'' of snow on Tuesday, which was then covered in a thick layer of freezing-rain-a-la-ice. The city declared a snow emergency and even my university closed (which almost never happens). 'Nati all but shut down and local news anchors begged people to stay home. Tractor trailer broke down on I-75 and ice and snow making walking difficult. Driving was exciting to say the least.
So soon all this will end and life will begin anew. The ground will thaw and the good green earth will come back to life. My bulbs will sprout, the trees will bud, chickweed will appear in the cracks in the sidewalk, my yard will turn to dog-churned mud, and the world will smell like life again. I love the Spring.
Most important to me - I am actually graduating from college this year. (Unless something horrible happens.) It has taken me forever; I started in 2000 - therefore graduation seems surreal. I have spent so many hours dreaming of it, and sweated and starved and so many days. I have gone so many nights without enough sleep, held onto so many crap jobs solely because they could work around my school schedule, and made lots of sacrifices. I got written up repeatedly when I worked at the hotel for reading textbooks on the clock because it was the only way I could do the 300 pages of reading I had every week for my history courses. It has been really hard.
And then I will move out of Cincinnati and become a graduate student. In 5 years I expect to have a Ph.D. and land a teaching job. Right now I am excited because I already got accepted into one of the programs I applied to. They haven't offered me funding yet, so I wait with baited breath for that. But it is wonderful to know that I am at least going somewhere. I was having dark visions of spending the rest of my life as a busboy or a maintenance man. That is all I have been able to do so far. It seems miraculous to be making some headway on my goals at long last. I am unspeakably excited about the potential to get paid to be a student, and not having to juggle two part-time jobs and keep my grades up. The graduate stipends I am hoping for amount to more money than I have ever earned. I will feel rich. I may even splurge on things like name-brand underwear and takeout food. And most important I will have more time - to live, to study, for everything. I went several years without a day off from school and work. I don't want to ever do that again.
Then my truck died, I had to beg my roommate to drive to my job across town yesterday, and it took me 2 1/2 hours to get home on the Queen City's less-than-stellar bus system. Fuck that shit. I fixed my truck today (it was only faulty battery terminal connections thank god) and I decided it is damn well time I got my 89 Jetta diesel running as well. Gotta work on that. I bought it when gas shot through the roof last summer for $1800 from a mechanic in Buttcrack, Indiana. I got a spare engine and transmission with it and the thang gets 45 MPG. Normally I ride my Stella, but we had so much snow that would have been suicidal this week.
I was supposed to go get my full motorcycle license Wednesday but the snow screwed that up. I was irritated because I want my license so I can carry passengers legally. As soon as I get it I have a scooterworks sidecar I am mounting on it to haul dogs, friends, and groceries. I am really excited about that. I rescheduled for three weeks from now.
Somehow I also owe the UC library $130 now that I have to pay before I can register for my last quarter, borrow books, graduate, or get my transcripts - which I need to apply for a fellowship. The utility companies have all threatened to turn everything off if I don't pay up, so I am also trying to deal with that.
I can't wait to get outta undergrad. I am bored to tears and ready to move on. I am so happy to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Spring will be awesome. Come March the quarter will end and then I only have to take 2 classes during Spring Quarter to graduate. So I can work more and actually pay my bills on time and I can enjoy life.
Things I plan to do this Spring:
1. Dig sassafras
2. Go camping
3. Sell my 65 Valiant and buy an old school bus
4. Build bootleg RV out of said bus
5. Prepare for cross-country road trip with friends
6. Paint my house, sew grass sees, and try to sell the place. If that won't work I need to find tenants.
7. Figure out where I am moving and look for places to live there
8. Set up my financial aid at my grad school and try to pay off some credit card debt
9. Sell lots of my stuff
10. Finish painting my Jetta primer gray and make my truck roadworthy for moving to another city.
11. Buy another Ipod since mine broke mysteriously last month. Use for road trip.
12. Find another part time job and work more.
13. Actually hang out with my roommates
14. Go to the park more and spend time outside
15. Figure our where the Giant Road Trip should go and who can come
16. Play music regularly
17. If I can move somewhere where I have room, try to build another art car
18. Enjoy life
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