Saturday, November 08, 2003

Savannah, surreal

Savannah, surreal, come visit.

There is something distinctly surreal about my life sometimes. For instance, I found myself wandering around Savannah late Thursday night with a group of drunken archivists.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I spent Wednesday and Thursday night in Savannah, as well as Friday morning. I dig the town in an incredible way; I think I may vacation there some day. It reminded me a lot of Morgantown. Centered around SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah has marshaled great force to protect its historic buildings. On a Thursday night in November the air was warm and wet, and the streets pleasantly full of people eating and drinking and having a decently good time. Savannah is a town that is alive in the way I need places to be; it has its own culture and knows how to party for no real reason. Viva Savannah.

When the wind is right, you can even smell the paper mill, a smell that reminds me of my Grandma's home town just an hour and a half south of there. It's one of my favorite smells; salty marsh and paper mill. Mmmmm, the memories. Hanging Spanish moss, life out of creeping humid decay, and bitchin' seafood. I considered Savannah when moving back South; I still consider it a place worthy of making a life in. Savannah makes me think about getting a PhD.

I can't believe Halloween was just a week ago. I'm working crazy long hours, and it seems two weeks have passed in one. My work is incredibly demanding, and I have to keep reminding myself of why I like it so much. The pressure can be intense; meeting others in my field I have to continually think about what they think about me, and pay attention to the body language of my supervisor.

I am learning at an incredible rate, but I don't feel it's enough. Often I know my own demands on myself are unrealistic; however I have to continually guess what is appropriate in certain circles. I didn't grow up white collar, and as always this can be an issue, if only for me. Watch the way you dress. Watch the way you express yourself. Don't look nervous, for god's sake. I wish I had acting classes before I took this job. I think it would help me; I need to learn to project moods in front of people, moods and attitudes to which I am unfamiliar.

I want to win the lottery and set up an independent publishing house, one for which money would never be a real issue. That's the dream nowadays. Providing my roommates with a new house, decently far away from me, and working on print projects all day.

I'll be working 50, 60-hour weeks all this month until right before Thanksgiving.

Then I'll party. Come visit. Come lay around my house and laugh with me. All of you. My roommates will be gone for the holidays, and I can fill the house with good smells and good people and relax, relief, unwinding from these constant stressors.

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