Niiice.

I just turned in all of my assignments. I now officially have 25 days before the start of the fall semester.

Road trip? ANYone?

Reason # 5,176,439 That I Need A Man:

I can't get my stinkin' pickle jar open.

I discovered something about myself today.

I like to read postmodern stuff. But I HATE to write about it. I HATE trying to explain why something is post-modern. It just is, okay?

Here's one of the friends I've made in Atlanta.

Soren Kierkegaard

(Okay, so I'm a dork.)

Why have I waited this long to read Kierkegaard? Brilliant. And... Danish. And attractive. (And why am I reading Kierkegaard now? When all of my papers are due tomorrow? But I'm hooked.)

P.S. Genevieve, Lexia: Does he remind you of anyone? A particular musician friend that lives in Brooklyn? Or is it just me?

I'm gonna finish...

I only have one more paper to write. And it only has to be five pages. Oh, and I have to edit one of my short stories a little more.

But I've written two short stories, two critiques, and countless blog posts in about 2 weeks time. Yess.

Don't you love how...

when I have tons of things I NEED to be doing, I post a lot on here?

I made up a smoothie/milkshake concoction the other day that is killer and very low fat.

2-3 Tablespoons Fat-Free Cool Whip
2 Tablespoons Non-Fat Plain Yogurt
2 little packets of Splenda (Sure, you can use real sugar, but I don't know how much.)
2/3 cup Plain (Light) Silk (Or, if soymilk grosses you out, skim milk.)
As much frozen fruit as you want (I've been using blueberries)

Blend until smooth and serve.

Mmmm. Sweet, not bad for ya, and really filling.

You're welcome.

I've been waiting for this moment all my life.

Okay, not really.
But I've complained for about six months that no good bands ever come to Atlanta. It looks like every single band out there took heed. Because they're all coming to Atlanta this fall. What's a (broke) girl to do? And I'm going to try to fit my classes in there somewhere.

Here's the list:

Aug. 1 Tom Waits (Tickets to this show are $60, though. Not quite in my budget.)

Aug. 2 The Subjects (Remember them from Red Hook? With the guitarist that had the hole in his pants? And looked like Stephanie? Yeah, they're coming to town.)

Aug. 14 Say Hi To Your Mom (Probably won't go to this one.)

Aug. 18 The Whigs (in Athens. Also not likely I'll be there.)

Aug. 19 Of Montreal (in Athens. I WILL be there.)

Aug. 26 Modern Skirts (in Athens. Doubt it.)

Sept. 6 Snow Patrol (Hopefully...)

Sept. 13 Flaming Lips (Tickets aren't that cheap. Wish I could've seen 'em back in the mid-90's. Probably won't go.)

---- And here's the killer week ----

Sept. 17 Band of Horses

Sept. 18 Rogue Wave (in Athens)

Sept. 19 The Raconteurs (Tickets are $30. But I REALLY want to go to this show.)

Sept. 20 Sufjan Stevens (at the Fox Theatre. Only show I actually have tickets for at this point. Also on my dad's birthday.)

Sept. 22 Architecture in Helsinki (in Athens)

Sept. 24 Richard Buckner (Maybe I will and maybe I will.)

Oct. 14 Built to Spill (in Athens)


See? Should I buy groceries and eat them alone in my apartment? Or starve and go to concerts all fall long? And who will be my concert buddy? There's no Genevieve in Atlanta... I've already bugged poor Sara to go with me to some of them.

Yesss. It's gonna be a good fall. And I'll be losing weight. :)

Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap.

Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap.

I have 6 days before I have to turn all of my papers in.

I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

I can tell that we are gonna be friends.

Sara wrote a great post about who she would be friends with if all the circumstances were right and she could actually meet these people.

Following suit, I'd like to make my own post about who I think I would have a natural inclination to befriend. Oddly enough, I'm finding that these people generally fall into two categories: authors or those people I would like to help/save. What does that say about me? There are a couple that don't fall into either of these categories, but for the most part...

Here we go, in no particular order:

Authors:

The Apostle Paul -- such a thinker.

Voltaire -- author of Candide; satirical genius.

J.D. Salinger -- author of Catcher in the Rye; hermit.

Saul Bellow -- GREAT short story writer

Flannery O'Connor -- short story writer from Georgia; transformed the short story; died at the age of 39 from lupus.

Anne Tyler -- author of The Accidental Tourist, A Slipping-Down Life; sort of a hermit.

Of the "I would like to save" variety:

Nick Drake -- musician

Kurt Cobain -- musician

Van Gogh -- painter

Miscellaneous (mostly of the "I would REALLY like to meet" variety):

Jason Lee -- comedic genius (actor)

Sufjan Stevens -- musical genius

Ryan Gosling -- the brooding actor (note the Darfur t-shirt)

Rory Cochran -- think Dazed and Confused, Empire Records (actor)

Johnny Cash -- musician, 8th cousin twice removed

Jason O'Mara -- Irish-born actor; quite the looker

Mr. Darcy -- hero of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

Okay, so that was probably more fun for me than it was for you. But I rather enjoyed it.

In 9 Days...

I have to turn in 2 short stories, 2 critiques, and 1 review of Contemporary Irish Lit. How many of these assignments have I finished? None. Yet I still write on my blog and comment on everyone else's. Wish me luck.

Road Trip Anyone?

My parents moved from our 6-bedroom house in Carrollton, GA to our 1-bedroom/1-loft lake cabin in Alabama. Yesterday was the official moving day.

So yesterday I decided to surprise my parents and drive down to help them unpack. But it almost didn't happen. Because as I was driving west on I-20, I was SO close to just staying on the interstate and going as far west as I could go.

I thought, "Hmm, I have a full tank of gas. School doesn't start until August 21st. I have my laptop with me -- I can just email my professor my papers by July 26th. I just got my financial aid check. I've got my iPod and adapter. I should just keep going."

Let me explain things, though. I've been holed up in my apartment all week writing papers. On Friday, I wrote from 12-7 PM. (And I just got an email from my professor that said I should use a different point of view. That means a complete re-write.) I'm fine with not leaving the apartment and getting work done, and the longer I stay there, the less I want to leave at all. ( I know. I have to watch out or I'll become a hermit.) But once I hit the open road yesterday? Man, I was thinking about the Rockies. And the cooler air in the Northwest. And cedar trees. It's was really appealing.

I called Tyler to see if he could go with me after the 26th. He can't. I called Lexia. (She's unemployed like me right now.) No answer.

But at least there are trees in Wedowee, Alabama.

I know how a lot of you feel about horoscopes...

So I REALLY think you should read this post by Mr. Pulsipher. Hilarious.

Who knew?

Plants are not cheap, people. I bought a lot of plants for our deck today. And wow. Ex-pens-ive. But when I finish getting them in their planters tomorrow, I'll have pictures! (I underestimated the amount of potting soil I needed, so I have to buy more tomorrow.)

In fact, tomorrow I'll have pictures of our whole apartment on here! It'll be fun!

Here's a sneak peek:


Update: I know I promised pictures today. But that was before I realized that today is July 13th and I have 13 days before I have to turn in all of my work for my summer classes. It might happen; it might not. Sorry.

This one's for Lexia who's been telling me to update.

Disclaimer: This all might sound dramatic. It’s not meant to be. The emotions I felt when I wrote this were not painful, just kind of quiet and introspective.

(Written in Ireland.)

It’s simple really. I don’t belong. Maybe it’s not that I don’t belong. It’s that I don’t know where I belong. Could be all in my head. Probably is. I know where I don’t belong. Know where I will never be completely comfortable. Will I just keep looking? How long? Feel like an outsider in my own hometown, in every place I’ve lived or visited. I don’t fit – no, that’s not true. I fit. Like a square peg through a larger round hole. Technically fits through the hole, but the shape is all wrong.

My state of non-belonging has become increasingly clear to me after this trip. I don’t know what I expected – a journey to an ancestral homeland. Thought I’d be welcomed as a prodigal daughter or something. Maybe the problem lies in American identity. Yeah, it’s home. Yeah, I’m as patriotic as the next person. But America is a nationality. It’s not an ethnicity. It’s not an identity. It’s not a place that’s a foundation for me. It’s a trail mix country. Separate pieces make the whole. Shifting identity. And of course, these aspects could be positives instead of negatives. Perhaps these aspects lead us to create our own identities. But I think that, more often, we follow the masses. Keep up with the Joneses. I think the lack of identity in America leads directly to its materialism.

In visiting such a unified country as Ireland (Don’t balk. Of course there are factions and hatred. But there is an overall identity implied by the adjective “Irish.”), I feel more unsure of who I am than I have been in years. Not my beliefs, not my personal tastes or interests, but my overall identity. Where do I fit? In the trail mix of America, where does anyone truly belong?

(Lexia, you're one of the pieces of fruit.)

I've updated my flickr page with more Ireland photos. Enjoy!