Yeah, There's the Pants-Kicking

I just had a revelation that EV will probably like: I'm bringing Catch 22 with me on my trip. It's long overdue that I actually finish that book. I started it the summer before my senior year of high school but never made it past page thirty, foolish teenager that I was. I think it's just the type of book I would actually read on a trip like this. And it offers something more than mere entertainment. And I bet I could barter it for something equally good in one of the hostels along the way (another important factor to consider).

Hostel-book-bartering is one of the most enjoyable and, simultaneously, one of the most frustrating things about traveling. In my experience, the hostels that have the best books are also the stingiest about trading for them. I still remember a hostel in Grenada, Nicaragua that rejected a copy of Jude the Obscure that I had wanted to trade for The Corrections. I was a junior in college and, as an English major, well on my way to being a literary snob, so the idea that Franzen was somehow better than Hardy made me livid. To this day, I still refuse to read The Corrections, partly because it's tinged with that sense of rejection. A funny thing to say, because I'm fairly sure JR is bringing it on this trip.

On a completely unrelated note, I've realized that I have a series of catchphrases I like to use when I'm completely screwed by the dangerous combination of my workload and my tendency to procrastinate. Most common is "boner city." Ex. "Oh, crap, I didn't finish grading these portfolios yet. I'm in Boner City" or "Well, I'm just in a whole goddamn city of boners now, aren't I?" Usage and inflection varies according to fucked-itude. The new favorite is an evolution of me saying "Aw, nuts." (That's referential - my more diligent readers probably know the provenance.) Lately, I've been saying, in a Butters-like voice, "Nutter Butters." JR's usual reply to this is, "Oh, man, I could totally go for some Nutter Butters now." Girlfriends are great for empathy. These have both managed to supplant the tried-and-true favorite, "I can't have any more days like this." I don't think I've said that once this semester in any earnestness (and, no, this doesn't count).

I have some non-verbal catchphrases, too, the most frequent of which used to be balling up my fists and vigorously flailing them up and down. (According to JR, I once did that in my sleep, accompanied with the phrase "I can't have any more days like this.") And, more often than not, I just resort to bothering JR. Just ask her.

Alright, time to change locations (coffee shop --> apartment), in the hopes of jump-starting my work for the remainder of the day. Seacrest out!