Recluse

I just realized how shocked you must be about what I haven't done in Lawrence in three years.

You've never eaten Downtown on a Saturday night? You've never gone shopping Downtown? You've been at KU for three years and NOW you want to visit the Visitor's Center?

Well, let me address my reclusiveness.

I've never eaten Downtown on a Saturday night because 1) I spend nearly every other weekend in Lenexa with Jedsen; 2) Jedsen and I don't drink and don't go out at night; 3) Jedsen and I are poor; 4) Jedsen and I are not big fans of crowded places, and Mass Street makes us nervous when it's busy.

How have I never gone shopping Downtown? Well, let me clarify. I strolled Mass Street back in March 2005 when Jedsen and I came up here for a night and a concert. Then, I was a tourist. Now that I live here, I still feel like a tourist on Mass Street for some reason. Yes, I've even worked on Mass for the entire time I've been here, but I come and I go. I've gone to specific stores on Mass for specific reasons, but I've never treated Mass St has a mall and just browsed. Part of that, again, goes back to Jedsen and his dislike for the street. I don't really argue. But that doesn't mean I want to shop it--I mean shop it--at least once.

As for the Visitor's Center, though it's on Iowa and very accessible, I didn't know I should go to it until about a year ago when someone said it was amazing. But, then, I've been pretty busy being reclusive and writing my thesis this past year.

Things just haven't gotten done.

But Jedsen and I took a ride last weekend. A ride to nowhere and anywhere, south and east of Lawrence, out in the hills, the green. We drove and tried to get lost in the county, but my sense of direction is too good. As we approached Highway 59, we noticed a park: Wells Overlook Park. So we went. What do you know? There's an overlook, a structure three stories high with views at every level. We saw Lawrence and the surrounding miles to the south, east, west. Perspective. That's where I live. Look at all that West Lawrence that we don't even know. It's new, and it reminds us of Johnson County. We only know Iowa, 23rd St East of Iowa, 9th Street East of Iowa, and portions of Mass St. I know my L of home to school and home to work. I don't know Lawrence.

So I'll try to explore some more in these last months, and I'll make it a goal to know my new town and to let it know me.

Word

I should probably explain.

My time is running out here in Lawrence. I have successfully defended my thesis, a collection of essays titled Parts & Accessories, and I'll be "hooded" as the holder of an MFA degree on May 15. Two days later, I will be reading along with five of my fellow MFA graduates at KU...in our last reading in Lawrence (well, for some of us that may be more true than for others). Even if it isn't an official "last reading" for all six of us, it is officially SENIOR NIGHT.

So, if you're in the vicinity of Teller's Restaurant in Downtown Lawrence at 7pm on Monday, May 17, come hear me read an essay or part of one. Drink a drink. Be jolly. That's what I'll be doing with my friends, these wonderful people who have made the last two years especially absolutely awesome.

Where will I be going? Stay tuned. I have an inkling.

How's that Bucket List coming, you ask? I have officially crossed one item off of my Lawrence Bucket List:

4. Eat at Runza.

Jedsen and I ate at Runza yesterday, and it reminded him of a drive in in Carl Junction, where he grew up. The onion rings had flavor beyond the onion and grease, which was a welcome surprise. And even though I got a value meal, because I ordered at 2:00 on the dot, and 1/2 price drinks ran from 2-4, I got a half-price Mountain Dew. And because I drank a Mountain Dew for the first time in, perhaps, a year, I had a headache and was fidgety when we watched Rashoman a few hours later. But, hey, the hamburger was juicy, freshly made. And the fries were hot. And the guy at the counter was uber-friendly.

14 to go in a month-and-a-half. Who's gonna help me out?