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This is the first piece of bathroom graffiti I've written in several years now. i used to do it quite a bit in high school. This was actually one of my favorite poems to use back then--I liked it, or course, but mostly it was short and easy to remember (plus I love Margaret Atwood).
This piece was put up in the Ladies' Room of a Macy's in a mall in Onalaska Wisconsin. I think some woman noticed. I went into a stall that clearly wasn't working (toilet hadn't and wouldn't flush) and the other two filled up while I was in there writing. As I was coming out, another woman came in. I went and sat outside to wait for D and the lady came out shortly thereafter and gave me a dirty look. I don't know if it was the unflushed toilet or the graffiti. Oh well.A couple of things I'm debating as I continue this task. I definitely want to take a picture of each piece, but since this is largely a crime of opportunity, it might be difficult to ensure that I always have a camera on me. I'm also considering compiling a book of appropriate poems to put up there. It's hard to find something short enough and keep a store of them all in my head. So maybe it would be worth it to put some together in a marble notebook that I can keep on me. Also, I think pieces of poems are acceptable, like a stanza or so, so long as it has meaning in and of itself and doesn't lose much without the context of the poem.
So, D and I are headed off on our week-long roadtrip to Wisconsin in exactly one week. In the next week (before the trip) and over the course of the trip itself, I'm looking forward to starting a bunch of goals, and completing a few as well.
Next Wednesday, I take the GRE for the first time, hopefully completing goal 18. I'd really like do well the first go 'round, because a) the GRE is flippin' expensive and b) I'd really rather not study any more than I already have. Also, I really don't have much time to retake the test before I submit the scores to the grad program. Wish me luck! I'm probably going to be a hermit between now and Wednesday, with the exception of a therapy appointment, and a possible going away dinner with some friends, otherwise it's all library all the time.
On our road trip, I'll definitely be visiting at least 3 new states (with the possibility of one or two more, depending on our route): Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota for sure. Possibily Michigan, too. So I'll get to start on goal 33 and fill in my map some more. There would be more states, but thanks to some relatives in Louisville, I've been to Indiana (yay Holiday World!) and Ohio (yay layover!). I should also be able to take some pictures of the signs and of the other goals on the list. Some will be posted (the ones that are least likely to prevent me from getting a job), others will be kept only for posterity, so goal 97 will be on it's way.
On the way there, I'm hoping to plaster some poetry in public restroom stall walls across the country (goal 46). I've put a sharpie and my marble poetry notebooks on my list of shit I need to bring, and I'll try and sneak a camera in with me a few times so I can document my vandalism. Also, I'm hoping to procure a copy of the Sunday Times so D and I can attempt the crossword during the drive. He tells me we should be able to find the Times when we get out there (maybe at a book store if nothing else). I figure it'll be a good way to pass the time (goal 29).
There has been much debauchery planned for when we get down there. I'm not really looking forward to a bunch of keggers (especially with a bunch of people I don't know), but I figure I'll muddle through. Lord knows I've dragged D into more than enough clothing/book/girly stores that he's more than paid his due. So far, definitely on the roster: purchase of a keg, a toga party (yes, really), a trip to the strip club for one of the guys' birthdays (I'm hoping to get a lap dance out of it, and I can cross goal 11 off my list), and his friend is growing weed for us. Provided I can actually get high the first time (I've been told whether or not this happens depends on how much I smoke and the quality of the 'product'), I'll be able to check off goal 35.
I'm sure I'll make one more post before I leave, probably after the GRE on Wednesday. I won't be able to update everything else until I get back the next Saturday (and probably not until the next day anyhow), but I'll bring a notebook along with me so I can keep track of everything.
Until then--adios!
What is it: In high school, I used to graffiti the bathroom stalls with poetry--not my own, which I feel would have been kind of self-aggrandizing (and slightly emo)--mostly short stuff by 'official' Poets that lent itself well to being scrawled on a bathroom wall. I've done it once or twice since going to college, but I've basically stopped at this point. I want to get back into injecting something beautiful into life.
Status: 1/101
