:)

so i usually use this blog as a space for me to pass on humorous anecdotes, amusing observations, and occasionally racists antics to friends and family. i recently received an email from a friend asking "what was up with my blog? why no writing as of late? you're a funny writer." that struck me. i haven't been blogging, and it's something that i started to do to remind myself of the lovely events that pepper my life. it's not that super outrageous things happen to me on a daily basis; it's just that i try to be very aware of what's going on around me and i happen to find lots of things incredibly comical. lately that's been harder for me to do. that is, it's been more difficult for me to see the fantastic, wonderful, interesting things that enter and exit my life. as many of you know, the last few months have been extremely hard for me; i lost my best friend and partner when our relationship fell apart, i moved to a different part of the country where the average age of folks is 65, and i'm working several jobs that are culturally and intellectually stifling. the pain of the dissolution, lack of local support network, and frustration with my surroundings has been often times unbearable, and although i've tried my best to deal with it all of it as best i can, hurt like that is not something that i am able to intellectualize away. it comes out. comes out when i'm making breakfast, when i'm lighting a bunsen burner, when i'm falling asleep at night. i think i'm starting to realize that this heartache is not something that i can expect to just disappear; it's going to be something that is a part of me for some time, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it has to govern how i function. there are wonderful people in my life, there are hilarious situations happening all the time, there are reasons to be smile and be grateful. and just because you're grateful doesn't mean you're ignoring or stifling the pain. it means you're looking beyond that immediate hurt and letting yourself feel good again. so that's what i'm doing. the blog is back.

so with that, today i listened to a student say to his friend, ""i mean, could you imagine a reeces the size of a car tire? do you know how good that would be?" he's a senior.