Drifter

I’m kind of a drifter.

When I saw the movie Up in the Air, something about it really spoke to me.  First of all, I love to fly.  And I mean love.  I get to fly tomorrow, and I’m already a little giddy about it.  More than just flying, I love flying alone. It makes me feel independent and adult.

But my love of flying does not necessarily make me a drifter.  My uncommon lack of “stuff” for my age does.  Here’s a list of things I don’t have:

  • permanent residence
  • furniture
  • kitchenware
  • giant television
  • monthly bills

So taken in the context of the movie, my “backpack” would not be very heavy.  Items currently in my “backpack”:  a Toyota Corolla and many many clothes.  That’s about it.

In the next year I foresee my backpack getting heavier.  At some point I will have to start living on my own and paying what I have always suspected that I am allergic to– monthly bills.  AHHHHH!

Hopefully the job I get at the end of my master’s program will involve travel, so I can keep flying despite my “stuff.”

Peace out May!

Dora the Explorer

May was good.  May 2010, you were probably one of the best Mays I’ve ever had.  Some highlights were:

  • driving all the way to Peabody to go to a Sonic
  • watching X-Files on Netflix instant viewing
  • getting a $100 tip, and then blowing it on dinner
  • reviving my Nike + kit and running outside for a change

And now it’s June 2010.  The month where I will:  stop using an iPhone, stick to my budget, and stick to my diet.  I want May back!

Sometimes I write down all the stuff I was supposed to do today on a to-do list for tomorrow and it makes me feel better that I didn’t do it today.

Sunday Blues

Growing up, I always dreaded Sundays.

Sunday was a day to do all the homework I was supposed to do during the week or over the weekend.  Going to church was even worse, not in itself, but that it ate half the day, and left me with only a few measly afternoon hours in which to complete said homework in time to watch a few hours of television before going to bed.

And heaven forbid it be nice out.  Then I would have to deal with my one or more of my parents making me feel bad about not going outside.

Sundays aren’t so bad anymore.  It may have to do with the fact I don’t really have homework anymore.  It also may have to do with the fact that I don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn on Monday morning.  I’ll probably always have a love/hate relationship with Sundays, but right now?  I look forward to them.

Happy Sunday.

Old-fashioned

My workspace

This is my workspace.  Is it narcissistic to have two pictures of myself on my desk?  Perhaps.

The IT guy at work always gives me crap for buying a Mac.  But it’s what I wanted.  But I tell you what I won’t be buying– an iPad.  Between my MacBook, and my iPhone, do I really need small, smaller, and smallest?  No thanks.

I think Apple could have shown a little more class by not trying to make a Kindle for Mac lovers.  And Kindle’s are nice, but what’s so wrong with an old-fashioned book?  And you can read most of those for free thanks to the library, where I am off to in just a second to get some more… (GASP!) old-fashioned books.

My move so far

So now I’ve moved. I’m settling in. The weather is crappy, thus no shiny pictures to show you. I’m doing okay. The job is good. I miss home. I need a beach day. The end.

You can't be everything you want to be before your time

For the past three years I felt hurried to get somewhere.  Adulthood, The Real World, whatever you call it.  I think this comes from the few instances where I find myself away from home, am experiencing someone else’s situation in life, and find myself insane with jealously.

College has made me feel stuck in one place, like I’m waiting for my real life to begin.  And this summer has made it even worse.  Every now and then I just find myself depressed that I have to go back to Knoxville.  Why can’t I get a real job and start my real life now?

I don’t know why I am in such a hurry to grow up at 21.  But I think I’m ready to stop.  I should be making the most of this supposed purgatory.  Not to mention that I’ll never cut it in the real world if I don’t know how to use a can opener.

Unprepared

Just this morning I was walking back from my coffee shop of choice in Edgartown– Espresso Love. I was wearing a white t-shirt, so of course I spilled coffee all over myself. And that got me to thinking about all the things I never learned to do, like how to not spill coffee on myself when I’m wearing white t-shirts. In reality, there are so many things I haven’t learned to do that make me feel unprepared for the world.

I have never learned to open a can with a can opener. For this one I blame my parents for having an electric one in the kitchen for so long. At the grocery store I always try to buy cans that have the pull-tab, because I know that I’m just asking for trouble trying to use a can opener. Could someone be so kind as to show me how?

I have never learned to not tip like a rockstar. Could someone remind me that I’m in college and am not made of money? See exhibits A and B.

tip2 tip1

I have never learned to walk in heels.  I think I may have touched on this in a past post, along the lines of I’ll never really feel like a woman until I can feel confident wearing heels.  But really, life is to short to cause your feet so much pain.  And there are so many no-heel alternatives out there.  Plus, I am too tall for heels!  I might consider trying to train myself in this arena if I were headed for a career sitting at a desk, but I fear I will be standing up for most of my working life, so heels be darned.

I have never learned to accept my hair the way it is. I’m on my third hair straightener now and have more hair products than you can shake a stick at, which is proof that I am willing to spend any amount of money to not have my hair look the way it was intended. There was one morning, about a year and a half ago, where I woke up and was like “YES!” hair2about my real hair. And I have never been able to get my hair to look like that on it’s own again. Here’s a picture from that morning:

I have never learned to not take jokes too far.  I think it’s the part of me that always wanted to be a stand-up comedienne.  I’ll figure this one out eventually.

I have never learned how to act at concerts.  Maybe this is because I am incredibly white, but like… what do you do at concerts?  I just feel so awkward that standing still seems to be the best strategy.  Someone please tell me this will change now that I’m 21 and can drink at concerts?

Things I miss about being single

  1. Lean Cuisines
  2. Soup from a can
  3. Having time to exercise

Meh, I can live without two of those things.

Yes, this was my way of saying I have a boyfriend.

Giggle Trigger

There are some words that will always put a smile on my face, for reasons that are not apparent to anyone but myself.  No matter where I am, I will giggle like a little girl.  Here are some of those words and the story behind why I am amused.

  1. Time
    Two Halloweens ago I was with some friends late at night on the way to or from a party on campus.  We were checking our watches to see what time it was, when I realized that it was the Sunday where Daylight Savings Time took effect, meaning that we had just gained an hour.  My dear friend Corey Benick (who was at the time slightly socially lubricated and dressed as Willy Wonka ala Johnny Depp) then shouted “TIME!  I LOVE TIME!”  It was so funny to me at the time that I think of Corey almost every time I hear the word time.
  2. Teamwork
    For this one, let’s take a trip back to high school.  I’m in Biology AP class, which was very small, probably only 14 students.  Our teacher thought it would be fun to have a genetics project were we all practiced “mating” and pulled out random chromosomes from a brown paper bag in order to produce offspring, and of course that made us all laugh like idiots while we were doing it.  I cannot for the life of me recall whether it was Christine or myself who said this, but once we had produced 10 or so healthy offspring, someone declared “Good teamwork, team!”  And therefore teamwork = sex in my mind, so of course I am giggling every time I hear it.
  3. Oxygen
    This one is a little new and I don’t quite know if it will have staying power, but for the past couple of days it has been giving me the giggles.  This comes purely from listening to the You Look Nice Today podcast and hearing Merlin Mann complain that he never gets any alone time away from Oxygen.  It’s in the “Truck Spank” episode if you’re interested in listening, and YOU SHOULD BE.
  4. Sideburns
    I’ll make this one short and sweet.  I kissed a guy with some considerable sideburns last summer.  It was a mistake of almost comical proportions, and I’m happy to say that I do indeed chuckle when I think about it.  The end.
  5. Ch
    Unfortunately for you, dear readers, I cannot fully explain this one without simultaneously making this blog inappropriate for all audiences.  But you are more than welcome to shoot me an email and I will let you in on the joke.
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