Q. Angel! We haven't heard from you in months!
A. I know, I know. I've been in sort of a bad space.
Q. What's been going on?
A. Well, in August I moved down to Carbondale as planned... and stayed for three days. I
got horribly, horribly homesick, to the point of depression and anziety attacks. I had to come home.
Q. So you're back with your p's again?
A. Yes. ::sigh::
Q. Oh, Angel, I'm sorry to hear that. I know you were very excited about Southern Illinois!
A. Yeah, it's a letdown. But... I'm trying to look on the bright side. I'm going to have
to find a full-time job just for this semester... and next semester, I'll probably be going to school full time as planned,
only somewhere much closer to home.
Q. Will you keep on staying with your family?
A. No, I want to get my own apartment still... just not 6 hours away! I'm hoping to get
a place close to whatever school I end up going to.
Q. It still sounds like it's been very stressful for you.
A. Yeah... It's sucked.
Q. But remember, "I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're never gonna keep me down!"
A. Right, right.
Q. You seem a little withdrawn today, Angel. Should we just wait and talk to you next month?
A. Yeah, just give me a month to recooperate.
Q. Alright. Take it easy.
A. Thanks, man!
June 6, 2006
Q. Oh, so it's you again, huh?
A. In the flesh!
Q. So are you finished with school?
A. Yes. That was my final semester at the community college. I got
a "B" in Fitness, and an "A" in Creative Writing!
Q. That's excellent!
A. Thanks!
Q. So what are your plans for the summer?
A. As far as work goes, I'm going to take it a day at a time. I am
signed up to sub in the same special ed school district that I've been subbing in during the school year, and I'm also signed
up to sub for a special recreation program. Hopefully I'll be able to work a lot of days, but also whenever I want a day off
or a week off I can have it!
Q. That sounds nice! So you're just going to take it easy for the summer?
A. Yeah. I've got eight weeks left here so I'm also trying to slowly
get my room in packable condition, and everything else.
Q. Are you going on any vacations?
A. I wish! If I go anywhere at all, it will be with my parents, but
although my mom has been dangling Disney Land or a visit to my little brother in California tantalizingly above my nose, I
doubt it will happen. ::bawling::
Q. Oh, don't cry! There's always next summer!
A. You said that last summer! Wah!
Q. Hmm, yes. Well. Moving on... Any new obsessions?
A. Well, GameCube! I have myself on this point system where I can earn
rewars for myself by doing all the little things I'm supposed to do, like going to school and work and stuff. So I earned
a GameCube, and I've bought several games for it! So far I have Animal Crossing, Crazy Taxi, Sonic Collection, and Super Monkey
Ball. Plus another game is supposed to be in the mail to me, where you can design an amusement park.
Q. Sounds fun! What is your favorite game so far?
A. Animal Crossing. Actually, I've only played Animal Crossing and
Crazy Taxi so far. I was going to save the whole GameCube and open it up once I moved to Carbondale, but on my birthday I
was all alone and I needed something to occupy my time so I opened it up. Then I was just going to play the one game. And
then I played two. But Animal Crossing is my favorite.
Q. Animal Crossing, huh? What does that involve?
A. It's like a role-playing game. You're a little person and you're
in this animal village. You get a little house and you have to do jobs around the town in order to pay your mortgage, and
then you can keep adding onto your house. (I already have it as big as it can get though) You can talk to all the other animals
in the town too and... well, there's loads of stuff you can do. It keeps me busy for hours!
Q. Sounds like fun. So, why were you trying to save the GameCube for
Carbondale?
A. Well, although I've lived on my own lots of times before, I've never
actually had my own place by myself. This will be my first. So I figured, especially the first few nights I am there, I will
be terribly lonely and homesick. And I have awful insomnia and nightmares sometimes. So I thought the GameCube would give
me something new and exciting to focus on when I was lonely. It still will... I'll have a bunch of new games to try out, by
then.
Q. Oh, that's so sad. I hope you won't be too lonely!
A. I hope not, too! I'm going to try to get involved and stay busy,
but the first few nights are going to be rough, I'm already counting on that.
Q. You can always give me a call.
A. But you're really just a figment of my imagination.
Q. True. But I'm sure you will be fine!
A. Yeah...
Q. Any other new obsessions and perseverations?
A. Blogging... I started a new blog called University Angel. You can
actually make money off this blog service. Every time someone looks at your blog, you make about $.002... I've made eleven
cents so far, yay!
Q. So what is this new blog about?
A. It's about being an adult student. It will get more exciting when
I actually get to Carbondale. Right now it just tells about my life and how I came to be starting college at the age of 27,
and it tells the little everyday things I'm doing to get ready.
Q. Where can we check it out?
A. I'm going to add it to this website today, but you can go to http://www.blogcharm.com/univangel to see it. If you visit, be sure to leave me a comment!
Q. You're always keeping busy, aren't you, Angel?
A. Yep!
Q. Alright, well I'll let you go now. Have a fun month of June!
A. Thanks, you too!
May 7, 2006
Q. So, we meet again.
A. Yep.
Q. Anything new?
A. Not really. I'm EXHAUSTED! I just spent the day at Special Olympics.
Q. Really? Did you do that for one of your jobs?
A. No, oddly enough, my mom's office has "adopted" Special Olympics as their charity for the year,
and every year when they adopt a charity they participate in a hands-on event. So everyone in her office was going to be working
at Special Olympics, and I decided to go with.
Q. How was it? Did you chaperone one of the athletes?
A. Actually no. I was supposed to, but the team that everyone in my mom's office was going to work
with, half of the athletes didn't show up. So all these people were walking around with nobody to chaperone. My mom and I
ended up being the gate keepers for the track events. We had to guard the gate and not let anyone in for any reason. We had
to tell them to walk around, to another gate.
Q. Why?
A. Beats me!
Q. Did you keep everyone out?
A. Actually no. One little boy wanted to get in, and although he was about 10 years old he was a
big, sturdy guy, and he started getting really upset that he couldn't go through the gate. His chaperone was about 15 years
old and kind of overwhelmed. So we let them go through.
Q. Sounds like a fun job!
A. Sure! I got sunburned though.
Q. Didn't you wear sunscreen?
A. No, I hate sunscreen. It smells and feels like Desitin to me. Grosses me out. Actually, when I
started getting burned, I went and put on some sunscreen from the first aid tent. But it was too late!
Q. You're gonna be hurting tomorrow!
A. Yes, I am!
Q. How is school?
A. Good, I'm almost finished with community college. Actually I should be working on my
final projects, right now, as we speak. But I needed a break!
Q. Naughty naughty...
A. I always get everything worked out, in the end!
Q. I hear this month is your birthday!
A. Yeah, May 15!
Q. How old will you be?
A. ::gulp:: Twenty-seven years of age! ::turns green::
Q. It's not that old!
A. Yeah, but I'm sort of in a midlife crisis. I feel like, I'm 27, I should be doing way more than
I'm doing more! I have an 18 year old cousin who is going off to college the same semester that I am going off to college!
I have friends the same age as me who have careers, have houses, have children.. and I have... a cat. Who I can't even bring
with me.
Q. Oh, cheer up! Think of all the things you've done snd lived through that most people haven't!
You've lived quite a life! Besides, you're only 27... if this is your midlife crisis, that means you;re going to die when
you're 54.
A. Thanks for the pep talk!
Q. Any time! So, how's the writing coming? Have you found an agent for SKYE BLUE yet?
A. Actually no... But I do have a prospective publisher for DANNY DANNY SUPERSTAR. I have to call
that person on Tuesday. If all goes well, I will put SKYE BLUE on hold until DANNY is published, and then I will have a publishing
credit to help get people interested in SKYE BLUE.
Q. Always using your noggin!
A. Oh yeah.
Q. Well, good luck with that! How's your cat?
A. Sammy-Joe? He's good. He's a monster. He got into the ceiling again a few minutes ago, the ceiling
in the basement, which has a lot of tiles missing.
Q. What did you do?
A. My mom was the one who saw him do it, and she told me to go get some catnip or treats to lure
him down. But I just looked up at the hole, and said, "Samuel!" I saw his little gray head peek out. I said, "Get down here!"
and he jumped down!
Q. So weird.
A. I know he must be up there every day when I'm at work. He's probably got a little fort built up
there or something!
Q. And how about your dog, Chopper?
A. She's doing good also! I've been taking her for a walk every day, since the weather's been nice.
Q. Is she as weird as Sammy-Joe?
A. In some ways, For one thing, she is usually a snuggler, she wants to be by me at all times. But
whenever I sneeze, she gets a horrified look on her face, gets up, and quickly and quietly files out of the room!
Q. Your house is a barrel of monkeys, isn't it?
A. Yeah... Well, I better get working on my homework now.
Q. Yeah, you better. Thanks for talking to me!
A. No problem! Catch ya later!
Q. Later.
April 6, 2006
Q. So Angel, how's it going?
A. Great, but please hurry, because I'm on my break between school and work.
Q. Oh, sorry, I'll get on with it! So, last time we spoke, you still had a busy schedule with work and school.
A. Yes, I go to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, sub in special education schools on Mondays, Wednesdays,
and Fridays, and do respite care on Thursday afternoons and some weekends.
Q. Sounds exhausting. Anything else new?
A. Not really. Well, I'm going to start swimming lessons at the YMCA at the end of this month.
Q. You don't know how to swim?
A. Not particularly well. I want to learn more and I've also heard that swimming is great exercise!
Q. It is. Good luck with that! How is the working out coming?
A. I haven't had a lot of time to work out lately, but now that I don't do respite care every single evening,
I'm going to try to work out every day after work.
Q. You don't have much willpower, do you?
A. Nope.
Q. Done anything exciting lately?
A. Well, last weekend my two best friends and I took my friend's children, plus two little girls who
are close friends of our family, to a hotel for the weekend. We got to swim a lot and everything. The kids loved it.
Q. Oh, how nice. How is your writing coming?
A. Slowly but surely. I haven't got any agents or publishers interested in SKYE BLUE. But I do have a prospective
publisher I need to call about DANNY, DANNY SUPERSTAR, which is the children's story I wrote about a little boy with autism.
You can read the next two chapters, by the way, on the site this month!
Q. Wow, how exciting! I hope it goes well for you!
A. Me too!
Q. How about any new obsessions and perseverations?
A. My best friend Diana loaned me a book called CURLY GIRL, which is about the care and mainetance of curly
hair. I have curly hair that is impossible, so I've been sort of perseverating on this book! Apparently, people with curly
hair should not use shampoo!
Q. Ew, gross!
A. No, it's not gross, really. You just use a lot of conditioner. Actually my hair has never felt cleaner!
Q. Interesting!
A. Yeah!
Q. So how is it going with your transfer down to Southern Illinois?
A. So far so good! I got approved for financial aid, and last month I went down to look at apartments. Unfortunately
it looks like I'm not going to be bringing Sammy-Joe with me!
Q. Seriously? Why not?
A. Because I looked at apartments that I could afford and that would take cats, and they were in really scary
places. There were stories of the building getting set on fire, break ins, people getting jumped... I just felt like I would
be scared to go to school every day and leave Sammy-Joe home alone. I know he's "Just" a cat, but I think it's really important
to keep animals safe. And the thing is, there are a lot of crazy people down there. A bunch of eighteen and nineteen year
olds that think that, since they're away from their mommies and daddies, it's "anything goes". Kids who might even hurt a
cat on purpose. I dunno, I guess there'd be people like that anywhere, but let's just say I felt really weird about most of
the apartment complexes I visited.
Q. Well, jeez, are you sure you'll be safe down there, then?
A. Yeah, I'll be fine. I've lived in worse places before. Besides, if I don't bring Sammy-Joe with me, then
I qualify to live in university owned apartments. I'm most likely going to live in over-21 apartments and it's a really nice
place, in a wooded area. It reminds me of a resort or something!
Q. Sounds really nice, but it's a bummer that you can't bring your kitty.
A. Yeah it totally breaks my heart. Every time I think about it, my heart just sinks. But after a year, I
may figure out a way to bring him with me. Or else, definitely, when I finish college, I'll find a place where we can be together. A
nice place.
Q. It's going to be hard for you to live with no animals, isn't it.
A. Yeah. I'm thinking I might get a fish, or a turtle. Maybe,
Q. Cool! And how about your dog?
A. Chopper? She's great. She's so cute. She's getting old though. She's about twelve. I gotta start taking
her for more walks.
Q. Well maybe when the weather gets nicer.
A. Yeah, definitely.
Q. Anything else new?
A. Not really. Same ol', same ol'. Maybe next month I'll have some more exciting things to talk about!
Q. Maybe! See you next month, then!
A. See ya!
