¨This is a space for dream words, love words, made up words, fall down and get up words. Be creative. Be generous. Be bold.¨

Sunday, February 27, 2011

In Two Decades

I am twenty years and one week old.

Let's play "Fun Facts with Charlie," shall we?

1. In the past twenty years I have had _____ bedrooms:
a. 7
b. 1
c. 11
d. 6
2. In the past twenty years I have lived in ____ houses (we'll count each dorm too):
a. 9
b. 12
c. 4
d. 1
3. In the past twenty years I have lived in ____ cities:
a. 1
b. 3
c. 17
d. 7
4. In the past twenty years I have lived on ____ continents:
a. 2
b. 8
c. 7
d. 3
5. In the past twenty years I have been a student on _____ campuses:
a. 4
b. 8
c. 3
d. 13
6. In the past twenty years I have visited _____ states:
a. 1
b. 6
c. 8
d. 49
7. In the past twenty years I have visited _____ countries (for more than a day):
a. 1
b. 7
c. 29
d. 5
8. In the past twenty years I have owned _____ dogs (for the majority of their lifespan):
a. 6
b. 2
c. 0
d. 11
9. In the past twenty years I have had ____ boyfriends:
a. 0
b. 6
c. 2
d. 18
10. True/False : I feel like a capable and mature grown-up.


Answers:
1. (c) - 11 - [one in each house/dorm, plus one at each CO sisters' house]
2. (a) - 9 - [Sugar Ln., '43 Westminster Ct., '47 Westminster Ct., The Cabin, The Barn, God's Wild, Meadowlands, Villa 12, Nease West]
3. (d) - 7 - [Sacramento, Kyburz, Plymouth, Fiddletown, San Rafael, Guayaquil, San Diego]
4. (a) - 2 - [North America, South America]
5. (b) - 8 - [Inverness Pre., Mission El., Plymouth El., Ione Jr., Amador Hi., DUC, UEES, PLNU]
6. (c) - 8 - [CA., OR., DC., VA., NH., MN., CO., NM.]
7. (d) - 5 - [ USA, Panama, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru]
8. (a) - 6 - [Bella, Inky, Boots, Odauie, Bruce, Sirius]
9. (b) - 6 - [Nathan, Jon, Chris, Nik, Brian, Joey]
10. False, are you kidding me?

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Picture of the day 2/16/11


They say everybody has a doppleganger or look-alike.
For most people it's celebrities.
I got lucky.
For me it's one of my best friends.

Dear Hannah Lack,
My friend, my sister, my twinsie, my other half:
Get yo'self HOME already so we can skype.
Ya hear?



Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The Blanket Fort


2/15/11 - I have a unicorn, a hippo, and a "party in a box" living under my bed.

Mail! Mail! Mail!


2/14/11 - Thank you Brittany & Mom. Brownie mix, tea, pj's, and...a unicorn?

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Story Time

Yesterday's picture of the day [from the San Diego Zoo website]:
2/11/11 - Adhama the month-old hippo. I'm in love. How can you NOT love that?

People are usually surprised to learn that hippos are my favorite animal. I, for one, don't really understand their confusion. I mean, it's not like they're huge, funny looking, terrifying, uncontrollable creatures that account for more human deaths
than any other animal in Africa.

...oh, wait.....

Some people thinks it's funny and ironic on my part, like I picked them for their scary B.A.-ness.

Sorry to disappoint.

The story of my strange attachment to hippos dates back almost seventeen years. For as long as I can remember, the hippo exhibit at the zoo has been my favorite. I couldn't leave without first spending at least ten minutes gawking in front of their pool, regardless of whether or not they were even above the water. I never really thought much about where my obsession started, until the summer before my freshman year of high school. I had gone to Washington D.C. with a group from school, and I brought back a stuffed hippo from the Smithsonian. When I showed it to my mom, she started tearing up. While this is pretty normal for my mom, I still wasn't expecting a tearful reaction to a plush African mammal. Upon asking, she just sniffed and said, "Your grandfather would be so proud."

What? Was he some sort of safari explorer and no one ever told me?

And then the puzzle pieces fell into place.

When I was about three, my paternal grandfather was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He knew what was in store for him: hospital beds, in-home care, lots of scary machines, and a progressively weaker and more and more unfamiliar appearance. He decided that he didn't want me, his youngest granddaughter, to remember him that way, so while he was still able, he took me to the zoo for a day of grandpa spoiling. The last memory I have of him is him handing me apples to throw to the hippos, and my three-year-old delight at watching them disappear into their big, gaping mouths.

Kind of like this:




Thursday, February 10, 2011

Excuses


I'm sorry. I fail.

I missed two days of pictures.

It took me less than a week to drop the ball.

Again, I'm sorry.

From the bottom of my heart.

It's been a long week.
I know almost every electrical outlet in the library by name.
Since Monday I've written (and turned in) twelve pages of mindless blather.
I've taken three tests.
I don't even want to think about how much I've read.
...more than fifty pages (I thought about it).

Michaela and I realized today that I haven't been awake in our room for more than 20 minutes in a row since Sunday night.

Could I beg pathetically for a little more pity?
Good grief, let's hope not.


In conclusion, here is the long awaited photo-of-the-day:

2/11/11 - This is going to be the greatest evening of nothing that I've had in awhile.




A Long-Overdue Introduction


Dear World,

Meet David.

David is the brother-my-age that I never had.

What does that mean?

That means that he makes me crazy a lot, and I hardly ever agree with him, but it also means that I can count on him to know exactly what to say when I need a good laugh, and when I need it.

It's usually something along the lines of...

"Hey Charlie, what do an orange and a horse have in common?"

"I don't know David, what DO an orange and a horse have in common?"

"They're both orange...except for the horse..."

Thanks. Thanks a lot.

Also, David has a great girlfriend. She's awesome, really. I mean, all I really know about her I learned from creeping on her on facebook, but he's crazy about her, and she has Harry Potter jokes on her profile. As far as I'm concerned, that's all she needs for a stamp of approval. Someday I'll meet her in person, fingers crossed.

David sent me the entire series of Studio 60 for my birthday. All six disks of it.

I love brothers.
And birthdays.
And homework-free Thursday nights.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Studying Stream of Consciousness from the Stacks

[This is dedicated to Cassie, because she loves my train-wrecks of thought...]

"This is best Cliff bar I've ever eaten...

...that's a lie. But it's good, really good...

I love the stacks....

....the stacks are not a place for socializing....

....if you want to have a private conversation, you probably shouldn't have it in the library...

WHY is it so bloody WARM in here?

...also, why is Annie Brooks so catchy?

I have so much work to do....

....I'm not getting any of it done right now...

....sometimes I just want to drop out and live in a cheap room where I can keep my dog and work at starbucks until Jesus comes back....

...most of the time though, that seems like a really boring, lonely idea...

....but sometimes . . .


Monday, February 7, 2011

Picture of the Day #5

2/7/11 - Epic Color-Coded To-Do list for the week.
[it's since grown, but look at all that got crossed off today!]

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Picture of the Day #4





2/6/11 - Taken in December. My Kindergarten class at Ninos con Futuro in Ecuador.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Blog Barf

Definition: noun. verb. The phenomena that occurs when one has sworn of all other forms of online social networking, but still feels the inexplicable (and highly unnecessary) need to blather ceaselessly into cyberspace. The result is an overload of senseless blog updates, posted in rapid succession on a Saturday night, when normal people are out relating to each other in real life.

Synonyms: Feed takeover, word vomit, facebook withdrawal, boredom.

Antonym: Real life, Post-desert, Melissa Tucker.

Example: "Sorry for the blog barf, friends. Maybe if Brittany would email me back, I would be sufficiently distracted to stop myself from hitting the 'publish post' button again."


Quote of the Week

I like when my friends say funny things, it makes me feel better about saying funny things myself. It also cheers me up later when I remember whatever was said. Hence the list in my journal of friend-quotes. Also, hence this post, because sometimes you just need to share the joy.

This is Jordan:


Jordan looks way more hardcore in this picture than he is in real life.

Maybe it's the juxtaposition of Hipster boy and fluffy kitten.

( Just a hypothesis. )

Jordan has a collection of kitten sweaters. They're magnificent.

Jordan informed me at breakfast earlier this week that:

"You have to be careful about when you wear a kitten sweater. You have to think about it. They can be distracting. . . I mean, if you wear a kitten sweater to class all day, you're not going to be thinking about the right things."

Words of wisdom.

Re-Connections

Today I was reacquainted with two very old and dear friends, who I haven't seen in a very long time. Too long. Their names are Mexico and Theatre.

There's a feeling you get in certain situations; sometimes it's an event, sometimes it's a place, sometimes it's a group of people. You breathe deeper, you hear more clearly, you take in more of the world around you, your heart makes its presence known with a sort of buzzing warmth that can't be ignored. It's the feeling of home. Today's trip to Tijuana was that. It was my first Latin American / Non-U.S. experience since Ecuador, and my first time to "TJ" since spring break last year. I love Mexico. My adventures around South America were incredible, and I was comfortable, and I would go back in a heartbeat (or maybe two...enough time to put my shoes on...), but it didn't feel the same. Mexico has a smell. And a feel. I wish I could explain it better, but some things you just know.

But I digress...

One more note on Mexico, actually. People keep asking me if there's a part of Ecuadorian culture that I miss. I have a confession:

I miss the language.

I miss it more than anything else.

Weirdo.

After crossing back over the border (where vendors were selling "Steelers" and "Packers" blankets in preparation for tomorrow. Feel free to pause and philosophize about cultural crossover here. ) I went to the closing performance of Doubt on campus. I can't remember the last time I went to a play. It hasn't been that long, but the fact that I can't remember still says something. Regardless, it's now official. I am a goner for the magic of the theatre. Don't anybody tell Mr. Turner. It wasn't until a few scenes in, after catching myself getting excited about the lighting technique, that I realized how bad of a goner I am. We're talking hook, line, and sinker. The blocking, the set, the dialog, the costumes. All of it, I drank it in like a fish.

Again, weirdo.

I won't get in to the finer-details of the plot, so as not to ruin it for anyone else, but there was one part of the storyline that particularly got me. Google informs me that it's actually an old parable, but I like it anyway. It goes something like this:

One day a woman was gossiping with a friend. Feeling guilty, she went to her priest to confess. He heard her confession, and then as a penitence he told her to go home, take a pillow, go up to the roof, cut the pillow open, and return. So the woman did as she was told. The priest then instructed her to go back home and gather every feather that had scattered from the pillow. "But father," she protested, " that would be impossible. They've flown to the four winds!" "Ah," said he, "So it is with gossip."

Hmmmmm...


Visual Organization (Picture of the Day)

2/5/11 - To-Do Lists: "Fun" "Work" "Life Goals" and "Mexico"

Friday, February 4, 2011

Photo a Day #2

2/4/11 - Nease 5 South Scavenger Hunt. Team Hipster.

Withdrawls

Things I wanted to post on facebook today:

" Cassie Purdy rocked the Cassaba last night. Or at least musoffee."

" Team Hipster: for the win."

" Dear Stacks, I love you."

"Grilled cheese sandwiches make everything better. And new House episodes."


...Withdrawls, much?

Thursday, February 3, 2011

First Things First

Last spring I posted a "photo-a-day" on my facebook profile. It was a lot of fun, even though some of my efforts left much to be desired. It got me out taking pictures again, which is something I used to be passionate about, but got sort of burned out on (it's a long, rambling, nod-and-smile sort of story. Maybe some other time.) and stopped doing for awhile. Long story short, life got busy and I stopped.

I re-started a couple of days ago, and then realized that I need a facebook break. Bad. Badly? See what I mean? My language skills are failing. But I had a few friends who were really excited about the photo-a-day return, so I promised to post them here.

And so, as promised:
February 3rd - A tree called Magic.

Dear Facebook,

Admitting you have a problem is the first step....

...right?

I'm taking a break from Facebook. Stalking other people is a great procrastination tool for avoiding writing papers, but most professors won't accept it as a valid excuse.

Oops.

Plus, there are tons of other cooler, more productive things I could be doing instead.

These include, but are not limited too:

1. My homework.
2. Finishing Les Miserables.
3. Learning more than 4 chords on the guitar.
4. Expanding my ASL vocabulary.
5. Talking to real human beings.
6. Working on my coloring book collection.
7. Taking pictures.
8. Solving world hunger.

I'm going to go a week and see how I feel.

3...2...1...