The Carnival Was Ringing Loudly Now...

the decemberists -- here i dreamt i was an architect



And here I dreamt I was a soldier
And I marched the streets of Birkenau
And I recall in spring
The perfume that the air would bring
To the indolent town
Where the barkers call the moon down
The carnival was ringing loudly now
And just to lay with you
There's nothing that I wouldn't do
Save lay my rifle down

And try one, and try two
Guess it always comes down to
All right, it's okay, guess it's better to turn this way

And I am nothing of a builder
But here I dreamt I was an architect
And I built this balustrade
To keep you home, to keep you safe
From the outside world
But the angles and the corners
Even though my work is unparalleled
They never seemed to meet
This structure fell about our feet
And we were free to go

And try one, and try two
Guess it always comes down to
All right, okay, guess it's better to turn this way

And here in Spain I am a Spaniard
I will be buried with my marionettes
Countess and courtesan
Have fallen 'neath my tender hand
When their husbands were not around
But you, my soiled teenage girlfriend
And how you are furrowed like a lioness
And we are vagabonds
We travel without seatbelts on
We live this close to death

And try one, and try two
Guess it always comes down to
All right, okay, guess it's better to turn this
But I won, so you lose
Guess it always comes down to
Alright, it's okay, guess it's better to turn this way

Bittersweet Birthday...

my birthday has come and gone.  i'm officially in the 3rd decade of my life.  it feels funny to know i'm 30 because i feel so much younger.  i could pass for 25 (i think so, anyway) in the looks department.  i feel like i'm 20.  that probably has something to do with being in college, though.  anyway...so i thought perhaps my dear readers (all 3 of you!) would like to see photos of my birthday cake.  my sister baked me a giant cupcake and i ate it just like one would eat a giant cupcake...i bit right into it!  (as i'm sure any of you would!) 

i spent my birthday crying on and off.  i miss my grandma.  i miss my folks and sister.  i miss my grandpa.  my gramps called me, but he forgot how old i was...which brought tears.  neither him nor his wife knew i was turning 30 and they forgot to send my card until the day of.  (am i being a big baby...?)  i got to see my folks and sister just before christmas and saw my mom (just for a few minutes...she was busy at work) and picked up my gifts a couple days ago.  they spoiled me...as usual! 


i spent my actual birthday with denise and shaylin.  d took us out to on the border for lunch and then we went goodwill shopping together.  shay told the waiter it was my birthday and all the servers came over to sing and clap for me.  she got a kick out of it so i put up with it.  after we left for the evening, we headed home to get gussied up for dinner (i had a new outfit to wear, of course...lol).  d took me to amici's.  we'd never been before...it was really good!  i love italian food and this place tasted pretty authentic.  it was kinda tiny inside.  we sat at a table by the window.  i had a seafood penne in this pink sauce with capers in it.  there were shrimp and the biggest scallops in it that i've ever eaten!  it was very good.  it came with fresh bread and a salad (everytime i say that word i can hear spongebob pronouncing it as sal-add) with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.  we shared some eggplant parmigiana as an appetizer and for dessert we shared a slice of almond torte and some gelato.  needless to say, we brought home big boxes of leftovers! all in all, it was a good birthday.

tonight is new year's eve.  i think d and i are going to spend it alone, on the couch.  we have to go to the store today to pick up some groceries for this weekend and i think i'll get some stuff to make a dinner of hors d'oeuvres for the 2 of us.  friday night serenity and leeann are coming over and we're all going to try to go to dave and buster's again.  last time we ended up hanging around the apartment, instead.  to prevent that from happening again, leeann and i decided that it was best to just meet them downstairs and get right into the car!  they are planning on spending the night with us and saturday morning i'm getting up and making us all biscuits and gravy, pancakes, and eggs.  (all by request...b's and g's for leeann, eggs for serenity, and pancakes for d)  saturday evening, d and i have dinner plans with jaimie (d's best friend from high school) and sunday i'm meeting april for a late lunch.  needless to say...my dance card is full this weekend.

Barbie The Cracked-Out Drag Queen...

it's drag queen barbie!  she comes complete with velvet catsuit a la asia la bouche!

And The Survey Says...

yesterday was my job orientation/interview for the survey research center on campus...and i nailed it. my new boss, stephanie, offered me the position and i gladly accepted. at least 10hrs a week at $9/hr will be a nice little piece of pocket change! i'm anticipating about $250/month after taxes come out. not bad for an on campus position.

i have received my grades for a couple of classes. i got an A in my writing class. he really enjoyed my final project, according to the email he sent me. i also received an A in my mythology class. these were, by far, my 2 most enjoyable classes and i think my grades reflect that. the jury is still out on my logic and history grades. probably Bish in history...and not a clue how i did in logic. i was sitting at a B but i do not feel good about that final i took. i guess i'll find out soon enough...

Some Are Melodies, Some Are The Beat...

youth group -- forever young

Let's dance in style let's dance for a while,
Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies,
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst,
Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?

Let us die on let us live forever,
Don't have the power but we never say never,
Sitting in the sandpit life is a short trip,
Music's for the sad man

Can you imagine when this race is run,
Turning up our faces into the sun,
Praising our leaders getting in tune,
Music's played by the mad man

Forever young, I want to be forever young,
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever forever,
Forever young, I want to be forever young,
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, forever

Some are like water Some are like the heat,
Some are melodies Some are the beat,
Sooner or later they'll all be gone,
Why don't they stay on?
It's hard to get without a cause,
I don't want to perish like a fading voice,
Youth is like diamonds in the sun,
And diamonds are forever,
So many adventures couldn't happened today,
So many songs that we forgot to play,
So many dreams swimming out in the blue,
Let them come true
Forever young I want to be forever young,
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, forever
Forever young, I want to be forever young,
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, forever
Forever young, I want to be forever young,
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, forever
Forever young, I want to be forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, forever...

Did You Miss Me...? Huh? Huh? Didja?

it's been ages since i last wrote anything...hopefully someone noticed.  i hate to think that my absence has gone unheeded.  that thought just makes me sad.  and, when i get sad i cry.  and, when i cry it makes those around me sad...so, even if you didn't miss me...lie.

anyway...so here's the skinny on what's been going on with me as of late.  school is going really well.  i have 1 last final to take on friday and then i'm officially done...d-u-n...done.  classes don't start up again until the 9th, but i don't have any until the 11th.  i switched up my schedule a bit.  dropped 'intro to folklore' and picked up 'the writer's notebook'.  i met the professor for 'the writer's notebook' today and he seemed like a good guy.  really looking forward to that class.  my adviser, scott, seems to think i'll excel in that class and i'm hoping to prove him correct!

i also have applied for an on-campus job in the survey center.  (basically, i'll be sitting at a computer calling people and asking them to take surveys)  my friend, marita, works there and she talked to her boss, stephanie.  stephanie basically told marita that i had the job.  i have a phone interview tomorrow at 11a.  i'll keep you posted, dear readers. 

in other news...someone has a birthday coming up.  my 'golden birthday' is dec 30th.  that's right...i'll be joining the dirty XXX club (as april puts it!)  i'm the last one of my friends to turn the big 3-0.  no...strike that...audrey is only 26 (or 27...something like that).  anywho...so d threw me a party on the 12th.  we all (me, d, joe, trish, shay, jaimie, liam, jessica, evan, april, amanda (new friend possibilities...!), and ashley) went to siam square for dindin (my first time trying thai food!) and then we went duck pin bowling (first time doing that, too).  as part of my b'day gift, d paid for everyone's shoes and bowling fees.  she rented out 2 lanes for 1.5 hrs.  we had a BLAST!  it was so incredibly fun.  everyone loved it.  i had the grooviest birthday party EVER. best part is...it's not over!  today is only the 15th...we still have another 15 days before the official 'day of birthing'.  wonder what's to come in the next couple of weeks...?!

to keep along the theme of celebrating my birth...maxine dangerous and i had a birthday luncheon at a local chinese joint near the school this afternoon.  we dined on the usual chinese fare...and she presented me with the cutest card...as well as a gift card (!) to target (!!) and some hello kitty stickers.  awesome gift.  awesome chick.

speaking of awesome gifts...i got some pretty awesome gifts for my b'day, as well.  ash gave me a starbucks gift card (yay for chai tea lattes!), jessica and evan gave me a hello kitty charm and a flipflop charm that has my birthstone on it, joe, trish, and shay got me a sweater (that, sadly, does not fit...and it's too bad because it's really cute) and some ferrero rocher candies, and april got me a whole stocking full of stuff...2 scarves, a whole set of pina colada scented bathy-pampery type things, a foot scrubber, and the book train wreck.  (it's anna nicole smith's story as told by her sister).  i'm looking forward to reading it over break.

welp...i should wrap this up.  d will be home soon and my phone has been going off non-stop.  i need to attend to these text messages and decide what i'm making for my poor, sick honey for dinner.  (d's had a cold since friday...poor thing)

...And For My Next Trick

I peeled an orange in only one strip!

Pimped Out Party...

shay's b'day party...everyone was there, even cinderella. where were you?!

Opening gifts

Cinderella

Cinderella entertaining shay's bday party

Decorations for shay's 3rd birthday party

Decorations for shay's 3rd birthday party

Turkeys Need Love, Too...

it's thanksgiving morning and i'm ready...d just stepped into the shower.  we are heading to her brother's for thanksgiving again this year.  april's spending the day with us...so is joe's friend, chris, and d and joe's dad.  i miss my family...but these folks are my family now, too.  my mom misses me something fierce and i feel the same.  but, with all the homework to be done and everything going on...i just can't make it home this weekend.

on a lighter note (because i was getting teary-eyed thinking/writing about my family) d, trish, and i are all going shopping tomorrow for black friday.  d wants a wii for christmas so i'm going to see if i can't find one...usually on black friday they have special deals where you get something free if you buy a big gift like a gaming system.  we'll see what i can find.

well, d is outta the shower and it's time to pack up and head for joe and trish's.  happy thanksgiving, dear readers. 

Me and april on thanksgiving

Me and d on thanksgiving <3

Break Me Off A Piece Of That KitKat Bar...

ugh.  i've spent the bulk of the day's sunshine hours hunched over my computer and i need a break!  the day hasn't been bad...just stressful and tiring (to say the very least).  i spent my morning researching the (il)literacy of immigrants for a paper i'm writing for my literacy in public life course.  then, d, shay and i lunched on indian cuisine with maxine dangerous and her folks to celebrate her 36yrs on this planet.  we got her a lil 3-legged terracotta pig from global gifts on mass ave.  it's from peru (i think?) and it symbolizes love and friendship.  she really dug it...and that made me happy to make her happy.  after hugs, i headed home to continue my quest for information. 

this time, i switched gears and began working on eking out every drop of info i can find on a piece of art for a paper that i'm turning in for both my mythology class and my history class.  (almost had an aneurysm when i figured out a way to write one paper for both classes because i was so happy!)  originally, i was going to write a paper on claude vignon's narcissus but i can't find anything on it...so...i'm switching gears.  i've decided to write on michelangelo caravaggio's sleeping cupid instead.  i found much more information about it and there seems to be even a hint of scandal surrounding caravaggio.  everyone loves a good scandal.

 thankfully, the time for research is drawing to a close for the day.  d should be home soon.  we're going to dave & buster's for a late dinner with serenity and leeann.  they are coming down from frankfort for the night to play with us!  i really miss them.  i've known them both for about 16 years.  they are pretty keen chicks.  we're going to eat dinner and play games.  none of us have ever visited this fine establishment...but the commercials make it look entertaining!  it's fairly new to indy...i think it opened in june or july...but they have them all over the country.  apparently it's like a bar/restaurant with toys and games for adults.  you win tickets and then turn them in for prizes.  i like prizes.

the sun has set and it's brought me one day closer to finals week.  i'm ready to pound the rest of this semester out so i can get started on next semester!  as of the spring 2010 term, i'm a junior.  that leaves me just 2 more years...unless i decide to go for my master's.  (which is a definite possibility)  but, we'll save that for another day.