hang up and pee

okay, kinda random title, i know. but i couldn't think of anything more appropriate for what i'm about to say.

its really amazing how much we're tied to our cell phones these days. i mean, we'll be having a great conversation over dinner with some friends, but as soon as the chimes go off and the cell phone starts buzzing its way across the table, we immediately drop our conversation to pick it up. this happens all the time...and i myself am most guilty of all.

i am, however, not guilty of talking on the phone while going to the bathroom. i want to start a new national campaign, that splinters off the "hang up and drive" slogan. i can't make an honest guess of how many times i've been in a bathroom when some girl walks in chatting on her cell phone and continues her conversation as she enters the stall, flushes, and leaves. come on now. is the conversation really that engaging that you can't say the simple, "hey, can i call you back in a minute?" its great that you're all open about yourself and all, but please, for the sake of those on the other line (or those appalled in the bathroom), spare them from your private business. i mean, i'm sure they'll prolly feel awkward after they hear a loud flush...that kinda gives it away.

i want to give out a giant "thank you!" to all of my friends who have been courteous enough to hang up and pee. it is greatly appreciated.

sleep late, dream more

i'm deciding to heed these words of advice that were inscribed onto a piece of tinfoil. dove chocolates has these fortune cookie type sayings on each of their wrappers...and i typically ignore them. i mean, who really wants to bathe in chocolate? thats just gross. but sleeping late and dreaming more, now i can finally apply that to myself.

of course, if you know me, sleeping late is an oppourtunity that does not present itself to me very often. i knock all of my classes out before noon...for the most part. as a result, i am up and out of bed by 7 or 8 am every school day. but tomorrow, i have fortunately been blessed with the gift of sleep. my drawing professor decided to cancel class, since he already used subs all last week and will be gone again tomorrow. finally. since this is a three hour class, that means i really don't have any reason to get out of bed until 11. holy cow. i don't think i could possibly sleep that late...but the sound of it is so wonderful...i'm already feeling rested.

as for dreaming, i register for classes tomorrow. i don't even know what classes i'm taking. so, i'm hoping God will may be reveal something to me in regards to what i should take. it would also be nice if He revealed to me what i should do with the rest of my life...but lets not push it. i really wish i had a career goal. goals, i can reach. i'm really good at going after things. but wandering aimlessly in search of something, not so good. all i know i want to do is something creative...and creativity is quite broad. so, hopefully in my extra three hours of sleep, i'll dream about my future...because its quickly galloping toward reality.

speaking of dreams, they're quite strange. for the past few nights, random people who i haven't seen in forever are popping up in my dreams. they're static characters, but still, they're there. and then, theres those people that you know is someone, but looks nothing like them. or you're somewhere where you call your house, but it is nowhere you've been before. or something morphs from one thing to another....like a dog becomes a horse, and then a talking parrot...yet its still the same thing. maybe i'm not making sense, but you'd have to agree, dreams are so random sometimes.

some people believe that all dreams have some kind of meaning. it makes me laugh every time i think about it because of what my old youth pastor once said. this topic came up and he said "i dreamed about babies surfing in my closet...you can't convince me that means anything." maybe its one of those things where you had to be there or the way he said it. but i'd have to agree...some things are just too random to have any meaning.

disappearance of the gimp

i'm definately slacking on the whole posting thing this week. well, this week is off to a pretty good start...although yesterday was a bit stressful.

i hate to admit it, but my mother in me definately came out yesterday. anna has broken her foot and has to deal with all the troubles of getting around a huge campus as a gimp. we met at 0house for breakfast yesterday, since it is closer to her dorm than our usual snelling run. anyway, she called the handicap van to pick her up. they arrived, but left before she got out the door. so i ran around inside trying to find the phone number for the service to tell them to get their butts back over and pick the poor girl up. after it got straightened out, i headed to geology...and that was the last i saw of anna until late that night.

mondays are dgroup with the girls. colette, anna, and i usually meet up for dinner around 6ish and then call and beg for rides. well, somehow we (notice how i take ownership in this...haha) managed to get a car again this week and don't have to beg for a ride. her parents are letting her have enrique, a crv, for the next two weeks. we're hoping colette doesn't fall to the same fate as me.

so, 5:30ish, anna gives me a call, but when i pick up, she doesn't answer. call her right back, no answer. so i leave a message. anyway, so it came time for dinner and colette calls up saying i'll have to drive, since a test decided to randomly pop up on the schedule for wednesday in her religion class and she wouldn't be able to make it. call up anna, still no answer. now, if she can't go, she usually calls up and lets me know if she has too much homework or whatever. but her cell phone was going straight to voicemail and when i called her dorm, she didn't pick up either. around 6:30 i really start getting worried because neither colette or i know where she is. colette was the last to talk to her, just before she had given the strange call to me, but she was planning on going. every person i call to ask, i get their voicemail. fifteen minutes later, i have convinced myself that anna is knocked unconscious in her room after falling and lying there bleeding to death. i have my mom to thank for that insight...picturing the worst.

at 7, i'm getting pretty frantic and decide to call her mom to see if she knew if anna had to go to the health center or something. she had no idea. i was just about to try to sneak into her dorm to check on her but called anna's dorm first. her roommate picked up. no anna, crutches, or keys...although the dorm was left unlocked when she had returned. maybe she was in a hurry? so obviously, things aren't going well for me emotionally. one last time, i call colette up, who suddenly remembers that anna might have a chorus rehusal that night. well crap. that explains everything...way to get me all worked up. her boyfriend later calls me back and confirms this.

so there you have it...i got worried sick over my best friend's disappearance. man, she needs to tell me when and where shes going places. haha.

happy and crappy xix

i'll preface this week with one word: crappy. it was not a good week at all.

this week's happy...yay for:

• warm weather
• laying out on the quad
• the incredibles
• frisbee
• being home for easter!
• my salvation in christ alone
• getting to see old friends

this week's crappy...nay for:

• throwing up
• having no time to work out
• trying to write a paper in two days
• having three tests to study for the week after i get back
• not seeing that i parked on a yellow curb
• getting towed
• having to admit that i got my car towed
• having to dish out $100 to get my car back
• taking forever to find the tow place when it was really close
• mapsquest
• bruises
• broken bones
• blisters that open up on your entire heel
• falling backwards out of chairs
• driving back home by myself
• rainy sundays
• laundry
• not being able to get groceries to bring back to school
• not knowing how i'm getting back to school

obliviously parking in a tow away zone...except the yellow wasn't that bright.

towed to nowhere

for those of you who have heard the rumor, its true. i seem to always be the one with the bad luck....even though i don't believe in luck.

yesterday, march 23, at 9:23 am as i was sitting in geology class trying to stay awake, a police officer was writing me a ticket. the reason? yellow curb. not only was he writing me a ticket, but he decided to have it towed. so, just before i was about to turn in my paper on hamlet's madness yesterday, my civic was being dragged to sit in some lot with abused and unloved cars. i, for one, love my car and i don't abuse it...and i don't break the rules...except for the occasional 10 mph over the speed limit. and if this police officer, who made my stressful week even worse, knew what i'm about to tell you, i'm sure he would be understanding enough to rip up my ticket and excuse me for my sin of parking on a yellow curb.

so, if you read my last post, you'd know that monday night was rather hectic. not only was anna not able to hold down whatever was left in her stomach after throwing up so many times already (and pulling over to allow her to puke), but it was raining...and dark. since i don't usually have a car (and guaranteed never will again after this), i decided that i'd park where all the other people park who don't have a permit. considering its on the edge of campus, i don't go on it too often. i'm not really aware of the do's and don'ts. so, after frantically driving anna around and dropping her off at colette's, i was in a hurry to get back to my room to finish my english paper. this is quite a long road and there were no spots available except for at the very very end. the rain was pouring down. so, when i got to the spot, i pulled right up behind the last car, hopped out, and never looked back. this may sound like another lame excuse, but there was also a sketchy man walking by at the time...which is another reason i was in a hurry. who walks in the rain?

so, overlooking the drama that was going on my life, lets review. why didn't i see the yellow curb? one. there is almost no source of light anywhere near that spot. two. it was raining and when i was parking...i was paying more attention to making sure the car infront would have enough room to get out. three. when i exited the car, i got out on the left side...and the curb is on the right. four. the sign that had the red circle with a slash through it over the "p" with "tow away zone" written below it is on a post about eight feet tall, covered by brush, and about the size of an index card.

and no, its not over yet. i haven't explained how this tragedy was discovered. since we're always in a crunch for a ride to RUF, i volunteered to drive colette and anna. when i went to the car to get it before dinner, it was not there. all i could think to do was hit the panic button...but no annoying honking or screetching sounded from a little green civic. panic panic panic. and then i saw it...that weathered, chipping away, mustard yellow paint on the curb. right where i remembered parking. crappit crappit....crappit. went back to the room, called parking services, who forwarded me to the police, who gave me the number of the towing company they use. called them...and yup, they were holding my civic hostage for a bounty of $85 stinking dollars. cash. thats a little sketch. if i wanted to pick it up then, at 8 pm, it would be an additional $35. heck no, i think $85 is enough, thank you. i was too upset, needless to say, to hold a decent conversation with the woman on the other line. i didn't even have a clue where this place was.

i googled the phone number and got an address, which automatically linked me to mapsquest. i didn't know it then, but i hate mapsquest. i've known they're notorious for giving extra long directions, but never believed it. oh hold up. i forgot to mention what road this place is on...nowhere road. now come on. i thought it was a joke at first. but turned out to actually be on the map. go figure.

since she only accepted cash, i tried to go to the atm. couldn't get my pin number right, so called up my parents, told them the news, and asked if my dad could relay it to me. occupied with other maters, he said i'd have to wait. well, called up the lady again to make sure that it wouldn't be more than what she said it was (since they might charge by day). turns out, they accept credit cards too. thanks for the confusion.

so, today megan and i set off on our venture to find the land of nowhere. the directions pretty much went like this: go from civilization to nowhere road. turn a slight left to nowhere road. follow nowhere road. nowhere road turns into nowhere road. make a right to stay on nowhere road. nowhere road disappears to leave you in the middle of nowhere. you think i'm joking...but only a little. honestly. anyway, the scenery was pretty much the same. a cow field on the right, some trailers on the left, a green field for a few miles, more cows, maybe even some goats. a long lush green field. some run down trailers in the woods. yup, the road pretty much nailed it head on.

since we were lost in the middle of nowhere, we stoped at a gas station. in the gas station were three girls with jackets with this official looking ffa seal and "georgia, stephens county" circling around it. they were on their way to some sort of competition, and the clerk checking them out (i mean literally) was quizzing them "how much is one and a half hogs times a hundred and five per pound worth if..." honestly, i didn't understand the question. but i found it quite humorous. the man didn't help, though. he actually pointed us in the completely wrong direction. so, going the wrong way to nowhere, we ended up at another gas station. we pulled up to these three old men in their overalls and trucker hats pulling about fifteen fish all hooked together like a bunch of banannas out of the bed of an old truck. i went to the clerk in the store, who argued with a man over which way nowhere was. i'd say we were about right in the middle of it. he directed me to one of the big scruffly men outside gazing at them fish. politely, i asked him. he confessed no one really knew where it was they lived out there...and they don't really know the names. but he suggested we go back the other way. so we did. i can now better relate to the israelites and their 40 years of wandering in the desert to get to the promised land. somehow we managed to finally get there after about an hour of searching, we finally pulled into the parking lot of the towing place.

proved that it was my car with all the insurance info, paid the $85 fee, and was on my way. oh, she almost forgot. here is my additional $15 ticket from the police. the cherry on top. the lady told us that we were actually only 7 minutes for campus. you're joking. nope. just follow that road and you'll be out of the middle of nowhere fast. so, we took her advice...about a mile from the towing place we pass our fatal turn that went from civilization to nowhere road. she was right...it was really only a seven minute drive to campus. and to think we went all the way to the middle of nowhere to get there. mapsquest is awful.

welcome back...heres your work

a great welcome back i get from spring break. a major paper and three tests within three days of eachother. of course, i'm not so much of a nerd (although i'll admit that i kinda am) that i'll go to the extent of studying or writing a paper two weeks beforehand, and Lord knows i'm not about to break out the books or theorize about hamlet's unsuccessful use of madness over a nine day, no wait, eight day break from school. that leaves me with only one option: buckle down and cram everything into two days. well, lets be realistic here. after eight days of freedom, i'm not much of one to dive right back into student mode.

even so, my lack of motivation doesn't mean that a total of 80% of grades in all my classes are about to go down on the records. so, i've spent the past two days painfully writing my crappy paper...haven't even gotten to studying yet. just gotta hold on for seven more weeks.

well, turns out is a good thing i had a car this week. at discipleship anna ended up getting a migrane that was so bad that she got stomach sick...if ya know what i mean. anyway, i had to drive her to her dorm so she could grab some stuff to spend the night at colette's, making a few stops on the side of the road. colettie took good care of her and anna spent the night in a quiet, dark room in a big bed. so yay for having a car this week! i've got to return it this weekend, though when i go home for easter.

okay, enough of this. i'm wasting time.

spring break '05...trip to the beach

i'm not a slacker. well, yes i am. i should be writing my english paper. i need to be writing my english paper. but right now, i'm not feeling the whole madness of hamlet right now. i'm not a slacker on the picture thing. i said i'd post everything yesterday, and i tried. the problem is the program i use to post pictures was acting retarded. so i just started over today. anyway, they're posted now, so i'll narrate the events of spring break at boynton beach.

so we pulled up and parked in exactly nine hours and 55 minues, including stops and everything, when it should have taken us like 11 or so. it was just me, amy, and courtney who went down sunday, so we just hung out because we were exhausted from the long drive. its weird how travelling makes you so tired. to save money, we bought food at publix and cooked ourselves dinner while we played a card game that courtney taught us called torture. oooo. facinating, i know. it was really fun, though. i had some beginner's luck and won the first two games we played.

anyway, we went to bed early and slept in. around 11 we headed for the sand and water, making sure we were thouroughly lathered so our pasty skin wouldn't fry the first day. we had to pay $10 to park, which is ridiculous. i'm so used to not having to pay for beach access. guess i've been spoiled on the outerbanks of north carolina. anyway, we had a fabulously warm and sunshiney day...and despite our earlier attempt to keep ourselves from burning, courtney and i both did. prolly because i didn't reapply. figures. i wasn't as bad as courtney, though. when we left, we both looked a little pink. well, after showers, pink turned to lobster red. i just got burned a little on my back and chest....courtney might as well have been wearing a lobster outfit...she couldn't have been any redder. she did have a nice, clearly defined handprint on her left shoulder. amy applied the sunscreen and somehow didn't rub it in enough there. it was quite funny. the three of us went out to olive garden that night for dinner...all the salad and breadsticks you could want. its just a scheme to get you filled up before your pricey meal comes. still, all the same, the food was wonderful.

we got to a late start on tuesday. the other three girls, courtney (another one), susan, and shelby arrived around noon. other courtney was so burned that she had to stay home. we tried to throw out another $10, but the lot was already full by 1 pm. so we drove a few miles to another beach...and it was free. man, too bad we didn't do that before. anyway, we had yet another gorgeous day and the waves were a bit bigger, so that was more fun. amy and i threw the frisbee and football around and fun stuff like that. there was a helicopter circling above us all the time in the late afternoon. it was kinda annoying. after swimming and laying out and doing all the beachy stuff, we packed up our stuff and left. as we were walking off the beach, i heard the lifeguard saying something like "yea, and they were out there swimming." i knew he was talking about us, so i asked "what was that?" his reply sounded sarcastic..."sharks." great, haha, very funny. there was a green flag flying, implying that it was safe to swim. well, turns out that when we got home, the news was taling about the hundreds of sharks seen from the beach right down from us, migrating north (in our direction) and amy and i were out there swimming all day. holy crap. i almost died. thanks for flying those trusty green flags over the beach all day. thats just fantastic. well, good thing we left the beach with all of our limbs, and needless to say, i wasn't too happy about it. we ate in again that night and played torture until 2 am. i ended up losing at the very end because i was stuck on the final round for five rounds and was knocked from first to almost last place.

we all headed for the beach again on wednesday and went to another free park, it was lovely, except for the intense wind that hurt really bad if you stepped onto the beach. at first we tried to stay by the water, but the water was really rough and we couldn't go in. by the time we decided to leave, our towels and blankets were buried in the sand. on the way back we had a van full of mexicans pull up next to us...of course, we were all in our bathing suits. very awkward because they all had these disgusting grins on their faces. gross. anyway, we went to the pool since the beach was so bad. played some marco polo. yes. we are all adults. went to ribs that night, but it took forever to get seated, which put us all in a bad mood.

thursday was no good at all. for one, it was my last day. to make things worse, it was raining. of course, the beach was not an option. we walked around the mall and had some fun trying on hats and prom dresses and window shopping. i refrained from buying anything, so be proud. on the way out some random guy in a black sweatshirt and a skull on it opened up his arms like we were going to hug him. ummm....no. don't think i'm gonna hug a stranger in a scary sweatshirt. he made some kind of offended noise when we brushed by him, but hello, you're weird. guys, thats no way to pick up girls. amy, courtney and i left the mall early to eat some seafood before taking me to the airport because none of the other girls liked it. we ate at a cute little place right on the water and a terrential downpour broke out. the heavy rains and bad weather made the 20 mile drive to the airport take about an hour and fourty minutes. my flight was at 7 and i got there at 6:45. turns out that my flight was delayed until 9:45. great. three hours to sit. turns out the earlier flights had been pushed back as well and i sat through them. oh well.

so thats a summary of the trip to the beach. it may not seem too eventful, but we had a blast! check out the pictures below from the trip. okay, i seriously need to get some work done.

crazy excited to finally be at the beach!! wait wait wait. isn't this pose very deja vu-ish?

this is from back in october for the ga vs. fl game...i guess the smell of salt and sound of crashing waves inspires this pose...

me and amy at the beach and ready to get some sun!

courtney and me

sand covered tootsies

thats a handprint on courtney's shoulder...amy's handprint to be exact.

courtney is just as red as amy's shirt!

go long! i promise i don't really throw like that...

amy and me at the beach tuesday

listening to the ipod while making the best of the fading sunlight

amy and courtney....windy day at the beach.

shelby, susan, and courtney being attacked by sand wednesday (you can't really tell, but its true)

the george washington hairdo...

amy blowing bubbles

at the pool soaking up some rays

this year's prom fashion by yours truly and company

very stylish, don't you think?

happy and crappy xviii

its a great tragedy. i missed my last week's happy and crappy update. i'm gonna pretend that i didn't, and just skip on over that number and continue onward with this week's. i'm giving y'all a fair warning now, i'm gonna have like a bagillion posts today because, well, i'm a bum and don't feel like writing my english paper or studying. surprise. plus i have tons of things i want to talk about. one at a time, though. okay, lets get on with it.

this week's happy...yay for:

• SPRING BREAKS!!!
• visits to old friends
• shopping
• sleepovers
• ipods and their long battery lifespan
• fun road trips
• card games
• staying up late and sleeping in
• warm weather
• beaches
• clear blue waters
• suntans
• bathing suits
• a week eating outside the four walls of the dining halls
• new friends
• sleeping in my own bed
• swing dancing
• learning something new
• chick-fil-a
• being encouraged in my faith
• the unexpected

this week's crappy...nay for:

• the price of gas
• sunburns
• rainy days at the beach
• sandstorms
• sharks
• having to leave the beach early
• long waits at restaurants
• losing jewelery to the jaws of the sink drain
• flight delays
• field trips over spring break
• nazi geology professors
• coming back just to have work to do
• english papers
• tests to study for
• hamlet
• not seeing my best friends in a week

spring break '05...the second weekend

what happened to the five days in between, you ask? well, not that it wasn't fabdabulously awesome, i just don't have the pictures right now to post and i prefer to post pictures with the appropriate update. instead, i'm putting the bulk of the break (that is, my beach trip with my friend amy, aka my roommate for next year, and four other girls) on hold so i can talk about the surprisingly awesome weekend i've had.

so, you don't know this yet, but i was sitting in the ft. lauderdale airport thursday night waiting for my 9:45 flight (which was supposed to take off at 7 pm, but bad weather caused delays. turns out, i sat throught the 5 and 6 o'clock flights which were delayed as well, cuz i didn't know they existed, but thats another story) because i had to get back to my athens home early for a stupid geology field trip. i don't know what genius decided to put it on the last saturday of spring break, but ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on. got home at 1 am, which isn't an important detail, but i included it anyway. early the next morning (approximately 10 am) i rolled out of bed and began packing all my junk up to head back to school. as you know, i was having all this drama trying to figure out how i would get back, where i would stay, and all that jazz. my parents decided it would be best if i just drove up myself (which is amazing, because we don't get to take any cars with us when we go to school). so, after waiting for a new car battery and new set of wheels, i headed off into thick downtown rush hour traffic. finally got to tech to hang out with becca before our eventful evening.

becca, david, and i walked to moe's (where moe's knows burritoes) for a quick meal. we visited the track really quick, where our old high school teams were competing in a meet. none of my girls were there, though the guys were, but what fun are they? anyway, we finally got to the swing dance a little late. tech has these swing dances like once a month or something. we learned a few moves and then the live band played as we dipped and twirled. some interesting characters were there, let me tell ya. it was a blast, though! it really made me want to be good at swing dancing. perhaps i'll take some lessons or something. anyone want to join?

after jump jiving for a few hours, we headed back to becca's dorm. it was midnight and i realized i had reading and crap to do before the feild trip the next day. crappit. so i stayed up til 1 am doing that and then had problems trying to fall asleep cuz they were watching the first episode ever of alias, which is like the best show ever. four hours later, i was up and about getting ready to make the drive back to athens. okay, because i'm cheap and don't want to pay for parking, i borrowed one of becca's friend's parking passes and parked behind the police station on the other stinking side of campus. its prolly like a 15-20 minute walk. i felt like i was running behind and might not make it to the trip on time (bus was leaving at 7:45 am sharp), so i decided to run...thats right, run, to the other side of campus in the dark at way too early in the morning. got in my car at 6:28 am. mapsquest had it calculated to take and hour and 15 minutes. oh man. no time to spare.

so i made my way through campus with foggy windows because, of course, the defroster doesn't want to work. i drove like a speed demon (about 80-85 mph) the whole way. thank God theres no traffic in the morning. my stomach was begging me to stop for breakfast, but there was no way i would let that one stop cause me to miss the trip that i had left the beach early from, sat for hours in an airport, and go through all this trouble to get up in the morning for. no, i was determined to get there. by some miracle of God, i got there at 7:40 am. only took an hour and ten minutes with five minutes to spare. just enough time to let me change my shoes and grab the stuff i needed.

i knew no one who was going on this trip and was kinda bummed that i'd be missing out on spring break fun. but i know that after all those close calls and everything working out perfectly, i was supposed to be there. i boarded the bus and was handed a thick packet...my school work for the day. just what i wanted. okay, the guy leading this trip was seriously a geology nazi. he got on the bus intercom and told us that there would be absolutely no use of cell phones for the twelve hours we woule be on this trip. he did not want to see one...or else. i don't know what he would have done, but it was enough to put the fear in me. furthermore, he went on this lecture about how we will be going nonstop and that geology must be focused on all day. i don't think i can convey his message the right way, but believe me, he was intense. we had to write down the direction we were going, all the turns we made, and note the roads we were travelling. there were about a gazillion questions that were impossible to answer and we could barely hear him.

we visited three quarries, two rivers, and made a few other stops along the way. some things were kinda interesing...the size of one quarry was simply amazing. we even went to a gravestone factory type place where they polish the granite and what not and carve them...it was pretty interesting. i know know why rocks have veins in them and why we have red clay in georgia. the nazi man enjoyed shoving rocks in our faces insisting that we look closely at them. we were supposed to get down on our hands and knees to make sure we could get a good look. he even made one girl crawl on all fours all over this one bedrock. it was kinda funny. anyway, as i said, i didn't know anyone going on the trip, but when i got on the bus i sat down next to a random girl. we started talking and got to know eachother and ended up hanging out the whole trip. its really cool how God works in ways you don't expect. i didn't expect to get much out of the trip, but i ended up making a new christian friend and it was really encouraging.

hours later, we finally arrived back on campus. neither one of us had any plans for dinner, so we decided to meet up at chick-fil-a. we ran into one of jennifer's guy friends who had just sat down to eat. we all sat and talked for about two hours in chick-fil-a. steve was planning to head over to borders to do his devotional for the day, so jennifer and i tagged along and found some books to read. i didn't really know where i was going to stay for the night, since the dorms were closed. jennifer was staying in one of her friend's apartments, so she said there was prolly room for me. that was a blessing because it was on campus and i could get back to my dorm right after it opened to grab some dress clothes for church in the morning. we read for a little bit in borders and went over to kroger to get some groceries and a half gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream! i was getting tired, since i only had gotten four hours of sleep the night before, so we headed over to jennifer's friend's apartment, which is in the same building as my best friend colette. we stayed up and chatted for a while. turns out that shes from my hometown, only a year ahead of me, and is already publishing a book targeted towards teenage girls and the struggles of image and how our veiw of it should be from a christian perspective. i was so encouraged yesterday by their faith and willingness to serve the Lord and see the impact their faith has on the decisions they make. it was really amazing.

there is a reason for everything. even when i think its me making a decision, God has a bigger plan for me. i thought i was just going on this silly trip to get five points added to my average. but God knew that He was gonna take that day and remind me how amazing He is.

spring break '05...the first weekend

wow. its been a whole week since my last update. i've been on spring break...and it is sadly coming to an end. i have to get up way way too early tomorrow morning so that i can drive back up to school by 7:45 am to go on the geology field trip. yippy. i'm sure it will be, oh, so fun. i'm being sarcastic, if you can't tell. but oh well, i'll get my extra credit and have one less class to stress about come finals time.

so, now onto the fun stuff... spring break! saturday morning anna and i drove up to tech to pick becca up and then we headed over to the mall. did some shopping, bought some stylish sunglasses (since anna insisted that my old ones should only be worn on the boat...in other words, i shouldn't be seen in public with them. thanks) and two cutesy tanks to go with one of my skirts. not that you would really care. afterwards, we drove the three minutes from the mall to visit jon and marla (my old youth pastor and his wife)...the whole reason we were there in the first place. mary hannah (their almost two year old daughter) has gotten to be so big since the last time i saw her. back in june, right after graduation, she had just started standing. now, shes running all over the house and the yard rambling mostly incoherent words. but still, thats quite a change from the mary hannah i last met. we chatted and caught up with each other and had a good time being entertained by mary hannah. her favorite word seemed to be "yuck!" it made me laugh. marla is pregnant again...they find out in a few weeks if they're having a boy or a girl! it was good to see them...hopefully we'll get back up there before the end of the summer.

i had to get back home asap to pack really quick and get back up to atlanta, where amy would pick me up and take me to her house so we wouldn't have to go through all the chaos in the morning of trying to meet up. when amy and i walked in, her mom was all scared because she had gone down into the basement to get something and later went back down and saw that a door was shut that she didn't remember shutting before. we made rusty (their friendly dog that would prolly lick and try to play with a burglar rather than attack him) go down ahead of us and we followed...amy with her cell phone in hand. i'm sure if there was a bat lying around, we would have had that as well. after checking all the doors and dark corners, we called olli olli oxen free (that’s my spelling of "all's clear" in hide and seek terms) and made our way upstairs. early to bed and early to rise...slept about seven hours because we had to get up at 6 am to make sure we were out the door by 7 am.

we were actually on the road by 6:50 am...ten minutes ahead of schedule. and so began the longest car ride i've ever been on. it only takes about 8 hours to get to our hotel in nc to meet up with my aunt, uncle, and cousins on our way to the beach. mapsquest had the trip guestimation at 10 hours and 30 minutes. pretty rough. and i thought a nine hour flight was bad. anyway, time went by faster than i thought it would. i broke out the ipod and played the trip dj the whole drive down. i'm really impressed that it lasted the whole way! the ride was pretty uneventful, which is a good thing. there was this one van with maybe three college guys in it, "florida or bust, spring break '05" painted onto their back window. they provided some entertainment. we played leap frog with them for about an hour or so, then we pulled off to get some gas. it was so memorable because the guy in the passenger seat had his face and hands pressed against the window like he was saying "nooooooooo!" haha. it wasn't too great of a stop for gas. it was like an ant farm of harley riders. they were crawling all over the place. leather, long hair, heavy set, bandanna on their heads...typical motorcyclists. there must have been some kind of convention or something going on down there, cuz we passed hundreds on the way down. anyway, we got back on the road and hopped a few more exits down to get gas at a place that looked a little more safe. amy did such a good job driving...what was supposed to take us 10 hours and 30 minutes on the road only took us 9 hours and 55 minutes, from start to finish, including all stops. quite an accomplishment. so that was the trip down to florida.

i'll have to write about the actual week later. i'm off to tech as soon as the car battery is replaced and the tires. we'll be swing dancing until midnight and then off to bed so i can get up early for my morning drive.

thats garbage

of course, since its spring break, we're all being kicked out of our dorms. not that we'd want to stay or anything over our nine days without any academic obligations, (unless all of your classes decided to hold their tests and papers until the week after the break...like mine) but sometimes you forget things and such. or need to come back early for geology field trips...

my point is, they make it a point for everyone to make sure the windows are latched, the blinds are shut, everything is unplugged, trash is emptied...trash is emptied? yea, that sounds like a reasonable thing to do. when i was packing last night and looked over to see our trashcan virtually overflowing (much like my laundry the other day), i decided that i could take care of it right then and not have to deal with it today. so i got everything together and went to the trash chute on my floor, just around the corner. when i get there, its locked. a sign says "trash chute will be closed monday, tuesday, and wednesday." what what? okay, thats pretty silly...but its thursday.

no big deal. i've just got all this trash (in my pjs no doubt just before bed) and i have to go on an excursion to get rid of it. the chute on my floor is closed, eh? i'll beat the system and go downstairs one floor...so i can put it directly into the dumpster. alas, i get there and it says "this door will be locked until further notice." what? okay, it was bad the first time. this is even worse. this is a guy's floor i'm on now, in my pjs, carrying around stinky trash at 11:40ish at night. great. lets, just for kicks, try the 3rd floor (also a guys floor), because i am not about to bring this trash back into my room. it was a futile attempt to rid myself of this garbage. well, darn it. i wasn't going to give up that easily. no, i didn't try the 4th (and final) floor...i simply went to the kitchen and dumped all my trash in there. ha.

you see, i think they're trying to prevent you from throwing your trash away because if they check your room and you haven't done everything on the checklist, you get fined. trying to lock us out of the trash rooms to make a few bucks. those cheapskates.

well, now that the trash problem has been resolved, i'm trying to get my things together for my departure this afternoon. i've tried to make room for some winter clothes so i can get them out of my room and make room for warm clothes! i love warm weather! my break is going to be quite hectic, trying to figure out if i can visit jon and marla, when i'm leaving, when i'm coming back, how i'm getting back to athens, where i'm staying, and how i'm getting to the field trip. nothing is in place right now. crumbalas.

one more class til i'm home bound! yay for spring break!

my most recent project

again, i had to scan this in in sections and then piece it together in photoshop. i'm too lazy to spend more time on it than i already did...but you get the idea. i was missing a sliver between the sections on the right and i didn't feel like doing yet another scan, since i have to use megan's computer.

i'm having issues with a few things in the drawing...especially the scarf on the right. crappit. i can't get it to look right. anyway, this is due tomorrow...so hopefully i can fix what i can and be happy with it.

umbrella full of...stuff.

spring break plans?

i'm out of socks. that alone is a signal that i need to get some laundry done...which is currently piling up so high in my hamper that its beginning to take the form of the leaning tower of pisa. the problem is, i don't want to do my laundry with three days remaining before spring break. i could hold out until the weekend...but i won't have any socks and thats no good. ah, i suppose i could do it tomorrow some time.

speaking of spring break, i've finally figured out what i'm doing for spring break. well, kinda. sunday, i'm planning on heading down to mouse mouth, florida with amy and some of her high school friends. its a ten hour drive or so...but it should be fun! we're staying in her friend's grandpa's condo, so its gonna be a cheapie trip...just what i ordered. we'll hang out and get a tan for a few days and i'll prolly fly out early so i can get back to athens in time for my geology field trip...oh the joys. hey, five points tacked onto my final grade makes it all worthwhile. so thats the plan...we'll see how it works out.

i had my portfolio review today with my drawing professor. i guess it went okay overall...he's given me a b+ for now. thats kinda disappointing because i spend so much time on all that jazz. i'm hoping that eventually he'll bump me up into the "a" quality. he's planning on making my drawing that i made earlier into a slide or something...which makes me excited because that means he really likes it. and he gives me a stinking b+.

if you don't do something about it, it won't happen

have you ever noticed that whenever you decide to take action, whatever you were waiting on suddenly happens?

for instance, you're waiting in the car for someone to run in and get something in the house really quick, but of course, its taking them forever. finally, you decide "thats it" and get out and go get them. but suddenly, there they come. same thing when you decide to call someone to see how far away they are. or when your contract hasn't come in the mail yet and you finally decide to shoot the camp director an e-mail to ask them where the heck it is after "it should be there some time next week" for the third week in a row.

as usual, as soon as i send my e-mail asking what the heck is going on, i decide to go check my mail. and there in my mailbox awaits my contract from cbs. finally! it was mailed february 22. just got here today...march 7th. something has to be wrong with our mail system if it takes two weeks to get here. too bad i already sent that e-mail. oh well. if i had never sent it, it would have never come, right?

happy and crappy xvi

this week's happy...yay for:

• another "a" on an english paper!!
• thin mint cookies
• getting to bed early
• relaxing weeks
• being productive
• krush girls downtown
• gym dogs
• getting drawing almost done already
• softball games
• getting doubles every time you hit the ball
• only five days left before spring break!

this week's crappy...nay for:

• not getting my contract in the mail yet
• laundry piling up
• not knowing what i'm doing for spring break
• tyring to figure out what i'm doing with the rest of my life
• having to sit inside and draw rather than enjoying sunshine
• dented vw bugs

whats in a purse?

its mysterious. guys know its off limits. often times they wonder, "what is it that they keep in there?" well, i'll let y'all in on the secret....trash. yup. thats right. what makes up about 76.42% of our purses is pure junk. when it took me five minutes the other day to find lip balm in my 8x5x3 inch purse, i myself wondered what it was that i kept in there. well, i decided it was about time to clean it out anyway. i ventured into the never ending abyss and here are some of the few useful and mostly random items i found:

cell phone, empty altoids tin, brush (with mirror on back), mailbox key, jump drive, uga id card, 4 lip glosses, pack of gum, eight old school ids (from middle and high school), eleven mechanical pencils, four pens, one highlighter, lip balm (different than lip gloss), camera, a used up starbucks gift card, two useless atm cards, seven wrappers, four lossingers, a ticket stub from the ga vs. ga tech football game, ticket stub from a basketball game, ticket from the paris metro, a ticket stub from who knows what, a set of delta headphones (from my trip to aruba ), a pack of pretzels, two hairties, two hairclips, four stamps, 18 reciepts, a pocket calendar, checkbook, two packs of beads, nail filer, comb, 23 pictures, two expired fast food coupons, a neckalace i had thought i lost, scrapbooks and more membership card, drivers liscence, credit card, check card, flight card, insurance card, and $28.03.

so there ya have it...mystery solved.

"droopy drawers"

i didn't mention it yesterday, but boxers and thongs peeping out of someone's pants annoys me. i don't understand how people can comfortably wear their pants so low that their underwear is exposed at all times. the whole baggy pants thing with guys, i just don't see its purpose. i've had guys on my track team in high school wear their warm-ups so loose that they had to hold them up when they jogged around the track. why? its not attractive and its not efficient. every day at lunch we probably observe at least three girls who have their thong riding up out of their pants because their jeans are so low. and they're always some kind of vanity panties that spell out "foxy" or "sexy" or something rather in jewels. obviously, the underwear companies intend for them to stick out... i can't believe girls are actually willing to buy underwear that is meant to do so. underwear is meant to be worn under clothes... i guess people have lost sight of that concept.

its about some time legislators took action on the "droopy drawers" problem.

its kinda odd that they're trying to fine people who expose their underwear...that just seems weird. but i'm glad to see that someone is trying to discourage it. its quite a stretch on the underwear companies part to claim that exposed undies is a form of "freedom of speech"... i doubt the founders had this in mind when they were writing the constitution.... it was provocative to expose one's ankles in that age. but crumbalas, $100 worth of free underwear from the companies if you get fined for exposing your undergarments...we might be seeing more underwear than ever...

what annoys me...

i am annoyed by people who do not pull all the way up to the white line at stop lights.
i am annoyed by people who only buy one type of car.
i am annoyed by people that walk fast.
i am annoyed with the entire sport of skateboarding.
i am annoyed by bands that think screaming is singing.
i am not annoyed by people who put the icthus fish on their car... i am, however, annoyed by people who put the icthus with legs eating the icthus, and then the people who put a bigger icthus who is eating the icthus with legs that is eating the small icthus.
i am annoyed with people who put permanent presidential bumper stickers on their car.
i am annoyed that people threaten to move to canada and don't.
i am annoyed by old people anywhere where speed matters.
i am annoyed with the substitution of "christmas" with "x-mas".
i am annoyed at the number of coffee shops and drugstores now-a-days.
i am annoyed when people beep their car horns at you when you're running.
i am annoyed by couples who sit beside each other in restaurants, instead of across.
i am annoyed by people who wear rings on all of their fingers.
i am annoyed with the rampant use of blonde jokes.
i am annoyed by people who smoke, especially in my face.
i am annoyed by people who use big words.
i am annoyed by people who don't enjoy made up words.
i am annoyed by people with tattoo crosses who are in gangs, i am also annoyed by tattoos and gangs in general.
i am annoyed by car commercials that yell.
i am annoyed when people actually listen to radio commercials.
i am annoyed by people who try to compensate awkward silences with pointless remarks.
i am annoyed by people who pretend to have southern accents.
i am annoyed with snow that doesn't stick.
i am annoyed when you do some kind of silly thing with your hands or voice when you're telling a story and the person asks you to do it again with the intent of making you feel embarrassed. i'm further annoyed when you do it again to spite them, yet they are not satisfied and ask you to do it over and over again until you finally decide to stop.
i am annoyed by people who need to be tan before spring break.
i am annoyed by people who correct your grammar when you're talking.
i am annoyed by people who prefer snowskiing over waterskiing.
i am annoyed by professors who expect you to read the textbook and enjoy it...three times over.
i am annoyed by people who don't know basic geography.
i am annoyed when dryers don't dry.
i am annoyed when shoes make a squeaky noise every time someone takes a step.
i am annoyed when a car decides to set their cruise control at the same speed as yours and drive along right next to you when on the interstate.
lastly, i'm annoyed when people read my blog and never leave comments. i know you people are out there...how about some feedback every once in awhile? what annoys you? theres a wonderful anonymous feature, if you feel led to answer and wish to protect your privacy or something...

in like a lion...

yes, the age old saying held true today. march definately came "in like a lion" and i was out running around in it. we had surprise snow flurries...of course nothing sticks because we don't have that kind of luck here in georgia. i ran from class to class trying to stay warm...i hadn't expected it to be that cold today. no wonder, since the weather prediction was prolly about 10 degrees higher, partly cloudy. i made the mistake of making the fifteen minute walk to north campus for my advising appointment, rather than riding the bus.

we had our third ultimate frisbee game today. got off to a late start, so it got dark before we even finished. we continued, no doubt. it was just near impossible to see. the windy weather didn't help out much with the accuracy of throws and the muddy field wasn't great for making sudden changes of direction. anyway, we ended up winning, which is always fabulous. it seems that i can't play a game of frisbee without getting some sort of bruise or wound. i got nailed on the side of my elbow...not the pointy part, but the round bone on the inside of my arm. so now i have a nice bruise radiating from the epicenter of this bone. it will make another beautiful design, i'm sure.