I have managed to survive three weeks of school. All I have to show for it so far is a horrid
cold and several empty bottles of medicine, stories of
frat boys treating me like a humping post on the dance floor, and the fact that
makeup is a luxury I have no time for. This is the college life! I'm loving it so far.
Some other stuff I've learned:
- the water pressure in the shower is so incredibly forceful that I have bruises.
- sometimes your roommates bring strange men home, but it's best not to ask questions.
- laundry takes a lot longer to do than one would think, so it's fine to put everything together in one big load to save time.
- frat guys like to breath down the back of your neck while dancing until you kick them in the nuts and leave.
- your umbrella will be your best friend.
- never let roommates borrow your stuff without asking for collateral or a security deposit equal to or greater than the value of the object which s/he is borrowing.
- HIDE YOUR SKITTLES. They are precious are disappear quickly. Roommates also steal other food, claiming ignorance when confronted. Label your stuff in the fridge.
- community bathrooms aren’t that bad if you wear flip flops at all times, avoid the puddles, bring your own soap, and don’t touch anything.
- contact paper is a necessity on every surface of everything in the room. I don’t even want to mention what I found had been left behind from god knows when.*
- you don’t have to be 21 to get alcohol if you have friends that have fake IDs or, better yet, friends who really are 21 and need a drinking buddy. Too bad I don’t drink. Very often. Yeah.
I came home for the first time this weekend. I’m glad to see all the familiar things, my
pets and my
room, my
family. I got to hear the usual story of my brother getting into the usual sort of situations I have come to expect from him. The latest is this:
Adam was blamed for stealing almost $3000 from the school’s art department after the teacher in charge of the money left it on her desk, for all to see, and went to lunch. It was gone when she returned. Adam, being the resident trouble-maker of the high school, along with the fact that he was recently caught stealing an electronic scale from his chemistry class, was the first person to be pointed at. He didn’t do it. He doesn’t lie to me, and he told me (in tears) that he didn’t do it. Of course, no one else believed him, least of all the teacher who lost the money. She ended up having to cough up the money herself to pay everyone back. Let’s just say she’s had a grudge against my brother for a while.
Anyway, this teacher is not shy when relieving herself of emotion. She blurted out one day that she just knew Adam (my brother) was the one who took the money. She said this in front of a class of thirty students. One of these students, by the name of Jason, took it personally. Her went after Adam the next day and threatened to beat him up along with several other unpleasant things. Stuff started looking ugly, but it was broken up. The next week school was out for the summer, and all was forgotten.
Fall 2001: a renewal of feelings. Jason harassed Adam some more, and Adam being the manly 16 year old boy that he is agreed to meet Jason over at Riley Trails (a park when most of the hicks hang out to smoke after school). So they headed on over there after school, neither one really wanting to fight. Jason has a good 80 pounds on Adam, so he clearly had the physical advantage. However, Jason is a fat while Adam is a soccer and football player. Something happened, Adam was pushed into Jason, thrown into a headlock and slammed to the ground skull first.
He lost two pints of blood almost instantly. Everyone was freaked out – except for Jason. He kept kicking Adam in the ribs, in the face, everywhere. Adam says he doesn’t remember getting up, but he does remember beating the shit out of Jason. A commotion was raised, police and ambulances arrived, Adam was taken away in a pool of blood and dirt. Jason was badly bruised and knocked around, but his head wasn’t gushing blood so he was sent home. Adam got six huge metal staples in his scalp to hold it back together. He’s very proud of them. Jason was suspended from school indefinitely, but not for sending Adam to the hospital. He ran into a teacher that was eight months pregnant, hit a girl, threatened to kill Adam, and then swore at the Dean. I think he should have been expelled for being such a moron.
That was this week’s drama. There’s always something new going on with Adam.
I have a horrible cold. My voice turned up missing two days ago when I awoke. It is still gone. I miss it dearly. Even though I do not exercise it as much as most, I do rely on it every now and again for communicational purposes. I’ve been drinking cough syrup and eating Halls all day, so hopefully I’ll be fixed by tomorrow. Or the next day.
My mom said I have lost weight since going to school. I defensively said I’ve been eating two Belgium waffles for breakfast every morning, along with two more buffet-style-all-you-can-eat meals on top of that. Plus snacks in between. Mom then pointed out that I’m also walking everywhere and climbing eight flights of stairs to get to my room whenever I need to get something. She has a point. I don’t want to lose weight. At least I know I shouldn’t want to. But when she said I looked thinner, a thrill went through me. A shiver of delight. Something inside my head was utterly satisfied with those three words: You’ve lost weight. I don’t understand it. Will I never be normal again? Fourteen years of normal eating was destroyed by ten months of disordered thoughts, which has turned into what looks like a life-long problem of mine.
On a lighter note, I visited a Renaissance festival a few weekends ago. Some man wearing tights kissed my hand while reciting poetry (simultaneously igniting the rage of my boyfriend standing behind me), and I found a hair net made for long hair. It’s a black headband with a black mesh material attached to the back in the shape and size of a plastic grocery bag. It was a perfect fit. I was reluctant to don my new apparel, however, because I had gotten so many comments on how long my hair was. I don’t care how many times I hear it – having my hair complimented is the only compliment in the entire world that I know how to accept without feeling wrong. Just one of my many quirks, I suppose.
Aaron was looking at swords while I shopped, while Seth ran around wearing his newly bought nubbies. Nubbies are two lumps of fired clay, perhaps something else, in the shape of miniature horns. They are threaded onto a cord and tied to one’s head. Seth was positively adorable with his on. He wore them out to Steak ‘n’ Shake last night, in fact.
I am sickly and should get sleep or drink water or eat some vitamins. Farewell.
*: I changed my mind. I found three used Q-tips and a moldy bar of soap on the top shelf on my closet. There was a sticky red detergent-like substance covering the top shelf of my roommate’s closet. We found countless Popsicle sticks in corners and stickers on the walls that had been painted over. Then there were the drawers… ugh.