Hello there.

Let us make our introductions later.

I am in a bit of a bind. I have lost my job. I have to move to a new apartment in less than a week. First, though, I have to go home and visit my family (and collect birthday money). School starts in a couple of weeks, so I'll need to pay tuition at some point. I'm in a bit of a bind.

On top of everything, my car battery decided to give up the ghost this past Monday. I was over at a friend's house (we watched a couple of movies, talked, the standard) and when I went to leave, my car wouldn't start. So I stayed the night at her place (it being nearly midnight at the time, and she doesn't have a car), with the intention of dealing with this situation in the morning. Well, there was no one to jump-start my car, and my friend had to go to class (who takes classes during the summer, anyway?), so I was sort of all alone. I went and got some food (you can walk to food downtown), and then sat in the school library for a while. After an hour or so, I proceeded to nearly have an anxiety attack and called every relative I have. None of them picked up. I guess they have jobs or something.

So finally my mom calls back, and I explain what happened, and she says, "You know you've got roadside assistance on your phone. I pay $2.99 every month for that." And I said, "Oh yes, I do remember that," and I called roadside assistance. They were wonderful.

So they gave me a jump, which got me running for the moment, but I still needed a new battery. I went to Advance Auto Parts (because they install batteries for free) and they informed me that I have one of two models of car that they don't do battery replacements on. Apparently, on Chrysler Sebrings, you have to go in through the wheel well to replace the battery. But they suggested I buy a battery and take it to this other guy to install. Here's the punchline: the battery was eighty dollars, the installation was sixty. Oh sweet lord. My mother helped me cover it, and I thanked her.

So yes, life is a little hectic, but I'm staying positive. Because I can't sleep otherwise.

Here's an interesting story:

In the midst of all of this madness, I ran into my poetry professor. She was on the phone, but she said I should come visit her in her office a bit later. So I did. It turns out this was her first day of (teaching) classes for the summer, so she hadn't been on campus since the end of spring semester. Funny thing is, it was my first day on campus since spring semester as well. Serendipity!

She's apparently doing some kind of thing with a local high school this fall where students go and lead small-group poetry workshops with high-schoolers. I told her to sign me up, because that sounds like fun.

So there it is. I hate to start the blog all nasty and foreboding like this, but there it is. I promise my next post will be fun and uplifting.