I was reading Oscar Wao one fine Sunday Evening trying to think of what I would write for my close reading that Tuesday. As intriguing and well written as the novel was I wasn’t sure what my take on it would be be. The perspective of the story teller, the stream of contagiousness mixed with the footnotes and interesting use of brackets and ellipses. The novel was ripe with material to deconstruct but I lacked my own thesis.

I went to bed searching for inspiration in my dreams. Turning my pillow onto the other side of my small twin sized bed, trying to inhabit a different mental space hoping for inspiration.

That night I dreams of climbing to the top of a great mountain where a wise man whose beard inhabited the entire funky galaxy resided and sat cross legged waiting for me..

“What should I write my paper about?”

“Know the truth and it will set you free.”

He anointed my forehead with his index finger and sent me off the edge of the universe, where I fell past all time, history and civilization.

I opened my outer eyes. I awoke staring at the floor.

BANG!

My stomach was clenched, ears wringing. I writhed on the floor moaning. Aaah. 180 lbs of me had fall out and bed and landed four feet down on my forehead at ~6:00 AM. The confusion was unparalleled. 

In the doctor’s office on campus I was examined and told that I was unable to read or watch video or do any strenuous mental activity for the next 24 hours. I asked incredulously what I could do besides stare at a blank wall. She suggested I go walking.

On my walks around campus I met some new people, talked to some girls and then caught up with some people I hadn’t chatted with in a while. I walked to the beach and then to the organic farm and then back to my apartment. I played Frisbee, pet a cat, fed some chickens. The weather was gorgeous and my skin became less pale.

I had a lot of interactions I wouldn’t have had if I was able to do my homework (or play video games). Things were good till sunset. At which point someone came to our apartment and held us as musical hostages while he forced us to listen to his shitty music. It was so bad I chose to stare at a blank wall.

I was like Oscar in more ways than I realized. Preferring the comfort of my fantasy world to the vulnerability of interacting with others.

In my shoken up state of mind this story seemed like a really good way of framing my close reading and talking about the text. But upon hearing that I was too brain scrambled to the assignment Sam decided that I should do a close reading of Winter’s Bone instead- This is probably good since I was unable to read the book. If there was a point to any of this it’s that I should leave my apartment more and maybe worry less about homework.