Sleeping in Italy

Part 1.
I woke up an hour and a half ago. If you take a glance at the time at the bottom of this post, you will realize (by quick subtraction) that I awoke at 4:00 p.m. Consequently, you may start fear for my health, sleep patterns, safety, etc... But fear not! For last night is an exception. For, I Stephen Bates, did not sleep last night.

Why the heck not???

Because I spent most of the night doing wonderful things such as:
-Becoming Kristopherson from Fantastic Mr. Fox
-Because my parents had a costume party
-Super-charades
-Trying to eat chocolate with a fork
-A midnight (probably later) icy road walk
-Talkity Talking

Twas a grand night.

Part 2.
Here is something. When my sleeping patterns are disturbed, I usually always(?) think about my trip to Italy. People get quite angry when I tell them that I went to Italy on my Senior trip. I assume it is due to the fact that their senior trip was not as grand. It could also be that they do not like Italians.

Memory a) One day, Robbie, Alyssa, Sara, and I went onto the roof of the hotel we were staying at. It gave us a wonderful view of the lights and buildings of Rome. Some of them pretended to be ninjas.

Memory b) One day, we went to Orvieto.

Memory c) One day, I lost a tennis ball named "The Italy Ball." It was signed by many of the group and was very close to all our hearts. I am sorry.

Part 3.
Wake Up- Arcade Fire

Wheelchairs and Early Morning Laughter

If I could transport to only one place, it would be a Barnes and Noble. Now I realize that it would be in best interest to choose a place like my own home or one of the gorgeous countries in Europe. But I don't want to. All I want is a cup of coffee, a pile of interesting books, and people to look at. I focused most of my attention to a trendy sort of man sitting in a wheelchair across from me. I like him. He is paging through a couple of fashion magazines but does not seem at all interested. And he, like me, is watching the chattering crowd.
I wonder how he got in that chair. At first, a crazy thought jumped into my mind: what if he is faking it. What if he is wheeling around just so he can survey the reactions to his "unfortunate state." Then I came to my senses.

Enough of this. Last night, Matt Brown read aloud to Robbs and I. I'm not sure why he did but I am quite glad he chose to do so. What did he read? The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson. Matt, though plagued by a nasty cold, managed to read 7 or 8 excerpts which drove me to tears. Laughing tears. Bill spoke about his childhood in a poignant and hilarious way. Please read it as soon as possible. I will leave you with the beginning line of the book. “I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.” I know you are intrigued.

The Eraser- Thom Yorke (and/or) Amnesiac-Radiohead

p.s. I tried to insert a picture to make things interesting. I can't do it.

"That" guy

I want to read Crime and Punishment. I really do. You may see me strutting around with the novel tucked neatly into my elbow and assume I am carrying it just so it will be seen. So that the world will know I am well-read. Unfortunately, In some instances you would be correct! There is a certain social high gained by reading books that only the elite would read. But this (for the moment) is different. I wish that I would read more solid books. Books that take me a while to read. Books that have a higher vocabulary than I. Good books. So when you see me walking past the library with a smirk on my face, feel free to judge me. Just do it gently, knowing that I am trying.

I spend about 75% of my time wishing I would do something more productive.(The connection here is that sometimes I wish to read books.)

"Finish that song" or "Write that stupid paper!" one side of my mind tells me. The other side says,"but being on facebook is so much more fun."

"Yeah but once you stop wasting time and do something else, you won't regret it."
"I won't regret it."
"Yes you will!"
"ok."

And then things get quiet, and I spend three hours completing absolutely nothing. Gahhh, my mind is out to get me. In other news, I have reformed my resolution to this: I shall blog every day during my break. There, that's a little more manageable. I know that one day I will forget to do this and I will lose all motivation. But that day is not today!

There is a Fountain Filled With Blood- William Cowper

The end of a decade. The start of a habit.

A decade is longer than I think it is. Ten years ago, I was home schooled, had very few people i called friends and a constantly runny nose. I was also eight.
The New years eve before the start of the century, I made many wild and ridiculous resolutions.

I would:
-Open a museum.
-Write a book concerning my imaginary friend.(His name was Jimmy for those who are curious)
-I cannot remember the rest.

Believe it or not, I completed this list. You should believe it. I started a museum which displayed many wonderful and rare objects. (seashells, dead insects, Lord of the Rings action figures, etc...)I also authored and illustrated a short novel called "Jimmy Goes on Vacation." It is a marvelous work which I plan on publishing sometime in the near future. (nope)

All this to say, I am quite good at keeping resolutions! So here am I about to make one in a public fashion. Yes, I have tried and failed to keep a journal and yes I have two or three blogs with one post in each, but dad gum it I will triumph! Certainly the power of the new year shall not fail me. If it helped my dreary, geeky state back in 1999 it can help me now.

Therefore, I declare to the world, "I will blog!"

p.s. Maybe to keep things interesting, I will give you a song at the end of every blog. I am sure no one has thought of this before. Here it is- Bon Iver- Lump Sum