Friday, May 23, 2014

First Week in Cedar Falls

Seriously, it's about time for a new blog post! So I'll once again resist the urge to finally watch the Game of Thrones episode from last Monday (yes, I'm a bit behind!). Instead, I'll listen to some La Dispute (really good post hardcore reminiscent of At the Drive-In) and try to catch up with last week.


So, what am I doing in Iowa? Through a recommendation of my Editing and Publishing class's teacher Dinty W. Moore, I found an internship at the North American Review. I already told you that, but you might have forgotten. Together with my good Athens friends Sam and Bob, I arrived in Cedar Falls last Wednesday, and the three of us couch surfed that first night. Before going to bed, we went to some bars on Main Street and found this stylish micro brewery that has a thing for bicycles, were invited to a drink and then challenged for some pool and gambling (the latter, we declined) in a cool, more 'townie' bar, and finally had a last beer in the somewhat classy Voodoo Lounge.
The next morning, Sam and Bob dropped me off at another couch surfer's place who'd host me for the next four nights, and then left for Denver, Colorado. Jessica and I had a coffee and talked for an hour or so, and then I had my first day at the NAR. I met some of my colleagues and could already get started reading texts on Submittable, the online submisssions database that the NAR uses. After work, two colleagues took me to a garage sale. Big mistake. I had no intention of buying anything, but then they had this deal where you could take anything you wanted for just $5. Big mistake. Have you heard of Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy? I had only scarcely, and then I read the blurb, and I wanted the entire boxed set. Then I saw even more Asimov books with the eponymous "Foundation" in the title. Turns out there is one novel that precedes the trilogy and three that come after it! And yes, I took all six of them. And no, I will probably not read all of them. I'm almost through the first novel of the original trilogy, it was pretty cool in the beginning but then somehow drags along...And, just as a side note (but a striking one!), there is not a single female character on the first 150 pages or so. Out of 200! Then, two women are briefly introduced (one even gets to speak!), but only for the sole reason to wear---yes, jewelry!!! Aside from that, from what I see in Foundation, I would claim that George Lucas got at least some of its inspiration for the Star Wars universe from Asimov. Even tough, oddly enough for space science fiction, Foundation offers not a single non-human alien...

Anyway, I also got a copy of Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle and Steinbeck's Cannery Row. I think that puts my summer reading...bulk at 26 books. Impossible, but I'll find a way to select. I didn't even buy all of these books myself. At least two were presents, some others I got for free, others were too cheap not to buy. You see, it's not easy!

That night, my colleague's very talented daughters Amelia and Melina were playing a show at the Hub. Great voices and lyrics, their entirely acoustic songs not unlike First Aid Kit, or probably early Tegan and Sara.

Back home, Jessica's black cat, Belle, and I had already became bffs. (It seems like every second American I meet has cats!) From the second night onward, she jumped on my couch/me and then curled up next to me or on my tummy and purred as I fondled and tickled her. Even though she woke me up more than once in the middle of the night by jumping up and down, I enjoyed that quite a bit. 

On Saturday, my colleague Jordan and I sold some of the NAR's latest issues at the Hearst Center for the Arts. James Hearst was a local 'farmer poet,' pretty well known, and friends with Robert Frost. What I read of his poetry is really good. 

Since I had the entire Sunday off, I decided to go out a bit. Cedar Falls is a small town, but it is an American town, so it sprawls. It took me almost an hour to get from Jessica's place all the way North to the Cedar River, and that was only the point where 'nature' starts. Island Park already features a small but pretty dense patch of wood, a kinda marshy area. And I have a thing for marshes; the dead still water, like oil, like a thick black mirror from which the tall and obstinate trees protrude, bearing their bright green foliage that prevents most of the sunlight to reach beneath the treetops. Another two and a half miles to Black Hawk Park into even denser woods and marshes. This did not look at all like the Iowa that pop culture shows us every once in a while! 

On my way back, I found the best reading spot in Iowa (arguably), a beautiful meadow that leads right to a miniature bluff along one of the many small side streams of the Cedar River. On the opposite shore and in the stream, fallen trees from previous floods. And almost nothing to hear but birds. But, alas!, since I am not yet prepared for a life in the woods, I went back into town, passed the historical Ice House and Cedar Falls's tiny first school building, and then met Jordan at Cup of Joe's. We discussed favorite bands and got nostalgic over video games, then picked up Hannah, and drove to the bowling alley where Tanner joined us. Well, I did not lose. Neither did I win, but that's okay. After that, a good Mexican dinner, and back home.

On Monday, I moved to my new apartment and met my roommates. Our house is in really good condition. Maybe that's why it lacks the soul, character, and beauty of my house in Athens. However, after two and a half weeks--good weeks!--on other people's couches, it's good to have my own room again.

For the weekend, I've planned my first road trip that I'll do all by myself. 9 hours out West, then some hiking and camping in southwestern South Dakota's Badlands. Got a nice little tent and some gear, so I'm good to go.

2 comments:

  1. Klingt doch alles spitze... ich beneide dich nur etwas um deine Reading List, meine ist leider noch viel unmöglicher, fürchte ich: http://easybib.com/key/a10f1e

    Na wenigstens ist schönes Wetter (ich sehe jedenfalls einen blauen Schimmer im Glasdach über mir ...)

    Keep it real!

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    Replies
    1. Hui, die ist tatsaechlich sehr lang! Aber du kannst ja sicher noch bissl aussieben. Bleib dran, das wird schon!

      Wir sehen uns!

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