ah, Corvallis, I hardly knew ye

Corvallis. A town I didn't really think I'd like that much. What with its redneck university and its hippie sensibilities; I thought I'd spend my weeks immersed in schooling and my weekends in Portland, going to shows and pretending to like PBR. And it just didn't work out that way.

As I've gone about my routine the last month or so, I've felt like the walking dead. Everything is observation, and nothing is immersion, because I can't start new things or meet new people, which have been my fondest pastimes; instead, I need to plan for a move across the country. And my Corvallis won't be here when I return. Blahddy blah.

Here are memories, partial and imperfect and only those that are occurring to me at the moment.

*Coming up with funny/ridiculous titles with Jesse for our collaborative papers. Like: Did I hear someone say healthy forest? I didn’t think so. and Forest Health: A Bullshit Term Used By People Like Jesse. If that's not funny, I don't know what is. Shut up.

*Dancing on God's porch to Magnetic Fields. And by "dancing," I mean turning on the CD, track 1, and doing interpretive opera until the final track is over. Also, sitting on God's porch. Just watching the world go by God's porch.

*Playing softball in a skirt. Doing just about everything in a skirt. I wasn't nearly so skirt-centric until Corvallis. I mean, at one point in my life, I wore pants quite frequently. Now people comment when I'm wearing pants. Comments like: "what's wrong?"

*Swimming in the South Santiam against the current at Dead Fish Butte with Jess, and drinking Peace wine in the sunshine. Being completely at ease in the knowledge that there is nothing better to do on a hot afternoon.

*Finding Marvin.



*Cultivating a love for indoor soccer. Then having a cheering section for the team, whether we won or lost, that would chant, "Burn and Sal-vage... [DUH DUH duh-duh-duh] Burn and Sal-vage..."

*Painting my house as a comic book and then peopling it with pictures of strangers from old Life magazines. Then finding roommates who each contributed something ridiculously great to its character.

*Arguing with Miwa over whether a movie is any good.

*Driving to Eugene with Jesse and Kas and debating whether we liked Marx that week.

*Learning what it means to be a mentor from the best one around.

It's getting a bit maudlin, so I'll quit it. I'll miss this town because I've really enjoyed the people I've met here. But jeez. No time like the present for heading out and rediscovering my adventure bone.