dog kicking chicken cooker
it's monday evening, and i feel akin to roadkill. that's probably because i started the day feeling a step above roadkill (i guess that would be diseased animal that resides near a roadway). how i got into that predicament was that last night i thought it would be a really keen idea to rarely be without a beer-in-progress in hand between the hours of 5 and 10. mind you, i had a phenomenal time. i just didn't get as much of a kick out of teaching my english 101 kids about prewriting, audience, purpose, and tone with a hangover as i thought i would. now that really nasty chinese food that i thought would make a tasty and satisfying lunch is kicking me back, and my accidental afternoon nap has left me feeling undesirable.
all this sounds rather dreary, but in actuality all is rather well in my corner of the planet. if all goes well tomorrow i will have added a second class to my teaching schedule for the summer quarter (let's see, double my current paycheck equals two times next to nothing...) and while that means more days of commuting to campus, it also means fewer theoretical days of malaise and bad television. so really, so far so good in that department.
last night i rode the red line to the site of my excess consumption (did i mention the doughnuts from fritelli's? mary, mother of god...) and really enjoyed the rush of inspiration it gave me. i guess that's something i can say because i'm fortunate enough to be someone who rides the red line as a treat--a reprieve from behind the wheel time, and a way to go out and have a heftier portion of alcohol (and how!) and not be a road hazard. it's amazing how being out and about with my ipod clipped on and the gift of not having to watch the road stimulates my creative thinking. hopefully if i can sustain the motion, i'll be part of a creative writing group this summer, which my writerly self desperately needs. and maybe someday, just someday, when people ask me "so what's going on with turning your thesis into a novel?" i won't have to drop my head in shame and say "i can't bear to think about it, so don't ask me!" anymore. that would be nice.
my main goals this summer are to write more, read more, and have more fun. i think i really got things off to a good start last night, because man, did i have me some fun at the LAist bbq. we have some really awesome people on staff, and it was tremendous fun to clown around with them and other attendees. i also accepted an iron chef-esque challenge (perhaps an aluminum chef challenge?) and made a last minute improv marinade for some chicken that came out tasting pretty decent. i also accidentally "kicked" a very old, deaf, small dog. (sorry, peggy!) what can i say, i was telling a vigorous story! anyhow, i'm not sure how it came about, but i know at some point i assigned myself the moniker "dog kicking chicken cooker."i think i also agreed to update or improve upon the "style guide" for the site. yikes. what have i done? a good time was had, indeed. summer has begun. i think i'm ready! bring it on!