Sunday, August 31, 2008

Oscar Mike!

Hello World,

This is the first post for my last year in Bennington.

For those of you who don't know what's about to happen, I'll tell you. I'm going back to Bennington College for my final year, and I'm doing so without an official place to live.

Did you know that it's always "an" in front of a vowel and "a" in front of a consonant? i.e. an Onion Roll or a Kaiser Roll. I just learned that. I mean, I guess I kinda knew it, but I also kinda didn't.

So I'm going to live in a tent in the woods the whole time I'm at Bennington. I know it sounds crazy, but what this experiment presupposes is: maybe it isn't? I'll sleep in a four season camping hammock I just purchased. I'll set it up each afternoon and take it down each morning. I'm going to shower and get pretty in one of the houses on campus, and I'm going to store my clothes in my painting studio. I'll probably get a campus lunch plan so I have access to food in the afternoon, and I'm contemplating working at the dining hall for one hour each day, around dinnertime, for dinner. I'll eat breakfast in my painting studio each morning when I wake up at 4 a.m. We'll see how that waking up early thing goes.

I know what you're thinking -- "You're gonna freeze!!!"

Actually, I won't. I'm all geared up for winter camping, and if it gets too cold, I'll find a place to sleep on campus somewhere. For those of you who have never been to Bennington, I assure you -- it's easy finding a place to sleep inside one of the buildings.

The idea behind all of this is to save up enough money to buy a house when I get back to Detroit. Also, I'm in a position to partially take myself off the grid for a little while so I'm doing just that. Also, I'm interested in testing my stamina and endurance. I know there are other ways to test these things, but I chose this one.

I'm Oscar Mike from Detroit to Bennington in about sixteen hours!

I'm very excited to be sharing this experience with you guys, and I'm looking forward to getting any feedback y'all might have.

More soon,

Jason!

11 comments:

Toby said...

good luck Jason Murphy, I really do mean it! just make sure that you budget an extra 5 bucks into this scheme of yours ok?

V. Wetlaufer said...

Wow, Jason, this is awesome. I don't think you're crazy, I think it is perfectly you. Aw, man, I miss you. I'm sorry we never met up when I was in Detroit last year.

Good luck and I'm so glad you're keeping this blog!

Anonymous said...

Grammar. Royal Tenenbaums. And a surprisingly robust plan. Jason Murphy, you're all grown up.

With undying respect and love,
Cory

jmurphy said...

It's not that I don't like grammar its just that it dont like me!!!

Rho Ell Ste said...

Excellent work, Jason. (This is Elliott.) This sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

Just watch out for bears.

And winter scorpions. (They're golden and have red spots down their sides.)

shannon.orme said...

I hope the cicadas don't keep you up at night. Take care of yourself and have a blast.

A said...

My first reaction to this was to laugh. Yes, Jason Murphy, yes.

I'm glad you assured us that you will be ready for the winter. Stay warm. Drink lots of fluids. Keep a bat with you, just in case whatever lives in that hole you found in the field comes out and is hungry.

Good luck and don't fall off the grid too far. We'll all be worried the winter scorpions got you.

jmurphy said...

a???

does anybody know who this is?

Ditte said...

Typically Jason...

Selv de mærkelige svenskere jeg arbejder sammen med nu, synes det lyder sært.

But I still think you're awesome.

Jason Irla said...

Its AB-B Dude, (hope I'm not blowing up the spot). This is wild, wild, wild! It's nice to know that when I come to visit I have options as to where I may stay--Alumni house or Murphy's 4 season tent--It's puts a different spin on Stay Frosty doesn't it. Stay warm ... push it, but not over the edge, alright.

Earl

jmurphy said...

Okay Earl,

You can sleep in my tent but we have to sleep head to toe.