it's just like Survivor.

"Why'd you have to be so cute
It's impossible to ignore you
Must you make me laugh so much
It's bad enough we get along so well
Say goodnight and go"
-Imogen Heap, "Goodnight and Go"

I'm having one of those weeks where I have so, so much to do, but when I actually sit down to do it, I find I have plenty of time and definitely didn't need to stress myself out to the point of needing to just put it all aside and go to the bar with my roommates on Tuesday. Which I did. Which was fun. So I have no regrets. Oh being 21.

We went to this bar on the Ave, and we were really going to only stay for one drink, but then it was open mic night, and then this guy started beat-boxing and made himself sound like a Bop-It, and then we just had to stay. You would have stayed too. Come on. A BOP-IT.

Wednesday I had a reunion dinner/hang out thing with my study abroad group. It felt a little like the last episode of Survivor, where everyone is cleaned up and wearing nice clothes and it's weird to see them in a location that isn't an island with a bandanna on their heads.
But in this case, the nice clothes were just winter coats and the island is London and the bandanna is wrinkled clothes because nobody wanted to shell out three pounds to do laundry. It was really nice to see everyone. And a little surreal, because I left them all behind in London and then suddenly there they were, right in front of me on my campus in Seattle. I mean, I knew they lived in Seattle, obviously. But that doesn't change the mental connection I have with all of them being in the UK. And my school is big enough that I really hadn't run into anyone for more than a few seconds, and even then I only ran into a handful of them.

It was actually a little disorienting, because afterward I kept hoping I'd see Emma or Rosi or James or Johnny or Claire, because I left them behind in London too. I never saw them. It wasn't fair.

The event was catered by Buca de Beppo, and we all sat around a conference room table looking at pictures from the trip on a projector and sympathizing with each other about how little effort any of us have put into our final 10 page papers that are due this Saturday. It was a little awkward, since none of us have really seen each other in about 2 months, but I got to take home a leftover Eggplant Parmesan and that's all that matters. Also, it WAS nice to see how everyone was doing. A lot of them were glad to see me so happy and normal, which was a little embarrassing, but these people did see me at my very lowest. I can't blame them.

I spent all night getting ahead (yeah okay, who am I kidding - keeping my head above water) with the homework I have due this week, because Matt and Justin are coming here on tour tonight (for their show tomorrow), and while it's really badly timed in the way of my midterm schedule, they took today off to hang out with Eia and I and so tonight we will be having fun with them. I can't wait.

Last night I also took a break from homework and other responsibilities to chat about novels again with Liz. I was getting kind of nervous to start writing on Sunday because I hadn't worked out a few fundamental plot elements yet, but I think I am at a point now where I can start writing and actually have a direction to go in. Also, I decided on writing in 3rd person, which scares me, since I pretty much always choose 1st person because I am more comfortable there. The bulk of the novel will be in 3rd person omniscient, but I also have these flashbacks which I think I'll do in 3rd person limited.

This is an ambitious novel for me as well, because for the last 3 years I have written magical realism, and this year I am doing straight up fiction. I am of the belief that fiction is harder to write than science-fiction or fantasy, solely because you're not creating your own worlds with your own rules that you as the author are the master of - you're using a setting that pretty much everyone who reads your novel is going to be an expert at, and they're going to know immediately if you get anything wrong. That's a little scary.

Anway, T-Minus 3 days until NaNoWriMo begins. I am so excited.


Also, I think I am going to start putting song lyrics from whatever song is currently stuck in my head at the start of my entries like I did today. That way, I can 1. share my music tastes with you and 2. hopefully get the songs stuck in your head, as well.