I’m participating, in a non participatory fashion, in Infinite Summer. I started yesterday. My housemate, who often scrolls my sites online, much like my old college roommates used to scroll blogs for me, is blogless and lives vicariously through me, provoked me to do it. It’s not like work, school, no real vacation, at least until the end of summer, a garden finally growing, and thanks to the rain finally stopping in need of daily watering, not to mention a long list of other activities aren’t keeping me busy enough. Because I wanted to share the wealth I sent the book to the only person I knew who would possibly be interested in participating, G. I sent it to him for his birthday. That birthday is today. Happy birthday G. Get cracking.
I’m out to purchase some food. I’m giving my cousin a 20th birthday dinner tonight. Her birthday was a couple of weeks ago. It’s a convenient time for our yearly commiseration. She is in town for the weekend after a weeks’ vacation she took with her mother and friends. She’s heading back to Pittsburgh, where she goes to college during the regular term and works at two jobs this summer. It’s the first “not living at home summer” for her, necessary because she got an apartment for her junior year and it needs to be paid for. The beginning of the end, as it goes, or is called, in our family. The first signal that you won’t be home again except to visit. The females in our family historically are more likely to move out earlier and more permanently than the males. I’m not sure why that is, but it is curious. From The east coast to the west it is a distinct pattern on one side of my family tree anyway.
She can’t drink legally of course, and I feel like an ogre because when she asked about going to a certain club I declined to take her, fake id or not. She didn’t seem to concerned though, and we’ll spend the evening here in mindless conversation. I’ll fill her head with advice and she’ll pretend she is listening. Ill have to hear too much about her new boyfriend, who happens to be older than her and out of college. Yes, been there done that, but whatever. The guy also lives at home still, which I have to get a handle on because things like that sound suspect to me. I call them “homeboys”, and though somewhat derogatory it isn’t really meant to be, it’s just something I can’t get a handle on. It also disturbs me some that she only dumped her old boyfriend after the new boyfriend came into the picture. My advice always is to spend some time boyfriend-less, but that is personal preference I guess. Merlot will be involved of course, she is Cuban on her father’s side, and it is not illegal in the mind of Cubans no matter where they live, to drink decent wine with dinner, even when you are 12.
I’m dallying because I dislike buying groceries as a rule. I’ll probably hit the wine shop first.
Take out Japanese food is beginning to sound good.……
peace
Tags: family, friends, Infinite Jest
Mindless conversation. I’ll be doing that later. Wine usually helps. Mindful conversation usually requires intricate explanation that is usually ignored.
Stick with the wine.
Bennet´s last blog ..Ejack’s Errational Tempormentations
Oh we did.
In my family it is the opposite. I moved out and bought my house in college, before the market started ripping people off. There were too many kids in my family for me to ever want to live at home. I’m sitting pretty for a 24 year old. The females in our extended family, on both sides, live at home longer. Families are a strange thing aren’t they? There are patterns.
I have to pass on “Infinite Summer”, it is not my cup of tea. I take summers off, reading nothing but email.
caseyjake´s last blog ..Thrasher Weekend?
As I’m about to do the pages for today I’m thinking that may have been the way to go.
Women usually leave home earlier and forever. I forget where I read that but I know I read it in more than one study. I can’t remember ever reading an explanation why
Mindless conversation, wine and summer Saturday nights are good
I don’t generally like book discussions on blogs. I think there’s an air of superiority (at least 40% of the time) to the bloggers who often act as the blog reader is beneath them. Lit agent blog commenters turn me off also. I’m not really hard to please but my loyalty has to be earned
I was thinking about the comment you left. I often think I blog out of habit and that’s not a bad thing at all and I enjoy reading many blogs I don’t comment on because if I’m not familiar with the blogger I find it painful – and I stay away from the above mentioned blogs, tech blogs, blogs about blogging and more. Then I write D– dissertations on the few blogs I’m comfortable on
pia´s last blog ..
I don’t plan on doing the discussion, except with my housemate and G, both have started the book. She got the idea on line though and foisted it upon me and I’m easy plus I imagine I though I’d read it eventually, or not.
“I’m participating, in a non participatory fashion”? Meaning what you’re going to read the book, maybe or maybe not 75 pages at a time, discuss it with your roommate and birthday boy and never bother to go to the site again.
Take out is always easier, and sometimes cheaper.
johnm´s last blog ..United States/Brazil
Exactly.
Irony, humanity, redemption, and the cosmos. Fiction that believe it or not will be a harsh change, in his we all must bleed way, from policy and analysis. Wallace hanged himself didn’t he?
Women in my family are the movers too. They like to set up their own domains early. It’s worked well for them. My youngest sister is back at my parents home for gradUATE school because of finances, but she has managed to sock away some money while helping out with the groceries and the dogs.
Indeed he did.
Women are movers in general, as I see it joe.
I haven’t “moved out” yet, but I normally find an internship out of state during the winter and summer months, so I only visit my parents on spring break or during Thanksgiving. I’d love to move out ASAP once I’m done with college, but the area I live in is crazy expensive so I’ll probably have to stay for a year.
Hope the birthday party is a success!! Club or no club :)
Tellie´s last blog ..A Taste of Chicago
it’s hard I know. I own his place due more to money and property left by grandparents who dies too early than anything else, but as my parents travel and don’t maintain a residence near where I work or go to grad school it would have been impossible to live with them anyway.
I do know a few people who moved back to save money and some people who have been gone but will move back…to save money. Times are rough.
Grocery shopping is the worst. I moved out for college and returned back home only for a semester, which greatly reinforced me moving out for good the next time. I never returned.
Chris´s last blog ..Quickies
Yea grocery shopping and putting away laundry. I like folding it hate putting it away, that and dishes.
I simply loved that whole section starting with “The beginning of the end” and going to the end of the paragraph.
Oh, and I hate folding laundry, but don’t mind putting it away. We’re like freakin’ Jack Sprat and his wife up in here.
Bone´s last blog ..“Some of it’s magic, some of it’s tragic”
*Quickly looks up Jack Sprat*
Thank you and thank you.
I’m hitting another fifty pages once I shower. I wonder if knowing how he died is gonna affect the reading? Stupid question it already is.
You are an ogre.
g´s last blog ..Surfing Liberia
How it was a good one G.
sons are sons until they take a wife;
daughters are daughters all of their lives.
jack sprat… reminds me of an old semi-poem. …
That is a creepy poem.
Sounds like my kind of evening. Very few evenings these days I get to spend focused on nothing else but conversation and commiseration.
mojo shivers´s last blog ..I’m Falling All Over Myself, Dying To Be Someone Else, I Wish You Would Dare To Walk Me Home, I Don’t Want To Fight The World Alone
Everyone needs conversation and commiseration. I’ve thought about attempting Infinite Jest. It’s too large a task at this time. Maybe when the new babe comes I can read it aloud from the rocking chair.
Nice new look, hidden bars and footers and all.
I’m so happy to hear that more people are going to be reading Infinite Jest. I’ve read it twice, and will certainly read it again sometime. I think I need to. It’s The Entertainment, and it seems that I’m hooked.
The blog looks great, btw:) RAbbit, rabbit, good luck in July!