Sand Castle:

I'm reporting to you today from my back yard, because I worry that if I stay inside much longer then I will just watch The Truman Show until I fall into a sort of laziness coma.  All of my classes are over.  One can fairly say that I no longer attend Regis High School.  I've enrolled at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania.  I can't remember whether I've told you that already or not.  At the end of each school year, I'm usually left feeling a great deal of nostalgia, spending my first days of summer just thinking about the last nine months gone by.  Before May, I was expecting to feel more nostalgia than ever during this time, but it turns out that's just not the case.  It's a relief to be out of high school, and I'm not longing for the good old days.  I'm giving it time, though.  I haven't graduated yet.  In early June, I have to go back there on three consecutive days: for a Mass, for a graduation rehearsal, and then for graduation.  Maybe the nostalgia will hit me once those days are over, but somehow I doubt it.

The end of my senior years seemed long and drawn out, like one of those awful, boring love songs that you hear on the radio all the time.  (For a wittier take on such songs, see "(I Don't Like) Corny Schlocky Sappy Songs" by Carla Ulbrich.)  My classes were few and far between, with loads of free time dividing them.  During these hours of unstructured time, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had overstayed my welcome at my high school.  Everywhere I could go, there was either nobody there or somebody there whom I did not want to run into.  There was no comforable place for me there, which is beginning to become true in my own back yard right now, since it is starting to rain out here.  Five or ten minutes later, I'm inside my bedroom now looking out my window.  In hindsight, I should have known it would start raining while I was out there.  It was just one of those "of course" moments.  You know the kind.  The grumpy protagonist is having a rotten day, and then he goes out of his way to make it better, but then the world ruins his Plan B, so he picks up his stuff and walks away while rolling his eyes and saying, "Of course" with the "of" drawn out just a little too long.  That's exactly what I did, because that's what one does in such a situation.

My own day was not particularly bad before the "of course" moment, but it was boring enough to call for that.  I got out of bed later than I'd hoped to, and I haven't done anything besides walk an uncooperative dog since then.  The last three days have been like that.  School ended last week, and I spent the weekend with my cousin like I usually do.  (We played Marvel Ultimate Alliance.  How's that for nostalgia?)  In the past three weekdays, I've been alone in the house until my parents get home from work, so my typical summer has already started.  Sometimes I'd like to go for a walk, but it seems like all the so called "April showers" are arriving in May here in New York.  Instead, I've been watching a lot of television and making small steps in productivity.  Today, this blog entry is my small step, but maybe I'll think up another creative thing in the evening, because right now I haven't even had dinner yet.  By the way, my lunch for the past three days has been leftover pizza.  During that time of day, it feels like I'm already in college.

However, this fortress of tedium that I have built for myself is only a sand castle that will soon be swept up and torn down by the tide.  On Friday, I'm leaving for Baltimore, just like I did last year, to attend Balticon, the wonderful science fiction and fantasy convention that has embraced new media (blogging, podcasting, etc.) with widespread and very comfortable arms. I am really looking forward to once again seeing some of the talented, entertaining people who make my iPod so full and enjoyable.  Beyond that, I intend to keep myself busy with some creative endeavors, including that novel that I've told you about.  (Nine chapters are written in the first draft so far.)  Also, I think it's likely that I'm going to get my first real job this summer, some work that I'll actually get paid for rather than a volunteer position that I'm required to do by my school or some such institution.  I hope that I'll be able to work part time at the day care center where I have been doing said volunteer work for the past few months.  But if that doesn't work out, there will be other opportunities for me.  For instance, maybe you'd like to hire me!  I'm available for improvisational storytelling, reaching things in high places, voice-over work, vegetable chopping, and professional napping.  Don't ask me for a résumé, because, as I said, I have never had a real job yet.  I'll have more reports and updates in the near future.  Thanks for reading.

End Post.