Spooked

Yet another foray into the realm of creative writing. Every once in a while, I have one of those nights where I wake up and just feel like something just isn't right. You know... when you get goosebumps and can't figure out why? Well, enjoy. Oh, and just FYI, the bit about nosebleeds is true, as is the layout of my apartment.

I locked the front door and opened a window to cool off the apartment. The recent heatwave still lingered in memory. Gladly, the night was cooler than usual.

I must have dozed off reading. I saw an empty man standing in the void, neither a part of it nor separate from it. I tried to look him in the eye, and when I did the deep opened below me. Looking in to it, I fell.

The pop and crunch of broken glass pulled me from the dark of the void and back to the earth that lay beneath it.

The bedroom door was open and the light in the kitchen had gone out.

My skin prickled.

I know I left the light on.

I pointed my bedside lamp through the door in to the kitchen. Glass twinkled on the ground, and the empty man stood over it.

In one panicked bound I slammed the bedroom door. I ripped through my closet for something long and heavy.

The bedroom suddenly felt empty. I thought it was coming through the door. It didn't. It came through the closet instead.

I awoke, again. My sheets were soaked, and I was wet and cold. A nightmare. A warm liquid began to trickle from my nose.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled myself out of bed to deal with the nosebleed. I've been having them a lot recently, probably because of the dry heat. No matter, I'm used to them.

Stepping in to the kitchen, the back of my neck prickled. One hand to my nose, I stared at the floor. Nothing. No glass. My free hand flipped the light switch. The bulb flared, blinding me as it popped and darkened. The blood running down my face pulled me out of my stare. I had jumped back into the table and was now lying on the ground. The bulb had just burnt out, not shattered. But the room was dark, and looking up from the ground at the ceiling, it seemed emptier than it had before.

I got up quickly and backed in to the bathroom. It took me a minute before I could flip the light switch, mostly because I could not peel my eyes from the kitchen. In my minute or two of fumbling, blood spilled down my face and on to my chest. I didn't feel it at the time. I was too busy staring in to the dark. My fingers found the switch, and I remembered that I was bleeding. A handful of tissues, a wet towel and several crimson expulsions into the sink and I was clean again and no longer bleeding.

I hurried back to the bedroom and the comfort of the working lamp. I settled in under the soft sheets, prayed, and closed my eyes. Problem solved.

Well, except for the fact that I couldn't sleep. Not with the door to the kitchen open like that.

I can't close it. I have to leave it open. If I don't, it will get too hot, even with the window open. I turn on the lamp and point it in to the kitchen. No broken glass.

My skin gooses up again. I try to ignore the chill. I can't. The room suddenly feels so empty.

Tension

Heat tension, mostly. It's been over 100 degrees here for the past week. It broke today when the temperature finally dipped down to a cool seventy five degrees on the Palouse and a manageable 95 in the valley. Last night, the air was cool enough that I could leave the window open instead of having to rely on a fan. In the morning, I awoke to a pleasant surprise - my drapes were gently blown inward by a cool breeze from the outside. The peasants rejoiced.

Right now, I'm enjoying another night of open windows and cooler air.

Yet the effects of the heatwave linger on. A massive wildfire erupted at the west end of the valley tonight, on the south side of the Clearwater, on a ridge about a mile from JJ's old apartment. The smoke filled half the sky, as it looked like half of the canyon wall was caught in the blaze. We could hear sirens rushing about in the air as we watched the plume rise. It continued to haunt the air even as the sun went down. I am not even sure if the blaze was controlled. We are not in any direct danger, but others in the city are at risk for losing their homes as of 9:00 p.m. Saturday.

I am glad of the colder air. It makes me think of all the work to be done this semester. All of the questions to be answered. All of the experiments to be executed. All of the students to teach. All of the lessons to be learned. Fall is coming. I am excited.

It has always been easier for me to think in the Fall. For some reason, it is less of a trial for me to sit and do my work quietly when the leaves are turning. I do not know why. My Advisor and I have discussed it before. For some reason, colder air is better for the mental life. Perhaps it has something to do with the cooling of the brain, allowing it to run at hotter temperatures without overheating... or not. We honestly don't know, but we suspect that atmospheric conditions have an impact on the activity of neurotransmitters. Note: we only suspect, and that only out of fancy rather than from empirical inquiry. And by "we", I only mean my Advisor and I.

While Fall brings greater clarity and organization to my mental life, it also stirs a clarity in my passions, my dreams, and my aspirations. All of my lovely little nightmares in the stories and epics I dabble about with in my spare time seem to be more vivid, more truthful, more purposeful when the days begin to darken. Again, I do not know why. Perhaps my dreams live in the Fall, and I only get to visit them in that one season, and am left with nothing but the memory of them as the other seasons roll by. Most vivid in Fall, vivid, but less alive in winter, still clear in spring, but dead and shriveled in the heat of the Summer, when I spend most of my time dabbling in the dreams of others to stay entertained. Neil Gaiman and Matt Groening have been my victims of late, and both have proved to be substantial fare - Gaiman in his novel American Gods (which I urge you all to read) and the Sandman graphic novels, and Groening in the Futurama series.

The thing I hate most about Summer is the aimlessness about it. The heat seems to melt away all sense of direction, all semblance of structure, all sensation of clarity. The whole of the season is given to distraction, which I am the unwilling slave of.

And the distraction only grows worse in the scorching heat, when exhaustion and laziness set in (and often I cannot discern the two).

The only thing Summer is really good for, from what I can discern, is to satisfy one's wanderlust. From the helpings of travel I have received from this and last Summer, I think my thirst for a good romp about the country has been quenched for at least another year. All I want to do right now is buy a hammock and sit in it all day reading articles, writing, and reading the Sandman chronicles. Well, it's mostly that last item, to tell the truth. And watch Cartoon network.

Sadly, as a result of that overwhelming desire, work doesn't always progress as it ought to during the Summer. And when that happens, the few weeks before the first day of classes becomes tense. And I have to live in that tension right now: the tension of walking in the dying heat of the Summer as the disjointed chaos cools in to the regimented order of the Fall.

*Fire Update*

The fire is, as far as I know, out. A large portion of the canyon wall is now black. I do not know if any homes were destroyed or not.

Shotgun Update

And now for a multi-topic update blast:

Wedding plans are getting there. We're looking at a weekend in June at - wait for it - Danforth Chapel. More on that as it comes together.

Work in the lab is coming along fine. I programmed a new experiment this past week, and I have two more to get loaded up before classes begin.

I should be starting my Masters Thesis sometime soon... that is, once I get over my heat induced laziness. ;)

By the way, it's super hot here right now. We've had a ton of 100 degree days, and it doesn't look like it's getting any better. :(

Mothergoat and Dr. Cox came for a visit this past week. It was great to see them both, and I'm looking forward to seeing both them and Stalkingelmo over Labor Day. :)

JJ has (mostly) moved in to her new place, and the folks are in a process of moving in to their new place.

That's about it. I'll write more when I feel more.... well... verbose.

The Amazing Screw-On Head

Thanks to a handy link from scoville's website and a post on the goat herd, I got to watch the full pilot of Mike Mignola's The Amazing Screw on Head.

Everything that I think is funny is pretty much in this show. Except for ninjas. But still, I think it's hilarious.

Go watch it and help get this show aired!

Big News

I asked the GF if she would marry me.

She said yes.

Here's a picture of the bling.



I am uber-excited... albeit very, very tired now. We've had a big week, and I'm planning on taking this next week off to recover from it. Plans will be forthcoming. In the meantime, if you need me, I'll be playing the gift that I got for her - if she'll let me have it... she freakin' loves this thing:




And by the way - the new Super Mario Bros. game is awesome. So is Tetris DS. We were fighting over who's turn it was to play it in the airport once we discovered the "tower" gametype.

Keep an eye on her blog... I'm sure she'll post the proposal story once she gets the chance.

Congratulations, little sister...

Best wishes and many blessings to my sister and my new brother in law!

The wedding was awesome. And yes, I did cry. But who wouldn't, in my position? My sister married a wonderful man, and I couldn't be any happier for them. Or more proud. And that is why I cried.

Live from Cape Cod

We're here.

And I mean ALL of us.

Viva, Valparaiso, the parents, JJ, Kelloh, Hombreguapo, Knarf, and a plethora of other people, all gathered here to see Bugsy and Bobo tie the knot on Monday. I'll be posting on and off during the week, filling you guys in on the details as wackiness ensues.

So, we all made it here safely with minimal trouble. We had a BBQ tonight, and soon we'll be enjoying some night swimming in the heated pool and some late night episodes of the Venture Bros. Well, that is, unless everyone poops out.

Knarf, Val, and Viva are a little sad that Brazil lost today to France. I mean, dang, who wouldn't be.

But anyway, looks like it's time for night swimming. More to come later.