A love-hate relationship

I have a love-hate relationship with Bloomington. I hate the heat and humidity of this quiet Midwestern town, but I love the vibrancy and spirit this city has. It's the latter that keeps me happy. And it's going to be a September to remember in this place I now call home.\nIt started Friday with a trip to the Live it Up Late Nite at the Indiana Memorial Union, where I got a wonderful character sketch by a local artist, free with a student ID. She managed to capture me perfectly, and I now have an awesome present for my parents, although the parental units will probably only get a copy. I like the original too much to give it away.\nI wandered next door and watched Full Frontal Comedy, a group of IU students who do comedy sketches about life in the world and at IU. It's the latter that is particularly impressive. Friday night in a discussion of Napster, the group managed to get several sacred IU cows ' including Myles Brand ' in compromising positions.\nThe group is Bloomington's best and brightest star on the improv comedy circuit. Its willingness to take on hot potato issues makes members leading cutting-edge observers of the city and campus. They outdo all the columnists in The Herald-Times and the IDS, so go see them before you leave this campus. \nDuring the weekend, I wandered downtown for another Bloomington event: the Fourth Street Festival, an annual arts festival held every Labor Day Weekend. This particular festival reminds me of how far I have to go in life. \nMy apartment is filled with the typical trashy furniture and bad poster art you would expect from a college student. But at the festival, I discovered real art that I want on my wall, starting cheap ($50 for a photograph) and soaring to the expensive (thousands of dollars).\nBut even at the cheap end, this art is beyond my budget. I'm at a stage in which $50 is better spent on my electric bill or trips to the grocery store. But it was free to look and free to enjoy. My favorite items were the huge, hanging glass ornaments, so huge that even if I could casually drop a few hundred dollars for one, I wouldn't have a place to put it in my apartment.\nWhat's particularly impressive about all of this is that this is only the first weekend of September. There is more to come, with the best coming the last weekend of the month.\nSaturday, we can enjoy the first IU football game of the season. IU will be host to North Carolina State. Women's soccer will also compete in two games next weekend.\nThe last weekend of the month will bring us the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival, arguably the best festival in Bloomington all year. This event is five days of musical performance by groups from around the world, capped on Friday and Saturday nights by live performances at seven stages around downtown. This is a great way to learn about bands from around the world, such as Wimme from Finland, Lila Downs from Mexico and Dhagha from India. This might not be the Backstreet Boys or Madonna, but you will appreciate the difference.\nThat brings me back to the beginning: my love-hate relationship with Bloomington. I hate the Midwestern heat and humidity. But the vibrant life that exists here makes this one awesome place to live. The trick is balancing the school books with the festivals, and that's no easy feat.