Naropa 1.

I've sat down to write at least 6 times since I've been here.  And now I am not even alone, I am in my dorm with my roommate Sophie, and we've been chatting about TV shows and how many times we have changed in our room mid-day with the blinds all the way up.  She is now uploading a mixed CD her friend made for her, and we have just agreed that 30 Rock is by far one of the best TV shows ever.  She is trying to learn this relatively unheard of song for the Coffeehouse performance tomorrow night.  I wanted to perform, but it's a little hard to get something together when you don't know anyone and the only Coffeehouse accepted thing you can do is sing.  I could read poetry or something generic like that, but who really wants to hear me do that?  I figure I'm better off just listening, soaking in my surroundings, establishing myself slowly, and then working up from that.

I've been falling asleep far too early.  The other night I fell asleep at 7:30, which is 6:30 in California.  I've just been extremely tired, and, if you wanna know the truth, a little lonely.  It's hard to even pinpoint my emotions, however.  Cuz I'm not sad, but I'm not excited all the time...I'm back to being disoriented.  Learning new things, taking it in.  I have a hard time adapting to something new in an outgoing way.  I prefer to stay introverted, and keep my thoughts to myself.  I did this same thing in San Francisco.  That day that I went exploring with Christa and Amanda and we looked at Balmy Alley, I was still finding myself, still finding my place in this new and chaotic world.  The founder of my school apparently described chaos as a good sign because is presents change and opportunities for understanding.  Or something like that.  I can't pronounce or even spell his name either, but just know that it is something beautiful and Tibetan, and you may look it up if you want.  I know it ends in Rinpoche.

Our apartment is really nice.  Two-story with a view of the courtyard, but really mostly trees.  We have black and white checkered flooring, which I was definitely very excited about.  Our kitchen is quaint, and untidy at the moment.  We do not have a microwave, which came as a rather unpleasant surprise when I cut up my tofu the other day and wandered around the apartment searching for an unknowingly non-existent microwave to heat it up in.  I ended up using the toaster oven, and it tastes even better.  So hey, thanks, Universe.

The bus system here is simple.  I get to use it for free, too, which is tight.  They're not buses directly ordered from the school either that only take you to specific buildings.  Fuck you, Academy of Art.  These buses are public.  I'm able to take a bus to Denver for free.  I plan to do so on Saturday to visit my good friend Katy Houska.  I'm really excited.

The people here are all so welcoming, but I for some reason still feel so isolated.  I did however meet a girl who is also from Southern California, and we were able to connect on that.  A "California Club" is in the works, too, apparently.  The proposed idea of the "CA Club" is that during the winter while all the people from the motherfucking East Coast who are used to absurdly cold weather are outside snowboarding and skiing, we will be inside sipping coffee, wearing slippers and robes, and watching classic movies about California.  I think it's brilliant.  I of course will venture out into the cold weather at some point because I haven't since I was 6, and I definitely should.  Oh well, of course there was the snow adventure Amanda and I experienced last January.  But that was Southern California snow.  Though that adventure was bold and dangerous and memorable, I don't think it counts as real snow.  What the fuck do I care, I don't need to convince myself of anything.  Why am I trying to clear all of this up?

I've only been eating tofu and granola.  And vanilla yogurt.  Oh, and I've been drinking water by the bucketloads.  It is so dry out here.  I did not prepare for this weather.  I bought sweaters and coats and jeans and all kinds of cold weather shit, and now I'm sitting in my room wearing a tank top and boxers, with my hair up, a fan going, and the window wide open.  Fuck.  I've gotten tanner out here than I ever have in Southern California.  The sun shines 300 days of the year here.  At least I won't get seasonal depression.

So in our room, there were all these hooks in the wall around the room.  We didn't put them there, they were just there.  So my mom bought me really cute miniature Chinese lantern stringlights to string along said hooks.  Unfortunately you had to put them together yourself.  And now if ever asked "What do you hate most in the world?", I can honestly say "PUTTING TOGETHER AND ASSEMBLING FUCKING MINIATURE CHINESE LANTERN STRINGLIGHTS."  So if ever you buy miniature Chinese lantern stringlights and need help assembling them, please, PLEASE do not ask me to help.

I put all my pictures up yesterday.  Well, the ones I had anyway.  I only have a few, but I bought this really beautiful tablecloth to use as a backdrop and it looks awesome.

We have a skylight.  I thought that was worth mentioning.

Each of our lectures and meetings begin and end with a simple and traditional bow.  It's supposed to center you so that you may engage yourself in whatever will be mentioned.  We repeat it at the end to symbolize a conclusion.  I'm gonna admit, at first I was not a fan, but after a while it's started to grow on me.  Now it seems like second nature.  It's sort of a training process, too, I suppose, because right now it is very hard for me to center and engage myself in such a short amount of time, but I'm sure after a while I will be able to center myself within seconds and fully focus on what is about to happen.  Practice, practice, practice.

I think that's about it.  There's not too much to report on.  I start classes Monday, and they're gonna be epic.  Oh, and Boulder is a lot like Ventura, except instead of seeing the ocean everywhere you go, you see the mountains, which are just as beautiful.  There's already snow on some of them.  I'm thrilled, I'm excited, I'm tired.  Good night.