Express Grades My @$$...

Okay, so I'll admit it--I forgot I had this blog. I don't get on the internet as much as I used to, but I've been on a lot today obsessively checking my grades--still aren't posted. Now it's telling me that PAWS is unavailable, though I know it is supposed to be available until 9:00 tonight. Grades were due this morning, and I've been anxious to see how I did. At LLC, it seemed like the grades were posted by 8:00 AM the day they were due. Not a big deal one way or the other I guess.

I graduated Saturday. I wasn't nervous at all. This is probably the only graduation since 8th grade where I was calm. It is nice to be an EIU alumnus. But I'll be starting grad school there in the spring, so really, it just feels like another Christmas break, but that's okay.

I'm registered for 3 classes and wait listed for a 4th that I may end up dropping. I actually cleaned out my car today. I don't think I've ever had it as clean as I got it today. Well, maybe for the first couple days after I got it, but after that, I started throwing a bunch of junk in it. I've also been cleaning my room some too.

I finished my honors thesis at the end of the semester. I'm fairly happy with it. I am planning on adding some more stories to it, proofreading it seriously, and maybe after that I will try to send it out for publication. I'm a little nervous about sending out my work because if it gets rejected I'll feel like I've failed as a writer.

Ironically enough, the mere fact that I possess that attitude confirms that I am indeed a writer.

November Post Overdue Alert...

Thank you to Amanda, my sole reader of this blog, who reminded me that I need to post within two days to avoid my .25 a day late fines for overdue posts. Or is that the rate for overdue books at Booth? Anyway, yeah I'm glad that school is about over. Quite frankly I'm tired of it. I took the GRE and applied to grad school. If I get accepted in the spring, then hopefully I can get through it quickly. Yeah, I'm going to copy off Woo and congratulate the Harrises and the Groveses on their new additions coming soon. My birthday is in five days--it totally sneaked up on me this year. You know, I've almost had this blog for a year now... weird.

October

Okay, so I pretty much quit blogging these days, but I see that a new month has rolled over, so in keeping with my "at least one update a month" quota that I stole from Amanda G., I thought I would just say happy October to everybody.

Hello

Well apparently people don't think I update enough anymore. I swear. This is what I get for updating on a daily basis in the past. LOL. Oh well. I guess pretty much all I've been doing lately is going to school, doing homework/seeing Kris, cleaning my room, and playing the Sims. I really don't get online much these days, and that's why I haven't been updating.

I do not know much of anything about history, and not even about literary history. I guess Shorty is right--Dr. V. will teach me some stuff about it. I just hate it that I don't know jack about history.

In Dr. Markelis news, I am compiling a group of stories, events from my years at EIU, to make into an honors thesis in creative writing. Not bad, folks. I like that sort of thing. And also, I had been in a sort of writer's block/slump, but last week I began to come out of it. For some reason, none of us on the guest columnists list have heard anything from the DEN, so I guess we're not writing columns this semester? Who knows.

Amanda, as of right now, I think I will take the GRE with you. I also think I am just going to go to EIU. Of course tomorrow I could change my mind. Maybe after taking a little time off I'll be able to go to grad school without being terribly burnt out.

I just got off work. I need to be making some money. It's tough when you only make between $25 and $50 a week. And it's generally more on the $25 a week side...

Wow. I am so tired today--mainly because it is hot and humid. I've been working on this homework, but I'd rather take a nap... In fact, I'm actually too lazy to say anything today, but figured it was about time I updated. Later guys :)

School Has Officially Begun...

Well, friends and foes and those that knows, yesterday was the first day of school. I had Vietto's class with Kris and Jason Asaad--who apparently dropped the class but could try to get back in it. And wouldn't you know, we got assigned group work on the very first day. So I've been working on it here, and I think I have a pretty good idea as to what I'm going to bring to class tomorrow.

I guess I don't have to go to work today, because neither my boss nor his secretary ever called me back. That's okay though. I have things I need to do around the house.

Yeah, what made the first day official was that while Mr. Jones was in his 12:00 class, I went to the bathroom and happened to see Jenn doing her hair at one of the mirrors. You see, every semester, Jenn and I and usually some other girls from classes have these girl "pow-wows" in the bahtroom. It's an inside joke from senior seminar. We used to make fun of girls for going to the bathroom to talk, but then it seemed like after we started making fun of that phenomenon, we ended up running into each other in the bathroom. Weird, huh?

So anyway, Shorty and I worked some on our group assignment, but it wasn't much fun and we were both hungry, so I moved my car and we went back to his place and had some lunch. Then I, being always lazy, took a nap while he read some of his assignment from Kiddie Lit. I can't say that I really did much other homework the rest of the evening. I mean, I worked some on my personal info sheet, but I just didn't feel like it at the time. We went to the library for quite some time and goofed off on the internet. That was pretty cool.

Well, I guess this homework isn't going to do itself, so maybe I should sort of organize my thoughts and get something ready for tomorrow morning. And Shorty, if you're out there reading this--you better get your research all done too and don't forget about Children's lit. Oh yeah, and don't forget you have class tonight too--unless you decide to drop. You can finish all your homework--don't worry.

Well, everyone, I must be going for now. Peace out. God bless you all :)

Dr. Pepper freezes ROCK!

I apologize for not updating since Wednesday. I'll try to recap what I've been doing since then.

Okay, so Thursday I helped Sarah and Tammy move into Lincoln Hall, and then I helped Kris move into his apartment. I wasn't feeling the greatest because, wouldn't you know, although I was feeling better from my sickness--which I seem to keep passing on to other people--I started RAGGING that day and didn't feel too good until the early afternoon. Eh, that's okay. So Kris and I hung out all evening. We picked up his books and stuff like that and mainly just goofed off and had fun after that.

On Friday, I had lunch with my grandma and then I had to go to work for 3 hours. I was pretty tired and took a nap from approximately 6:00 to 8:00 and then I revised my column and emailed it to Holly. Then I watched a little bit of History of the World Part I and then watched all of Legally Blonde. Then I went back to bed.

Yesterday I went to see Kris again. I played the computer version of Risk II for the first time. It is a really cool game, but I'm not very good at it. Not yet anyway. We went to the mall and Wal-Mart, ordered a pizza, and watched Beavis and Butthead Do America. We started to watch, I think it was Nightmare on Elm Street also, but I had to get going home, so we didn't finish it.

Rach, I hope you had a good time at the fair.

Today, after church, my parents and I ate at Blimpie. It was okay. Then we spent pretty much all afternoon at Wal-Mart because not only were there like a million EIU students doing last-minute shopping, but also my mom had a lot of things she wanted to look at for some reason.

Well, tomorrow is the first day of school. I'm looking forward to it. Shorty and I are going to hang out again after class. It's good to actually be able to see him again. I really missed him a lot over the summer. Sarah, when would be a good time for Brandy and I to visit you?

Getting Better

Okay, well today I'm feeling much better, though apparently I sound terrible on the phone. I'm very tired though. So I got up at 7:00 this morning. I just woke up at that time for some reason. Then I had some tomato soup because I figured that would be good for me, seeing as how I haven't been feeling the greatest lately. Then I called work to tell them that I didn't think I'd make it in today but maybe if I am needed Friday I can go. I would have today, but I have spent most of the day coughing and blowing my nose. I'm not even sure if I'll have to go on Friday or not.

Well, yesterday I found something to write my column about and today I sat down and wrote it. That is, a rough draft of it. I think it will be okay. I can't believe I am supposed to have a column ready for the very first day of class. It's really not a big deal though, since I was in the habit of writing once a week for most of the summer.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I will finally get to see what Sarah and Tammy's dorm room looks like. I am totally a sucker for checking out new buildings and houses and stuff like that. Then after I help Sarah move, I'm meeting Shorty K and we're going to hang out.

Yeah, I guess I ought to get back to studying for the GRE. I keep putting it off because I wanted to just take it easy this summer. Well, the thing is, summer is going to be over before I know it. But I'm looking forward to school starting. I think it's going to be a lot of fun!

All I Wanna Do...

Is get back in bed and sleep! I don't know why, but for the past couple of days I have had a fairly nasty sore throat. When I woke up this morning it was even worse. And now I have the headache and congestion to go along with it. So anyway, I planned to spend the day cleaning my room, but I don't know how much I'll end up getting done. I have cleaned it a little bit, for those of you who are keeping up on my room-cleaning progress. Yes folks, I bought a small oval-shaped storage ottoman. It was like $24 or something, but it was on clearance at Wal-Mart and before any of you send me a comment saying I cannot afford anything that is $24, let me explain the logic governing my choice to purchase.

Okay, so my room is generally a complete mess. It is awful. It is partially because I have a small bedroom, but mainly because I just keep too much crap. That's all there is to it. So yesterday I got to thinking, "hey, maybe I just need some sort of chest to keep by my bed for all the graduation stuff and stuff from various showers I've been to" I mean, after all, it would make more sense than wasting one of my dresser drawers for that stuff, right?

So I went to Lisa's last night and stopped by Wal-Mart. Ah yes, Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart sucks, for those of you who were still unaware. However, being that I am a very poor woman, I am as of right now, enslaved to Wal-Mart and their seemingly low prices.

I also decided that I needed a fourth file crate to hold some of my excess books and pads of paper.

I spent the majority of my time looking for a freaking file crate because I honestly didn't figure Wal-Mart would have a chest I would like. Only to find that Wal-Mart was sold out of file crates. Anyway, somewhere in my quest for file crates, I found a cloth basket sort of thing. In fact, it was a set of two for $10. I thought that sounded pretty reasonable and picked it up. Well, then I later encountered a ZIPPERED basket that was a little bigger, but you only got one, also for $10. Well I thought that might actually be better than the two little cloth baskets for $10, so I picked it up too. Of course, I then found the infamous ottoman. I knew I couldn't really afford it, but dang it, I could use that ottoman for 3 different things. I decided to put the other stuff back. I could use the ottoman for storage, I could sit on it, or I could use it as a footrest. SO... at $24, I was sort of getting 3 things, which actually makes it $8 apiece.

Like my line of thinking?

Two Carpenters... sorta

Well Mom and I decided today was the day to put together the entertainment center. Wow. It took like all afternoon/evening to do it, but folks, it is done. Now we just need to move the stuff into it. Personally I think that will be the fun part. I have also been cleaning my room today and it is looking better. Jasper and Sunshine got a little scare though, because I had to move them, cage and all, into the bathroom so I could vacuum up all the feathers and dust they create. I guess Dad didn't know they were there on the floor and banged open the door. Oops :) They seem to be recovering about as good as they're going to. The little critters are so nervous for some reason.

Shorty K called me a couple times yesterday--I'm excited because we're in a class together this fall. I also dug out all my kitchen utensils from my grandma's house so that I can maybe do a little cooking at his apartment if he doesn't mind. I forgot just how much stuff I own. I could literally just about move out right now if I made enough money to cover rent. I didn't realize that I have wooden spoons, a cutting board, some turners and slotted spoons, potholders, oven mitts, and hand towels. Not only that, but I have a bunch of bathroom stuff as well. Including but not limited to the following: trash can, soap dish, towels, wash cloths, and rug. It seems like I have other stuff for the kitchen and bath, because a couple years ago I was planning on moving into Grandma's house, but it didn't work out, so I still have all the stuff in mint condition. Sweet!

Yeah, I went to Rachel and Sarah's house with Brandy yesterday. We stayed a little longer than an hour, although Rachel originally said we could only stay an hour... I honestly don't understand how Sarah and Tammy are going to be able to have a place to sleep with as much stuff as they're planning on moving into their dorm. But good luck anyway, girls!

I am so totally excited about school like you wouldn't believe. I have begun packing my backpack, even though I'm only going to have one class and one independent study. I sort of regret not living on campus at least one semester of my college career, but I know I saved a lot of money by living at home.

Good Morning, America, How Are Ya?

Wow. So I didn't get much sleep last night. Probably my fault for sleeping in all morning yesterday, not doing much, taking naps, and then drinking Mountain Dew in the evening.

Last night, I went to Chucktown with Brandy and Sarah for the purpose of buying even more crap for Sarah's dinky little EIU dorm room. Please. I don't think there's gonna be enough room for her or her roomie to sleep by the time they get all the stuff moved in.

I also bought a mushroom chair and this message board thingy--not sure why I got them, but that's okay. Oh yeah, and the 3 of us went to Taco Bell--I'm still paying for that.

When I got back home, after taking care of the bladder issues incurred by the drinking of too much Baja Blast Mountain Dew at Taco Bell, I decided to start cleaning my room (always a good choice for me because I keep too much stuff). And I must say, I made a little progress. At some point, Kris called me and I somehow missed the call. Good thing I checked my phone. I called him back and we talked about an hour. It was good to hear from him. :)

Well, I guess I'm going to have to go to work around 11:00 this morning. It won't be too bad. I shouldn't complain. Really.

Caution: Long Blog Post

So I'm supposd to have to work tomorrow. That's cool. Means I have today off. Again. I don't know how long I'll have to work tomorrow, but it really doesn't matter much. Just whatever is cool. Yesterday I started Animal Farm and it is deeper than really anything I've read this summer (probably because everything else I've read this summer is by Fannie Flagg). And by the way, I have now read every novel that Fannie Flagg has ever written. And I read all of them this summer except Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. So I also cleaned my room a little. I don't know what to do with so much of my crap. A lot of it is stuff from when I was younger that I just can't bear to part with and I don't know why. Yep, I'm a packrat. I know.

Let's see... I guess I also worked on my memoir. The working title is: Gas Station Recollections, so named because it is supposed to chronicle my life during my Amoco period. It needs a lot of work. I only have 4 or 5 pages single-spaced right now. I put it aside for several months and just decided to get it back out last night. Hmm... I have a really bad case of writer's block right now. See, I LOVE to write. I mean I really adore writing, but I wrote weekly columns for the DEN this summer, and that pretty much drained my creativity. Plus, it is easy to put off an assignment that you make for yourself (such as me writing memoir in my spare time). I have started several projects, but can't seem to finish any of them. Some day, I need to fire up the old laptop and crack open a case of Mountain Dew, assemble a repertoire of music to keep me going. It's amazing how listening to music can really inspire me to write.

I intend to craft memoirs about various stages of my life. I must be really narcissistic to think the world would really care to read the story of my life. Oh wait... I guess it's the same with this blog. I mean, all I do is write about what's happening with me and I assume that you all want to read it.

Today, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I will probably cook again. I've been cooking a lot more this summer. I will also probably read Animal Farm and maybe write some more of the memoir, or at least work on one of my writing projects. Oh and also yesterday I played an Xbox biking game I got from Rach. I might play that or another Xbox game tonight too.

I can't believe school is starting in a week and a half. I think it will be fun. The more I think of it, the better it sounds. I only have 2 classes, and one of them is an independent study. The other class is supposed to be fairly easy. Plus I'll get to see Kris more often and that will be nice. I miss him all the time. So yeah, all in all, I'm looking forward to it. I'm not ready for homework, but at least I won't have to get up too early either. The more I think of it, I'm really looking forward to school starting.

New Bohemians

Wow, so I have the song "What I Am" going through my head for really no good reason, but that's okay. At least I think that's the title of it. Mr. Jones, if I am incorrect, please let me know. And I still forgot to pick up that CD. Apparently I don't have to go to work until Friday. Sweet in a way, but not so good on the old paycheck. Eh, I ain't complainin'. Rach, if you don't feel like getting out this weekend, Brandy said that you were cool with us coming to your house and hanging out? That would be fine with me. Hope your foot is doing better. I'm not sure what I'm going to do today. Probably clean house, cook, read, and maybe even write and play a little Xbox if I don't run out of time.

I know the sun still shines when I close my eyes

So I guess I don't have to work again today. My boss never called me back, so I suppose I'll check in tomorrow. That's okay--I got to stay in my pj's all day. I have been reading on my newest Fannie Flagg book--it is okay. I want to cook something, but then again, I also want to clean house. And... then again I want to sleep. It is just after 3:00 and I don't know what I'm going to do yet today. I will need to check in with work again tomorrow. Maybe I'll get a little time in at some point during this week. Dang, I still haven't taken care of my birds yet either. Well, I think I'm going to do some room cleaning, bird feeding, and maybe book reading and see where I'm at if and when I get all that accomplished. Peace out~

And my garden sings, "Baby, talk dirty to me"

Well it's looking like I'm not going to have to go to work today. No problem. That just gives me more time to do things like: clean the house, study for the GRE, take care of my birds, etc. I had an excellent time this weekend. It was good to get out of here for a while. And it was totally fun to goof off and forget that I'm actually an adult. By the way, I went out to look at my corn today and thought of Beavis and Butthead--maybe if I had talked dirty to my corn it would have grown better. Guess I'll have to try that next year...

Happy Birthday a Day Early, Val!

So I believe Valerie is going to be 22 tomorrow. Since I'm going to be in Indy like all day tomorrow and not have a chance to update, I thought I'd wish her a happy 22nd today!

And Megan, you have a reason to not update so much... you work and have been taking summer classes. See, I have no excuse--I'm just a bum ;)

So last night I played my Ghost Recon game. I don't remember which one it is--Tom Clancy has a bad habit of making too many sequels. And I have a bad habit of buying every one of his Xbox games. Anyhow, this is cool--so the game takes place in Kazakhstan or however you spell it, and part of the story takes place in Kygyrstan or whatever. Anyway, I am proud to say that I now know how to pronounce Kygyrstan, or at least I think I remember, so now I can once again, name the 7 "stans" of the middle east. It is just like junior high all over again.

Okay, so that really wasn't a big deal. But I'm the girl who got excited that part of Splinter Cell took place in Azerbaijan. I'm a sucker for countries with cool names. Well, I better get going for now. Take care, everybody!

It's 6:45 A.M.

I guess I forgot to update yesterday and add another month to my archives. I usually try to write at least a little something on the first day of each month.

Swing Batter Batter Swing

Okay I admit I have a country song going through my head. I'M SORRY. But yeah, I'm also sorry for not updating much lately. I lost some weight--I'm down to 115 in the morning now. That's probably about where I should be. I can't say I've really been doing much lately. Last Friday, I had to go to work, and then I ended up watching my cousin after all. So I got in work for two jobs that day.

Then on Saturday I went to Kris's house and for the first time ever, did not get lost. We had a good time--watched a little South Park and thought about watching Date Movie but decided not to. Had lunch. Then later I read his novella and it was really sad. It made me cry and it was just a work of fiction. I really didn't think I was that emotional of a person. Then after that, we went to karaoke and NO I did not sing. I had a Pepsi and watched him sing and met some of his friends.

Yesterday, I went to church and then in the afternoon, Brandy and I went to Chrissy Pugh's baby shower. We sat at the same table as her boyfriend's mom. I won the "How Well Do You Know Chrissy?" contest and got a picture album for it. That was pretty cool. I could have won the nursery rhyme game too, except there was a 3-way tie and so they had to find a way to determine the winner. This is great--I would have never thought of it, but the girls gave us each a roll of toilet paper and said we had to guess how many sheets it would take to go around the fattest part of Chrissy's pregnant belly. Oh my gosh. I guessed like 6 sheets--I don't think that even made it across the front of her belly. So anyway, needless to say, I lost that competition. That's okay though--I didn't need to win two prizes.

Like I did at Shawna's bachelorette party.

You know, I only remember one of the games I won. Folks, I was proud of myself. I won the "Pin the P**** on the Man" game (which is just like "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" except the poster and game pieces are a little different).

Well, I worked I think an hour and 45 minutes today, give or take. It wasn't too bad. Then I got paid--very nice. I haven't been working much at all though, so I don't know--my check will probably just pay for the gas I've bought since last pay period. Sad, huh?

I see Brandy has left me a voice mail something about doing something tonight, so I better call her back and shoot the bull with her a little bit. I'm not for sure as to what I'm going to do this afternoon.

Skyrockets in Flight

So today is Wednesday. I haven't worked in forever. I almost forgot I even had a job. My boss doesn't need me to come in until Friday. I had to pass up a babysitting job Friday because of it, so I better make some money Friday. I could have used the extra babysitting cash--GRRR.

My mood swings are not cool at all. I keep getting depressed for pretty much no good reason. I'm not too depressed right now though.

I went to Mattoon with my grandma today. It was cool. We went to Steak 'n Shake and I got me another of those cookie dough shakes. Ladies, if you haven't tried them yet, you must--they are excellent!

Rach, sorry if you thought I was snappy on the phone last night. I was tired and had a case of the PMS grouchies.

Then we went to Wal-Mart--is it possible to go to a town larger than 3000 without visiting a Wal-Mart?

After that, we came back to my granny's house and I helped her add contacts to her cell phone. Then I came back home. I'm really tired right now. I may just read and take it easy. Not sure what I'm doing tomorrow. Yesterday I did a little sunbathing while I read. Today I just wanna lay on my bed in the air-conditioning.

Just out of curiousity, how long is a good amount of time to date before seriously considering marriage? This question is in reference to some couples I know who have gotten engaged after only a few months of being together. I just wonder what you all think on the subject.

Glory Days

So yeah, I've put over 2222 calls on my cell phone. I've only had the phone for a little over a year, but whatever. I went to see Kris yesterday--I had a really good time. I got lost going over there, and then got held up by a train, and had to take a detour on the way back.

Some people say I'm not updating enough. Well, the thing is, I haven't done a great deal lately. I had to pick Mom up from Bloomington on Friday, but there's not a lot to talk about there.

Nora wrote me today and informed me that she wouldn't need any more summer DEN columns. But I was offered a position in the fall. I think I will be writing either monthly or bi-monthly. Well, I can tell I've been watching Beavis and Butthead--I started to laugh at the "bi" part of bi-monthly.

It feels good to know I can take a break from columns for a few weeks.

Well, I'm pretty hungry right now, and I really don't have much else to say. Catch you all later!

Lovin' Every Minute Of It

Well, I goofed off a lot today. I guess that's okay though. I did clean my room some (I actually threw away two pairs of pants) and I have several shirts to give away. I found my Sergeant Pepper CD and my Daisy Fay book (by Fannie Flagg). I even found one of Brandy's birthday presents! I put on my bathing suit and sunbathed some in the backyard this afternoon. I also made pizza. I was in a better mood today than I was yesterday. Heck, I'm feeling motivated. I think I'm going to look for column ideas and maybe even get back to studying for the GRE. I want to try to call Kris around 9:00 when my free minutes start, so I might as well do something productive between now and then.

Happy Birthday, Brandy!

So today is Brandy's 22nd, everybody! We went to Champaign to celebrate it. I took her to Olive Garden (sorry Megan) and then to the mall and Borders. I have never eaten so cheaply at OG before--I only spent $10.77 as I recall, and that bought enough food to fill us both up. I think I spend more at Arby's!

So Kris finally changed his MySpace profile to say that he's in a relationship. After being together for 3 months, I was getting a little tired of his profile still saying single.

I had to take Mom to Bloomington on Sunday afternoon so she could go to this week-long banking school thing at the Wesleyan University. After I dropped her off, I went to Tilton to see Kris, who in turn took me to his sister's house for a small pool party. I'm not big on pools, but I gotta say, I really enjoyed the hot tub.

We finally got to dance to "Wonderful Tonight" which was fun. He kept apologizing for the England thing that I don't really want to talk about. I hope he doesn't do that again, because though I can forgive him, it still hurt me. I had a great time with him. Stayed a little late though... I didn't leave his house until 12:30 A.M. and his mom kept trying to get me to stay the night there. I told Kris I'd call him and talk to him on my way home (he was afraid I'd fall asleep driving) and it is a 2-hour drive, so that was a rational concern. I'm glad I called him because I probably wouldn't have been able to figure out the route to get home otherwise.

But enough of that.

I would have probably done more shopping today, but I am pretty tired and depressed. I miss Kris already, and his mood swings are pretty stressful. Also--and I think this is the main reason that I'm depressed--it is dangerously close to that time of the month. So... I go from really hyper to ultra-sad to daring to in love to depressed and back again. I guess my mood swings are pretty severe too.

I went to Lisa's house last night. I didn't do much at all. Just hung out on the couch and listened to Sirius music channels. I did help a very little bit with moving furniture. Other than that, I was pretty much worthless.

I'm sorry, but I really can't stand Doug's new dog.

I think I just need to take a nap because right now I am depressed and don't have a very good reason to be. I'm just tired and worrying too much about pretty much everything.

I spent over an hour in Christopher and Banks today. I love my Mommy! :)

I see it has been a while since I updated, considering I usually think I need to update daily. In fact, probably half of my friends that I have blog links to actually beat me to updating. Kudos to you guys!

No, I've not been terribly busy as such, but I've been to town 7 times in 7 days, if that says anything. Tuesday I went to Chucktown to get copies of the DEN and hang out a little with Brandy.

Then Wednesday I spent the whole day with Kris. It was an interesting day, but a lot of fun. I plan on writing a story about it sometime. His car wouldn't start on two different occastions in the same day, if that tells you anything. And we were both running late getting to Charleston. Yeah I went to Chucktown two days in a row--it's all good!

Thursday, I went to work for 4 hours. Then I went to Lisa's house and watched Date Movie. There is a certain part of that movie that takes place in "A Restaurant" that cracked me up so much I thought I'd have to go outside or to another room or something. I mean, I was literally Rolling On The Floor laughing and was crying so hard I missed about 10 minutes of the movie. I still get cracked up thinking about it.

BTW, check out Derk's blog for Lisa news, ya'll!!!

Then Friday, I got my paycheck, and got cheated out of 1.5 hours on it--grr. Guess I'll have to say something sometime. Anyhow, then I went to Chucktown once again to shop for... Chrissy Pugh's baby that hasn't been born yet! I'm excited for her. I didn't even know she was expecting until I got an invitation in the mail for her baby shower.

And today I went looking around at my grandma's old stomping grounds and then went to Mattoon with Mom, Granny, Becky, and Vickie.

I have to take Mom to Bloomington tomorrow for a week-long class. Something to do with her job.

Speaking of jobs, Megan, I just read your blog--looking promising. Good luck with everything!

I had to hurry up and pick out a column and write it, proofread it, and send it tonight.

Ceska Republika

So I called work today around 9:00 and my boss was supposed to call me back and never did. So whatever. I ended up going to town with my grandma and my aunt Vickie. We went to Steak n Shake and I tried the new cookie dough milkshake--very good--I recommend it to anyone who likes cookie dough and milkshakes.

Then we went to the eye doctor so Grandma could get her glasses adjusted. I read People magazine while I was waiting on her. They had a piece about Mary Kay Letourneaux (I'm almost certain I misspelled her name). I just can't believe she is like 44 and married to a 22 year old guy. And then I started wondering how a 12-year-old could father children.

I got my Prague postcard from Mr. Jones today--I was happy to get it. It's kind of funny that he got here before the postcard did though.

Rachel called me tonight to say the lady from her church is in stable condition. She is still in need of a lot of prayer though. I have a headache, so I think I'm going to close for now. I may even go to bed before long.

I can listen to Clapton again :)

Okay ya'll...

So I talked to Kris on the phone last night and we discussed some things. There was quite a bit of misunderstanding on both our parts (well that just sounded dirty, now didn't it?) Anyway, we never actually "broke up," but he gave me the opportunity to leave if I wanted to. I don't want to discuss his reason, but it was nothing bad about me.

So we are still together. Brandy, I didn't want to say anything about it tonight because I didn't want you to have a fit when I was trying to watch Patti. I'm sorry if that makes me less of a friend for not telling you what you wanted to hear when you wanted to hear it, but I was just trying to keep the situation from getting bad.

And Brandy, please for my sake, stay out of this. Don't cause trouble for Kris or for me. Please.

Megan, thank you for your work schedule--we should totally get together for lunch sometime. And thanks for the advice on the earlier post. I appreciate it.

Brandy, I'm not sure about looking into that job tomorrow. I'm too hot and tired to really even think about it. I'm sorry.

Now that I have all that out of the way, here's how I spent my day:

I couldn't sleep well last night because I had some sinus problems, so I took a Benadryl and it knocked me out. I didn't get up until after 8:00 this morning--YIKES! Anyway, so I went to my grandma Pat's church this morning and it started at 9:30 in Greenup. I had never been to a Methodist service before. It was okay--totally different from a Pentecostal one though...

Anyway, after that, Pat gave me instructions on watching Patti and then I spent the next 10 hours watching Patti. Grandma and Kenneth (her hubby) went to a dance in Nokomis that was supposed to last from 2:00 to 4:30. Well... at 2:10 or so she called me to say that they thought it was supposed to start at 2:00 and when they got there, they found out that it wasn't supposed to start until 4:00! So I was going to have to stay an extra two hours. I was pretty bummed out because today seemed like a pretty day and I had to spend it inside their house, trying to keep Patti out of mischief.

I failed to mention that Patti is my 36-year-old first cousin with Down's syndrome who lives with my grandma and her second husband, Kenneth.

So Patti had 4 pieces of pizza at lunch today and a piece of garlic toast. I thought that seemed like a lot, but I wasn't sure what she was supposed to have. Don't worry, she told me. After the last morsel was savored, Patti proudly informed me that she was, in fact, only supposed to have TWO pieces of pizza and nothing else. Oh gosh--hopefully she doesn't get sick tonight--she has a weak stomach when it comes to rich foods.

I could only handle 2 pieces at lunch and ate the other 2 pieces around 3:00, if that tells you anything.

Grandma also had some mac and cheese for supper, but I was not hungry at all by that point, so I just had a diet vanilla Pepsi (as it was the only pop in the fridge) and believe you me, I hate diet soda. Anyway, Patti happily ate a healthy serving of the mac and cheese and also made herself a sandwich--with cheese. Then she asked where the yogurt was. I almost went into a lactose fit just thinking about all that dairy. In fact, I have some terrible heartburn right now.

Brandy came over around 5:30 and stayed until around 9:00, when I left.

I also talked to Brandy, Rachel, and my mom on my phone quite a bit. In my spare time, I did some fill-in word puzzles (I love those) and read some on my book Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man and studied some for the GRE. I got tired of all that by the evening and decided to watch some American Dad and Family Guy.

Megan, you're right--Ron White is creepy. I never really thought about it like that, but maybe that's why I'm not crazy about him.

Well, all my friends, I hope I haven't caused any strife among you (especially you, Brandy) but I just try to avoid the drama when I can. Peace out :)

I'm glad they don't call ME Tater Salad...

Well this morning I feel hopeful. My mood generally is based at least partially on how I wake up in the morning, which is usually based at least partially on what sort of dreams I have the night before. I mean, yeah I had some strange dreams, but nothing bad and I think that's why I'm in a better mood.

Haven't heard from Kris yet, but I think he's home now.

I was planning on editing my column and emailing it to Nora last night but I ended up attempting to watch Brothers Grimm. If anybody likes that movie, I'm sorry, but I couldn't watch it--it was pretty stupid. Kevin recommended it to me, but pretty much said it helped to have a little liquor in you when you watch it.

I believe it.

So after I had all I could take of Brothers Grimm, I put in the othermovie I borrowed from Lisa about three years ago, The Blue Collar Comedy Tour Movie. It was okay. Some things made me laugh a lot, but a lot of it was pretty dang predictable--probably because they were saying things similar to things I say on a regular basis. Especially that Bill guy that does "Here's your sign" because I am so sarcastic all the time and people are always asking me such obvious questions. *sigh*

And then...

"If you can identify with at least 50% of the redneck jokes that Jeff Foxworthy tells... you... might be a redneck"--nuff said on that subject, folks.

I'm sorry but I just don't get Ron White's humor for the most part. I'm surprised that guy has lived long enough to do the stupid movie. I swear I think every time he appeared he was smoking and usually had a drink in his hand. Then at the end they're at Waffle House and anybody who's not familiar with Waffle House, they have these hashbrowns and they like to brag that there are like a million different ways you can order them. So Ron White orders some of them with like everything possible and it about killed me just thinking about it. Barf, Ron.

Well, I think we're going to try to move some furniture and do some housecleaning. And of course, don't let me forget to finish up my newest column. My last column--which I thought was pretty good if I do say so--was not printed in the DEN. Grr.

Happy Birthday, Ringo!

Okay friends and foes, today is Ringo Starr (A.K.A. Richard Starkey)'s 66th birthday. Incidentally, it is also Ronnie Greeson's 56th birthday! Happy birthday to both.

Kris is coming home today--we'll see what he has to say when he gets back to Tilton and away from all the people who were driving him nuts.

I'm supposed to check in at work this afternoon. I'm so lazy--I'd just as soon have the day off. Rachel has the day off--no fair. Just kidding. I always have the day off it seems.

I went to Casey with Sarah yesterday. I had to pick up some medicine for a cat at the vet's office and by a strange coincidence, Sarah was heading towards my house just as I was getting ready to leave. I asked her if she'd like to go back to Casey with me, and as she wasn't doing anything else, she consented.

So we got the meds and then headed to Subway for lunch--it was pretty good.

Later in the afternoon, I went to see Brandy because I sort of made plans to do something with her, but we never decided what we were going to do. I felt bad for putting her off so long, but oh well. So sometime after 3:00 I headed over to her house just to hang out and got severely pissed off when I saw that about a mile from her house, they had the road completely blocked, working on it. Okay I thought, I'll just go on the Mullen road and go past Eliza's house. So when I did that (which included a significant amount of backtracking) I went the wrong way and ended up at a dead end. By this point I was very pissed off and called Brandy, but I really didn't need to because I figured out the way I was trying to go on my own. Boy was I mad.

I stayed there until the early evening and she decided to come over. I'm not sure why, because I pretty much did my own thing and she did her own thing, but whatever, folks. Yeah I took 4 pix from my digital camera and fooled around with them and put poems that I have written on top of each of them and printed them out (all 4 on a page) of photo paper. It's pretty cool. Took me about all evening to get it all done though.

While at Brandy's though, I wrote my rough draft of my column. I'd like to finish it up and email it to Nora tonight.

I put the stuffed animals I got from Kris back on my bed last night too.

The man is confused. He feels that at his age he needs to get in a hurry to commit to somebody. He's never had a girlfriend before, so he needs to gain some dating experience. While I'd never had a real boyfriend before, and I also want to commit to someone sometime, I am 8 years younger than he and not so antsy to marry the first guy I date. I think Kris likes me right now, but he also respects how I feel and doesn't want to push me into anything I don't want to do.

But three months is hardly enough time to make that kind of decision. And plus, I only got to see him a handful of times this summer. I just don't know what to do. Hopefully when we meet each other again, things won't be weird though.

Anyway, happy birthday to my once-favorite Beatle, the guy who is so short he makes me feel good about myself, RINGO STARR!

Good Morning Again, World

Well, I'm feeling much better now. Kris's email helped and reading all his blog archives helped too. He's never said one mean thing about me. God help me, I never thought I'd see this much drama in my life ;)

I'm actually pretty much giddy right now. I must go find me some mood stabilizers though :)

Ski, Skiing, Skiied?

Well, I think my bipolarness is getting a little better. My mood swings don't seem to be quite as frequent or severe. I think I just found the article that I want to comment on for my next column. Once again, it's a doozy.

Did I spell "doozy" right?

You know, I had to call Brandy this morning before work to see if "ski" has a past tense. I was studying for my GRE, and I really didn't need to know how to spell the word, but I was going nuts anyway (anal-retentiveness). Anyway, I wrote down "s-k-i-e-d," but realized that was the past tense of "sky"--if there is such a thing. Then I tried "s-k-i-i-e-d" which just looked weird, and a little evil, truth be told. So then I got worried that maybe I'd have to use a form of "ski" in one of my essays there on the GRE. "I ski. She skis (or skiis? or skiies?) They skiied?" None of these sentences look correct. I hate the word "ski."

I really didn't do much today. I've been trying to tame down my poor birds. Yeah, pretty sure the kids of the people that had them before me must have picked on them or something. Especially Sunshine--she bites me all the time. Jasper occasionally snaps at me, but he usually just flies away. (Oh great--forms of the word "fly"--almost as bad as "ski")

Ever notice that "flies" looks like "files?"

America is so screwed up. We put the punctuation inside the quotation marks. Personally, I think that whatever goes inside the quotes should actually be what is quoted. For example, if I had written the book of grammar, I would have insisted that the question mark go outside the quotes on the above example of "files."

I knew I made a mistake when I decided against going into chemical engineering.

So last night I spent too much time researching the University of Iowa and SIU-C. I think I'll apply to 4 or 5 schools. U of Miss, U of Iowa, SIU-C, U of I, and if I'm desperate, EIU. EIU is sort of a last-ditch effort thing, because they don't offer an MFA program and I will have already taken 3 grad-level writing courses as an undergrad. No offense, Val, but I haven't really heard anything good about U of I's English department, so I'm not sure if I should really apply there or not. I was thinking that they offered an MFA, but I should look into that more too.

I wonder how much I'll shell out in application fees, only to be turned down by all of my schools on a Wednesday?

Actually, maybe that won't happen because, as none of my schools have "W's" in them, then the curse of the W might not apply to me.

I heard from Kris again today. He's pretty well fed up with study abroad. Hope he's better when he gets back home.

Well, guess I better get something to eat (ever since I ate way too much at Olive Garden on Saturday, I just can't seem to stop eating--pretty scary, folks). Then I need to get back to the GRE.

Lambert's Cafe--The Only Home of Throwed Rolls-- Since 1942

Well, I've had yet another case of bipolarness. I think it has something to do with me and Brandy's gondo-fight yesterday morning. Plus I miss Kris--haven't seen him in exactly one month. I guess he's been needing some time to think about things. Not sure what that was supposed to mean. I think the trip is driving him crazy and he wanted to get out of England (which is what this weekend was set aside for). Hopefully he's not getting that goofy idea to move out of the country again. I don't know what makes him tick sometimes.

I got him a little something yesterday as a welcome home gift. Hopefully he'll like it. I'm not really sad, but I'm not happy either. I'm in a strange state of bittersweet melancholy that I used to get all the time and I don't like it. I had a good time at church today--got to see my cousins Sarah and Tony Jones. Lots of Joneses running around, aren't there?

Mom and I might possibly be planning another trip--this time to Iowa. I would like to look at the University of Iowa and try my hand at getting into their Creative Writer's Workshop. Tennessee Williams went there, if that says anything.

If it doesn't say anything, then I'll just put it this way--a lot of published authors have gone there, so on the slim chance that I could get in, it would drastically help my chances of getting published. Still wouldn't be a guarantee though.

I finally got around and revised and sent my column. I don't know why I worry about those things so much, but man, do they ever stress me out until I get them e-mailed.

I will probably have to go to work tomorrow afternoon and I really don't want to. I'm so lazy. At least I'll have Tuesday off. Not sure what other days I'll have to work, if any.

I guess I should get back to my own creative work again. I have started a memoir, but I quit on it for a substantial amount of time. I keep starting things that I never finish.

Fannie Flagg's new book Can't Wait to Get to Heaven comes out on the 4th! I'm pretty excited. I may just have to go up to Champaign and get a copy of it that day. How patriotic of me.

Congrats to Val who may be getting a new job soon! I hope you get it and that you like it. And yeah, please help Amanda and me navigate around the U of I.

Well, I don't have anything else to say. I don't know why my mood is so erratic like this--it's pretty terrible, really. Sorry for not being my sunshiney self today, guys.

Stinky and Sandy

Good morning all. I failed to announce that my buddy Megan got a new job! I'm excited for her, because I remember the last wonderful job we had together, and I imagine the one she has now is much better than that one.

But enough about that.

I heard from Kris again today--I was pretty excited to hear from him. His subject was "Czech me out" because he decided not to go to Spain, but instead to go to the Czech Republic. I remember when my uncle, Dean, went there and brought me back a couple of cool marionettes and a Czech coin.

Rach, I would like to run around and do something with you sometime, but it seems that we don't have many of the same interests. I'm sorry that I don't enjoy fairs or eevn really fireworks displays most of the time. I was thinking that sometime I'd like to go see a movie at the drive-in down at Newton, but I don't know--I'm kind of picky on my movies too. Plus the movies start so dang late and I've been getting up early. I'd also like to start walking on a regular basis and maybe chilling at the library too. I wanted to go with you and Sarah to Subway last night, but I was totally pooped and can't really afford to eat out anymore anyway. Mom is taking me to town this afternoon, so I probably won't be available to do anything today. I'll see about later though.

Okay everybody, I need to get going now because Mom will be getting here soon to pick me up. Take care everyone :)

Day #2 of Getting Up Early in the Summer

Okay, so today I once again was awakened at 6:00 to an annoying cell phone tune. But this time I didn't actually get up until around 7:00. I got around and took care of the birds, then decided to give my new column a whirl. I ended up getting a rough draft done this morning. I'm not too far off on my word count, and I think the column is kind of funny, so I might not have to change much stuff. But I usually give myself a day away from them before proofreading.

I worked 2 hours today. The funny thing is, I got paid to do a crap load of not much. I did order some copies of new sales cards, but that wasn't a whole lot of work. Then I took a break for lunch with Granny. Her lunch was very good, but I keep burping up the onions.

Looking over that last sentence, I see I truly have no shame.

Anyway, I went back to work (3 breath mints later) and did pretty much nothing again. I printed a few things offline for my boss and halfway organized some stuff that I wasn't sure what to do with. Then I had to wait for several minutes because in the meantime, my boss got tied up with a customer. While waiting on him, I decided to talk to the secretary, who is leaving tonight to go on vacation to Rachel's favorite state. I think her favorite anyway. South Carolina?

I got two hours and gas money for a trip to the courthouse out of the deal.

After work, I called Brandy, who I soon found out, was up at my guy's stomping grounds. She had to go with her grandpa to the VA hospital up at Danville. Not a lot of fun. But it sounds like he's doing okay, so that's a good thing. They got to see the junior college Kris went to and maybe his church--I can't remember for sure if his church is out that way or not. But both his parents and his sister work at the hospital too.

I came home and changed my clothes and went outside and can't say I've done anything productive since. I ended up reading a bunch of my book Standing in the Rainbow, which I hate to admit is about to make me emotional. What's happening to me? I guess I'm having an estrogen fit or something--I usually don't like chick-flicks or chick-lit. I wouldn't call most of Fannie's work chick-lit, but parts of this book are flirting with it.

Especially near the end of the book.

For some reason, it reminds me of the movie Blast from the Past if any of you have ever seen it. It is one of my dad's favorite movies. It's okay, but I've seen it too many times to be a fair judge of its quality.

I just can't get over that the actress who plays the mom on that movie (Sissy Spacek) is the same girl who 30 years ago played Carrie in the movie of the same name.

Ah, Carrie... Kris loaned it to me, in hopes that it would scare the crap out of me and I proved him wrong. I watched it around midnight and it never scared me at all. It made me sad, actually. And I'm proud to say that the movie scared him and he actually admits to that. And I'm not the hard-core horror movie nut that he is.

Speaking of 30-year-old scary movies, I rented The Omen earlier this week, and it actually did scare me in places. In fact, I was telling Brandy about it and I got a little freaked out just thinking about it. Totally not wanting to adopt kids ever now. And that's all I'll say about that.

Has anybody seen the new Omen movie? I would like to, but I imagine the only person who would see it with me is Kris, and he happens to be in England now. Actually, he might be in Spain. And he might misunderstand and think I said "Oman," which is a country he would very much like to visit.

"Well I never been to Spain
But I kinda like the music
They say the ladies are insane there
And they sure know how to use it
They don't abuse it
Never gonna lose it
I can't refuse it."

I like that song. I don't know if Kris decided to go to Spain or really where he was going to go for his independent travel thing. Well, I think I'm going to get going for now. I see that I have, once again, written a monstrously long post. I don't know how I can take up so much space and say so little.

But before I go, I just remembered that there is a lady at Rachel's church that needs a lot of prayer--she's very sick--so everybody that prays, please remember her. Anybody who doesn't pray, please at least think of her. Thanks.

Rach, I'm not sure on the movie tomorrow. It might be a little late by the time we get back from town. And I don't think I'd care for the movie Cars. However, I might be up for a different movie sometime when we both have time. And also, I seriously had a lot of fun walking the one time, so we should definitely do that again sometime. And Megan, if I ever see you with a goofy looking red cowboy hat over your head, I will know you are thinking Arby's and I might drop by your house ;)

Laundry Day

For starters, I gotta say, I usually don't understand what they mean, but Amanda comes up with some kick-butt titles for her posts.

That had nothing to do with anything, but I'm practicing the fine art of randomness.

Well, it is going on 1:00 right now. I got up at 6:00 to the sound of a very annoying cell phone alarm that I set for that very purpose. I proceeded to silently curse myself for using the most irritating alarm sound offered on my model.

I then did the usual morning things (take care of the birds, get dressed, eat, etc) and then went to work at 9:00. I manned the phones while (wait, is "manned the phones" politically correct? perhaps I personed the phones) anywho, while my boss and secretary were in a meeting. I also had to review some of my boss's work to check for typos and grammatical problems.

I got a bunch of phone calls that didn't matter. Somebody came in to make a payment and wouldn't you know, they paid in cash. So hopefully Harold gets it. After the meeting was over, I had to make changes on the stuff I looked over, and it screwed up. I don't feel like relating all the details, but you can all rest assured that it was dramatic. But on the bright side, it got me an extra 30 minutes for my paycheck.

Megan has brought it to my attention that I eat at Arby's a lot. This is another randomly generated comment. Arby's sounds so good right now. I'm pretty much starving.

Megs, do you know why Shawna hasn't updated since May 3rd?

Well since I have the afternoon off, I really should spend it cleaning up this dump. However, I don't much feel like it right now, so maybe later on this afternoon I can. Right now I just want to read my book and think about my new column.

It's about a compulsive shopper.

Brandy, I think you're gonna like it... I printed off the article and I'll scan over it and try to work on a rough draft since I need to go back to work tomorrow and Mom and I have plans for Saturday. Whew.

I don't even feel like proofreading this--feel free to leave obnoxious comments if I have made serious or even minor errors of any sort.

Hello all. I am just going to warn you right now, I am tired and have heartburn. Now that that is out of the way, I can tell you about my day. Well, I studied some more for the lovely GRE and took a practice math test. I only missed one and that was by a stupid mistake. Yesterday I took a practice vocab test and missed 4. There were 20 questions in each test.

Does anyone else think maybe I picked the wrong major?

No, trust me, Sunshine Jones does NOT do math. For some reason this math was very simple and those vocab words were very large. I plan on studying some more tonight. Anyway, I went to work from 1:00-3:45 and I am supposed to come in at 9:00 tomorrow morning and work a couple hours. Then I need to go to the courthouse Friday, have lunch with Grandma, and check back in at work in the afternoon. I'm not used to being this busy at work. Summer is totally spoiling me in that regard.

I have also been reading Fannie Flagg, mostly for entertainment purposes, but also because I want to start some of my own creative work again. I really haven't done any of that this summer because I have been getting my fill of writing between updating this beast and writing my dreadful columns (note to self: you have another column due this Sunday. Start planning the column now).

Yesterday was unproductive and wonderful. I just studied and read pretty much all day. I did manage to go to Charleston and pick up copies of the DEN and eat out at Arby's. I also ate out at Pizza Hut for supper :O. Rach, I am going to seriously need to start walking more, no joke. I keep eating out like this and by now I am so out of shape I can't walk fast at all. So seriously, if you want to make a habit of this walking in town once or twice a week thing, I think it would be a good idea, and a lot of fun (hint hint)

Speaking of Rach, she called me last night, but unfortunately, I couldn't talk because I was talking to her sis, Sarah at the time. By the time I got off the phone with Sarah, I thought it might be a little late to call Rach back because it was between 10 and 11. It seems like I usually don't get calls, but when I get them, they are all at the same time. So Rach, sorry I missed your call.

Well, I am very hungry, which is sort of a bad thing, considering my heartburn, but I suppose I should see about some supper. Say it five times fast. I dare you. Then of course studying and reading. And I need to wash up tonight so I can have extra time to sleep in before going to work in the morning. Muhahahaha. Amanda, I'll look at see what dates are available for GRE and let you know what days work for me and see if any work for you. Well, I think that's about it for right now. Peace out, my friends!

Well Rach, Whaddya Say Now--YEAH BUDDY!

Okay Rach, so you figured out how to add your picture to your profile before I did. I guess I'll have to give you that one--you are way better with computer stuff than I. But I figured mine out on my own too eventually ;)

Well world, here's what's been going on with me. I got a postcard from Kris on Friday and then on Saturday I got a package from him. The package had a card that said "I miss you" on it and a small teddy bear holding a frame. And he put a picture of himself in the frame. It was a very good picture too--not one of those crappy DEN headshots--LOL. I don't think they can put a flattering picture of you in the paper. I know I look totally burnt-out in mine.

Also, I've been working on the old GRE studying thing. Amanda, I read your update and I feel your pain. I'm glad you and I are planning to start grad school at the same time. Though we might be going to different schools, at least I'll know we're sort of in the same boat.

I need to check in with work, but I've been goofing off on the computer all morning. Actually, I still have to see if my picture even posted! LOL. Later guys~

A Few Pictures from the Trip

This first picture is the first building on campus--the Lyceum:


This next picture is Ventress Hall--home of the liberal arts department:


And finally, Rowan Oak--home of my favorite writer, William Faulkner:

A Pen, A Rose, and a Bottle of Jack...

Don't ask what the three have in common. I'll tell you. They were three things I saw on top of William Faulkner's grave at Oxford. We got back this evening. It was a blast. I took probably 250 pictures. I originally thought I took 150, but then when I looked at the pix on the computer, I saw that I have over 150 on one card! Plus I had other pix on my first card so... I took a bunch of pictures.

We ate at Lambert's in Sikeston, MO on Monday en route to I-55 South. It was all right. I didn't catch my roll though. I did buy a shirt. And I did finish my gigantic Coke. The drink that was so big it was supposed to make me feel guilty.

Our hotel was pretty nice. Although, I'm easily impressed. Breakfast at the hotel was wonderful--they had waffle batter in cups (those Southerners really like their waffles) and I made one each day. Plus I had a bagel and some yogurt and a little fruit. I had grits the first day, but I wasn't hungry enough for them this morning.

Tuesday, we visited the University of Mississipi campus (better known as Ole Miss). Campus was awesome. Our guide was really nice too. In fact, everybody was nice in Mississippi. Oxford was a very pleasant place all the way around. It was so awesome to see the old buildings, many were Civil War and pre-Civil War era. It was cool to see the campus Faulkner writes a little about in Absalom, Absalom! as well. It was really awesome to see Rowan Oak, Faulkner's home where he composed many of his stories. In his study, he had written plot ideas on his walls. That was kind of cool. Makes me feel better for writing on my walls. It's creativity, baby.

I officially want a house build just like Rowan Oak. The property was beautiful and the layout of the house was gorgeous. Faulkner's daughter, Jill, would not allow them to have a gift shop there at Rowan Oak, and this is probably a good thing, because if they did, then yours truly would have bought at least one of everything.

We also saw the church Faulkner attended and the cemetery where he was buried. It was strange standing on the grave of my favorite author. I guess I felt it was the closest I'd ever been to Faulkner--it was a really weird and totally cool experience that I just can't describe.

I forgot to mention I thoroughly enjoyed the Faulkner Room in the Ole Miss library archives. Unfortunately, they did not allow pictures :( I really wanted pix of some of the original documents and stuff. BTW, they had what appeared to be an original copy of the lyrics to the song "Ode to Billy Joe" ("Billy Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge"). The Tallahatchie (sp?) runs through LaFayette County (Oxford is the county seat) and I got a pic of the Tallahatchie River and part of the bridge. FYI--I really dig that song too.

I finally ate at a Waffle House Tuesday. It was okay--not my favorite, but at least I can say I've eaten at one now. Other places we ate at include: Pizza Hut for supper Monday night, Subway for lunch Tuesday, and Arby's for lunch today.

I somehow, by the grace of God made it through Memphis, driving between 5:00 and 5:30 P.M. I really don't know what time it was. I probably couldn't have even told you my name at the time. That's all I want to say about that right now.

Vickie took the dump that ate Cleveland and managed to break the toilet in room A103 at Downtown Oxford Inn and Suites.

On a more serious note, I would really love to get into the University of Mississippi. I know the creative writing program is nigh on to impossible to get into, and I'm probably foolish, but I am going to try to apply anyway. Not tonight though, as I am far too tired. In fact, I'm really too tired to even update.

To Rach--I got your voicemail. I'll try to call you back later. I'm pretty tired tonight and plan on going to bed shortly. I read your blog--glad you posted pix--that's pretty cool.

To everyone, I will try to write more detailed stuff and include some pictures later. I'm extremely tired tonight (10 hours on the road in a van with 5 people and no air conditioner can wear you out to a surprising degree). I also plan on making a sort of scrapbook thing on the computer with pictures and writing about each thing. I may even get really ambitious and attempt to write poetry about some of the different places. Well, just thought I'd let you all know that we made it back and that I had a lot of fun. I need to get to bed now. I'll probably have to work tomorrow. And I need to see about picking up copies of the DEN from yesterday if they have any left at EIU. I really want copies of my column if I can get them.

When I'm 64

Alright, so you all know I'm a fairly big Beatles fan, right? I totally forgot that today is Paul McCartney's 64th birthday! I didn't even think about it until I was at church and saw what the day was. Anybody ever heard the song "When I'm 64" from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band? It's only one of my favs.

Shorty-K supposedly went to the Beatles museum in Liverpool yesterday and if he didn't, I'm going to have to kick his little behind, because I just read that the museum had a festival to celebrate Paul's turning 64. I wish I'd gone on the trip now. Totally. I mean, Paul will only have one 64th birthday and it was TODAY. I could have gone to England and visited that museum this weekend. Gosh. I'm a little pissed at myself right now, but it's okay.

Yeah I went to church this morning and I'm still recovering from the headache. They had the music WAY TOO LOUD and I mean, I'm not old yet, but even I thought the music was too loud. I had to cover my ears for a while there and I still got a headache. The message was good though. I really like the guy that came to preach--he was an alcoholic and I think he may have been in a gang at some point. He's probably in his 60s now (maybe he's 64?) but anyway, he's really funny and down-to-earth, and if you ever start feeling like a terrible sinner, he's there to remind you that he's done worse, so you can't be that bad.

I really don't want to clean out my birds' cage. It's pretty gross. However, I feel I must take one for the team and clean it out before we leave so Dad doesn't have to. And also I'm a little afraid that he'd use soap to clean it out, and Debbie told me that is a no-no.

Speaking of Dad, today is father's day! Yet another thing I pretty much forgot about. I got my dad a small gift, but I think I'll put some cash in a card for him because I'm not sure what he would like that would actually be in my price range. I'm not sure if I'll update any more before the trip or not. I have quite a bit to do--including finishing packing--and as always, I'm still studying for the GRE. But if I don't see you all before, I'll just let you know I won't be updating for a while. Peace out!

Here's the New Haircut You've All Been Waiting to See

This is a picture of me with my new haircut. I have never had my hair this short before, and believe you me, it is refreshing! I still have the 12 inches of cut ponytailed hair in my car. I bet it will make some kid a nice wig. I feel good about donating my hair (although I guess I shouldn't feel good about it until I actually send the stuff off). I needed a "trim" anyway and I think I could get used to it being this length. I had some drama trying to post this picture last week, and I temporarily gave up, but I thought I'd try it again today. Hope you all like it!

Comma Sutra

This title is for Val, who thought she caught me in a grammatical error ;)

Yeah I'm pretty bad about saying inside jokes repeatedly. I often forget that not everybody is in on the joke. "Why didn't I not think of that?"

I am so tired this morning, guys. I only worked 3 hours yesterday, but that was enough. I think I made my boss mad because I didn't have enough $$$ to pick up all the copies he needed, but I didn't order the others. I just said I'd get them the next time. To make amends, I am going to try to run by the annex Monday morning en route to Granny's before leaving for the trip.

By the way, I hope I don't get in any sort of copyright dispute for "Comma Sutra," as it is the title of a grammar book I found at Barnes and Noble. I would have bought it, but I'm saving my $$$ for the trip. And since comma sounds like kama... people may have been confused if I told them what I just bought.

I made a large list of things to do yesterday and I actually accomplished most of them. Hopefully I can do more stuff today. This trip is sort of sneaking up on me and I realized that I have a bunch of crap to do before I leave on Monday.

I did finish a rough draft on my column last night. I'm not crazy about it, but oh well. Hopefully the DEN will like it. I need to cut around 7 words and proofread it and then just send it today. Well, I am done with breakfast, so I probably ought to start on the cleaning and the column stuff. I'll try to post pix of MS on here if I can when we get back. No promises, folks ;)

3 Days to MS

Well today has started out okay so far. I actually slept last night for a change. I went to Lisa's last night and had Arby's (Lisa, I didn't tell you I went to Arby's like an hour before I went to your house too, but it's just so darn good that I kinda wanted to go again!). Anyway, we also watched Along Came Polly which is the story of my life in many parts. It's uncanny.

Note to self: slow down on using the word, "uncanny." Your overuse of the word is, well, uncanny.

Speaking of vocab, I have been slacking on the GRE studying. But to make up for it, I made a list of 10 things to do before going to work, and I've done 5.5 of them. One of them was studying and I sort of studied, so I'm giving myself half credit on that one.

As usual, I'm dreading going to work, but I remember that I'm very poor and should be getting a credit card statement soon. That always boosts my work ethic. Also, I guess I'll need some money for Mississippi. We're leaving on Monday. Kris is supposed to be going to a Beatles museum this weekend. I sort of wish I could go to it, but that's okay. Well, I guess I'm not doing too bad on my list of things to do. I made another list of things to do after work. And before you guys go and call me a slacker again, I did a couple things that weren't on my list this morning too. So there. I actually do chores around the house, contrary to popular belief

I-74 East or I-74 West... That is the Question

And the answer is, boys and girls... I-74 WEST. So what do I do? I head east towards Danville. And there was road construction that way too. As far as I know, there was no construction heading west. I guess I really do like a challenge. Then I ended up going home via Rt 130 through Charleston. I told you I'd never driven to Champaign on my own before--pretty sad, eh? Good news is, I didn't have a problem driving up there, I just got a little mixed up on my directions going home. No biggie though--we got home okay. It was pretty dramatic somewhere around Montrose though. I forgot to mention that Brandy was with me and I needed to get her home so she could go to church. Well, around Montrose, I almost hit a lady on a 4-wheeler who thought it would be a good idea to think about turning right in front of me. I don't know if she was really going to turn or not, but she still had her arm out to signal and I was afraid I'd break her arm or something, so I swerved to the right and about hit the mailbox. Then I swerved back to the left and lost control temporarily. There was nobody coming and nothing to hit, and everybody (including my car) is okay. Nothing short of a miracle if you ask me.

I heard from Kris again today. He's having a pretty good time in England. I was glad to hear that. Amanda, I don't know if you know Derek Campbell or not, but Kris told me that Derek got his girlfriend an engagement ring in England. I thought that was pretty cool.

Well, I better get off here for now. I haven't been studying as hard as I should be for the GRE, so I should probably do that. I also bought two Fannie Flagg books at Borders--that was pretty cool. And I got a map of Champaign and a book on writing at Barnes and Noble. Why didn't I not think to look at the Champaign map before I got to Rt 130?

Miniature Road Trip... enough to scare Sunshine Jones :)

I think I'm going to attempt to drive to Champaign today. My first time at driving myself to Champaign and sadly to say, I'm using MapQuest to find my way around. It was good to hear from Amanda too--anybody who actually uses my links should check out her pix and the update. Gotta get ready for the Champaign ordeal now. Later!

Apparently I Am Slacking?

Okay, so I don't update in a couple days and I'm slacking. Whatever. Anyway, yesterday I went to Brandy's and we went on a cemetery safari with Toby and Eliza. It was okay. I heard from Kris yesterday--he went to London over the weekend with Derek (the stuffed animal guy). I slept from 5-7 this morning and though I'm sort of tired, I'm also kind of wired (practicing my rap skillz). I'm loving my haircut. I tried to post a pic but the thing took forever to load and then never did post. I'll try again later. I have been too busy to mess with it too much lately. I have been studying for the GRE and doing housework. I also am supposed to work this afternoon (hopefully not too long) because although I sort of need the $$$, I also need the time to get stuff done. Sunshine (my female parakeet) bit me this morning. Luckily I had a glove on, because she held on pretty tight. My new column is in the DEN today--pretty excited about that. Mom and I are supposed to run up to Charleston tonight and go to Wal-Mart and pick up some copies of the paper, so Rach, I'm not sure yet if I'll be able to walk w/you or not. However, if not tonight, then probably Thursday would work. Mom suggested that we could walk in town somewhere too though. Well, I need to go because Mom is here for lunch and I haven't done very many things on my chore list yet--yikes!

Update

Well, Granny and I successfully untangled the I-don't-know-how-many-feet-of-yarn mess that she had impeding her afghan project. One thing I learned from my man is perseverence. I used to give up way too easily, but Jones is right, if you work at it long enough, you can usually get or accomplish what you want. I just got home and after a much-needed pee, revised and emailed my column to Nora. It feels very good to have all that done. Now I need to vacuum the house, make a list of stuff for the trip, schedule a campus visit there and MAYBE study a little for the GRE tonight. Well, I just wanted to let ya'll know where I was on said projects. Peace out dudes and ladies!

Oxford, BABY!

Yeah, Mom reserved the rooms for the Oxford trip this morning. Pretty exciting, folks. In response to the questions about the late great Zuzu, she was probably 8 years old or so, but she didn't grow right as a kitten, so she was very small. She was anemic and we actually were going to take her to U of I for a blood transfusion (I know it sounds silly, but we really try to take care of our animals), but the kitty died at the vet before we had the chance to take her. It was pretty sad. I loved that cat.

I started my column this morning. I have a rough draft finished and I need to proofread, check over the sentences, and cut 3 words. Then I can email it to Nora. By the way, I finally was able to send Kris a picture of me with my hair. I haven't studied for the GRE in a while. After lunch I'm going to finally get around to taking a shower and wash my hair and then head to Granny's to help her untangle some yarn. What a great way to spend a Saturday.

Lake Ponchartrain, part 2

Sorry about needing to leave earlier. I had to make an emergency trip to the IGA with Dad to get cornflakes.

Seriously.

Anyway, our sweetest cat, Zuzu, died this afternoon. It was pretty sad.

I have been trying to email Kris a picture of me with my haircut and it will not go through for some reason. Oh well. I'm really tired and annoyed, and I need to study for the GRE. That's really about all I have for right now. I'm in the depressive part of my bipolar disorder right now, I guess.

I'd Swim the Ponchartrain

I've been thinking a lot about the South lately. I'm looking forward to the trip, definitely. And I keep singing that George Strait song "Adalide" or whatever it's called. Anyway, so here's what's been up lately:

Got my hair cut yesterday at Wal-Mart. It feels much better now. I saved my cut hair and plan to mail it to Locks of Love soon. After that, I rode 4-wheelers with Brandy and Eliza. I forgot to mention we had Little Caesar's for lunch. Then we went to Lisa's after that and went back to Wal-Mart so she could shop for Camp New Hope stuff. Then we helped her with it. Well, I didn't do much. I spent most of my time chillin' on the couch listening to Sirius music channels and drinking Derk's Mountain Dew.

I drove home on I-70 and I'm not sure how I got home. I was really tired the entire time and was afraid I'd fall asleep. I got home around midnight. I don't know why I was so tired.

This morning, I goofed off a lot and eventually got ready for work. I had lunch at Grandma's. It was fun. Well, I need to get going for now. More later... hopefully.

Terre Haute

Today was a lot of fun. I went to Terre Haute with B, R, and S. R got me 3 Xbox games, because they were used and very cheap, but that's pretty awesome. Anyway, I got a road trip book at Walden's (I told Mom it was either that or the Kama Sutra) although I must admit, they were both pretty tempting. I think B was pretty pissed at me for being so lascivious all the time.

Sorry B.

I also got some hair clips at Claire's. I was pretty happy about that. I bought a $4+ tax coffee at this place called Books-a-Million. It was really good, but I didn't have the means to pay for it, I'm afraid. Now that I think of it, I bet I looked quite the douche looking at the Kama Sutra while wearing a Scooby Doo shirt. I'll blame it on my bipolar disorder. I have been quite manic all day...

On a side note, I heard from Kris yesterday! I was glad of that. He saw Rod Stewart in person at the airport. That was pretty cool. He seems to really love Harlaxton and he plans on visiting Turkey for his independent travel. I am really starting to wish I'd gone on the trip with him. Oh well. I guess I need to be staying around here working so I can save money to start going on MY big trips (like all those road trips in my book, plus Europe, plus Northern Africa--Egypt to be more exact--plus Australia). Harlaxton Manor sounds like the game Clue--for some reason that kind of cracked me up.

Anyway, back to today.

I went to C-town for the sole purpose of picking up copies of the DEN, because I'm in it today. I also tried to get an entertainment system for our living room, but Mom wanted me to wait so she could measure an area and figure out how to rearrange the furniture.

I forgot to mention that while at the mall, R and I decided to do this thing where you watch a movie and the seat moves around so you feel like you are there. It was so much fun like you wouldn't believe. We were laughing our heads off pretty much the entire time. I bet we annoyed the crap out of most of the people in the food court.

One Year Ago Today...

We were standing in the white sand of Inlet Beach, Florida as Lisa and Derrick tied the knot. Well, actually by this time, we were probably at Pineapple Willy's celebrating. What a great time. Happy 1st year anniversary Derrick and Lisa!!!

Well, yesterday I got to hang out with Kris the last time before his trip. We had a ball... well, for the most part. His day didn't start out the greatest because he got a seatbelt ticket just outside of Buzzard Hall. But after that we had a good time.

We went to Champaign to a coin shop, a record store, 4 bookstores, the mall, Best Buy, an ethnic foods store, and an Italian restaurant on the U of I campus. At Borders, we entertained ourselves by insulting each other in foreign languages (French and German, to be exact) and by saying mildly dirty words out loud in those languages and laughing loudly.

It's great to act one's age, isn't it?

Some guy did ONE of my nails at the mall. I was very angry at Kris for stopping to talk to the guy, because I had no escape. However, I decided to make the best of the situation, and as the man was doing my middle finger nail, I decided to flip him off.

It probably would have been funnier if the guy hadn't realized I was flipping him off.

At the ethnic foods store, Kris thought it would be a good idea to get 4 patties of falafel. Great. Neither of us had ever tried the stuff, so it was more than a little nerve-wrecking trying it.

It was okay.

We had to stop at Cracker Barrel to use the bathroom on the way back, and ended up sitting outside playing 3 games of checkers. I only won one. But I let him have that last one because I was getting tired of playing. Kris felt bad for loitering, so he went inside and bought a book of Mad Libs for almost $5. So we then spent altogether too much time sitting in his car (still parked in the Cracker Barrel parking lot) doing XXX Mad Libs. A good time was had by all. Some of the highlights of said Mad Lib experience are as follows:

"(Carissa's) surly stories made us all ejaculate out loud" (Kris's Mad Lib)
"You promised us free all-night screwing in your garage... but that wasn't the case" (Carissa's Mad Lib)

And of course, there was the occasional penis, condom, bra, breast, pussy, rod, stick, and masturbate references thrown into the Mad Lib mix to liven up the night. They made for some interesting stories, no doubt about it.

I forgot to mention that we both picked up copies of the Kama Sutra at Barnes and Noble and said loudly, "I don't think this is humanly possible!"

Yeah.

I didn't get home until 1:35 and I was pretty wired, and also had a sinus thing going on, so I had to take a Benadryl and watch Indiana Jones to get to sleep.

I'm not addicted.

My apologies to Brandy, who most definitely does not want to hear anything about Kris ever. But I did spend 14 hours with him yesterday, and had a really good time, and felt the need to talk about it.

Now on to today.

Today was not nearly as eventful as yesterday. But it was fun nonetheless. We went to Terre Haute to eat at the Golden Corral. It was okay. I made a big salad with not very much lettuce (just the way I like it) and had some fruit and just a little starchy food. No dessert today, folks.

Then we went to Hobby Lobby and I saw a lot of really cool home decor, which made me want my own house.

And Mom had to go to (was it Sam's or Sarah's?) some hair place... oh wait... SALLY's to get a curly hairpiece thingy. I wish her and her hairpiece much happiness together.

Then we went to the Christian bookstore and I thought about getting a book, but decided not to. My grandma caught me looking at Every Young Woman's Battle, but luckily I don't think she knew what it was about, and for that matter, I don't think she was paying attention to what I was looking at.

Usually a good thing.

Well, I did a rough draft of my column, set to hit papers sometime within the next 10 years. Hopefully. My most recent column never did get printed, so I don't know what the deal is. Well, I better get going for now. I still need to revise that new column.

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!

I finally finished the book of the same name today. And then I got the brilliant idea to start my other Fannie Flagg book, Standing in the Rainbow. However, I liked the structure of WTTWBG far better than that of SITR. WTTWBG was comprised of a whole heck of a lot of tiny chapters that at first appear to have nothing to do with one another but by the end of the book it all comes together. I like that style. In fact, if I ever get the chance to write a book and DON'T give up on it after about 10 pages (as has been the case with my other numerous book attempts) I think I will write in that sort of style. It is easy to read and easy to write. You can write it however you want and then organize the chapters later. It's a very clever idea and the anticipation factor keeps the readers from putting the book down. Well... unless the reader is me, I guess. I mean, I stopped reading that book for probably two or three weeks once. But it wasn't that it was boring, it's just that I have to be in the mood to read, or else it just doesn't jive.

Totall off topic--my birds seem to be having a better day. Probably one of the best since they came here. Not a lot of fighting going on. In fact, they even started looking at themselves in their mirror.

I worked almost 4 hours today and got two trips to Toledo in. I feel wealthy. But then I remember the check I got in the mail today for less than $40. Remembering that I still owe my father $40 and my mother $2, I don't feel quite so rich after all.

So never mind about that.

Kris is leaving for England this Sunday. I'm kind of worried about his trip, what with the long flight over lots and lots of water, and the fact that last year's EIU Harlaxton trip came altogether too close to a terrorist attack in London. We're talking blocks from the hotel and a bus that some of them were going to take. I'm trying not to be overly concerned, but it is still a worry.

Anyway, tomorrow, he and I are supposed to get together in Charleston to do something (still not sure what yet) before he leaves. I have a couple small gifts to give him also. I'm looking forward to it.

Rach, I don't think I'm going to be able to go with you to the petting zoo deal this weekend after all. I forgot that Mom is supposed to take me and my grandma out to dinner on Saturday. Remember me while you're riding on the elephant though :)

I'm looking for something to write my new column on. Sorry about the improper usage of prepositions, but by this point, who really gives a spit, eh?

My column still hasn't been printed yet. I'm beginning to get concerned. However, Maurice's is in. I was wondering if he was ever going to write one this summer. I can't fathom why Kris doesn't try to write a few this summer. He said Nora told him he could. I guess he's too obsessed with Jane Austen--lol. Yeah right.

I wish I could write a book with three characters named "Charles" in it. Seriously, Jane, couldn't you have thought up a couple other names?

Well, that's about all I have for today, folks. Hopefully with a little luck I can start in on next week's column tonight. Later dudes...

Happy Anniversary, Baby

Well today is the big 3-5 for the rents. Shhh... it's a secret. Anyway, it is also Memorial Day. Guess what I did today? I spent the late morning and early afternoon with my parents, cutting my grandma's hedge. Wow. How fun. It was way too hot to be doing that too. So the parents are watching Deal or No Deal, though they claim it seems like a stupid show. Should I tell them that Kris is in the process of applying to be on it???

We just got back from Pizza Hut and I feel surprisingly good.

Barf--Howie Mandell--you are one pukey looking guy now. Sorry for the slander but, good grief.

Anyhow, apparently Rach saw me outside at around 5:15 P.M.

I re-created JoLynn Tittles, 80-year-old, 7-foot-tall, 130 pound skater skank from Jewett. I also created and then forgot to save Bobby Lee Penar, the 35-year-old, 5-foot-tall, 250 pound skater redneck from Woodbury. Good old Tony Hawk.

I successfully changed Jasper and Sunshine's water and food today. Neither of them pecked or bit me. That was very nice of them. Not much else going on that I can think of right now. Guess I'll need to make a trip to Charleston in the morning to get some copies of the paper and then check in to see if I have to go to work. Well, time to spiral into some deep depression.

I'll Be Your Friend For a Day...

Well what a loverly day. My birdie-poos woke me up circa 7:00 A.M. but that's okay because I stayed up waaaay too late last night trying to work on the column that was due at 4:00 P.M. today. I would have written it sooner but...

1) I sorta forgot until Saturday morning
2) I spent most of Saturday driving around with my family as they decorated graves
3) I went to Jenni's party and got home around 9:00
4) Kris called me a little before 9:00 and talked until 10:00
5) I missed some calls from Brandy while I was talking to Kris, so I called her back and talked approximately 2 hours
6) I was working on the column during that time, but was too tired to proofread it well and send it

Side notes-- Kris is in mucho pain from a canker sore. He's trying to hurry around and get ready for England--I'm getting sad and going to miss him a lot. He leaves a week from today. My main circle seems to all rag at the same time. I think you all know what that means. And Jenni's party was kind of fun, despite the fact that I indeed WAS ragging and in a pissy/depressed mood much of the time. It was good to see Kara too--hadn't seen her in a while.

Anyway, I got up this morning, revised Mr. Column and sent it to Nora at the DEN. It should be printed Tuesday. I am glad that I have tomorrow off. I mean, I never work, but come on, my parents both have the day off too. And don't forget--tomorrow is their 35th wedding anniversary. But remember, you didn't hear it from me.

Hey I saw Megan yesterday. I also sort of saw Dee Brown. I wasn't going to pay any $15 or $20 to get an autograph or a pic though. In fact, I'm no Illini fan. It was sort of cool I guess to see him and the other two at Wal-Mart. Of course Val knows all of them since she went to school there.

But back to Megan...

I hadn't seen her in a while, and it was awesome to see her yesterday. She tells me she saw RV and thought of my because I guess Will got up in front to tell them the same stuff he told us. She wanted to mention about me smarting off to that Will, but she says she didn't...

Thanks for giving me a holla yesterday Meggers!!

I went to church today and my pastor was acting like I was some sort of rebel for missing last week or whatever. It was more than a little embarrassing. And then we have Vickie meeting Windy over here, bringing back memories of Rachel at the party (or should I say "farty") last night.

I went to class today because I had to keep up with the Jonses (that is, Sarah and Rebecca). I only go to class when they do. I can't believe Harold Guenther is getting married. I shocked the class when Marcus asked us when Martin Luther was born (keep in mind, most of these kids didn't know who he even was... they thought he was talking about MLK Jr., you know, the civil rights guy). I got so excited that I messed up the year, but I blurted out, "NOVEMBER 10th, 18... no I mean...NOVEMBER 10th 1383!" the actual year was 1483, as Sarah pointed out to me, but that's okay. I just know because my man Luther is exactly 500 years older than I.

To the day.

I figured Kris, being a Lutheran, would find my immense Martin Luther knowledge fascinating. I guess, maybe he's not impressed because that's really about all I know about Martin Luther. I just get excited that he has the same b-day as me.

Can you say, "psychological evaluation" boys and girls?

After church, we went to Wal-Mart and got some groceries, cards, and a few pet supplies (including stuff for my birds).

My Aunt Flo has been screwing around with my emotions and making my apparent bipolar disorder even more severe than normal. Right now I'm just sleepy though. By the way, I came within about 400-600 points of meeting a goal in Tony Hawk, which would, in turn, unlock the Rio level.

Oh Rio Rio dances on the Rio Grande.

Speaking of which, I think Duran Duran is my birds' favorite band. And their new names are going to be Jasper and Sunshine. I don't think many people will be shocked at the names.

Well, I'm really tired and I'm probably forgetting important information, but as Groucho Marx said in some Marx Brothers movie that I don't recall... "I must be... going."

Sunshine Jones sends her love to all :)

Number 9, Number 9...

Not much to talk about today, folks. I had a bizarre dream last night about talking to Rachel and Kris on my cell phone and then needing to go to class, only to be interrupted by my cousin, Denise, who called to ask me if I had any artifacts from South Africa. In my dream, I did. Anyway, I was really needing to go to Dr. Bredesen's class because Dr. Bredesen was going to give a lecture on South Africa. But just as I was getting ready to go back to class (five minutes late) I got ANOTHER call, this one from some guy named Rob from the Daily Eastern News. I think he had some assignments for me to write on or whatever. Long story short, by the time I was done on the phone and in the newsroom, there were 10 minutes left of the class and I figured why bother by this point. And for some reason, I was really wanting to see that presentation on South Africa.

Then, I woke up and decided I needed to get ready for work. I ended up going in at 10:00 and working until 2:15, with one hour break for lunch. I went with Mom to Grandma's for lunch. Becky and Brandy were there. Brandy won't shut up, so it's a little hard for me to concentrate on what I'm writing. Therefore, if whatever I'm saying doesn't make sense, I apologize.

I had a great time at work today stuffing envelopes. Quite possibly my favorite job. And now I officially have 6 hours on my next paycheck. I really need a new job. Dave (my boss) proposed that I get a job stuffing envelopes from home. I don't know about that...

I tried to read a little of my Fannie Flagg book (side note: I finished Book Two and started Book Three). I also sat outside and just enjoyed the hot weather for a while too. In fact, I think I'll go back out there and maybe read some more. Dang, I almost forgot... I have to start looking for something to write another column on. I'm not used to this business of having to produce a column every week.

Brandy, Rachel, Sarah, and I are supposed to be going to Jenni's graduation and eating out sometime tonight. That's about it for right now.

The Reflex

Well, today has been an AWESOME DAY. I can't really say I accomplished anything worth bragging about, but that's all right. Last night I completed a couple goals on my Tony Hawk game and I am now ONE GOAL AWAY from unlocking Rio. Oh well. I woke up this morning around 7:00 to the sound of my lovely birds chirping. I then played Tony Hawk for a couple hours, still accomplishing nothing. Finally I quit that crap. I got really mad that I only have to beat one more stinking goal to unlock the next level and I just can't do it right now. Grr.

Brandy came over after 11:00, despite the fact that she promised to be over between 10:30 and 11:00. Dependability, folks.

Anyhow, it wasn't a big deal at all because I was cleaning my room at the time. Once again, accomplishing next to nothing. I mean, I got several clothes off my floor and sorta changed my winter and summer clothes, but my room is still a FEMA disaster area.

I bored Brandy by spending most of the rest of the day reading my Fannie Flagg book.

Sorry Brandy.

I am really enjoying the book.

I got the idea that I wanted pizza tonight, so Mom offered to pay for it. All I had to do was call and pick it up. And Brandy even drove the getaway car. However, I made a fool of myself on the phone. I asked the guy (who is one of the managers or something) about the specials. He said they had one with 2 medium one-toppings for $10.99 or something along those lines. So what do I do? I order a veggie pizza first thing. Um, hello? Veggie pizza constitutes more than one topping. What a dipstick. Oh well. I hope they didn't make fun of me the way I always make fun of people...

So then I was busy being immature (luckily I have forgotten the details of exactly WHAT I was doing) when I heard a knock at the door. And saw it was Rachel. Rach wanted to see the parakeets, so she took some pictures of them and showed me some other pictures and then took some pictures of us and then showed Mom some pictures and really didn't stay too long. However, she did manage to leave some library book she just got today at my house. I'll try to return it back to her tomorrow.

Soft and Sweet and Easy to Eat...

So my guy had to get 2 root canals done today because he's addicted to Mountain Dew, Pepsi Freeze, and Kit Kat. And right before his trip to England. Hope he's doing okay. He also had some graduation party or something today. He invited me but I said I better not because I have to get up early in the morning to go to work. I'm sort of dreading going to work, but I doubt I'll work too long and I sort of need some money anyway, so it's all good. I probably should go and maybe read a little more and/or play some Tony Hawk before I go to bed.

By the way... am I the only person who reads plat books in the bathroom?

Blitzkrieg Bop

Well I don't have to work until Friday and I am TOTALLY COOL with that!!! I'm so hungry. I got up around 7:00-ish and had a dream that Kris and I broke up and then saw each other at summer school and he was crying. But in my dream we didn't get back together, in fact, nothing really happened because my alarm went off and I woke up. And somehow I haven't been mad at Kris yet today. He also emailed me yesterday and said he was glad I came and sort of apologized for acting weird at the party because he was tired. I know he was. I wrote him back and not so subtly told him I wasn't sure what to think about his GGW video. He hasn't been available for comment yet...

I don't remember if I mentioned that I got some parakeets this week. Anyway, I guess they like new wave music. I find that very amusing. In fact, Duran Duran, The Romantics, and The Clash seem to put them in the mood (if ya'll knows what we're talkin' about). It's pretty funny.

I have gotten terribly addicted to this Tony Hawk game I got from Rach. I guess that's what happens when you don't have school and only work like 3 hours a week. Anyway, I tried to play Splinter Cell and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. They both pissed me off, so I decided to quit.

I made pancakes for the first time today. I overmixed the batter and made them somewhat tough, but that's okay. I also dang near made myself sick on them. I made one gigantic "psycho"-delic pancake with Kissables. The candy coating seriously melted and created a pretty awesome tie-dye effect. It wasn't the best pancake I've ever eaten, but it kept me from starving. I am thinking about eating out again sometime today.

I pulled 3 radishes yesterday to thin them out a little bit. Gosh I hate the taste of radishes... but at least I seem to be able to grow them.

I was in the DEN yesterday at: www.dennews.com. Check it out if you're interested.

Mom should be coming home for lunch soon. I need to change the paper in the keets' cage, but I don't WANNA. In fact, I don't even remember their names...

Val, we should get together sometime. And glad to hear Heather seems to be doing okay.

My birds are chirping. Might be getting some eggs soon ;)

Well, I'm tired, hungry, and totally in the mood to read Fannie Flagg, so I guess I better get off here for now.