Boston

Some people from my poetry class went into Boston tonight to see Seamus Heaney's reading. The guys who introduced him were not that exciting, probs just because they rambled. One of them read a translation he did of a poem about Abraham and Isaac, but it went on for EVER and didn't even sound like poetry - it sounded like he was just reading straight out of the Bible. Heaney was pretty good, though - and funny when he was in between poems. I'll admit I was kind of sleepy and didn't retain a lot, but I remember one phrase, vividly: "fire spores." I think it was in relation to a volcano, but I can't think of any other context; just that the pairing of words was so unexpected and absolutely PERFECT in every way.

Driving in Boston sucks. The confusion, the construction, the homicidal drivers.... It's really stressful. Then again, I get stressed whenever I drive somewhere unfamiliar, and the scenario could have been worse. I'm not in any hurry to repeat it though, especially since I filled my gas tank this morning and it's already got 70 miles on it. On the way home, I added another person to my carload, and searching through my iPod, he found Five Iron Frenzy and was totally happy and we listened to it. He made me turn it up really loud (which is how I like to listen to music anyway, but out of respect for other passengers I usually don't unless I'm alone) and we sang along. It was grand. And THEN we listened to the Pokemon theme song even louder, and sang along even louder, and it was a deeply satisfying bonding experience.

When we got back on campus, I had to park in Woodland, which is always unfortunate. It's even more unfortunate when you get back to your room, decide to try and be productive by fixing that essay, and come to the horrifying realization that "that essay" is in a manila folder on the top of your car..... In Woodland.