Author: benjancewicz

Song playing: The Notic – The Roots feat. D’Angelo

Aloha!

Man, to recount the events of the last couple days…
What a task at hand.
When I don’t have finals, I should make it a duty to submit a journal at least once every two days. Otherwise tons of events just pile up.

Monday:
I was restless. I wasn’t having a particularly good day. I had gone down for my Ceramics final and found out someone had gone overtime and my final had been postponed until the next day.
It irked me a bit, because I didn’t know about it ahead of time, but resolved that it would make my crit better and I’ve have more pieces out of the kiln.
It got me restless the rest of the day, though, especially when I tried to go home and work on my Graphics final.
I roamed campus for a while. For some reason, I knew it wasn’t healthy for me. I was pining. About Inya. I only wanted to see her, and I knew even if I had the smallest glimpse, it would make me feel worlds better. She has that kind of effect on me sometimes. And as much as I tried, I couldn’t shake the feeling.
My wanderings led me to her room.
She wasn’t there. I couldn’t figure it out. I knew she should have been studying, and couldn’t imagine where I might be. Finally, I gave up and resolved to just GO HOME and get some work done.
On my way out of the building, I saw Menkeh (who lives on Inya’s floor) and she asked me if I had seen Inya. I said no, and that she wasn’t in her room because I was just there.
I walked sadly home. Hope was at Rafiki house, and suddenly it came to me. She had mentioned something about her, Inya, and Idiki going out to eat. Hope said they had just gotten back.
I threw my coat on and went out again.
I went to Inya’s room, and of course, she was there.
We sat and talked for hours. 🙂 I worked on her computer a little bit, and signed her up for the Boondocks comic online. She mentioned in passing how if she had the money she would go and buy the entire Boondocks set of books. I smiled inside.
She introduced me to the site she usually visits; Nappturality. She had a post on there about the best wedding songs, and asked me if I would make her a CD. I said sure.

Tuesday:
Inya had decided she wasn’t quite ready for the exam she was to take the exam she was going to take Tuesday morning, and e-mailed her professor. He said it was perfectly fine with her taking it the next time slot on Wednesday. She studied all day, then. I had my Museum studies final, which I did well on, and later that day had my Ceramics final, which I think I did ok on. I’m not the most fantastic potter. It’s ok, though.
When I got home, I mixed Inya’s Wedding Song CD for her, and added on a couple songs on the end. I put a lot of time into placing the songs, and checked on Nappturality and found out what Inya’s picks on songs were.
I gave her a call later that evening, and asked if I could see her for a little bit to “give her something”. I went over, and she came out with a box of cookies and offered me a few. Abigail had given her a box of delicacy cookies. Inya had been out all day; and to my shock, she had been with Kanke. Kanke is a good friend of mine, and hasn’t been doing entirely well. She had gone in for surgery that day, and Inya had gone for support.
Consequently, she hadn’t done any studying for her final. So, I gave her the CD on the condition that it help and not inhibit her studying. She smiled and bid me goodnight.

Wednesday:
Right.
Inya’s birthday was on Friday, but I wasn’t able to acquire a car on that day, and so devised an elaborate scheme to cook dinner for her. I borrowed Hope’s car and went to get some groceries.
Wednesday was Inya’s last day of finals. She loves to read, and mentioned in passing that one of the most relaxing things for her is to simply go to a bookstore and just read the afternoon away. I must confess; I love to do that as well, and used to do it all the time when my van was running. So, I told her I’d take her, just to meet at 4 after she got out of work, and go. I borrowed Hope’s car, and picked her up. We went to the Barnes & Nobles in camp hill. We wandered around a bit. I was a little disoriented at first because I’m used to the Borders across from the mall, and suddenly realized she was following my lead and that we were head straight for the comic book section. The comic book section I knew had a supply of Boondocks books. I steered us out of the way and headed to the Biography and Social Sciences section.
I had realized after talking to her that all though I knew a great deal about the Consciousness Movement (look it up at Wikipedia.com if you don’t know) most of what I knew was from Western Writings. So, at the risk of looking like someone who was simply reading up “his girl’s culture”, I asked her what books she had found to be best.
I felt a little awkward… because while it was something I was already interested in, it looked
(all intents aside) like I was following her around. I decided I didn’t care how it looked, however, and that if anyone asked, I would tell them the truth.
Anyways, when we finally took our seat in the cafe; I had a stack of books ranging in topics from graffiti art to an anthology of the writings of the Black Panthers. We sat their for hours, scarcely speaking a word the entire time, except to comment on the antics of other people in the cafe. It was nice. I stole occasional glances up at her. It was so warm being there with her.
Afterwards, we drove home, and I asked her if she was hungry. I would have taken her to to Bangkok House if she had said but the word, but she looked at me and smiled and said “Burger King. I want Burger King.” I grinned and got us there. I knew it didn’t matter to me; it was the company not the place. I was just glad she didn’t mind either place.

Thursday:
I went with Saxton to Echoes Recording on Thursday, we left at around 10 and got back around 3. We got the piano track for “Of things to come” down, and in MIDI so Todd could remaster it and change the sound any way he saw fit for a richer Baby Grand sound. Saxton was sleepy, so I drove the Crusader all the way there and back. I did have a rather violent connection with a guardrail at one point, however, when I attempted to dodge a chunk of blowout tire on the highway. Fortunately, I was able to recover fine, but not before drawing a nice long scrap across Saxton’s car. He was very nice about it, and said it didn’t matter, but I still felt bad.
When we got back, I found 5 messages on my phone, 2 from Inya. 🙂 I hadn’t expected the journey to Echoes to take quite that long, and hoped to be back in time to meet her after her final but we had run into traffic on the way back.
A bunch of ISA kids had planned a trip to see Lord of the Rings for Thursday night. I said I’d go, but wasn’t sure if Inya wanted to go. So, I told them I would contact Inya. I wasn’t able to get a hold of her, unfortunately, and so by the time I got back I found a message from Inya saying she had somehow found out that “I wouldn’t go unless she went” and said she wanted to go. I realized this was mostly true. I called her back and left her a message; telling her I was basically guilty as charged. She’s a lot fun to watch movies with, so I told her and asked her if she would come and give me a call back. I got off the phone, and Idiki called. Her computer was acting up and asked if I could fix it.
I said sure, and told her to bring it over. She made her way over. Saxton was asleep on the couch because we had practice later that night. I had left my keyboard out in the car, and went outside to get it. Bethany pulls up, asking if I was going to the movie, and if so, to get her my ID. I ran in the house to get it. When I came out again, Hope pulled up with Inya and a couple other girls on their way out somewhere. Hope yelled they’d be back for the movie. Idiki ran up, handed me the laptop, and the bounced into the car with them. Everyone in the car yelled at me asking me where I’d been all day, and I told them I’d been recording. Inya stuck her tongue out at me, obviously miffed I hadn’t let her know, and then flashed me a smile as they drove off.
I stood there in the dark; my keyboard slung over my shoulder, by breath hanging in the air in a mist.
Pagoda had practice later that night. We basically argued about different things. We have much more fun when we’re making music.
We got out at 9, and I went back to the house.
Inya and Idiki were watching The Colour Purple in the living room, and immediately captivated, I sprawled out on the floor and watched it with them.
During a break, I asked Inya if she had gotten my message. She smiled and nodded.
Everyone arrived at around 9:45, and we took off for the movie. I originally opened the door to get in Bethany’s car, but then changed my mind and decided to go with Heather. Inya joined me. It caught me curious… I wasn’t sure if she had switched to sit with me or not.
We got there, and hit a blast of cold air. Inya had told me a story about how she, Victoria and Idiki had been walking between Frey and Kline at school (deemed the “wind tunnel” by the students because of the strong winds that rush between the two) and Victoria had commented that every girl deserved a strong man to hold on to just to make it through that spot.
Facing the wind outside the theatre, Inya remarked simply that Victoria was right. I laughed and put my arm around her.
The movie was spectacular.
Inya sat on my right. I know I don’t need to repeat to those of you who read this regularly that I love watching movies with her. It’s nice. Our elbows just barely touch, close enough to feel the warmth of the other, close enough to say something and know no one else can hear it.
The movie was long, and we ended up driving back quite late.
Inya put her head on my shoulder, and took a nap. Her hair is so soft… I’d never gotten the chance to really feel it; but it’s so soft. She had it in braids pulled back, and it was like a soft pillow under my cheek.

Friday:
Friday was Inya’s birthday.
We both went to work for a while. Sam Samande was supposedly spending the break at my house, and rather than run into him and have some explaining to do, Inya and I agreed it would be better to cook over at Setti’s apartment; where Inya would be staying until we left Saturday. My boss was not at work, so I worked for a while on my own, then went to clean the ceramics lab and transport the remainder of my pots back to my room. I was walking back to my bosses’ office to check up on her again when I saw something. Someone. Someone I did not need to see.
It was her.
I had just left the Rafiki House, walking up the hill towards the speed bump at the top outside the Beck’s house. And there she came.
I wore simple outfit. My jeans which actually fit me well. A pair of SAOs of leather which matched my brown leather jacket. I was smooth shaved save for a goatee and sideburns, a remark yesterday from Inya asking if I would shave. I wore a white t-shirt under a blue striped shirt. The striped shirt Inya had commented on months ago, to my surprise, since it had been picked from a rack at Salvation Army, like most of my clothes. The wind blew my hair, tousled slightly, brushed slightly, the scent I wore of Georgio Armani’s “Gio” washing the sky.
And she came.
It was simply a little silver Honda, crawling it’s way up College Ave, it’s windows almost impermeable to my site. It drew closer, it’s windows less opaque. It cruised effortlessly over the bump.
It was her.
Caroline sat on the passenger side, her father drove. I had known her father well. He recognized me immediately. He smiled. He mouthed the words “Hey, it’s Ben!”. He waved as they passed, leaving me stunned where I stood. I did not need to see her. I didn’t even see the expression on her face; do not know even if she saw me.
I continued dazedly to ITS. Of course my boss was not there.
I returned to the house.
Jason, her brother, was not in the car. They had come to pick him up to take him to Maryland for Christmas.
I sat on the couch in the living room, staring into the sunset; trying to organize my thoughts.
I felt as I had felt when I had journeyed back to Kawawa last Christmas and had chanced upon the house of my former crush. Who now had 3 kids. The feelings were comparable.
I was no longer romantically in love with Caroline. I realized I did not long for her anymore. Even the absence of her reply to my letter did not bother me. It meant the absence of her friendship, and this did not bother me. I had done my best, and she had made her decision.
And yet, seeing her was like seeing Stella. It sent a knife into me at a healed scar, bent an ancient wound into the one angle where it would feel pain again.
I sat on the couch in shock all afternoon. 2 o’clock I had sat there. At 3:30, the silver car made its way up the road, and turned in next door to our mutual friend Mary Long, an elderly lady. I saw them sit in the car for a short bit, and then get out.
Agtur came up to me several times, jumping on the couch and asking what I was up to. I ignored him; not saying a word.
At 5:30, they got in the car and left. I don’t know if they saw me sitting on the couch or not. Caroline drove the way back, and again she was on the opposite side of the car to my position.
5:30. I got up. My bones creaked. I growled and shook away the stiffness. I paced. It was still half an hour until I was to meet Inya in the apartment.
The phone rang. I dashed. It was Inya.
She asked me what I was up to. I said absolutely nothing. She smiled and asked if I was ready to come over. I asked if she was hungry yet. She said not quite. She said I could come over ANYWAYS, if I wanted. I gladly agreed.
I packed up all the cooking things. She mentioned she had never seen Pirates of the Caribbean. I brought over the DVD.

I got there; and she beamed. Nothing could have made me feel better. I cooked up a storm. Oven baked fried chicken, fresh green beans in garlic sauce, baking powder biscuits made from scratch, and baked potatoes. We talked. She sat on the couch for a while, then joined me at the table while I mixed and rolled the biscuits.
She asked me what I had been doing all afternoon, and I told her. I told her the story of Stella, to help her understand how I felt. She comforted me. And then she got my mind off of it.

We watched a movie starring Whoopi Goldberg called “Corrina, Corrina”. It’s a very very good movie. And could have been slightly pointed… but it might also be my imagination.
I think she really liked the movie.
After the movie, I gave her her gifts. I gave her a bowl I had made in ceramics. It was by far my most beautiful bowl, blue with moonlighting on the inside. The foot was not carved, though. And though beautiful, was symbolically unfinished. I also gave her a Boondocks comic book. The others had not yet arrived, even though I had ordered them 4 weeks ago. She was floored, never expecting me to have listened to something she had only mentioned in passing. I had actually begun reading them even before she had mentioned them; and wondered if she knew of them. I also wrote her a poem which I gave to her in a card I made for her. She said she really really like the poem.

I ran back to Rafiki and picked up the DVD player, and we then watched Pirates of the Carribean. The couch was soft, and I rested my head on a pillow next to her. The movie ended, and we just talked. She played with my hair a bit. I love it when people do that. She asked me what scent I was wearing. She said my hair was ridiculously soft. Very wild; she said she liked it that way.
She talked about how Setti had accused her of giving out “church hugs”, which is basically a hug with as little body contact as possible. I remarked I didn’t recall her ever giving me a hug like that. Inya said she had been offended because she hugged very few people. Very very few people. I smiled and said I was happy to be one of those very few.

Inya had been scheduled to take the same train with me for the first leg of my trip on Saturday, but had heard word that Kanke needed someone to stay with her while she recovered from the surgery, and had decided to stay. It was very noble of her to change her plans at such short notice (that day!) and to sacrifice her vacation to Philly for friend. She said she would come with me and Hope Saturday morning anyways, to get her ticket reimbursed.

It was late. I gave her a hug Canadian style (I like big hugs). She commented with a smile that this was no church hug. 🙂 I bid her goodnight. I sang all the way home.

Saturday:
Saturday morning, Fred woke me up. I had missed my alarm, so I scrambled, took a shower, and threw on my clothes. I had packed everything the night before. Inya and Hope showed up. Inya had her bag! Apparently, she had called around to figure out how and when she was supposed to help Kanke out, and had found out Abigail was going to take care of her. So, Inya called her uncle in Philly back and told him she was coming after all.
Selfishly, I was pleasantly surprised. We made it there on time, meeting Fred there, and hopping on the train. The passage from Harrisburg to Philly wasn’t crowded at all, and Inya and I got a quad seat together. We read our books together for a while. I had picked out “The Mis-Education of the Negro” by Woodston to read, and amusingly enough; so had she. We read in silence for a while, and she began to grow sleepy. I offered my shoulder, and she said she was uncomfortable sleeping around strange people. I told her I would stay awake if she would. She accepted my shoulder, and said it wouldn’t matter anyways since she wouldn’t fall asleep.
She promptly fell asleep. (I could tell, because her hand twitched slightly)
She woke up a short while later and I smiled at her. We talked the rest of the way to Philly.
We finally got to Philly station and I gave her a hug and wished her Merry Christmas, then ran to get in the giant line heading in the New York direction.
Fred joined me, and got me a bottle of water while I watched his bags. The train was jammed packed, but Fred and I got seats across a row form each other. Fred’s seatmate got up for the second stop the train made, and remarked that he could probably sell his seat. He walked to the front of the train, and welcomed a black lady to the now vacant seat.
Fred and I glanced at each other, smiled, and got up. We offered two young ladies our seats and resigned ourselves to sitting on the floor in the front of the car. This actually turned out to be more comfortable anyways.
Fred got off at the NYC stop, and the bulk of the train emptied out. I took a seat, and sat next to a fellow I later learned his name was Coco.
Coco had started up a theological discussion with the girl across the aisle from him. I began to interject and help her out a bit; she being a non-denominational Christian and Coco being from a Catholic background; being mostly Filipino. The girl later got off, and I discovered that not only was Coco getting off at the same stop I was, he also was heading towards the same town my grandparents lived, for his grandmother lived there. He was eager to learn the differences between the Catholic and non-denominational faiths, and I was able to clear up a lot of things for him, encouraging to read up on some of the things on his own.

We parted in New London, and I saw him off.
My parents picked me up, and we went to a Christmas Party at my aunt Jo’s.

Sunday:
We went to Church Sunday, and I got to see leagues of people I semi-knew. Being missionaries, I knew very few of the people from my parents home church, though through newsletters and the like; they all knew me.
That night we went to the Cantata put on by the church, bringing my sisters boyfriend Barrett. Barrett is in the process of being interrogated by my parents. I got to know him, he seems like a very nice kid. A little sarcastic at times, but nice. I mentioned on the way home in Naskapi that he might join us for dinner, and my parents agreed.

Monday:
TODAY! I’m finally caught up.
Slept in for the first time since this ordeal began.
And I dreamt for the first time of Inya.
It had been bothering me that I had not dreamt about her yet, it’s kind of rare for me to be this close to a person and not to have dreamt about them.
It was a simple dream, not prophetic. I was entering a cafeteria. It resembled a McDonald’s nestled in a Wal-Mart. I grabbed a tray and began filling it up. I turned around to see Inya sitting at one of the tables, she looked like she was dressed in her Lottie uniform. Her and I used to work together in Lottie. She looked me out of the corner of her eye from under her cap, and beamed at me. I smiled back and approached the counter to get something warmed up for me.
Maricar Geronimo sat at a table right near the counter. Maricar was a very beautiful island girl I had known in my Senior Year at Fitch High school in Connecticut. I knew her very little, save that she was cute. There was a cookie stand on the counter, full of brown cookies save for one white one.
I reached for it, and she remarked she wanted that one. I broke it in half and gave it to her, she broke the half in half, and ate her half. We talked for a little while, then when my meal was ready, I made my way towards Inya, but then woke up before I got there.

I’m not sure exactly what the dream means. It could be a representation that I know very little of Inya (how little I know of Maricar). I could be a representation that I to readily give myself (the cookie) or of how I’ve been broken. Most likely, however, it’s a representation that I feel like Caroline (represented by Maricar) still might have a piece of me, unwilling as I am for her to have it.

It could mean nothing. I’m happy I dreamt, though.

My father was the one who woke me up, and we went to drop off my Aunt Jo at the airport for her journey to Florida. We stopped in Hartford on the way back and ate at a Mom & Pop Pizza shop (Barb’s Pizza, I think). We talked about Barrett, and he remarked how it was usually the responsibility of the son of the family to screen the sister’s boyfriend. I know I’m up for it. He seems like an alright kid so far.
Dad said though he understands me playing in bars and thinks it’s for the large part ok, my Mom still doesn’t completely understand. He encouraged me to talk about it with her.

We went to Wal-Mart with the whole family after that, then came home.

And that wraps up a whole week. This has got to be by far the longest journal entry I’ve ever produced. If you have actually read through this entire thing, let me know. I commend you.

If you have, however, you see why I had to get it down.

Song playing: Fever – Beyonce

Aloha..

I’m so tired. I’m sick of exams.
But life has been so good.
Sort of.
Yeah.
I’m tired.

The dance was wonderful!
I went to Bangkok House beforehand with Hope, Heather, Lisa, Derek, Luke, Leah and Laura. It was storming (on Friday night) and so I drove Heather’s car. I had asked Inya if she had wanted to come with us, but she was riding with Menkeh and a bunch of other girls, and they had decided to go to the dinner at Hershey Lodge. I drive in the snow really really well, so in spite of the 2 feet of snow we got, it went really well. Dinner was fantastic, I had squid and garlic.
We got to the dance alright safely, and in time. I wore all black (trenchcoat, blazer, dress pants & shoes, silk shirt) and a silver tie. It was new for me, and it worked rather well. I met up with Inya, Idiki, Menkeh, and Victoria. The music wasn’t that great, but I had fun anyways. I danced almost the entire time.
Something was different… I was being treated differently by the girls. I felt as if I was… off limits. As if I was attached. But I wasn’t. I felt that way the whole evening, but I still had fun anyways. I was practically ignored, though.
Jen Giles came up to me, apparently her boyfriend (now her ex) had been a jerk lately, and had brought her to the dance and then left her. I talked with her for a bit and helped her get over it.
And I danced. Silvia danced with me for a while. She’s had a crush on me since she got here; she’s a transfer student from Mexico, but has never said it outright (other people told me, and it wasn’t like I hadn’t picked it up). We’re good friends, (despite her daily task of doing everything she can to make me blush) and it works well like that. We danced swing for a while, and it was good to see her eyes light up. It’s been rough since she came here, because she’s not the greatest at English.
Morgan was there, and he did a dance where he pretended something was in his hands. We threw it back and forth for a while, that was a fun.
The dance ended at around 12, and we drove home. We must have stopped 4 times for different accidents along the road, people spinning off the road and stuff. Nobody got hurt, and everyone was being helpful and stopping, so we weren’t needed.

Inya called me when we got back. I felt bad, because I really didn’t know how to act when we met at the dance. I felt like asking her to dance, but I didn’t feel it was the right time. She confessed she felt the same with me, too. She almost asked me to dance as well (these are slow dances we’re talking about). I think it was for the better, though. I also made the very very stupid mistake of not complimenting her on her outfit (which was stunning). She wore a fantastic red and maroon African tie-dyed dress. It looked really really good. But, because I was too much of a bloody fool, I didn’t say anything. I brought it up and apologized on the phone, but I still felt like a punk. 😛

We went to see the movie “Fighting Temptations” on Saturday. It’s a good movie, but Cuba’s acting in it is just STUPID. He acts like such a moron in it. Beyonce singing was incredible, though. I have the soundtrack for the movie, and it rocks. It’s very obviously sponsored by Pepsi too. Very obviously sponsored. Inya and I talked at points during the movie. I growl unconsciously when I disagree strongly with something, and movies are no exception. It’s a low, deep grrr, barely audible unless you’re right next to me. Inya always pokes me when I do it, so I tired to stop doing it, but she made a comment this time and asked why I wasn’t doing it. I had been trying to suppress it a bit, because I thought it bothered her. But she said it didn’t.
It is a little strange, but it’s very unconscious. I think it comes from spending so much time with animals and picking up behavioral traits from home. Oh well. As long as she doesn’t mind. 🙂

I went to Christian Life Assembly Church on Sunday morning, and for the first time I went to their College Church. It was ok. I felt like I was surrounded by a lot of white people. I usually feel that, but the College Church seemed very … pristine. And instead of having a speaker, we just watched a taped message from the pastor on the big screen on the wall. The pastor is really a good speaker, but I think I would have rather seen him in person than on the screen. It gave me a headache after a while.
Only me, Kim, and Victoria were up for some reason. Usually there are a lot more people in attendance to the Church. Victoria and I got to talk a bit on the ride home in the bus. She seems very interested in me, especially the Native American side of me. In any case, she asked me what the hardest thing of being at home was. And I said it was probably the fact that even though some of them showed affection to me, none of the Naskapi girls would ever go out with me because of my skin colour. This got us talking, and she asked stuff about if I felt like I experienced that kind of prejudice here and that type of thing. It was a very good conversation.

Inya and I have been having these serendipitous conversations where we would both end up calling each other at the same time and such. This is a little weird. Because this serendipity stuff seems to happen every time I get close to someone. It’s very freaky.
Anyhow, we talked until about 4 in the morning.
And it got deep. It was absolutely wonderful. We talked about us, and I figured out why everyone was treating me different at the dance. Apparently, somehow everyone had figured out how I felt about her. And so, I guess that’s why they avoided me. But it was weird, since I wasn’t actually officially WITH her either. I stated I really could care less what everyone else thought, as long as it did not harm her. And we talked more. She told me a lot of things that she wouldn’t normally tell people, as did I. We were so open with each other, and our walls began to come down. She is so fascinating to talk to, I love her sense of intellect. And there are a lot of other things that I could not mention… but it was beautiful.
However, we DID talk until 4 in the morning…. and perhaps let our guards down a little too far.

Yesterday after Gospel Choir, we walked home, and Hope mentioned she and Inya and Idiki we’re going to go to the store, and I asked if I could join them. I needed groceries, and I needed to stock up for Spring semester.
So, I went. Idiki and Inya were talking in “symbols” to each other about this guy Inya needed to talk to.
At first, I admit, I felt jealous. I even asked Inya about it, and she nonchalantly said she didn’t really want to talk about it.
But, I realized she was right. I had had the nagging feeling all day that I was getting too close… especially the night before… especially for something that wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a friendship.
I felt like the Monday was a little too soon to call her again, but vowed that I would the next day after practice (which is today)

Serendipity, lo and behold, I get home and there is a message waiting for me. From her. 🙂
And, I call her, and guess what she wanted to talk about.
She felt we were getting to close too. She said she didn’t know what to do… that she didn’t want to loose the friendship, but felt like we were too close. I know I felt like Sunday night might have been the beginning of a slip. A selfish part of me enjoyed it. I wanted to gleefully slip into a relationship. But, I knew I had to have a little more sense than that. I need to play my part in being a gentleman and a man of good character in resisting the temptation to lead on and to give in. Because it would be so easy and so wonderful to. But I know she doesn’t find me completely attractive, and I don’t think she knows enough about the rest of me to really understand who I am. She knows how I feel about her, but I’m still uncertain as to what God wants me to do as well. She is more interested in me than anyone I’ve ever know, and is a better friend than I’ve ever known. And I will do anything in my power not to loose that. I think we’ll be ok, and that this can work as a friendship.
I so wish I could be free with her. I wish it all did not matter. And I’m so glad our friendship is still remaining strong.

There are all kinds of other things going on, but they’re not important enough to talk about now. Mesgana, my next door neighbor has been being self-centered, and it’s been affecting Nina a lot, and I’ve been talking to her. But the grounds he has are so inane they’re not worth it.

Anyhow, Inya thinks we might need a bit of a break, and I think I agree, so we’ll see what happens.
In God I trust.

Song playing: Usher – U got it Bad

Aloha!

I sent it. The letter to Caroline is on it’s way, and she’ll probably get it at least by the end of the week. Whether or not I get a reply or not, I feel better. I feel like at least I didn’t completely give up on something beautiful without giving it one more chance. A reclamation of a friendship is all I seek. And if she doesn’t want it, I’m ok with that. I’ve healed.

I talked to Inya on Monday night. I rode my moped down, but it actually proved beneficial because I ended up having to speed back because I had to talk with Reverend Thomas after Gospel Choir. I caught up with her just at Frey, and walked the rest of the way to Bittner. We got there, and spent about a half an hour talking about Thanksgiving break in the stairwell. It was such a nice feeling, knowing that someone would want to spend that kind of time… just to talk to you. The night was bitter, but I didn’t feel a thing the whole way home.

Got to talk to Nina some more on IM, it turns out we may be in the same class for either J-Term or Spring Semester. She might be going to a grad school in Hawaii! I’m so jealous.

Grace came by yesterday, it was her birthday. I guess no one else remembered. 🙁 Poor girl. I had sent her a card, so she came over and talked a bit. She’s been through so much trash, it’s not funny. She reminds me of some of the girls from home. It’s nice to be able to talk to her, though. She’s such a dedicated friend.

I called Inya tonight, and oddly enough, she also called me earlier. But apparently one of my knucklehead roommates answered the phone and told her I wasn’t here.
Anyhow, Christmas Tradition is coming up. It’s a very fancy and very expensive dance & dinner put on by the college. Everyone always dresses up to the max and goes to this thing.
Naturally, in our talking, the topic had come up between Inya and I. And though I didn’t mean to, I think I brought up the topic a few too many times. Plus, rumors are flying around the International circles about the two of us (mostly exaggeration’s), and so the combination of those two with both of us thinking about the situation far too much escalated the dance into much more than a simple get-together with friends.
I thought it might be a good idea to give her a call and make sure everything was ok. Interestingly enough, she thought the same thing, which is why she had attempted to call me. She was really flustered, because I still don’t think she’s ready to tackle these things head on. It was turning into a whole masquerade in which she knew she would be watched by all her friends as to who she danced with and who she hung out with. And I hadn’t really helped by repetitively bringing it up, because she thought perhaps I had ulterior motives.

I vowed to go stag to every dance and never actually invite anyone unless the relationship was already established. Dances are no place for first dates, or to test anything out. They’re just too volatile.

However, she made a similar vow that she simply wouldn’t go, unless it was with someone she really liked. And the thing is, I almost asked her to go, and was ready to buy her a ticket, but I didn’t want to put too much pressure on her.
Inadvertently, however, this put even more pressure on her because it left her attempting to figure out all the possible scenarios I might have ulterior motives for.

Now, she’s going. But she’s going because all her friends are going (not because of me) but she was afraid of what might happen if I asked her to dance.
So, I talked to her and let her know I wasn’t planning to make any kind of brash move like that unless I was asked for me. I’ve made my point of view clear enough, I don’t need to insult her intelligence by pulling something stupid or to try and manipulate her into a situation like that. The thought makes me shudder.

In any case, I’m going, and I was able to smooth things out, and she seems quite a bit more comfortable… with me at least. 🙂 I’m happy for that.

I’ll probably be going to Bangkok House for dinner rather than the one at the dance, because it looks like that’s what the people I’m riding with will be up to.

We’ll see what happens. I’m so glad we’re such good friends, though. It just… makes me feel good to be able to be that open with someone… and have them understand.

I’ve got to get to bed, I need to get up early for ceramics tomorrow.

Aloha!

Song playing: Bryan Adams – Run Free

I am with my parents at their temporary house in Connecticut.

Had an abrupt conversation about my band’s main venue playing in bars. My mom doesn’t like it. My dad understands it. I wish my parents would talk with me more, it’s just that they don’t seem how to. Over a monopoly game, my mom suddenly asks me if I had a girlfriend. I was kinda shocked. I said no, but was rather struck by the way she brought it up. But then… that’s how she asks me about anything she’s nervous to talk to me about… But I didn’t know how to make her un-nervous. I don’t mind talking about such things at all, and I kinda wish I could confide about Nina, Inya and Caroline.

Inya asked me about Nina the other day, and what our relationship was.
Wait, rewind.
That movie we were going to watch… well, it never happened. We were going to see Spellbound, but she was working on some important classwork instead. However, she called me when she was done. I loved that. 🙂 We talked for a long time.
And then… Monday? no Tuesday she came over with her laptop. It had funky spyware on it, and she needed help getting it off. So, she hung out in my office and we talked… until 1 AM … 🙂
She caught on that the poem I read at the poetry night was about her. Which is kinda funny, because she didn’t realize it at first, and pestered me about who the girl in the poem was.

Anyhow, she asked me who Nina was, and asked me what had happened between us, an so I told her about how I had messed up.
She understood, oddly enough. She seems to understand how I work. Which is understandable, I guess, since she’s known me for so long. But it’s… tingly. Not exactly scary, not exactly exciting. In between.

Anyways, right after that, Nina and I had a really good conversation. Over IM, of course, but I was able to rebuild some of the things I had messed up, and got a chance to apologize.
It’s kind of odd, Nina and Inya have both forgiven me for some stuff that in my opinion they shouldn’t have… I was quite the jerk, I messed up really bad on both occasions, even though it was accidental.
But, they did.
And I am eternally grateful. It’s helped me recover two very good friendships.

Now, I have to go finish the letter I’m writing.
… to Caroline. Inya gave me some advice, she said it didn’t have to be long in order for it to have significance. It could be short, and even the fact that I wrote it would have significance.

She’s made a good point. Doesn’t make it any easier to write, but at least that part is cleared up.

Oh, Chamindo, why do all these things happen at the same time?
Give me wisdom, give me peace, give me love.

Song Playing: Cracking the Russian Codes – James Horner
Fantastic song for dizzying thoughts…

Aloha!

This is going to be a quick one, because I have much else to write tonight before I go to bed.

My father and I went out to visit pawn shops today, and in New London we finally found what I was looking for. I ended up buying a Canon EOS Rebel 2000 (it’s a 35mm SLR camera) with a 28-200mm telephoto lens for 170$. I worked the dealer down from it’s original price of 200$. I looked later online, and the telephoto lens ALONE is worth 150$!! I was quite pleased, especially since I had been given a total of 170$ by various aunts uncles and grandparents for Christmas. My father bought me a case, lens filter, lens cover and a bunch of film to go with it. I’m sooo excited to use it. 🙂

We got home, and I found about 5 or 6 messages from Inya. Apparently she doesn’t have a whole lot of privacy from her uncle and her sister in Philly, and it was quite the struggle for her to finish an e-mail. Like I said, I had written her a list of questions with my responses to hers, and so I guess it took her a while to work through them.

And the final answer on the most important question? Maybe.
She still is unsure if she is falling in love with me, but she seems willing to find out. What I’m gathering was that it’s a little awkward for her explaining everything out in e-mail, and that she’d rather talk about it in person. This is a tremendous relief for me, because I feel the same way. I can tell a lot about a person by looking in their eyes.
So, what will happen, I don’t know.

One of her questions was how much I’d be willing to change for someone I loved.
It’s an interesting question, because I am both completely flexible and completely steadfast in two areas. In faith and in personality, I am steadfast. In manner of dress, language, appearance, and in the way I carry myself, I am complete Chameleon.
I am guessing that she’d like to change the way I dress, and perhaps my physique. My clothes are currently a mix between being a street thug, skater boy, and the occasional preppy sweater. And in summer, I wear Hawaiian shirts. How much she’d be willing to change, I’m not sure. But I don’t have a whole lot of problems with it. I’m probably most attached to the Hawaiian shirts, but even they can be worn formally. One thing I’m probably not going to do is cut my hair, though.
In terms of physical appearance; I say go for it. I’m not the most athletic, though I used to be. I’d love incentive to get running, swimming or lifting again. I simply haven’t because I’ve been giving the excuse I haven’t got the time.

Now, I know some of you are going to protest and say “don’t let a girl run your life!”
Well, nuts to you. Like I said, I’m a complete Chameleon. I change my outer appearance occasionally for fun ANYWAYS. If she’s going to help me have a better sense of class in dress, I’m all for it.
She’ll probably have to do it gradually, though, because too big of a change might throw me (and my friends too) off a bit.

My family went out a party with people from church, and that’s what I just got back from, so now I’m going to go write to her.

So, yeah. I’m happy. I’m falling in love. I’m not completely in yet, but it won’t take much more. I still don’t know where this is going, but I trust God’s in control. I just need to keep my eyes on him.

Song Playing: I gotta find peace of Mind – Lauryn Hill

Aloha!

At the risk of moving that insanely long journal post to the bottom of the stack, I write a new one.

And today was pretty boring too. 😛

Got up and went for a walk early this morning. Everyone had already left the house for their last day of school, and I was alone in the house. I wasn’t very hungry, so I grabbed my sketchbook and headed out the door.

Occam, Connecticut, where my parents are staying temporarily while my sister completes her last year of high school, is a pretty dead place. There is a dam with a waterfall about 100 feet wide, and so I explored around there for a while. Lots of very bad graffiti. Not bad in the sense it was vulgar, it was just poorly done. Suburban misfits trying to be ghetto.
The town was originally founded because of a huge mill of some sort, which has since been demolished. The foundation still remains, though, and it was interesting to walk around in. It’s just a gigantic factory floor in the middle of a vacant lot with weird trees growing out of the seams of the concrete. The growth was strange; twisted trees with pods and vines and pricker bushes. Inhospitable, but dry and dead in the winter light. Reminded me of the ghost town of home.

I passed the factory, and began walking along the main street, but didn’t get very far before my Dad drove by. I stuck out my thumb and rode home with him.

I’m finding I miss Inya. It’s not an extreme pining, not a miss-you-so-much I can’t think-sleep-eat-breathe thing,,, I simply miss her. She’s fun to be around. It’s even fun to have the POTENTIAL of being around her. I’m not sure how to describe it without sounding like a dang fool.
I’ve been reading “The Mis-Education of the Negro”, and am over half way through it. Listening to sad songs by Lauryn Hill and Nora Jones.
I made up my mind to e-mail her when I got back tonight.

My family decided to go out to see LOTR 3 after lunch today; since my brother and sister only had a half a day of school. I decided to come along as well.
We ate egg salad sandwiches on the way. Barrett, my sis’ boyfriend came along too.

It was cool seeing it again, but I had a headache by the time we got out. Not sure why. Maybe the first time was just so good… 😉

And guess what I came home to. She wrote to me. 🙂

I’m going to sleep now….

Aloha!

I need sometime by myself.
Reverse, rewind, replay, recharge. That’s what I need.
And sleep. That too.
But just to be able to regain composure, I need to go off on my own and just be with God for a while, and let him talk to me.

This sickness has made me cranky, which is not like me. I don’t like it, and it needs to stop. I’ve been getting irritated about small things, and when big things come along, they really tick me off.

In Senior Seminar today there was a war with blacks against whites, suburban vs. country. And it was sickening. They were arguing about such stupid things, it wasn’t even funny. It just reminded me of home and didn’t go over well with me. There was a lot of other stuff, but I don’t really want to talk about it. I have a very bad short term memory, and by the time I reread this journal entry I’ll have forgotten all about it.

I did go off on two people I shouldn’t have, though and let out a lot of anger and frustration that I had no right in letting out on them. I need to recompose myself. I don’t stay angry for very long, but if I get caught and interrogated when I’m steamed, I’ll blast anything in my way. They badgered me, and I went off. Their intentions were good, but I should have walked out and went to be by myself for a while. That would have been the smart thing.

It didn’t get any better, though.
Pagoda was supposed to play a show tonight, but all the boys neglected to tell their keyboardist of where and when we were meeting. So I wasted an entire afternoon bumming around the house and waiting for their call. Which never came. I should have pulled a Mike Franchina and let them come find me. I felt disgusted.

We finally did all meet up, and we played at the Appalachian Brewing Company. We tore the place down. We weren’t sure if they would let me in at first, but after talking with the bouncer a bit (who we later guessed owned the place) we got in. We got up, did our thing, and got down. And we rocked the house.

Our website is almost complete. I’ll be showing it all to you when it’s finished.

I hope I get to go with Inya to the movies tomorrow night.

Song playing: Nat King Cole – Walking my Baby back Home

Aloha!

Last Thursday there was another Poetry Night. THIS time, it was sponsored by the Multicultural Club. Lots more Africans and African Americans. I left Pagoda practice early to meet Inya there. She was reading one of her poems, and it was the very first time she had ever read to an audience. She blew the place away! She read about how the view of African dancing had been twisted in all sorts of ways that it was tough to define, and it we POWERFUL. It’s inspiring me. I think there’s an avenue I’ve missed… I think I can still see the world as beautiful and still bring a whole lot more power into my words, perhaps in the area of social change. I think the important thing is not to become angstful.

I read two pieces; Silent Softly Vivid Dream and Deja Vu.
Silent Softly Vivid Dream was the hit, and when I returned to my place amid where Inya and Victoria sat, they were fanning themselves and said “Dang! You need to tell us who this girl is!!”
I’m not sure how much Inya got from it… I’m still puzzling. But Victoria. Victoria told EVERYBODY! Of course, she has absolutely no clue who I was talking about in the poem. The only person who might guess would be Inya. But I was later confronted by almost all the African girls jokingly asking me who it was.

Pagoda played in Cornerstone Coffeehouse on Saturday, and we ROCKED the place. That is by far the most favorite place we’ve played yet… We debuted “Shake Your Fist”, “Man in the Movies” and “Almost Always”. We played an acoustic set, slowing it down a tad. That went over very very well. I feel a lot more comfortable with the songs I wrote. The crowd likes ’em! That’s a big relief for me. Saxton rapped in between me in “Love Song for No One At All”. We’re playing again this Thursday, and I hope to have a new song “Look Me in the Eyes” done by then.

Saxton had bronchitis, which, while it caused us to butcher our cover of “Zombie” by the Cranberries, also got me sick too when we switched mics. I’ve been battling the cold since then. It does make my voice deeper, though. More sultry. :boogie: I just hope it doesn’t hurt on Thursday.

Gospel Choir was tonight. I rode down on my skateboard again, rather than my moped… :boogie: I sang well for having a cold. 🙂 And since it’s all uphill from Climenhaga, I walked back with Inya, Idiki, Hope and D-Moss. And, as before, everyone branched off until it was just me & Inya walking. It was nice. 🙂

I’m so tired tonight, from being sick. I need to sleep, but I need to get my work done.

Caio!

Song Playing: Hans Zimmer – And then I Kissed Him

Aloha!

This weekend was beautiful, though it didn’t start out that way.
I had planned all week to go with Inya to the movies on Friday. We were going to go see Seabiscuit at the on campus theatre.
There was Gospel Choir on Friday to Rev. Thomas’ church, and Inya wasn’t sure if she wanted to go or not. I wasn’t planning on it, because of Bible Study at Rafiki house. She said she’d call me to let me know. I really didn’t have anything to do, so I just hung around the house with Agtur.
She didn’t call, and I went to Bible study. She still didn’t call. I bummed around the house, and kept getting restless. Finally, people started showing up at the house from Gospel Choir around 10 pm and I began getting hope. The movie had been delayed, and was going to start later, but I still didn’t hear anything from Inya.
I called her a couple of times, and finally got through.
Apparently, she had left a message with Agtur that she was going to the Choir. The same Agtur I had spent ALL AFTERNOON WITH. I could have killed him. It had just completely slipped his mind, I suppose.

It was amazing, though. We must have only spoke on the phone no more than 20 minutes and she cheered me right up. It was so nice. Everything just lifted off. She has that affect on me. We were joking and laughing so hard my sides hurt.
She was very beat from Choir, so she went to bed and we agreed to watch it Saturday.

I got my motorcycle registered Saturday morning, and as soon as I get a tank of gas I’ll legally be able to drive it anywhere I wish! 🙂
Saturday afternoon Pagoda practiced, and for the first time I felt really comfortable with Love Song for No One at All. It sounded really good, and Saxton sang WITH me. I liked that. It’s been tough, I felt like the band had treated it like ‘Ben’s song’ in which they appeased me by going along with it. It feels much more like a ‘Pagoda song’ than a ‘Ben Song’ now, which is what I like. I love to write music and figure out the message and chord arrangements, but I HATE stealing the show. And it seems like it’s working out.

As soon as I got home, Inya left me a message, saying she wanted to go to Min’s Birthday dinner. Min is a Taiwanese former student of Messiah who used to be in my year. She lives in Harrisburg now, and her boyfriend is Franchina; the bassist in Pagoda. I walked over to South Complex early, and Inya and I got to talk for a while before everyone showed up.

I had been to a Poetry reading on Friday evening that had bombed and I was feeling pretty disgusted about, so we talked about that for a while and about the stereotypical white “angst” poetry that I had such a hard time with. You can see the description in ” Photograph” if you want more info.

Finally everyone showed up and we went to Pakha’s Thai House in Dillsburg. The whole band came, as did a few international students. It was really good food, and I bought Inya’s dinner for her. She sat across from me, and it was nice to sit and talk with her. The band was at the other end of the table, and they carried on their merry selves. We were very appropriately seated.
It’s tough to recognize that I have so many different facets, and I like them all. There are just certain times for some, and certain times for others.

After that, Inya, Erin, Menkeh and I all went to see Seabiscuit.
It’s a pretty good movie. Predictable, but I don’t think I’ve seen such a predictable movie pulled off so well. Inya has an almost psychic sense of guessing the next event in a movie. I sort of do as well (though not as good as her) but I’m so naive I’m surprised anyways.
It was wonderful. She sat on my right (since I’m deaf in my left ear) and we talked and laughed about things we saw during the movie. It was so nice to be able to talk with her again, I feel so… comforted when I do.

Oie, I’ve got to go to bed. Big day tomorrow.

Song playing: DJ Bobo – Somebody Dance With Me

I might add, usually the songs listed in my journals most often are very relevant to the entry. Just a note… reread some if you don’t believe me. 😛

Sometimes my naivety really really helps. Because if I let myself, I can be so happy for the smallest reasons.
This week, I’ve gotten two meals a day for free. It’s been kinda nice. I’ve just been paying close attention to seminars and stuff on campus where there’s been free food, and have been fortunate enough to be able to attend.
But that’s not what’s made me happy.
Things seemed to have repaired with Inya. I made some pretty bad mistakes, and they’re seeming to heal better than ever. She was who I hung out with the most before I had told her that I had a crush on her. Things kind of fell apart after that, and I got smacked in the face for being honest (NO, not literally). I just jumped the gun. And consequently, shoved away my closest confidant. And my … best friend.

However, things changed this week. We merged in walkways, fall leaves blowing around us. I was happy. She was sweet. We talked a lot. Our classes faded and conversation flared. We walked. We parted. I met her again after gospel choir. I had rode my skateboard down rather than my moped for some reason, so for the first time in a while, I walked back. And I walked with her, Hope and Idiki. Idiki parted first. Then Hope. And I walked her to her dorm. The night was warm, so we just hung out in the courtyard and talked for over and hour. It was… nice. 🙂 She casually asked me if I knew what movie was playing. Bada bing. 🙂 We’re going to see Seabiscuit Friday night. I must say, I love watching movies with her.

It’s just… I feel so welcome with her. I’ve gotten over the feelings I had. They were premature, brash and a little awkward. A lot awkward.
I went through quite a bit, but God showed me I kinda needed to be more independent, and that I’ve been putting too much attachment into being in love. Of course; the break up with Caroline taught me that, but this helped drive it home.
So, I began working on becoming myself again. And it really helped. I fell lighthearted again. I feel comfortable with myself. Like fitting into a pair of jeans that are your perfect size.

She bumped into me this morning. I was up early, because I needed to work on ceramics, and went down to Eisenhower to get the movie tickets. The ticketmaster was busy, so I hung out in the Commons for a while. She bumped into me casually as I was looking at the movie posters. And we must have talked for a while.

I really value her friendship. It’s so refreshing, I feel at ease talking to her. She’s a wonderful person to listen to, but doesn’t leave you out of the conversation. She asks me my opinion and wants to know how I’m doing on stuff… It makes me feel happy. I usually don’t talk much in a LOT of conversation, unless it’s really close. Most people love to talk, so I simply egg them on and listen intently.

Conversely, things seem to be falling apart with Nina, at least over IM. I HATE IM. It’s so incredibly hard to read people over a digital medium. A lot of our conversations would have gone a lot better if I had been able to look her in the eye. I can’t feel her.
It seems like the friendship seems unstable at times, but then again we’ll talk more and everything will seem normal. *shrugs* I’m trying not to analyze it.

Yeah, I’m strange. At times I can read people’s feelings. And my dreams are prophetic. But what I’ve realized (from a good of mine, Saxton) is that I’m not weird. I’m abnormal. And if I was to be normal, I’d be like the rest of the shallow people in the world. I’m kind of glad I was built different.

I’ve got to get back to work, I have a ton.
But I’m feeling great, and had to get it down.