Rambles to Muncie and Back

I’ve jumped into procrastination mode, full force. Now that I have a number of writing deadlines again, I’m reminded of school, and the key to my success there was to build up the pressure until I had to get the assignments done. Of course, I no longer have the luxury of sleeping in if I stay up half the night writing, since I have a very real day job, so my procrastination methods have to change a little. Anyhow, the more writing gigs I get, the more I want to blog in an effort to resist. Ironically, though, I’m putting off writing by writing. I can’t help myself.

Last weekend I headed out of the Chi for an Honors College reunion dinner at Ball State. You know what I continue to discover as I bump into people with whom I haven’t spoken in awhile, or am just meeting? I never tire of telling people that I live in Chicago. Some people cringe and suggest that life in the city is just too crowded and crazy. Others fondly recall the days when they lived in the city. Some others ask you what part of town you live in and compare notes, since they live here, too. Still others seem wide-eyed and impressed. I enjoy the mix of reactions.

Muncie was a nice stop-off for the weekend, but it definitely felt like a shell. I honestly felt like a hermit crab trying to crawl back into a home I’d outgrown years before. It feels empty to go back to college knowing that your social circle no longer exists in that space. The reunion dinner produced only one other alum from my class, so I was a bit disappointed. (I had envisioned all this catching up and picture-taking, and then drinks at the Heorot after dinner. Instead, I went back to my hotel room, read awhile, and proceeded to sleep for ten hours.)

Anyway, driving around Muncie, past Thai Smile, Szechuan Garden, Lafollette, the Village, I remembered so many great times, with friends and even with exes. But these places are just places now. I have taken all of the important people with me. My favorite professors visit when they come to Chicago, which is fairly frequently. My best friends in the world are available whenever I need them.

So, really, I was pretty happy to return to Chicago on Sunday. In fact, I practically rushed out of Funcie after a jarringly awkward run-in with an ex I never expected to see again, ever (see, this is why it’s probably best not to return to campus after graduation). I’ll admit that I stopped at the grocery store to stock up on cheaper, non-Illinois-taxed goods before I hit the highway. Afterward, as I merged with the interstate, I felt certain that Muncie had served its purpose in my life. While I'll always have a special place for BSU in my heart, the version that exists in my memory is much more meaningful than the reality of the campus today. I’ll only go back to visit again if I get to bring my old social circle with me.