Is there anybody out there?

My deepest apologies for letting this poor thing rot in the void of cyberspace -- not that anyone actually reads this (I'm sure) anymore.

Anyways, I'm back from a wonderful weekend in Kentucky -- which was absolutely necessary catharsis for freeing me temporarily from Grad School Life. Which is to say: this trip was necessary to give me a life.

And the return has inspired me to take time from my awful work load just to write this.

Over the weeks I have to:

1. Deal with a student made a mysogynistic comment in class, followed quickly by "That's so gay," and "fucking retarded." This student was a sad case of stereotypes coming true; he's a frat boy, as well as a jock.

2. On the plus side, I just got named the incoming fiction editor for Indiana Review.

3. I saw old porno video arcade machines. Ones where you used to put a penny in this wooden box, then crank the metal handle on the side and look through telescope lens to see black and white photos of women. Women wearing frocks showing off their ankles. Scandelous!

4. Slipped and fell on ice and broke my cell phone. (I totally ate it -- Charlie Brown moment with the legs going up and hip bone smaking sheeted pavement. The bruise was a long purple blob that went from the top of my right ass cheek to the curve of my lower back.)

5. I got to see David and visit folks back in SF for the couple days I was there for Spring Break. Love you all.

6. Had a heart to heart talk with my friend Carissa, who helped me admit to myself and own the fact that sometimes I feel really lonely here at IU. Lonely in my program in particular. Because: unlike all the other students in my department, I haven't been able to make really really strong friendships with anyone because a lot of the peers that I do get to work with are rather heterocentric to the point of unstated homophobia. Loaded material to talk about in length than I care to elaborate on at this moment.

7. and, most recently: I went to Kentucky with Denay and Ryan this past weekend. They came in from Chicago. We went bourbon trailing (since Kentucky is the Land of Bourbon!) to Jim Bean and Maker's Mark. I ate this dish that is a Louisville, Kentucky original that has the name of scat sex act: a Hot Brown . It was amazingly rich and heavy and heart-clogging. but I enjoyed this priceless bit of what I'm appreciating as Native to the Mid-West cuisine. Also, while we were in Louisville (pronounced Loo-a-vel), Denay, Ryan, and I went to this impressive 5-in-1 interconnected gay club called The Connection; which includes a dance club, a drag theatre, and a shower show bar (which turns out become a cruise bar in disguise). Like all the things above, I'll talk more in length later.

I hope all is well with you folks reading this. I'm feeling a lot better than my early paralyzing home sickness at the start of the semester. It's no longer snowing and frigid, and today was actually a really sunny beautiful day. I'm sure the novelty of the warm thick heat will soon die, as I normally hate hot weather -- I love my foggy San Francisco. But for now, with this hot weather, I'll savor this momentary satisfaction that spring is here.