1.1.03 – Tucson, AZ

it was sometime after the sun set today that we’d all made it back from phoenix and managed to bath and dress for the day that had, er, nearly passed us by. the drive was rough; peyton nearly missed her plane and joe had to yak into a bag of chex mix. dinner at a generic all-things-asian restaurant was subdued, and since then we’ve been laying around the living room dj-ing for one another. paul has just begun making gin and tonics, however, so we might perk up after all.

this is the new year’s of the over-educated and under-employed: slumber-partying at paul’s tonight we have two harvard grads, five stanford grads, plus a few graduate degrees, and at the moment only one of us is employed. that’s right: seven grads, one million dollars of education, and only one job. we do play a mean game of scrabble, tho. they should put us in those prospective student catalogues. here’s what life after a liberal arts degree really looks like, kids.

the living room looks like a youth hostel, with backpacks and sleeping bags and skateboards scattered around the room, a fake log crackling in the fire place, and Willy the cat jumping about from lap to lap. paul sorts his books thus: fiction and reference go in the bookcases in the bedroom, non-fiction goes in the bookcases in the living room, and the bookcase in the bathroom has reading one might enjoy while using the facilities. selections include:
paul's bathroom

zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance

the hitch-hiker’s guide to the galaxy

study guide for the GRE lit. exam

civilization and its discontents

the gashlycrumb tines

acu-yoga

the phobias and anxiety workbook

the saga of erik the viking

the art of t.s. eliot

the cat who could read backwards

the indespensible calvin and hobbes.

something for everyone. there’s even a desk lamp, for good reading light. i will photograph this bathroom later.