so, this week’s song of the week is “good time” by leroy. 

gee, do ya think i just started re-watching scrubs…starting at season one? 

hey.  i could’ve gone with erasure’s, “a little respect.” 

but i didn’t. 

because i’m a nice lady.

thanks to working on this creative challenge, i spend a fair amount of time at my studio table, and i always have something going on my computer for ambiance.  now that i’ve run through pretty much all that hulu has to offer, i’m starting in on my dvd collection.  thanks to lex, i have every season of scrubs except for season eight (which hadn’t come out in time for christmas, haha). 

i chose “good time” for this week’s song of the week because, thanks to scrubs, it’s been stuck in my head all day.  along with “a little respect.”  so…you know…lesser of two evils.

and that is all.

see you guys later

so, i know i’ve been pretty much terrible at updating lately, but i’ve had a lot of stuff going on.  still toying with the idea of splitting my shop in two (therefore still toying with names for the second shop if i do that).  still working my brains out with this daily craft challenge.  still doing what i can to bring about awesomeness in my daily, and long-term, life.  you know–the usual.

it’s been pretty whirlwind since the last time i updated.  we’ve made some crazy plans for our keys trip.  i’ve made some crazy plans for some home re-do’s coming up in about two weeks.  lex and i had a *grown-up dinner date* with new *adult* friends .  i’ve been staying generally busy going places and seeing things.  uh…i shipped a medical model of a lump of fat to a guy.  really.  i dunno what to say.  i can hardly remember what all i’ve been doing, because i’ve been doing entirely too much.

working (playing catch-up) all day today.  berries practice tonight.  more work this week–lots of work.  it’s orange week in the daily challenge, and i’ve got some cool plans, but some of it is stuff i’ve never attempted, so who the heck knows how it’ll all turn out.

plus, i’m looking at blogging more specifically about the daily challenges, and i’m not quite sure how to manage that.  so…you know…i’m pretty much just jabbering at this point.

all i can say is that after a weekend full of boys who look entirely too much like the super mario brothers, girls who can’t seem to figure out the skirt-to-leg ratio deemed appropriate for needing to wear underwear in public, and the all-seeing eye (j), i’m pretty much spent. 

it’s time to get back to get back to my roots.

dear the hpv commercials that constantly run during my hulu queue:

hpv.  even if you don’t get it, it’ll make you sick to death with commercials.

enough already, okay? 

here’s the thing:

weird, drawing-looking one, let me address you first.  i’m pretty much sick of hearing your voice.  and your drawings creep me out.  you don’t, in any way, convince me to make sure i checked for hpv.  all you do is make me flick my mouse cursor up to that little “ad does not apply to me” button.  which i do.  every time you come on.  and now?  you’re appearing less.  but you’re being replaced with that friskies *feed the senses* commercial, and now i just wander around humming that whimsical little ditty.  and then i catch myself humming it–or worse.  sometimes i will shock myself out of a creative zone when i realize that i’m actually quietly singing the words to myself.  and i can’t take that.  it’s totally inappropriate.

now.  on to you, other commercial with all the “what if” questions.  every time you start, i think, “oh.  whatever.  life insurance commercial or something, right?  maybe retirement funds?”  and every time, just when things get good, you let me down. 

you ask, “what if you move to miami?”  and i think, “oh.  yeah!  i’d totally love to move to miami!”

you ask, “what if you just bought a warmer coat?”  and i think, “…well…miami sounded pretty good.  but i guess the moving expenses would be a lot greater than just buying a coat.  so…okay, i can manage that.”

you ask, “what if you applied for grad school?”  and i think, “wow!  i just did!  how did you know?”

you ask, “what if you meet someone?”  and i think, “aww.  i’ve met someone.”

you ask, “what if he likes you, too?”  and i think, “yeah!  he does like me, too.  this is awesome!”

and then.

you ask, “what if he gives you  …  HPV?”

and your happy music goes all discordant and the pictures get dark and scary and all i can think is, “hey…wait a minute…what about all that other stuff?  why don’t we do that stuff?  this part sucks.”

which, i suppose, is the reason you’re done the way you are commercial.  but, much like your freaky companion, it just doesn’t make me think seriously about the point. 

don’t get me wrong.  hpv.  you’ve made your point.  cervical cancer.  again, the point is clear.  and don’t misunderstand me, universe.  with several family members and family friends who have fallen victim to cancer–and thankfully my mom, who’s a cancer survivor–i’m not knocking the scary seriousness of cancer.

i just don’t need to see a commercial about getting screened for hpv every ten minutes of my day.  i only have to get the exam once a year, folks.  the ratio of information to action is just a wee bit off there.

anyway, that’s that.  i just needed to say my piece.

now, i’m gonna go hum the friskies jingle unwittingly while i make some lunch.

the end.

so, this is a totally tiny and completely random post, but i figured i’d talk about a few things.  first of all:

song of the week!

this week’s *song of the week* is “my girls” by animal collective.  i love them for everything they do, but this song gets stuck in my head all the freakin’ time.  it’s been wandering through my brain since i woke up this morning, so i figured it pretty much had to be the song i picked.

oil spills got you down?  pfft.  kevin costner has the solution!

next up, a link i got in an email from lex.  fun and interesting.  i dunno what we’d do if there weren’t celebrities out there to help save the world, lol.

awesome vinyl bird-themed passport cover by kotibeth over at etsy!

also, hooray!  i’m finally all good to get my passport.  i’m so excited about getting it, that i think i’m going to have to treat myself to an adorable cover like the one above!

so long, russell.  so long, russell’s hat

and finally, for now, survivor.  poor ol’ russell.  love him (you guys know i do, lol), hate him, whatever.  no votes.
that’s just a sad day.

alright, time for me to get back to work.  see you all around later!

so, i know yesterday i whined about not being able to go off for the weekend.  which was silly.  because i’m just being selfish.  i’m just trying to squeeze an extra weekend in of florida sun before my summer vacation.

…with lex…

…to the florida keys!

i wanted to wait to make my personally thrilling announcement until i was absolutely positive that the dates were secured.  but sure enough, we’re set!  a nine-day whirlwind trip of ocean and sand and rocks and fish and palm trees and clouds and sun and food and shopping and tourists and awesome.

the old bahia honda bridge

i love going places with lex, because he travels much the way i prefer to–by the seat of his pants.  the only thing we’ve got figured out for certain right now is a night of sea-side camping at bahia honda–we had to make very quick reservations for that one, because they book well in advance.

handmade leather photo album by leathermaps on etsy
(click image to view listing)

we’ve got a tiny framework in mind for the rest of the trip, but are going to sit down this weekend to determine what we’d like to do that will require reservations.  otherwise, we’re just going to go and do whatever we please.  anything we see that looks like fun, we’ll work it in somehow.

i’ve never been on a vacation with anyone that was like traveling with lex.  mostly because the only actual vacations i’ve ever taken were with my parents, and those were so long ago i can hardly remember them.  since i grew up in florida, we took the obligatory semi-annual trip to disney world.  woo. 

it’s a small enough world that i don’t need this creepy ride to tell me all about it

you’re always grateful for the vacation, but by the time you’ve done it eight times, you’re kinda ready for a change of scenery.  plus, as a small child, i was pretty much at their mercy.  and my parents, love them as i might, are much more itinerary-based than i am.  i got most of their organizational skills, but when it comes to going places and doing things, i’d much rather let my mood and surroundings dictate my experiences.  perhaps it’s my youthful abandon, lol.

somehow, i don’t think nari and rorschach will be game…

so, who the heck knows what all we’re going to end up doing?  lex and i are both pretty much open to anything, so if you guys have ever been down there and have suggestions, i’d love to hear them.  he’s been down there, so he’ll have a little bit of a leg up on what all to take in.  i’m definitely all about being immersed in whatever culture there is to find, so i can’t wait!

the countdown right now is 41 days.  you know you’ll be hearing more about it between now and then.

so, here are a few random pictures from this week.  they please me.

i know, i know, more pictures of the cats.  but i love them.

the lovely nari

the dashing rorschach

“HI MOM!”  i believe that rorschach takes after lex.

lex, testing the raw sauce

raw sauce and pine nuts on whole wheat pasta = yum!

also, i already managed to sell one of my rings thanks to *buy it now*–woo, ebay!

looks like the start to a good weekend.  getting ready to head over to lex’s now.  there’s no telling what craziness we’ll manage to get up to.  i’ll see you guys around soon.

so, i’m essentially wild with wanderlust at this time of year.  all the various trips i’ve taken in the past few months to the places i could potentially be for grad school didn’t do a thing to slake my thirst for travel and adventure, because there’s really only one place that i long to be when the weather gets warm:  florida.

one day, i’ll wallpaper my house with vintage postcards

the super lame part of being an adult with wanderlust is the responsibilities that prevent you from picking up and leaving town.  your best friend’s second college graduation.  weddings.  taking care of your grandmother’s bird.  you know.  the important stuff.

no touching.

for me, it all comes down to the same conversation over and over again.  lex will text me, “hey babe.  got any plans for the weekend?”  to which i’ll inevitably have to reply, “yeah.  we’ve got to go to such-and-such.”  which totally prevents awesomely spontaneous plans like today, when lex got the itch to make a quick run to daytona.  we could’ve left early this afternoon, been down there in plenty of time to get a slurpee before bed, and spent all day wandering the beaches and flea markets tomorrow.  then, sunday, we could’ve had a leisurely trip back up along a1a.

sigh.

i just want to see palm trees!

every year, when may rolls around, i begin to begrudge any prior commitments that keep me from skipping town on a whim.  no offense to anyone.  summer wandering is just that important a facet of my life.

if i actually owned these suitcases, there would be absolutely no stopping me from traveling whenever and wherever i pleased.

not being able to leave town presents exciting (and annoying) challenges.  it can be fun to find new things to do and places to go.  but when you have to figure out exactly how far away you can get in two days before you have to be back for band practice on sunday night, it’s frustrating. 

have band.  will travel.

the restlessness is cruel.

oh well. 

evil = awesome

at least on sunday night i can cheer for the terrifically conniving russell hantz on the survivor finale.  i know he’s played such a sloppy game this time around that there’s literally no chance he can win.  but i’m still going to hold on to the belief that he’ll make it happen somehow!

so, this post really doesn’t need much introduction.  i’ll just post the pictures and listings, and anyone who’s interested can take it from there.

click image to view listing

click image to view listing     

15% of the proceeds will go to the south carolina coalition against domestic violence and sexual assault.  the other 85% will go to helping me pay for grad school.  so, you know.  both awesome causes

i’m happy to answer any questions regarding the listings or my story.

as always, thanks for reading.

so, lex texted me a little while ago with a message to check my email.  among other things, the message he’d sent me contained this link:

daria

that’s right folks.  at long, long last the entire series (plus both movies!) has been released on dvd a mere two days ago.  and if i didn’t have the possibility of grad school and a massively awesome summer vacation in the works, i would already have forked over the money to have this set arrive on my doorstep tomorrow morning.  and then i would proceed to spend the entire weekend in pajamas, eating stir fry and watching non-stop.  it would be blissful.

i used to watch daria all the time.  and i was constantly referred to as jane lane by my nearest and dearest in high school.  this i took as a compliment.

ahh, jane lane. 
i have more piercings, but your wardrobe still reigns supreme.

daria and i were in high school at basically the same time.  and while i know it’s silly to say that the show was fairly formative for me, i have to admit that the honing of my sardonic wit can be traced back to its roots in flattering imitations of the characters on the show.  to this day, i am still able to zing out some fast ones in daria-esque monotony.

so, daria fans, your day has come.  skip on over to amazon (or your particular favorite dvd supply house) and get your fix. 

la la la la la.
you’re standing on my neck.

so, today has just been weird.  in terms of activities, it wasn’t much of a bad day.  i managed to get some questions answered at the verizon store in cola, which was sorta shocking, as i would pretty much prefer having my fingernails pulled out one by one than go in there.  the guy that i talked to was actually really nice and frank, which is always helpful in stores like that.  i can’t take it when you go to a big corporate store and all the customer service reps are drooling over you to get to a grand commission. 

ick.  greasy, much?

anyway, it’s always a work-up for me to bother with going in there.  plus my stomach and head are still bugging me a lot.  i haven’t been hungry for a few days, but when i bother to eat, i just kinda mindlessly gobble my food, and i never like that.  it always makes me feel so out of touch with everything

i can’t eat doughnuts.  which is probably a good thing.

things right now are just kinda lame.  really.  i hate to be so blasé about it, but this is just not so much my month.  waiting to hear from grad schools is not something that my temperament is suited for.  and i’m not particularly fond of may anyway.  besides, this specific may is pretty much full of everyone else’s successes and accomplishments, and i’m constantly faced with battling down the perpetual question:  “so, what are you doing these days?”

i’m not a conspiracy theorist.  but i’d totally like an effects budget that could create come semblance of current life accomplishments.

sure, i’m keeping busy, but i’m ready for something real.  i want to know for certain whether i’ll be moving in two months or sticking around for another year.  and if i’m sticking around, that changes my game, because i’ve got other things that i want to pursue.  but i don’t want to pursue them and suddenly have to leave them behind if i find out that i’m going to be ten hours away by august.  ugh.  it’s just frustrating as all get out, and keeps me in a perpetually fluctuating mood.

yes.  i do have a case of the mondays.  unfortunately for me, today is wednesday.  now what?

i feel awful for the people around me.  my family and friends don’t know how they’ll find me from one day to the next, and i don’t have the energy to fake it as often as i used to.  well, no.  that’s not true.  i’ve always got the energy;  i just don’t see the point. 

sometimes, things suck.  it happens to everyone.  currently, it just happens to be getting me down.  check back tomorrow, and i’ll have a whole different view.