#114

I'm using this entry to avoid cleaning my room and writing a paper. I changed up the playlist over there. It is now featuring music from a concert I went to last night: Eric Hutchinson, Meaghan Smith, and Matt Hires. It also has some Punchline on it. They are a band from Pittsburgh and BART was gracious enough to share practically their entire catalogue with me, good stuff.

Lets see, since I last posted an entry my family has swept into my life, disrupted my sleep schedule, and returned back to their snowy state. I was really glad they could make it from Thanksgiving. I had a really good time with them. We ate a lot of food, bowled (I got a 97! and 2 strikes in a row!), and shopped a lot!!! My mother made me try on these:

I thought my toes were going to fall off. I don't know how strippers do it. Oh, these beauties were from the Jessica Simpson collection, so you know, klassy. And these:

but in purple with some sort of design on them. They scared me. I did not buy them.

I cooked the turkey on Thanksgiving. Everyone I talked to said it was so hard and you had to cook it just right. However, I had fun with it and named the turkey Gertrude "Gertie". She was a good bird. Here she is in the oven:

 I used this recipe from Giada and it turned out delish!  We had so much food that we all literally needed two plates. Glorious! 

After dinner, we drank some wine and ate some cupcakes.

(Peppermint, Chocolate Peppermint, Carrot Cake, Pumpkin Maple, Caramel Apple, Lemon Gingerbread)

And oh yeah dressed up Harpo. I don't think he liked it too much.

#113

BART and I just got done with an impromptu dance marathon to "All I Want For Christmas Is You." Sure, its not Thanksgiving yet but its snowing and cold and the holiday season is almost here. Anyway, we invited Buddy in to dance with us. Instead of joining the fun, she screamed that it wasn't Christmas yet and slammed BART's door and then slammed her door. 

I don't get her. 

We were just trying to be nice and friendly. It was only one song, a dance party.

ETA: This cracks me up!

Create free ringtones at Phonezoo

#112

BART shared this with me:

"The holidays are a time when everyone gathers together to accept what made them all decide to leave home in the first place, only this time with more emotional baggage than they left with. And you know what? That’s how it is supposed to be. This great nation exists because some people got sick of taking some other people’s crap. From the Pilgrims to Columbus to those Vikings that may or may not have sailed here first, every non-Native American is on this soil because someone yelled out “No, screw YOU, PAL!” and got on a boat. So why hide it?"

It made me giggle. Then I thought about all the family drama I am missing out on by skipping Thanksgiving in MI this year and I am more than okay with it.

Oh, and spending all day watching music videos ON Demand is pretty awesome.

#111

Ehhh....I'm not so sure its a good thing Buddy knows my feelings for her co-worker. She used them against me tonight, threatened to tell him things. I'm a bit scared. She did promise not to say anything but I guess nothing is really stopping her. Damn, damn, damn! I hate the way she makes me feel. How only desperate people could possibly like me. Thanks for that Buddy, thanks.

Remember trying to pack for breaks in Europe. How you'd have to fit everything into a teeny tiny bag? because carting around a suitcase for two weeks was just way way too much? And sleeping in the London airport? And the crack addicts in Prague? The Cold War era train from Budapest to the Czech Republic? The very handsome guard that scared the crap out of me but also held the baby as he evicted the family from the train? Orrrr the drunken English guys from Amsterdam? passed out in the hallway? talking with them through the shower door as I washed my hair? Pomme, Frances, and I all sharing one bed many times over? That horrible overnight train to Paris? The night in Florence I spent making friends with the toilet just because I wanted to prove that the bottle of wine was perfectly ok? Searching for a damn phone booth in London that worked because I just had to call Toi and I could never live with myself if I didn't call her right away? Seeing Blood Brothers with tears of laughter rolling down our checks? 

Ahhhh, good good times. I wish we could do it all again.

I miss you all.

ETA: Tonight, I learned from someone who kinda knows them that the members of Flickerstick are kinda assholes and that makes me so so sad. 

#110

Hi.

So yeah, last night. Not my greatest night but oh well moving on. That Hemingway's is a tricky tricky place.

There is this bar over in the South Side called The Library. It seems really cool as in the menus are library books and the items on the menu are all named after books. So who wants to visit it with me?

I am currently watch Empire Records for the very first time. Clearly, I've been missing out and so far, the soundtrack is awesome. 

#109

HI TOI AND AUSSI AND MMM.

NIGHT.

I SHOULDN'T HAVE TOLD BUDDY ABOUT HIM. I SHOULDN'T HAVE DRANK THAT MUCH. I SHOULDN'T HAVE LIED TO THAT PERSON. I JUST SHOULDN'T HAVE. THE WHOLE NIGHT IS JUST ONE BIG BLUR AND OH MAN WHAT THE HELL HAVE I DONE?

#108

I like this website.

#107

I wish it were Christmas.

#106

Guys, 

The amount of support I have received from you all has been overwhelming. I could never take this big of a step if I didn't have your love and encouragement. It all means the world to me. I love that I have this awesome support system. I don't even know how to explain it all but trust the next time any of you are in Pittsburgh, the cupcake is on me. I was a bit scared to tell people but so far the response has been positive, only one person responded negatively ("think of all the people you will be letting down"<--BLAH) but I think that involves deeper, way deeper issues. Anyway, merci beaucoup to you all!

Love, 

Moi

#105

Cogene had her baby this morning. 

Its a boy! 

I don't know the name or the weight or the height yet. But I do know he's healthy, she's healthy and omg! a baby. I'm fiercely proud of her, so excited for a new family member and happy that he wont have to wear the bows.

ETA: A picture.

ETA,A:

He has a name but I'd really rather not put it on the internet so if you want to know it comment and I'll tell you. The little guy shall be called Monkey on the blog after the nickname his uncle gave him before he was born. He was Sea Monkey but he's not in the sea anymore so its just Monkey now.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD, MONKEY!

#104

Hi readers.

I've got some news. I'm withdrawing from graduate school. I haven't figured out the whole logistics yet with everything about this semester but I know for sure I wont be returning next semester. I'm staying in Pittsburgh because I love the life I'm building here. Sure I wish all my friends were here but I really like living here, the city, the people for the most part. It feels right. 

Grad school hasn't felt right for a really long time. I should have said something earlier, I know that. But I kept waiting for it get better. I thought it would and I thought if I would have spoken up sooner my parents would have said try it for just a little longer. I didn't tell anyone how I was feeling. I don't know why I felt the way I did but I felt like I should like school and people would just think I was being silly. But that was all totally me. I knew my friends wouldn't judge like that. But still I felt a bit weird about discussing my feelings. I shouldn't have. I should have let it out before it all boiled over, like tonight.

The isn't a decision I've taken lightly. I haven't made a rash decision here. I've thought about it for about 2 months now. I'm not sure what I am going to do next but I think thats the best part. For the first time in my life, I don't know what's coming next and I'm excited. I keep reminding myself that I do have a college degree and if further down the road, I want to go back to grad school I can. It just wasn't the right thing for me right now. But hey, at least I tried, thats the most important part to me.

So here's to the future and the unknown. 

Cheers!

#103

Umm...Can I just say how in love I am with my new laundry detergent? Its 2X Ultra Tide Pure Essentials with Baking Soda: White Lilac Scent. Its awesome. I've already washed my sheets twice in it and we just bought it last Wednesday. (I totally forgot how much cigarette smoke smells.) I love the scent. I just bury my head in the fresh laundry and sniff. I think I might be developing an addiction. Anyway, I just discovered there is another scent. I will probably have to check it out because its just so awesome. 

#102

Wow.

It so surreal. I am excited to see what the future holds for our country. I saw history made tonight, our first African American president elected! Honestly, its something I thought I would never see and I am so glad to be wrong. I think he was the best candidate and has the ability to bring some good to our country. I thought both senators' speeches tonight were good (O/T: Have you seen the woman Obama mentioned in his speech? She looks AMAZING for being 106). I think they both love our country. But I must say this is way better than last election. 

However, among all the cheering tonight at the Cage, I must admit I was wondering about Proposal 8 in CA and the other various states that were voting on marriage amendments. It looks now that Proposal 8 will be defeated but only narrowly. Its not looking too good in the other states. While I am super happy for our new president-elect, I am really disappointed that people out there are so threatened by other people wanting to be with the one they love. I don't find it to be that difficult of a situation, its rather simple. All you need is love.

Oh, man. I still can't believe. Obama WON! The Democrats control the House and the Senate. It just all seems so unreal, so amazing. Here's to a productive, successful next FOUR YEARS!

ETA: I went to bed really excited to know that the election results wouldn't change. But I shouldn't have. Prop 8 is going to pass. AZ and FL passed theirs. wtf, America, wtf.

#101

I found out tonight that yet another cousin is going to have a baby. My cousin's girlfriend is pregnant and due in June. That makes it 4 babies within a year and a half. I guess my cousins are really fertile, like extremely. Or they just really suck at birth control. Not very many people know about this pregnancy yet. I think they are finding out at Christmas but who knows? Good thing I am not going home for Thanksgiving or I'd be tempted to blab whenever a family member asked me what was new.

I talked to Cogene this weekend and still no baby. Her doctor doesn't think she'll make it another week. So we have started a little bet here at Quarterlife. I have picked the 4th and the 8th. BART picked the 9th? I think and Buddy picked the 5th, maybe? I don't quite remember but I do remember Toi picked the 1st. Anyone else want in?