Asheville.

well I made my first real road trip for jump last night. 2 hours each way... not too bad. Andrew accompanied me on the adventure. I was nervous that he wasn't going to think it was worth it. (I kind of didn't emphasize the facts that the show was a good 2 hours away, on a thurs night, it was 15 bucks, and the guys probably wouldn't come on til 10:30 or so.) Judging from his reactions though, I think he really enjoyed it, so that just goes to show you. If someone who has never seen them before thinks it was worth it to drive all that way, etc. then they really are amazing. That's all there is to it. I also got to see Ryan, so that was nice. How he predicted all those songs... man, he is a groupie. Some day I hope to attain his status.

Mark your calanders: April 15th at Ziggy's. I will be there... hopefully in the front row. Man, that post-concert feeling... there's just nothing like it. You know it was good when it lasts days later.

Anyway, yeah the show was pretty chill. They played some slower and certainly rarer songs because it was an acoustic show. Here are the songs that I remember them playing: By the Way they Dance, Matchbox whistler, Just a second, Mexico, Darkest Love, B-13, Dancing Virginia, Body Parts, BTDATD, Midnight (jay, not evan, but it's cool)Copper Kettle, Pink Lemonaid, Hold You Down, Not Today.

yeah. it was amazing. Perfect close to a ridculously hard week. wish I could see them every week.

My black P-500 extra fine Pilots

Ok, so this is weird, but there are these pens I've used since middle school that are absolutely amazing. I mean I write pretty small, so it's hard to find something that has a fine enough point yet still is smooth and clear. Yeah, so anyway... I had been really upset this past year because I couldn't find them anywhere. I searched at Walmart, office depot, staples, you name it. Yeah. So anyway, I had begun to give up hope of finding them, but then I saw the large office depot book in the bookstore here and decided to take a browse. Now this occurred last semester, and I have since then ordered 12 of these pens. (yeah, 12 seems like a lot, but I'll use them I promise.) Yeah, so you may be asking yourself something like ok, but why the heck are you writing about this? Yes, this is a logical question.

Here is the reason: today I was sitting in my interpersonal communication class when the girl next to me all of the sudden got my attention and said something like: Oh my gosh... let me see your pen. Oh! P-500's. Wow, you're going to think this is weird, but I love these pens, and they've stopped selling them. Where did you get them? Yeah, so how amazing is that? It was interesting that someone else out there has the same obcession with pens that I do. It would be a Wake Forest student.

the trend I've detected is towards low self-monitoring

I must say I'm in a darn good mood. Just got out of my interpersonal communication class where much class (and more specifically individual) participation occurred. It was nice. We did this thing where there was this list of around 250 adjectives, and we had to pick the ones that best described us. It was interesting, so I decided to volunteer my adjectives to the rest of the class, and my teacher sort of did a brief analysis of me. It was cool. He said I sounded like a very interesting person (haha) and that I would be interesting to get to know, but he made the prediction that someone would have to really make an effort to get to know me. yeah, I guess that's sort of true. So yeah, here they are because I'm sure you're curious... (in no particular order) self-conscious, perceptive, idealistic, imaginative, playful, intuitive, protective, cynical, trustworthy, determined, reflective, regretful, manipulative, religious, modest, elusive, naive, visionary, nervous, frank, sarcastic, youthful, inquisitive, honest, and indecisive. Yeah, I'm not proud of all of them, and a few of them I'd like to change, but I think it's pretty accurate.

uh huh, so I may still have some pesky hormones running around contributing to the being alone sucks state of mind, but today has been better. By the way, I think it's pretty crappy that everyone sort of assumes that boys have an excuse for not being able to control as much their attraction to girls as the general rule. It's all "because of their hormones," "boys will be boys..." What the heck? News flash: girls have hormones, too. Maybe we just deal with them better.

ok I'm done. thanks.

jumping back into life

Well I must be doing better because I caught myself running down stairs, skipping, and whistling. It's interesting because the last two days I didn't do any of that typically routine stuff due to my illness, but today I have just been doing better in general. The thing is, today I actually am in a better mood than I was in before I got sick, so I guess it's good to get sick every once and a while even if it sucks because it makes you appreciate stuff more. short and sweet today.

crap.

Awww man. So I think I'm definately sick. I rarely do this sick thing, so it sucks a whole lot. I also am pretty opposed to taking meds for a few reasons. (my dad hates them, so he has influenced me... my dad influences me a lot, really; I have the oppinion that by taking them you don't give your imune system a work out which leads to more sicknesses down the line; and I don't know... it just seems like cheating). So yeah, even though I was ridiculously tired from going rollar skating, I could not fall asleep. It's sad really b/c it could have potentially been one of my best night's sleep ever b/c I was so exhausted. (it defintaely was fun rollar skating though, and we convinced the little old woman to give us the tickets for about half price. sweet. Then of course the music was hoppin'. I had all sorts of flashbacks to middle school just through the songs. And then the girls trying to get down with Tim... haha. Funny, but also super sketcy. If it were anyone but Tim, it'd be really sketchy. Yeah, my thighs got a work out for sure.)

Yeah, so that's that. sorry... I complain too much, I know, but at least you don't have to read this if you don't want to. Cool, now it's time to watch movies in bed or at least that's the plan if I can get my hands on anything good. They only had 1/10 of the movies I wanted to check out from the library, and I already watched that one this afternoon--High Fidelity.)

cathartic

Ummm... I'm not depressed. I just thought I should clarify that b/c the last post was pretty down. I think writing that stuff down even helped. Cathartic. Lot of people lately have had emotional blowouts. It seems almost trendy. Carol (the roommate) said that her next goal was to find me a boyfriend. haha. good luck with that. I guess my mood could be traced to two key things:
1. I haven't been doing the God thing lately. (what's with closing churches when the weather isn't perfect? that's just not cool.) I think since I haven't gone to church the past couple of weeks that I've come to the conclusion that my faith should not be church-based. I should not be relying on that as my only means of religiousness. I need to be actively reading the Bible and praying. I did this last night, and today has already been better.
2. I am lonely, and I am tired of waiting for the right guy for me. (not that that means I will cease to wait and just settle for anyone b/c that is definately not true. I'm pretty picky.)

Yep, so don't be nervous for me. I'm ok, I promise.

"the pit of darkness and despair"

Do you ever feel like you're not really living? Like you're just going through the motions? You smile at people as they walk by you, go to church most of the time, do your homework, show up in class, and call home; but nothing really seems to mean anything. That is where I am, and it sucks.

I want to live life and love life, but I just can't seem to feel any emotions really. It's like that quote from the movie Waking Life: "It seems like everyone is sleep-walking through their waking state or wake-walking through their dreams." I feel like I'm in that dream-like state, but my dreams are much better than my real life, so the analogy is a little off.

But then again I do have one overriding emotion: lonliness, so I guess I'm not living entirely as if I were on some mind-numbing drugs. I mean I've had some decent conversations with people lately, but in a way that just makes me more lonely b/c then I know what I'm missing. Yeah, a lot of the music I've been listening to lately is really mellow, too, so that probably doesn't help. There are some great songs about lonliness though. (Great as in poetic and evoking emotions.)

-"A baby sleeps in all our bones so scared to be alone" --Iron and Wine

-"So I look in your direction/But you pay me no attention/And you know how much I need you/But you never even see me"--Coldplay

-"Now I long for that embrace/The strongest arms and troubled face/Smokey air and autumn grey/That make me feel safe" --Jump, Little Children

-"Sometimes I'd like to just ask her/what honest words/she can't afford to say, like/'I want your flowers like babies want God's love or maybe as sure as tomorrow will come'"--Iron and Wine

Yeah, you get the picture. Darn it, I hate being lonely. I want to love life with someone. This is not a cry for help, and I'm not at all saying I'm desperate. I'm just sick of waiting to get swept off my feet by life.

This guy Anthony wrote this:
"We know that our dreams will be achieved, but only if we partake on a dangerous journey through the pits of darkness and despair. Only after we overcome our trials; once we receive our lashings will he have a chance to taste the wine of forever and joy on our lips."
And that is pretty much how it is. Right now I'm in that pit of darkness, but I'm hoping it will all be worth it. That is one of the few things I have hope in. I figure once I do find that person I connect with it will be that much better. It's got to be.

a good weekend

So I had a pretty good weekend I'd say. It was nice, and I think it even gave me some hope that life can be pretty good. So let's see... Friday night I played a board game. Man, how I do miss playing board games. My mom bought so many of those things that they filled up almost a whole wall of shelves in the atic. It's a bit insane really, but anyway. yeah, so we played Sorry (of course I won). I have to warn you... I am pretty darn competitive when it comes to board games especially. Yep, so then on Saturday I had to get up early and walk upon the hazardous ice-covered bricks to work, but I have to say... work didn't turn out so bad at all. Pretty much no one came in, so the work was definately on the light side. Then I met this kid named Ryan who works at the book store, too, and we had some fun with the 5 disk CD changer. (Pure Dance 4, Pure techno, pure funk, you get the picture; basically everything is "pure.") Then some of his friends came in, so we just did the whole fire-side chat thing for a while. Then I did laundry, and that in itself is always exciting. Then we did some more stuff, watched Big Fish, had deep and enlightening conversations, etc. It was nice. I had some good conversations with people this weekend (both live and through my laptop screen). Yeah, there's more... but you've probably stopped reading by this point anyway.

the legend of the navy blue gloves

OK, so all this week I have wished to own a pair of gloves b/c as we all know it has been freezing cold this week. If you read the earlier post in which I mostly complain about stuff entitled something like "Post Christmas feelings: a christmas of gloves" you will know already that everyone received gloves in my family except for me. Yes, so anyway... I had finally decided to buy gloves before work on Friday since I'd have to be at the mall anyway, and after the long trudge to student drive to retrieve my cold, lonely car I was glad that I had decided this. That's when I looked through the window and saw them... a pair of navy blue gloves sitting on the seat of my car. I know what you're thinking: something like "well how did they get there?" right? yeah, well I wondered the same thing. I have never to my knowledge seen these gloves in my life. It was amazing and unsettling at the same time. (Yes, my car was locked, and no, the gloves definately weren't there when I left from home.) So yeah, that's the story. It's completely factual.

Where the heck am I going to live next year?

Yeah, it may seem early to be worrying about where I'll live come next fall, but it has lately been plaguing my mind. I mean it doesn't look like Carol and I will be rooming together next year since we have different friends for the most part, so not only am I supposed to find a room, but I need to find a roommate. (It doesn't particularly help that I hang out with guys a lot as they cannot move in with any of them for obvious reasons.)

So yeah, some people are talking about Huffman, and that could be cool, but I really don't know if I will have a spot anywhere. I might have to put myself at the mercy of the housing people to pick a random roommate for me, which could be potentially be disastrous.

But then this past week I found out about this environmental group on campus called SEAC, and they are attempting to get a theme house on Polo approved for next year... that could be really cool. Too bad I really don't know any of them besides Sarah. She does seem really nice, excited, and cool though, so if the others are like her, it could be an awesome experience. Of course it would be super weird to not live on the main part of campus... everyone is so close to me now, but if I lived on Polo, I'd have to probably drive to see people. Although... living in a house with an actual kitchen, living room, etc. would be amazing. Not to mention how close I could get to the other people living their and the fun times we'd have. (and of course, we could unite under the common cause of making the world a better place, and that's always good. On a side note: I hate it when people put regular trash in the recylcling been. You really shouldn't do that b/c then they can't recycle any of it.) Man, this is a lot to take in though. I'm awful at making decisions anyway. Sometimes I wish life weren't so complicated. Everything seems to be complicated now. I mean one could argue that that stuff makes life more interesting, and it does... but it also makes it so much harder. Sometimes I wish I could just get a direct and clear message from God telling me what I should do. Is that too much to ask?

thoughts after the crazy night

Ummm yeah, I haven't slept more than maybe an hour in the past 34 hours. This may be a record. This of course is due to the wake vs. unc basketball game that occured just an hour or so ago. Yeah, so around 900 people camped out last night in front of the Joel coliseum. Let me just say that this is about the craziest thing ever mostly because it was in the twenties last night. Yes, it was so freakin cold that I literally just jumped around and shuffled my feet back and forth for hours on end. Oh, and then there was the whole alcohol issue. People were generally not crazy drunks, but the mess they left behind of shattered glass and empty brightly-colored cups is just not acceptable in my opinion. On a related topic, I put in my order for the Johnson T-Shirt today with Hall, so that should be good.

The good parts of the L-O-N-G night:
-eating pizza at Burke St. Pizza for the first time (thanks for the recomendation, Johanna b/c it was awesome)
-meeting some people near me in line (it was strange... I met a girl named Beth from Summerville which is literally 17 miles from Moncks Corner, and then I met a guy from the ultimate frisbee team who is a friend of Tim's named Nick, and he seems pretty cool, too).
-drinking the hot chocolate at Jimmy the Greek's (yeah, it was my first time eating there... finally)
-spooning with Johanna and Will...yeah... too bad he has a boyfriend (I love Will)
-finally stepping inside to the warm building
-the bonding that occured
-watching Stowe crawl/stumble out of the window hatch door thing in the back of his car when he was barely awake.

Uh huh, so all that said, I suppose I'm mildly glad we did it. We've done it once, we don't have to do it again. (BECAUSE IT'S CRAZY!!) Yeah and we won, so that was nice. In addition, the game itself was a massive adrenaline rush, and it really was exciting. When we yelled our little phrases, they echoed, and that's just awesome. So yeah... I hate cold weather. There's just no way around that.

ok, so we've been here almost a week now

OK, so the first week back here is coming to an end. Man, it's so weird that it's only been a week. I really do feel like I've been here forever for once. Usually it's the opposite. I guess it's just not as new as it used to be. So yeah... the classes... I don't know really what to think just yet. I do think that I'm never going to stop reading this semester though b/c all of my classes are reading/writing based. So yeah, it's exciting to meet new people. I also like having class start a whole lot later. I really do think the ten o'clock hour for the first class is the best b/c it's pretty late, but you still get it out of the way and don't end up wasting your whole day.

As for this weekend... yeah, the big game is tomorrow. (UNC vs. Wake) It sucks b/c I really don't want to camp out in the coldness and wetness and drunkeness that will surely ensue. Don't get me wrong... I don't mind camping in general--you know, when you are with close friends and somewhere a little more remote. oh and not on cold, wet cement. So we'll see how that goes. I'd really like to actually sleep tonight, though.

Wow, this is weird... I really don't have much to say now. Wow, it was pretty cool that my last post got two comments so that it actually makes sense b/c the little thing says "1 comments" when there's just one, and we all know that doesn't make grammatical sense. I apologize. Yeah this post was boring. oops.

back.

Yep, so here I am... back at Wake. It's interesting really to see people again after a month. People I never really talked to smile at me and ask me how my break was. I almost want to type out my thoughts on the break, print them out on little slips of paper, and hand them out. (But I guess that'd be kind of anti-social and impersonal.) Really though, if you ask me as you're walking by do you really want more than a few words in response? Darn it, sometimes I wish we could all be real with eachother. None of this feigned kindness if you really don't care. How different would everything be then? Man, politicians wouldn't know what to do all day. No more kissing babies and shaking hands. But no, we all play the game anyway. Some of us better than others of course.

Alright, I suppose that was kind of negative. It's cool though b/c I think Andrew is the only person that actually reads any of this at all.

Yeah, so classes start back up tomorrow. Interesting. If you care, here are the classes I'm taking:
Philosophy intro
Intro to Environmental Studies
History 103 (crap, this is going to suck)
Psychological Utopias (the fys that seems cool, but has a butt-load of reading--7 books)
and hopefully Interpersonal Communication (although I am currently on the wait-list for this)

It should be exciting though. Finally an opportunity to maybe meet some new people. The first week or so of classes is nice, too b/c you don't have to worry about tests and grades yet, and the stuff is still new and intriguing.

dentists, doctors, and monsters

OK, so the phone rings at 8:15 this morning... oh by the way, the phone is conveniently located right behind my bed. Luckily, my mom is still home, so she picks up the phone as I roll over carefully as to preserve the sleep-status. See, once I open my eyes and look around I typically have a hard time falling back to sleep. Anyway, just as I start to forgive the crazy person for calling so early, my mom yells up the stairs saying the phone is for me. As you can imagine, a bunch of things are running through my head at this point. (a. who the heck calls this early? b. no one ever calls me anyway... who the heck wants to talk to me at 8:15 in the morning? c. I automatically dislike this person.) Anyway, so I pick up the phone, and it's one of the receptionists at the dentist's office b/c my dad told them yesterday that if they could fit me in at all to call.

OK, so I get up ridiculously early on one of my last days to sleep late for months, throw on some clothes, and make a quick banana smoothie. Of course when I get there, I look around for some reading material. You know... perhaps a catalog or something. Nope, all I see are hunting magazines and the Holy Bible. Hmmm... interesting combination. Please don't think that I'm knocking the Bible b/c I'm not. It would just be sort of weird to read the Bible in a waiting room. So I sit there for 15 minutes just staring at the Magnolia inspired decor. (Of course this guy comes in and of all places to sit, he sits directly across from me, so we both attempt to divert our eyes so as not to stare at each other.)

So they call me in, and I take a seat in the chair that I have come to despise and fear. I've never had any cavaties and still don't, but had some crappy experiences with dentists and orthodontists in the past. (Ex #1: had braces from 5th grade to 12th grade---7 1/2 years, Ex #2: I've had 16 teeth pulled Ex #3: I accidentally bit one of the receptionists once... I don't know how it happened, it wasn't intentional... it just happened). Anyway, the woman proceeds to cram that slide thing in my mouth for the x-rays (the whole x-ray thing creeps me out in the first place. I mean, if you're not supposed to get x-rays taken when you're pregnant, they must do something bad, right?) After trying three times, she states that the computer has been acting up, and the attempts have been in vain. She then proceeds to pick at my teeth with shiny, sharp objects for what seems like hours, tells me I need to floss or I'll "lose my pretty teeth," and attempts to carry on a conversation with me while her hands are prying open my mouth. (I don't understand this... how the heck am I supposed to respond?)

Yeah, so I really don't like dentists, doctors, or monsters. In fact, I think I'd rather encounter a monster than a dentist any day of the week. (depending on the dentist I suppose.)

sappy remarks on the brother

OK, so I'm in a really good mood now. Yes, it's true. So I just got back from that movie Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events. There were only four of us in the theatre b/c who goes to see a kid's movie that's been out for three weeks at 4:35 on a Thursday afternoon? Anyway, I took my little brother, Stefan, because he has been diligently reading the books, I thought it'd be a nice bonding activity, and well... I didn't think anyone else would enjoy it as much as he would.

[Side note: Stefan looks a lot younger than he actually is, so he fascinates people b/c he's a pretty intelligent and really funny guy. oh, and he's really cute, and still has that child-like innocence thing working for him. He looks like that kid in the Old Navy commercials... Stefan gets mad at him for "stealing his identity."]

So yeah, the movie was fun and definately aesthetically pleasing, but that is not the point of this. The point is that I'm a fan of sibling quality time together. Yeah, so we usually give eachother a hard time as siblings should, but today we were able to put all of that aside, and it was lovely.

Anyway, after we went to Fazoli's, I was dreading the drive back home... that is until I popped in a CD. (OK, yes, if you know me at all, you probably know it was a Jump, Little Children CD. No, I do listen to other bands... it's true, I promise, but yes, it was a Jump CD. Magazine in case you're interested.) Anyway, as usual I was singing along, but then something amazing and quite touching happened. Stefan started singing along in that pre-puberty voice of his. Oh man, it was so cute. Of course he botched some of the lyrics, but that only made the whole thing more endearing.

So yes, that is why I'm in a good mood. I've been struggling some with not being home as he's growing up b/c I miss moments like these. It sucks, you know? I mean I won't be there when he brings home his first girl friend or during his awful band practices (yeah, he just started playing the drums). *Sigh* It's moments like tonight's that make me happy to have such an amazing little brother.

The best feelings... well in my opinion

[These are in no particular order.]

1. Cold shower after long run on hot day (esp. the cold water on face... oh, it's so nice. My face does that really cute thing where it gets ridiculously red if I do any exercise at all or if I get nervous for some reason.)

2. Hot showers on really cold, rainy days

3. Clean sheets (yes, I'll admit it here, but never to my mom: I actually really enjoy doing laundry. Finding the time to do it and the empty machines... now that's a different story. I just love that fresh out of the dryer smell and warmth. I want to jump into it sometimes, but I usually refrain.)

4. Waking up at around 3 AM and knowing you still have a good 6 hours of sleep. Oh my, how I do love this!

5. Getting in bed after a long day

6. Sitting down after an excellent concert (preferably Jump, Little Children)

7. Hearing an old song on the radio that you forgot existed, but you love it and sing your lungs out

8. When the noise the car signal makes coincides with the rhythm of the song you're listening to... yes, this is always super wonderful and rare.

9. Turning on the radio and the song that has been stuck in your head all day is playing

10. Eating at your favorite restaraunt (sp?) after a long period of absence (I like Fazoli's, Mellow Mushroom, Andolini's, The Olive Garden, and well, as you may have guessed--really any Italian restaurant. Although, it is nice to get over to Sonic every once and a while.)

OK, so that's all for now. I will probably update this though.

New Years

OK, so before I actually get into New Years, I feel it is important to say that I went to Dock Street again on the 30th. They are just that good. I went alone this time, but it worked out b/c I ended up getting a better seat than I would have had I been with people b/c I moved to an empty one in the front row of one of the balconies. Anyway, it was awesome, but I feel like I've exhausted myself by telling about it so much, so I'll spare you in this blog. I'll try to post some pictures when we get back to school.

That said, onto New Years. OK I really think New Years is a pretty stupid reason to drink and hook up with someone. If that is how you justify your naughty behavior, well then shame on you. To start the new year drunk, well hey that's a great start, don't you think. I mean I especially liked seeing the 15 or so cop cars on the highway on the way home shining a flashlight over the road and to the side most likely in search of a body from the awful car wreck. (Can you sense my sarcasm?) Just to let you know, I'm not neccesarily saying the party I went to was a drunken fest b/c it wasn't. I'm just making a blanket statement. I do not say this b/c I am bitter... oh no, on the contrary I actually did do something last night (as much to my surprise as yours, I'm sure). Yeah, I went over to a friend's house from high school, and hung out for a while. Although it was a little rough in the beginning when I only knew the five guys and none of the girls in the flock, eventually some came that I did know. So yeah, it wasn't a bad night, really. It was interesting to see some kids from high school. Yes, I say interesting b/c well I just like observing people, and this was a good opportunity for that (and I wasn't really friends with some of them in the first place although some I wish I had been closer to).

So yes, with Dock Street and New Years over I truly have nothing this week to look forward to...well, there's always the hope that someone will want to go see a movie, but I can't really count on that.

Post-Concert Bliss

[WARNING: you probably just want to skip this one unless you have a strong liking for music and Jump, Little Children in particular... the details will most likely bore you.]

*Sigh* Yes, so I attended the J,LC concert last night at Dock Street Theatre, and let me say I enjoyed it immensely. It is quite possible that I got more dressed up last night, than I have in years. (Yeah, the whole skip your high school prom thing sucks in retrospect... but that's another topic that I will perhaps discuss later b/c I have much to say on that topic as you might have guessed.) So yes, I went a bit crazy--I made a necklace and earrings, but I did refrain from painting my nails in the wal*mart manacure way b/c I thought that might be a bit much. Anyway, thanks to my lovely assistant, Liz, I left confidently with my hair put back in some artsy manner.

The original plan actually worked for once. I met Tommy there, and we happily took our seats in the front row. (Oh, yes I was that dork that waited by her computer to buy the tickets when they first came out.) It's weird. It seemed like everything happened on December 28th: Dock Street (obviously), Tommy's birthday, the due date of all my library books (oops), and the day Garden State came out on DVD... ok that's not actually too much, but it sure seems like it when you sit around the house most days. I don't know how I'm going to be able to sit at home tonight and tomorrow night knowing that Jump is playing and that I could be there. Thus, I think I may end up going Thursday night... yes there is definately that possibility.

Anyway, back to the show. It was amazing. Jay's voice sounded better than I remembered. I mean it was just amazing how good he sounded. Matt cracked me up with his offbeat comments and outfit. Johnny... well what do I need to say about that man--he's my favorite, he's amazing. I mean how many people have you seen even play a big old stand up bass, let alone dance with it like he does. Then there was the whole conversation about Ward's outfit... the one he got from Bannana Republic. He admitted that "Chad" helped him pick it out... yes, Chad was my Spanish teacher for three years in high school, and I love that man, so we definately had a good laugh about that.

Man, I just didn't really stop smiling much last night. I love that post-concert blissful high feeling you get after a good show. I love it. I guess it's like an escape for me. My liking for good music resembles an addiction. I go through bouts of depression when I haven't listened to good music in a while, and when I get my fix I am ridiculously giddy. Yes, I'm sorry to admit it's true. Is it healthy? Well I don't know... there are better and worse things to be addicted to I suppose. OK, I'm done rambling... I'm going to go return those library books now and enjoy this gorgeous day.

Post-Christmas Feelings: A Christmas of Gloves

Yep, so Christmas day has passed. I have to say it was not too exciting. That may be because I knew everything I was getting because I picked out my presents with my dad this year. What I got in case you're curious: 3 CD's (a coldplay, a nick drake, and an iron and wine--which I like a whole lot and have listened to every night), a DVD (Napoleon Dynamite), and a Napoleon Dynamite T-Shirt (which I find humerous). Although to be fair, I did receive three items I did not know about: a pair of black velour gloves, a pair of tan velour gloves (actually everyone received gloves except for Stefan... how exciting), and a blue sweater (with leather trimming... not exactly my style, but good try, Dad). Sadly, I returned these three surprises. My dad did say I have one thing coming in the mail, however. At first this didn't excite me too much, but if that thing is an i-Pod, I would literally jump for joy and take back my oppinion that my parents can do no good by buying my surprises for Christmas. (I do not, however, think that the thing will be an i-Pod b/c sadly they are ridiculously expensive.) Yes, my family has not been the best at surprising me these past few Christmases (is that a word?). Last year I recieved this horrible aqua bluish bathrobe, but it wasn't terry cloth--oh no, that might have been acceptable--it was this horrible (sorry I can't think of another adjective worthy of this thing) long hairy material--like gorilla fur only flourescent aquamarine. I don't know what it was, but it was just... well horrible. I think you get the picture.

Don't worry though. I went shopping with my mom today, and I think we got some good stuff. To sum it up: a pair of pants from Gap, a fun striped sweater from Express, a long-sleeve Half Moon T-Shirt, two great skirts, and a warmer jacket. Wow, it looks like I'm a name-brand freak, but I'm not... well not really. It just happened that I found stuff I liked there. I do try to stay away from clothing that has the logo stamped across it though for the most part. I just don't think that's too cool. They should pay us to wear that stuff, shouldn't they?

So yeah, lately I have to admit I've been reading the Lemony Snicket books. It started out just because I was curious because as you should know, I want to see the movie, but I've now read the first 3 in 4 days. (I mean they're on the 5th or 6th grade reading level, so that's part of it.) They even have great pictures. They are pretty entertaining. As entertaining as Harry Potter? ummm... probably not. I mean they don't have as much going on in them b/c they're considerably shorter, but they are clever none the less. So if you find yourself with oodles of free time like me, you may want to consider checking out the first one at least. (Be warned: they are super expensive, so it is best to borrow them from your little brother's best friend as I did.)

Yes, then this is exciting: Jump, Little Children at Dock Street tomorrow night and again for me on Thursday night hopefully. I am pretty stoked to say the least. I admit that I even carried around a Sharpie markie today in case I stumbled across them down town. (I'm sorry to say I didn't.) I did, however run into Ella, and that was nice. She spotted me coming out of Barnes and Noble (caramel frappacino in hand which I think I'm addicted to) and claimed that she knew it was me just by watching the way I walk. hmmm... interesting, but hey that's pretty cool I think.

Of the things that plague my mind: I wonder if I will again be sitting at home on the couch in the living room on New Year's Eve... I figure there is about a 36% chance that someone will call me... will that someone be you?

Mindless Entertainment?

Hey guys. So I finally got out to the movie theatre today! That's just something that hasn't really happened since I've been at Wake. I'm not sure why really. I do enjoy seeing a good movie, but since school started I literally had only seen Garden State. (Twice, b/c I like it that much and would like to add it to my current DVD collection of one--Big Fish--when it comes out on December 28th which happens to be the day I see Jump, Little Children--one of my favorite bands and perhaps the best live band I've ever seen--at Dock Street Theatre from the front row and also the day of Tommy's 19th Birthday. Oh man, that's exciting.) OK, my was that a tangent. So I'm sure you're dying to know what movie I saw at this point. Well... it was The Incredibles. Now for those of you that don't know, my brother went through this phase where he'd watch the same movie oh a good three times a day for about a year, and one of those movies was Toy Story, so since then I have had this tremendous respect for Pixar animation. It truly is wonderful. Pixar movies are much funnier and are just clever. (Plus, I do like the animation a lot). I was slightly disappointed to see that the next Pixar movie coming out is about race cars, since that is just not my forte, but hey it's cool. Anyway, so I saw the movie with my dad and my brother, and of course we ate at Fazoli's as is customary with us. I really do believe I've eaten there more times than any other restaurant even though there isn't one in Moncks Corner. So yes, if you haven't already, do see this movie. Oh and this probably isn't exciting to many other people, but I saw this movie poster at the theatre for a movie coming out next year called The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and let me just say that I am excited about this for the following reasons: a) I read that book as a pre-teen or something, b) Amber Tamblyn from Joan of Arcadia is in it (I love this girl, and the TV show is great, too), and c) my girl Alexis Bledel (yes, from my favorite TV show and guilty pleasure--Gilmore Girls) is in it.

Yes, this brings me onto the topic of TV. Now generally I am not a big TV watcher...really it's true. I think many of the things on today are disgusting and degrading. You may think I'm a hypocrite for watching a WB show, and I probably am. For this I am sorry. Besides Gilmore Girls I do watch Everwood also and regretfully, The OC because my lovely roommate, Carol, is entirely obsessed. But because I am basically home all day now with nothing to do, I have been watching some television, I'm ashamed to admit. What I've been watching is The Real Life Gilligan's Island. Now before you laugh at me please remember that I have nothing to do all day, and come one it's better than MTV and soap operas. Yes, I fell in love with Mary-Anne-Kate and Gilligan-Chris yesterday and today through back to back repeats of the show. How can't you? There's just so darn good-looking, and they're a lot closer to my age than the millionaires, etc. Which brings me to this: why the heck should Mr. Stern, a real-life millionaire who has more than 500 mill win the cash prize? That just sucks if you ask me. Yes, tonight I got emotional over a knock-off reality TV show on TBS--yeah, it didn't even make it to a major network. The funny thing is I got Stefan (my 11 year-old brother) hooked on it, too. He was just as glued to the TV screen as I was. He freaked out whenever I turned to the Disney Channel durring commercial breaks to watch bits of Sister Act. (We also made some exciting connections tonight with Sister Act: First I saw that the chubby nun was also the chubby witch, Mary, in Hocus Pocus--one of my favorite movies as a kid, then I pointed out that one of the girls is Lauryn Hill, then Stefan pointed out that the old nun is Professor McGonagal from Harry Potter, of course. I was quite proud of him for making that connection of course.)

Oh my, so that is my stance on film and TV for today not that you care. I've come to the realization that no one will probably other read this besides me, but that's OK. I'm OK with that.