i want some meaning i can memorize
oh my GOOD GOLLY GRACIOUS i have been so busy.
It's the middle of the Kinetic Poetics Festival down at UCSC, and while I went down with the intention of just watching, I ended up pretty much becoming part of the crew. I'm filming tomorrow, and probably doing music.
- On the first night, I was taking pictures, and Kevin (the host) comes up and tells me I'm doing music. Three minutes before the show started. So of course I epically freak out because I've never done music before and I don't even know what that entails and what the fuck am I supposed to do, and I ran up and down a flight of stairs in a panicked jingling flail a few times before finally calming down and figuring things out. As it so happens, 'doing music' means 'pick upbeat music to play while Kevin's announcing in between poets,' so I was once again saved by my overextensive music collection. And then I remembered Kevin has a shameful passion for '90s music, so of course all I could play after that was Smash Mouth and Linkin Park and ... Lady Gaga. But that's because it's me. CAUGHT IN A BAD ROMANCE~
- I was running door (taking people's money and handing out programs, basically) one night, and there was a very cute hipster who was disappointed we didn't stamp people's hands at the break. So I drew a dead koala on the back of his wrist. I think we were flirting! He had very nice hair.
- I spent a lot of time hanging out with Andrew (one of the guys who lives in the crazy poet house), which was interesting. We always have fascinating intellectual conversations, and he's one of the few people that doesn't make me feel so much older than him.
- Kevin and Andrew had a drunken impromptu riff after one of the semifinals and oh my god it was glorious.
- On Sunday, I was talking about how much I regretted not being able to make it on Wednesday, because oh my god Amy Everheart is featuring aaaahhhhhh first female winner of IWIPS sjdhfds. And it's finals, too, and it was just kind of disappointing not to be able to come back for money. And ... people chipped in for gas. Without me asking! Without anything in return! And told me how helpful I had been! I still get kind of choked up when I try to talk about it, because I think that's honestly one of the nicest things someone else has done for me in years upon years upon years upon ever, and it kind of briefly shattered my view on the world before I got my cynic groove going again.
I feel like these people are actually my friends now, like I'm really becoming part of the slam scene, and it's ... really surreal. In a good way, I think. It's kind of hard to think about - again, I'm pretty sure in a good way.
I think I have comments from before I left that I haven't responded to, and I'm really sorry, I'll get to them ... just as soon as festival's over. Craaaaazy busy. I'm filming the finals and putting them on Youtube, so I'll link when they're up (for all of the none of you that are interesting in slam poetry).
It's the middle of the Kinetic Poetics Festival down at UCSC, and while I went down with the intention of just watching, I ended up pretty much becoming part of the crew. I'm filming tomorrow, and probably doing music.
- On the first night, I was taking pictures, and Kevin (the host) comes up and tells me I'm doing music. Three minutes before the show started. So of course I epically freak out because I've never done music before and I don't even know what that entails and what the fuck am I supposed to do, and I ran up and down a flight of stairs in a panicked jingling flail a few times before finally calming down and figuring things out. As it so happens, 'doing music' means 'pick upbeat music to play while Kevin's announcing in between poets,' so I was once again saved by my overextensive music collection. And then I remembered Kevin has a shameful passion for '90s music, so of course all I could play after that was Smash Mouth and Linkin Park and ... Lady Gaga. But that's because it's me. CAUGHT IN A BAD ROMANCE~
- I was running door (taking people's money and handing out programs, basically) one night, and there was a very cute hipster who was disappointed we didn't stamp people's hands at the break. So I drew a dead koala on the back of his wrist. I think we were flirting! He had very nice hair.
- I spent a lot of time hanging out with Andrew (one of the guys who lives in the crazy poet house), which was interesting. We always have fascinating intellectual conversations, and he's one of the few people that doesn't make me feel so much older than him.
- Kevin and Andrew had a drunken impromptu riff after one of the semifinals and oh my god it was glorious.
- On Sunday, I was talking about how much I regretted not being able to make it on Wednesday, because oh my god Amy Everheart is featuring aaaahhhhhh first female winner of IWIPS sjdhfds. And it's finals, too, and it was just kind of disappointing not to be able to come back for money. And ... people chipped in for gas. Without me asking! Without anything in return! And told me how helpful I had been! I still get kind of choked up when I try to talk about it, because I think that's honestly one of the nicest things someone else has done for me in years upon years upon years upon ever, and it kind of briefly shattered my view on the world before I got my cynic groove going again.
I feel like these people are actually my friends now, like I'm really becoming part of the slam scene, and it's ... really surreal. In a good way, I think. It's kind of hard to think about - again, I'm pretty sure in a good way.
I think I have comments from before I left that I haven't responded to, and I'm really sorry, I'll get to them ... just as soon as festival's over. Craaaaazy busy. I'm filming the finals and putting them on Youtube, so I'll link when they're up (for all of the none of you that are interesting in slam poetry).