Did I mention that I moved?
I am now a successfully employed & housed human being. I am only kind of irresponsible financially (some things even Mint can't fix), and I should be able to open a Roth IRA here in a few months.
I'm figuring out running and singing. I found Bernal Hill at the recommendation of a friend from Oberlin, and it is now my favorite thing to run around. The slope of the path (packed dirt! good on the knees!) provides alternating challenge and relief. And there are many, many dogs to look at.
The hours in which I sing are during the daytime prior to 8pm. I am forcing myself to keep singing when I sound bad by switching the rep to something easier (last night Deh Vieni was killing me, so I sang some kinder Schubert) rather than stopping. I am slowly trying to find a teacher. It's hard without many singer-contacts in the area. I know who the best is, but I don't think he'll have time for me (and his lack of response to my email so far supports this).
I'm turning 25 in a few weeks. That's weird.
Friends, friends, friends. I adore the two couples who are my closest friends here. Absolutely adore them. But both sets aren't strongly connected to a larger group (well, maybe one half of one of the couples is), and they haven't been gateways to other friends. This is not their faults in any way, it's just a fact. I think my roommate will introduce me to people, but she and I are busily building our wonderful homey friendship, so it's moving slowly.
In a few weeks, I'll start volunteering at 826 Valencia. I hope that this will be as emotionally and intellectually satisfying as I expect, and I hope to join some kind of community. That's a word that gets thrown around at Oberlin a lot, one that I didn't stop to thing about much. Actually, I think I've written in this blog about community before.
For the first four months that I was at Oberlin for my fellowship, I was ready to leave. I had a few friends, but didn't belong anywhere. In February, I met someone who introduced me to his whole circle of friends, and I became a member of a circle (and several sub-circles, as I would learn) of friends. I miss those people terribly. A few weekends ago I visited Oberlin for Alumni COuncil Weekend and stayed with a house full of these people. The transition back to SF was much harder this time; in June, most of my friends had gone, and I had a month of living with friends in SF before striking out on my own truly. This time, I went straight from staying in a house with people I adore, spending all of my time talking to people (with a few fun Alumni Council meetings thrown in), to my somewhat silly, solitary job and just a few friends.
(But tea at Samovar with Solon helped ease my angst and things are obviously not that bad, just not as good.)
Remembering October 2008 through February 2009 in Oberlin is helpful. That time ended with a new group of friends, and although I doubt I'll find anything quite that amazing in one package here, I think I'll be able to find a friend here and there to connect with and be alternately silly and serious and horrible. My Oberlin friends 2003-2007 are dispersed throughout the country, so missing them is also missing the past. The problem with Oberlin friends Spring 2009 is that many (although not all) are still in the same place, doing many of the same things that I loved doing: sitting on the steps of Wilder Bowl, making things, saying things that would get anyone fired were they said in the workplace. Oh and cookouts. I like burgers with Worcestershire sauce a lot.
I'm toying with the idea of starting a wordpress-powered site devoted to ideas, and admit/recognize/exult this blog as a depository of feelings. Or reflections on feelings. Or bunnychickens.
I'm figuring out running and singing. I found Bernal Hill at the recommendation of a friend from Oberlin, and it is now my favorite thing to run around. The slope of the path (packed dirt! good on the knees!) provides alternating challenge and relief. And there are many, many dogs to look at.
The hours in which I sing are during the daytime prior to 8pm. I am forcing myself to keep singing when I sound bad by switching the rep to something easier (last night Deh Vieni was killing me, so I sang some kinder Schubert) rather than stopping. I am slowly trying to find a teacher. It's hard without many singer-contacts in the area. I know who the best is, but I don't think he'll have time for me (and his lack of response to my email so far supports this).
I'm turning 25 in a few weeks. That's weird.
Friends, friends, friends. I adore the two couples who are my closest friends here. Absolutely adore them. But both sets aren't strongly connected to a larger group (well, maybe one half of one of the couples is), and they haven't been gateways to other friends. This is not their faults in any way, it's just a fact. I think my roommate will introduce me to people, but she and I are busily building our wonderful homey friendship, so it's moving slowly.
In a few weeks, I'll start volunteering at 826 Valencia. I hope that this will be as emotionally and intellectually satisfying as I expect, and I hope to join some kind of community. That's a word that gets thrown around at Oberlin a lot, one that I didn't stop to thing about much. Actually, I think I've written in this blog about community before.
For the first four months that I was at Oberlin for my fellowship, I was ready to leave. I had a few friends, but didn't belong anywhere. In February, I met someone who introduced me to his whole circle of friends, and I became a member of a circle (and several sub-circles, as I would learn) of friends. I miss those people terribly. A few weekends ago I visited Oberlin for Alumni COuncil Weekend and stayed with a house full of these people. The transition back to SF was much harder this time; in June, most of my friends had gone, and I had a month of living with friends in SF before striking out on my own truly. This time, I went straight from staying in a house with people I adore, spending all of my time talking to people (with a few fun Alumni Council meetings thrown in), to my somewhat silly, solitary job and just a few friends.
(But tea at Samovar with Solon helped ease my angst and things are obviously not that bad, just not as good.)
Remembering October 2008 through February 2009 in Oberlin is helpful. That time ended with a new group of friends, and although I doubt I'll find anything quite that amazing in one package here, I think I'll be able to find a friend here and there to connect with and be alternately silly and serious and horrible. My Oberlin friends 2003-2007 are dispersed throughout the country, so missing them is also missing the past. The problem with Oberlin friends Spring 2009 is that many (although not all) are still in the same place, doing many of the same things that I loved doing: sitting on the steps of Wilder Bowl, making things, saying things that would get anyone fired were they said in the workplace. Oh and cookouts. I like burgers with Worcestershire sauce a lot.
I'm toying with the idea of starting a wordpress-powered site devoted to ideas, and admit/recognize/exult this blog as a depository of feelings. Or reflections on feelings. Or bunnychickens.
<< Home