Rebellion October 28, 2008

In my childhood, there was one thing that was indisputably forbidden. There was no argument, no bargaining, and no amount of guilt-tripping that could get my mother to back down from this issue. Luckily I never found myself strongly desiring this item, but the fact that it was the ONE AND ONLY thing that my mother would NEVER IN THE WORLD allow me to have lent it a certain appeal.

 

That one thing was black nail polish.

 

It’s ugly, it’s not flattering to anyone’s nails, it’s associated with goths and punks and emos, and there was no reason in the world to buy/use it. I was fine with the ruling for eleven months out of every year. But on October 1 I start gettin’ a hankering for Wet ‘n’ Wild’s creamy black polish… there’s just something about the Halloween looming in the near future.

 

Last year, my very first act of rebellion was to get an AIM screenname. Then a Gmail account. Followed shortly by painting my (very long) nails pitch black. I borrowed the bottle from a friend, and took great joy in people’s stares when they noticed my claws.

 

This year, I have taken the rebellion one step further. This morning I paid $1.06 for a bottle of black nail polish. I own it. I used it. I like it. It won’t see the light of day for another year after this Friday. I painted my nails black, and then drew a spiderweb on my thumbnail with white polish and a paperclip. I feel very sneaky, and quite gothic. It’s strange. The polish is coming off on Saturday morning, but still. It’s rebellion all the same. I consoled myself with the fact that I am a year and a half into my college career, and I have yet to smoke, drink, do drugs, or have sex. This “rebellion” wouldn’t even register on the college-life richter scale.

 

But I’ll try nonetheless.

 

IN OTHER NEWS:

 

~ The Fall Party is two weeks from Friday… AAAHH! I did bring back my little black dress when I went home for the weekend… tried it on… it looks good. (If I do say so myself…)

 

~ The nasty bugger of an eye infection I mentioned in yesterday’s post turned out to be iritis…go ahead. Laugh. It’s a lame name for such a pain in the ass. But it apparently can be fixed with a half-ounce, $20 bottle of eyedrops. Yay-hooray.

 

~ Weather forecasters are morons. I’ll bet the twenty bucks I had to spend on the eyedrops that the two inches of snow we’re supposed to get today/tonight never show up. These jerks couldn’t predict a thunderstorm during monsoon season. Grr.

 

~ Taylor Swift’s new single “Love Story” is amazing. I know, this will forever brand me as a pathetically hopeless romantic, but seriously. It’s amazing. Go here and watch the video.

 

TTFN!

 

If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you; But if you really make them think, they’ll hate you.

  – Don Marquis

Home Remedies October 27, 2008

You wanna know an awesome, quick acting cure for a sucky day? I mean, even if it’s freezing cold, gloomy, you’re exhausted, and you have some kind of nasty eye infection, all you need to do is wear comfy jeans, a hoodie, and a pair of these:

BRIGHT YELLOW WELLIES!

 

And you know what else helps? A totally cute boy who likes your yellow boots!

Note: Hotness of boy may vary with location.

It doesn’t even have to rain for the rain boots to be useful! Isn’t that nice?

Here in Podunk we have a little tradition we like to call “The Weather Totally Sucks Between Halloween and Easter. And Sometimes Even Longer.” The weather reports are calling for a three-day bout of rain/snow/slush. And it’s not going to get cold enough for actual snow, so it’s all going to become a grey slop on the streets and sidewalks. But it will be cold enough to turn our toes and fingertips blue. Which is always lovely.

But then again, I have wellies. And a cute boy who laughed adorably when I showed them off to him. Like he was pleasantly surprised. (Not laughing at me. Trust me, I’d recognize that.) And I did bring all my warm clothes back from my little break at home. So I’m toasty as long as I stay indoors…

Well that’s the report. Hopefully not too much complaining. That wouldn’t be fair, because I actually had a nice day. And I have yellow rain boots! (Can you tell I love them?)

You can spend all your days in the grind… October 26, 2008

You can spend all your days in the grind

converting your nickels to dimes,

but the well-seasoned pro

knows how long he can go

don chu know, don chu know, don chu know.

Yeah, Jimmy Buffett. It was just that kinda weekend.

 

I’m semi-rested, semi-relaxed, and fully resigned to another month of school before Thanksgiving break. Unfortunately.

 

But seeing as this is a sunday night, and I’m tired, there’s not much more to report. Went salvo-shopping this weekend to pleasantly-surprising success. Got a job lined up for the holiday break. Celebrated my Grampa’s birthday. Bought school-bus-yellow wellies. And a grand time was had by all.

Moody. October 21, 2008

It’s terrible really. No one deserves to be stuck with someone who is tired, frustrated, overwhelmed, and just trying to survive the next four-and-half hours. And yes, that was an indirect apology to everyone around me right now.

 

I hate school at this moment. Mostly because I had a test this morning that kicked my ass, and I have a huge freaking accounting test this afternoon, and there’s only another 30 hours until I can go home and sleep for four days. Why must they make the transition so painful? The worst part is that I don’ thave anything important in any of my classes tomorrow, but I can’t even skip them because I can’t get a ride home until dinnertime. PLUS TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE CFB HASN’T REALLY TALKED TO ME IN DAYS.

Ok, done bitching. Now I’m going to babble about clothes. Yes, it’s the ressurrection of the Sub-Culture Clash. I warned you it was coming. Nostradamus and I, man, we tried…

 

This weekend, I went to Walmart and bought myself a pair of black jeans. They’re just cheap black jeans, $16.95 and nothing special at all.

Surprisingly, they actually look like this on me. And mine are black.

 

 

But for whatever reason- and I’m betting it’s because I’m crazy- I LOVE THEM. They’re SO comfortable, and they look good, (as evidenced by CFB… I walked past in the caf and he followed me with his eyes a little. My friend (who has no reason to tell me this unless it actually happened, as I am not offering any kind of payment) said she saw him… I’m trying not to read too much into it, but he was sitting at a table full of girls and he looked up and watched me… ) and- here’s where the crazy kicks in- they feel so INDIE. I know right? That’s insane. And in case there’s anyone out there less crazy than me who hasn’t bothered to learn how to recognize indie, I’ll explain. It’s basically a vintage-punk cross, with varying levels of emo vibes. If that made no sense, you’re beyond my help.

 

I’m not an indie person. I don’t do the indie thing. I admire those who can, but the shapeless tunics and flowy skirts and sandals in winter are not my best look, and the emo just isn’t going to happen. I’ll admit I’d like to be able to pull off the indie look, with the skinny jeans and sepia tones… but I’ll settle for vintage jewelry and cute shoes. That’s about as close as I can get to that particular trend. HOWEVER, I have decided to up the ante a little. I know I’m thinking about this WAAY too much, but when logic is trying to convince me to review for accounting, and my body is demanding sleep, the batshit crazy starts to kick in. I’ve decidd to give in to that urge to dress according to a certain trend. There’s no need to exchange my entire wardrobe. There’s no need to freak out if five days out of the week I end up wearing exactly the same thing I would have worn before this EPIC REVELATION. There’s no need to spend extra money to buy a certain thing that I wouldn’t have bought before. I mean, there are people charging $18 for a pair of knitted gauntlet armwarmers. I could knit that shit myself for two bucks. Just this morning I chopped the fingers off a pair of dollar store ‘magic gloves’ for kicks and giggles. I ought to start selling those things…

$24. Seriously. WTF? This isn't even cute. And they're freaking SOLD OUT. What, are they hand-crocheting them in the back room at a rate of two per week?

 

So yeah. Today’s post is probably absurd to anyone who’s not trapped in the sleep-deprived, accounting-overloaded, hungry, cold, and strangely obsessive world that is my mind right now. Thanks for the patience while I act like an idiot. I’ll go home for break, sleep for 24 hours straight, and be good as new!

Girls Are So Weird… October 19, 2008

Honestly. Speaking as one of them, and as one who more or less understands that everything I think or do is either controlled by my brain or my hormones (but never a combination) I can honestly say that we are the weirdest things basically ever.

 

One minor example of this is the collection of boys that my friends and I have developed at college. Not only are there boys of various builds, colors, backgrounds, majors, hobbies, sports, and sizes, (though they all seem to have a pretty similar musculature… ), but WE GIVE THEM CODENAMES.

 

That’s correct. You didn’t suddenly develop some kind of visual impairment that makes you read crazy where there is none. That’s not a typo. WE GIVE THEM CODENAMES. Like it’s freaking Top Gun or something. And the best part?

 

We think they’re hilarious codenames. Because we’re so stinking clever we name them after characters. My one friend had a crush on Strider, who was a shaggy-looking upperclassman who cleans up surprisingly well on fancy occasions. We both have a bit of a soft spot for a boy with jet black hair and piercing blue eyes– our idea of the sexy vampire boy, who therefore (unwittingly) goes by Edward. Then there’s CFB, whom we’ve nicknamed Aladdin, for his dark skin/hair and his propensity for being shirtless… :3 And the Hobbit, a boy who triggers that odd motherly instinct– he makes you want to go over and pinch his cheeks and make him a ham sandwich.

 

What is wrong with us? This is insanity, and it’s a pandemic. There’s so much more to rant about, but I’m in a rather tired/crabby mood, so I think I’ll just leave this as is for now. Maybe I’ll come back to the Girls are Weird thing. More than likely next time you hear from me it’ll be Battle of the Sexes part 2, and I’ll be ranting about how boys are dumb and girls are weird and why won’t CFB just ask me out?

 

Le sigh. Good thing fall break is fast approaching.

 

“A woman need know but one man well in order to understand all men; whereas a man may know all women and understand not one of them.”

-Helen Rowland

Finally! Some news! October 14, 2008

Essentially these last two weeks have been a blur… maybe it’s even been longer than that… I don’t know. Either way it’s all just rushed past.

 

I joined a sorority, asked a boy out for the first time, have totally wrecked my diet (but am recovering) and have lost all sense of direction as far as Na No Wri Mo.

 

Little stuff has happened too. But because it’s little I haven’t really mentioned it. It seems to me that there’s plenty to wax philosophical about in just that little rundown above.

 

SORORITY– I’m a Phi Sig! Yay! I am so excited about this! I managed to find the one sorority on campus that doesn’t require you to have their letters tattooed on your freaking DNA, and they just want to have fun, hang out, and wear green and white. It’s amazing how easygoing they are about so much stuff… we end up spending our meetings laughing hysterically and teasing one another as much as actually discussing issues. And there are obligations outside of a weekly meeting, but they’re little and not too much effort. I also got my big last week– she gave me a beanie baby giraffe (our mascot) in my mailbox last tuesday! Can I just say how much that MADE ME JUMP AROUND LIKE A KID AT CHRISTMAS? I freaking LOVE stuffed animals. His name is Aram and he looks like this:

Aram, the cutie.

So stinking cute! He sits on my dresser and laughs at me as I scramble around in the dark every morning.

 

ASKED A BOY OUT (OMG)– Yeah… asked a cute freshman boy to the Phi Sig Fall Dinner Party. Not quite a date, and not quite asking a boy to Homecoming. But a good start. He’s also INCREDIBLY good looking, as Miriam can attest. However, I am not creepy enough to pimp him out on the internet like I did to Aram. Sorry. He’s a really nice kid, with a very good sense of humor, and a cute little freshman mentality. Kind of like he still thinks he’s in high school a little. I don’t feel like a total loser around him, because I’m stuck in high school a lot too, so we’re kind of on the same page. Mentally I’m still a frosh, and he actually *is* still a frosh. PERFECT, YOU SAY? I agree. I’ll be sure to update if anything else comes to pass in regard to CFB (cute freshman boy), which I hope it does. I’m not the only one after him, but I think I’m the only one not outright chasing him. (For the most part. )

 

WRECKED MY DIET– Um, bad life choice. Don’t really want to go into detail, but the essence is that I took the weekend off as a last hurrah, but now I have to behave like an angel for the next five-ish weeks until the Fall Party, because I have to wear a cocktail dress… and considering CFB is my date, I want to look HOTT. So the eating will be very much regulated and hopefully I can successfully lose about 7 pounds between here and there. W00T!

 

LOST ALL SENSE OF DIRECTION– Yeah, so the NaNoWriMo planning is made of fail so far. But I’m still thinking hard and hoping to be struck by inspiration like nobody’s business. I’d even settle for something as awkward as that Archimedes-bathtub incident, hopefully minus the streaking across campus. *sigh* But beggars can’t be choosers…

 

Definitely more updates as things progress, thanks for being patient! Longer letter later!

Gah. October 10, 2008

This week has been heinous, and next week will be too. Oddball good news here and there, but mostly stress, and by default stress relief, in the form of another video. I fail at breaking addictions, but at least this one benefits me somehow. Stressing over a video is more easily taken care of than stressing over failing a class. But more on that later.

Because Facebook isn’t enough… September 30, 2008

I love these pictures. Therefore, even though I put them on Facebook and Miriam has probably already seen them, I will insist on posting them here as well as a fill/cop-out post. Yes, they are watermarked on the sides/tops/bottoms with my (pen)name, so don’t try stealing them. I will get mad and hunt you down.

 

Yeah, long time no post… September 28, 2008

I keep thinking I need to write, I need to post, I need to update… and yet nothing update-worthy ever happens.

 

But at least now I have something new to blog about. Greek life! Yay!! I joined a sorority! The girls are all amazingly fun and when they kidnapped me tonight for dinner and ice cream I spent the entire time in stitches. Some are a little more offbeat than the others, but they’re all wonderfully fun and I can’t wait to spend more time with them.

 

Also, I plan to get back to making some more movies, but I’ve kind of lost faith in youtube and the internet in general, because Youtube deleted one of my videos for copyright violation, and then I found another vid posted on some site with no reference back to my youtube at all. Someone stole my vid!! >:( Not happy Bob… not happy…

 

But yeah, life’s been busy and fun, and I’ll be writing more soon! TTFN!

Sub-Culture Clash September 23, 2008

I believe that I have deep personal problems, stemming primarily from being a judgmental ass.

 

I saw a girl today, wearing a black baby tee, acid-washed skinny jeans, a black and white mod daisy-patterned bag, and a navy and grey scarf. And the first thought that passed through my mind?

 

“Oh, honey, let’s try a little harder to be different, shall we?”

 

Personally, I am not a fashionista. I do not put a ton of effort into my clothes, except for church  and special occasions. My favorite outfit includes either a hoodie, or that plaid vest that looks like I mugged a lumberjack. I don’t have much to contribute to the world of fashion, but for me it fits that age old description—I know it when I see it. I may have a different idea of what looks good than you do, or than the people writing those ragsheets in the supermarket, but if it flatters and coordinates, I’m all for it.

 

However, these cute little girls who think they are throwing off the shackles of fashion by deliberately designing outfits that burn the retinas of those who gaze upon them are not doing anyone a favor. Avant guard is best in small, incremental doses. Wear armwarmers with a rock band t-shirt, but keep the jeans normal. Wear acid wash jeans under the t-shirt, but leave out the scarf. If you pile punk on top of retro, on top of vintage, you just kill the whole vibe.  And plus, you look like a train wreck.

 

I don’t presume to be an expert. I can’t claim to have perfected the techniques myself, nor to have even identified with a particular subgenre. I bounce around. Sometimes I just feel like wearing something that has a particular vibe, but most of the time I wear a t-shirt. Best to err on the side of caution.

 

Like I said. I’m no expert. But glaringly obvious effort to stand out usually accomplishes its goal, and then some. And rest assured, there will be further meditation on this subject.