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.

To The World You May Be Just Another Girl

Or if you're me, you're nothing to the world. And the world to nobody.

I have had a terrible day. Rachel hates me. Crap like that makes me hate myself.

At least I finally got my stupid column done.

I Like Mine With Lettuce and Tomato...

Howdy ya'll. Well, here's what's up thus far. Yesterday I went with Brandy and Sarah to Effingham to pick up applications. I only got one, but that's okay. I mainly wanted to run around. I went beyond my means and bought an Arizona outfit from J.C. Penney. I better slow down on the credit card purchases. Anyway, I also bought a Diamond Rio CD. C'mon guys, it was only $5.88--don't give me that kind of grief for getting a country CD. I like a couple songs on it. Now Sarah, on the other hand, spent $13 or $14 on a CD for one song...

After that, we went up to Curt and Deb's on 4-wheelers. I drove slow for Sarah. I looked at their parakeets. I might have to buy them. I've been wanting some keets for a while now, and I imagine the price will be right. Heck, I might even have to take some of their abundance of fish too. I've always wanted fish also...

Then we went to church and Rach came too. It was a good time for all. I stayed downstairs with Jenni and we talked about stuff. It was pretty awesome. Well, until I managed to disrupt the actual Bible study that was going on. Oops!

After that, Rachel took us all out to Subway. I tried to get her to buy some So Co or at the very least, Boone's Farm. I knew she wouldn't. I mean, we just got back from church, and I was sorta kidding with her...

Then we went back to Brandy's to eat our Subway sandwiches(I had already eaten at Subway for lunch when we went to Effingham, but I ain't complainin'--I love the place). It was pretty funny because Rachel's credit card didn't work. Sarah ended up having to pay for them. Rachel's credit card worked at the gas station part though, so maybe the girl at the Subway part didn't know what was going on.

Then we drove through the great storms that Rach warned us about to get home. Wouldn't you know, Rach called me on my cell phone just as the weather was getting really bad. Oh well. It worked out all right. It is kind of funny now, looking back.

This morning, as usual, I didn't have to go to work. I called Brandy, who was, at the time, en route to Chicago for a Cubs game. I figure she is there now. I figure she probably got there around 11:00, but I'm not sure. I was having a high old time looking at the atlas and telling her what towns she'd be passing through next and how and when they would probably change interstates.

Yeah, I know I need to see a psychiatrist for my unnatural love of maps and atlases.

I currently have a homemade pizza in the oven (Brandy will not be happy about this because she is not able to eat any of it). Later, I will probably do some yardwork or something. Mom told me that since I'm not getting any money at my job, she will start paying me to do stuff around the house. We are in dire need of some cleanup around here anyway.

And guys... don't let me forget that I have another column due this Sunday.

The Ballad of...

Ah yes, the second half.

Okay, this is for Megan. I heard that she was graduating this spring, though she has to make up a couple classes in the summer, so I was like hey cool, let's see if I can find her. Well, I did. I found her in the booklet, so I made sure I was paying attention until she walked across the stage too. And although I was in the student center, I applauded loudly for her. I'm sorry you couldn't hear me as part of your cheering section, Megs :(

And now for the Kris date/Mother's Day/today stuff...

So I met Kris at 1:00 at Coleman Hall (our old stomping grounds at EIU) and he looked nice. He shaved the stubble around his goatee and I really liked his jacket, though he kept going on about it being ratty and stuff. Oh yeah, and he showed up chewing gum and kept eating breath mints like candy, so I don't know what he had in mind :)

His car was a little messy, but I'll forgive him because my car is always as bad or worse. In fact, it makes me feel a lot better about myself. So we went to the movie, RV. I figured it would be a stupid movie, and it was, but it was actually pretty funny too. I find that I am getting a lot more affectionate. Maybe Mom is right and absence really does make the heart grow fonder. It felt good to be around him again. I really missed him.

However, before the movie started...

Some guy named Will got up in front of the audience and told us to turn off our cell phones, showed us where the exits were, and said he'd make one lap around the theater with a flashlight in case any of us needed to ask any questions. Umm... okay?

When he finished his filibuster speech, the theater was still quiet, but I was stupid enough to assume that people had started talking... yeah... and when Will thanked us, I said loudly, "No, thank YOU, Will" in a really jerky voice. Kris said, "That's what I like about you" and put his arm around me. I was just hoping I wouldn't get kicked out of the movie before the previews even started...

Then of course we were the last ones out of the theater. How embarrassing is it when the lights suddenly come on and you and your boyfriend are still snuggling, and the theater employees are watching you. Nothing major, but stuff like that embarrasses me.

Anyway, we went to the mall and looked for a copy of Jane Austen's Persuasion for Kris. No luck. Then we went to Fazoli's to eat. It was good. We had a good visit there until we both ended up needing to go to the bathroom. After that, we decided to go to Wal-Mart to look for Persuasion. Yeah... no luck. Then we came back to EIU and each had to go our separate ways. It was a very good time though. I hated for the afternoon to end.

And now, for Mother's Day...

So I saw my former 2nd grade teacher/Sunday School teacher who has been living in Russia for years as a missionary. She and her husband were selling some Russian stuff to fund their work I think. Mom got me a doll in a green dress and I love it. Mom got a balloon and Grandma got 4. On Mother's Day, the mothers get balloons to release. The balloons are purchased at $10 apiece that go towards missions or something. It's called Mother's Memorial. Anyway, I didn't get to see Mom and Grandma release their balloons because Dad insisted that I pick out a doll. That's okay though. Then we spent hours at Wal-Mart. That's about it for Mother's Day.

Today...

I worked for an hour and a half this afternoon. Before work, I pulled some weeds out of the garden. Fascinating, I know. After work, I didn't do much except act stupid singing, and read some on my Fannie Flagg book. I'm getting pretty used to this business of being on break and not having to do a whole lot.

I am going to try to go to JY's graduation Friday. Thanks for hooking me up with the info about that, RC. I might have to go to work tomorrow afternoon too. I'm not sure yet. Anyway, I guess I won't be going with SC and BW and TH tomorrow to pick up applications. I guess this post wasn't that great after all. Sorry about that, guys.

CAUTION: Brandy, You're Not Gonna Like This Post...

Okay everybody, first off, today is Kris and my 1 month anniversary! And I'm pretty sure we both forgot it. Eh, that's okay. Anyway, we had that little day-and-a-half hiatus a couple weeks ago. I'd rather not think about that though.

So, I've been a little busy lately and that's why I haven't updated in half a week. I'll try to recap the events of the latter part of last week to the best of my abilities...

After I updated Wednesday, I read some on a book while TW came to do BW's to do genealogy stuff. Then BW and I went to Mullen. I didn't do a Bible study, though. I just hung out in the basement with JY (who is in fact, a recovering basement-dweller). We had a good visit. Then BW took me back to my house and as I recall, she stayed the night and left in the morning. I worked for just under three hours Thursday morning. Thursday afternoon, I went over to BW's house and we got in a fight just to keep things interesting. I typed my column during part of the fight and after I finished the column, I threatened to go home. Well, wouldn't you know, LH called right as I was packing up stuff to go right back home, and talked me into staying.

L's house:

So around 5:00, we left BW's house to meet T and H at their house. We played with their kittens some and then headed to Effingham. T had it in his head that they had to play tennis even though it was so cold it was almost unholy to play tennis in that sort of weather. We went to 3 locations before we actually found one with open courts. I wasn't planning on playing tennis anyway. I just sat in D's car and wrote part of a new memoir. After that, we came back to D and L's house and watched some TV while L made some spaghetti, crescent rolls, roast, and salad fixin's. Then, of course, we ate it. It was very good. Thank you, LH!

Then we played cards.

I told Kris I would call him around 9:00, when my free minutes started, so we could make plans regarding going to karaoke over the weekend. But when nine o'clock rolled around, we were in the middle of a nasty little game of sevens that was getting very competitive. I didn't want to be rude or distracting, but I also didn't want to ditch Kris since I said I was going to call him. I finally called him around 9:20 or so because Lisa said it would be okay. We talked until it was time to leave L's house. And still never made any definite plans about karaoke.

Then I stayed all night with B again.

I called in to work at 11:40 Friday morning, only to be told absolutely nothing. I didn't know if I had to work or not, so I agreed to just stop by around 1:00. I had lunch with my grandma... well, actually I didn't end up eating it because I had a bipolar fit and completely lost my mind and got extremely depressed. I checked in with work at 1:15 and was told to come in Monday afternoon. Dad came home and we picked up B, so R wouldn't have to make a special trip to pick us both up for S's Lake Land graduation. I managed to break my door to my room. Dad fixed it though.

R picked B and me up at about 6:30. It would have been a little sooner, but wouldn't you know, old Sunshine had to go take a crap right as Rachel was pulling in the drive.

We decided to go out of the way and take the interstate to Lake Land.

So we went to E and then up to M. We barely made it to the graduation on time. Somewhere between G and Mo, RC passed some very smelly gas, and I was sitting up front with her. In order to save my life, I desperately grabbed two vent air fresheners and stuck one in each nostril. That was a close one. Somewhere between N and M, R got mad at some car and said, "That dingbat ripped me off!"

We were so late that we had to go to the Student Center and watch the graduation on a TV. It was actually better that way. Dr. Luther was just as annoying as always, but it made for great entertainment. Somebody's phone went off during the national anthem. I have much more to say about that experience, but I took some notes and plan to write a book about it. Or at least a short story.

Then we had this reception thing in the Backstage. I had 2 cups of punch and a cup of coffee with 8 sugar packets. I got really hyper, really fast. Chuck finished off a cookie I started eating and also polished off Brandy's punch. Thank you, Chuck. We also took a lot of pictures. Many stupid pictures of me were included in the lineup.

Finally, B, R, S, and I went to Taco Bell sometime after 11:00 because it was one of only a couple restaurants that were open at that time. But Taco Bell any time after 5:00 is a NO-NO for me. 'Nuff said about that one, folks.

R took me home and I got home around 1:00, getting to bed around 2:00.

I got up at 7:00 or so, and was distraught that Kris hadn't called or emailed me any about karaoke, so sometime around 9:00 I decided to give him a call, only to see I had a missed call from his mom's cell phone. So I called him back and he asked if we could go to a movie instead of karaoke. That was fine with me. We talked for a while. It was great to hear from him. I need to close for now, but I will try to get back on and write the second installment of my weekend: the movie with Kris and this year's Mother's Day.

Feel Free to Comment on Either of Today's Posts...

Yeah, I know there are two identical posts today. And I accidentally put "my" instead of "me" yet again. I apologize.

Eff-You

Yeah I went to Effingham with Brandy today. We looked for some applications. We each got two applications. I wanted one from Little Caesar's and one from Subway, but Little Caesar's was out of applications and anyway, they only needed to fill the position of Poor Sucker Who Walks Back And Forth With A Sign Advertising Hot And Ready Five Dollars. Now, who in their right mind goes around saying "Hot and Ready... $5"??? Sure my mind is in the gutter, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks that sounds more than a little like very affordable prostitution...

Subway was not nearly as perverted with us.

Subway just told me that I needed to fill out the application in person "Right Here, Right Now" (Jesus Jones) and I was like "Well, I don't have much time now, but I might come back sometime" having absolutely no intentions of coming back, but just needing an excuse to get the heck out of dodge as my mozzerella sticks from Arby's were getting cold.

Thank you to Rachel for introducing my to Arby's Side-Kickers.

On a side note, we went to Wal-Mart (totally just to buy cheap pop) but we ended up walking around a lot in the store and I happened to see Shannon. She talked to me and Brandy for a while. No hard feelings anymore. I'm past that stage.

We also had to go to the hospital to order some tickets for some Cubs game or whatever. I was like why would you go to a hospital for Cubs tickets? That's about as bad as advertising that you are hot and ready in front of Little Caesar's.

What is this world coming to?

I think I'll write my column on how "x-number" of kids between the ages of 18 and 21 or whatever don't know where Mississippi is. It's not a very good survey, because they only asked a little over 500 people the question, and something tells me they were probably not U.S. citizens.

Brandy is watching some Arctic Cat DVD as we speak.

Hey Rach, nice blog, by the way. The toilet is temporarily fixed. I talked to Kris on the phone for like 2.5 hours last night. I guess he tried to call me from his mom's cell phone 2 nights ago, but I wasn't around when he called and so they showed up as missed calls and I didn't recognize the number. So I was a little nervous when my caller ID showed up with the same number calling me last night. But yeah, it was Kris, so that was cool.

This is also to Rachel Jean Carr, who likes wearing contacts when not wearing her glasses: I met Windy in the J.C. Penney fitting room at the Village Square Mall today.

Rach! Come to church with me and Brandy tonight.

Sarah: I need to know if and when you are having a graduation party with Brandy. If you are NOT having it this Saturday, then I will probably go to karaoke with Kris this weekend. If you are, then I'll probably go with him another weekend.

Apparently I'm Not Allowed to Talk About Kris Anymore...

Brandy claims that everybody is sick of hearing about Kris all the time. I don't understand why I can't talk about what I want to talk about. It's my blog, after all. She can just get her own if she has a problem with mine. And I don't know why she leaves nasty comments as anonymous all the time--it's pretty obvious who's leaving them.

I'm supposed to go to work this afternoon. Mom just got home and I wanted to visit with her, but she said she doesn't have a long lunch. Makes me sad.

I won't post my grades on here, but I'll say I got them this morning and I was happy. In fact, I was having a good day until Brandy started saying stuff about Kris. I thought friends were supposed to build you up, not break you down. Sorry for the angry post today, people. Just not in the greatest mood right now.

Meet in the Middle

What a day. I waited from 9:30 to 10:45 to see if I had to go to work, only to find out that I didn't have to work until tomorrow afternoon. I went over to Brandy's house for a while and ended up going to Charleston and Mattoon with her to look for job applications. I need to get more hours this summer than I am right now. Dilemmas: I want to do things with Kris and I am planning a trip to Mississippi. Therefore, I can't afford to ask off for either of these things if I start a new job. So when do I turn in the applications? It is insane.

I'm getting ready to have pizza for the second time today. I love pizza. I could eat it all the time if it weren't so unhealthy. I need to start my first summer DEN column soon. It is due this Sunday. This Sunday is also Mother's Day. I can't forget that either. One last thought before I get to this pizza: Why is it that I happen to run into people from my church on the rare occasions that I go to Wal-Mart for a bottle of Boone's Farm?

Liquor in the Front... Poker in the Back

I am tired, once again. I fell asleep talking to Brandy on the phone last night and then I decided to rest for a "few minutes" before going to bed... and I woke up at 5:00 this morning, fully dressed and with my light on. Oops. I got up, turned off the light, turned on the nightlight, changed into my night clothes and went to the bathroom and was still able to fall right back to sleep. I got up sometime after 8:00.

I went to church this morning. My pastor's wife had to be taken to the hospital in Chicago, and I don't know how she's doing--kinda worries me. A young guy and his wife and baby came to preach. I liked them. I know the girl's dad--he married a lady from our church after he and his first wife had been divorced for a while.

After church, I came home and started doing some work. Dad went to work. Mom and I cleaned around here some. I pulled some weeds out of the garden and Mom trimmed some trees. I also cleaned my room some and she tackled the kitchen and bath areas. I took a break, applied some Banana Boat tanning oil to my legs and sunbathed a while, while I was reading Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flagg. I actually got a start on my leg tanning. Maybe my legs will catch up with my arms this summer ;)

I called Brandy tonight and got mad at her, mainly because I'm tired, but also because I miss Kris and she's not very tolerant of my relationship with him. I feel bad for losing my temper, but I just feel like I never get to do what I want to do. I'm on a short fuse lately anyway because of multiple stresses--worrying about Dad because he has been having heart problems, worrying about grad school crap (GRE, applications, financial aid, etc.) not understanding why I can't have a boyfriend and friends too.

But anyway, I guess I shouldn't waste time worrying about it.

My room is looking slightly better. I think I'll call work tomorrow and see if I need to go in in the morning. If not, then I'll see about a haircut. I need to be planning my week. It's so good to be on break. Peace out, friends...

I'm Sick of the Song "Bad Day"

"You had a bad day"--yeah, but only because I heard that song about 113,432,635,865.25 times!! No, it's not that bad of a song. And I didn't have a bad day either. I'm just being a jerk for some reason. I'm not in a bad mood, but I'm just really tired. I had a great time at Tuscola. My cousin's graduation party wasn't that great, but it wasn't bad either. I got some new shoes that I just love. They are Doc Martens, but they were on sale for like $30. I was psyched about that. Anyway, I'm pretty tired still, so I don't much feel like telling the entire day's story. Perhaps Illini Fan will post the day's events on her blog.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Buenos dias, amigos! I have no idea what Cinco de Mayo celebrates, but you all know me--I'm up for a party whenever I have the excuse! I have to go to work this afternoon, which is sort of a bummer--I'd rather go in the morning and have my afternoon and evening off. But at least this way I got to sleep in this morning. I've been very tired lately. Yesterday, I rode 4-wheelers with Brandy and took off down part of the National Road and along the edges of some fields and then in some open yard space at my grandma's farmhouse--it was pretty cool. I also had to pick up some laundry at the laundromat so I went in to town to see Grandma. She gave me some tomato plants and a couple of peppers. I planted them when I got home. I also talked to Kris a couple times on the computer. Then I went to Brandy's grandma's house to play some pool--yeah, I lost both times--but she fixed us some pizza, chips, pop, and raspberry pie. I love raspberry--probably my favorite fruit. I don't know how long I'll have to work this afternoon. I kind of hope not long though, because I'm really enjoying being on break and I want to make the most of it. Although, I guess to totally make the most of it, I'll need to make some money. And if I do take that trip to Mississippi, I'll need money and I'll also need to take several days off work. So I guess I better get some work in early.

I just got out of the shower. For some reason it seems like we run out of hot water when I'm in the shower. I don't know why. It sucks though. I need to start in on columns soon--my first summer DEN column is due on Mother's Day... which reminds me, I need to get my mommer a Mother's Day gift.

I'm probably going to be busy. Kris' sister and brother-in-law are having a housewarming in Danville on the 21st and I need to go to that, plus he thinks he's going to drag me up to karaoke there sometime. We'll see. Tomorrow I'm supposed to be going to Tuscola with Sarah, Brandy, maybe Rachel, perhaps Betty, and pretty much anybody else who cares to go. After that, I have to go to my cousin Daniel's EIU graduation party. Today I just need to focus on getting through work though.

School's Out, For Summer

Ah, Alice Cooper--you said it so well!

Well yesterday was a pretty cool day. My last day on campus this semester. I got to school early to study for my Shakespeare final (the one I'd been dreading since the semester began) and to turn in my last two books. I saw Dr. Martone outside and he gave me this broken keyring that was a miniature John Deere tractor on it. I guess that is because I wrote all those rural poems for his class. Then he said that in the fall, he wanted Travis and me to meet him and maybe put together a small poetry magazine. I was pretty psyched. I went to the library, sat down, and saw ALAN. Alan decided to sit by me and talk about German mythology for a while. Finally I told him I needed to return my books and he said he needed to get some lunch. No lines at Station 3 at TRS, so that was a good thing. No fines either. No fines + no lines = one great way to end the semester.

Then I met Mr. Jones at 1:30 in Coleman and we went bowling in the union (discounted bowling this week). But first, we had to pick up his check, cash it, and then pick up his coursepack for study abroad this semester. That was all right though. Bowling was interesting. He won the first and 3rd games, but I creamed him on the 2nd. Well, it was as close to creaming as it gets with me and bowling. I got 90-something--really not that good. Kris kept throwing the ball so hard it knocked him down. Honestly I think he was being theatrical and showing off for the most part. There were these jock types laughing at him, and it really was pretty funny. I thought he was going to foul a couple of times acting up like that. We bet Mountain Dews on the second game--I claim that was my incentive and how I managed to win it. The third game he said if I won I had to tell him what to get me from England and if he won it was a surprise. Well, I wanted a surprise anyway.

So then we went to the union and I claimed my free Mountain Dew (and a bag of chips because he offered and I was hungry). So we're just being crazy and there's hardly anybody around. Yep--I was singing "Truckin'" (Grateful Dead) and he was singing all these New Wave 80s songs. I'm surprised no jocks were pointing and laughing at us that time...

Then we hung out in the commemorative courtyard until time for my final. Without all those people around, it was a lot easier for me to belt out my rendition of "Mercedes Benz"--not my favorite by Janis, but a lot easier to sing than "Me and Bobby McGee."

I was nervous about that final and it took me from 6:00 until 7:50--almost the entire time. I don't know how I did--probably an A or a B though. I'm sort of anxious to get my grades and see how I did this semester. Anyway, after I handed in my final, I walked out in the hall and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but Kris Jones and a small bouquet of roses. He's like well, I knew you were pretty stressed out about that final, so I thought I'd get you some flowers and a card. It was really sweet. Then he kept saying he hoped it wasn't too much. Hey, I like gifts. Then we saw Shauna--another grad student--and went outside to hang out for about an hour and a half. It was kind of sad because I don't know how often we'll see each other in the summer, but it was a good way to end the semester.

Now I'm going to have to start writing summer DEN columns.

And take the GRE.

And apply to grad school.

But I'd also like to take a mini-road trip to Mississippi and check out Ole Miss sometime this summer. I also plan to get my hair cut and donate it to Locks of Love. Hopefully it will be a fun summer. Today is my first day of break and one good thing is I don't have to go to work today (though I'm supposed to work tomorrow). And, it is a beautiful day, so I think I'm going to go outside and enjoy it!

If the Devil Danced in Empty Pockets...

He'd have a ball in mine!!!

Yeah, so I've had that song in my head at least since Saturday. Thing is, I put gas in my car yesterday and... let me put it this way, after taxes, I made enough $$$ today to pay for it. I don't know what I'm going to do because I usually don't work even as much as I did today. Too bad I don't have a retirement account--I think I'd have to cash it in for gas money and tuition--gee whiz.

Yeah so I only worked 4.5 hours.

After work, I came home and planted:
3 rows of carrots
1 row of green onions
5 rows of corn

...not to mention all the weeds I pulled out of the ground with my hands. I think I work too hard on a garden that probably won't produce anything for me. I also need to study for my wretched Shakespeare final tonight and tomorrow morning. Then I need to go to Wal-Mart and THEN I need to go to school and turn in my last 2 books and meet Kris at 1:30 in Coleman Hall and then I have that final to take from 6:00-8:00. I'm somewhat concerned about the final, but I don't really want to study for it. I guess I should quit my b****ing and just get to it. But I don't wanna...

Okay, So Maybe I Was a Little Rash...

All right. First of all, a HUGE thank you to all my friends who offered me their support this weekend. I am so happy that you guys were there for me.

Now for the good news (I think) :

Last night I got an email from Kris saying to please call him at home if I got a chance. So I did, and he pretty much said his weekend sucked and wouldn't say why. Eventually he came around to saying he missed me and he said the wrong things Friday night and he'd like to get back together because two weeks isn't really enough time to know anything anyway. He told me to let him know when I was uncomfortable and he'd try better about taking things slow. He said he kept seeing and hearing things that reminded him of me and got him pretty choked up. We both agreed that we are NOT in love right now, but just kind of special friends. That way, he said who knows what will happen in the future but we should just enjoy what we have right now and not worry about either having to get married or break up for real.

I think that is a healthier way to look at things.

So we talked about some pretty serious stuff like that and agreed that neither of us are comfortable expressing ourselves and basically I think we're in the same boat. We want to "date" to have a friend to do things with, but also hold hands and stuff like that. Just not too much.

Anyway, today I have to go to school and turn in some final papers and stuff, then I think I'm going to Steak 'n Shake (WOO HOO!) for breakfast, and then to Brandy's house, then to my grandma's for lunch, and maybe come home after that (although I ought to go to work). I also need to study for my Shakespeare final though.

By the way, I'm a little emotionally unstable right now. All you girls know what I mean...lol. So maybe that's why I overreacted yesterday. Mr. Jones and me, we're just gonna pretend like this weekend didn't happen.

Thanks again for the support, ladies!!!

Celebrate Good Times

Okay, so I worked for about an hour and a half today. Then I went to poetry and read 3 poems from my book. I also made some people laugh. After that, I returned several books and Kris and I went to Celebration. It was pretty fun. We played this pitching game. Kris threw faster than I did, but I won the bet, because we each bet that the other would do better. Then we shared a funnel cake and each got a Mountain Dew. Then we sort of just hung out and talked a while. Then, Brandy came over and we started a movie. But then Rach came over and got extremely wild. Keep in mind, I was pretty tired when she got here (around 8:00) so I was exhausted when she left. I don't know about that application. I need to fill it out but I keep dragging my feet about it. I also need to work on studying for the GRE, taking it, and applying to grad school. Ugh. I'm so sick of school and work both though. But yeah, Rach just kept having me wait on her and stuff. Then she kept starting like 50 things or whatever. She had to show me a scene from some movie she rented, and then she tried to get me to watch Walk the Line with her. Thing is, I've already seen it, and she also rented some games to play, so I talked her into starting the games. I beat her at Need For Speed, but I couldn't figure out the Tony Hawk one.

Best of Both Worlds

Sorry about the somewhat obscure song references. This one is from Van Halen. Kris and I were listening to it today at his place.

Well, here goes the story of my day.

Last night, I was on Yahoo and talked to Kris until 2:00 A.M. about some pretty important things. Tomorrow is our 2-week anniversary and also the last day of school. I thought that would be a good time to tell him not to try to sleep with me because I wouldn't do it. But he said something similar first. So he couldn't have been copying off me if he told me that before I told him. At least we're on the same page regarding such matters.

I got about 5 hours of sleep last night.

So then today, I had my last session of American lit, and Dr. Swords commented on my column that was in the paper yesterday (he liked it). A side note, I also got quoted in the DEN earlier this week and two of my poems were published in the Vehicle. Thanks to the STD gang who found my stuff worthy enough for university publication.

Evaluations finished off the course, and then I called Kris so he could come meet me and help me on my poetry project. He said he needed to get a shower, so I didn't know how long that would take. I ended up talking to Derek for about 10 minutes though. Derek is afraid he'll be roommates with Kris in England and I just don't think they would get along well as roomies. Kris told me he was mad at me for not going to England with him, but oh well.

So, Jones showed up around 10:30 or so--pissed off about something. We went to Wal-Mart together and got a black ink cartridge and then he went to the video store to return some movies and after that, went to Taco Bell for some lunch. But we eventually got around to working on that project. It was drama.

I will spare the long story, but basically, we wasted a LOT of paper and ink trying to print off my stupid poems. It was insane. I kept telling him I could try it at home, but he was bound and determined to print them off at his place. I was like whatever. Finally we got it figured out though. Afterwards, we sat on the couch and talked. Well, he wasn't saying much and I had a pretty good idea what he was thinking. Finally he asked if I wasn't too embarrassed or uncomfortable would I kiss him. I said I supposed I'd give it a try. Keep in mind, I'd never kissed a guy on the lips before. It was weird, wet, and I really didn't like it. But then, nothing against Kris--I never really liked being kissed by my mom or dad or anybody anyway. We made a few tentative plans for the summer--hiking/picnic in Indiana and some all-day trip to Indy. I asked him how long the Indy trip would take and he said all day. I asked, "So I'd get home that night then?" and he said, "Well, we are not staying all night" so that made me feel more comfortable.

Then it was time for fiction.

Jessi wrote a very disturbing piece about murder. It seriously gave me the creeps. So I told Kris and he told me about a story he wrote about a murder. I was like you're scaring me. He says he based it on stuff he'd read, and to be honest, it sounded a lot like E.A. Poe. He tried to get me to stay for his fiction class, but I said no I needed to do stuff tonight.

Brandy and I went to Effingham and I picked up an application at the place Rachel works. I'm probably not qualified to work there, but whatever. Also, we had supper at Little Caesar's and saw Lisa for a while, and went to Wal-Mart. I am proud of myself for driving on the interstate today and Tuesday. I know, it's really no big deal, but I'd never driven the interstate by myself before Tuesday.

When we got back, Brandy and I rode 4-wheelers a while and then I finally came home. It was a fairly big day and I'm really tired. I need to put my book together tonight though, because it is due tomorrow. Yikes. Plus, I'm going to try to work tomorrow morning before school and then go to Celebration with Kris after class and then hang out with Brandy after that. Lots of plans.

I apologize if I talk about Kris too much. This whole thing is new to me, and I've been around him a lot lately, so a lot of my day is about him.

I'm So Broke That It Ain't Funny

Well, I'm starting to regret not going on the England trip this summer. Kris is going and I'm going to miss him pretty badly. Plus, DUH--England? I've wanted to go there for a while. I don't need the class credit though, but I would totally dig the culture. Mom says I can still drive up to O'Hare and take the trip with the class but just not do the work...

Janice, can I bum a ride offa you?

Well, school was all right today. My last day of Senior Seminar is supposed to be Wednesday SO... I'm going to try to work Friday morning so I can have the afternoon off. Dilemma: I want to go to Celebration on Friday. I asked Brandy to go with me, and she said she would, though I doubt she'll have a very good time. Also, I wanted to do something with Kris that day (it will be the last day we'll see each other for a while and it will also be our 2 week anniversary). I would ask him to join us, but Brandy doesn't like him. I don't wanna ditch Brandy though, because she feels like I don't spend any time with her now that he and I are together. So I don't know. Maybe he and I can go to Positively 4th Street or get some lunch or something. Heck, why not see another movie? I just want to do something, because I don't know how often I'll see him this summer.

Anyhow, I worked 2.25 hours today (not a lot, but eh?) and then I have a couple hours that I can work on Friday morning. I need to save up some gas money so I can hang out with my man a little before and after his trip. I plan on going to see him at Danville a few times (and that's a nice little drive) and his karaoke buddies want to meet me too (also in Danville) so anyway, gotta keep working. I might try to get on at that day care with Rach if they'll let me work there. I need to make some extra cash.

Silent Hill--Good Movie, But Not Too Scary

Well, I'm still up. I had a good day (technically yesterday). Kris and I presented to a crowd of 5 people. His mom and sister, my mom, and two other students. It was fun though. I like his family.

We stayed for Shauna's presentation too, then had a little of the free lunch that was provided, and then hung out at his apartment for a while. He showed me this box he had to put together for his study abroad trip. It was pretty cool. Then we left for the movie.

I enjoyed the movie, but like I say, it really didn't scare me at all. And maybe that's a good thing. I watched Carrie for the first time last night and it didn't scare me either. It was kinda fun to snuggle in the movie theater too ;)

After the movie, Kris dropped me off at school and I went to Brandy's house. We rode 4-wheelers with Rach--that was pretty fun. Then we went to Effingham and went to Wal-Mart and got pizza from Pizza Hut. That was cool too. Now I'm just really tired. Had a good day, but it wore me out. I guess I should start doing homework again maybe tomorrow...

English Conference

Today is the English conference at EIU. Kris and I are going to present creative writing pieces. We're the only ones in our group. Yesterday, he walked with me to Buzzard to turn in my column to the DEN. Then he walked me out to my car and we proceeded to sit in the parking lot behind my car for 4 hours. Just talking and laying around. We both got a lot of sun. I am really tanned now, and Kris will probably have a pretty painful sunburn soon (if he doesn't have one yet). We talked about all sorts of crap--it was a lot of fun. Then I dropped him off at his apartment. I went home and worked on my paper for the conference today and watched Carrie. Great movie--very sad, totally unrealistic, but I liked it a lot. Then I attempted to watch Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. Wow. I can't believe I used to like Pee-Wee Herman. And furthermore, I can't believe Kris still does. I managed to fall asleep during PW's BA, though. Oh, I also started on my poetry book (finally). I have around 12 pages of poetry. I need 30. Yikes. I called Sarah and talked to her for a while. Brandy called me too. I'm glad that school is about out though.

After the conference, Kris and I are going to see Silent Hill at the theater. It will probably scare me a lot. Then I plan on heading to Brandy's house. Hopefully Rach will still be there. She was wanting to come to my house, but I'm going to Brandy's house. Hopefully it will turn out to be a fun day.

By the way... I know this is short notice, but anybody who doesn't have a life and wants to see me and my man presenting today, we're in room 3170 on the 3rd floor of Coleman Hall at EIU at 10:00.

I'll Be Down in Mississippi and Up to No Good

Very good song people. Unless of course, you hate country music. Or Mississippi. Yeah, the editor is really anxious for me to get this column done, so I guess I'll work on it tonight. I'm so tired. I didn't sleep much last night. And then, at 2:30 (when I was in a sort of stupor) I rolled over onto the bunny Kris got my for Easter. I forgot I had it in my bed, first of all. But what was even scarier is that I put enough pressure on it, that it started praying, "Now I lay me down to sleep." This is not a scary prayer, but it was recorded in a child's voice and anybody who is familiar with "Enter Sandman" will understand why, at 2:30 AM that might be a little unnerving.

Yes, Rachel called me around midnight and talked about 30 minutes. I started on my column after we got off the phone though.

Kris only got a couple hours of sleep last night. He ended up doing this paper that he said he wasn't going to do. Ended up staying up until 5:00 or so working on it, then he had to go to work at 8:00 in the physical science building and work until noon. We pretty much just hung out in the library after I had lunch with Brandy. Subway--eat fresh.

Then, somewhat spontaneously, Kris just put his hand on mine. I was like whatever. My hand was cold anyway. However, I'm not a very touchy type of person. Then I asked him if he wanted to walk with me to Coleman and he said he did. So we got to Coleman and I was getting ready to head to class and he asks if I have a couple seconds. I was like I guess. And in front of the water fountain by the bulletin board, he says, "I'm not very good at this sort of thing.... but I wanted to kiss you goodbye before you go to class." I was like hold on, horn-dog. So I said, "Cheek for right now" and he seemed cool with that. Goatee whiskers really tickle. At least it wasn't as embarrassing as the first hug.

Hope that wasn't too much info for you guys ;)

And now, back to academic topics...

I plan on writing my column tonight and maybe even emailing it to the editor. At some point I need to finish Grapes of Wrath for the 3rd or 4th time. I also need to revise my paper and do my take-home final for the same class. The Tempest isn't going to read itself. And goodness knows I need to make a book for my poetry class--STILL.

You're My Wonderwall...

Hadn't heard that song in a while, but I heard it tonight sitting in my car in our driveway and now I can't stop singing it. Okay, well, I picked up my paper this morning, and spent a good part of the afternoon revising it. Hopefully I get a good grade on it. Then I met Kris (who was not having a good day) in the library, and we walked to Coleman to look for Dr. Raybin so I could ask him a question, but he wasn't there. So then we went back to the library and tried to print the paper. Well, I don't have any money on my Panther Card and he had maxxed his out, so he said I could print it out at his place. I said alright, so we went there. He has a pretty cool little apartment. He was all embarrassed to take me there because it was messy, but honestly, it was cleaner than my room. Thus, I am going to clean my room some tonight. Anyway, he got it all printed off for me so I was able to hand it in. I'm hoping Raybin takes pity on me since I only had TODAY to revise it, print it, and hand it in.

My man also read his "Yetish Fetish" poem, which I personally think is hysterical. The rest of the class did too. We had a lot of fun in poetry today. I brought a box of Count Chocula, but Martone said he couldn't eat it and I shouldn't be eating it because of the marshmallows--they have gelatin in them, and Martone has it in his head that all gelatin comes from animal sources.

By the way, thanks to Amanda for her suggestion for a column. However, I think I'm going to write my column about rising oil prices and how I'm still poor. Might try to tie it in with The Grapes of Wrath or something. I don't know. Also, this is pretty cool, I got asked to write columns and/or draw cartoons for the DEN this summer. I was pretty excited about it.

Today was a big day of firsts for me: eating LemonHeads, eating Count Chocula, eating chicken (yes, I tried a little chicken from Brandy's Chalupa at Taco Bell--it was pretty good), holding Kris's hand, going to his apartment, riding to my car with Kristy after class. Kris acted a little disappointed that I had chicken today. I was like hey now, I've seen you eat at Chik-Fil-A or whatever, so I don't wanna hear it. I think he's trying to go vegetarian too though, so he was pretty shocked that I tried some meat. I need to check on him--like I said, he had a fairly bad day and I worry about him--hope he's doing better. Peace out guys...

10 Proof

Hey ya'll... not much to say today. Kris brought me my Easter gift today. He got me like 3 different kinds of candy and a stuffed animal. It was sweet of him. We returned some of our books together today too. And got accosted numerous times by United University people wanting us to vote. Kris said if he got asked again, that he'd tell them he voted for Danny O'Day (inside joke). I went to work today from 9:10 to 9:55, although I messed up and put 10:10 to 10:55--eh, still got the amount of time correct. Kris and I hung out until my 2:00 class and then for about 15 minutes before his 3:30 class. It was cool. I forgot to check on my Shakespeare paper so I can make revisions and print it out for tomorrow night's class--drama. I'm going to make some changes tonight and then check tomorrow and maybe print off a copy at LLC or at Booth, or at Kris's apartment or something. I also need to read Grapes of Wrath tonight too. Hopefully it will all work out. School's almost over. Looking forward to this summer. Kris and I plan on seeing Silent Hill sometime and then we might go on a picnic and other stuff over the summer too. Hopefully it will be fun. Well, I gotta check on my food now.

Two Weeks of School Left

Well, I only worked an hour and a half today. And after that, I bought gas, so I only have five dollars to my name. Kris and I attempted our first hug today. Disastrous consequences. First, I tried to put my left arm over his shoulder, at the same time that he was trying to put his right arm over my shoulder. Then mid-hug, I realized our glasses were hooked together. Great. After taking care of the glasses drama, I was trying to walk towards my car, only to find that my hair was now stuck in his glasses. I don't know how many people saw that...

Oh yeah, he loaned me 4 movies today. I'm not really sure when he thinks I'm going to watch them, because I'm pretty busy with homework, but I'll get them watched sometime. Things are going fairly well with us. I think Anita is trying to start some gossip though because she caught me outside Coleman and had to hear all the dirt. I was actually talking to Lakisha when Anita came up to me. Lakisha says, "I thought you were married." I'm like no, where did you get that idea? Well she thought I said something about it in a class I had with her last semester. She spent a little less than I year thinking I was married. Weird. So who knows what kind of garbage will be spread around EIU by tomorrow.

Speaking of committment (of which I have a pretty serious fear) I have a column due on Friday. The new DEN editor says there has to be some sort of news content in it. Anybody have any ideas? I don't know what to write. Plus, I need to get ready for the English conference this Saturday. As far as I know, Kris and I are the only ones presenting creative writing pieces and we're supposed to be scheduled together. Busy week. I'll try to fit at least one of the Stephen King movies and one comedy in this week though.

I'm serious about column ideas though. If anybody has any ideas, just leave me a comment. I'm open to suggestions. Thanks!

Happy Easter

Well, we had church today. I was 15 minutes late though because I couldn't find a place to park. I ended up parking at my grandma's house and walking to church. Wasn't a long walk, just a little time-consuming. After service, Mom and I went with Grandma and Vickie to Fazolis. It was good. Then we went to Wal-Mart and then I came home and changed clothes for the Easter egg hunt (AKA Hudfest 2006). Side note--Brandy, we gotta make t-shirts this year...

In response to Kris's concern over the use of ellipses (as referenced in my use of them at the end of the preceding paragraph) Carpenter is right. I got a new copy of Writer's Digest last night (I may have already mentioned this) but anyway, sure enough dude, you're supposed to use a dash to connote time passages or choppy speech. The ellipses is used (passive voice) when you are quoting something and cutting a portion of the quote out. I actually knew that... or I thought I did at least :)

Yeah I had a good time at Hudfest. No Rach--nobody took your camera. You left it in your car. And the weather really didn't get bad over here. That's okay though--sorry I was being such a creep.

Day #2 of going out with Kris. Note to self (and any single ppls reading this): Never start a relationship on a weekend that you will not see the significant other. When starting a new relationship, it is usually a good thing to be around the person. Otherwise, you will forget that you actually have a boyfriend because it has been 10 years and the whole notion of you actually having a boyfriend is so surreal that you have to pinch yourself and make sure you're not bleeding pancake syrup.

But yeah, I kind of miss him.

However, tomorrow in class will be the first time we actually look at each other face to face as boyfriend and girlfriend. Not sure when we'll start holding hands and stuff. We plan on moving very slow with this thing. Summer is going to be very strange. He's going to England for a month, but he's supposed to be sending me postcards. I imagine I'll miss him terribly. Then after that, we plan on getting together occasionally once he gets back from the trip. He also said we can maintain a long-distance relationship if I happen to go to another state for grad school. He said he'd come see me sometimes if that's the case.

But enough about my new boyfriend.

I know from experience that nobody wants to hear about the new boyfriend except the new girlfriend who is excited that she now has him and talks about him nonstop. I'm trying not to do that. I don't know why I was so nervous about this whole thing. It's really not that big of a deal. Especially to know that we can still be friends if the boyfriend/girlfriend thing doesn't work out. Hope ya'll had a great weekend.

It's Official, Ladies and Gents...

Well, Kris and I decided to give it a go as a couple. Working out good so far (although this thing just started yesterday). He and I and Maurice got offered positions writing for the DEN in the fall. Kris and I both agreed to do it. Also, we are both supposed to present creative writing pieces at the English conference a week from today. I'm pretty excited. I feel weird having a boyfriend too. We agreed that if it didn't work out though, we'd still be friends. I got a new issue of Writer's Digest today too. I didn't get my garden set out like I wanted to though. I went to town today with Rach, Brandy, and Carolyn. It was pretty fun. I was at Brandy's house pretty much all day. Well, that's about all I've got for right now. I need to catch up on some homework tonight (probably be busy all day tomorrow too). Happy Easter everybody!

Let's Give 'Em Something to Talk About...

Hello ya'll... I plan to make this post short because I'm really tired. It's getting close to midnight, you know. I had a good day today. Brandy and I checked out Blair Hall. Neither of us had ever been there before. Then we went to Pemberton to check out where her presentation thing was going to be. Then we both ended up going to the presentation thing. I felt funny, being an English major hanging out with a Soc class. I was actually really sad today because after Brandy went home, I got lonely. I started to wish I'd told Kris to drop by Coleman and we could hang out for an hour or so before my class. Anyhow, as I was reading The Grapes of Wrath, I happened to see him walk out of the English Department and out the doors. I was like crap and tried to follow him. Well, by the time I reached the 2nd floor, he was outside, so I was literally running down the stairs, feeling like a fool. And wouldn't you know, I almost knocked down his friend, Shauna. I keep going back and forth as to whether or not I like him, as in a crush. I just can't see me reacting that way if I didn't sort of like him. I mean, I really miss him when he's not around. Anyway I happened to finally almost catch up with him outside (and keep in mind it was hot and I'd been running and I had a heavy backpack) and I hollered "Hey Kris!" and he turned around and instantly got a smile on his face. He wasn't doing anything, and I had a break, so he suggested we go to Taco Bell. Yep--we walked to Taco Bell in the heat and we just got something to drink. I like doing silly spontaneous things like that sometimes. Nothing bad or dangerous, just slightly eccentric. Then I was talking to him before his fiction writing class, and this other girl (one he used to like last year) was looking at us and pointing and I thought I heard her say, "I want to know what's going on there." Hee hee. Publicity is usually a good thing, in some way.

So I didn't go to the meeting tonight after all. I hope I can go to the English Conference--I didn't even know about it, except that's what Kris got from the English Department--a form to submit a paper for the conference. I got one too, but when I got home tonight, I realized it said the deadline for abstract submissions was yesterday? I never heard about it until today. Grr. I'm going to try to go anyway.

After I left Carpenter's class (yes, I left as the prof was getting there) I decided to go to Brandy's house. I had loads of fun there. I rode 4-wheelers with Brandy and Eliza. I even drove part of the way. And I hadn't driven a 4-wheeler in a very long time. It's amazing I could remember everything even after I had to ask what pedals did which things (shifting gears and braking). Eliza loved this song I wrote about 4 years ago. She wanted me to sing it, and she recorded it on her phone and I think she made it her ringtone. I didn't realize it was that great. I mean I liked it alright I suppose. As usual, I haven't done much homework tonight. I really didn't do much at school either--we watched The Grapes of Wrath in American lit, and then workshopped two pieces in fiction. It just occurred to me that I think I accidentally used the italics code in an email to Kris tonight. He's not going to understand what "em" inside <> is going to mean. I'm just in the habit of using the code on here, that I probably do it in emails all the time. Oh well. Whatever. I'm really tired and a little nervous as to where he and I are going, so it's not unlikely that I might do something crazy in an email. Can't be any crazier than walking 15 minutes one way to go to Taco Bell for a small drink...

Woo Hoo! 100th Post!

I had a really good day today. I'll try to sum it up quickly. I gave my Senior Seminar presentation today. It went well. Then I went to poetry. Kris got me a card and put a lotto ticket in it. I ate one of Derek's Swedish Fish and he even gave me a beanie baby. "The Stoned Sheep" beanie. Anyhow, Kris finallygot to read "Lake Winnipesaukee" (I probably botched the spelling). Then, he walked with me to 9th St. to submit my EWP, which did NOT work yesterday, but DID WORK TODAY!!! And then I saw Dr. Swords sitting on the quad with a student and he told me my conference would be on the quad too. Sweet action. I had lunch with Brandy at Taco Bell and I found a dime on the ground. Awesome. Then I came back, had my outdoors conference (which was awesome too) and Swords loved my paper. That made me SO HAPPY. Then we just chatted about music and literature and stuff. It was so cool. Then I bugged Brandy a while. Then around 4:00 Kris got off work and talked to me for just a few minutes, then I started to read my Shakespeare again. Well, wouldn't you know, just a few minutes later, Kris comes back and says he's going home. Well, I didn't figure he really had any intentions of going home or else he would have just gone instead of telling me about it. So we ended up talking until about 5:50 and I realized I hadn't finished my assignment. Oops! So I went to class, and miraculously I didn't have to act like I knew anything about the last couple of scenes I didn't read (keep in mind, I read around 3.5 acts of the play) so I was able to talk quite a bit, but I didn't have to talk about the part I hadn't read. I was very thankful about that. Then we got out 10 minutes early from class. I have to remember to go to my Sigma Tau Delta meeting tomorrow. I wonder when the Vehicle is coming out?

I Love Ewe

Yes, sheep are cool. But I just wanted to misuse the word "ewe." Rach and I have been punning that word for a couple days or so. I had a good day today. Didn't have to work, so I came home and promptly got a sunburn. I also wrote three pages on this Shakespeare paper that is due next Wednesday. I want to have a draft ready for this Wednesday though, because that way I can make revisions. But the paper is due next Wednesday... so I'll get the paper back the day it is due... so I hope I'm not totally screwed on this deal. I mean, I'm REALLY trying to keep up my GPA. Guess I can just do my best. Now I'm starting to stress out. That's the bad thing about once-a-week classes. And still have to do TAXES. Oh the drama. Kris and I are supposed to hang out tomorrow. Now I'm starting to lean towards just friends again. Man, this sunburn is getting painful. Well, I need to do a little more homework before getting to bed.

Mid-April Crises...

I have been wanting to take trips lately. There ya go--maybe I should go with Kris after all. He loves to travel. He has all the qualities I prayed for in a guy, but there are things I don't like about him too. I know I have to compromise at some point for the simple fact that nobody is perfect. And he seems to really care about me so... who knows.

So I've been working most of the afternoon on this Shakespeare paper. Ten pages and research for the honors program. Ick. I don't care for research. However, I've found three sources so far and I have quoted from the plays. I'm not doing too badly, all things considered. However, I've only written 4 pages. I wanted to get a draft done tonight so I could look it over and print it out tomorrow and then I'd have a draft ready to hand in Wednesday so I could get it back and revise it before it is due NEXT Wednesday. *sigh* Also, I need to read The Grapes of Wrath, which I would totally rather be doing right now, but whatever. Don't forget I need to finish Acts 3 and 4 of The Winter's Tale for Wednesday too.

Totally unrelated to any of the mid-April crises: Congrats to Kris for being named one of the 10 best DEN columns from 2002-2006! His column, "Everybody Needs Somebody Sometime" (my personal favorite of his columns) made the list. If you care to read it, check out: www.dennews.com and search Kristopher Jones. The article should come up first on the search.

Mommer is busy with tax crap this afternoon. I completely forgot about taxes, dang it. I still need to do mine and I don't know how because I always did the telephone deal WHICH THEY NO LONGER OFFER so I don't know, but I need to get mine done pronto.

Ever notice that nobody ever says "pronto" anymore?

I'm Going to Jackson...

Or maybe Oxford, if I am lucky enough to get in. That is, Oxford MS--home of Ole Miss. But totally off the subject of anything, except that I've been excited thinking about it. Yeah, I've also been thinking about how much I want to travel too. Sure I'm growing up, but for once, it's not scaring me.

So Brandy and I took The Lucky One to Wal-Mart and Little Caesar's today. It was fun. I also had to buy gas. So... I now have a one-way ticket to Broke City. I came home and read some of The Winter's Tale, but I'm not crazy about English lit, and specifically anything besides comedies that Shakespeare wrote tends to bore me. So what did I do to take a break from it? I started working on a Shakespeare paper. Actually... Mom got me sidetracked. She got out an atlas, and I love maps and atlases (now ya'll see why I got so excited about wanting to travel). But anyway, I did write a couple pages on the 10 page research paper for my honors Shakespeare class. Wasn't a lot of fun, but at least I have an idea as to where I want to go with the paper.

And now I'm getting ready to read some more of The Grapes of Wrath, though it will be my 3rd or 4th time reading it.

I'm Stuck in Folsom Prison, and Time Keeps Draggin' On...

Okay, I'm an even bigger Johnny Cash fan than I once was. I don't know how accurate Walk the Line is, but as a movie, I loved it. I decided that I am crazy about pretty much any song that has "blues" in the title (i.e. "Folsom Prison Blues," "Subterranean Homesick Blues," and "Yer Blues." The movie brought back haunting memories of the late great Marty Scott. I never dreamed I'd miss that guy nearly like I do. He was my inspriration for going into creative writing, first of all. First got me interested in the U of Iowa (though I doubt I'll go there), and he got me interested in blues and bluegrass (he had this awesome Johnny Cash poster in his office... after he died I considered asking if I could have it, provided his ex-wife didn't want it... guess I didn't get to it in time... probably got thrown away).

So today Kris says he wants to do stuff together during the summer. He suggested karaoke and swimming. I vetoed both ideas. So the jury is still out. I think it could be fun, but provided we do something I actually enjoy. I don't know why I'm so conflicted about Kris. Some days I'm really interested in him, and some days I just want to be friends. And then there are days like today where I feel both ways. Must be my bipolarness... or the fact that I'm ragging :)

Speaking of such...

I had to work from 1:30 to 5:00 this afternoon. And I not only didn't feel at my peak, but I definitely was not in the mood to joke with my boss, who had a migraine and thus was in a silly mood. Workplace drama.

Here Comes Johnny Singing Oldies Goldies

I ended up having a good day. Brandy brought me home from school last night and then stayed the night and took me back to school this morning. Around midnight or so, I awoke to the very quiet--almost silent--sound of Brandy getting up to go to the bathroom. Being in a strange state of near-consciousness, I apparently jumped up, screamed, had a horrifying look on my face, and asked her where she was going. I don't know why, but it was really traumatic. So I had to watch Black Sheep until I could get to sleep.

Then I overslept. And so I got to class on time because Brandy was driving, but then it started raining heavily and I got drenched going to class. I mean, almost the entire front of my jeans was soaked. I'm very thankful my coat is made of WASHABLE suede. Somehow an episode of Seinfeld comes to mind whenever I think of suede and rain...

American lit went well. I shared my book with the guy that sits next to me. Then Kris was waiting on me in the hall. We had lunch together in the union. He's been having a rough time lately. People are making him nervous for various reasons. We ended up doing this crazy random song-singing thing, not even caring that there were like tons of other people in the union at the time. Heck, we even did a duet on the Dire Straits song that I allude to in the title of this post. So yeah, I know I had a great time and hope he did too. Then Sarah showed up 25 minutes late, but between the two of us we were able to help her on an English paper. Then I saw Finney, who told me that he enjoyed my "Creative Writers Are a Bunch of Masochists" column. I was pleased. Sure I got ONE negative comment, which did get put in the paper... BUT I got at least SEVEN positive comments, so I'm glad I took the risk and wrote it.

I need to get going on some Shakespeare so I can write a paper in there. I also need to make a book for poetry and read The Grapes of Wrath. No biggie. I only plan on being busy like all weekend too.

What Up, Creep-Dawg?

Happy Birthday Kevin!!! Where he is, it was yesterday, but whatever. Kris and I had lunch today. Last night I pretty much told him why I just wanted to be friends, and he didn't bug me at all about it today. That was a huge relief. I really didn't want to hurt his feelings. Anyhow, then I saw Sarah and Tammy and another girl from LLC that I didn't know. That was pretty cool. I wish they could have stayed longer, but oh well. I had to drop off a dress at the dry cleaners for Mommer and then I had to get some Horseradish for Daddy. I got some breakfast food for myself too though. This is at Wal-Mart, not the cleaners. I also saw Dr. Searle at Wal-Mart. That was pretty cool. I'm hungry and really Jonesing for some pizza now. Unfortunately... it's probably a little late to start on such an endeavor.

Caution: Potentially Graphic Post. Viewer Discretion is Advised

Hi! So yeah I had a good time last night. I had the craps at Fazolis though. Rach and I were in adjoining stalls, making all sorts of obscene noises. Then she was talking to me and laughing in the bathroom. Strange situations, folks.

Okay, so I felt better after that. Until about midnight or so when I awoke from a short nap (actually I went to bed maybe at 10:00 or 11:00 and I was just waking up) and I felt terrible. I tried to ignore the red flags (stomachache, heartburn, feelings of general indigestion) and went back to sleep. I was very tired, so this was not hard to do. However, when I awoke again at 4:30, things were different. I could not just ignore the salty taste in my mouth and knew i had to get to the bathroom. FAST. So I did, and I flushed the toilet to make sure it was good and clean, but while I was waiting for it to flush... yep. Barfed in the sink. Repeatedly. I don't think my throat has ever been this sore before. It was terrible. I'm guessing either I got lactose poisioning from OD-ing on cheese at Fazoli's past 3:00 PM (because I'm moderately lactose intolerent, just in case ya'll cared) or perhaps someone slipped some sort of mind-altering substance into the creamer at Rural King when I went for my free popcorn and coffee yesterday. Who knows. All I know is it made me horribly sick.

My throat was swollen for a good part of the day too. I felt like I had something stuck in my neck like all morning and kept gagging when I tried to cough it up because I realized I was trying to cough up the inside of my throat. And it wasn't wanting to come up.

I stayed home from church today, just in case you couldn't figure that out. I was not feeling well at all.

So I spent the morning/early afternoon trying remedies. My throat still hurts, but the swelling has gone down. In fact, I don't think my throat is swollen at all anymore. I also tried typing my Faulkner paper that might be due on Tuesday, but the prof says he'll accept the papers anytime. Yeah. That's the one. So I did more research and I am one page away from finishing a rough draft. I talked to Rach while I was doing research. Rather, I should say I listened to Rach and occasionally had a chance to answer one or two of her questions about Kris. Yeah, she likes Kris now. And she doesn't even know him.

Speaking of Kris... I watched all I could stand of his movie Return of the Living Dead Part II. He warned my that it would be stupid. Oh yes. It was stupid. He said if I liked corny, campy old horror movies from the 80s I'd like it. First off, I had to look up campy in the dictionary. I think the movie fits the definition. Cheesy to the point of being funny. Or something along those lines. I figured out from the context clues that I wouldn't like the movie though. But I took yet another one for the team and tried to watch it. I told Dad that I couldn't give up on the movie until the corpses actually started getting out of the graves, so I fast forwarded to that part. And then I rewound the tape and turned it off.

Now, I know I haven't been speaking of Faulkner for probably about 20 miles now, but I'm still going to refer back to it. Speaking of William Faulkner, I got another idea on grad school. Like my buddy Barry, I had a "well duh" moment regarding grad school today. I love Faulkner, and I love the South, so why not apply to Ole Miss? And here's the funny thing: Barry's "well duh" moment was when he realized he should have applied there too. He's actually going into Faulkner for his MA thesis right now and I assume he wants to specialize in Faulkner for his PhD. I checked out tuition and it's not too much, surprisingly. I don't know how much housing and other fees are though. Also, I don't know if they offer assistantships or anything like that down there. I need to do some more research into the school. I just remembered that Dad always kind of wanted me to go there when I was younger though. And miraculously, he didn't immediately veto the idea when I suggested it. He just mentioned that I should look into assistantships and financial aid and stuff. It's about 7 hours from here, whereas Iowa is between 4.5 and 5. Really, not too far. I'm pretty excited thinking about it anyway.

I CARE

Hey everyone... I will warn you I've had a long day (very fun though) I really didn't play any April Fool's jokes, except one stupid one on Rachel, and I doubt she really fell for it. I really haven't done April Fool's in a long time, because it's mean. APRIL FOOL'S!!! It's not so much because it's mean, but more because I don't want people to think I'm a creep (and also if I play tricks on ppl, why would they have any reason to believe ANYTHING I happen to say on April 1st?) Also, I figure the results are better to fool someone on any day BUT April 1st. I mean, most people have their guard up on April 1 because they're expecting creeps like me to come up with something mean and/or ridiculous on this day. Sorry, folks.

I'm pretty sure I just want to be friends with Kris. He's a great guy, seriously, but not my type of guy. I love being friends with him and I really care about him a lot, though. This decision took a lot of time, a lot of prayer, and a lot of talking with people. Thanks to everyone for their patience with me in this matter.

Thanks again to Rach, Sarah, and Brandy for taking me out tonight. I seriously had a great time. I gotta get going on this paper for Tuesday though. It's kind of sad that I have such a big paper to do, and that I don't have much time to do it. I mean, I've had plenty of time to work on it, but I've been putting it off. It's totally my fault that I'm in this situation.

I also had fun at TheLuckyOne's house today. I like her friends, and the new phone is cool too. Well, once again to all, don't forget to change the old clockeroos tonight. It's 11:30 or so by daylight savings time, so I better get going.