Last week of school

This past week was extremely stressful and busy. Over the weekend Clint, Ciara, and I traveled down to Venice, Florida, to visit Clint's home and attend two nights of parties (family parties, which was an extremely welcome break and I loved it immensely). It was quite relaxing and I am very grateful for everyone who went to the party, especially Clint's mother who prepared tons of delicious food and allowed me to sleep overnight!

I brought my books over the weekend, seeing as I had a TON of work to do (30ish pages of essays and 4 final exams to study for), but I had no time to do any of it. So, when I arrived back on campus Sunday night, I pulled an all-nighter into Monday morning, where I took my first exam in under ten minutes because I brought my laptop to answer the questions and I type a lot faster than I write freehand. Everyone else in the class wrote freehand, and I wasn't surprised when even though I showed up 15 minutes late, I finished before everyone. I then went back to my room and fell to sleep until 12 midnight. I woke up, messed around and watched a few movies, then wrote a 7 page research paper for my philosophy class. I also thought I had two exams that day (it was Tuesday by then), so I began studying. Alas, since my organization skills suck, I went to both classrooms at the time I thought I had the exam, and it was empty! The exams were the following day. But the day was not wasted, as Clint and I drove around looking for a rental for next semester and found the most AMAZING place. A HUGE place with tons of rooms and even a bar! It was so big and for such a great price, that I phoned my friend from New Jersey, and, since he had dropped out of school a few months back, asked him if he wanted to move down to Tampa, which he said yes to. Hopefully he follows through, because we'd have such a great time.
So the following day, I woke up, took my first exam, then had two hours to write 20 pages. Thankfully, I just had to write stories, which is pretty easy for me, and I whipped them out in no time. Unfortunately, I completely forgot about the exam that I was supposed to have gone to, and missed it. For shame. I sent my professor an e-mail, begging him to let me make it up (possibly in the form of a 20-50 page essay I said). Hopefully he agrees to the proposition, but I doubt he will. After sending the e-mail, I went to the class where I handed the multiple stories in, and we sat around talking for another hour and a half, the conversation having nothing to do with the class. He said any of us could leave at any time, but since the class (and especially the teacher) was so much fun to talk with, no one left until the few hours had passed. Good thing I'm taking the second (that class was Fiction I, and I'm taking Fiction II next semester) part of the class next semester with the same teacher and some of the same students.
After I got out of class, I drove around, then bought my friend a cake because it was her birthday. I brought the cake back and we celebrated - yay. Then I went back to my room and Clint and I began our packing. It took us about 7 hours to do because our room was a pigsty beyond belief, but we finally finished. I'm writing this about an hour after we finished, and Clint and I are in the commuter lounge, since there is nothing in our room anymore. Clint is sleeping.

Sunday/Monday

After posting my previous entry, I stayed up through the night reading (I think). Clint was working on his project for his film class, so he stayed up too, and we got bagels at 6:45 A.M.. I dropped Clint off and went to work out for the first time in a few weeks, as I had been sick and wanted my body to recuperate before starting up again (I could have started a bit earlier but I was lazy). After the workout I was extremely sore and physically tired, so I laid in bed for half an hour thinking I would skip class. I could not get to sleep, not to mention I've missed too many classes for my absence not to affect my grade, so I got up and went. 4 classes in a row =(. I made it through my first two, and while in my third class I was rubbing my neck when I felt an odd sensation. It must have just been a pinched nerve or something, but combined with my extreme physical and mental fatigue, my body took it a different way. And I had a panic attack. I have had three panic attacks (including this one) in my life, the previous two occurring in high school. I would slowly lose consciousness and before totally blacking out I would revive. This panic attack, thankfully, only lasted for a few minutes. I began feeling extremely light headed and cold (which I knew to be me becoming pale), and eventually tunnel vision presented itself. I knew what was happening, and told myself to calm down, which I did.

For those who have never had a panic attack, it is worth noting how you would feel after one. It feels as though you've just undergone an intense workout, probably due to blood circulation being cut down substantially. This, paired with my recent return to exercising, left me numb. I went back to my room and wrote the professor of my following class an e-mail that read:

Professor -
I just had a panic attack and began bleeding from my nose. I thought
this an acceptable reason not to come to class today. I reviewed the
papers, and will give them to Erin, Sarah, and Terez when I come to
class on Wednesday. I apologize for my body's disobedience.

-John Dolan

My nose did not bleed, but in my delusional state of mind I thought it would be comical to include such. Looking back, it may have been a bad decision. I sent the e-mail, then went to sleep from 2:30 P.M until 11A.M. today (Tuesday). Considering not much happened today, I will elaborate: I woke up, went to Barnes and Nobles to pick up books I ordered as well as read a few literary magazines while enjoying a red bull/iced coffee mix (I thought of the combination myself, and I enjoy it quite a bit). Then I went and worked out, which was harder to do than any time I had gone before. Afterward, I went to Starbucks again and read one of the books I ordered. Then I came back to school and wrote this.

Saturday Night

Last night Clint and I woke up at around 7. We hung out around the room for about 45 minutes then decided we were starving, and went to Ti'juana Flats, which is an amazing Taco Bellish restaurant - far better than Taco Bell, though. We ate cheesy goodies and smiled, then went to Starbucks and hung out for awhile. I picked up some chapstick at CVS (YUM), then we went back to campus and drank some whiskey (!). I like whiskey it's nice! Needless to say, I got drunk. Later on, Max joined us and we went to the Orpheum, a nightclub in Ybor city. We went with two other people who were over 21 and could take advantage of the Orpheum Saturday night special, "sink or swim", which let them drink as much alcohol as they wanted to, and only have to pay the entrance fee.

We went into the Orpheum and I immediately went to the bathroom to wash off the X's on my hands, because I hate permanant marker on my hands. It annoys me to no end. I was caught with no X's on my hands when I left the bathroom and kicked out of the place after being in it for less than three minutes. I texted Max and told him not to worry, that I was having a great time in another club. Which I was. I went to another club by myself - the Honey Pot. I was buzzed enough not to notice it was gay night until about an hour or two into staying. Still, it was fun, and I had a great night. Once the last song played, I left and met up with Max and the others and we went to a pizza place, where we had deliciousness pizzarificness. After leaving the pizza place, and as we were walking back to the car, a stranger decided to come up to me and punch me real hard in the arm. I'm not sure if it was a stranger, or if it was one of my friends, which would have been more likely, but I didn't look and pretended I didn't even feel the punch. Looking back on it makes me laugh, because the person was probably thinking how stupid he looked after I hadnt noticed he punched me hard. After driving back to campus and returning to the room, I read a bit while Clint played his electric guitar really loudly again (at 4 A.M.). No one banged on any walls this time, but it was still funny. Then I went to sleep and woke up at 5 P.M. and surfed the internet until I began writing this entry.

Today

Today I made this blog. I made it because I was bored and decided to take up blogging because people say it is something they do when they are bored. I hope to become un-bored by writing this, and writing future submissions when I am bored at later dates.

Today I woke up and went to class, then went back to my room and watched a few episodes of the television show Castle, which is great. In my fiction writing class, which is my favorite because we write and read stories, the class reviewed my latest short story, named Fresh Roast. The story is a bit vulgar and the action is quite abrupt. Overall, the class enjoyed it immensely (or so it seemed), and I think my grade will be fairly high. I don't mean it will be on drugs.

After going back to my room and watching the Castle episodes, I took a nap from about 7p.m. until about 10:45 P.M.. I took the nap because I had not been to sleep since 10 p.m. the previous night. I woke up at 10:45 tonight, watched a few more episodes of Castle, then tried to go back to sleep. I was unsuccessful. My dear friend and roommate, Clint, came back to the room from wherever he was (probably milking goats), and I got out of bed knowing sleep would not come soon. We both surfed the internet while talking to each other (on separate computers), then he grabbed his electric guitar and started playing. Not only that, but he turned his amp's volume up really really loud and it shook the room. It was 3A.M. and we heard many shouts in between notes from disgruntled fellow dormers who were trying to sleep. Considering it was Friday night, the complainers are dumb. They are wrong.

Hopefully I get to sleep soon, then wake up in the morning. If I don't, it might suck. Really badly. Unless I go to heaven, which I doubt would ever happen, in which case I could have sex with hot [female] angels and eat tons of pizza and Dr. Pepper. I love pizza and Dr. Pepper, which is why they would be in heaven.

Bye

Poem I Enjoyed

Life Story

by Tennessee Williams

After you've been to bed together for the first time,
without the advantage or disadvantage of any prior acquaintance,
the other party very often says to you,
Tell me about yourself, I want to know all about you,
what's your story? And you think maybe they really and truly do

sincerely want to know your life story, and so you light up
a cigarette and begin to tell it to them, the two of you
lying together in completely relaxed positions
like a pair of rag dolls a bored child dropped on a bed.

You tell them your story, or as much of your story
as time or a fair degree of prudence allows, and they say,
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
each time a little more faintly, until the oh
is just an audible breath, and then of course

there's some interruption. Slow room service comes up
with a bowl of melting ice cubes, or one of you rises to pee
and gaze at himself with mild astonishment in the bathroom mirror.
And then, the first thing you know, before you've had time
to pick up where you left off with your enthralling life story,
they're telling you their life story, exactly as they'd intended to all
along,

and you're saying, Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,
each time a little more faintly, the vowel at last becoming
no more than an audible sigh,
as the elevator, halfway down the corridor and a turn to the left,
draws one last, long, deep breath of exhaustion
and stops breathing forever. Then?

Well, one of you falls asleep
and the other one does likewise with a lighted cigarette in his mouth,
and that's how people burn to death in hotel rooms.