Lesson 6

7/1/13
"Language is fossil poetry." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dialogue today. Finally discussed those snippets of speech we harvested during our eavesdropping sessions - it was both hilarious and hurt my brain a little. I love dialogue, but I usually do it without actually thinking; today I learned about all the elements that go into dialogue to make it not quite real (putting conversations verbatim onto paper is impossible to read) but a fabrication of reality, and it was hard. As my piano teacher always tells me, if I want to be good I have to stop relying on inspiration and start perfecting my craft. It applies to everything about me, really.

I went shopping today, haha! Imagine. I realized that it was probably not the best idea, even to go with CW camp friends, when I was sitting on the bus staring out the window and all the girls were yammering about cute clothes and then about cute boys. I don't know why girls use the word "cute" so much. I tried it, but it felt like wearing a woolen sweater over my brain - I prefer using a diversity of adjectives when I talk, thank you very much. Especially if I'm trying to describe things I like.
Generally, shopping is an unfortunate necessity to me. Browsing is alright - in fact, I love looking at the different personalities stores have and all the pretty clothes and jewelry and tidbits and decorations. But shopping with actual goals in mind makes me anxious, and wears me out really quickly. I also hate changing clothes. I like looking at clothes. I hate trying them on. I'm too lazy to be a barbie doll, even if (and that's a big if) I had the looks. Haha.
But whatever the case, I went shopping because I was looking for birthday presents for my older sister and my best friend. My older sister's is kinda late (like, two weeks late); but neither of us were home then, anyways, so I think she'll forgive me. She's turning 21. I browsed Urban Outfitters and was sorely tempted to buy her this alcohol case - the kind you see old men drinking from in movies about the Down South - that said "Happy F** Birthday!" on it in bright happy letters. But I figured it would look highly suspicious for me to buy that under the supervision of our counselors, and besides, it didn't quite match her sense of humor. I got her a bar of chocolate instead. It says "I LOVE YOU" and then about fifty "very"s and then "MUCH." and then "MORE THAN CHOCOLATE." and then "NOT MORE THAN CHOCOLATE." There was a better one that was like, "I love you thiiiiis much! Now give me a piece." but it looked possibly molding.
I'll write her a letter too, of course; a proper handwritten one.
I ended up not getting anything for my friend. There was a section that I absolutely adored and that I think she would too, which held all these posters and could be summed up by the big label on the top which said "CARPE THAT F** DIEM" (I swear I don't cuss in my everyday speech). I almost, almost, bought this one poster with the backside of a painted cadaver that was decorated with flowers and birds and a few anatomical labels. But it cost over twenty bucks. And I didn't exactly want to buy my friend something more expensive than my sister's present. So in the end I shied away from it. I'm going to write smth awesome and send it to her by email tomorrow.
It will arguably be more difficult than buying that poster. And arguably worth more.

Yup. What else? Oh, yeah, Monterey Bay was amazing. Sunday was even more lax than I expected, but I got writer's block and spent the whole day alternatively mentally stabbing myself and writing the first chapter of Sun Road.

Also, I missed the college essay deadlines.
(Shh. Don't tell my mom.)