Departures

Hello from Columbus!

This marks the first blog post since I left for Ohio. I write this from outside a Red Roof, the nearest internet access I have because stupid AT&T won't set up our cable for two freaking weeks. So I'm an internet bum for now.

Things are going well so far in Ohio. I have my ID card, we bought all the basic stuff like food, a desk, a tv and a few shelves. We still need things like beds, chairs, internet, and a dining table. But we'll get to it soon.

I also almost have a car. I've paid the downpayment to lease a Toyota Camry. But I need new insurance and maybe another license. But details... Hopefully I can have the car Tuesday.

So while I was the one that left California, this actually means that a few people are going to have less appearances in the blogs. I'd like to give a few sendoffs to these people, who will now be making more celebrity appearances than anything.

Tenshi- So the biggest and probably toughest change for going to Ohio is the departure of Tenshi. We had been talking on and off for months about how we are going to deal with distance, which also meant talking about where our relationship would be going. We have amicably decided that our lives and values are too different right now and so the relationship has run its course. It's sad to end something that was good, but we also acknowledged that it was time. We will remain friends, though from my end that will be after a bit of adjusting back to the single life. Just a year of change!

Clark- I'm going to miss having Clark for a roommate. We had a lot of the same tastes and had some great conversations about everything from baseball to politics. I will forever view movies the same way and I even was looking at my living room here in Ohio going is this the ideal setup for watching a movie, much like one of my first memories of Clark as a roomie, sitting on the couch a hundred different ways to find the ideal spot with light and sound and screen position. At this point we don't have a couch, so I can't say if we would meet his criteria, but its gunna be really different without him around. We also tended to cycle between the same video games and sleep schedules, and i know he's going to miss the PS3 and the Wii now that I've taken them with me. Thanks for a great two years Clark and see you soon

Brock- Brock had a whole section in this blog, so I know that many of you will miss reading the crazy stories. He definitely kept my life interesting in both trying and exciting ways. I'll still have some quotes from him to post every once in a while and it's not like I'm never seeing any of these people again, just not as frequently. Brock is also a really good friend, and often would get us talking about deep things with his random probing questions. I like a conversation with some meaning in addition to the fun more shallow discussions we had. Like once, the three of us spent an hour discussing the different ways people die and looking things up online and predicting why these stats said what they did etc. Something a little heavier, kinda morbid, but something I'd never have talked about if not for Brock. So good times all around, and he'll always be my first and third roommate. Who knows that the future holds...

I can't say for sure yet, but I think the gay hostel that my house has been recently might also be in the past now. Here's to new hot messes and fondly laughing about the old!

Naysayer P Squirrel- As I no longer work at the university, Naysayer, the other staple of my blog, is also going to be absent a lot more. I do have an upcoming trip with him and thus will have great stories about that, but again, not an everyday conversation. He's been a fun, wacky, awesome boss who has put me on this new phase in my life, and I'm sure I'll stay in touch with him and maybe even crash at his place when I visit. Also, with facebook, I'm going to hear a lot about his crazy antics and see plenty of "Make Smart Choices!!" on my newsfeed. Ahh good times.

These are the "Quirkies" in my life that I basically started this blog for. I've been blessed with entertaining, interesting, and genuinely awesome people in my life, and beyond these three too. I'm glad that people kept saying I should keep track of all the wild stories. This blog will continue to evolve and change as my adventures continue. And you can best be sure that there will be plenty of new quirkies in the coming weeks. I'd like to introduce one new "character" today, Shakeweight Ref.

Shakeweight's my new roommate. He was a friend of El Bandito and I met him at a few parties and on a Vegas trip. He's a great guy. We hail from the same hometown, love the same baseball team, and I think are both easy going and chill guys. I don't think he's going to be the quirky that Brock or Naysayer were but he's already introduced me to some other cool people who I have a feeling are blogworthy too. Shakeweight's been awesome enough to drive me around in his rental car and we've done a lot of shopping and whatnot together to make our apartment a home. We both managed to purchase the same Camry too, though that's cuz there were only two left! I think its going to be a great year. A few observations so far (and note, I haven't told him about the blog just yet): He's a pretty healthy guy. He eats only when he has too and mostly healthy food. When we've driven through at fast food joints, he's the guy that gets the chicken wrap while I pig out on the double cheeseburger. He's not judgemental or demanding about it, it's just something I've noted. He's a good eater. He also is pretty light in the cooking and food purchasing department. He said he'd only need two pans. I don't cook much but I sometimes need three pans just to make the beans and rice and beef for PART of the meal. Haha, he's just chill I guess. Looks like I'm going to be the main chef again. Be sure to expect many more Cooking with James stories. Finally, he's an exerciser. This I am excited about cuz I need to be an exerciser. I'm not going to be skinny forever, and judging by the things people say they do around here it's going to be hard. Yay gym buddy!

Ok, well my battery is dying and I'm going to go meet up with Shakeweight and a few other peoples for some drinks. There's no shortage of cheap alcohol here. I spent $5 and got 5 vodka-7s. This is a dangerous town. I'll leave you with a few things I've heard since coming here:

James- Why is there an alcohol deal every day in every bar?
Answer- Because there's nothing to do here but drink!

Best Buy Girl- You're from California? Tell me you didn't move here.
J- Yup, just yesterday
BBG- Why do people do that?!?!?! Why would you move here?
J- Uhh...

J- I finally figured out why my sense of direction is out of wack.
Shakeweight- Yea why?
J- OSU prints their maps with west at the top. That makes no sense!

J-My friend said exploring is good by just don't go East. We're going East aren't we?
S- Yea... Well this area doesn't look that bad. I mean, I wouldn't get out of my car at night. But I wouldn't panic if my car broke down either.

Have a great night y'all!

-JTY

Listening to: Hells Bells- ACDC. I found the classic rock station and am rocking out while sitting here in the car. Country music definitely is king here but theres a few other good stations.

Reading: A Post-American World- my first book for class, really interesting economical stuff

Playing: Angry Bird Rio, the only video game I have until my first shipments arrive from home.