Ed read DFW's Infinite Jest his junior year of college..and it changed his life. Before that, he had been frantically struggling with who he was, where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do with his life. After he read Infinite Jest, his entire world view changed. He spent all of his free time reading his novels, essays and short stories. He wants to be a writer, now, because of Wallace. No one has had a greater impact on his life than DFW (and I don't say that lightly).
When he heard the news, he spent hours pouring over every article he could find online. He was distraught..in shock. The person who inspired him to be what he is and do what he is doing today has taken his own life. Horribly, taken his own life. He thought and spoke frantically for several days, trying desperatley to figure it out. He thinks it means big changes for him, for his own life. His world seems like a dimmer place, less valuable, less worthwhile.
I was at a loss for words for a long time. He is doing much better now, though, and has used it as a way to push himself to write more. He has been speaking to a writing professor he had, who has helped him a great, great deal.
When he heard the news, he spent hours pouring over every article he could find online. He was distraught..in shock. The person who inspired him to be what he is and do what he is doing today has taken his own life. Horribly, taken his own life. He thought and spoke frantically for several days, trying desperatley to figure it out. He thinks it means big changes for him, for his own life. His world seems like a dimmer place, less valuable, less worthwhile.
I was at a loss for words for a long time. He is doing much better now, though, and has used it as a way to push himself to write more. He has been speaking to a writing professor he had, who has helped him a great, great deal.
“Think of the old cliché about quote the mind being an excellent servant but a terrible master. This, like many clichés, so lame and unexciting on the surface, actually expresses a great and terrible truth,” he said. “It is not the least bit coincidental that adults who commit suicide with firearms almost always shoot themselves in: the head. They shoot the terrible master. And the truth is that most of these suicides are actually dead long before they pull the trigger."
-DFW, 2005
Hurricane Ike
Austin never saw a drop. Not even a cloud, a little wind, but nothing that even resembles a light shower. Tomball, like most of south Texas, did not escape so unscathed. My dad sleeps with ear plugs in, so was completely unaware when the storm rolled in. My mom, however, a worry-wort and light sleeper, said it sounded like a war zone. They had lost power that night before the storm even arrived, so were sleeping with their windows open. My mom finally woke my dad up around 3am so they could move away from the windows and into the safety area under the stairs.
They woke the next morning and told me over the phone that only a few branches had fallen. LIARS. We have pine trees all throughout our yard, 10 stories tall at least. SIX of these snapped in half, one falling on our neighbors garage, ruining the carport and fence. Another tree landed less than a foot away from our own garage. If it had fallen the other way, it would have landed on my sister's bedroom, with my parents' bedroom below it. And they just redid the bathrooms!
A tree cutter was there THAT day handing out his card, and my mom called him that afternoon. They were afraid the trees that had snapped might fall and cause more damage, so they went ahead and cut them all down. THAT day, a tree stump remover was handing out HIS card. So the yard now looks perfectly normal, minus a lot of trees and branches. It took 14 empty dump trucks just to haul away the stuff from my parents' house.
My parents STILL do not have power. They lost everything in the storage freezer (my dad is a deer hunter, a lot of meat was wasted). My dad was unable to go to work for about a week, because all of the windows on one side of his building were blown out. Thank GOODNESS his office was spared. It was a crazy time for him though..he does risk assessment for the entire Chase bank company, and did not have access to the internet, cell phone (charged it in his car) or land phone for days..all during the stock market ups and downs of last week. He drove in to work at the end of last week anyway, and was able to get some work done. Good for him.
My mom refused to let me have her camera to post pictures..she wants to keep it around in case the insurance people ever actually show up. She stood in line for 3 hours yesterday to wash clothes at the washateria. She is really bored.
They woke the next morning and told me over the phone that only a few branches had fallen. LIARS. We have pine trees all throughout our yard, 10 stories tall at least. SIX of these snapped in half, one falling on our neighbors garage, ruining the carport and fence. Another tree landed less than a foot away from our own garage. If it had fallen the other way, it would have landed on my sister's bedroom, with my parents' bedroom below it. And they just redid the bathrooms!
A tree cutter was there THAT day handing out his card, and my mom called him that afternoon. They were afraid the trees that had snapped might fall and cause more damage, so they went ahead and cut them all down. THAT day, a tree stump remover was handing out HIS card. So the yard now looks perfectly normal, minus a lot of trees and branches. It took 14 empty dump trucks just to haul away the stuff from my parents' house.
My parents STILL do not have power. They lost everything in the storage freezer (my dad is a deer hunter, a lot of meat was wasted). My dad was unable to go to work for about a week, because all of the windows on one side of his building were blown out. Thank GOODNESS his office was spared. It was a crazy time for him though..he does risk assessment for the entire Chase bank company, and did not have access to the internet, cell phone (charged it in his car) or land phone for days..all during the stock market ups and downs of last week. He drove in to work at the end of last week anyway, and was able to get some work done. Good for him.
My mom refused to let me have her camera to post pictures..she wants to keep it around in case the insurance people ever actually show up. She stood in line for 3 hours yesterday to wash clothes at the washateria. She is really bored.
Happy Graduation to Me!
Even with all of their own drama, my parents were still able to get me a new car for graduation! We've been on a waiting list since July, and it finally arrived last weekend! Ed and I made a trip home to pick up it, and help my parents finish up some of the yard work. It was sorda like a camp out :) The car is a 2009 honda fit. I absolutely love it!
Peacock?
Random, I know, by there is a peacock roaming our apartment complex! Ed thinks it's all rather mysterous, I think it's just a bird looking to snack on all of our neighbors' plants.
Grad School Applications
Married Life
Are due beginning Dec 1. Ed and I have both signed up to take our respective GRE subject test (mine is Nov 8!). We're both excited about applying and where it might take us. I think we're both secretly hoping for Houston, so cross your fingers!
Married Life
Is fabulous :) I love him and love every day we have together. He's still my all-time favorite person. I love life.
