I'm surprised by how much the place that I'm living in affects my mood, positively or negatively. I loved the house my family used to live in by the beach, for its beat-up charm, the view, the privacy of it, the way the floors creaked, Phoenix (dogs being allowed), everything that gave it a distinct sort of character.

The last two places I've lived in, in Branford, and all of my dorm rooms at college, by comparison have all been relatively modern, white-painted, neutral places, and I don't like them at all. They've all felt sterile, and I don't feel at home when I'm there - slightly out of place.

I've ignored my dislike, though, for the most part - it's been a while since I moved from Seaview, about 5 years. The place I've lived in at school this weekend past, and a few weeks in a row about a month or so back, is what brought this to mind. The place is this small ground-floor apartment built as part of but separate from a much larger house. The apartment has its own door, so on. And, I love being in it. It's old, cold, the paint's crackling, some rooms are painted faded blue, showers creak, the bases of the walls are wainscotted. It has some gravitas because it's been allowed to deteriorate a bit.

My dorm room at the beginning of this semester was inside of a 150-year old building, but it was too concrete-block and it was renovated too often, I think, to get any of that character I like.

I'm looking forward to being able to find my own house, so I can get a place I'm really comfortable with.

For $400, you'd be better off trying to find a housemate and pooling your money.

When I see someone get embarassed, do something stupid, on a television or in a movie, I'm generally tempted to look away/change the channel, because it makes me uncomfortable, or it makes me pity the actor, something silly like that. I geet that same feeling when I watch Bush speak on TV. I feel uncomfortable for him, and it makes me want to stop watching. He's not doing anything particularly offensive politically, recently, and he's edging away from some of the hard right stuff, so this isn't related to any particular difference of opinion or something. His manner is just so stilted, the cloddish artifice of the oratory so obvious (he looks like he has a "How to Speak In Public" book, highlighted and pagemarked, under the podium, when he talks).

Anyways, work.

Stone