Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Minneapolis Burnin'

On my way to work this morning I noticed something odd: the sky wasn't the right color blue. Granted, I had left my contacts in last night and I had only been up for roughly 10 minutes when I noticed the variance. I began debating in my head what the color is called--and what the color that should be in the sky is called. It didn't occur to me until 35 turned South that what I had finally decided as 'steel blue' was actually just a homogenous mix of clouds which split in the sky in a perfect chalk-line from North to South, with the sun slowly burning them West.

Damn. If anyone could read thoughts, I'm pretty sure within five minutes they'd be bored with me and find someone else to evesdrop.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Fall Adjustments

The last few weeks have been hit or miss in bed. Unlike the last few days--which had mostly consisted of futile tossing--last night I actually slept well. Pinpointing 'what went right' is nearly as tough as pinpointing 'what went wrong' as I haven't bothered changed my routine. I like attributing it to the weather--the perfect scapegoat.

I hold a secret spite of August, almost in the same way I lament Sunday. August is bittersweet as it's the last month of Summer which means three things: moving, school, and Fall.

To be honest, I enjoy moving. It gives me a chance to dig through all the miscellaneous mess of papers and junk I've collected over the last year and try to simplify my existence. This year I've been making a special effort to remove anything that I don't need. It's tough to sort through what is necessary and what you're just used to carrying--items that make sense to own yet you never touch. I've had the same bulky electric pencil sharpener sitting on my desk since Freshman year; it's seen wood maybe two times in its life. I used to like regular yellow "Eagle" #2s but those days have been long gone due to the undesired effect of having to sharpen mid-class. The sharpener has stuck with me, through 1001s and 4001s, sitting unused on my desk. Another decadent relic (circa 1998) of which I'm happy to remove from my life is my 'Minneapple' pen mug. I never used any of the pens or pencils in it--the latter explained above--yet was never able to see its departure.

I've found that by having less I seem to get more accomplished as well, a by-product of my capacity to accomplish combined with removal of obstacles on the desk. I even removed my computer from my desk and onto my dresser. Since I only use it for entertainment purposes and I set the keyboard on my lap when typing papers anyway; it's win-win. This year brings on the full set of chemical engineering classes, which were surmounted to me as 'get a running start, grab on, and try to keep your shit together'. I'm ready for it. All the preparation eventually pays off as the weather cools.

I think Fall is the better half of the transitional seasons. Spring is cold with a peek of warmth. Even when that nice day comes, every surface is wet or soggy still shaking off winter. Fall is warmth with a peek of cool. I guess something about sitting in the sun with shorts, flip-flops, and a sweatshirt makes me believe in things I've long since lost. It comes on a random Sunday, walking to a buddy's house for some burgers and beers. The breeze picks up and in the crisp wind a smell fills your nose that is just as quickly gone, but the memory remains. It was your ex-girlfriend's perfume. It was the apples you ganked from the neighbor's yard. It was the pumpkins you smashed on the second of November because come on, they had a day to do it themselves. It was your family's dog. It was the post game bonfire at your best friend's house and you had your arm around whomever you were with and you cared nothing of credit card debt, the current state of the world, or how you were going to find a job. You realize you've stopped walking and just standing on the corner, no cars or people in sight. The only sound accompanying the wind and leaves is your own breathing.