Earlier today, in a sudden burst of spontaneity, I joined my friend Suzy in attending Jesse Hughey’s senior thesis presentation. Jesse is an English major and a minor celebrity here at Linfield as lead singer of the homegrown band Jack Ruby Presents. It was only fitting, then, that his thesis should be a collection (album?) of six songs that conflated his creative writing and musical skills. The songs were centered on the concept of a travelling musician, the question as to whether leaving home is necessary and a discussion of the transition from home to away. As Jesse began his first song, “The city’s smoking cigarettes/ against a concrete wall/ and I refuse to believe/ that you felt nothing/ at all/ London never felt so right/ without you,” I realized that I might never hear these songs again. The presentation/performance was held in a classroom and the small audience sat in desks. The setting was intimate and I began to sense a premature seed of nostalgia settling inside of me. For the next 50 minutes and five and a half songs I made it my intention to fully experience the present. I wanted to soak up the lyrics, the music, the sound of Jesse’s voice, and, beside me, the orange of my friend Jason’s shirt and the thorough, easy academia of Suzy’s note taking.
Soundtrack of the moment: "Poem on the Underground Wall" -Simon and Garfunkel
I finally started Faulkner’s “The Sound and the Fury.” I haven’t reached the point where reading it is more fun than talking about reading it. I am confident that moment will come. I am only on page twelve. I started it one night after a full day of studying—finals are becoming pretty intimidating. I have two more to go: full of in-class essays. Yikes. Tomorrow I will buckle down and structure my day. Let’s see:
8:30 Wake up. Run.
9:30 Breakfast with Kate
10:00 Study, Study, Study
12:ish Thai fooooooooood
1:ish Meet with Smith
2:ish Study, Study, Study
6:15 Leave for Monmouth, See Heidi, Listen to Ty, Love life
If I have any hope to accomplish this, I must sleep. And scene.
