Summer 2012: Week 1

First day of summer quarter 2012
my LAST summer quarter EVA??

Straight Joggin'

"Oop... I almost forgot. I won't be able to make it fellas. Veronica and I trying this new fad called uh, jogging. I believe it's jogging or yogging. it might be a soft j. I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It's supposed to be wild."

- Ron Burgundy

Glory Glory Hallejuah!

At AiPH, Summer Quarter is the unique time when the quarter is only 10 weeks long, but all the classes are 20 minutes longer to make up for the missed week. It's done to help the admissions staff deal with the influx of new students that come in at the start of the fall quarter. Any other quarter morning classes begin at 8, but during the summer they begin at 7:35. And so this morning was my last morning that I have to leave the house at 6:30. At least until next summer. Hopefully. God only knows what will happen in the next year. Regardless, it was a glorious morning. I got done my morning class by 8 and retreated back to my apartment to cuddle with my dog. That was possibly even more glorious than that morning sky. The perks of living closer were finally utilized and it was... you guessed it... glorious!

Choo choo

It's weird when I'm the only one on the train. Well, not on the entire train, but the only one in the car. It can really go either way on a Thursday night. Sometimes there's a slew of people on the train and other times it's completely deserted. Tonight was one of those tumbleweed evenings. Feels like a ghost train when you're all alone on it at night... I know some people that would really be freaked out by that thought. But... I ain't 'fraid of no ghosts!

Numba 9

Wide eyed and bushy tailed

Yesterday it was pouring a whole zoo worth of animals. Today it was a lot nicer. And luckily, the seat I sat down at had a clean enough window for me to get a half decent photo. You can tell the people who ride the train all the time versus the people who are on their for the first time. New riders look out the window over the bridge with a wide eyed appreciation of how pretty the view is. Frequent riders barely look up from their cellphones. I try not to become of those people. I've been on that train two times a day most of the week since October so I could easily become one of the people that doesn't notice how pretty the trip can be. So, I try to look up. I try to look around. I try to keep my eyes fresh. Try to look at things with new eyes. Some days it's harder than others.

This isn't what the indians and the pilgrims did

My windshield wipers decided not to function and thus caused me to miss my first class. Due to this, I had to drive up to the train in rush hour traffic. But it wasn't so bad because it made it a lot easier to find a parking spot and I got a lovely picture of the sun setting. A sight I rarely see from the train platform. Then I got to draw a naked man's feet for three hours.


ps. And at midnight, someone turned 26....

Bullocks.

I am one lucky son of a gun. On any usual day, I could drive around and around the parking lots of the Collingswood Train station and never find a spot. But on a day when a lot of the spots were filled with mounds of snow rather than cars and the street parking was equally as snow filled, I was able to find a spot in the main lot. I can see the draw, though. When I returned to my car later, I found a quaint little package on my windshield. Within was a pouch of candy and a very lovely card congratulating me on my survival to my car. I really think I should have received the latter part when I arrived at my house, though. It had begun to snow again when I left the train station and grew worse and worse the further south I got. About 10 exits from mine, the roads were essentially completely unplowed and were covered in snow. Normally I would be driving about 75mph all the way home, but I was barely able to go over 40 without feeling the slippy slip under my tires. It was even worse off the highway. I didn't get over 20mph. Every red light I hit was a pain in the ass. My tires did not want to grip when I had to get moving again. It was ridiculous. All fresh and slippery. I'm pretty good at driving in the snow and I wound up getting a headache just from focusing on the road for so long. The conditions were ridiculous. This winter is bullocks.

I want you to acknowledge it

At the Ferry Ave stop, I always admire this building. In a lot of ways, the general nature of graffiti is frowned upon. And, in many circumstances, I agree with that. Some graffiti is like the equivalent to pissing on a wall permanently. But clearly other graffiti is truly art. That's the kind I like. Feels wrong calling it graffiti when it's so interesting and well composed. So, really, thanks to the people that were involved in this lovely piece of art. I enjoy it on my journey. Keep up the good graffiti! You bring it to a higher level!