Small Town Survival

Last night I was trying to fall asleep but, as usual, I was attacked my the thoughts I hadn't paid attention to during the day. I also thought about how I should be writing because I like to and I think it's good practice. Not that I know what to write about -- it seems that a lot of interesting things are happening to other people but I'm here simply trying to figure out what's going to happen to me.

I guess I could talk about the white cake I made with a strawberry cream frosting that was highly complimented or the fact that it inspired me to clean out the fridge. That's the fridge that no one really noticed I cleaned (except my dad because he was around while I was doing it). I could talk about how I had to vacuum the spa room on three different occasions in the span of two days because the little terror thinks the potted plant is his personal playground. Even when we moved it outside he managed to climb into the pot. I'm not sure why he wants to play in a small pot when he has the whole backyard to entertain his every whim.

Indie and I even go for walks outback most days. I've been told those don't count as walking though because I wear sandals and it's not the treadmill. I was under the impression that a mile was a mile regardless of how you cover that mile. If I rowed a boat through the sand it would still be a mile is a mile is a mile. Anyway.

I'm also searching the classifieds in hope of finding something that peaks my interest or at least looks like I'm qualified to do. Of course, I've only half prepared my resume so I don't know what I'm looking for. I haven't even updated my portfolio. Then again I don't know that I want to go into advertising anymore. What I really want to do is teach, but I can't get into that until at least January and a lot of money later. Is it okay that I feel frustrated about not going to school for teaching when I might have known all along that it's what I wanted to do? Did I waste my time? I'm afraid to try for a fulltime job because I want the chance to go back to school. I even thought about being a nanny type. I don't know if that's for me. And in the end I have this bad feeling that no one is going to want to hire me anyway but that just comes back to the walking.

Again, in the meantime I'm working on my resume, getting a general idea of what my cover letter might look like and finishing up my portfolio. Oh, and filling out some forms in case I ever wanted MSU to process my graduation application.

So do you like the comments as a popup window or would you rather see them as part of the main page?

I found myself in the police station today. Okay, so it wasn't once again, but I was there. For perhaps the first time in.. ever? No worries, I was only getting my finger prints taken. Yep. For a background check. So I could substitute teach in the Ann Arbor Public School System. Settle down. It was fun. And the police officer was nice. He even made fun of the University of Michigan students. (big rivals of MSU - where I went to school). He also gave me some advice about going back to school.

Yeah, that's the other bit of info. I'm probably going back to school in January. I'm about 89% sure. I've also taken time to update Coffee and Chocolate with a new feature and a little bit about the book I finished today. Oh, and if you go back a little ways you can hear about the last movie I saw. I promie to spend more time updating about my media intake and less about how I've been in the police station. Stop worrying.

There's something about a full moon that seems to draw out memories no matter how deep they have burried themselves. The other night, by the shimmering light of the full moon I made my way home from work. I probably had the music a little too loud and I was probably driving a little too fast. Music might be like the moonlight, drawing out memories. Some songs take me back a few months, others a few years. At some point I realized that this was the first September that I'd spend in Manchester since I graduated high school.

Of course I've been back for visits, but I've not done those day to day things. I wasn't working at the range or playing in the fields. I'm surprised by the warmth during the day and always glad I thought to bring a sweater with me at night. People may wonder why I put a sweater on in the parking lot when it's not nearly cold enough for it. I still like to have the windows down as I drive down the long road home.

It takes me back to when I used to go to the driving range with my dad. We'd always leave at closing time and I'd try to curl up in my seat to hide from the wind that whipped in through the open windows as my dad listened to talk radio - maybe the latest Tiger game - and drove a little too fast.

I listen to music and not talk radio, but I can still hear the announcer speak the familiar names of those Tigers. I can't even name one of the Tigers today. I don't think I was ever a fan, but I was always proud to have some of those old baseball cards. Even the cards are gone these days.

The only fall memories that come to me from high school are those of play practices and the occasional walk from the high school into town to get something to eat or in search of entertainment before practice started. I remember the start to my longest lasting high school relationship. In fact, I can probably pinpoint the day although not the exact date -- while I used to remember dates with ease it now slips my mind. It was sometime in November, before the fall play and I called the guy an idiot and invited him to have dinner with me and a friend. I suppose that's one way to start things.

Four of us used to drive down this curvy road with big hills at night. Once I think the car lights were turned off. I suppose it's the sort of thrill we were looking for. We were too clean cut and well behaved as teenagers to do anything too wild. I drove down that same road the other night. I turned the music down and lost myself in the mist and in the moonlight. I couldn't see more than a yard in front of the car and I didn't dare turn off the lights. Above me the moon shone her brightest and I wondered if any of the others still drove down this road. Did they share it with others or did they drive down it all alone and wonder about the rest of us?

Most of my memories revolve around summertime. It might have something to do with the long days and warm nights or the fact that there was no school to distract me. Or maybe I'm confusing September with summer because it's not as cool as October and November. It's a transitional month, whether it's sending me back to school or just a change in the weather. For once I'm not back in school and it still feels a lot like summer to me. The nights are a little too cool and the days are a little to warm. Maybe with little else to distract me I finally have time to notice the weather.

The cooler evenings bring the mists that shimmer in the moonlight. The mists that swirl around me like the memories that keep surfacing. I'm not sure if it's the moon or the music that brings them to mind but I'll keep driving a little too fast with the music a little too loud as I make my way home.

Aside from catching up and organizing today I've probably been a little lazy. I spent some time with Indie and let me tell you that watching him hopping after a moth, jaws chomping after it, is one of the funniest things I've seen in quite a while. After some outdoor time we settled down to watch the Gilmore Girls. I should say that I settled down, indie decided to chew on whatever was closest - namely my hand and ended himself outside again.

After a slow start to my day I went to work which was cut short by the rain and thunderstorms. I had a little more time to play in my sketchbook and I'm hoping to scan some of the pages to post one of these days. The next couple days are filled with appointments. One to get my hair trimmed (or cut if it doesn't behave) and another to take indie to the vet for his last set of puppy shots. I wonder if these are the ones that have the good behaviour medication in them...

Hopefully I can keep you posted and up to date as these things occur. Of course, first I'll have to survive another day of subbing at the high school.

Today at the high school every class was full of rumors. It doesn't surprise me that sometimes the kids are more aware of things than the teachers, but then again that could simply be my opinion because I'm only a sub and I'm not privilege to that information. I had seen the cops in the hall and kids were joking about doing drugs and talking about the drug dogs. It wasn't unusual in my day to have kids in school with a small stash of something and I think on one or two occasions someone either had alcohol in a locker or was under the influence. It wasn't until lunch that I found out what was going on.

Apparently one of the teachers, Mrs. A, sent a student to the office because she thought that the student had pink eye. The student made her way to the office and asked the secretary to look at her eyes because Mrs. A thought she might have pink eye. I don't know if the secretary actually took a look or was too busy at the moment, but the student remained in the office long enough for another teacher, Mr. B, to come in and notice something amiss. Our lovely student wasn't a victim of pink eye but rather a one of stupidity. She was apparently at school high and Mr. B smelled it when he walked into the office.

These days they can administer tests on the spot and now we're back to where the rumors started flying. Like I said, I'd seen some cops in the hall and I knew about the rumors of drugs but I had no idea someone would be stupid enough to come to school high. What seems worse to me is that they gave the student a 10 day out of school suspension. Gee, you did something bad now get out of school and feel bad about it. Right. Ha.

Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to be that it would make more sense to have an in school suspension where you sit in a cubicle and do your school work. Obviously someone who comes to school high doesn't want to do the work so making them sit there and learn is probably more punishment than staying home where drugs and video games, etc. are easily available. I don't know about the student's home life but I suspect that the parent(s) are pretty unaware. Cutting off the social life and providing the work seems like a better solution. Or, of course, there's always community service that could be done, either around town or around the school. If you make the punishment unpleasant maybe the message will get through.

I might add that I'm not completely against to the idea of using a little of this or that recreationally but to come to school under the influence is just stupid.

Subbing can be really boring some days. I think the biggest challenge can be getting everyone to shut up long enough so I can get their attention. And then there're the kids that want to know how old I am. I replied by explaining that I'd graduated from college and the reply came as "Wow! That's more than our last teacher!" I certainly don't know who teaches these kids but then again, I don't know much about all this myself. I think I'm an exalted babysitter. If I could get paid to do this all the time? There wasn't much going on in class today so I made a pair of dice and colored and took notes from a book. This is the kind of stuff that everyone should get paid for. Hi, I'm creative and I get paid for entertaining myself. What do you do?

This evening I spent some time in Ann Arbor shopping. I found a new lipstick and some turkey bacon. After wasting some extra time pretending that my coffee craving wasn't driving me crazy I gave in and then went to the theatre to meet Kevin. I was there first, and early so I talked to Erika for awhile (who doesn?t love free nights and weekends). We saw School of Rock and you can read what I pass off as a review over at Coffee and Chocolate. I'm not kidding when I say "what I pass off" because I usually just write a few thoughts, tell you who might have been in the movie and then move on to something about not having expectations. It's really quite silly but I like the site so I should use it, right? Right.

There's something about Saturdays that means they never go quite as they're planned. Of course, today was no exception. I was planning to sleep in a little and maybe head up to Michigan State a little early for the tailgating and the dedication of the Dick Purtan Studio. I thought maybe I'd catch up with Erika a little before the alum dinner and get home at some reasonable time. Maybe even in time to watch Saturday night live with John Mayer and Jack Black.

Instead, and you knew there was an "instead" coming, my mom came in my room at 7:30 (yes, a.m.) and said "I thought we'd do some shopping today." Now, I'm not stupid enough to turn down shopping with my mom, I am however a little annoyed at this because I was going to sleep in and I got home late. I whine all this in my head to myself and slowly drag myself out of bed. Of course, another instead comes along and instead of leaving to shop within the hour like I was originally told we ended up leaving in the next 10 minutes to go to breakfast.

We ended up at this nice little place just north of town that serves huge meals for great prices and the food is pretty fantastic. It's that small town yummy that you'd expect. The place is clean and they seem to have a thing for cows (according to the d馗or). After that we went shopping and took advantage of one of the greatest sales I've seen in a long time. I'll break it down into something easy ? we saved over $200 dollars, I got some great shoes, some clothes I can wear to work and a fantastic down comforter for my bed (although it's queen/full in size and my bed certainly isn't), and we were handed $10 certificates for every $50 we spent. I'm sure that I'll be making good use of those pretty soon too. Yeah, I know ? I've turned into a girl. Who knew I would actually like shopping.

My only complaint, and you knew there would be one of these as well, is that the moved their petite section upstairs next to the maternity and kids stuff. Who knew that petite women would be classified into such a weird space? For a few weeks I'd been agonizing over the fact that I couldn't really find anything to wear and I was confused as to why I couldn?t find the petite section. Guess I wasn't looking hard enough. Yuck.

So like I said, my day didn't go exactly as planned. Instead of getting to catch up with Erika I found myself rushing to the station so I could find a few people and then I was rushing over to the place where the dinner was. Instead of seeing everyone I thought I would it turned out that some of them couldn't make it and others had to leave early. Instead of talking to those people I ended up talking with others, some of whom surprised me and some of whom were exactly what I expected, both good and bad. The dinner was nice and the dessert was fantastic.

The drive home was nice and instead of getting caught in construction traffic I found out it wouldn't start for another two days. Overall I guess sometimes instead can be better than what was planned. I'm sure I missed out on a few things, but those are just the sort of things that I'll do later instead of something else I planned.

Lost of new in the house. We're redoing my room and the moving of stuff and reorganizing and throwing away and donating are keeping me pretty busy. I also have a new computer game which is a complete time suck but I won't get into that because I don't want to admit how much of a geek I am. I'm also trying to get my dog to settle the hell down for five minutes so I can do something besides wonder what he has in his mouth this time. No one should have their hands in a dog's mouth as much as I do. ew.

The other new is the project we're working on in the basement that involves giving me this cute office space complete with a nice big table for my computer as well as a second counter top for extra stuff and working. There are lots of cabinets and storage space and we're redoing the surrounding area to make it look less like it came out of the 70s and make everyone feel more at home. So not only is that work but it's planning and going and cleanup and more.

In the end I should have some photos for you. That is right after I send SBC the photo of the pumpkin I managed to carve while I was on hold and being helped by their customer service. When you see the photo you'll have an idea of how much of my time that took up. Until then, stay busy yourselves and try not to miss me too much. You know I care.

P.S. state of jenn is now updated. And it works thanks to my wonderful friend Shannon who can work wonders.

So I mentioned that we were working on an office space in the basement and there's something about it that I really love. I'm not sure if it's the planning of something great or the actual work. I even enjoyed vacuuming the space. I don't like to vacuum anything at all, but I liked this. First one to tell my mom gets banned from my site. Fair warning.

I like putting stuff away in the new cabinets and I love painting the new desk top. I put on the Chicago soundtrack and started painting away. I was actually disappointed that it didn't take longer although that might be because I didn't get to my favorite song. Or maybe I just wanted to listen to more of the soundtrack. For some reason I didn't take the CD with me into the other room when I was done.

There's still more work to do. The shelves and the desktop need another coat so when I get home from work tonight I imagine I'll be doing that. I also have wallpaper to take down from the walls in my room and some painting in there to do. We're talking about painting the closet doors and the shelf above the closets. I like to play with the lighting it both spaces and I have ideas about what sort of decorations should go into each. I'm antsy for each room to be done so I can start adding those personal touches. I have so many personal touches boxed up that I should probably start a museum. Or my own personal Good Will.

About a year ago I started to think about how I wanted my own place, a place where I could paint and decorate and generally call my own. I know that those feeling started to resurface earlier this year and they've been at the back of my mind since. I think having this new personal space although it ultimately belongs to my parents is exactly what I need. I'll share some of the cabinets and it's not like I'm the only one in the room, but essentially it's for my use. Now if I could only stop playing my computer game long enough to finish it everything would be grand.

As promised, pumpkin photos have arrived. Just in time to scare you silly for Halloween. But before you see them you might like a little back story. It started on Saturday afternoon after I took my basic skills test (pre-testing in order to enter the education program at Eastern). Erika arrived early so we sat around and fended off the dog and talked about how rockin' my math skills were and how it shouldn't been too hard to fail the basic skills test, it is after all basic skills. We're also expecting hate mail from people who disagree and believe it's hard.

Later when Bethany arrived she explained to us that a lot of people fail because of the writing portion and I agreed that that could be possible because I'd proof read a lot of papers of people in college and often found myself surprised at the level of writing. It's bad. I don't know how you get that far without being able to construct a decent paragraph but I've always been happy with words and the way they work. It's a bit of a talent so I can't really knock others for their lack.

The three of us discovered that Shelley wouldn't make it and neither would her friend. Dan was MIA since we thought he was going to stop by but no one knew if he knew where we were or how to get a hold of him. You know you're a good friend when you have the phone numbers of all your friends. Damn. Since Brian wasn't going to arrive until later we decided to head to the pumpkin patch and pick out our victims. I think we spent more time deciding than anything, but picking out the right pumpkin is truly difficult and a very important part of the process.

There were red warty things (they're really called that) and Australian or Austrian blues. Something about long island cheese which we picked up for Brian and renamed it "Brian's special pumpkin" and I think we saw something that was pink and they were trying to pass it off as a pumpkin Pink? No. I'm serious.

After much deliberation, an extra pumpkin for me, a real pumpkin for Brian and a few gourds for Erika we all managed to find what we wanted and get it into the car. Brian was lucky enough to show up just as the burgers were coming off the grill and we lounged around ate and prepared to carve pumpkins. I think if we had known how good the desert was going to be we wouldn't have waited until we were done, or maybe we would have had it first. I'm not sure on that one, but maybe one of the others will weigh in on this.

Cutting began and Brian distracted himself with the game. We ended up with a huge pile of pumpkin guts on the counter and a lot of giggling and inappropriate comments about Brian's special pumpkin. After Erika and I finished with our respective pumpkins we started sorting seeds out of the guts to bake, and yes, mom, you really can eat them. Shell and all.

Brian was slow to finish because he spent a lot of time watching the game and visiting with the dog who kept jumping up to see what he and Bethany were working on. Bethany was slow because her design was labeled challenging. Well, that and because Indie wanted to eat the buttons on her sweater. I'm not sure why but he likes to eat all kinds of things. Brian did his best to distract indie, but that only works for a little while. I think the dog has ADHD. He's challenging. I've seen kids in guided study that behave better than that dog. Ugh.

So we finally finished and had desert, and there's something about banana split cake that is fantastically wonderful. Here's the deal, you take some banana cake mix and mix it up like normal but add chocolate chips (the mini ones work best, otherwise you get a layer of chocolate at the bottom ? not all bad) and bake it. When it's cool, you cut slices and pile banana pieces, walnuts, chocolate syrup and whipped cream on top. Take and leave ingredients as you like. Enjoy. It's really that simple and it's way better than any frosting you'll ever come up with. I promise.

And now you know the story of once upon a time and special pumpkins and crazy carving. Maybe next time you can join us. Happy Halloween.

Brian shows us his handy work

Bethany starting what will be a very long process.

Erika stops laughing long enough to get started (she actually finished fist!)

I told you Brian was watching the game.

The gathering of pumpkins (that green one is the "special pumpkin").

And when the lights go out the finished products come out.

I found the following voice mail waiting for me this morning. It apparently came in at 9:15 last night. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Guy: "How YOU doin'? I don't know who this is because somebody gave me the wrong number. I'm sorry. But.. damn you sounded good. I probably won't be calling you again? alright, bye.

*static* (and this is where it gets good because he didn't hang up like he thought he did.

Guy: You little bastard!

Friend: (laughing)

Guy: who the hell is Jenn?

Friend: Jenn? Ha ha ha

Guy: Who's Jenn?

Friend: (Laughing)

Guy: That girl sounded hot as hell dude.

Friend: Jenn?

Guy: Yeah. Keep that number, write that number down.. that mistake down.

Friend: (to someone else) All right I'll be off in a minute.. got it. (to Friend) 79? It was 97.

Guy: I was like "How you doin' girl, I don't know who you are and you don't know who I am but..."

(Background noise)

Guy: it's 97.

Friend: (mumbling).. she sounds really hot.

Guy: You better call Alley.

BackgroundVoice: It was 79!

Friend: I gotta go.

Guy: Call her.

Friend: I will after school.

Guy: Call her today.

Friend: I can't.

Guy: why?

Friend: 'Cause I gotta get in the shower and do my homework.

Guy: Alright. Bye.

First I'd like to point out that I don't seem like much of a gift giver considering that I said I'd post all the days of December and then promptly left you hanging for three days. Suck. Anyway. I'm back for good this month and if you keep reading you'll see what sort of things have been keeping me away. In this case I have some thoughts on dogs and children. The rest is all a lie because I've been watching too much Alias (if there is such a thing) and specials on tv (dude, I was totally going to write last night but when CSI ended there was something on Lord of the Rings, do you really expect.... okay, shut up.)

And now that I'm hyped up on coffee and I've survived a strange day of subbing I'm ready to tell you why I think dogs are like children illustrated through the following examples:

Kid plays with glue gun. I say no. Kid plays with tape. I say what are you doing? Kid tapes book closed with tape. I say, what are you doing? I don't think so. Kid plays with box cutter. I say be careful. Kid tries cutting model house with box cutter. I say don't do that. Kid tries cutting book with box cutter. I say don't do that. Kid sharpens stick with box cutter. I say, what are you doing? Kid sands stick down with sand paper. I look on in amazement. Kid stabs cardboard box with sharpened stick. I say, don't do that.

Dog chews on pillow. I say no. Dog jumps on me. I say, what are you doing? Dog tries to eat plant. I say, what are you doing? Don't do that. Dog tries to play with cat. I say, be careful. Dog tries biting cat. I say, don't do that. Dog gets something out of the trash. I say don't do that. Dog tries to eat quarter. I say, what are you doing? Dog sleeps for five minutes. I look on in amazement. Dog tries to sleep on couch. I say, don't do that.

It's honestly the constant "what are you doing? Don't do that that." that reminds me of the dog. Or is it the dog that reminds me of the kids? Either way, it's the lack of an intelligent decision or real consideration for what the kid/dog is about to do that amaze me. Honest.

In other news I dealt with a rowdy group of 8th graders today who wouldn't listen to me, gave me a hard time and then expected me to do them some favors at the end of the day. I even warned them halfway through the class that they should settle down or I would leave a nasty note for the teacher (yeah, today I was *that* sub) and in reply I got a few "I'm ADD" or "we're always like this." Oh well. I left the note for the teacher and hope he actually grows a pair and gets these kids back in order.

So minus the killer headache this morning, the 6 am call, the way kids are like my 6 month old puppy and the obnoxious 8th graders my day was pretty damn good. I even got invited to the real teachers' Christmas/holiday party. Sweet, I get to see teachers I used to be.. uh, taught by getting wasted. Is that cool or what? Or ? er? is it? I'm pumped. Or at least I will be if they actually give me an invite like they said they would. PS. It was CuteTeacherGuy that specifically extended the invitation. This is totally appropriate for two reasons. He's young. He's married. Oh, and as a third he brings me coffee when I'm there. How can I not dig someone who brings me coffee? Exactly.

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We're all lucky I'll have photos to show of my half done room. There's a long story involving wallpaper problems that just got worse tonight but it'll have to wait until another day. Instead I'm here to tell you that I'm tired and worn out from not only stripping wallpaper but from hanging it as well. My mom and I concluded that we're pretty sorry workers if it takes the two of us 4 hours or so to hang wall paper on one wall. We even had the help of indie at some point. Then again, maybe that's the problem. He spent a lot of time eating paper that fell from the wall as if we were preparing treats solely for his enjoyment. He's so weird sometimes.
During the wallpaper intermission we managed to watch a few more episodes of Alias - Season Two. I think we spend a lot of time yelling at the TV. It's great fun and I'm totally digging on the show in case you hadn't noticed. AT this point I'm calling Francie the Anti-Francie for lack of something better. I may dig through some Television without Pity recaps for a better name, but I'm trying not to spend too much time online these days. It's not really that I don't have the time so much as I get tired of sitting in this chair day after day. Who knew that I'd be set up with a nice office space and then I'd want nothing more than to get out of it. Then again, with the crazy last days of NaNoWriMo behind me now it's no surprise that I'd want out of this space.
Okay, so before it becomes apparent that I've been exposed to too much wallpaper paste, I'll get to bed and dream of the story I'll tell you tomorrow. Then again if I dream about wallpaper you'll know about the paste before I can even talk about it. Cross your fingers for me.

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Is it Monday already? It must be. I slept until 8 this morning which means I didn't get that AM call to sub. I always have mixed feelings when I wake up after that magical time. On one side I really like sleeping in and on the other I really like making money and feeling like there's more to my day than playing with the dog and watching the commentary on the Alias DVD. Okay, that part isn't so bad but I can only spend so much time at the computer and in front of the TV.

Since I spent the day with him, I might as well give you the indie update. The last few days he's spent a lot of time outside with my mom. It seems to benefit us since it means that he spends the rest of the day sleeping and we can go about our lives without him trying to be in our laps or on our heads or whatever new form of closeness he's chosen at the moment. Yesterday he spent some time with Cody, the neighbor's German Shepard. Since Cody's a bit bigger indie tends to get quite the beating when they rough house and they spend a lot more of the time running around. Indie seemed a little sore this morning and hardly made it to the bed.

Mostly indie's gotten a lot bigger, is still really needy and likes to cuddle in the morning. Actually he's about 2 feet away from me at the bottom of the bed right now and I'm surprised that he's settled down considering earlier. He was in my lap every three seconds trying to get me to throw his little yellow football. I would and of course since it's fetch, he brings it back and we do it all over again. He's so cute and lovey when he's sleeping. Woo. Sadly for him he still doesn't get to spend the night in the house. I'd rather know where he is and while he's been good the two nights he's been in the house I don't really like it when he licks my face in the middle of the night. Speaking of sleeping, I think that's where I should be.

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Apparently they've crossed the Bourne Identity and Memento to get Paycheck. And the comparison to Memento I got somewhere else, but at this point I haven't a clue where.

Anyway, it's the holiday season and that means that we're through the lull of no good movies in sight. Not to say that there aren't bad movies out there, but there are a lot more out recently that actually look good. I'll start with Mona Lisa Smile and end with Something's Gotta Give. Of course, there's the Return of the King which will take me awhile to see since I don't feel like fighting crowds. Now all I need is a frequent movie viewer card or whatever it is, a movie companion (you know who you are) and a lot of free time... oh, and some cash.

On other sitting on my butt news, I've been reading girlie magazines and I've recently picked up Why Girls are Weird by Pamela Ribon. Yes, that one. I'm not very far into it but I will say that with in the first ten pages I was giggling so hard that I woke the dog from his midmorning nap. Hee.

In more active news I apparently have been watching too much Alias (what's an entry without a mention?) since I managed to sneak out of the house yesterday. See the thing is that if you open the door my dad wants to know where you're going. Well, somehow I managed to grab my scarf and leave without him even noticing. Dad started asking after me and no one knew where I was (library in case you're worried). When I got back our neighbor said I've been watching too much Bristow because I'm all sneaky now. I love that.

Right, so enough with the active stuff, I'm going back to my book.

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I have a theory about why I don't really like weddings. It goes something like this: I haven't been to more than three or four that actually involve people I really care about. Not to say that I don't care about the other people, but I haven't been very close to them. As an example, I spelled the name of a bride wrong on the card. I'm such an idiot. Anyway, I'm sure they're fun and nice and special, but it's hard to enjoy them fully when you're not emotionally invested in the couple. At least for me. I'm going with this theory because I know there are people that enjoy weddings, and I've been to a few that were quite nice.

Anyway, at the most recently wedding reception I ran into some old friends and as it turns out one of them had previously been married and is not separated (I'm not sure if there's a divorce in there as well or not) and the other was a little, secretly sad about not being married with kids or not having any prospects or whatever.

At this point I could get on my soapbox about how I don't judge the worth of my character based on my relationships and that it's okay with me about not being married and I'm in no hurry and blah blah wedding cakes but I won't. I have a few friends who are in their mid to late twenties and really feel like they should be in a more long term or serious relationship. I can't knock them for wanting those things. It's nice to know there's someone there who cares about you and who you can share special things with.

I'm also not in a positing where a lot of my friends are either getting married, are married or have kids. I think that excuses me from feeling left out of that particular ritual. Instead a lot of people around me are getting jobs and I feel like maybe that's what I should be doing. So, yeah, point. It's hard not to want what everyone around you is getting.

For me it seems that I read a lot of journals/weblogs of people who are older and have jobs and two incomes and houses and really neat gadgets. So, I can't help it if I want a new computer and a TiVo and a new car and and and. Maybe what should be on my list for Christmas is a group of webloggers/journalers(ists?) who are in the same place in their lives that I am in mine.

Dear Santa,
If you could please read this entry and figure out what it is exactly that I want. I'm sure you know better than I do at this point.

In confusion and thanks,
Jenn

Brought to you by:

I'm sorry ahead of time. I'm watching the Victoria Secret Fashion Show. I know, more tv. I need category just for this fact. I'm a little surprised that there's so much that goes into it. I'm also surprised that anyone can get into or out of those outfits. And the wings? I'd like to see those in the bedroom. I'm also kidding. I don't think they'd fit through the door. Ugly.

Also, what is Sting doing on this show? All surrounded by mostly naked women. I bet that's something out of his weirdest dreams. And what's even better is that some of them drool over him. And the girl who smoked on screen (that I saw).. not attractive. ew.

This has already gone too far. I'm going to change the channel and hope something better comes on before I fall asleep and have weird dreams about strangely skinny women with giant wings and few clothes. Scary.

Brought to you by:

Tonight I was out at a dinner with a friend to catch up and hang out. It was nice to get out of the house and have a reason to dress up. Or dress down as the case may be. I decided to find something a little less school-teacher-ish after my day of subbing. Anyway, the point was that I was looking around the dinner and noticed few tables of girls that seemed like they did this sort of thing regularly. It could be that the holidays are here and they're catching up after a year of not seeing each other, but they seemed a lot more familiar than that.

It reminded me of the Tuesday Night Club and I wondered if that's the way we look to outsiders (minus the fact that we have guys in our group) and if we'd ever be together again quite as regularly as we were before. These days we're all scattered around; one in Africa, one in Alabama, some still in East Lansing. I miss getting together, I miss socializing.

I wonder if we'll stick it out and hope we will. I think about how friends tend to come and go in my life and wonder if it says something about me or my efforts. It's true, I'm not very good with email, even though I'd like to think I am. Often stuff sits in my inbox for a week, and by the time I get around to replying it can be as long as a month.

I think about the time someone I hadn't seen in five years saw me at a gathering and told me to keep in touch. We exchanged emails and I wonder if I'll ever hear from that person again. Why can't we leave it at "It was nice to see you again." And go on with our lives. I think it's worse to say "Let's keep in touch" when it isn't really meant. Or is it meant and we just get busy.

The holidays always get me thinking about people I haven't seen in years or months or days or hours. Maybe they'd like to keep in touch too, but they get as busy as I am. Maybe they aren't that good with email either. Maybe they read this webpage and are too busy to leave a comment or think they're keeping up with me when really it's so one sided. Ariel at Electrolicious said that while you might feel like you're keeping up by reading the website, you're really not because while you know what I'm up to I have no idea you're there unless you let me know. And like her, this is really directed at people that don't keep weblogs, journals or post on message boards with me. Just a thought. Happy Holidays.

Brought to you by:

Dear Santa,

Christmas is getting closer so I thought it was about time I got this letter in writing. I'm not sure how good I've been this year. Sometimes I laugh at people and sometimes I tickle the dog's feet when he's sleeping. It's true, I took one of my dad's cokes from the fridge and I think I ate the last piece of pie on Thanksgiving. I didn't write as many emails as I said I would and I certainly haven't been following my diet, or anyone else's for that matter. All that aside, I'm hoping you'll consider the things on my wish list. You know, if it's not too much to ask.

First I'd like to ask for a... wait, indie's barking at me. I'd like to ask for a muzzle.. no, I'd like a big bag of dog treats and a soft pillow for indie. What? You wouldn't want him sleeping on your bed either if you know how loud he snores. Er? anyway. I'd like a new computer. I've got my eye on the Apple power book, but if you're not comfortable picking out exactly what I need feel free to just leave me a blank check. If you don't mind an ipod would be really cool too. Oh, and DSL. And if you can't hook me up with DSL I could go for a faster, more dependable internet connection. At least it's free.

Oh, and new speakers. Mine are making this funny noise. Sometimes they both work, sometimes only one and sometimes neither. And the static? That's not cool. Help a sister out.

Anyway, I'd also like some inspiration so I can finish editing my novel from NaNoWriMo. It's cool that I finished, but no one's ever going to read it in the state that it's in. Also? I'd like new set of flannel sheets. If you could find some like the plaid ones that I have that I love so much that would be awesome (does anyone use that word anymore?).

Hmm, while I'm at it, a DVD player and season one and two of Alias would be really cool. Oh, and Finding Nemo and? uh, both Lord of the Rings movies. Also, I'm not sure if this is something you normally arrange, but I'd like really good seats to see Return of the King. At a reasonable hour too.

If you see Mother Nature could you ask her to give us some snow, but if she could keep the roads clear, that would be nice too.

On second thought, if you could help me gather all my friends and family together so we can enjoy hot chocolate and the holiday lights, that would be enough for me. Thanks Santa. I always knew you were cool.

Thanks in advance (hope you like the cookies!),
Jenn

P.S. a little lush wouldn't be out of the question, would it?

Brought to you by:

First, I want to make sure you know I'm okay. I've been avoiding the computer lately, on and off, for reasons that I'm not even sure of myself, but I think things are going okay. I'm dealing with some issues around the home and with my bank account but it's not the end of all my fun (it just means I can't buy any cool new gadgets and I have to cut the coffee habit when it includes having coffee that costs more than $0.70). I've started classes and I've started updating scatter joy more often. I'm reading a lot more and watching the occasional movie. I even have this odd idea that I might like to review the stuff I take in for a little zine I work for. In the meantime, I'll try to go back a few weeks and let you know what's going on with me, but before we get to all that you might like to know that, not only did I go on a fieldtrip yesterday, I rode a school bus for the first time in.. oh... 6 years at least. Fun and curious, no?

Oh, and I still watch a lot of Alias, but you know, it's not on for the next three weeks so I'm going to need something to entertain me on Sunday nights. Draw a number and you could be the lucky winner. Woo.

So, I get that nice and early call -- the one that comes way before 6 a.m. these days -- and find out I'm subbing at the middle school. I can handle that, plus this is the answer to some of my problems. I mean taking into account that before this assignment, I'd worked about 1 day in 4 weeks. I wish I were kidding. I like the middle schoolers for the most part. Okay, it's the 8th graders that I have a hard time dealing with, but 6th graders still have a little ... respect. I think.

Except that when I arrive, the teachers are saying things like, "Did you bring your skates?" and "Are you ready for a fun day?" and I'm thinking, what the hell did I miss? It turns out that they really weren't pulling my leg about the skating thing. The 5th and 6th graders would be spending the first half of the day at the ice rink. Cool. So we make our way to the bus to go skating (and I get free pizza out of the deal and some time to catch up on school work and read). The kids look like they're actually having a really good time, even the ones that can't skate, and the best part is when we arrive back at school. The first class is so tired out that they can't bother to make a lot of noise. Or trouble.

It goes a little down hill from there. For example, while helping the kids color and label a map of the United States -- they had to label the states and color each area based on Northwest, West, Northeast and South -- I discovered a kid who didn't really understand the concept of state abbreviations. He was also causing trouble so I pointed out that Texas wasn't TE and neither was Tennessee. He said, "It is NOW!" and I suggested that he could settle down or we could go through his whole map together. I think he liked the idea of settling down and now I'm losing sleep over the fact that Georgia isn't GE. Did I fail that poor kid by not correcting him in his youth? What kind of person will he grow up to be? Okay, I'm not losing sleep. I'm sure he'll learn. It's GA.

The last class of the day is called CAREERS (and it's written like that everywhere I've seen it). Instead of playing the stock market and writing reports about our future jobs like I did when I was in school, these kids had a lesson called Signs of Respect. This is where we entered an alternate dimension for the rest of the day.

It starts out with me asking them about street signs and who can name one and why it's important. This is called the transition, apparently. Then we talk about what we think respect is, after which they break into groups to make lists of signs of respect. We list them on the board and then we go around the room and tell why each one is important. They were really supposed to make signs out of paper and whatnot, but I didn't know where that was and the regular teacher didn't leave any notes to that effect. Anyway.

The amazing part is that these kids can suggest signs of respect, explain why they are important, and then totally ignore the fact that they aren't applying them now in this in the current situation. Amazing. Seriously. I was all, no, listen. First, while the teacher is talking you are not: that is a sign of respect. Also, Eye Contact. Up here. Now. Thank you. And on and on.

Overall, I've learned that when I'm subbing I have a higher tolerance for bad behavior than the regular teachers do and I figure that's because I don't have to deal with their craziness all day. Oh, and the other teachers were amazed that I have the most luck with high schoolers. I'll find out later this week if it's true or if I'm just delusional.

Shannon linked to this googlism thing and since I'm practically a stay at home mom (more on that later) I found it hard to resist. So here are some funny - and contradictory - things about me according to google. I'm sure some of these are true, some of them.. well, they just aren't. )comments on them by me are in [])

jenn is an atheist
jenn is awesome dot com
jenn is not here yet
jenn is awesome
jenn is cooler
jenn is an egg [not only am I cool, awesome and nice, I'm also an EGG!]
jenn is getting to be the pro at chemistry
jenn is my ex
jenn is
jenn is so great
jenn is the best
jenn is a nice
jenn is the daughter of the mayor of spring sun [spring sun? where's that?]
jenn is evol"
jenn is currently attending college at columbia school of broadcasting
jenn is a person who loves jesus deeply ? it's very apparent [along with being an athiest, neat?]
jenn is singing
jenn is listening to
jenn is not working with clients
jenn is not a doctor or nurse
jenn is featured on the stanford university cd compilation of best campus bands [and no one told me? what kind of money am I missing out on?]
jenn is interested in piano
jenn is a student and has worked for campus bus service since the summer of 1999 [again, where are the paychecks?]
jenn is unashamedly flirting with bill [yeah, credit card, medical and insurance]
jenn is a very gifted artist
jenn is the vocalist
jenn is the founder of auroramud [uh?]
jenn is a happy little homemaker
jenn is a graduate of the university of colorado school of law [and I still can't get a well paying full time job!]
jenn is older then glen they apparently didn't have colour photography at that point [man, I am old!]
jenn is still pregnant
jenn is continuing to recuperate
jenn is the greatest
jenn is in the college of arts & sciences and is leaning towards a computer science major [at this point I'm holding a lot of degrees and enrolled at so many schools, I don't even know how I manage my schedule]
jenn is the best thing
jenn is pregnant [and still from before, no one told me...]
jenn is back in the band and jim dispirito is out
jenn is responsible for the project finances
jenn is a fulltime stylist [apparently I do have a job]
jenn is a wonderful person
jenn is about to enter her junior year at ucla as a theatre studies major
jenn is adopted [mom? dad? is there something you want to tell me?]
jenn is a washington dc native who earned her bachelor of science degree in from pffeiffer university in misenheimer
jenn is doing all of the hard work
jenn is waiting for a response
jenn is no help
jenn is soft
jenn is concerned that jack is slipping away from her
jenn is a recent graduate of eugene lang college
jenn is also a very cool kid
jenn is the glue of the operation
jenn is shy and contemplative
jenn is over n' jenn sez it's okay so because jenn sez its okay it is
jenn is 5 years old [or at least she acts like it]
jenn is still filming
jenn is born weighing 7 lbs [actually 4lbs 4oz]
jenn is a nerd [geek, thanks]
jenn is going to become a film director [fun!]
jenn is not responsible for any injury
jenn is a member of the american dental association
jenn is the heart & soul of illusionaire
jenn is a dual citizen [of what? america and sun spring land?]
jenn is a laid back easy going person
jenn is a new york girl [I wish]
jenn is a woman named rosario [double identity!]
jenn is a great friend
jenn is my favorite source for casual baby doll clothing
jenn is available in portable form? [really....?]
jenn is officially *not* returning to microsoft for the summer term
jenn is grateful for the opportunity to teach and share her practice with the jai ma community
jenn is artistic director

and jenn is surprised if you read through all of those. so weird. I have a very full and interesting life apparently. no kidding.

Before anyone freaks out and wonders what kind of major secrets I've been keeping I'd better explain myself. I don't have any biological children. Unless of course I've been abducted and my eggs have been harvested. If that's the case then someone owes me at least 10,000 dollars. At least.
Instead I've adopted. I'm sure you all know the little boy that I'm talking about. He's long, brown and white and likes to sleep on my head in the mornings. That's right, his name is indie. He looks like this:

And if that wasn't enough, I'll go on to say that my morning tv schedule can rival that of any house wife. Unless of course she watches soap operas because I just can't spend time with those. Instead I morph into a college student or a .. something, and read or play on the computer once the afternoon news ends.

My morning starts a little like this:
8:00 - the TV comes on. The dog hears it and pushes his way into my room and promptly lands on my head. I push him off and he curls up beside me and we watch Good Morning America.
8:15 - indie decides to stretch out and pushes his feet into my neck, back, face, etc. I eventually get him to stop and he goes back to sleep.
8:30 - the TV turns itself off and my alarm goes off. I turn off the alarm and turn the TV back on.
9:00 - Regis and Kelly come on and I decide that it's time to turn on the computer. I go down stairs, turn on the TV, turn on the computer. Oh, and this is all subject to time changes according to how quickly I can get the dog off the bed so I can get up.
9:15 - we're hopefully downstairs. Indie has a bone or toy and chews on that/sleeps while I watch Regis and Kelly. Sometimes I make breakfast.
9:40 - If I haven't made breakfast yet, it's time. It's also time for indie to beg to go out. I let him out.
10:00 - Martha Stewart is on. I pretend that the recipes don't look too hard or like too much of a waste of time. I like a lot of the craft ideas. I'm so crafty.
11:00 - the View is on. I only half pay attention to this.
12:00 - News at Noon. Again, half attention, but sometimes I actually learn something.
12:30-1:00 - lunch time. Woo. Oh, and at some point I let the dog in and out about 40 times. The rest of the day depends on if I have class or not.

Mostly? Between taking care of the dog, wondering what he's up to, what he's eating, if he needs to go out, what's in his mouth this time, the fact that I rarely get called into work, I'm only in school two days a week, and my TV habits, I'm totally a Stay-at-Home Mom. Fun. Oh, and I like to cook. My recipes? Easier and certainly just as good as anything Martha Stewart can come up with.

My new pretend boyfriend.

He's apparently not good enough for me. You see, I had a dream the other night that I was dating this fine specimen of a man. Did I mention that he is 45? Weird. (He's also half Danish.. I apparently have thing for Danes...) So I was dating him, but when he was home taking care of the dog I was out talking to other guys. I know, I know, I can hear your cries of injustice. I don't know what I was thinking either. Anyway, apparently in the dream world I have fantastic friends who tell me that I'm crazy and talk me into going home to see my (new pretend) boyfriend.

I?m also pretty clever in the dream world because I decided that going home to talk to him sounded like a pretty good idea. In fact, I declared that I would go straight home and ask him about the filming of the Return of the King because I was sure that it would be a wonderful, adventure filled story. When I arrived to our very large, very cool apartment he was laying on the couch not doing much of anything (but very well dressed) and the St Bernard (his dog I assumed, since mine is not nearly that large!) was laying on the floor near by.

He told me all about filming the Lord of the Rings and it was a good story, although, sadly, I don?t remember any of it now. Just that I dreamt he was my boyfriend. Sorry Orlando, you can?t win them all.

So, we all fill out lots of forms through out time. You know, the ones where you sign up for a nice little membership and they ask you for a username and a password and somewhere near there they tend to ask you for a clue. Luckily for most people they only let you select from a set of prepicked questions. What's your mother's maiden name? Where were you born? What's your dog's name? That sort of thing. Well, maybe the problem isn't so much with the question as it is with the answer. I mean, they leave a blank and you can put in anything you want. Yeah, I'm so clever. I'll let the below email speak for itself. Shut up, you know you've done it.

From: tickets@amtrak.com
To: jenn
Subject: Amtrak Login Information

Dear Jenn,

This email contains the user name and password clue information you requested.
(Note that for security reasons, we cannot send your password.)

Your user name is: USER_03

Your password clue is: shut up?

If you do not recall your password, please create a new profile. To do so, access our site at
http://www.amtrak.com

Thank you for choosing Amtrak.

Thank you for being so clever.

I promise lots of words about Chicago (if you even knew I was gone) as soon as I get a chance. In the meantime, I just wanted to make note of the fact that there's something perfect about sleeping in my own bed after four nights on a couch. Not that the couch wasn't comfortable or anything, don't get me wrong, but it's just not the same. You know that feeling in the morning when your bed is perfect and the last thing you want to do is leave it behind for the day? Well my bed felt like that from the moment I lay down last night until the moment I got up this morning. Or I assume it felt like that while I was sleeping.

Simple Perfection.

More on Chicago to come, promise. I was going to take this time I have before class to write about my visit to a Detroit Public School but the keyboard is so loud I can hardly stand to use it. Hold still and I'll most likely be back between classes to finish it up and hopefulyl on a different computer with a nice quiet keyboard.

Plus the girl next to me is looking at wedding dresses and it's giving me hives.

----
Okay, so it took me an entire day to get back to you, but what can you do?

So yesterday, I told you about going to a Detroit Public school. It was a pretty good experience once we got there, but it was the getting there that was the problem.

Sadly, I got up at 5 am. No one should have to get up that early. Ever. I made my way through my morning, even letting the dog out of his crate. He decided sleeping on my mom's bed after I left was a good idea. Luckily he didn't bother her, he just went back to sleep.

I arrived at EMU on some nice schedule and there was the bus sitting there waiting. I go on the bus and it turns out that it was another class waiting to go on their trip. This is the problem of course with having an internet class, it's like meeting everyone for the first time.

So I went up with another girl and asked the driver if he knew if there was another bus coming. He said there was, but I wasn't so sure. We got off the bus anyway, deciding to wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And.

Wait.

We were supposed to arrive at the school by 8 and it was after 7:45 at this point. There were a lot of us waiting so it's not like we were the few mistaken one. One guy called the teacher and she was in the process of giving us alternatives when the bus showed up. Finally. At 8:05.

Luckily the kids at the school were cool, the kids in my class were cool and I met some really nice people.

Thankfully.

I'll start out with the weather. While it's been raining it's also been around 60F and warm and rainy is okay with me. It means spring is comming or spring is here and summer is coming. I drove to class the other day with the windows cracked for the first time since the fall. Fantastic.

Stolen - I saw a guy driving a truck down the street and he hit a garbage can. Since his truck was so huge it lodged under the front of the truck and made a lot of noise. He opened his door to look for the cause at one point but didn't see the garbage can so he closed the door and drove on. Eventually he stopped again, I can only assumed he found the problem and fixed it. Funny.

I didn't really talk about my hair cut much when it happened. It's been a month now and I still really love it. It's easy to deal with, cute to look at and it earns me compliments everywhere I go. I ended up cutting off 10 inches and I sent it off to Locks of Love. If you're tired of your long hair and plan on cutting it anyway, think about donating. Friendly.

There never seems to be anything in my closet that I want to wear. Or really, I just have a few outfits that I really like and the rest are starting to get dusty beceause they aren't weather appropriate. I'm also hooked on Victoria Secret's underwear. It's sad and it's expensive, so I got their Angel card so I could get coupons for free stuff. I should just pass on the underthings and add some things to the rest of my wardrobe. In some new spring colors. When I have money. Fashion.

I've been avoiding this subject for a long time. I don't get to see anyone that I used to hang out with and it makes me sad. A lot of people at EMU are commuters so it's hard to get together. It's hard to get to know people. I work with a bunch of kids so I'm clearly not going to be hanging out with them. I need some face time with people that aren't my parents. The one person that lives closer to me than all the rest has a girlfriend that hates me. Something's missing in my life. Friends.

That time of year is here again. The time where I start to question what I'm doing with my life. Right now it has a lot to do with education. What sort of program do I want to complete? Should I get a Masters degree? What about a second BA? Is teaching really what I want to do? Should I just get a job and get on with it? Does anyone have a magic 8-ball I can borrow? Future.

To the Reader:

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. I started with proof reading a group project which took three out of six of us a collective 9 hours to proof and correct. Rewrite and write again, proof, pray and finally turn in. Also, I would like to point out that I was nice and drunk when I showed up to turn in the project. I adore my friends who get me wasted between classes and then invite me over for the weekend to continue any and all drinking. Fun.

I've also been reading the new weblog that Andreas has started. There’s also a wide variety of other websites that have been keeping me entertained.

When I’m not online I’ve been reading more books than anyone should every check out from the library and thank goodness that I’ve managed to get them back on time or the late fees would put me in debt. In no particular order they are: How to Meet Cute Boys, Charlie Wilson’s War, Inside the CIA, Alias Declassified, somesuch by Dr Phil, A Big Life in Advertising, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, and a variety of books that have slipped my mind.

Not reading, but not writing includes working on the revamp of All Things Girl with the other lovely editors and coming up with ideas for the next journal entry, finishing a piece of fiction I’ve been dreaming up for the last two weeks, talking on AIM and sketching out the new ending for the screenplay I started a few years back.

I’ve also been neglecting my email, my website, my lint collection and my phone. If you miss me or need to get ahold of me for any reason try prayer, God probably has a better percentage for answering people than I do these days. I might be kidding. Instead, send me the first two seasons of Alias on DVD and you’ll be guarenteed never to hear from me again.

Best wishes and I’m almost out of library books,
Jenn

The semester is coming to a close. I have one exam left, next Tuesday. It feels good to complete everything. After that I have about a week and a half off before I start spring classes. I think taking everything into account this first semester at Eastern has gone pretty well. I’m still getting used to the things that they do different. Spring semester at MSU is called Winter at EMU and instead of having two summer sessions EMU has spring and summer. We sign up for classes in the Winter semester for Spring, Summer and Fall and then in the Fall semester for Winter. I guess it works out for people who might come in mid year like me, you know that you’re signing up along with everyone else so you don’t get left out of classes. At MSU you sign up in the Spring semester for Summer (both sessions) and then both Fall and Winter. It’s nice that you don’t have to fuss about the when and where of the rest of your year. Is anyone else as confused by this as I am? Welcome to Eastern.

I have a lot of classes left to take. Well 15 at least. I could take 5 and have a second BA, but that doesn’t get me a job, so I guess I’ll take the long road.

In other new and exciting news we’re getting a deck at our house and as an excuse to use my camera I’m going to document the whole thing. Woo. I hope you’re excited as I am. If not, you can pretend for my sake. If you do, I might invite you to the deck party I’ll be having in 2006 when it’s finished (since I have no idea how long this will take – think of it as an opportunity to be pleasantly surprised).

The last week has been pretty busy for me. I've been subbing almost every day and when I'm not subbing or after I'm done subbing I start my day at the driving range. No complaints about any of this for sure, but I wasn't completely ready for the onset of a busy schedule.

Luckily school is done as of Tuesday. As in this past Tuesday, that is. I think I did pretty well on both my exams, but it’ll be awhile before I find out.

Oh, and yes, for those of you wondering I did have a birthday last summer and am now the lovely age of 24. It seems so old and so young at the same time. I don’t have a lot of feelings about this birthday. I’m disappointed that more of my friends couldn’t make it but I’m pleased with the people who did show up to eat tacos and cake and celebrate in a nice laid back, casual way.

Classes start again in a week, although I’m wondering if I can get out of one of them. Do I really need to take a course on how to write about literature? I’ve had so much writing that you’d think I was beyond that at this point. Or maybe you read my website and secretly think I need to take more writing classes. You could be right.

In the end I’m just looking forward for the arrival of the nice weather. It was a record breaking 86 degrees on my birthday so I must have done something to deserve that but now we’re back in the mid 50s and low 60s. Summer, whenever you’re ready, I’m here waiting.

PS I'm really updating over at coffee and chocolate. Honest. I'm going to keep doing it too.

That's the sound of everything falling into place.

Andreas arrives on Wednesday. There's a bit of a gathering on Saturday.

I have everything about ready, or at least I'm pretending. And in the meantime I had a dream this morning that I was showing off my Pretty Pony collection.

So weird.

Standing in the checkout line tonight with my three items (shampoo, conditioner and bodywash of all things) it occured to me that it could be a scene from a movie. You know that one that's part of a larger montoge. The one where it's established that she's a little sad, or a little lonely or just trying to get back to whatever is going on in her life. It could possibly be because her boyfriend left for home and will be gone for an unknown length of time.

Then I noticed the woman waiting in front of me and realized that she might be from a scene in a movie too. It's probably british and it probably has hugh grant and she's scanning some fruit drinks, a diet coke or two and has four apples of two different types. Watching her scann the apples was a bit of comedy in itself. First holding two while entering the code and weighing the others and then swapping those in the hand for those in the back to scann the others. Those little plastic bags are free. Someone should tell her.

Her movie might have hugh grant but he's a bit daft anyway, isn't he?

The one phone all I think every college student dreads making is probably that one to the office of admissions. To ask about the status of an application. Then again it might be the call to that girl whose number you got the other night or that cute guy in class who said you could borrow his notes. Or maybe the one home to ask for money or a ride home since you were expelled after you were caught sneaking around the castle after dark for the sixth time. Although you’d probably send an own for that last offense. Unless your parents are muggles and Hogwarts has a phone they haven’t mentioned.

As for me, I dread calling the office of admissions. But I was forced to do it. Three times.

And you know what? I was surprised. Luckily, the nicest lady in the whole world (with the exception of the lady who makes my morning coffee. Oh, and my mom.) answered the phone and she ran around solving problems and calling me back. A lot.

If it were me I probably would have been tempted to tell someone to get her ass up to campus and run her own damn errands and check on things herself. But I was luckier than I would have been if I had answered the phone. Good thing I don’t work there. In the end I’ll think twice before I refuse to take than extra step to help someone.

Now if I could only figure out why they want my Aarhus transcript in Danish.

People are always saying that life is full of change. It’s pretty true. I checked my wallet and found over $2 in change. It’s also all over my desk. I’m surrounded.

I probably used up all my good graces with that joke. Sorry.

The real change here is that the driving range is closing in a little over six weeks. For the season. For the year. For good. And while a lot of people have asked me if that means they’ll get a good deal no one’s asked me how I feel about it. Yes, you will and sad. Thanks for asking.

In lieu of this I’m forced to find another occupation.

Subbing is one and working at the Manchester DVD store is the other. Since I’m still working at the range for the end of its days and I have yet to sub I’m unofficially working at three jobs. I am however officially employed by three different places. I have three bosses. And a mom.

Sunday morning, after breakfast, we passed a field full of buzzards. Normally, you might see one to three of them hanging around the road, waiting for passing cars so they can pounce on the latest road kill. This time, however, they were on almost every fence post around the entire field and, upon a closer look, there were nearly a dozen of them hanging around one spot in the field. My guess is a deer didn’t make it across the road unharmed, but managed to get itself to the field. Overall, I’d guess there were 30 or so birds. While it was somewhat neat to see that many all around the field one word can sum it up: Gross. I hope that your after-Sunday-breakfast experience was better than mine.

If we were all there. Then again if you still have your MS sample pictures you can place this on your desktop and enjoy the view too. I was hoping someone would have left something funny on the lab computer, but alas, no such luck. Instead this is how I pass the time.

The easy way to catch up:

I've been working a ton. Nothing new there.

I scheduled a hair appointment and was sorry to hear that my favourite stylist has graduated and is moving on. I'm not sure what to expect when I go in, but I hope it comes out good in the end.

I may have a slight crush on Owen Wilson. Don't even ask. Just weird.

My desktop looks a lot like this:

Tea is the new favourite. I think it has to do with the weather getting cooler. The funny part is that I'm using a mug that says "coffee from hell" which is apparently tea. hee.

Oh, and I moved my bed time up a few hours. It hasn't actually worked out that way yet though. I'm not quite so tired though and it's showing up through the fact that I have a few creative ideas here and there.

I'm strangely excited about thanksgiving already.
I'm less excited about the new TV season starting this week. I'll still be setting my VCR if I remember. I won't refuse anyone who wants to buy me a tivo. Seriously.

I'm trying to decide what book to read next so if you have a suggestion let me know.

Garden State is the next movie on my to see list. Possibly this weekend or a middle of the day sometime this week if I'm lucky. Wanna go? Let me know about that too.

I'd like to take this space to reannounce a project that has been reborn. Andreas has joined me over at scatter joy where we're both posting photos.

The new issue, Falling, is up over at All Things Girl You should find something that will inspire you of you take some time to look through the different sections. There's a lot of great work in this issue. Also, don't forget to check out the submission page if you want a peek at future themes or want to submit something. The only rule is that you have to be a girl.

As for me, I've been fighting headaches for most of the weekend, but seem to be doing better today. I can't update weekly because whenever I try to put a time limit on myself it serves no other purpose than to keep me from writing. I will attempt however.

The driving range is closing in less than two weeks. Wow.

I still really like coffee and it's a good thing because it's the only thing that keeps me going some days. Other days it's simply the momentum. Busy. Also, if you have a birthday this week, Happy Birthday. I'm thinking of you and this isn't where the fun stops.

And lastly, a quote: "What looks like crazy on an ordinairy day looks a lot like love if you catch it in the moonlight."

"If you find yourself on a collision course, wear a helmet. Prepare for any obstacle."

Says my horoscpe for today. I would think that once on that course it would likely be too late to put on the helmet I probably forgot at home. Damn. Maybe that's where the preparing comes in.

Happy Halloween! for those who celebrate. Also, I hope by now you've managed to set your clocks back. If not you've been very early everywhere you go and you're probably wondering why people are so rude that they can be an hour late. I know your time is worth more than that.

In other news, I've been dealing with migranes all weekend and working the rest of the time. I did get more knitting done, but I'm keeping the talk of that to a minimum around here.

There's a quiz in my English Ren. class about some poetry we're supposed to read. I'm not sure how much I care about that although the poetry isn't that bad. Sorta. I'm also researching Thomas Hobbes for a presentation this week so if you have any information about him lying around feel free to pass it along. Mostly I'm kidding. While some of his life is fascinating the rest of it makes me sleepy. I wouldn't ask you to do that to yourself.

Erika should be here this week, so that's exciting. Stay tuned for updates on all the fun we'll have. And if you ever want to talk about literature over coffee I might just take you up on that offer. Otherwise the weather and gossip are perfectly acceptable topics.