I Want a Bumper Sticker That Says:

"I Am Not A Hippie Liberal."

Because why is it that those hippie liberals are the ones that always have "Save The Planet" or "Kerry" or "Share the Road" bumper stickers all over their CARS. Aren't hippie liberals supposed to ride bicycles, take public transportation, and/or meditate/teleport their way to work?

Boo.

*For the record, I don't like those tacky ribbon magnets either. Nice, in theory. But come on. Let your car be a car. Not a billboard for your personal beliefs.

I Am Not Above Forwards and Surveys*

I don't usually do these things: surveys, forwards, etc.
But this one looked like fun, and it gives me a chance to brag about my rockin' iTunes library.

Here it is:
1.) Put your music player on shuffle
2.) Press forward for each question.
3.) Use the song title as the answer to the question.
4.) NO CHEATING!!!

1.) How am I feeling today?
"I Was A Lover" by TV on the Radio (The rest of the chorus is, "I was a lover before this war.")

2.) How will I feel getting married?
"Yellin' in My Ear" by Operation Ivy (Uh-oh.)

3.) What is my best friend's theme song?
"Porch" by Pearl Jam (My best friend must be angry.)

4.) High school was?
"Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (Yeah. Yeah, it was.)

5.) I am...
"To The Workers Of The Rock River Valley Region, I Have An Idea Concerning Your Predicament" by Sufjan Stevens (What? I am Sufjan? Sufjan is me?)

6.) How is today?
"Rock and Roll Part 2" by Various Artists (That's the name of the band. And this song is a crazy discord of brass and drums and synthesizers.)

7.) What is in store for this week?
"Georgia on My Mind" by Van Morrison (Right. Good call.)

8.) What song best describes my parents?
"Death Valley '69" by Sonic Youth (I don't want to even think about this one.)

9.) How is my life going?
"End of the Day" by Beck (What does this mean? I'm gonna die soon?!?)

10.) What song will they play at my funeral?
"I'm the Man Who Loves You" by Wilco (Awesome. Someone please make sure this one is carried out.)

11.) How does the world see me?
"Stay Free" by The Clash (Rock.)

12.) My friends think...
"It Was Supposed to Be So Easy" by The Streets

13.)My life lived...
"Stay Away" by Nirvana (Ouch.)

14.) This makes me happy...
"I've Got You Under My Skin" by Frank Sinatra

15.) What should I do with my life?
"Live-In Skin" by Foo Fighters

16.) I will be happy when...
"The Cynic" by Kashmir (I meet another cynic?)

17.) What is some good advice?
"Come Together" by the Beatles (I thought this was the best answer.)

18.) What do I think my current theme song is?
"Scarborough Fair" by Simon and Garfunkel (Uh, doubt it.)

19.) What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
"Sleepytime Down South" by Louis Armstrong (Ha! I do sleep a lot.)

20.) The type of men I like are...
"Not Even Jail" by Interpol (Hmm. Dark? Intellectual? Brooding? Okay!)

21.) How will you feel on your wedding day?
"Your Love Means Everything" by Faultline (Nice.)

22.) What should I do with my love life?
"Golden Star" by My Brightest Diamond (Sparkle?)

23.) What will your neighborhood be like?
"Wolf Like Me" by TV on the Radio

24.) What will your dying words be?
"Cat's in the Cradle" by Johnny Cash ("When you comin' home, son? / I don't know when. But we can get together then. You know we'll have a good time then." My kids will forsake me?!?)

*I got this thing from Sarah.

My Birthday's Next Week

smilin git
Originally uploaded by doogin.

I'd like Mr. Luke Temple for my birthday, please.

I mean, I'd like for him to play in Atlanta, or my living room, for my birthday. Geez, get your mind out of the gutter.

Serious Business

I do my best thinking while I'm either cooking or drying my hair.

And I was thinking yesterday as I was chopping tomatoes:

Nobody deserves love. And everybody deserves love.

Let me explain.

Everybody has faults. Every single person. But that doesn't make us unlovable. In fact, because we all have faults and flaws and hiccups, we are lovable. So... because we are all flawed and human, we all deserve love.

But love is this crazy, spiritual, unearthly thing. It's transcendent. But we can still experience it. And I mean, experience it WHOLLY and FULLY. I know several of you can testify to feeling other spiritual "awakenings" or "revelations" or what-have-you. But think about love. I mean, really think about it. It's a spiritual feeling or emotion or "awakening" that can last a lifetime. Sure love morphs or sometimes disappears over time. But how completely fortunate are we to even be able to experience it at all?

And because love is what it is, none of us deserve it. And we still always want more.

And in the end, the love we take is equal to the love we make.

Spring Break? Anybody?

My Spring Break is the first week of March. I was, just out of curiosity, looking at deals on flights.

I can get a flight for $198 round-trip to Belize, Guatemala City, Costa Rica, Managua, Panama City, or San Salvador.

Or. . .

$350 round-trip to Shannon, Ireland.

So. Who's with me?

(I'm not kidding. I'll go. Just give me enough notice so that I can take malaria medicine first.)

Bet You Couldn't Guess. . .

I got tagged by Lindsey -- I have to list five things that most people don't know about me. This could get interesting. Or not.

1. I used to be a punk rocker. I never dressed the part, but I was all about some old school punk -- The Clash (still listen to them about once a week), Rancid, Operation Ivy, Dead Kennedys, Bad Religion, (old) Green Day, every Punk-O-Rama album ever made, you get the idea.

2. I wish my ears didn't stick out as much as they do.

3. I make a "mirror face" -- when I look in the mirror, I make a weird face. My whole family does it. I think it's because I don't like the way my face looks when it's slack.

4. I decided that I don't really like The Beatles that much. Except for a few of George's songs that are very un-Beatle-y.

5. I've changed my degree from Business Management, to Fine Art (Photography), and I'm finally ending up with an English degree with a Creative Writing concentration. (Business Management -- HA!)

Update

I know I haven't written in almost a whole month. I've enjoyed being pretty sloth-like over the last couple of weeks. But I have gotten off my butt and done a few things over the holidays. Here's an update:

-- I visited New York. It was interesting. That's a whole post in and of itself. In a nutshell, it's changed a lot since the last time I was there a year ago. I'm not completely sure that I want to live there again...

-- I went Mac. I bought a MacBook. I love it. So pretty and white and shiny.

-- I ordered the aforementioned boots and I'm waiting to get them next week.

-- I read an entire book on the Creative Writing Master degree (where to go, how to get in, etc.). It's made me super-excited about grad school. I still don't know where I want to apply, but the guy that wrote the book said to apply to at least eight schools. Yeah, I still have a year and a half left, but I'm just thinking ahead.

-- I finally figured out my schedule for next semester (i.e. next week). It's the perfect schedule. I'm pretty excited about it. I'm taking Spanish 2001 and 2002, American Fiction, my last History class, and Philosophy of Religion. Nice.

-- My holidays have been great and relaxing. Hope yours have been, too.