loser, baby.

2004-02-03 / 12:08 p.m.

I exercise monday, tuesday, thursday and friday mornings. I usually do my grocery shopping on Sunday night or Tuesday afternoon. Mondays, I like to get out of the house because that's my mom's day off. I usually go to the library Thursday afternoon and read Creative Loafing, and bits of fluff magazines and the more interesting parts of a newsmagazine...and on and on and on...For someone with no job, and virtually no responsibilities, I still cling to whatever kind of schedule I can create for myself. During school, it was a thousand times worse...like, borderline OCD bad. I think learning to roll with the punches and be a little more flexible will be the third biggest challenge of going to Argentina (most difficult being leaving loved ones for several months, second most difficult learning to speak spanish all the time). It'll be good for me, as long as I don't come back a fat, out of shape, procrastinator who forgets deadlines. Sometimes, I want to beat myself about the face, don't you? psh.

Hillary and I have been friends for a long time

2004-01-28 / 10:09 a.m.

In 9th grade world geography, in our oh-so-technologically-advanced "gifted computer lab", I received instruction on how to use our school e-mail accounts (incidentally, this was the one and only time I used it--they were useless). During the lesson, Hillary and I were separated for disruptive behavior, and I was sent to a computer on the other side of the room. During the lecture, she sent me an e-mail consoling me on the distance, something like, It's not the physical distance, but the emotional baggage you carry. Fucking cracked me up, still does, not sure why.

Last night, she and I watched the video of her 17th birthday party, including bonus footage of her Chanukkah celebration...yes folks, that's right: the Catholic (Brian) and an Agnostic (Hillary) celebrating The Festival of Lights. This was the birthday that was a costume party. It was also the year brought her a large rooster from a JCP display. Watching the video made me miss Brian, I'm glad I'm going to see him soon.

There's no real clincher to this one...and if there were to be one, it would be too schmaltzy to write. I'm just rambling. I could ramble more...I could write about all the random anecdotes from high school about Hillary and Suzanne and Michelle and Brian and everyone that watching old home movies make me think of...I could probably even tell them in an entertaining and meaningful way...but I'm going to take a Hemmingway on this one, and just think about them.

40 acres and a free pack of hair

2004-01-30 / 1:59 a.m.

Today, I went to Sallybeauty to buy some more of the hair stuff I've recently become attatched to. Figured I'd buy a couple bottles so I'd have enough to take a bit with me...I know that they'll have perfectly wonderful hair and skin care products in Argentina, but I don't know how long it'll be until I master the vocabulary required to evaluate them. Como se dice....ehh....moisturizing curl cream?. But any-curds-and-way....So I approach the display, and there's coupons attatched to it! yay! But wait...no, there is no price reduction. alas. There is, however, a voucher for a free pack of synthetic hair extentions (with clips) for every purchase of two or more. So, while I paid full price for my product o' choice, I now have several bits of purpley-pink hair--not as good a color as my wig, but fun.

I got my visa today. Bought my plane ticket to miami yesterday. Picked out a suitcase last week. Still waiting to get a grasp on the fact that I'm actually leaving. The program sent me a bunch of questions about Argentina to answer sometime last fall....I've lost them. I should get on that, since there's like 70. I don't think it's a huge deal, but it'll be good practice writing in spanish again.

"I like cheese"

2004-01-29 / 6:37 p.m.

cheeses.

note to hillary & suzanne: This somehow made me think of "No no no...if your mom were a form of cheese, not a kind of cheese"

hair

2004-01-29 / 9:38 a.m.

In the spirit of writing frequent updates (two in less than a half hour isn't bad), my hair is somewhat near its natural color for the first time in, like, three years. It isn't exact, first: because my roots always hold dye differently than the rest of my old, dyed hair and secondly: because this color is way prettier than my natural color ("I see myself in Feria!"). This is technically old news, since it's been like this for a couple of weeks now, but it's still strange to me to have dark dark brown hair again. It makes me remember why I started messing with the color in the first place--I don't really like having dark brown hair.

Foooood

2004-01-29 / 9:26 a.m.

I miss writing frequent updates...Therefore, since I'm so the master of my own existance, I'm going to start updating regularly again. Ahhhh. The power, the powwweeeeerrrrrr!!!

As several of you know, I've been generally dissapointed in italian faire I've had in Atlanta. Hard finding a happy medium between blah chains, overpriced pretentious trattorias (a word which I still have no notion as how to pronounce), and super-rich-oh-my-god-I'm-going-to-die places with giant portions (think family style at Maggiano's). I've heard some decent things about Figo Pasta for a very casual meal from mom's-friend's-daughter and her fiancee, and this place reviewed in Access Atlanta this week (or at least on the website...I don't remember seeing it in the actual magazine) seems like it might be fun. I guess I've been stalling to try Italian places though, since the food is so notoriously bad for you. Argh. I hate myself for thinking like that.

Speaking of restaurants, I want to go to at least one on MY LIST™ --either the want-to-try list, or the want-to-go-back list--before I leave for Argentina.

I came to Em's journal, and all I got was this crappy meme

2004-01-28 / 5:43 p.m.

I go so long without posting...and then, after so long a hiatus, I only give you this. So sue me. Anyway, these are states I've visited. ta-da. Not very impressive is it?

create your own visited states map

orwrite about it on the open travel guide

dentista

2004-01-22 / 9:41 p.m.

yeah, not much update action going on...I know. Nothing of interest has really been happening. babysitting, visa woes, reading, the usual.

Today, I went for my first round of unpleasant and expensive dental work. It was the opposite of fun. The general anesthetic kept me numb for many hours, and when it wore off, soreness took it's place. The numbness in my mouth made speaking pretty funny though. A deliciously corny pun I made at the billing desk was ruined by my slurred speech. The assistant was going through the billing process, and describing to me how much fillings costs, sealants, etc...and I said: "Oh yeah, I know the drill" *rimshot* but it came out like "oujah. ah gnaw dah zhrill" and they were confused. Alas.

mishmash

2004-01-17 / 11:44 a.m.

Thursday afternoon, I finally went to see what the whole Silver Comet Trail was all about. I drug my mother along, but because of our vast differences in age and physical ability I didn't see much of her after we rented bikes.

We started at the Concord Road marker, at mile 2.4 of the trail. We walked to Floyd Road ( mile 4.2) and rented bikes there, and road to mile marker 10.8 or so before we turned around. The scenery wasn't spectacular, but it was a nice, long, paved trail that was mostly insulated from icky road noises and smells. Had it been a little warmer, I would have enjoyed it very much. Next time we have a nice day, I could see myself taking a walk there. As soon as I can fish the bike formerly-known-as-Hillary's out of the basement of Inman, I could take that over there too.

Little else passes. I've been reading a lot. Finished Alissa Quart's Branded...which was interesting, but got a little tedious and a little too preachy. After reading Fight Club, Joe loaned me Invisible Monsters which I liked a lot more. IM was such a quick read that I borrowed Survivor from the public library and started on it. It's good...fun to read, easy to read, entertaining, but Palahniuk really does tend to use the same ideas and themes over and over and over...Self-destruction and the idea of hitting rock bottom before you can really live, the idea that we're only living when people are watching, lack of control in life, there are several more...Plus, while his writing style in Survivor is a little more unique, FC and IM are really, really, similar in construction. Basically, I've enjoyed reading these three, but I don't think I'll read any more right away. I started The Handmaid's Tale, finally giving up on re-reading the first half of The Blind Assassin and finally finishing it up. I'd also like to get into the collection of Borges fiction that Brian gave me for Christmas 2002.

I've talked to several other people in my study abroad program, and my fear of living in a spanish speaking country has increased tenfold. I'm still too embarassed to practice my spanish. There's logic for you

Did some effective pre-departure shopping. Bought a cute and versitile black dress (and a red one too, but they were stupidly cheap), a pair of sensible black dress shoes, and a big suitcase. Leaving still does not seem real....though it is a ways off.

Had planned to de-pink my hair yesterday, but it was not in the cards, Hillary ended up going to Boston a day early. Heh, a few more days of dissaproving looks from E. Cobb soccer moms is fine with me, I love it. :)

I've studied men, now it's time to study abroad.

2004-01-15 / 6:11 p.m.

Yesterday, my study abroad program coordinator sent out a list of participants with e-mails (at least those who said that they wanted their contact info published). Feeling bold, I sent out first contact, offering up my AIM name and asking if anyone had any packing advice. The answers I've gotten have been....um....daunting to say the least. Shortly after I sent the letter, a chick in Cali IMed me. Proficient in Spanish. I got an e-mail last night from a girl currently studying in Chile--also proficient in Spanish. Today, I got two more replies: one from a girl--born in Argentina, fluent in Spanish; the other from a guy studying in Mexico who wrote the e-mail in spanish, and lightly chastized me for not doing the same. Fuck. fuck. fuck. I think I might be in over my head. For me, this trip is the sink-or-swim spanish language program...everyone else is already floating along, and I'm thrashing about with half-deflated water-wings.

And I'm sorry for this entry's title...it's really the quintessential pun on the issue, and I was reminded in talking to Radamore last night that I hadn't made the joke in a few days. Thus, a title is born.