Wednesday, February 27

School's out forever.

As I sit on my couch with Drake snoring, fire blazing, and glass of juice (yes, juice) sitting on the side table, writing my reflective essay for my English exit portfolio, I realize one thing: I will miss writing papers. Going back and looking at 10 page papers on Chaucer and Faulkner and Crane actually made me nostalgic. Why? I'm not quite sure, honestly, but in about two months, gone are the days of procrastinating and then cranking out critical paragraph after critical paragraph. Amazingly enough, I am actually going to miss it. I'm sure I will kick myself for saying this when I am in grad school, but for now I'm truly a little sad.

Come tomorrow night at 5:15, I will have no school for something like ten or eleven days. That is seriously amazing. I can't believe it's already the semester midpoint. The last Spring Break of my undergraduate years is here, and the agenda for next week looks something like this:

Sunday: Depart from Atlanta at 6:25 am & arrive in Cancun at 10:15am
Monday: All day tour of Chichen Itza
Tuesday: Relaxing on the beach & going to Senor Frogs at night
Wednesday: Swimming with dolphins (!!!!)
Thursday: Half day tour of Tulum & going to CoCo Bongo at night
Friday: Depart from Cancun at 11:15am & arrive back in Atlanta at 5:40pm

Cannot wait!

Monday, February 25

Monday musings.

Breaking up with someone is just like having a cold or the flu or some other sort of illness. It's always the worst in the morning and at night, and there's only so much medicine that can make you feel better or forget about the uncomfort. All you want to do is lay in bed and sleep or eat, but you know you have to pretend like you are in tip-top shape so you can go to your job, go to class, see your family and friends, and so on. At the end of the day though, you still feel like crap and want nothing more than for it all to be over.

In not-so-depressing news:
  • Danielle & I leave for Cancun in five days.
  • Heated herbal wraps might be the best things ever, next to Mott's Plus Kid's Health Apple Grape juice.
  • My English portfolio is due on Thursday, and then I'm all set to graduate in May.
  • If you live in Georgia, please sign this petition!! It's to reinstate the sale of alcohol on Sundays.
  • I am shamelessly in love with these two beauties:

Thursday, February 21

Where's my Neverland?

I think I have finally come to terms with my Peter Plan complex - my fear of growing up. It's taken me a while to realize it, but I'm finally coming out of denial that I am getting older and it is catching up with me.

I do not want to grow up. I do not want responsibility. I'll be 22 in July. I'll have my first Bachelor's in only a little over 2 months. I'll be financially emancipated in May. All of this scares the living shit out of me. I'm not sure what I want to do with my degree. I'll probably end up staying at Wag A Lot until I can save up enough money and/or get a loan so I can go back to school in 2009. I wish I could find an internship or a job related to my field, but unless it pays amazingly, I can't take the pay cut. I honestly like the way I live right now - go to work from 6:30 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon, come home & nap, and then wake up & do whatever. Obviously I'm not going to be able to do this forever. I just wish I could make a living by working full-time at a bookstore or a library and running around with my camera in my downtime.

Not only is the amount of responsibility in my life changing, I already feel my body changing. This also scares me to death. I can't sleep past 9 o'clock in the morning anymore, and I'm in bed asleep by 11. When I was in high school, I could eat whatever I wanted without gaining wait. This carried on up through my freshman and sophomore year of college. I feel like that all changed the second I turned 20. I have cellulite now - CELLULITE! If I had the time and money to do yoga 3-4 times a week, I would. Working 4 days a week and going to school 2 days leaves me Sundays to do everything - laundry, errands, school work. Maybe once I graduate I'll have the time to start working out consistently. Until then, I'll have to deal with the belly pooch & love handles I've got going on right now.

I just ended the most serious, intense relationship I've ever been in. Since I was, like, sixteen I have been in serious relationships - I had the highschool sweetheart, the freshman year boyfriend, the year and a half boyfriend, and now this - my first relationship in my early 20's. It was a long, hard fight by two people who just weren't compatible, and it just ended up not working out - it's a hard reality to face. I think it is time for me to be alone for a while and to really get used to that - to enjoy being a college grad - to enjoy my friends, my family, my dog, my hobbies. I need to do all of these things on my own terms and learn things about myself.

I feel like the next year or two (or three or four or five...) is going to bring a lot of change, and I need to put my grown-up face on and deal with it head on...

Monday, February 11

So excited!!

It's not everyday that checking the mail was the best thing that happened all day. Awhile back I had entered a photograph into the International Open Amateur Photography Contest. To be honest, I had completely forgotten I had even submitted a picture. Well, today I got a letter saying that the photo is a semi-finalist in the People category of the contest, and it's being published in a coffee-table photography book entitled Endless Journeys. This is the picture I submitted; it's entitled "saved".


I could care less if the photo wins anything or not, but it seriously makes me feel so good to even be recognized. I haven't ever been very confident in my photography skills, and this is the self-esteem boost I desperately needed. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Congratulations to Amy Winehouse for her well-deserved five Grammy's. "Back to Black" is such a good record, and it's been so unfortunate that her personal life overshadows her talent. And, of course, mad props to The Foo Fighters for winning Best Rock Album and Best Hard Rock Performance. Seriously can't get enough of the Foos these days!

Friday, February 8

Things.

We will be en route to Cancun in less than 23 days. So excited! We are going taking tours of Tulum and Chichen Itza, going to Senor Frogs and CocoBongo, and swimming with dolphins. Seriously...I need this vacation. I haven't been anywhere this exciting in a VERY long time (um, London when I was 14?). I think I owe it to myself; this is the only year I'll really be able to do all this.

Even when things get stressful and school is awful and I hate my job and I can't seem to get along with anyone, there are a few things that I know will make it all better, no matter what. They are as follows:

Freshly washed sheets. A really long & hot shower. Candles. Sudoku. Faulkner novels. My camera. Drake, Maggie, & Lil' Jack. Lavender-scented anything. Chris Crocker videos. My robot pajama pants. Perez Hilton. "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay". Old pictures. Pink nailpolish. VH1 shows (especially Best Week Over). Hot chocolate chip cookies. Sunflowers and/or tulips. The commercial for "Strange Wildnerness" with the shark laughing. Pink champagne.

Now, if only I could have all those at once...life would be pretty amazing.

Monday, February 4

Weekend.

Friday after work with Steph in tow, I finally got around to taking pictures of the old My Sister's Room building, the abandoned hotel next to it, and the Dekalb Ave trainyard. I was pretty pleased with the fact that we were able to get into both MSR and the trainyard via unlocked gates & a hole in the fence. Good thing we had our tetnus shots. The trainyard was so cool inside. I definitely want to go back & shoot in color, probably around sunset.









I was at the Decatur Post Office for an hour today getting my passport renewed. Luckily, I had already filled out my application and had all the necessary information; I just had to get my picture taken and pay for it ($208...seriously). It took me 45 minutes to get a damn money order. They had two self-proclaimed "newbies" working the counter. I felt bad for them but seriously...don't put two new people at a counter to wait on 20+ people. It was ridiculous. Just glad it's over with.

Yoga seriously kicked my ass tonight. I need to start going more than once a week. I can't wait for this summer so I can have more time to do it. Although, I don't know how fun it's going to be coming out of the 100 degree room into 100 degree heat...plus humidity. I know I owe it to myself to keep going though.

Last but not least, a big sorry to the Patriots. You had it in you, and you almost had the win on lock. If only Randy Moss had caught that pass in the last three minutes...if only. 18-1 kiddos. And I hate to say it, but good job, Eli Manning.