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Showing posts from June, 2010

Kansas: Quit playing games with my heart!

Kansas did not want me to come. Kansas sabotaged my gps when I was looking for a gas station and called the Highway patrol when I was speeding to get here ($170 ticket, remember?). Kansas put many road blocks, both literal and figurative, in my way but I persevered and I made it to Kansas. Now Kansas doesn't want me to leave. Kansas placed a nail directly under my tire so I would run over it the day before I am supposed to leave. Kansas told AAA not to answer any of my calls, and Kansas sent over a weird guy with a long pinky nail to help with my tire. Kansas told him what to do, and he made it worse. A lot worse. But luckily I had CS with me, and we figured it out. We told Kansas to suck it. Kansas, don't worry. I'll be back. Please be nicer next time. 

Not in Kansas Anymore

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My life in Kansas: Lawrence My house My daytime companion My evening and weekend companions What I do all day (True Blood) KU Stadium Kappa Alpha Theta Where I lay my head at night

Happy Birthday LS!

We are complicated people and I love that we share that. Your mac may be black and mine may be white, but we understand that the world is not that way. We are not that way. I love that we can talk about postmodernism one minute and farting the next, Catholicism then bikini lines. We share a favorite study room in the library, pew at church, and booth at Carey's. We have been backpacking together in 7 European countries and we've lived in a big brick house with 60 other women on Clark St. We laugh about nuns. We gasp at Law and Order plot lines. We cry at Disney movies. You get me in a way that is rare and much appreciated. Today it's your birthday, and I hope that you feel loved. Because you are. SO loved. Happy Birthday!

Christian Side Hug

Seriously? Now uh, don't use that front hug boy That makes us awkward That's inappropriate You back up off her 'cause we Wanna keep our mind pure Wanna keep away from sin That means it's you too girl Only one arm around him .... If a girl walks up With her arms spread wide And she's front hug bound with that look in her eye You better turn to the side And pat her on her back Cause Jesus never hugged nobody like that (Scream it)

Gilmore Quote

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We don't have cable, but I rented the fourth season of Gilmore Girls from the library and have been watching it nonstop. I love the Luke/Lorelai relationship and especially this scene when Lorelai is having a breakdown. I know the feeling. The breakdown, that is.  Lorelai : You know, there are very few times in my life when I find myself sitting around thinking, "I wish I was married," but today, I mean -- I'm happy. You know? I like my life. I like my friends. I like my stuff. My time, my space, my TV. Luke : Yeah, sure. Lorelai : But every now and then, just for a moment, I wish I had a partner, someone to pick up the slack. Someone to wait for the cable guy, make me coffee in the morning, meet the stupid sink before it gets sent back to Canada. 

Out of My Funk

I didn't wash my hair or shave my legs; I threw on some cut offs and a Foreigner t-shirt and it ended up being the best night out in a while. We didn't plan on getting crazy. We didn't plan on dancing to funk at the Replay. But we did and we did. Showering is sooo overrated. "You know he voted for McCain, right?"

A typical week in Lawrence

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Sunday night: Ice Cream on Mass street and kickball game with DG and KG. Monday night: Dessert with KG and CS at 715 to celebrate my MA exam news. Then, home for more True Blood. Tuesday night: 2fers at Liberty Hall with KG and JW to see Babies. Wednesday night: Free concert by Lawrence City Band in the band stand at South Park with KG and SF. Thursday night: Visit KU Natural History Museum and Lawrence Art Center with CS, Free showing of Philadelphia Story in the park with CS and KG. Friday night: Who knows..???? Picture: Massachusetts Street

Happy Birthday MV!

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We call each other Betty and Veronica because she has blonde hair and I have dark hair. MV fits the description of Betty perfectly; she is the sweet wholesome hometown "girl next door." But hopefully, I don't fit the persona of the dark-haired Veronica, who is a spoiled and selfish rich girl. I'm definitely not rich. It's her birthday today (MV, that is, not Betty) and I hope she's celebrating on a beach somewhere like this rare edition of the comic book.

My PSA for the day

 Kiss him. Kiss her. Kiss me. Buck up and just do it.

I want a bon fire, baby!

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It's bon fire season and although I haven't been able to participate in one yet this summer, I am anxiously anticipating throwing on an old college sweatshirt soaked in bug spray with a roasting marshmallow in one hand and a cold beverage in the other. I'm going to the lake for the fourth of July and by lake I mean my lake, Blue Dog Lake. It has been the site for more family gatherings and summer morning, days, and nights than I can remember. But there are some lake memories, particularly bon fire memories, that are pretty unforgettable. There is something about a bon fire that seems to put people at ease. Maybe it's finally feeling cool for the first time all day. Maybe it's the beer. Maybe it's the deet. Most likely, I think that it's because everyone sits together in a circle. Throughout the day people are scattered playing yard games, going on boat rides, and driving to the gas station to get more ice. When it's finally bon fire time, everyone sit...

Celebrating at 715!

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Lived Like a Gypsy

3 Unrelated Quotes I Overheard

KG trying to remember the name of a poem: "I don't understand why I can't remember the littlest things." CS sweetly: "Because you have to remember all those big things." Lafayette from True Blood:"Jesus and I agreed to see other people. That doesn't mean we don't still talk from time to time." JS's grandpa while introducing himself at CC's wedding reception: "I don't know much about weddings, but I sure like to fish."

Hey, Look What Came in the eMail!

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A Riddle

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It tastes like light beer, crappy coffee, leftovers, and that secret desert that the cook hoards in the back pantry. It tastes like apples and brownies with powdered sugar on one half. It tastes like Lean Cuisines. It tastes like sugar free and low carb. It tastes bittersweet. It smells like Victoria Secret lotion, late night popcorn, burnt tomato soup, expensive perfume, and swiffer wet jet. It smells like excitement on Friday nights, hangovers on Sunday mornings, and productivity on Monday afternoons. It smells like fruit and sugar and sometimes body odor. It smells like all nighters and test anxiety. It smells like hair products and estrogen.  It sounds like running up and down stairs and running showers, doorbells and closing doors. It sounds like shrieking, laughing, gossiping, snoring, whispering, and sometimes crying. There is music everywhere from the bathroom to the baby grand. It sounds like Grey's Anatomy in the TV room with abundant Shh-ing. It sounds like movement ...

You are going to love me for this..

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My sister introduced me to this website: www.video2mp3.net All you have to do is copy and paste the URL of a youtube video like this: Then, it downloads the video in an MP3 format so you can play it on iTunes and your iPod!

The Way That Things Are

My life lately has been a string of scattered couches and air mattresses, fast food wrappers in my jeep and credit card receipts from gas stations from five states. I've been here, I've been there. I've been traveling to see old friends and traveling to meet new ones. I wake up disoriented, go to sleep exhausted, and in between I seem to float around getting lost and getting found with my crappy gps. I am lucky to be able to take some time off of my life of responsibility to slow down and speed up at my own pace. I am lucky that I have beautiful, inspiring friends to invite me to come, stay, drink a glass of wine (or 4), dance, talk, and nap. I am lucky to have friends to make me breakfast in the morning and sleep back to back with me at night. I am lucky to have this June and this opportunity. I am lucky to be in Kansas, lucky to be in bed. And someday I'll be ready for a permanent mailing address, ready to wake up and go to sleep in the same bed with the same man....

Happy Father's Day!

A Game Called the Future

I finished reading your novella today. Finally. I read it in two sections. For the first half I was in a park in Omaha on Memorial Day. I sat on a bedsheet I found in my backseat and put on sunglasses that had broken but were tied together with a twist tie. The backs of my knees sweat as I read and I could feel the bark of the tree I leaned against through my t-shirt as it pressed into my back. As I read your words, I started to forget about the sweat dripping down my calves and the imprints the bark was leaving on my skin. I read your words and I could hear you writing them. I thought "It sounds like you." A boy once told me that about the music I listen to. "It's meant as a compliment," he said. I mean it as a compliment, too. I read the second part of your story the other morning at Panera. I should have went to a coffee shop on Mass St., but the familiarity of hazelnut coffee brought me there instead. There were too many people around and some sort of mana...

Because I don't have a job... Picture Time!!

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So... I don't really have a job. But I live in Kansas, and I've decided to spend my days not making money but instead making stuff.. via camera, blog, and that word document that I hope to turn into something bigger someday. This morning I ventured back to a park with a pond that I stumbled upon last week on a walk. KG let me borrow her camera, and the frogs got out of the way so I could get some close-ups of the lily pads. I love being unemployed!! ..     ...

Bookends

Miss you

Tonight someone told me, "I miss you you but don't tell anyone." I said I wouldn't but I think I just did. I miss you too.

Whew, that was a close one

Whenever I go home to Watertown for the weekend, I make a point of (illegally) downloading music that I don't feel like paying for. This accounts for most of the rap music I own. The last time I was home, I burned a CD full of dirty rap (it's the best to work out to), but accidentally grabbed the wrong disc. Later that week, my mom burned an "inspirational" CD for the superintendent of the school district whose husband had just passed away. It was full of Christian songs about heaven and Country songs about moving on. On her way out the door, she accidentally grabbed the CD I had burned. Yikes! Luckily, she popped it in her CD player on the way to school and heard this . She was expecting this . Whew, that was a close one.

Shout-Outs!

GG, TB, KG, and AO all have baller new jobs! Congrats to all of you!! Now take me out to dinner because you have salaries and benefits and I just have credit card debt and a speeding ticket.

A Facelift!

Ta-da! The ol' blog got a facelift! Birds or books, I couldn't decide. So books today and birds tomorrow. Help me pick!

From a movie we watched...

"I like that you drink. I like a bartender who drinks. Otherwise I feel like I'm being poisoned."

The Starfish Story.. only with ants

In the field of education, I have often been told and re-told the story of the boy and the starfish. I think it is meant to inspire instructors to "make a difference" one student at a time. Here's the story if you're not familiar: One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean.  The surf is up and the tide is going out.  If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” “Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?  You can’t make a difference!” After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf.  Then, smiling at the man, he said…” I made a difference for that one.” I thought of this story yesterday, not because I was thinking about teaching or students or even really making a ...

You Could Write a Book

Lawrence, KS: My New Home

This June, I'm living in a new house, a new city, a new state. I'm meeting new people, eating new food, listening to new music. I love the newness of this June, but it's nice to find the familiar too. The other day I drove past the Kappa Alpha Theta house on Kentucky St. and this morning I went to mass at the KU Newman Center, and both times I thought, "Hey, that's the same." And it felt comfortable. And it felt nice. (Even though I hate that word). My dad lived here for a few months when I was a sophomore in college. He loved the college/bar scene a lot and I can see why. Massachusetts street is like the Las Vegas strip for an assortment of college students and college drop outs. Though there are less lights and more homeless people, I suspect.  KG, CS, and I went out Friday night and danced at Replay and got hit on by a guy with a dragon on his shirt at the Tap Room. Then we walked home, and it was sticky and uphill and I missed Vermillion a tiny bit for...

Hot Hot Hot!

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The weather forecast looks like this:  I feel like this:

God did a lot in 7 days, so did I.

It's been one week since my last post... and so much has happened that I don't have the time nor the energy to reflect on it all. I can make a rambling, incoherent series though. Here goes: (Forgive the unparalleled structure) Friday: MA exams, celebration, swisher sweets with my MOM on the back patio of Careys, TB, AB, and RW at back patio of Carey's (round 2), Char bar, sleep Saturday: Hangover, BAD hangover, packing/moving, jeep so full can't roll down the windows, awesome friends and awesome friend's parents help, dress fitting, Wagner tour, steak and potatoes, thunderstorm, treadmill music, sleeping in leggings Sunday: Breakfast pizza, bridal shower, food, gifts, party planning, pictures, drive to Verm, finish packing/moving, TB is my hero, pillows and shit everywhere, summer playlist and Culver's all the way to Lincoln, Hickman slumber party with TB and CK. Monday: Breakfast with the Brettmanns and boyfriend, no TB, re-pack car, drive back to Oma...