You know, even during South Carolina's notoriously long, humid summers, (including the current one in which every hurricane in the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico seems to be holding a grudge against us), I'm still glad I don't live in Vostok, Antarctica...
But anyways....I finally moved into my new place on Friday afternoon. It's a rather small but surprisingly nice ground-level apartment in University Commons (8-A, if you're in the neighbourhood) which I'm sharing with two gregarious baseball players from Whitmire named Chris and Cory and a very large but very cool gay guy named Richard. All things considered, I'd say things worked out very well. No doubt this will be an interesting school year.
Speaking of school...
I've got both my first test (Parasitology) and my first formal speech (Public Speaking) scheduled for the same day (Tuesday). What are they trying to do to me??? Well, I'm ready for my speech, at least: it's ostensibly a presentation of a "communication model" that, in typical Harold fashion, I'll be using as a platform to promote the case for universal health care. (Yes, my professor knows what I intend to do and has given me the ok to do just that. I still wouldn't be back in school had I not learned to cover all my bases ahead of time.) Should be interesting. At least, I hope so...
Question of the day: when did slightly overweight, uncoordinated, goofy-ass 20-something white guys with absolutely no sense of rhythm or style become popular? It's the most bizarre thing. I had become quite accustomed to being the invisible man. Well, I mean, not LITERALLY (at 6'4" and 225 lbs, it's kind of hard to miss me), but in social situations I tend to just kind of fade into the background and not really make much of an impression on anyone...ever.
Not anymore, apparently.
I came to USC-Upstate as a last-minute, unrecruited nobody from nowhere. I didn't know anyone on campus and really didn't have any idea what to expect. I was just planning to pull my usual wallflower routine until I figured out what was going on....
...but the best laid plans of mice and men...
A couple of parties later, and suddenly everyone knows me and wants to be my friend. I can't dance by myself anymore (the women simply won't let me, for some reason), I can't sit alone in the cafeteria anymore, and I can't slip around campus anonymously anymore because, somehow, I've become one of the cool kids. Don't ask me how; trust me, no one is more surprised by this development than I am. Apparently during my five-year hiatus from college the rules and the expectations have completely changed: smart became the new sexy, confidence (no matter how misplaced) became an asset, maturity became admirable, and being so unmistakably and undeniably Caucasian became...well, maybe not a GOOD thing, but at least a little less of a liability.
I don't know. All I know is, I'm not complaining.
I could write more, but I guess I should go do the responsible thing(!) and go get ready for my Parasitology test. Stay tuned....
But anyways....I finally moved into my new place on Friday afternoon. It's a rather small but surprisingly nice ground-level apartment in University Commons (8-A, if you're in the neighbourhood) which I'm sharing with two gregarious baseball players from Whitmire named Chris and Cory and a very large but very cool gay guy named Richard. All things considered, I'd say things worked out very well. No doubt this will be an interesting school year.
Speaking of school...
I've got both my first test (Parasitology) and my first formal speech (Public Speaking) scheduled for the same day (Tuesday). What are they trying to do to me??? Well, I'm ready for my speech, at least: it's ostensibly a presentation of a "communication model" that, in typical Harold fashion, I'll be using as a platform to promote the case for universal health care. (Yes, my professor knows what I intend to do and has given me the ok to do just that. I still wouldn't be back in school had I not learned to cover all my bases ahead of time.) Should be interesting. At least, I hope so...
Question of the day: when did slightly overweight, uncoordinated, goofy-ass 20-something white guys with absolutely no sense of rhythm or style become popular? It's the most bizarre thing. I had become quite accustomed to being the invisible man. Well, I mean, not LITERALLY (at 6'4" and 225 lbs, it's kind of hard to miss me), but in social situations I tend to just kind of fade into the background and not really make much of an impression on anyone...ever.
Not anymore, apparently.
I came to USC-Upstate as a last-minute, unrecruited nobody from nowhere. I didn't know anyone on campus and really didn't have any idea what to expect. I was just planning to pull my usual wallflower routine until I figured out what was going on....
...but the best laid plans of mice and men...
A couple of parties later, and suddenly everyone knows me and wants to be my friend. I can't dance by myself anymore (the women simply won't let me, for some reason), I can't sit alone in the cafeteria anymore, and I can't slip around campus anonymously anymore because, somehow, I've become one of the cool kids. Don't ask me how; trust me, no one is more surprised by this development than I am. Apparently during my five-year hiatus from college the rules and the expectations have completely changed: smart became the new sexy, confidence (no matter how misplaced) became an asset, maturity became admirable, and being so unmistakably and undeniably Caucasian became...well, maybe not a GOOD thing, but at least a little less of a liability.
I don't know. All I know is, I'm not complaining.
I could write more, but I guess I should go do the responsible thing(!) and go get ready for my Parasitology test. Stay tuned....
VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
xoxo