For your weekend enjoyment, some random information

Things that have continued through this semester:
1. My obsession with Diet/Diet Cherry Coke. Eight more bottles and I will have enough points for a beach towel. Yes, actually, I am shaking from the caffeine about 23 hours a day, thanks for asking.
2. The Religion TA Who Hates My Guts continues to be the worst part of my Fridays. Mock my religion one more time. Come on. ONE. MORE. TIME.
3. General disdain for all things Italian, except suddenly last week I went on this pizza kick. I was craving pizza CONSTANTLY. Which is weird because usually pizza makes me think of throwing up because I ate it once before getting the flu.
4. The Countdown to Full House, Season 3. Five days left. I don't think I need to say anything more.

Things that I suddenly feel compelled to share (must be all that caffeine)
1. What's your opinion: Pumpkin bread. Bread? Or dessert?
2. So, Dead Like Me. We've moved on to the second season. I like the show, but mostly after watching it I am paranoid about strangers touching me and more hungry for breakfast foods than I have ever, EVER been in my entire life. Seriously, we talk about waffles and/or bacon every single day.
3. Weboggle. I was warned, but I played it anyway and now I'm hooked. You will think I'm a big nerd now. The addictive factor is that it never really ends, so you keep saying, "one more round."

As I finish this post, they're playing "Sweet Dreams" by La Bouche

I've found that in the morning, there is about a five-minute window during which I can wake up and successfully make it to class on time. Obviously, if I wake up late, I'm late for class. But if I get up too early, I try to do more things than my routine generally allows for (email, breakfast, cleaning) and suddenly it was time to leave 10 minutes ago and my hair is still wet. Like today.

Another thing about today (look at that segue! I'm a fantastic writer) is that it is MU Smiles Day. I'd never heard about this day* until about 10 minutes ago when I sat down in what is supposed to be a quiet study room in the student union. Unfortunately, they are partying it up outside for this smiling holiday with a tent and a dj. I'm not sure what he's playing now, as I put on my headphones after hearing Hakuna Matata and that song from Rent I cannot stand. The one about measuring a year with sappy things like LOVE and FRIENDSHIP. The girl sitting across the room from me must REALLY hate all the songs they are playing, because she keeps looking out the window like she's very put out by all of this. Obviously, the people in charge of this holiday aren't quite reaching out to those people who need to smile. (I suppose you think that by putting on my headphones, I am one of these people. But it's just not true. I put on my headphones so I could smile, because I am 100% more likely to smile listening to Interpol or Nirvana than I am that song which I will not name.)


*I can't be sure, but I'd be willing to bet it's a cheap ploy by some student organization to get people to sign up for something.

Lots of overly-long sentences and rambling

I know! You're wondering where I've been? What I've been doing? What kind of situational comedy has my life resembled lately? Here is My Week In Review:

I lost my drivers license in Arizona, so I had to go get a new one last week. The lady was very friendly, but AGAIN WITH THE BAD PHOTOS. I have accepted this lot in life.*

Then, I had to go purchase this little number for Monica's wedding, because for the first time in my life I will actually get to participate in one and not just sit there. Because of this, when I think about weddings, I sometimes fear that phrase "always a bridesmaid, never a bride" thing because that has certainly never been me. Then I reverse it, but that means I would be always a bride, and does that mean that you're married once and for good? Or does it mean you're constantly remarrying? I'd take the former, but I think the latter would be sort of stressful and I'm not really into that. Ahem. So the dress is nice, no?

At this point in the week the headlights on my car stopped working, and in general I use them a lot so that was sort of un-fun, especially when I spent the entire drive to the BMV for my license and back trying to turn the little lights ON knob and actually getting it to work, only to take it to the auto place and have them TURN RIGHT ON. But then they turned RIGHT OFF so although my car was trying to win, it only succeeded in making me look like a silly girl long enough for the auto guy to tell me "they're fine" before having to retract his statement and then charge $235 for his services in correcting the problem.

Then I started watching Dead Like Me, which I recommend, and so sat in front of the tv for three straight nights sort of falling in love with whomever thought up putting tv shows on dvd. One whole season in one short week! No need for TiVo!**

Friday I went to Charleston, WV, which really didn't have the same charm it did when I was six years old and we were driving to North Carolina on vacation. "Brendan!" I said. "Look for the gold dome on the Capitol Building!" But we didn't see it. Then, at about 11:30 that night when we went in search of a grocery store, the only thing we could find was a gas station where you told the guy what you wanted and he sold it to you through a window. What happened to the West Virginia of my childhood, all idyllic and country bumpkin and simple? My heart, it broke a little bit this weekend. It may have been the lack of southern accents I heard, because I generally leave the south and need a few days to stop saying y'all in every other sentence.

So that was my week, and this one looks busy as well, so there's my warning. This one also just looks busy not with activities but mostly just preparation (paper-writing, studying, etc.) so yes, I am not looking forward to it. But the length of this post should tide you over.

*Which I guess isn't a really a bad lot at all, unless you are using said photo to go to college bars with your friends who have decent-or-better photos. So really you could call it a situationally-bad-but-definitely-not-really-bad-at-all lot.

**This is a lie, and I need*** a TiVo.

***Sometimes, like when I went to the Crate and Barrel and IKEA stores in Arizona, I use the word "need" and I get a little scared for myself, like, what if I start to think I ACTUALLY need this set of bookends? Or this pretty glass pitcher I would never use or if I did use would be broken? That's when I try to walk away. Luckily there are currently no TiVo's in the vicinity.

Disneyland, the craziest place on Earth.

We spent two days at Disneyland last week. The second day was what you'd expect from a huge themepark, which was good because a lot of crazy things happened the first day. Let me tell you a little story by way of photos.

This is Brendan and me, in line for Space Mountain early Monday morning:


Don't we look happy! Excited to be there! NORMAL!

Throughout the day, we ran into many, many, MANY strange people: a woman who somehow lost her son in the Space Mountain line, a couple who were so concerned with making out that they disregarded the personal space of those around them, four sorority girls who wore the most ridiculous you'll-be-outside-walking-around-all-day clothing EVER, and a man who could not lower the volume of his voice, among several others.

That's a lot of crazy, people.

And it's a lot of crazy because most of these people we didn't just run into once. Oh no. There were MULTIPLE SIGHTINGS. For example, we were in line ahead of the crowding cuddlers twice. The woman who lost her son found him, and we know this because we saw them two more times after the initial craziness of his disappearance.

So we decided that we'd ride one more ride and then go home, and this is where the craziness just got to be too much for me.



Yes. We went back to Space Mountain, where we'd started our perfectly normal day, and not only were the sorority girls there, but so were the couple (but not directly behind us, THANK GOD).

Oh and also? Someone who went to middle school with Brendan. She was about 5 people ahead of us in line.

And this is when we thought that maybe, probably, MOST LIKELY, we were in some sort of Twilight Zone, so Brendan took a picture to document it. We were so freaked out that the picture is blurry.


And then we were like, sure, yeah, let's do it again tomorrow.

Dad will be glad he let me borrow his camera

So, I'm back from my spring break trip.

Here are some photos from Sedona, in a nice little Flickr slideshow. I say little because I have a free account so I can only post like, 12 pictures every month.

Brendan and I went a little crazy with his camera at this little shop on our way out of Sedona, so I promise to put those online at some point--probably after I've mastered Flash and can make a fancy slideshow of my own.

All of the other pictures I took will sloooowly be added to my photoblog.

It's good to be home.

The week I thought might never come

Tomorrow morning I leave for Arizona. I've been trying to think up some clever name for the trip (a la CO5) but I haven't been able to come up with anything. So, Spring Break 06? The Great Arizona Adventure? Both lame, I know.

At any rate, I'm outta here until I have a good story to tell and an internet connection. We're staying in Phoenix, driving to California (for the beach! And Disneyland!), then coming back to hit Sedona (because I want to see some pretty rocks) and a little more Phoenix. I can't wait because 1. I have never been to Arizona and 2. because that bitchy TA will not be there and I will not have to suffer through her terrible discussions next week.

Oh and if you're interested, I redesigned this site a year ago. Isn't that crazy. A year's worth of photoshop and terrible HTML and oh the nerdiness of that sentence just embarrassed me. Now I'm definitely done.

Wherein I use the word "beer" in nearly every paragraph

So, yes. It's Green Beer Day.

(I'd like to point out how interesting it is that someone was driven enough to develop such a nice website in honor of this holiday*.)

This is my very first GBD as an eligible, 21-and-over participant. I have always been curled up nicely in my bed on this Thursday morning, dreaming of my Spring Break. And this was okay with me, because the thing about my insomnia is not so much that I can't sleep at all, but that I can't slow myself down enough to fall asleep. That said, it's not so hard for me to be asleep at say, 4 am as it is for me to be asleep at 1 or 2. This green beer stuff knocks out my prime sleeping hours, and I always sort of knew that and was not envious of the legal upperclassmen.

So as you can imagine, I was not a happy girl this morning. It's been sort of a crazy, Christina-just-turned-21-yesterday sort of 48 hours, and so this morning's festivities were just a nice way to wrap up the birthday celebration. That's what I thought last night, and that's what I think now, but when I woke up at 5:30, I was just not feeling it.

I was so not feeling it that I decided to have a Coke this morning and follow my friends around without drinking more than one gratuitous sip of green beer. Which isn't to say I didn't have fun, because I did. Once I got there I realized that I could just enjoy wearing green, and reading all the tshirts, and hanging out with my friends, etc., etc. The whole beer before breakfast thing sort of made me want to throw up a little bit. Maybe I should have skipped out on the Coke and just had a bowl of cereal**.

So I went back home and slept for a couple of hours before heading to my English class. There are only six of us and we were all praised for not being out drinking today. (And then I realized, I'd left my wristband on. Oops.) Campus has been fun--everyone is wearing green and looks tired. But I have to say, I'm glad I went, grumpy and tired and all. But seriously? Beer in the morning? I just don't get it.



*Not being a morning person, I was saying "I HATE this holiday" the entire time I was getting ready. Brendan told me that it was not, in fact, a holiday; however, when I went Uptown I took a poll, and all three people I asked said that it was ABSOLUTELY without a doubt a holiday.

**But when I felt that caffeine kick in I knew it was totally worth it. So maybe both would have been the right answer.

P.S.

Go Fug Yourself is especially satisfying the day after an awards show.

I'll reserve the third dimension for real life, thankyouverymuch

3D movies are one of those sort of random dislikes that no one expects. I mean, if you don't like wasabi or boy bands, people get it. But no one really expects you to dislike the novelty that is the 3D movie. Neutrality, sure. But dislike? Even hate? Well, that's just uncalled for.

I've always just sort of taken the glasses halfway off when we'd go see one (theme parks particularly like them). Then, they started adding all the other effects, like mice! under the seats! And dog snot! And bubbles! All of which are annoying to me, in addition to being disgusting (with the exception of the bubbles) and are NOT FUN in the least.

I didn't realize that I hate them so much until we went to Universal Studios a few summers ago. Funny thing about Universal: it's all movies. So mostly you end up on simulations of movies. Movies like Twister, where they can show you tornado simulations, are easy. Movies like Shrek or Spiderman are a little bit more fun to turn into 3D attractions atrocities. Needless to say, I spent several days watching gigantic, blurry animals lunge at my face and tucking my legs up under myself to avoid anything like the mice from the delightful show at Disney World known as Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. By the end of that trip, I was certain that it will be a cold day in Hell before I willingly volunteered to don the magical 3D glasses again.

It took me a long time to figure out just why I dislike them so much. I've narrowed it down to two things.
1. I am exceptionally jumpy and I don't like things touching my face.
or
2. I recently discovered a photograph of my extended family on a trip to Disneyland when I was only three. We're all wearing 3D glasses, except for me--I'm crying and holding mine in my hands. What had we just watched, you ask? The Michael Jackson classic, Capitain EO.



So, really, can you blame me now that you know?

Non-related paragraphs I'm sending to you because the lack of actual posts on this page has recently been quite disappointing

I am currently obsessed with drinking enough Diet Coke to win some sort of prize on mycokerewards.com. I'm aiming for the ball gown, but I'll probably only be able to win some lame XBox game extension or free iTunes song or something.

An old woman stopped so I could cross the street in front of her yesterday. Unfortunately, the cars coming the other way did NOT stop, so I couldn't walk. All the sudden, she freaked out at me (arms flailing, eyes rolling, the whole works; albeit silently through the car window) and sped off. This is my public apology to you, Old Woman: I'm ever so sorry that I did not take advantage of your good deed by allowing myself to be plowed over by a Miami University-owned van. Next time I'll try not to be so ungrateful.

Did I mention that I am going to Arizona next week? I am. With these lovely people:


Mike happens to be only halfway in this picture because he is going with us only in spirit. That is to say, he chose a Glee Club event over a relaxing week in the Southwest. I don't get it either.

Speaking of that picture, it was taken at a fabulous party Uptown last night that involved me wearing a toga, concluding a week during which my brothers and I had to submit ourselves to multiple instances of public humiliation brought on by our new little brothers who remained nameless to us until last night. I have two littles, and they are awesome and I love them. Ironically, they are taller than I am. But you know, who isn't?

Christina and I just compared gossiping to doing drugs. Parents, rest assured, gossip is the only drug I do. And with that, I'm pretty sure this post is over.