Twas the Night Before Surgery . . .

I'm at home for the time being. Tomorrow morning I get to go through the glorious task of getting my wisdom teeth removed. I was exceptionally nervous about being put on an anesthetic but at this point my teeth hurt and I'm sick of thinking about it so take them out.

The weather was beautiful tonight in NJ but it is exceptionally buggier than in DC. Nothing like chomping down on a piece of Jersey corn while mosquitoes chomp down on your shins.

I'm excited for the post surgery plans. This weekend is the Hot Air Balloon festival which my family plans on attending and on Sunday night my brother promised a visit. I may have cheeks the size of chipmunk's cheeks but it's family, they have you love you no matter what you look like :). And of course, nothing tops off a good weekend at home like Harry Potter in IMAX. CAN'T WAIT.

Next week should be crazy madness with the SG staring the magazine deadline square in the face, but I am excited about how it is turning out design wise so here's hoping it's a great success.

I also start on my new project at my internship at Washington Life. A two page spread the designer normally does so that should offer up some more freedom. Here's hoping that's not an epic fail as well.

I just recently created a photoblog (http://photopsychotherapy.blogspot.com/) which I'm enjoying more than I thought I would. Surprisingly, my keeping up with it isn't ending horribly so hopefully since I'll be on blogger I can update here as well.

I'll be in a foggy haze tomorrow but updates will come soon after.

Celebrating Independence with a Million People

This weekend was amazing. Saturday, Terence and I went out to the National Mall for Capitol Fourth and saw the best Fireworks show I have ever seen. We arrived around 1 and walked around a fairly odd Folklife Festival, but after going through security, we spent a beautiful afternoon on the Lincoln side of the Washington Monument. We brought a deck of cards and had a card battle of epic proportions and the afternoon went much faster than expected. The fireworks were amazing. They were set off from either side of the Reflecting Pool and the fireworks were HUGE! It was amazing.

There were so many people but the energy was just contageous. Needless to say I was exhausted on Sunday.

I'm back at work now getting ready for a hopefully eventful week. I'm taking off work next week to spend some time with my parents exploring the city even more.

Count it. Love Summer.

Staying Put?

I have been back to NJ for the past two weekends and I feel like I've been running around like crazy. Last week was a bad week for DCers with the metro crash, the shooting at the Holocaust Museum, and the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. One thing that was cool was that when I went to the annual Relay for Life in Penndale, PA with my family, someone had sponsored an honorary bag for Farrah Fawcett. It was quite an emotional night but it was evened out by some visits from the extended family on my dads side. It was quite the family weekend as well.

So now I am on an epic search for some bad ass Fourth of July plans. I love fireworks so I'm trying to find a place to see them, but also somewhere where I won't be trampled by a million people. The search continues . . .

It's a busy day at work so I'm taking a break to have lunch with Gill. I'm running around DC but for the moment I'm staying put in DC. That's all I can ask for, I guess. More later.

I Only Packed One Bag . . . You Should Be Proud

Last night ended poorly. The worst part was the dream that followed that haunted me.

My chest actually hurts after that insanely visual dream.

It was one of those dreams that was so close to reality it was terrifying.

The moral of the story? I think I've forgotten how to start by making myself happy and began with other people, in turn losing myself.

After getting to NJ from DC yesterday I left my phone in my bag, partially unintentionally, to which my bags went upstairs and my phone that once had one bar of battery left soon had none.

I was intrigued after the other night of Gabi telling me her goal was to go completely cell phone less for an entire year and soon give the internet the boot as well. Could I even do it for one night where everyone I cared about knew where I was?

There's something slightly unaltering about a dead phone. Is it okay?! Will it come back?! After my computer battery crapped out in the winter it's always an option for my electronics.

Nothing good comes immediately after turning your phone on after being dead. Especially no good conversations.

I'm trying not to think about it and my dream but it's 7:15 and I'm awake. I finally got my ceiling fan to stop making that horrible noise that played a role in my dream as well.

Last night my family sat on our deck talking until we were almost completely eaten alive by mosquitoes. We moved inside and watched a psuedo video of my brother's wedding. Almost 2 years ago now, wow.

Some cool internet findings I found out about last night thanks to my tech savvy brother:

Texts from Last Night: Kind of like FML.

http://www.textsfromlastnight.com/

A video from College Humor called "Twitter in Real Life."

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1909386

Epic Attempts

I love the summertime. Amazing weather (when the apocolypse isn't crawling over DC) and tons of things to do.

I have recently been in the buying mood despite my low funds. On my list of 1001 things to do in 101 days #99. Finish all shopping for the year by Halloween (Birthdays, Christmas, Etc.) so I am trying to fuel my buying energy in that direction as an excuse.

Speaking of which I am moving along pretty well on my list:

1. Learn Conversational French
2. Learn Sign Language
3. Swim with a dolphin
4. Host a board game night
5. Visit all 50 states
6. Put my feet in the Pacific Ocean (I put my feet in the Gulf of Mexico!)
7. Don’t text message for an entire month
8. Build something
9. Visit the Ben and Jerry’s Factory (In Waterbury, VT)
10. Go to Ireland
11. Watch Star Wars for the first time (just the first movie) Watched Episodes 4, 5, & 6 on 02/14/09
12. Take daily vitamin every day straight for a month (Finished May 2009!)
13. Set and FOLLOW a month long workout routine.
14. Learn how to drive a manual.
15. Make a photography portfolio
16. Buy a bicycle
17. Go two weeks without cursing
18. Keep a piggy bank and put ALL excess change in said bank
19. Read the entire Harry Potter Series… again
20. Read at least 4 books off of a greatest books ever written list
21. See Dave Matthews in Concert... no matter how old he is and no matter how old I am.
22. Decorate an entire room of my own by myself.
23. Go to the New Jersey Botanical Gardens
24. Straddle 5 state lines… Photographed.
25. Finally organize all of the postcards I have collected.
26. Create and mail in a Post Secret postcard.
27. Don’t watch any television for a week.
28. Don’t use any plastic bags for a month.
29. Don’t buy bottled water for a month.
30. Paint a room a crazy color
31. Run in a mini marathon ((5k in October!))
32. Dress up for Halloween (seriously, even though you hate Halloween)
33. Watch the end of the West Wing series
34. Watch the end of the O.C. series
35. Learn how to surf
36. Learn how to play guitar

37. Go to a wine tasting
38. Go to a drive in movie
39. Go to a planetarium
40. Listen to all of the music on my iPod (5535 items, 49.7 days worth of music)
41. Skip dessert for a month
42. Stop biting my nails for an entire month
43. Make something from blown glass
44. Learn how to make pottery
45. Color an entire coloring book
46. Send 101 cards (41/101)
47. Read Gone With the Wind
48. Don’t use Facebook for two weeks
49. Pay Dad back for the accident ($500)
50. See 50 of IMDB’s top 250 movies (http://www.imdb.com/chart/top)
51. Do Photo Project 365 (http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/project-365-take-a-photo-a-day/)
52. Go to a Salsa Club
53. Buy nothing for a week.
54. See the sunrise (01/20/09, Inauguration morning, the day I started 1001!)
55. See the sunset.
56. Do the 26 Things project (http://sh1ft.org/26things/)
57. Reread Childhood books
58. Attend a film festival
59. Go to Atlantic City (Post 05/05/09) and gamble with only $40. Whatever happens, happens, no continuing with winnings.
60. Keep a journal everyday.
61. Go to church every Sunday for three months straight.
62. Organize iTunes
63. Organize all of my crap/memorabilia
64. Don’t eat out for an entire month
65. Ride in a hot air balloon
66. Graduate (Early?)
67. Make my own website (buy the web space... don’t cop out)
68. Keep a dream glass
69. Get over it.
70. Sing in front of people
71. Read five banned books
72. Dress up for an entire week for no reason.
73. Go crabbing
74. Donate to Locks of Love (more than once)
75. Buy fruit from local farmers for an entire month
76. See Penguins in their natural habitat (Saw penguins LIVE at the Florida Aquarium 03/14/09).
77. Travel to a Spanish speaking country and use as much Spanish as possible
78. Seriously consider backpacking across Europe in 07/2010. Do everything humanly possible to go.
79. Read more books per year than the previous year (32 in 06, 33 in 07…)
80. Donate to a charity every year (0/3)
81. Go to the beach without getting Sun burned
82. Finish and frame a puzzle with over 5,000 pieces in it.
83. Attempt (legitimately) a NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org/)
84. Write a message in a bottle and let it go at my favorite spot by the beach.
85. Go through an entire semester without missing class.
86. Go sky diving.
87. Conquer my fear of horses and ride one.
88. Send someone I love flowers anonymously.
89. Keep five plants/flowers/trees, and keep them alive.
90. Fill someone’s expired meter.
91. Go to high school reunion.

92. Give up all caffeine (including chocolate) for two months.
93. Go to the top ten best rated restaurants in DC.
94. Shadow a journalist, designer, or Mr. Zink for a day.
95. Write your life story in a day.

96. Edit it later, make a memoir?

97. Identify 100 things that make you happy.

98. Start a blog and keep up with it.

99. Finish all shopping for the year by Halloween (Birthdays, Christmas, Etc.)

100. Donate $10 to charity for every item I do not achieve by XX/XX/XXXX

101. Create another list.

So many dreams and so little time.

I'm also making every attempt to become a coupon lady. Things are expensive and I hear gas prices are rising too! It's rough.

I have stopped eating out as much as possible. I'm not going to lie, I have broken a couple of times but it's only been 2 or 3 in two weeks, which after eating out almost every meal isn't bad! Attempt number 2 to save money.

Going home in two weeks for my Mom's Birthday and Father's Day and I'm pretty excited. My sister is popping in to visit tomorrow night on her way to VA which will also be a good time. I am having the hardest time finding a birthday card for my mom though. We try to make each other cry due to laugher but I don't want to make my mother cry because of saddness from an old joke which is what EVERY card is now. How frustrating. I might have to make her one and think of something witty. If you know of any good card stores in DC or ideas for messages for inside cards send them my way!

More later, and more often, promise.

Photo for this post: Flowers on campus.

Mother's Day in NJ

So Happy Mother's Day to all of the mother's out there. It would be inconsiderate of me not to start there. 

I find myself sitting in a very comfortable chair in my living room in New Jersey awaiting the arrival of my grandparents and listening to the soundtrack to Juno which I got out from the library. It's relaxing, I'd recommend it. 

Our holidays until very recently have been shockingly monotonous. Arrival, exchange of gifts/hellos/conversation, meal, goodbyes. Weird, right? Last year we abandoned the tradition completely but this year we bring it back with a couple slight changes. The addition of the Phillies Game and Yahtzee. I'm interested to see how this goes. 

I read the New York Times Magazine this morning and found this Mother's Day appropriate article that was touching:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/magazine/10lives-t.html?ref=magazine

And then an interview with Arlen Specter which was solely entertaining, apparently the new found democrat has jokes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/magazine/10wwln-q4-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine

P.S. Did you know graphic designers design the header graphics for the New York Times Magazine? A woman came to speak to the design department last fall and she showed us some portfolio picks that I recognized above William Saffire's column On Language. Maybe there's hope!

I'll be in New Jersey this week hopefully enjoying the beautiful weather but this windy Mother's Day I'll be with the family. We do make our own fun though. 

Here's to a relaxing week at home... cheers. 

((Pictured above... a friend who came from off the deck yesterday to hang out in the family room... a tree frog.))

My Bad

WOW, I am bad at this. 

Let's make this a short update. Seeing as it has been almost a month since I updated last (making me horrible at this blog thing) it might surprise you that not a lot has happened. I have had my head unwillingly shoved into numerous textbooks in a sad attempt to keep up with my studies. But thank God, the semester is coming to a close. One final exam and one paper stand between me, 21, and freedom from this heinous semester. 

Tomorrow I have told myself I will conquer and hand in this paper about Title IX and take my Journalism Ethics exam. Almost immediately afterwards I'm going to have my first legal drink with my parents and my sister in Georgetown. Paint me excited. 

After that the summer of glory begins. Don't hold your breath kids, let the party begin.