Thoughts over coffee.

I'm in the 4th floor of the University of Iowa's Main Library. Tucked far away in a corner of the Graduate Reading Room. The only other thing in this room are stacks and carpet dryers left by the overnight cleaners. In the last week, I keep thinking of things I should write about, but they are always just germs of ideas and it would be so much easier to "tweet" these things rather than blog about them. Luckily, I don't have Twitter and am forced to think through what I want to write about.

For example, I am back in school again. It's a little different this time around, as I am a full-fledged graduate student. This brings with it many perks, such as a key to the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) Department ($200 lost key fee) and the entitlement to look down on younger students I pass on the street. But there are still lots of reminders of what undergrad looks like in this city. I pass by Mayflower, my first dorm, every time I drive into the city for class. Kids are always outside waiting for the bus to come pick them up and drive them into campus. I remember the year I spent out on those steps with my first generation iPod shuffle. Last Friday night I went to a CAB sponsored event at the Union, the stand-up comedy of David Koechner. The show itself was terrible, he's never been funny in any movie or show he's ever been in, why would his stand-up be any different? But I was more struck by the crowd which attended. It was almost entirely the freshman class of this school. I saw one older couple, probably fans of Koechner from his early SNL days, but everybody else was young and wearing Iowa apparel. Groups consisted of four nerdy-ish looking guy friends all enjoying their first week of college. Young, young looking couples fresh out of high school. Girls whose outfits were just a bit too paltry for their own good. I remember being those kids and seeing them all just brings back all those feelings of being on this campus by myself, scared, lonely, not really knowing what I was doing and feeling in over my head all the time.

But then I remember I have an expensive key that opens a whole wing of the library that they can't get into, and I snap out of it. Niiiice. You know else I've been reminded about? SLOW WALKERS. Gracious there are some slow walkers on this campus. If you must walk slow, just do your best to be spatially aware and move out of the way of walkers with a purpose. Gosh is it annoying.

And classes have started for me now; I'm a full week in. It's going to be a lot of work, a heck of a lot of reading but really interesting. Once I really get into the readings I can start to share interesting articles/books/whatever I come across related to the field.

Finally, September is just around the corner, which means BRING IT ON MUSIC MONTH. Can't wait. Plus Coll's and my bird-day month. Plus the start of fall weather. Hi-oh.

-Jon

P.S. The Daily Show writing team wins the Emmy over The Tonight Show with Conan Brien's writing team? There is no justice in this world.