Courtney Paige

2006-08-10T18:40:00.000-07:00

Summer is almost over.

I'm glad.

In the weeks leading up to school I'm going to be working a lot, which isn't bad. I need the money and it gives me something to do beside sit around and watch TV.

Today I work I got to be a model for a spec ad. I had to hold a toy race car with oven-mits. I'm not sure what the ad is for, but it should be interesting.

Right now, Kyle is buying 'Snakes on a Plane' tickets a week in advance for fear that it might be sold out. This movie is either going to become a cultural phenomenon or be really stupid (I guess those are not mutually exclusive so the third possibility is that both are true.)

Corey and I are speaking again, which is nice. I went over to his house and ate cake and watched Project Runway. It was a good time.

I'm sad that Bradly got sent home. He should have his own reality show just because he is so funny and random.

Tonight, I think Kyle and I are going to hit up a few parties.

Fajankajank

2006-08-08T16:51:00.000-07:00

Today sucked.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm failing at life.

The only things I have going for me are Kyle, my sister and Nip Tuck.

2006-08-05T05:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a while.

I've been busy. I worked a lot this week, plus I took care of my mom's friends cats while she was out of town, I'm now staying with my little sister and dogs while my parents are out of town, and taking care of two other dogs while another one of my mom's friends is out of town. Plus, I'm trying desperately to finish my stupid history class.

I hate history.

Well, this history class at least.

I miss my sister. She went out of town for what seems like a year...

Oh yah, I got my new computer a few days ago. It is little and sweet. I am amazed I how much they can cram in a tiny box these days. The only problem is that the monitor I just bought is now not working... Sweet.

Welp, I have to go walk dogs now.

2006-07-27T08:03:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I'm taking my first test for my history class...scary.

This week has been fairly uneventful. I worked extra hours yesterday, which was nice because I need money. I bought a new computer on Monday. It left a little dent in the bank account.

It's funny how things work out though. For the first time in a long time I've been genuinely distraught about my financial situation, but it all seems to be working itself out. My former place of employment called to tell me I have a check to pick up, I was offered 2 pet sitting jobs, and I picked up extra hours at work.

This weekend, Kyle and I are going to KC to visit some friends. It will be nice to get away from this apartment that I've been holed up in and to take a break from Latin American History.

Over It

2006-07-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

I've decided I need new friends. I'm genuinely tired of people who act like they are still in middle school. I know that there probably isn't really a way to completely escape drama, but the people I've been hanging out with lately seem to eat, drink and breath it.

2006-07-23T21:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend was pretty fun.

Kyle and I went on a double date with my mom and dad, which is always enjoyable, because they always pay. We saw "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," which was just OK and then ate at La Paz. Delicious.

Later, we went to a party with Steven. It's always good to see Steven. The party was fun and weird at the same time. I saw a lot of people from high school who I never really knew very well--slightly awkward but still much better than sitting around the apartment like Kyle and I were planning on doing.

Today, I went to the grocery store, did laundry, and worked on my history class. Pretty boring.

It looks like I'm in store for another boring day tomorrow. I don't have to work, so I'm planning on doing homework and working on my thesis project all day tomorrow.

Urgh.

2006-07-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a sad day.

I thought certain people were close friends, but it turns out maybe they aren't what I thought.

It amazes me how people can be so judgmental of others, but be too blind to see that they aren't really any different than the people they are judging.

2006-07-18T18:11:00.000-07:00

My new favorite show is "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

Hilarious.

I wish I owned a bar.

Second thought: No, I don't.

I've been pretty boring as of late. Yesterday, I did nothing. I took a shower, but I didn't bother to fix my hair, put on makeup, or even get dressed. I was in my bathrobe or my undies all day.

It was glorious.

Today, I went to work, did laundry, and cleaned up the mess I made in the kitchen making pizza last night.

Now, I should be reading my history book, but I'm doing everything I can think of to avoid that task.

2006-07-16T09:29:00.001-07:00

Lately, I've been having this scary revelation that there are some people who will never go away.

After graduating high school, there were some people who I was glad I would be having minimal contact with. Most people grow up, move on and, if you're lucky, even move away. There are the dreaded few, however, who always seem to be lurking--not there as much as they use to be, but not gone either.

I use to think this type of person was just slow to move on, but as college progresses and I am now closer to graduation than my first day as a Freshman, I'm beginning to think that there are just some people who will never let you lose touch.

Frightening.

Back to the vacation:

It was really a lot of fun. We shopped, we played on the lake, we ate good food...eh...well, we played on the lake and we shopped at least.

Good food was hard to come by at lake Okaboji, which was surprising to me. The lakes are surrounded by very large, expensive summer homes and condos whose occupants, I'm sure, appreciate a good meal and have the dough to pay for it.

My proudest accomplishment is that after a grand total of 2 days out on the lake, I am now more tan than Kyle who spent a whole month in Brazil.

If I had a million dollars...

All That Glitters is Gold

2006-07-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting on my couch right now, watching Nip Tuck while Kyle plays some ninja arcade game on the computer. What could be better?

Nothing comes to mind.

The family vacation was fun, but a week was definitely long enough. It's good to be home.

Unfortunately, it also means that I must face the realities of the rest of my summer. These include but are not limited to finishing my thesis project and completing an independent study history class. (Unless you are very passionate about history, I do not recommend taking a history class independent study.)

I'm too distracted by the TV and fighting ninjas to continue this post.

Mall of America

2006-07-13T06:04:00.000-07:00

Today is our second at the mall.

I'm out of money.

I'll probably just start charging stuff on the credit card... is this a problem??

Not only is the MOA a great place to shop, it is also one of the best places to people watch. Yesterday, my dad and I sat on a bench for about 30 minutes and analyzed the different walks of girls who obviously have uncomfortable shoes on.

TOML

I miss Kyle.

Okaboji

2006-07-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

This has been an unusual Rodgers Family vacation.

Our vacations are usually extremely hectic and expensive. This one is neither.

My dad became frighteningly aware of how little we had planned about 2 minutes after we got settled into our condo and immediately started making plans.

Today, we jet skied, watched the soccer game, went shopping and then to a play (which sucked and we left at intermission.) Tomorrow, we are boating, and then going to a movie. Wednesday and Thursday we are going to drive to The Mall of America to do some more shopping. Friday and Saturday we'll drive home.

Our lazy, inexpensive vacation is slowly becoming hectic and, although not over the top expensive, is still costing more than planned.

2006-07-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

Summer school--done.

I handed in my last project at 3:00pm and it was one of the most glorious feelings ever.

Tomorrow it's off to Iowa with the fam. Yes, I know... Iowa? Doesn't sound too exciting, but the not too exciting part is actually what I'm looking forward to. Doing nothing but laying on the beach for 6 or 7 days sounds like heaven to me!

I'm Back!

2006-07-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

But not for long.

I'm here for the rest of the week and then I'm off to lake Okaboji with the fam. It should be fun times.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, I have to finish the last few days of my classes, which are already proving to be hell.

Wish me luck...

There's No Place Like Home

2006-07-03T06:40:00.000-07:00

I'm in Kansas.

Friday night Kyle and I stayed in KC with Bone, Brink and Steven. JT showed up all the way from Texas and Bone's girlfriend, Lena, was there as well. Good times were had by all.

Now, we are in Hutch. We haven't really done that much. Kyle is deprived of video games from being in Brazil and I'm trying to be nice and let him play, but sometimes the brat in me surfaces and I demand attention.

Today, I think we might go to the zoo. There is also going to be a party at Kyle's friends house.

Bring on the fun!

Guess what?

2006-06-30T06:20:00.000-07:00

Kyle back.

He's been here since Monday.

It's been fun.

Today we are leaving for Kansas City to hang out with a couple of friends for the night and then Sat. we are going to Hutch to spend the 4th with his family. I'm excited for many reasons.

First, I get to spend time with Kyle who I haven't seen for a month. Second, I don't have to go to class until Thursday. Third, I am done with summer school on Friday, which means I only have two days of classes left.

Woot.

Worlds of Fun??

2006-06-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, there definitely was an element of fun, but was it multiple worlds worth?

No.

I enjoyed riding some roller coasters and spending time with the fam. Around 3:00, however, it started to down pour. This was where the fun began to wan. I HATE rain. Actually, I hate getting wet. I'm not a big fan of swimming, I don't like to run through the sprinklers, and most of all, I hate being in the rain. I would skip class because it is raining before anything else. I could be deathly sick and I'd probably still go to class, but if it is raining, there are few things I'd go outside for.

Getting back to WOF... we ended up buying ponchos and going home. This wasn't all that bad because it meant I got to go out last night. That also did not turn out to be even 1 world worth of fun. I was supposedly there with John, but his man whore switch must have been turned on because he was all over every girl. Ever 30 minutes or so he would come find me and tell me he was sorry for ditching me and then flit off to some new girl.

It was actually kind of funny to watch.

Thank god Scotty was there, because he kept me sane. We stood to the side and observed the madness.

Was it entertaining? Yes. Worlds of Fun? No.

Less is More

2006-06-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

I chopped my hair today. It short and fabulous, just the way I like it.

I've been in hair stylist purgatory for the last year because the lady who cut my hair since before I can remember got married and moved away. Since then, I haven't had my hair cut by the same person twice.

I think I finally found a new stylist I like. What's even better is that the salon is only 2 blocks away from my apartment. Does it get any better than that?

Tomorrow, I'm going to Worlds of Fun. I don't think I've ridden a roller coaster in almost 8 years.

I'm excited.

Lord of the Sparknotes

2006-06-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

This week has kind of sucked because I've been so busy. Both my classes have kicked it up a notch in the last week and I'm feeling behind on my plan for my summer reading course.

All I have left is the Lord of the Rings trilogy--it has been that way for a while. I just can't motivate myself to read them. I'm thinking sparknotes are going to be a much used resource for my last few papers. I kind of started the first book, but I find myself spacing off and not actually paying attention to what I read.

Yesterday, as I was walking to work, there were a bunch of guys on the corner. As I passed, I could tell they were whispering about me.

Guy 1: Excuse me miss.

Me: Yes?

Guy 1: Has anyone told you that you are beautiful lately?

Me (blushing, because I always blush when people confront me on the street): Actually, no.

Guy 2: Well, you are!

By this time I'm about to pass the group. The Guy 3 directs his friends to part down the middle.

Guy 3: Part the seas for this one. She makes the sidewalk sizzle.

I think I was still laughing when I got to the office.

Now, I'm about to head out to a BETA BBQ. After, the plan is to go drunk putt putting.

Fun times.

Crazy, Sexy, Cool

2006-06-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

Last night was fun and very much not fun at the same time.

It started out well. Kelli and I went to a party and decided to lose our beer pong virginity together. We lost the first game--horribly. The second game, however, we kicked ass. I'm fairly surprised in how well I did. Usually I suck at all things requiring coordination, but I made the majority of the cups.

Shortly after our game, Corey came into the picture. He was WASTED. I was the one that had to sit with him in the bathroom while he puked up the worst smelling food ever. Then Kelli and I took him back to my apartment where he puked more, took a shower, and passed out wearing my light pink bathrobe. Kelli and I had to carry him to the couch. We were about to go to sleep when John showed up. John, Kelli and I all ended up sleeping in my bed because we were too lazy to inflate my air mattress. It ended up working out well. We are all so use to really small dorm/greek house beds that we didn't have a problem staying in our tiny sleeping spaces.

Today, we all woke up at 11:30 and headed out to the lake for the BETA rush event. It was fun. I got sun burnt. That's what I get for being a pasty ghost.

We all took a 2 hour break from each other, and now were meeting back up to get some dinner.

Big Spenda

2006-06-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

I have a credit card through my bank that is specifically for college students. After 1 year the credit limit can increase.

My bank just increased mine 6 months early.

Does that mean I use it too much??

I had my first almost party at my new apartment tonight. It was fun. There were some tensions, however, because everyone knew about the recent upsetting events in my life, but not because I told them. They found out from people who were there when the news was broken to me. Everyone wanted to talk about it because it is so utterly ridiculous, but at the same time everyone was afraid to upset me. I think it made people even more uncomfortable that I was the first to admit how ridiculous it is and laugh.

In the end, some good jokes were made, but everyone still felt it necessary to pull me aside and tell me that I could talk to them if I ever needed to. Frankly, I'm sick of talking. Jokes are fine, but serious talking--not my cup of tea right now. I prefer to solve my issues with inappropriate humor and parties.

Is there anything better?

All Is Well That Ends Well

2006-06-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

I got my eye checked out today. I guess everything is fine. The Doc. said the injury is too far to the right to be able to get a good look at it, but from what he can tell it is stable. I guess with this kind of injury, however, there is always going to be a chance that my retina could detach.

I would like to retract my previous statement that "Boys Suck" because that is too much of a generalization. Not all boys suck. In fact, right now, there are a lot of boys that I'm thrilled with. A more appropriate statement is "Some Boys Suck Sometimes."

Anyway, it's really a long story and I'm sure no one really cares, so I'm not going to type it all out.

Boys Suck

2006-06-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

That is all.

Trauma Drama

2006-06-09T16:53:00.000-07:00

I had an eye doctor appointment today.

I found out that some time recently I experienced some sort of blunt trauma to the face and it damaged my right eye. The only thing I can remember is getting kicked in my right cheek by a crowd surfer at a Coheed and Cambria concert. It hurt, but I didn't get a black eye. I guess it was worse than I thought.

I'm having my eye dilated on Tuesday to see if they have to repair the damage. My doctor warned me that my retina could detach at any moment, leaving pretty much temporarily blind in that eye. Exciting.

I worked today for a grand total of 2 hours. I'm going to be broke by the end of the summer, especially since I'm spending so much money on furniture for my apartment.

*Now, by request: More details about dinner with Jeff...

Like I already stated, it went well. One thing that I found especially cute was that he admitted to deleting my phone number out of his phone book because he was pissed when I broke up with him, but he never forgot my number, so it didn't really matter.

We ate dinner at the Blue Orchid. There were a few awkward moments because we exhausted our conversation material before our dinner arrived. Kyle was never mentioned, which I found odd. I wanted to ask Jeff if he'd been dating anyone, but since he didn't ask about Kyle, I thought it might be inappropriate.

Dinner Date

2006-06-07T17:37:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I went out to dinner last night. It went well.

There were some awkward moments, but for the most part, it was good. It was fun to hear about how much things have changed since last we spoke.

I hung some more pictures today, and I bought drapes and a TV stand. The apartment it coming together nicely.

Summer school sucks. I should be doing my homework right now...

Yesterday, I was walking home from class and a homeless man--I assume this because of the layer of dirt caked on every surface of his clothing and body--started talking to me as I was walking down the street.

Bum: Helloooooooo!

Me: Eh, hi...

(2 minutes of silent walking)

Bum: So, I see you have your summer clothes on.

Me: Yup.

(It is 90 degrees outside.)

Bum: Must mean summer is on the way.

Me: Uh, ya, feels like it is already here.

What makes this even more funny is that the bum was wearing long pants, a winter coat and a stocking cap.

Was he on crack, or did he not have a safe place to store his winter apparel? Hopefully, I'll never know.

@#$%!

2006-06-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

Urg... I started my new classes today. I have a feeling they are both going to be kind of boring.

Last year, I took a class presession and then a class during the first 5 weeks and promised myself I would never do that again.

It's the next summer and guess what, I'm doing the same thing plus. I just finished my presession class, I started two new classes today and I'm working on a summer reading course. I'm not sure if I'm going to make it out alive. I think I must be certifiably insane to take on this work load. Not only am I taking these classes, but I'm also working (although very part time) and working on my thesis project.

I'm really nervous because Jeff is taking me out to dinner tomorrow. Eeks. We haven't spoken in a very long time--probably over a year. This is weird because we have never been on bad terms. We just stopped talking. I think we haven't talked in so long because there were still so many left over feelings between us that just being friends was awkward and hard. I'm a big believer in not messing around after a break up, so for me, the best option was to cut off communication.

It's really exciting now, however to get a chance to catch up with him and really just be friends. He was such a big part of my life for almost 3 years that it is weird to think of how much we've both missed of the other person's life.

I'll let you all (coughmegancough) know how it goes!

The Break-Up

2006-06-04T17:27:00.000-07:00

I saw it today. Disappointment of the summer.

What made it worth being the title of this post is what happened after I left the movie.

I just finished unpacking a good majority of the boxes in my new place and realized I have no hand soap. There is a Walgreens a few blocks away, and figured a walk would do me good. As I am about to cross the street to Walgreens, I notice an old friend, Matt, who I haven't seen in probably over 2 years on the other side. He was good friends with my ex-boyfriend Jeff, and when we broke up, I kind of broke up with all of his friends as well.

It was really good to see Matt. We caught up a little bit and then he introduced me to his friends. He told them that he knew me through Jeff and explained the situation. We figured out that we are living near each other this summer and decided to exchange phone numbers. As Matt is typing mine into his phone, Jeff calls. Matt immediately tells him that he is with me and forks over the phone.

This is weird for three reasons:

1. I haven't talked to Jeff in over a year.

2. Lately, I've been thinking about Jeff and how I miss being his friend.

3. The end of the movie is eerily similar to the events I just explained.

Night of the Twister

2006-06-04T00:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Corey and I went to Exeder to visit a friend. Exeder is a village. It doesn't even qualify as a town.

First, we went to the street dance, which was a bust. Attendance was poor, even for Exeder. As we were leaving, we ran into a small boy who was referred to as "Otay." Otay looked to be around 7 years of age. When asked what he was doing tonight, he replied in a very nonchalant way, "Getting drunk."

"What are you going to do if the cops show up?"

Otay: "Pee on their car."

"What if they try to arrest you?"

Otay: "Fuck the police."

As if nothing out of the ordinary happened, Otay ran off, and the conversation between our Exeder friend and his buddies resumed.

Corey and I were peeing our pants.

Then, our friend gets a call from some drunk girl who says her life is over and she needs someone, anyone, to talk to. Who better than two Lincoln kids?

I never really figured out what her problem was, but in her mind, it was serious. She threw herself down into the dirt and cried, not caring at all that we were on the side of the road at midnight or that she was getting her white shirt all dirty. At some point, she must have decided her problems weren't that bad, because she had us take her back to her friends.

She was about to get in the car, when the other person in the back seat puked everywhere. He was so drunk that he passed out hanging out of the car, one hand below the bottom of the door, still puking in the car, on the street, and on himself. The other guy in the car was trying to hold the door open, but it occasionally got away from him and smushed the other guys hand. I bet he's going to wonder what happened tonight when he wakes up in the morning.

When Corey and I finally started the drive back home, there was the craziest lightening storm ever. The weirdest thing was that there was hardly any thunder. Luckily, we made it back home safe and sound.

Its my first night sleeping in my new apartment! Woot.

Good Old Fashioned Fun

2006-05-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

Corey and I were tired of doing homework this evening and decided that it was necessary to do something fun as a reward for being such good students. We ended up walking from BETA to Ivanna Cone to get ice cream with Scotty and John. Then, we went back to BETA and I read aloud the Tucker Max story: Tucker tries butt sex; hilarity does not ensue.

We believe in good, wholesome diversions.

I Hate Titles

2006-05-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

I did way to much today.

I resubmitted the application for the apartment.
I did the final checkout at my old apartment.
I edited a group paper 4 times.
I made a 30 minute presentation.
I read Animal Farm and a Wrinkle in Time cover to cover.
I wrote papers on both books.

My brain hurts and I'm surprised it is still functioning.

I actually talked to Kyle on the phone today. It was nice to actually hear his voice. We have definitely gone longer than this with out seeing each other, but this is probably the longest we've gone with out talking to each other on the phone since we first became friends. Its pathetic, I know.

I have a feeling the rest of this week is going to be pretty shitty. I have too much to do. At least I won't have any summer school to worry about this weekend! But on Monday I start two new classes, both of which I get the feeling are going to be a fair amount of work. Oh well, its only 5 more weeks. Then I have 6 weeks where the only thing I have to do is one independent study class (and my thesis project, but I've been working on that already).

It is going to be glorious!

Moving Day

2006-05-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

I received the first communication from Kyle since he left today. Unfortunately, the phone cards he bought don't work, so the best I get right now are e-mails. Its good to hear from him regardless.

I moved out of my apartment today and back into my parents house. Hopefully by the end of this week I'll be in my new apartment. I can't wait to have a big bed! My last room was tiny and all that would fit was a twin bed--not my ideal sleeping arrangement.

School starts back up tomorrow, so I'd better at least pretend to do some homework.

Parties up the Wazoo

2006-05-28T13:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend my parents hosted two parties--my sister's graduation party and my grandparents' 50th anniversary party. The graduation party was fine. It was raining the morning of, which put my mom in to minor panic mode. Fortunately, by noon it had cleared off and everything went off without a hitch.

Today, my grandparents' party is also going well except for the fact that my families congenial mood is not so slowly fading as the party progresses. For the last half hour, Baileigh and I have been finding new places to hide from party guests. The location has to be changed every 5-7 minutes. If you stay in one place any longer you risk parents becoming privy to the fact that you're trying to hide.

Yesterday, my littlest cousin (who isn't even really my cousin--I have no clue how we are actually related) challenged me to a battle of skill on his Nintendo DS. This is a common occurrence because he knows that of all the Rodgers, I am the one who he is always sure to beat at any Nintendo game. This time however, he was wrong.

His game of choice was Worms, a game that Kyle played for a while and tried to teach me. I don't think I ever actually played the game with Kyle; there were just a few sessions of instruction and observation that I'm sure he thought I was completely ignoring--I must have paid some attention, because for the first time ever I left one of my cousin's challenge victorious. The rest of the party he announced his disgust at being beat by a girl to anyone who would listen. Woot!

Last night, Corey and I wanted to go out, but that didn't end up happening. We didn't even decide what to do until midnight. Our grand plan consisted of renting a movie and watching it at BETA. A bunch of guys had just gotten back from X-Men 3 as we were arriving, and we were sidetracked from our plan when I started asking them if they stayed for the scene at the end of the credits or if they had seen the spoof cartoon and gotten the humor behind "I'm the juggernaut bitch!" This led to Logan getting his lap top and us watching the whole cartoon. That then led us into a discussion about Logan's obsession with a certain pirate porn. By the time we started the movie it was close to 1. I didn't end up going to bed until around 3:30. Not a good choice since I had to play hostess at the anniversary party today.

On that note, I'm going to try to sneak downstairs and take a nap.

:(

2006-05-27T05:36:00.000-07:00

It is 7:34 AM on a Saturday morning and I have already been awake for 4 hours...

I took Kyle to the airport to go to Brazil this morning. I'm very proud of how well I kept my composure. When I really think about it, a month isn't that long. If he wasn't in Brazil, he'd be in Kansas and we'd see each other every other weekend. So I'm actually only missing out on, at the most, 6 days of Kyle time.

Some how that rational hasn't really worked yet. I think the distance makes a difference. Even when he is 4 hours away, its only 4 hours. If I really wanted to see him, all I would have to do is pay for a tank of gas and drive there. Now, if I really want to see him, I have to buy a plane ticket to Brazil--not likely to happen.

It will be good for us to have some time apart. I'll get to catch up with people I haven't seen in a while and focus on summer school. Kyle will have plenty of time to realize how perfect I am and how lucky he is to have me....;)

Kyle: If you're reading this from a Brazilian Internet Cafe, I want you to know that I love you, have fun and don't get mugged by Brazilian hooligans like Charles!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2006-05-22T18:49:00.000-07:00

I spent this weekend in Hutchinson Kansas with Kyle. My trips there always prove to be rather interesting and usually involve some sort of emotional roller coaster ride. For the most part I had a great time. I love Kyle's friends. They remind me a lot of the people I hung out with at the end of my high school career.

I met Kyle's ex girlfriend Hillary. It was awkward to say the least. First, she called one of Kyle's friends to see what was going on. He immediately made the whole situation awkward by profusely apologizing for even answering the phone, which in turn made me nervous, because I'm a crazy person. My mind some times makes illogical leaps and I came to the conclusion that there was some deep dark underlying reason why Kyle's friend would feel so guilty for answering the phone. Then I opened my big drunken mouth and said that I wanted to meet her, which made Kyle uncomfortable. Then, she actually came over and was SUPER drunk--very much not what I expected her to be. But then again she was VERY drunk. This made Kyle even more uncomfortable and he kept making me play stupid card games with him to keep me distracted, which actually just annoyed me because I would have greatly preferred to observe the situation at hand and participate in the under the breath comments that were being passed back and forth about the drunk girls by the other people sitting at the card table.

Then, when Kyle and I went back to his house, he kept asking me if something was wrong because he assumed I was upset at having encountered one of his ex's, which I definitely wasn't. If anything, finally putting a face with the infamous name that still manages to pop up on caller ID and other places makes me feel better. I knew exactly what he was talking about when he was asking me, but I kept asking him why he was being so weird. Even though we both new that we wanted to discuss the event, we just kept asking the same questions:

Kyle: "Are you ok?"
Courtney: "Ya (giggle) why wouldn't I be?"
Kyle: "What's so funny?"
Courtney: "Just the situation."
Kyle: "What situation?"
Courtney: "Just tonight. Why are you being weird?"
Kyle: "I'm not being weird, why are you laughing?"
Courtney: "I already told you why. What is wrong with you?"

And so it went for a good 5 minutes.

Then, another night, Kyle decided to chew. I was drunk and got mad. We had a discussion a long time ago about how his Dad used to chew and he thought it was weird and we had both agreed that it was gross. I told him if he ever chewed I wouldn't kiss him. So I decided to not be mad but hold him to the consequences that he knew his actions were going to bring. When I told him that, it made him annoyed and he said he didn't remember what I had said about chew, but I'm fairly certain he remembers the conversation well. I'm pretty sure he's been chewing more than just a tiny bit since he's been home because when we were at a baseball game and his friend pulled out his can, another friend made a comment about Kyle drooling over it.

That shit is GROSS!!

I'm cold.

Time for a shower.

Addiction

2006-05-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

I got new shoes today! A new pair of black Via Spiga's and a new pair of green retro pumps to be exact. Hmm... shoes...

Today, I was awarded a scholarship from the Omaha Federation of Advertising. I skipped my second day of summer school to get it... Somehow that doesn't seem right, but oh well. After, my mom and I went shopping, which is where the shoe shopping came into play. I also got a few new clothing items and, in true suga-mama fashion, I also picked up a lil some'n some'n for Kyle.

Ya, today was a good day.

Back to School

2006-05-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of my first summer class. As class time draws closer, my regret of signing up for this class is growing exponentially. I'm signed up to take Small Group Problem Solving aka COMM 210. Ask anyone who even kind of knows me and they can tell you that, to date in my college career, I have not had very good group project experiences. Yes, I am well aware that the common dominator in all of these group disasters is me, and I take full responsibility for having very high expectations of my group members, but I get As and I'm not about to let someone mess that up. Maybe this was a bad choice on my part, or maybe it is just what I need to get over my fear of group work.

This weekend seemed like the weekend that lasted forever. Frankly, it wore me out. Even though it seemed like it lasted forever, I still managed to not do anything I had planned on doing. My car is still dirty, my room is only half way clean, I didn't go to the grocery store (well, I did, but Kyle and I purchased junk food--not real food,) my laundry didn't get washed...the list goes on and on.

Right now I'm at work. They told me to be here at 9:30 because I'm supposed to be filling in for the receptionist while she goes to a funeral, but she isn't leaving until 10:30. Grr... that means that I'm here with nothing to do for an hour. A whole hour that I could have been sleeping.

I'm tired.

I miss my bed.

BORED

2006-05-09T10:29:00.000-07:00

The only reason I'm writing this post is to look like I'm doing something worthwhile. I have been at the office for a grand total of 3 hours and I have 3 hours left to go. So far, I have done nothing and I probably won't do anything with the rest of my time--not because I'm lazy, but because I have nothing to do. If I can't actually be productive, I like to at least appear productive.

I figured out what happened to my car. I parked my car for the day. Some time after that a sign was posted that made only the stall I was parked in a tow away zone. Then the next day, before I had even gone past my car and had the opportunity to see the new signs, my car was towed. If that isn't ridiculous I don't know what is.

Summer school starts on Monday, and I thought this week and last week would be my time to relax before heading back to the grind. Not the case. I've been working like a crazy person these last two weeks--6 hours a day and the ad agency and 2-3 hours a day at the newspaper. And for the rest of this week, I'm helping my mom organize my sister's graduation party so that she doesn't have a brain aneurysm. My pre-session class is now beginning to look like a welcome break instead of a 3-week sentence to hell.

There is one tiny ray of hope. I have Friday off from the ad agency. I'll probably have to stop into the newspaper for a few hours, but besides that I plan on doing nothing. (Realistically, this probably won't happen, but everyone's gotta have a dream.)

Fuck Parking Serivces

2006-05-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

They towed my car today and I'm pissed. I had to pay 170 dollars to get the f-ing thing out. GRRR!

Soul Mates

2006-05-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

Is there one perfect person for everyone? The more I think about it, the more I realize how ridiculous the notion is. Even if "the one" is out there, what chance does one have to meet that person? And if someone does meet that person, what are the chances that the circumstances will be favorable to a continuing relationship? And if that one person is found, and the relationship is given the opportunity to begin, what are the chances that the relationship will fit in with the norms of society? How many people are really willing to step outside of the box we've constructed around ourselves?

Like a wise and under-appreciated modern philosopher once said:

I would do anything for love, but I won't do that.

It just doesn't add up, and when given a good look, is down right depressing. In theory, there probably is one person who, if the right set of circumstances play out, has the potential to make one happier than others. In reality, it's all about maximizing happiness. Will someone who makes one averagely happy for 50 years give that person more gratification than someone who can make that person extremely happy but for only 10 years?

As time goes by, this seems to become less and less of an issue. Now, we really can have our cake and eat it too. It is now acceptable to marry the person you meet early on, divorce him or her after 40 years and spend the next 10 with the second person. We are no longer stuck with the decisions we make.

Oh, what a twisted web we weave.

End of the Semester!

2006-05-01T17:16:00.000-07:00

It is now 7:14 and I am killing time at the DN until 8:00 when I have my last final of the semester! Woo hoo. I'm so glad these classes are finally over.

I'm not really sure why this is so exciting, because I'm just going to start new classes in a few weeks. To stay on my path for early graduation, I'm taking 13 hours this summer, 20 hours in the fall, and 21 hours in the spring. When I really sit back and think about it, I realize how insane I must be. Oh well, I'm stubborn. Now that I have the idea in my head that I can beat everyone I don't see any other option.

These past weeks have been pretty exciting. I started an internship at the biggest advertising agency in Lincoln. I was awarded best Ad Exec. of the Semester at the DN. And I'm not going to fail my Lit Crit class. Even though that class has nothing to do with anything that I hope to do in my future, it is to date my proudest accomplishment.

Easter

2006-04-17T14:19:00.000-07:00

Hmm.. what can I say about Easter? I went to church for the first time in exactly 1 year, I got in a fight with my mom because I complained about church too much, I ate too many malted milk balls, I played horse in a dress and lost horribly, and I fell asleep watching Lady and the Tramp. I think that pretty much sums it all up.

Busy busy

2006-04-11T11:16:00.000-07:00

The end of the semester is fast approaching, and while I am very thankful it is almost over, I find myself wishing I had a little more time to complete all of my final projects. But who am I kidding? I'm mostly glad this semester is almost over!

I'm pretty sure I have an internship at a local advertising agency for the summer and probably into next year, which is great. They only pay minimum wage, which is not great. But hey, you gotta start somewhere. In the end, it will be more worth my while to work for peanuts at an ad agency than make decent money working at a bar.

My parent just got a new hot tub. Its been entertaining for the past week. I'm just waiting for the point when the novelty wears off and they stop using it.

My family has planned a trip to lake Okoboji for the summer (Yes Kyle, it is Okoboji, not Okochobi). Usually I'm not a big lake fan but this one seems ok. It is one of three blue lakes in the world. It was created by a glacier, which left behind a bunch of gravel in the lake bed. The gravel acts like a filter for all the sediment and other crap that usually makes like murky. Supposedly the water in this lake is clear enough to see all the way down to the gravel. It should be interesting.

Catch up

2006-04-01T14:43:00.000-08:00

Kyle went out of town this weekend with his frat, and although I do miss him, I must admit it is proving to be much needed. I feel very on top of things right now. I've gotten stuff done that I have been putting off for weeks. I think I might actually make it through this semester!

Tonight I have Relay for Life, which I am both excited about and dreading. Last year it was really fun, and it is always good to raise money for cancer, however, I'm really on a role with all my homework and don't want to break the cycle. Oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do.

On a slightly more exciting note, I went shopping for a dress for Kyle's frat's formal which is next Friday and ended up buying one for $9. Since my dress was so cheap, I decided to treat myself to a new pair of shoes to go with it and another pair just because I like them.

This past week was kind of a nightmare. I was really busy and stressed out and then stupid weird things kept happening to piss me off even more. For example, I finally found an hour to just relax, so I went to my parents house to play with my dogs and watch some Sex in the City on HBO. After only 20min, I got a phone call form the manager of my apartment building saying that someone had left the oven on with something in it and it had smoked out our apartment. He also demanded that I come back immediately to let him in, so he could evaluate the damage. Guess what? I didn't leave shit in the oven. My roommate was trying to melt candle remains out of the bottom of a jar and thought it would be a good idea to put them in the oven and then go to work. I was pissed and so was the manager. Not a good time.

A Broadway Debut

2006-03-24T10:51:00.000-08:00

While in New York, my family, Kyle and I went and saw Spamalot the musical. It is the musical spin off of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It was funny--very funny.

One thing that made it even more funny was that my dad ended up on stage with all the actors singing to him about he was the best peasant in all of Spamalot. For this, he got a golden foot trophy and a Polaroid with the very star studded cast. The whole time he was on stage, he had a look of utter disbelief. This was made all the more funny by the fact that he was a good 6 inches taller than everyone else on the stage. It was hilarious. Tears were streaming down my face I was laughing so hard.

Back to the Grind

2006-03-20T16:43:00.000-08:00

I'm back from New York. Good times were had by all.

We had a little trouble getting out there. Kyle and I left Thursday morning. We were supposed to get into New York around 1 in the afternoon, but didn't end up landing until 7:30 pm. We spent 4 hours on a plane that we were only supposed to be on for an hour.

My family was supposed to meet us out there later that night, but their flight ended up being canceled all together, and they didn't make it there until the next afternoon.

having no other options, Kyle and I were forced to go out to dinner, order a ridiculously over priced movie off the TV at the hotel and then order room service for breakfast the next morning. Ya, it was rough times for us...

At dinner, we impressed (or horrified) the staff by consuming more bread than should be possible for two people at one meal. Needless to say we got our money's worth out of that meal.

During the rest of the trip, we went to the Museum of Natural History, the Empire State Building, Ground Zero, etc. The most entertains moments, however, were had walking down the street.

A scalper was hustling Kyle for tickets.

Hustler: Do you like comedy?
Kyle: Yup!
Hustler, feeling encouraged by a prospective sale: Wanna go see a show?
Klye: NOPE!

We had a good laugh about that one.

Kyle also had a rather entertaining battle with elevator doors. The hotel we were staying at was on time square, and to keep hobos out of the lobby, they have one set of secured elevators that you have to use to get to the lobby and then transfer to another set of elevators to get to the rooms. The first set of elevators weren't very sensitive to things that were in the way when they closed. Kyle attempted to do a jumping karate kick into the closing doors to hold the elevator so that we didn't have to wait for the next one. It didn't work as planned. Instead of holding the elevator, he was almost eaten by the doors.

More to come later...

Leavin on a Jet Plane

2006-03-06T10:58:00.000-08:00

I'm getting ready to leave on my trip to Philly. I'm going to a conference for college newspaper ad managers and editors. I'm excited because I finally have a reason to wear all of the business casual clothes that I for some reason always buy even though I don't have a place to wear them.

It also gives me an opportunity to wear a good percentage of my shoe collection--in other words a small way for me to validate having so many pairs of shoes. I'm going to be at this conference for a total of 5 days. I have six business outfits packed, a formal dress for the formal dinner, and a grand total of 7 pairs of shoes.

I think I'm going to end up having a bag designated just for my shoes. It's sad I know, but it makes me happy. If you really think about it, I just have a really functional collection. Some people have hundreds of little statues that they pay hundreds of dollars for, and all they do is take up space and collect dust. I choose to spend comparable amounts of money on something that I actually use. Granted each pair does spend a lot of time on a shelf looking pretty, but they still get some actual use (most do, I'm sure I have a pair or two that I haven't gotten around to wearing yet but I will I promise.)

I know, I'm a materialistic bitch, at least I can admit it...

I am a Lazy Ass

2006-03-05T16:33:00.000-08:00

So, I had the best weekend I've had in a long time. I never got out of my pajama's, I played with my puppies, I slept in and took naps, and I spent the whole time with my boyfriend. It was just what I needed.

Plus I'm on the home stretch to spring break. Two more days of classes and I'm off to Philly!

Light at the End of the Tunnel

2006-03-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

Yeah for me. I finished my English mid-term paper, I finished my speech and my article for L Magazine is comming along nicely. I have to give my speech tomorrow, take an exam, finish up the interviews for the article, take a midterm on monday, and turn my article in Wednesday before noon, and then I am officially done until after spring break! It finally feels like things are getting finished. I cannot wait for a week with out homework!

Oh thank you Jebus!

College is Hard

2006-02-28T23:56:00.000-08:00

I can't imagine any job I have after I graduate will be this demanding. If I ever do this much work outside of the office remind me to quit! Spring Break, where are you?

TGIF

2006-02-24T09:57:00.000-08:00

It is Friday, and my list of impending To Do's has been cut in half. As a result my stress level has been cut in half as well. I finished my campaign presentation for next week, I just took 2 tests (even if I failed them there isn't any use in worrying about them now), and I finally got the Family Guy episodes I need to use for my English paper to play (Thanks Kyle for helping me through my computer retardedness!). All I have to do for this weekend is study for two test on Monday, write a speech, and write my midterm paper. Eh.. now that it is in writing it seems like a lot more than when I was thinking about it.

Oh well, it is Friday and I'm not even going to think about it until tomorrow!

I'm getting my hair cut today, which is very exciting. My hair has gotten so long that when I'm sleeping I pull it every time I roll over b/c I'm laying on it. Also, Kyles taking me on a sorry I forgot about Valentines Day/I didn't have enough time to do anything after I figured out when it was, date. I am hopeful that it goes well.

I'm actually kind of sick of the whole thing. It use to be one of my favorite days, but this year just seems like the Christmas after you find out that Santa isn't real. You try really hard to make it just as good anyway, but that ends up making it worse than it would have been if you would have just excepted the fact that Santa is actually your parents. The fact that we already had a couple of fights about it, I already gave him his gift, and the actual day was 10 days ago, doesn't help much either. I never thought that I could be sick of V. Day--I guess anything is possible. Maybe this date will be so wonderful that it changes my mind and I will once again be enamored with this highly commercial "holiday." I'm not getting my hopes up.

Concerts

2006-02-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

This weekend was great. Rascal Flatts rocked my turquoise studded cowgirl boots off. The MAE concert was fun too. It was smaller, so I had fun being crazy, but the musical quality wasn't quite comparable to Rascal. All in all, good times.

I also had fun on Friday night drinking myself into oblivion at the honors dorm. It was interesting to say the least. Some how my boobs ended up being grabbed and motorboated by boys other than Kyle.

Now that school has started back up for the week, I've slipped by into my naturally depressed state. I NEED SPRING BREAK NOW. I feel like I've been hanging on to the edge of a cliff all semester and it has now gotten to the point where my arms are about to give out. It is that terrifying feeling I imagine people get in the few moments right before they fall into the infinite abyss, when you know that in a few seconds you are going to fall. Can I make it to spring break?? Stay tuned to find out...

WTF

2006-02-16T12:09:00.000-08:00

It was 65 degrees on tuesday. It is now 19 degrees and snowing. How does the tepmerature drop almost 50 degrees in 2 days? I didn't think that was possible.

On a happy note, I've almost survived to the weekend, and chances are good that I will make it all the way. :) If I do make it, i'm going to Rascal Flatts concernt on Saturday and then MAE concert on Monday. Excitement!

This Semester Sucks Balls

2006-02-14T18:49:00.000-08:00

I'm too busy. I wake up at 8 every morning, go to work, go to class, go back to work, go to class, go back to work, eat dinner, go back to work or class, do homework... and before I know it, it is 2 in the morning and i'm to tired to move.

Needless to say, it has gotten kind of old. I'm ready for spring break. Unfortunately, it is still a month away.

To top it all off, it is Valentines day and I'm alone. Sad. :( What makes it even worse is that I have to sit here and listen to my roommate and her boyfriend do it. Sigh.

Wake me up when it's over!

On The Mend

2006-01-22T20:35:00.000-08:00

For the first time since this whole mono thing started I actually feel like I'm getting better. In one day I have gone from taking 12 Advil per day (under doctors orders of course) to none. I'd say I'm making leaps and bounds towards a complete recovery.

As long as I make it through my day of hell tomorrow-- class from 9:30 am to 9:30 pm with only a 3 hour break in the middle which I will use by going to work-- I think I should be back full swing by next weekend.

Sorry the posts have been so boring lately. I promise the exciting and unpredictable life of Courtney will resume shortly. ;)

Ugg

2006-01-18T09:19:00.000-08:00

I have mono. It sucks. I sleep 18 hours a day. My throat hurts. It is hard to swallow food. :(

Long Time, No Blog

2006-01-06T21:01:00.000-08:00

Hmm... where to begin.

Christmas was good, but after Christmas was much better. My family took a little family vaca. to the Plaza in KC. I think it goes with out saying that I spent too much money. I also got asked out by some strange man from Germany, and my grandma attempted to whore me out for a discount on dinner.

I started a new job a few days ago selling advertising space for the university newspaper. So far, so good. We'll see how I like it in a few weeks.

Besides that, I've been a lazy bum. Before I started my new job, I made a habit of sleeping past 1pm every day. Quite an accomplishment, eh?

Plans

2005-12-10T17:56:00.000-08:00

Why are they so hard to make?

Right now, I'm attempting to make a plan to the rest of my life...

Actually just the next year and a half or so. It is proving to be much more difficult that I originally imagined. Really, the only thing I'm doing is making an extended schedule of the classes I'm taking for the rest of my undergraduate career.

I thought I was being very cleaver and thrifty by looking into taking some classes this summer at the local community college to save some money ($39 per hour at SCC compared to $151 per hour at UNL) and brain power. I thought it would be pretty easy to find out if those classes would fit into my schedule. Unfortunately the SCC website is the hardest fucking website to navigate on the planet!

I just wasted close to an hour trying to figure out when their summer trimester starts. If it isn't obvious to you yet, I never found it.

I feel like a huge retard.

Things I Hate Today:

2005-12-07T20:09:00.000-08:00

Snow Storms
Finals
Wet Socks
Messy Kitchens (that I didn't make messy)
Walking to class in the snow
Cleaning up other people's messes
Large black men that come up to me in the Wal-Mart parking lot and hustle me for money
Driving in the snow
Preparing soil samples in a laboratory full of antisocial hermits
Pretty much anything that has to do with snow

Eeks

2005-11-30T22:13:00.000-08:00

I'm having an anxiety attack. I have an interview at Bailey Lauerman tomorrow at 9:00 and then an interview with the Daily Nebraskan at 1:00.

My car is being a piece of SHIT and randomly decides not to start. Knowing my luck, tomorrow morning will be one of those times it decides to break down.

It is more than I can handle.

To top it all off, it is snowing like a mother fucker outside, which means I have to walk outside in a skirt in the snow tomorrow... Ugh... Why was I cursed with these long ass legs? If I had a body with normal proportions I could wear dress pants and then I wouldn't have to freeze my ass cheeks off tomorrow.

Over Involved

2005-11-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

I got a lot of good news today, which is kind of turning it into bad news.

I have an interview on Thursday for a position as an Advertising Executive at the Daily Nebraskan, UNL's newspaper. I just sent my resume to Bailey Lauerman to try to set up an internship starting next semester. Finally, I just found out that I made the new member committee for Honors Ambassadors.

What does all this mean? I'm going to be busy. If I get the internship and the Ad Exec. position, I will officially have three jobs. I think I might have to let the USDA job go. Even then, I'll still be busy.

Luckily most of my new member commitments will be over by the time all of that starts, but it still means I'm going to be very busy for the rest of this semester. Starting tomorrow, I have to conduct interviews for potential new Honors Ambasadors.

I guess it is a good thing I like to be busy!

Expectations

2005-11-27T17:00:00.000-08:00

Is it fair to expect of others what can not realistically be expected of ourselves?

This weekend I went to the movie Rent with Megan. It was much better than I expected it to be. The audience at our showing, however, took some of the ambiance away from our theater experience. We happened to be surrounded by a bunch of middle school and early high school aged kids, who were all very enthusiastic about the show. Many felt it was necessary to shout, holler, clap and sing along during the show, and one young girl even felt some dancing in the aisle was called for.

My gut reaction was to condemn the under-evolved peons for their lack of taste, respect for others and appreciation for the show. I immediately muttered this, plus a few dozen four letter words to Megan. My second thought (maybe "sobering realization" would be more appropriate) was that I was probably this much of an imbecile when I was that age. I probably did things similar to clapping along to a movie in a movie theater and I probably thought I was pretty tough shit while I was doing it.

It was a very humbling and equally horrifying epiphany.

My new goal is to be a more understanding person. I'm sure that at some point in time I have done many of the things that I now find myself looking down on others for doing.

Everyone needs a reality check every once in a while.

Everyone Has A Talent...

2005-11-25T13:31:00.000-08:00

...and mine happens to be shopping.

I think Nov. 25th, aka Black Friday, is my favorite day of the year. I have been shopping since 4:30 this morning. Crazy? Yes, yes it is.

Besides being tired and broke, I'm more content than I have been in a very long time. As weird as it may sound, shopping is very therapeutic for me. It probably isn't the best stress reliever, but it works.

I now have all of my Christmas shopping done, a complete ensemble for Beta's winter formal, a rather large addition to my DVD collection, new underwear, and of course, new shoes.

Digressing from my shopping extravaganza, Thanksgiving went much better than I expected it would. There weren't any fights. I think it is a Rodgers Family first.

Kyle, I miss you!

Are You Jealous?

2005-11-23T21:21:00.000-08:00

Time for an update on the never ending excitement that is my life... eh.. or lack there of:

12:45--I woke up and put a pair of Kyle's sweat pants on. Then, desperately searched for a pair of socks, but could only find one of my own, so I took one of Kyle's (it was clean) that he had left at my room. (I am still wearing one of my own socks and one of his.)

12:55--I left for work.

1:10--Arrived at work 10 minutes late.

1:30--I started sifting dirt.

3:30--I took my 15 minute break for 30 minutes.

4:50--I left work 10 minutes early and went to my parents house.

5:30--I cooked dinner for my family and me.

6:00--I watched a movie with my dog.

9:00--I played Scrabble with my Mom and Dad.

11:27--I'm killing time until I'm tired enough to go to sleep.

Yup, I'm pretty much the coolest thing ever. My socks don't match, I've been wearing men's sweat pants all day, and I spent the night playing Scrabble with my parents.

Thanksgiving--Bittersweet

2005-11-20T21:36:00.000-08:00

I have just completed a paper on why Mayan civilization reached a higher standard of living than the Aztecs and the Incas. I've been working on it for about 13 hours and seven minutes and I have never been happier to be finished with anything in my life! (Ok, so I exaggerate...)

Hmm.. Thanksgiving...

I am thankful for:

Thanksgiving break
Shopping the day after thanksgiving
Free time to see my puppy
Time to plan the after Christmas trip to the Plaza
Baking and cooking (give me an apron and a hot pad, and you'll be looking at a happy woman)

I'm not thankful that:

Everyone is leaving
Kyle is going home (redundant--I know)
I'll probably end up doing a bunch of homework because I won't know what to do with myself
Kyle will come back and utter the inevitable returning home from getting really drunk with my friends and seeing my ex-girlfriends phrase, "I need to tell you something...." Even though I usually already have a pretty good idea of what he needs to tell me, my stomach still does a few somersaults every time I hear those words.

I'm scared to death of:

Actually having thanksgiving dinner
The inevitable family drama ( it isn't a question of will there be a fight--the question is, who will be in the fight?)
Finals after break is over

Ya, I know I'm weird... I really can't help it.

Imagination--The Secret to Survival

2005-11-18T16:31:00.000-08:00

I had an, how shall I put this.... "Interesting" day at work today.

Actually, I think a better word for it is "different."

I spent 2 hours pulling tape strips off of plastic sample trays (and another hour sifting dirt, but I do that every day.) When I started to get bored with my rather pointless and mundane task (about 2 minutes after I started,) I realized that the long tape strips became very curly after they were pulled off of the plastic. I had been sticking the pieces that I had already pulled off onto my pant leg to be disposed of when my task was completed, and they had somehow formed into a rather interesting and curly tape mess. I spent the rest of my tape removing time creating a very elaborate and intricate tape sculpture, which was promptly crumpled into a tiny, sticky ball when I was finished.

I am sometimes simultaneously amazed and horrified by the ways that I find to entertain myself.

I know you all probably assume that this was the highlight of my day, but you are wrong. I found out that my days of dirt sifting are coming to an end. My dad (ya, I know... I'm a spoiled brat) got me an interview for an internship at the biggest advertising/PR firm in Lincoln. Hopefully by the beginning of next semester I will be able to say goodbye to the soils lab forever!

Welp, time to go get ready. I have a hot date with my hot boyfriend and I'm going to be wearing my hot new dress with my hot black boots!

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

2005-11-17T22:06:00.000-08:00

This past week, I feel like I keep saying the wrong things.

What's even worse, is that the things that I've been saying are how I really feel. If the things I was saying were stupid things I didn't care about, then I would attempt to stop and probably feel bad for being a bitch. In this case, however, I feel bad because I feel like I'm being told that my feelings aren't important and I am at fault for feeling the way I do.

It might not seem like much, but I'm finding it to be a pretty bad situation. I'm a really blunt person and I don't think it is healthy to let things go that make you mad/sad/[insert negative emotion] for either person in a relationship. I think the person whose feelings are hurt has a right to express how they are feeling and should be able to expect that, if presented in a rational way, the other person should be receptive to the situation. I also think that the person who did something to make someone mad has a right to know what they did. Most likely the offender didn't know they were doing something hurtful, so the only way for this situation to be avoided in the future is to make it known.

I hate feeling like I'm being stupid for expecting a certain level of respect.

I hate it when someone tells you not to do something, but is actually doing the exact same thing you were doing.

I hate fights over retarded things that don't matter at all. If I had it my way, nothing this unimportant would ever escalate past the point of a short, serious discussion. I say, save the big guns for things that really matter.

I hate it when we zoom in so close that reality becomes distorted. I think everyone, myself included, would be much better off if he/she learned to take a step back and look at things from a wider angle.

More than anything, I hate wasting time because we never know when it's going to run out.

Nebraska Weather

2005-11-15T20:55:00.000-08:00

What can I say? I HATE IT!!

Sunday, I was walking around in a tank top and jeans. Today, I look like a freaking sherpa about to embark on a journey up Mount Everest in all the clothes I have to put on to go outside. To top it off, I just looked at the 7 day forecast, and by next Sunday it is supposed to be 70 again. How can we go from 55 degree weather, to a blizzard, and then to 70 degree weather all in the same week?

This is fucking craziness. Why does anyone live here?

Common Criminal

2005-11-09T21:48:00.000-08:00

Someone needs to lock me up and throw away the key.

I think I have officially become addicted to stealing music on the internet. I am probably going to be the next person to be arrested for downloading songs.

Not only am I an entertainment pirate, but this new found habit is also proving to be quite a distraction from more important things, such as school.

Putting my personal lapses in morality aside, I feel the need to be judgmental of other people (and myself actually--I think everyone has done this.)

Today, as Kyle and I were walking to class, a fire truck and an ambulance pulled into the parking lot that we happened to be walking by. There was a guy in a car who was obviously having some sort of medical emergency, and from the looks of it, had plenty of people around him watching out for his well being until the medical experts arrived. Most of the people walking around that area, however, still felt it was necessary to go out of their way to see what was going on.

I'm not saying I've never done it. When you drive by a car accident, it is only natural to slow down and see if there is a severed head in the gutter, which this is exactly my point. People never consider the person who is hurt or sick when they are satisfying their curious minds.

First, having any sort of medical emergency in public is always embarrassing. Second, having a medical emergency almost always entails that the suffering individual is doing just that--suffering. He/she feels and most likely looks like shit. Being the center of attention to people who wouldn't normally give that person a second glance is probably the last thing the suffering individual wants.

As of right now, I am making a resolution to not be one of those gawkers. A quick glance to assess the situation and determine if there is any thing I can do to help (the answer most likely being no) is the only considerate thing to do. Once I've determined that there is no use for me, I will continue with my regularly scheduled program.

(Kyle: this is in no way directed at you.)

Ooglers

2005-11-08T13:40:00.000-08:00

Question: Guys, do you really think we don't notice, or do you just not care?

Why is it that most men blatantly stare at women's breasts? They could at least be subtle about it. It seems for many, subtly is unattainable.

I know what you're thinking: If guys are looking at your boobs, you are probably showing them off and deserve it. Wrong. Today I was wearing a turtle neck. How much more conservative can you get? They couldn't see the skin on my neck, let alone cleavage. Despite the coverage, guys still made eye contact with my boobs instead of me as I walked to class.

I have also noticed that the tendency for guys to stare at my boobs increases when I'm wearing sun glasses.

Reminder: Just because you can't see my eyes, doesn't mean I can't see yours!

Road Trip

2005-11-06T19:49:00.000-08:00

Kyle and I went to Lawrence Kansas this weekend for the Nebraska v KU game. Unfortunately, we got our ass kicked all over the place. What is fortunate for me, however, is that I don't give a flying fuck about football, so it really didn't affect me. I was happy to see the crazy KU students tear down the goal posts and carry them out of the stadium in pieces while the announcer reminded people they could die and advised parents to keep their children close to them and out of harms way.

We stayed with a couple of Kyle's friends from high school. Despite the painfully horrible football game, we had a good time. John made me some kick ass Tom Collins in his magic bullet (it's a blender, not a dildo) and I had my first experience with the "big ass" pizza. It was everything I thought it would be and more.

Another high point occurred on Friday night when Kyle and I over heard a fight. A bunch of people were yelling between apartments a couple floors below us. They had to be drunk, because they were screaming the most ridiculous things.

"I'll show you a real man, bitch!"

Some incoherent female yelling.

"Oh yah, well call me when you lose your virginity!"

More female yelling.

"Hey bitch, why don't you suck on these balls."

That's about all I got before I passed out in my sleeping bag, and according to Kyle, didn't move at all until I woke up the next morning.

False Sympathy

2005-11-03T10:01:00.000-08:00

Last night, Kyle called me around 9 and told me about all the stuff he still had to do that night. He had to finish a project he had been working on and start a new one. By the end of our conversation, I was feeling pretty sorry for him. The way he made it sound, I thought he was going to be up until 4 working.

Around 12:30 I get a phone call from him. I figured he was just going to inform me that he was still working on his homework and tell how much it sucked. This, however, was not the case. He wanted me to come over because he wasn't doing anything.

I thought this was kind of weird, but figured he had just overestimated the amount of work he had. Since I still had to move my car to the parking garage, I decided to be brave and walk across campus at 1 in the morning.

I get to Kyle's to find him completely plastered. His eyes were puffy and red and he had a huge goofy grin plastered on his face. The first words out of his mouth were, "I have a confession to make....IIIIIIII'mmmmmm DRUNK!!!"

I was amazed that he had enough time to get his homework done and get drunk before he called me to come over. After doing some investigative questioning, I found out that he had actually started drinking at 7 and then "did his homework" while he was wasted.

So while I was at home, working on my homework and feeling sorry for Kyle because I thought he was probably working really hard and really stressed out, he was actually drinking wine from a box with his friends.

Yup, he's a keeper.

Captain and Costumes

2005-11-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

Let me start by saying I love Halloween!

Here is a recap of my weekend:

For me, the weekend started on Wednesday. My friend Corey and I decided we needed a mid week party, so we obtained a bottle of Captain Morgan's and had fun being drunk and weird.

On Thrusday, Corey, Scott, Kyle and I finished off the bottle of Captain and then went to a sorority philanthropy. Let me just say that those things are a lot more fun if you go intoxicated. After we stuffed our faces, we went to BETA and hung out for a while and then called it a night.

Friday, BETA had a Halloween party.
I'm Dorothy and Kyle is a palm tree. I drank a tiny bit too much that night and was slightly out of control. For some reason or another, I ended up walking to a gas station with a guy named Jason. On our way there, we met a bum and had a long, drunken conversation with him about his dog. After we had made our purchases and were about to go back to the party, the bum informed us that he was carrying a machete, so we didn't need to worry about being mugged. That was slightly odd.

When we got back to the party, I tried to walk in the door but found my path blocked by two guys who were also very inebriated. They decided it was necessary to start making stupid Dorothy comments.

"Hey Dorothy, will you take me home?"

The only thing I could think of to say was, "Um, no. I already am home..."

Call me the come back queen!

Saturday, Kyle and I rented scary movies and watched them with my roommate and some of our friends. After those concluded, we decided a trip to IHOP was the only logical thing to do. It was around 2 am when we got there, which is prime time for drunks. A table of extremely intoxicated, costume sporting, twenty somethings were seated next to us. One guy was so drunk that he felt it was necessary to go around to all the tables and try to scare people with his mask. It was quite entertaining.

Last night, a couple of my friends and I went to a short horror film competition. It was really fun. Most of the films ended up being more comedic than anything. Elizabeth and I decided that since it was Halloween, we needed to wear our costumes. We thought we were going to be huge weirdos, but about 1/4 of the people that were there ended up being in costume.
There were definitely some good times this weekend.

City of Disturbed Relativity

2005-10-30T21:55:00.000-08:00

"The stars told me how to find us in this disorder of systems."

--Joy Harjo--

Confusion Artist

2005-10-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel like you're confused about everything? If you haven't, I’m glad for you, because it sucks.

I honestly can't make up my mind about anything--serious or mundane. For example, I was late to class today b/c I couldn't decide if I wanted to wear a long sleeve or short sleeve t-shirt. Who fucking cares?

I think I am displacing my confusion about more serious issues onto my every day tasks in an effort to avoid making up my mind about what really matters.

This is just one of those days where I hope that any second I'll wake up and everything will end up being a dream. I know I need to get my shit together, because the longer I wait the harder it will all be, but for some reason, I can't seem to get my ass in gear.

Catastrophe--Almost

2005-10-25T17:43:00.000-07:00

So, I'm driving to work yesterday, and I suddenly realize that I'm about to have a head on collision with some dumb lady who is driving down the wrong side of the street. She was smoking a cigarette, talking on her cell phone and fiddling with something on her dash. Being enthralled with all of that, she must have forgotten to stay on the right side of the road. Or maybe she's from Europe. Either way, it was scary as fuck. I started honking as soon as I realized that she wasn't looking at the road and she looked up at me like I was being rude. I think she wanted me to apologize for interrupting her multitasking... With a look of disgust and inconvience, she merged back into the right side of the street.

Crisis avoided.

Pass the Peace Pipe

2005-10-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

Another great weekend has now entered the winter of its life. I must savor what is left, for tomorrow I will be mourning its death...

Haha, if I ever seriously write like that you all have permission to slap me. I just got done reading an essay for my Native American Literature class and I think it has affected me.

Seriously though, this weekend was CRAZY. Friday was pretty low key. Kyle and I went out to dinner, which was good--minus the fact that the bar and grill we went to had 25 different TV's that were showing 5 different stations, which meant that I only had Kyle's attention maybe 25% of the time. The blame for that rests on my shoulders, however, because I know he can't resist the temptations of mindless, televised entertainment.

Last night was when things started to get out of control. I went out to my friend Anna's cabin and basically was shit faced from 5:30pm until I passed out around 1:00am. We played Pictionary while we were out there. That game is 20x more fun after smoking. We also ate a ton of food. I think I consumed more calories while I was there than an Ethiopian child consumes in 6 months.

One thing that sucked was that the cabin was built in the 40's, so it doesn't have all the modern conveniences of home. There is no heat, and the plumbing doesn't work very well. We made the best of it. Elizabeth, my roommate, and I ended up in the same bed, huddling together for warmth because we were so cold.

Besides that, it was perfect!

World of Warcraft

2005-10-20T23:28:00.000-07:00

As time passes, my hatred for this computer game is growing exponentially.

First of all, it has no point. There is no goal, no final prize to strive for. Basically, it never ends.

Second, anyone who starts playing becomes addicted quickly. Some people I know spend more time in the World of Warcraft than in reality.

I want to find whoever made this game and, assuming that person is male, give him a swift kick in the balls.

I hope he has trouble sleeping at night knowing that he is responsible for the ruin of many potentially productive lives. The future of the world became bleaker when this game was created.

If I had a Million Dollars...

2005-10-20T00:16:00.000-07:00

...I would pay someone to do my homework for me.

Fall break was good. I had a great time shopping and got caught up on a lot of homework. Unfortunately, I've only been back one day and I'm already beginning to feel overwhelmed. There are, however, only two days left to go. I think I'll be able to make it to the weekend...

Back to the shopping trip: My roommate, my friend Metta and I went to Pella Iowa and stayed with my roommate's aunt. Then, on our way back to Lincoln, we stopped at a mall in Des Moines. The only word I can think of to describe Pella is quaint. I honestly felt like I was living the movie “Pleasantville.”

Pella is home to mostly Dutch. All of the buildings and stores are really old, but nicely kept. There is a town square in the middle of town, complete with a gazebo. Pella is the home to the only working windmill in the USA. It seriously looked like a movie set.

Elizabeth's extended family also fit the theme. We arrived at her aunt’s house pretty late, so we went to bed with out really talking to anyone. It the morning, I was woken up by a strange voice half whispering, "Hello, hello, hi." It was Elizabeth's aunt. She introduced herself while lighting the fire place in the room I was sleeping in and then informed me that breakfast was ready when ever I was. I was taken aback by the assortment of foods she had made for breakfast. There were two different kinds of muffins, eggs, ham, cinnamon roll bread, and a Dutch pastry. On top of all of that, she made a batch of chocolate chip cookies for us to take with us in the car.

It was really nice, but at the same time, slightly unnerving.

Ten Reasons Why I HATE Hollister

2005-10-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

1. It is always so dark in the store. One can hardly see the clothes.
2. The music is always too loud and usually sucks.
3. Every Hollister has the same smell and it makes me feel like puking.
4. The clothes have become increasingly expensive, while the quality has decreased.
5. They encourage their staff to be aloof. Good luck getting any help.
6. All of the clothes are just slight variations of two or three basic patterns.
7. All people who shop there on a regular basis end up looking like carbon copies of each other but maintain a false sense of individuality.
8. They have so much decorative crap in the store that it is impossible to make it to the back of the store with out running into something. They are the TGIF of the clothing industry.
9. The dressing rooms are made up of fabric draped randomly over pipes and, in their efforts to be aloof, the staff neglects to pick up the discarded clothing from the last occupant, so the floors are always covered in random piles of assorted shit.
10. Most of their clothing has clever sayings with sexual under tones on it. Gag me.

If there is a hell, I can't imagine it being much worse than Hollister.

Heck Yes!

2005-10-14T15:33:00.000-07:00

Iowa, here we come.

**Megan, you better be ready for some quality sister time when I get back!

Pretty Girl is Suffering, While He Confesses Everything

2005-10-12T20:32:00.000-07:00

Hmm... Sometimes I forget how much I like Sugarcult. I don't care what you all think, I like them.

I feel way better today. For the first time in about three weeks I actually feel motivated to do my homework. Yeah for me!

Maybe it is because fall break starts in two days and I'm going shopping. No school, a road trip, and I get to spend money. What more do I need? Not much. Maybe a better paying job, but that’s about it.

I need a break so bad it isn't even funny. Megan, I think you can vouch for that! I'm ready to be away from this loony bin and all its madness, even if it is only for a few days.

:(

2005-10-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

I'm at work, I'm bored and I feel like shit....

Please, someone, shoot me now!

The Educated Vagabond

2005-10-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

As I was walking to my final Visual Literacy class today, I walked by the two bums that I walk by every day. Yes, the same two who were rolling around in the dirt the other day. At 9:20 this morning, they were passing a 40 of beer and joint back and forth, and discussing the difference between college kids now and college kids when they were in college.

I was a little shocked by their topic of conversation. I never imagined that these two very dirty men, with their long greasy hair, missing teeth, and thread bare clothes, have college educations.

"Why?" is the resounding question in my mind today. Where did it all go wrong for those two? What happened between college and now that led them to this--sitting on a mound of dirt, almost invisible because of the dirty camouflage covering their skin? I thought I was past the point where things could go that horribly wrong. Now I realized that point is a figment of my imagination. There is always a chance that I, or anyone else, will end up just like the bums outside of the journalism college.

Scary, humbling, motivating.

They Can't All Be Interesting

2005-10-09T00:03:00.000-07:00

This weekend has definitely balanced out the last two. It was uneventful and slightly boring.

Friday night, Kyle and I went to a Beta party, where we sat on a couch and watched people. Don't get me wrong, people-watching is probably one of my favorite things to do. I do not, however, classify it as exciting.

Through our observations, we come to this conclusion:

We feel sorry for guys who can't dance well.

We feel sorrier for girls who can't dance well.

We feel even sorrier for girls who think they can dance well but can't.

We feel sorriest for the guys who get stuck dancing with girls who think they can dance well but can't.

Then that got me thinking. What if I am one of those girls? I think I'm a pretty good dancer, maybe a little too sexual at times, but good none the less. But what if I'm really just making a huge fool out of myself or, even worse, making all the boys I dance with feel incredibly uncomfortable? I guess there are worse things. Right?

One thing I am very thankful for is that Kyle is a pretty good dancer (I would say excellent, but on the off chance that he might read this, I don't want his head to get any fatter than it already is.) Dancing is one of my favorite things to do (right up there with people-watching) and it really sucks to date someone who is not good at it.

Now we digress back to the main topic of this post: the happenings of the weekend.

After we had done all the people-watching we could handle in one night, we resorted to the one thing that always makes a night good--D'Leons. As usual, it was delectable.

Tonight, I didn't really do anything. Kyle, Metta and I watched three hours of shows on illegal drugs on the History channel. They were very interesting and confirmed my belief that weed should be legal, but again, not exciting. After that, Metta went to see her new gentleman friend, and Kyle had a date with the first love of his life--video games.

I was actually really excited to have a night to myself. I had, and still have, a ton of shit to get done for next week. Unfortunately, I didn't end up doing any of it because the other Kyle had gotten really wasted and needed me to take care of him.

Let the good times roll...

Here are a couple of pictures of my roommate, Elizabeth and me before Kyle and I left for our night of people-watching:

Naughty...

Or Nice?

Eyes of a Child

2005-10-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

At work today, I finally got to do something besides roll tin foil into balls. Today they let me break up dirt clods and then put the dirt through a sieve. Let us just say that I was less than excited.

Some time during the 4 hours I sifted dirt, I realized that 15 years ago, I would have thought this was the coolest job in the world: Getting paid to play in the dirt. I would probably have pretended like I was an archeologist digging up fossils, or panning for gold, or something along those lines. I can only imagine how fast those 4 hours would have seemed to go if I still had the imagination I had when I was 5.

Since I'm already on the subject of work, I am going to take this opportunity to tell you how strange things are when you work for the government. I work a total of 10 hours a week. I get paid vacation and sick leave. I have my own computer, because the lab technician that I work for "doesn't share computers." Some of you might think this is reasonable, however, the only thing I have to do that I need a computer for is clock in and out of work. I must admit, having internet access has relieved my boredom when my boss leaves work early and doesn't give me anything to do.

Doesn't that make you feel like your tax dollars are going to good use??

Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping.

2005-10-06T19:10:00.000-07:00

I spent WAY too much money today, but it was absolutely wonderful. I was definitely in need of a good shopping trip. What made it even better is that all the stores were having their fall clearance sales. A dream come true.

-A Continuation-

After I posted about my embarassing nude scene last night, I rejoined the party to find my friends Charles and Spencer acting out the video game "Street Figthers." It had to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen. That was probably the closest I have ever come to peeing my pants.

Walk Nude, and people won't need to undress you with their eyes.

2005-10-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hmm... Where to begin....

I have been feeling really lazy today. From the second I woke up, I have been complaining of having Weaknessthropia (for those who are fluent in the word my friends and I made up in third grade, Weaknessthropia: The state of feeling weak to the point where you question your ability to support your own weight.) It was a struggle to stay awake in class and at work, forming spheres out of tin foil seemed strenuous.

When I got home, all I wanted to do was lounge on the couch and eat cereal, which I did for quite some time. Noticing my vegetative state, my roommate warned me that she was having people over and they would be arriving in a few minutes, obviously hinting at the fact that I looked like shit and needed to shower. Sticking with the laziness of the rest of the day, I waited until I heard Kyle, Spencer, and Charles knock on the door before I went to take a shower.

My roommate and I have an agreement to not lock the door to the bathroom when we shower in case the other person needs to use the toilet. It has now become habit to not lock the door. I know what you're all thinking, "Ok, so what if someone walks in the bathroom while you’re showering? You have a shower curtain right?" Yes, we have a "shower curtain," but it is clear.

After I had shampooed my hair, I turned around to adjust the temperature of the water. At that exact moment, Elizabeth bursts into the bathroom and Kyle and Spenser happen to be standing in the hall way behind her, perfectly positioned to see me naked in the shower. I was completely taken by surprise. I can't even imagine how funny the look on my face had to be.

What makes this whole situation even stranger is that Elizabeth didn't even need to pee. She came in the bathroom while I was showering to tell me that Charles had tracked mud all over our carpet when he walked in the door...

I have yet to decide if she really came in to tell me that or if she was in league with Kyle and Spencer. She is always trying to trick me into showing them my boobs.

*Megan* I know, you would have thought I would have learned to lock the door when I shower from that little incident in Colorado with Joey Corbin.

Stress is when you wake up screaming...

2005-10-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

...and then realize that you haven't fallen asleep yet.

This morning, I woke up in an absolute panic. I was sure that I was supposed to turn in a project in my communications class that I hadn't even started. After I allowed myself a few minutes to actually wake up all the way, I realized I'm not taking a communications class this semester. I think I might be a little stressed out about my classes…

On my way to class today, I walked by the bums who are always sitting outside of the Journalism building. Usually, they are taking naps on pieces of card board, smoking weed, or yelling at students as they pass. Today I witnessed homeless behavior that I have never seen before. They had taken off their shirts and were rolling around in the dirt. I have yet to figure out what purpose the dirt baths were serving, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

I also saw a guy rack himself on his bike. He was trying to ride over a curb, but instead of angling his tire, he hit it straight on. I think most of us know that this is not the correct way to bike over a curb. He racked himself so hard he fell off his bike and was rolling around on the grass, grabbing in crotch in pain. Immediately, a muffled giggle erupted from the many students who were on their way to class. I couldn't help it either. I had to laugh. We all tried to not laugh, but we couldn't. Even though this guy was obviously experiencing an incredible amount of pain, I had to laugh. Why is that funny? He sure as hell didn't find it amusing.

My Brain Hurts

2005-10-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

Finally, after about 12 hours of work, I have finished my Visual Literacy project that I have to turn in tomorrow. I am actually happy with it, which isn't usually the case with me and projects.

This weekend has definitely been an emotional rollercoaster. For the most part, I was able to keep it self-contained. Kyle, unfortunately, caught me at a bad time of intoxication and sleep deprivation, and I had a bit of an emotional outburst. Actually, who am I kidding? It was more like Mt. St. Helen erupted. I guess in a way it was good, because I think we were both able to say things that we needed to get off of our chests. I am glad to say that I was able to restrain myself enough to not completely alienate him, and so things are just as good, if not better now.

It wasn't anything that listening to a few inspiring and clarifying songs by my favorite angry female singer couldn't make me feel better about.

And now, a quotation from the jaded, yet still hopeful artist, miss Alanis Morissette:

"What it all comes down to, is that I haven't got it all figured out just yet...What it all comes down to, is that everything's gonna be fine fine fine...What it all comes down to, is that everything's gonna be quite alright."

Why?

Because I won't have it any other way.

My advice to you is to start drinking heavily.

2005-10-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Not really, but there are bonus points for whoever can tell me what movie that is from. (What these points count towards, I have yet to decide.)

Once again, the only word I can think of to describe this weekend is interesting.

After I got off of work on Friday, my roommate, Elizabeth, and I decided to go out to eat with our friends Nathan and Kyle Karthauser. We went to El Torro and absolutely stuffed our faces. As is customary when the four of us are together, the topics of conversation were quite strange. For example, we discussed whether or not whipping boys were ever a real thing. Weird, I know.

After we had eaten way too much, we somehow managed to make it back to Elizabeth's and my apartment, and as usual, 7 other guys some how figured out that is where we all were and just showed up. I was trying to get ready to go out to a Beta party with Kyle Murphy, but it wasn't exactly easy with 9 drunken guys trying to help me pick out my clothes and telling me how to do my make up. It was actually quite entertaining.

Once I finally managed to get myself put together, Kyle, Logan, Logan's date, and I went to the party. The first person I saw when I walked in the door was my roommate from last year, Julianne. It was good to see her until she spilled a beer all over my feet. In an attempt to save the $150 shoes I borrowed from Elizabeth, I jumped up onto the counter. Unbeknownst to me, someone had just spilled a huge glass of Pepsi on the counter and neglected to clean it up. I had to pay for this act of carelessness by walking around looking like I had pee'd myself for the next two hours or so.

After about an hour, we got word that there was another party going on and went to check it out. Upon arrival, I was immediately hit up for a lighter, which I lent (let me stress the word lent) to my friend Barney with out hesitation. A little while later, we decided it was time to head over to the dance. We started to head for the door when Kyle realized that Barney still had the lighter. Barney, however, had already left.

Down a lighter, we headed to the dance. As always, there were cops (yes another cop story) checking people's bags at the door. Not remembering that I was carrying a bottle of Vodka in my purse, I started to walk through the door.

"Excuse me miss. I need to look in your purse."

"Uhhh," I stammered realizing the giant mistake I had made by not removing the bottle earlier. "Oh…my purse. Wow, I don't really want this. Sometimes I just forget I have it. Uhhh, Kyle, can I put this in the car," I mumbled as I abruptly turned and walked as fast as I could towards the car. I couldn't help busting out in a nervous giggle before we were out of ear shot of the police officers, so I'm sure they knew exactly what was going on. Thanks to my quick, drunken thinking the crisis was avoided.

The dance ended up being pretty stupid, but that's kind of what we expected. We stayed just long enough to get my lighter back from Barney and attempt to go outside and smoke the one cigarette Kyle had stuck in his ear. Unfortunately, Kyle stuck the wrong end in my mouth and I ended up lighting the filter, which ruined it. After that we decided to call it a night and head back to campus.

Around the same time, we realized that neither of had any of our things. One of Kyle's frat brothers had driven his car back to campus, which meant he also had his car keys, ID's and room key. My purse was also in the car with my car keys, ID's and room keys. Once we got back to Beta, we had to walk to Sandoz where Kyle's keys ended up. Then, we headed to my apartment.

On the way there, a car full of guys decided to slow down and yell at me.

"Damn girl!!"

"Hey baby girl, can I meet you?" (Honestly, what does that mean? Who asks if they can meet someone???)

For some reason, guys yelling at me from cars always make me really mad. As usual, I ignored them and said a long list of four letter words under my breath. Kyle, on the other hand, found the whole situation incredibly funny and decided to yell weird things back at them, which for some reason, only made me more mad.

Once we got to my apartment, we had to bang on the door until Elizabeth let us in. I went to my room to see if I had left my car keys on my desk, which of course I hadn't. On the way out of my room, I ran into a set of wire shelves, which somehow completely collapsed. There is currently a giant pile of books, purses, jewelry, etc in the middle of my floor.

By that time, I was way too frustrated to deal with anything. Kyle offered to help me put them back together, but I demanded that we move our cars to the parking garage so they wouldn't get towed in the morning and I would worry about the shelf when I wasn't so mad.

Yes, last night was interesting.

It doesn't really matter whether you grip the arms of the dentist's chair or let your hands lie in your lap. The drill drills on.

2005-09-30T17:48:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel like no matter what you do, the results you're looking for will never be achieved-- or the only way to get what you want is to do things you don't want to do?

Today I feel like pulling my hair out I'm so frustrated and confused.

My internal conflict for the week has been about the difference between being too picky and not settling for something less than I deserve. How am I supposed to know when what I have is as good as I can expect it to be? When is it ok to ask for more? How much is too much to ask for? What is too little to settle for? How much do I deserve?

If someone could answer those questions for me, I would be much obliged.

Disgruntled Drive Through Attendants

2005-09-29T20:51:00.000-07:00

I hate driving through fast food restaurants to find myself being verbally and mentally abused by the disgruntled employee at the window who can find no better outlet for his frustration than to make customers feel like incompetent retards.

Tonight, I drove through Taco Bell. The first indication that this was going to be a bad drive though experience came while I was ordering. I pulled up to the menu and the voice on the loud speaker asked me how I was doing. I said I was well and asked how he was doing. In long, loud, drawn out words, he answered, "Fine. I'm fine. I am just fine. Yup, doing fine. Order when you're ready." At that moment I contemplated quitting while I was still ahead and abandoning Taco Bell for another drive through. My craving for a 1/2 lb. bean burrito, however, ended up getting the better of me.

I ordered quickly and politely in an attempt to calm the seas before I pulled up to the window. It didn't work. With out even restating the total of my purchase, he grabbed the bills from my hand and slammed the window. After an unnecessarily long time he practically threw the change back in my car. Then, with out so much as looking in my direction he mumbled something. "Excuse me?" I asked, trying to be as polite as I possibly could. After an eye roll and long sigh he finally half-yelled and over annunciated, "Would you like and taco sauce?" Going against my gut instinct to say no, get my food, and get the heck out of Dodge, I meekly squeaked, "Yes please," avoiding eye contact at all costs.

There was an extremely uncomfortable and awkward silence for about a minute. After another series of eye rolls and sighs, he lashed out at me again. "Geeze lady, I'm not a psychic." Not really understanding what he meant by that, I once again asked for clarification.

"What kind of sauce do you want," he said as he gave me a look that said, "You are so stupid that you would be doing the world a favor by committing suicide." Being more of an Amigos patron, I wasn't sure what classifications of taco sauce Taco Bell offered, so I did the unthinkable and asked what kinds they had. I don't think I will ever forget that they offer Mild, Hot, and Fire. It is completely possible that I will have a reoccurring nightmare for the rest of my life of that attendant lividly hissing my taco sauce options at me through the drive through window. When I am 90 years old, on my death bed dying of Alzheimer’s, I will still remember this.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally secured my burrito and was able to leave that hell that is commonly known as the Taco Bell drive though. Fortunately, it was one of the best burritos I have ever eaten. However, I'm not quite sure if it was worth the abuse I went through to obtain it.

In other news, I watched my sister perform in Kiss Me Kate tonight. Way to go Megan. You were the best whistler by far. All of your practice and previous whistling experience really paid off!!

Women Are Strange Creatures.

2005-09-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

Question: Why can girls be so weird?

I really don't understand why some girls think it is necessary to go everywhere in a HUGE group. Or why girls can have such a hard time just saying what they really think. After giving this a little thought, I can completely understand how some guys are so confused. Heck, I don't even know why I sometimes do some of the weird "girl things" that I do.

For example, we can be sooo tricky. To me at least, it seems like girls are much better at gathering information, and creating and executing elaborate plans to gain that information. It is now starting to make sense to me why most of the journalism students are female. Most of us are already practicing the information gathering skills the industry demands. I don't think men realize what lengths some women will go to, to find out what they want to know.

For example, my friends and I have googled a good number of their possible love interests. We have monitored blogs of the person in question, clicked the links on their pages to find out what their friends are like, or looked up their ex-girlfriends to see what the competition is.

I guess sometimes it is the other way around too. We've looked up their ex-boyfriends, hoping to find that their lives are much worse off now that which ever one of my friends who used to date him isn't in it any more. We check out the new girlfriend, hoping she's a hideous, morbidly obese swamp monster. It has never turned out that way, but we can usually point out enough flaws (most of which we are probably just imagining) to determine that our friend is indeed prettier and the new girlfriend is a definite down grade.

Maybe I'm way off base here, but I don't think guys do that kind of stuff.

10 reasons why I hate my boobs:

2005-09-27T21:08:00.000-07:00

(Kyle: You said I wouldn't, which means I have no choice.)

1. They are the first thing everyone looks at.
2. They are completely out of proportion for my body type.
3. Designers don't make tops for thin girls with large chests.
4. People ask me if they are fake.
5. It is almost impossible to find a cute bra in size DD.
6. It is almost impossible to find a bra in size DD that fits around my torso.
7. They get in the way. (I think my golf swing would be a lot better with out them.)
8. My boyfriend talks to my boobs as much as he talks to me.
9. My roommate feels it is necessary to point out how "huge and perky" my "porn star boobs" are to anyone and everyone who enters our apartment.
10. They are impossible to hide. I doesn't matter how baggy the t-shirt is, you can still tell they are there.

Another Run In

2005-09-26T10:54:00.000-07:00

It is official: I am a cop magnet.

Last night, Kyle decided that he needed to make a midnight food run to Wal-Mart. His roommate had "borrowed" his car, so we took mine. As I was driving the route I take almost every day to go to work, Wal-Mart, my parent’s house, etc., I accidentally ran a stop sign. The story that I was telling Kyle about who knows what was interrupted by flashing lights, and Kyle telling me he saw this coming.

I pulled into a parking lot, rolled my window down, and instructed Kyle to search for my registration and proof of insurance, while I rummaged through my purse in search of my license. By the time the police officer reached the window, two of the three had been found. Unfortunately, the proof of insurance was never uncovered. (Two out of three ain't bad, right?) As we waited for the officer to write my tickets, Kyle informed me that he had a feeling this was going to happen and had thought about asking to drive my car before we left. As usual, he was also able to think of a Friends episode that was similar to this situation and told me all about it.

Luckily, the cops that I have been attracting lately have all been very nice and understanding (let's not forget good looking.) I did get a ticket for running the stop sign, but he let me off with a warning on not having proof of insurance. This also happens to be the first ticket I have ever gotten, which means I am still eligible for Stop Class. As long as I take the grueling 8 hour driver's ed. refresher course, the ticket will be erased from my record.

Once we were back on our way to Wal-Mart, Kyle, never missing an opportunity to let me know how fortunate I am to have someone like him, pointed out that if he wasn't there, I would have been really bored while I was waiting for my ticket. What he failed to realize, however, is that if it wasn't for him, I never would have been driving to Wal-Mart in the first place, and therefore, wouldn't be waiting for a ticket. Actually, I’m not mad about it at all. The way I drive, I'm surprised this is my first ticket. Plus, Kyle and I have already put the blame on someone else, his roommate Logan.

Drama, Drinking, and D'Leon's

2005-09-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend has definitely made up for the shitty-ness of the past few weeks. Friday night, Kyle and I went to watch the Hutchinson Community College baseball team play an exhibition game and saw some of Kyle's friends. We didn't actually end up watching much of the game because the game before that was delayed. After that, we went back to my room to find a small party in full swing.

That was interesting to say the least. One of the guys that were there decided it would be a good idea to help some strange man get into the apartment complex illegally by letting him sneak in through our room. Then, when Kyle and I were going to the lobby to pick up our pizza, we accidentally let another strange man in. So far, we haven't heard anything about rape, murder, or thievery.

Last night, Elizabeth and I went to see the play "The Shadow Box." It was amazing. I went to it with pretty low expectations. I didn't expect a play completely put on by students would be that great. Needless to say, I was surprised.

After that, I met up with Kyle at a Beta party. Normally, we end up leaving around 12:30 or 1:00, but this time we decided to try something new and actually hang around for after hours. That plan, however, didn't work out. Around 11:30, we were standing in the living room and there was a knock on the door. Kyle pointed out that no one was answering it, so, being slightly intoxicated, I decided to take it upon myself to see who was out there. As I am half walking, half hopping to the door, Tony informs me that only cops knock, and it probably isn't the best idea for me to answer it. So, Kyle and I sit on the couch with everyone else and continue to listen as the knocking gets increasingly louder. Finally someone of age answers the door, and sure enough, it is the cops. We got lucky. They were nice (more like lazy) cops and just told everyone to go home. That probably wasn't the smartest decision in the world, considering almost everyone was wasted.

On the way home, Kyle and I decided that a trip to D'Leon's was in order. We ordered a ton of food, went home, and ate it while we watched weird documentaries on TLC, The Food Network, and Discovery Health.

Yup, this weekend was pretty much perfect.

Fun Times

2005-09-23T13:46:00.000-07:00

Last night was great. I finally saw Metta after what seems like 5 years. We went to a Pike party for Jim's birthday. Both of us intended to not drink, but, as you can imagine, that didn't last long. Before you know it, Tony had convinced me to at least "try" the punch they had made. Of course, it was the most delicious alcoholic beverage I have ever tasted, so my little sip ended up being a few glasses.

We left the party around 11 and then I went over to Kyle's. I wasn't exactly drunk, but I was by no means sober. I think all of my random thoughts, jumping on the bed, strange requests, and insisting on being in my underwear (because it felt like it was 500 degrees) even though his roommate was there, was slightly distracting. It seemed like it took him an hour to finish the last 1/2 page of a paper he was working on.

To fill the space, he decided he should interview someone. Guess who was handy? Me. That's right. Kyle has a drunken girl's incoherent rambling about the difference between groups and teams in a paper he turned in for one of his genius classes. Good call.

After that, he decided it would be a good time to teach me how to play a computer game. Being in the weird mood that I was, I agreed. The lesson, however, turned into me watching Kyle play and every once in a while being allowed to click one button, but only on his mark. I can't say that I actually learned anything, but I did shoot someone with a grenade launcher...

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.

2005-09-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

Kyle, you were right. I was dwelling. Good news though, I'm done. I'm not mad/sad any more. I know that all of those things happend a long time ago and, although it is unfortunate that they had to be uncovered in the way that they were, I think we are going to be a lot better off now that they are out in the open. I know you love me and you wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt me.

Even though you might feel like this is a "step backwards," I really don't think it is. I like to think of it as clearing the road so that we can continue to move foward. I love you so much; more than I've ever loved anyone. I don't' think you know how important you are to me.

-Court

PS. Remind me to tell you about the dream I had last night...officer...

Your body is a temple...

2005-09-21T17:36:00.000-07:00

...but how long can you live in the same house before you redecorate?

After 19.5 years, it is definitely time for a change. That’s right; I finally got the tattoo I've been talking about for 3 years!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: the grand revealing of my paw prints.

While I was taking these pictures, I realized there were a bunch of pictures on my camera that I hadn't put on my computer. So here are a few random snap shots:

Family Picture: My cousins, sisters, Kyle (not sure how he snuck in--at least he looks like he could be part of the fam.), and me.

Me and my girlfriends.

Last, but not least, Megan, Baileigh, and me in Hawaii. Yes, we're nerds and no, we can't help it.

Lying is done with words and also with silence.

2005-09-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

What's a girl supposed to do when the one person she wants to go to for comfort is the same person that is making her feel bad?

A piece of advice to any man who stumbles upon this blog: All you have to do to make your girlfriend/wife feel better is make a little effort. Words are nice, but they are also easy. Go ahead and say all the things you think she needs to hear, but they won't make it better. You have to do something to show her that you're serious. It doesn't have to be elaborate or expensive (actually, it doesn't have to cost anything.) In cases like this, actions really do speak louder than words. A little thought and effort can go a long way. You know she'd do the same for you.

A final thought from one man who knew what he was talking about:

"When in doubt, tell the truth."
-Mark Twain-