The 7 is Silent

STELLA!

2006-03-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

The last time I saw Angel was in January when he gave me a ride home in his Matrix.... Then... there he was walking into the Irish Lion and before we knew it there was a round of Stella on our table and digital pictures in my inbox. To Angel and STELLA!!!

Own it!

2006-03-14T14:07:00.000-08:00

A heartfelt shout-out to Sarah and Nicholas

Is It Cold in Here? Oh Wait, I just have Olympic Fever!!

2006-02-24T14:52:00.000-08:00

Olympics- That special time every two years when we show our fellow nations what we got! I have watched the Olympics every time they have been on for my entire life. I remember when I was four and my parents went to the Olympics in Korea I called them to ask if we were allowed to have potato chips that my grandmother purchased for us. These games will always have a special place in my heart.

Nothing brings me more joy than watching people achieve their goals and actually prove to themselves and the WORLD that they can be the BEST at something. The irony of my obsession with the Olympics is that I am by no means a sports fan. There is just something magical about the Olympic games that makes me cry a little in my mouth. Maybe it's the over-dramatic commentary or the behind-the-scenes look at athletes' struggles, or perhaps it's the idea that people from so many different countries can get along and play nice for two weeks. Why have wars when we could simply solve issues between nations with the Olympics? That may be a stretch but I think I'm onto something...

Regardless, it's a beautiful thing and I want to be part of it. So without further delay I present Eleni and Jes training for the games:

The Last First Day of School

2006-01-09T09:23:00.000-08:00

I always enjoy the first day of school... In fact, usually more than the last. Everything seems so exciting and new and optimism fills the air. The smell of the first morning is very distinct and promising. As I walked to my 8:15 ceramics class I felt so happy to be awake and dressed and starting everything once again with a clean slate. On the walk back it occurred to me that this is the last day that this will happen (except grad school but that's not exactly the same). Soon enough I'll be going to the same place everyday and not having the chance to change my routine so frequently. Employers do not hand out a syllabus on the first day and let you leave early. The change is what keeps me going so I'm quite weary indeed about what the future holds. I can't pretend that I have time left because I don't. I'm going to finish my golden grahams and go get some books. For the last first time.

The Legend of the Fall

2005-12-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

This week the temperature dropped and the precipitation increased. You do the math. The other morning Mary and I were crossing the street after acquiring hot, caffeinated beverages (I know I know, I like the coffee) and she made it safely to the other sidewalk. I was behind her wearing all of my snow gear, had shoes with traction and plenty of winter accessories. I noticed there was water flowing on the street and thought "Wow, that's interesting because it's so DAMN cold!" Before I knew it my feet were above my head and I was in a lot of pain in the middle of the street. Apparently the water was ice and I was neither fully awake nor wearing my glasses. I somehow managed to save most of my coffee. Huh... Good thing the light was red. Deters.

Words cannot describe...

2005-11-29T12:27:00.000-08:00

Maggie!

2005-11-27T18:30:00.000-08:00

So remember how I'm afraid of dogs? I met the nicest dog (Maggie, she's 5 and ADORABLE!) this thanksgiving weekend and we're best friends. I'm going to not be afraid of them anymore, in fact I'm thinking about adopting one when I have the time and space to do so. I also drove a small train (that seats 12 adults) around the yard, videotaped my very drunk great uncle talking about his kids, did karaoke with a life-sized Santa, cleaned up after my drunker sorta-aunt and made butternut squash soup all while trying to make a Jewish step-relative feel less awkward around all the Greeks. I faced the mom's family solo this year, no siblings came so it was especially difficult to deal but I made good use of my idle hands and helped out a lot. Paige and Grace (kid cousins) wanted to play with the video camera so I helped them with shot composition and lighting. The chocolate fountain broke which could have been horrible but I fixed it and peace was restored. I have a new appreciation for Greg (my mom's cousin's husband and my brother's godfather), I've always enjoyed him but this year we actually hung out and had some good conversations. We washed dishes and talked about my future. He told me he's considered a deity at his new job in south carolina and it's awesome. I told him I can only hope I reach that point in my professional career. My mom's aunt was really out of it and brought her grandson who didn't talk to anyone. Too many things had nuts. I don't much care for nuts. They tried to send me home with a turkey but I had too much driving to do and wasn't really sure what to do with a 13 pound dead bird. That's just a small sampling of what the past few days consisted of, if I wrote it all out my fingers would be very sleepy. Enjoy your left-overs!

I liked you better with teeth.

2005-11-06T19:46:00.000-08:00

Driving back from the airport I stopped to use the restroom at a fast-food establishment. While I was washing my hands a woman came up to me and said "I have something special for you, dear." I thought I was about to get raped by a grandma but to my surprise she gave me a tiny booklet with a smiling yellow face that says "Smile, jesus loves you." I figure in rural indiana if someone approaches you in a public bathroom it's going to either be about sex or jesus. We all learned a valuable lesson about passing judgment that day, or did we?

Wait for it.

Infinity Bites.

The Circle of Life

2005-10-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

I'm turning into my professor/ an adult. We sat at a table wearing our scarves and drinking espresso for an hour this evening discussing French films. This is more frightening than goblins chasing babies during thunderstorms at night!

Fall into Autumn

2005-10-24T01:15:00.000-07:00

Autumn has changed my life somehow every year for the past 21 years. I don't know what it is... the crisp weather, the beautiful trees or the general feeling I have of melancholy and disconnection from the world. I love it. I really would rather walk alone listening to music, kicking leaves and smelling the autumn air than talk with anyone. It's a strange feeling and I don't mean to be rude. Autumn offers a time of reflection for me, and a time of death for leaves. The long year of growing and blooming has come to an end and it's one of the only instances death is beautiful and embraced. Today I went to the apple orchard for the third time this year. The drive out there is incredibly surreal... trees, sky, hills, curves and there are even horses! I brought one of my housemates with me, and it was maybe the most fun I've had all (school) year! People at apple orchards are always such friendly folks, especially organic orchards because they don't have bad attitudes, missing teeth or extra fingers. Everyone should try to go to an apple orchard at least once a year. If you've never been, you don't know what you're missing and it's a lot! Yes, I am the "autumn princess" and I love it. The fellow at the orchard dipped apples in caramel for us on the spot! We also purchased homemade cider and pumpkin butter. I want to move to a consta-autumn city when I'm an adult. There is no place where autumn happens all year round that I know of and it wouldn't really make sense since it's a period of transition and things cannot transition forever, trust me. It's hard for a season to be a (my) best friend because it's only around a few months at a time so I must make the most of it. Who's up for some pumpkin carving and costume sewing?

Surprise!

2005-10-10T23:50:00.000-07:00

Top 3 interactions of the week:

Number One: Every Monday and Wednesday while walking to the business school I pass a freshman-looking kid with bleached blonde shaggy hair. We always glance at each other and quickly look away or mess with our portable media devices. This week was different. We made eye contact, high-fived, and continued walking. Beautiful. I don't ever want to talk to him, I haven't decided what Wednesday will bring, maybe a ... I'm still thinking.

Number 2: In Louisville at Headliners last Thursday we decided to go upstairs and sit on large black couches before the band we wanted to see got on stage. I sat down and this dude next to me started asking me a bunch of questions about my life, which is pretty typical. After a few minutes of interrogation, I decided to turn the tables and ask about him. He said he was not in school so I asked what he did for a living to which he replied
"I'm the pool guy."
Eleni "What?"
Guy "I do pools"
Eleni "You DO pools?"
Guy "You know, I clean them and make them"
Eleni "Oh, I guess I've always heard 'pool boy'"
Guy "I'm a pool MAN"
Eleni "Right" (keep telling yourself that)

Number 3: Two weeks ago I was having the worst morning I'd had this semester. Everything was falling, spilling, I was tripping and running into things and was very confused. I got to the building where my first class meets and I was feeling a little better, still uneasy "Morning Eleni"... but better. I was walking in the doorway and the kid in front of me held the first door but not the second (I should not have assumed that he was going to hold both, but his pattern suggested that he would). It slammed right into my coffee that basically exploded in my face and all over me. It was really hot and it burned my skin. I decided to tell him that it was very rude and he was a real jerk about it. This last week I ran into him again and he was very apologetic and asked if he could buy me a cup of coffee at "the stand" in the B school because he felt so bad about what "went down" last week. I was a bit reluctant but accepted and he proceeded to tell me how he was having a horrible day and didn't mean to be a jerk.

Greetings From Michigan

2005-08-06T13:33:00.000-07:00

The time has come... Having no outlet for the inevitable frustrations that come with the territory of living with a gay dad who refuses to come out of the closet, I have finally turned to the blog.

Last week, sitting on a bench at 11:40pm, obviously wanting to be left alone, I was approached by a woman who was homeless, crazy or both. You be the judge:

Woman: Do, do you have a cigarette I can have?
Me: No, sorry ma'am.
Woman: Well, do you have a light?
Me: Certainly! It might take a minute to find, my bag is large and a bit disorganized right now.

The second I muttered "certainly" the woman sat down on the very small bench, almost on my americano. Had I not seen her bottom heading straight for it and moved the cup in record time I would have lost the one thing on which I have come to rely this summer, and her bottom would have been burned. I finally found the lighter and handed it to her. She promptly lighted a cigarette (one she already had before asking me... it seemed to have appeared out of thin air) and handed it back, still sitting right next to me, our bodies gently touching each other with no space to move them apart. She wore all black, a tank top and short shorts. Her legs were crossed toward mine, well shaven. On her left foot was a navy blue corduroy slipper; on her right foot was a 2-strap birkenstock style sandal and a tall white gym sock with ridges that would probably leave marks on her ankle when she removed it. She did not smell of anything. I decided to make small talk about the weather because I could not think of anything else we had in common at that particular moment when our lives intersected, and it appeared at though she would be sitting next to me for the duration of her cigarette. Other people had made small talk about the dropping temperature with me earlier that day, without their help I would not have known about the approaching cold front.

Me: So it's going to be cooler tomorrow, it's been so hot recently. (beat) I'm looking forward to the change.

No response. She sat there and finished her cigarette, approximately 6 minutes of silence. There were three college-aged kids on another bench that faced this one. They kept looking at me for some sort of acknowledgement that I found it odd or funny as well. I gave them nothing. For some reason I wanted them to think that I was comfortable with this, or at least not uncomfortable. I do not know why I did that, it just felt right because I knew they would not have done the same. After the 6 minutes passed, she abruptly rose and spoke very quickly.

Woman: I should probably go, I have the chicken pox.
Me: Okay, have a nice evening.

She started to walk away, and then her eyes caught a folded piece of paper lying on the ground. It was almost behind the bench where I continued to sit. She turned, bent down and picked it up. What she did not realize was that the seemingly single paper was actually two pieces folded together, one fell back on the ground. I could see her debating in her head whether or not she should pick the other up. She left it and she walked away into the night. I never made eye contact with the other kids.

...and cranberry sauce!

2005-04-24T20:26:00.000-07:00

Believe it.