Different Look, Same Great Taste

I was getting bored with the look of my blog and the old dots theme was becoming increasingly popular with other bloggers. (Interestingly enough, mostly girl bloggers.) So I thought I'd change it up a bit. And this template has a "Links" section.

Yeah, I got a little link-happy. (Look to the right.) I put a lot of 'em. I was going to put even more and add local live venues, but those venues are going to change from NYC/Brooklyn venues to Atlanta venues soon. So why bother, right?

Hope you enjoy the linkage. And the new look. Feedback is welcomed. And let me know if there's any other links I should add. The more, the merrier.

(The NPR page is pretty nice. Also, for the girls out there, check out the "Invite Delight" page. One of Brigham's friends makes them. He had a link on his blog.)

So, umm, I have news.

As some of you know, and some of you don't, I've decided to move back to Georgia.

(This is from an email I sent to Genevieve, who is in London, explaining all of it.)
"I went to orientation at FIT on Monday and found out that I can't get in-state tuition. For a lot of reasons -- my name's not on a lease; I didn't file taxes in the state of NY, etc. Anyway, to make a long story short, I'd be paying $20,000 for an Associates' Degree. When I was expecting about $8000. And when I can get an academic scholarship if I was in the state of Georgia to finish a Bachelors'.

So. I'm moving back to good ol' G-A. I'm gonna live with my parents until Jan. when I hope to be starting school (maybe at Georgia State in Atlanta?). To finish an English degree. Yeah, it's been a long, crazy, sad, relieved week. I've been starting to get tired of New York for a while, and I want to be closer to my grandparents right now."

I don't really want to talk about "feelings" right now. But there will be plenty of posts about what I'm going to miss about New York. And I plan on doing everything I've wanted to do in New York before I pick up the rental van that I'm driving home on September 17th. So I'll document all of that stuff, too.

Whoa. Weird Happening #2.

luke preparing to rock
Originally uploaded by doogin.

I just found myself on Flickr. (I'm pretty sure it's me.) I added this guy as one of my contacts 'cause he likes Luke Temple, too, but I wasn't expecting to find a picture of myself. I was at that show. I'm on the right. I think I'm the one between the guy on the far right edge of the shot and the guy to his left. And Genevieve is the blurry face that's facing the camera. Small world. P.S. Why do both of my weird happenings involve Luke Temple? That makes it even weirder. I haven't even been listening to him that much lately...

Weird.

Okay, just a random story/comment/post.

I just started listening to my Luke Temple CD, and in the first song, there's a little intro. While the intro was playing, I turned my head to look out the window because I heard a noise. By the time I realized it had started raining, no -- at the exact millisecond that it registered in my mind that it was raining -- Luke sang the first line of the first song. "I hear it's raining..."

I love when that kind of thing happens. Like, I don't know, if you say a random word like, umm, "feet" at the exact same time that the guy on the radio does.

Sorry. Random. I'm weird.

On How I Measure Time

So I start school on August 29th. My orientation is next week. I am in the back-to-school mentality, for sure. Here are some examples of random thoughts:

1.) I have a Ziploc bag of multivitamins my mom gave me when I was in Georgia. I fit most of them into my old bottle. But a few of them wouldn't fit. Every morning, when I'm taking my multivitamin, I think, "When these are gone, I'll be in school." I count the days by counting the number of vitamins I have left.

2.) There's a movie I want to see coming out in September. And I think, "Oh, I can't wait until that comes out." Then I realize, "Don't wish time away. You'll be in school when that movie comes out."

3.) Same goes for TV shows that start back up in the fall. "Alright! That's coming back on. Aw, crap, I'll be in school."

4.) I fiercely look forward to around October-ish, when I know I'll be well past the going-back-to-school anxieties.

5.) Where will I sit?!?!? (On the first day of classes.)


Let me stop here and emphasize. It's not that I'm dreading going back to school. I'm actually pretty excited about it. But for us folks that get a little bit anxious, for those of us that get Rumbling Gut Syndrome (which, incidentally, I have linked to a vast number of airplane, umm, emergencies and mishaps), it's not the funnest of fun things to do. I know; I know. I'll be fine. I'll make friends. I'll like my classes. But my eyes are definitely on late September/early October...

Happy Birthday, Keri!

Shout out to Keri! She's 23 today. Keri and I have been friends since the third grade, like I mentioned a few posts ago.

If I was in Georgia right now, there would be tons of pictures of Keri throughout the years, focusing primarily on the awkward years from about 5th to 8th grade. But I'm not in Georgia, and I don't have access to those pictures. So just imagine, in your head, a tall, skinny, blonde girl with lots of bangs, hair pulled back with a bow, wearing a Braves' shirt -- tucked into her jean shorts that are pulled up dangerously high. And braces. That's the Keri of yester year.

But not anymore.

Ha ha! How's that for mentioning you more, Keri?

Love ya, girl! BFF! LYLAS! TTYL!

I have a new Flickr account!

young girl
Originally uploaded by lookout_lad.

For those of you who don't know, Flickr is a place where you can upload your photos and other people can look at 'em. Check mine out by clicking on the picture. I've got a few photos up. Some of them, like this one, are from a group of slides taken by my great-uncle when he was in the Korean War.

Happy Birthday, Parker!

Twenty-one years ago today, a chubby little baby named Parker Duffey entered the world. (Yeah, that's right, 21. Yikes.) He was a healthy, cute boy with a really large head. ("Look at the size of the heeed on that boy.") Crawling proved to be a challenge because of the weight of his huge noggin, frequently resulting in a carpet-burn on his forehead. (Although, he still insists he liked the feel of the carpet.)

A few years later, Parker attempted to shave a Nike Swoosh into the back of his head with my mom's razor. (Although, he insisted he "fell" on the razor when he was taking a bath.)

A few years after that, Parker and one of his friends got in trouble for blowing up vials of perfume samples. And that's just what my parents found out about...

Meanwhile, Parker's body final grew to match the size of his head proportionately. However, ironically, this was about the time that Parker got a little full of himself, figuratively resulting in a huge head. (Hey, I'm your sister. I can say that.)

Parker has been the source of a lot of interesting stories. I could tell a million more. (Like the time we found all of those opened baseball card packs under his bed. Or the time he busted out his teeth at the creek. Or when Tyler would pitch to him for hours and when it was Tyler's turn to bat, Parker decided he was tired and ready to go inside.) He definitely kept our childhoods mischievious. I'm so thankful for my little brothers. You both made growing up so much fun.

Happy Birthday, Parker! I love you!

Can't think of a creative title, so "LAST WEEK"

Right. So I was in Georgia last week. When I was there, I referred to New York as "home". When I'm in New York, I refer to Georgia as "home". Which leads me to believe that I'm either a.) one confused individual, b.)homeless, c.)a dual resident, or d.) all of the above. I've decided that the transition from your parents' house to your own -- I mean, with a spouse, kids, and a dog -- is pretty tough and confusing. Independence sucks if you're alone. But I've been doing a lot of thinking and studying about trials lately (not that I view this part of my life as a huge trial) and I realize that I am really, truly grateful for this transition period or trial or whatever. I am learning more about myself now than I think I have learned cumulatively over the past 20-something years. I know people say that sometimes to justify the relevance of a "trial," but I am defining my goals, my opinions, my allegiances...

Wow. Okay. This was going to be a post about what I did while I was home. Tan-gent. So here's what I did when I was home.

The only thing that I have photos of was a little get-together that Sara dubbed the "Alt Re" -- as in Alternative Reunion. I realize that the word "alternative" has a certain connotation, which is stupid. But that's exactly what this get-together was. (Is "get-together" a Southern term?) My class was having our 5-year reunion on Saturday night, but I flew back to NYC on Saturday morning (eeeearly). So we had a little reunion of our own. Which ended up being 4-5 people from Central High School's graduating class of 2000. Yeah, we know how to throw a shin-dig down South. People bailed for various reasons all of which were justifiable -- I guess. Sara took pictures and posted 'em on her blog. I've snagged a few. Or if you want to view her superior post, here it is. Here are those pictures. (Yeah, I realize the irony that the photography student didn't take any pictures of her trip.)

This is Keri. She's been my friend the longest of anybody. We've been friends since the third grade. Everybody say, "Awww." Yeah. And this is Reed, her, umm, date? Boyfriend? ;)




Ugh. I don't really like this picture of myself but, for the sake of accuracy... This is Sara, Paul, and me (obviously). Sara, as most of you know, is freakin' awesome. Paul is a friend. From high school. With a beard. And a Pink Floyd shirt. Who is also freakin' awesome. (Not to downplay the awesomeness of Keri and Reed. That's a given.)




Paul and me.




Sara, me, and Keri. Good times, man. Good times.



If you want to get the scoop on the afterparty at Sara's house -- complete with pictures of me -- go to her blog. Here's the link, again.

Basically the rest of the week was a crazy blur of seeing people I haven't seen in quite a while (what's up Scarlet?), hanging with my lovely family (including my grandparents on both sides of my family), seeing my mom's new media center (glorified name for a library), a really fun tetanus shot and TB skin test, and shopping with Sara (who was so patient when I couldn't find a single red shirt that I liked).

It was REALLY difficult to come back to the city. But when I got in a cab from LaGuardia to my apartment, the weather was beautiful, I had my window down and I could see all of Manhattan to my right as we crossed the Williamsburg Bridge. And I realized it was good to be "home."

I'm out of town this week. I went home. It hasn't been the peaceful vacation I'd hoped for, but I've enjoyed it. That's why there are no updates and won't be any until after Saturday. I'm too busy with family and friends. I think that's a good excuse.

Later.