From one of John's wonderful UK friends:

"Hello US John! How are you? Just had to email you to say that your girlfriend is beautiful! Much love from across the pond xx"

Things like that light up the dark places. :)

Feeling Empowered.

It's a good thing. :D

An Actual Report.

My last entry was more of a rant, so here's a real update of how my time at John's was:

-Hung out with Brian and finally got to Pete and Elda's, a yummy (and POPULAR) pizza place near the beach.

-Hung out with Marie at the West Side Tavern and sang KARAOKE: 'Since U Been Gone' and 'Somebody to Love'. I rocked it out.

-Visited St. Rose, where John went to high school, with Brian, Dave, and another former classmate, Alicia; then we met up with Sharon (who went to St. Rose) and her boyfriend Pat, and grabbed dinner at a diner nearby and went to Sharon's for Pictionary, Finish Lines, and Disney Trivia. Aw, yeah.

The bottom line is, I'm really, really happy. I've never felt this great about being with another person. I just get really scared of things sometimes--tears-and-panicky-scared: jobs, money, "The Real World"--but I feel so much more secure knowing John is going to be there, right with me. Whew. Thank you, God.

In other news, school has started again! I had my first two classes today, one (a portrait class) which I dropped due to expenses (a skull and paper are expensive!), but I replaced it with a Professional Development course that fits in the same slot and fulfills the same studio requirement, but is only 2.5 hours per week. YES. I'm also taking Life Styles with Dan Krall, who is awesome. I took Narrative Illustration with him sophomore year and I can easily isolate that time as the period I grew the most. He was encouraging and helpful, and tough, and I'm looking forward to working my butt off again for him. :P

More soon,

Love,

A.

I know this will come as a bit of a shock, but...

I took the 'leap' I indicated to in the last post, and I decided to give dating John a try.

I realized that I need to stop being afraid and stop predicting and trying to control how and what everything will be. I listened to my gut for awhile, and then I listened to my head, and neither worked--the only thing I hadn't done was TRY. So here I go! This isn't a changed mind, but a changed attitude. It's working out pretty well so far, and I'm happy. Nervous, but pleased.

I don't want to beat the horse dead, or start over-thinking, so I'm going to let today be the day I tire out the subject of my thoughts and decisions--I'll start fresh tomorrow. I'm optimistic.

:)

Thank you all for your support and help! More soon.

Love,

-A.

P.S. Is it bad that we've already started plotting how to tell his ex? :P

Bethany Beach!

Most of you know I spent Friday-Monday at Bethany Beach in Delaware with John's family (after my minor-to-moderate eff-up of missing the Thursday night bus)--I had a marvelous time.

I met his whole maternal side--the Orsinis (Mrs. J's brother Rick, his wife Karen and their four young'uns: Ricky, twins Cassie and Brianna, and baby Nicky), the Cunninghams (Mrs. J's younger sister Nancy, her husband Ken, and 16-year-old twins Tom and Matt), and the Schmermunds (Mrs. J's older sister Janet, her husband Bob, son Richie and his fiancée Mandee (both 20) and daughter Kat (24) and her cute boyfriend Doug. [Bobby (22) is their brother, but he didn't come.]). BAM. All from memory.

Anyway, my first evening was easy, because we had crabs that night for dinner, and it's hard to be self-conscious while eating crabs. :P

Mandee and Richie arrived that night, and since the two of them are so close in age to John and I, we ended up bonding over the next few days--the next day at the beach was PERFECT weather. Sunny but not too hot, and the water was SO WARM. IT was wonderful, except that John is a killjoy who refuses to swim. Jerk. But we DID have a nice beach walk and talked some stuff out, which reinforced to me that I am not crazy, and when I mean something I'm usually saying it truthfully and accurately. I admit, I was a little vindicated after that conversation--it made me realize that it was more misunderstanding and none of the inadvertent leading-on-of-John it was made out to be.

I only suffered a tiny bit of sunburn on my back (even though I was wearing an SPF 50 sunscreen made for babies! Or "Baby 50" as we dubbed it during the trip). That'll teach me to try and sunscreen my back by myself. Ooops.

That night was the PIRATE MURDER-MYSTERY PARTY. It was so much fun and everyone got into it (save the Orsinis, who left that afternoon)--I was Alice Tremain, "shrewd and intelligent" first mate to 'Saucy' Nancy Martin (John's Aunt Nancy). It was a total blast, and I had a sexy costume and made some pretty amazing costumes for OTHERS on the fly. Even though I wasn't the MOST successful in the game (although there is no clear 'winner'), I had a lot of fun and it made me a lot more comfortable to talk to people I didn't really know (after all, you HAVE to be friends after plotting someone's death/fighting a duel/bargaining for a governor's pardon, right?).

The next day John and I stayed in--I read while he napped, and we went into town in the evening and bought him some sunglasses (I picked them out and he looks fabulous) and books, and a touristy t-shirt for me. :P

We had a big spaghetti dinner that evening, and after the grownups went to bed, Kat, Richie, Mandee, John, Anthony (John's younger brother), and I had a board game fest. We split into two teams (I was with Mandee and Richie) and we played Pictionary, Taboo, and Smart Mouth--it was a lot of laughs and a lot of fun ('TooT", "Dance Dance ___?" "In your Pants-Pants!"). :D

We made it to the beach the next morning and saw a pod of dolphins swimming close to shore. :) John and I shared my towel and read our books while Richie and Mandee played backgammon and Anthony watched. It was just really pleasant and relaxed. Mandee and I bonded about the recent engagement and upcoming wedding (Wooooo!) and over Gossip Girl, but disagree on hockey (boo, Caps!). And Richie attends the Naval Academy and is fun and funny and they're adorable and I'm going to stop gushing now before the cuteness starts coming out of my ears.

Although, I DID get the third degree from John's mom a bit. If you've been following mine and John's tumultuous history (:P), you know that I opened up the lines of communication with him mom when I went to NJ to see Harry Potter. I did this so I could erase the stigma of the flaky impression I'd given her based on my tentativeness towards John. But I was pretty stunned when she basically cornered me Monday morning: "How are you and John? I know you're staying just friends..."

It started out innocently enough; I apologized for the confusion--I hate looking flaky and lame. She was surprisingly abrupt. "I guess I was just wondering--why did you even come here? Did you just come to tell him you didn't want to be with him?"

"Uh, no, of course not. Honestly, I came because I selfishly wanted to meet and be accepted by your family. You're all wonderful."

"Why have you been bringing up Christine so much?" (As you may remember, Christine is John's ex who is pretty obsessed with the idea of getting back together, and is none-too-thrilled about the fact that I was invited to Bethany this year after only three months of a friendship, while she was only invited after four years of a relationship. Ooops.)

"Because it's funny." (Seriously! She kept calling!)

And out of NOWHERE, it gets personal: "What about you and Robin? You guys dated but you're still close." I'm not sure what she meant by this--maybe she thinks I'm still holding on to Robin how Christine is holding on to John? Which is NOT the case in the LEAST. Let's make that clear.

"He's my best friend. Yeah, we dated, but that was 1/5 of our time together. We're BEST FRIENDS."

"It just seems to me like you're waiting on someone else. Waiting to text or call someone else."

Now, I told John about Hector--writer of Ink and my current interest--during our beach walk, but he didn't mention that part to his mom. She's good.

"You're good. Yes, there is someone, but I'm not trying to make John hold out for me until it works out/doesn't work out with this other boy." Obviously.

"I'm not trying to be the interfering mom here, but he is my son. But if you guys are cool, I'm cool."

I did understand that, and I was too put-on-the-spot to really process, but later, talking to Jen, I realized that it was an overstep on her part. John and I are both adults. And we are, indeed, 'cool'. So, if a conversation like that happens again (which I doubt it will), I maaay have to be a little more firm.

But overall, the trip was excellent, and it was a great chance for me to meet and get to know new people and get closer to John and his family. :)

For those of you that never saw me in Ink, here's a link to the whole short film--it's about 20 minutes. Enjoy! :D

I'll update when something fun happens--only two weeks left until classes start! Both awesome and nerve-wracking.

Love,

-A.

P.S. I WANT:

My 200th Post!

To kick us, off let's have some Why I Love Brian, Part Fourteen:

Brian: (About the Jack's Mannequin/Fray concert) These drunk ass girls came behind us and it was the tightest packed concert ever, there was no room. And they were screeching like I've never heard before, and then they started to jump.

Me: UGH.

Brian: Landing on people's feet, elbowing people in the head, yelling at the bassist, who they claimed to know. And then this girl behind us started to jump again, elbowed this one girl in the head, then elbowed me. And I finally got real low, used my shoulder and just threw her. Like, 5 feet. And yelled a bunch--some curse words. Then she pushed me back. Pretty good, too--I'll give it to her.

HAHAHAHHAHAA. Oh, Kev, you crack me up.

Now, about my weekend. The visit with Letta was absolutely wonderful. I was only sorry that I had to work so much. :/ However, this arrangement did lend itself to my master plan: Hook-Letta-Up-With-Ben.

Mission: Accomplished.

They hit it off, and despite a few bumpy points (AKA Letta acting weird as shit), really enjoyed each other's company (they are both awesome--what could've gone wrong?!). We'll see how things pan out for the future.

My July 4th was WONDERFUL. I had work in the morning, which was fine--easy. When I got home that evening, I found out Ben and Letta had spent the day walking around Baltimore, talking silly photos and climbing monuments illegally. Romance at it's finest. :P (Sidenote: we also ended up wading in one of the fountains on my street a few nights ago. It was cold, but fun!) We made a plan to picnic on the roof, and we made hot dogs (boiled in beer--new!) and turkey burgers and french fries, and Jen was kind enough to leave us a few of the cupcakes she'd made for the cookout SHE attended.

Once we made everything, we loaded it all into plastic bags and hoisted it up my fire escape to the roof. The first few stories were easy--all stairs. But then you get to the last story, and it's a ladder. And I had a bag around my wrist and my eyes facing straight forward, telling myself to 'look at the bricks, and ONLY the bricks' as I dangled over the Park Avenue sidewalk. But, I made it, unscathed. :D Lauren called me, and Mom texted, and it really put the cherry on top to hear from them, even briefly. :) (Mom called me a 'yenta', hahaha.)

We laid out our blanket and food and ate and drank and talked for awhile, until the sky got dark and the fireworks shows started. ALL of them. It was like a 360-degree show! At least 12 shows going, overlapping each other. So much fun! And Ben taught Letta and I to tango, and we cuddled on the blanket together after the show was over and just enjoyed talking and laughing. After a while, we cleaned up and descended, and walked to 7-11 and sat outside, sipping our drinks and talking about people from home--explaining the drama to Ben, mostly. :P

We all fell asleep in my living room to James and the Giant Peach playing on the PS2, and I woke up on the floor early, and crawled up onto the vacated couch. I still got up early enough to make cinnamon rolls though! And we ate those the next morning and watched funny videos and chit-chatted and enjoyed the morning. We went for lunch to Jay Viccino's Italian on Charles Street. OKAY. Why on earth haven't I gone there before?! They're delicious, AND they offer 10% off for MICA students! AWESOME.

But, alas, we did have to say goodbye at some point. :( But I know we'll talk soon, and hopefully often.

It was a wonderful visit, and an awesome weekend--thanks to all of you who were involved! :D I hope the rest of you had a great one, too. :)

Love!

-A.

Letta's here!

And everything is going swimmingly. I will posit again that I am a genius. :D

I've given Ben and Letta a great deal of space in the past day, as I've been working and they've gone on smoke breaks. My patience has been exercised pretty damn well, I must say! But naturally, I'm still me, and by the end of Ben's visit this afternoon, I went from sitting by the living room window, watching them smoke to sprinting across the hall to my neighbors place in order to get access to a window looking out over the parking lot and Ben's car. (And, in talking to that neighbor, I missed the kiss! I'm ashamed at my spy skills. :P) I'd like to thank Zoe-Zoe for not thinking I'm a crazy creepo stalker.

It's so good to have her here, and I'm just enjoying her company, even while I'm posting and she's playing video games (something I simply cannot get into, no matter what). We can work independently, together, and it's a lovely feeling. :)

I had a great talk this morning with Robin, who called me from the Adirondacks to ask about the visit and to talk about his doings at the lodge where he's visiting. Now, Robin and I have been best friends the whole time, but something about this particular conversation clicked that last missing piece into place, and it's nice to feel perfectly at ease and warm and comfy and excited about being friends with him again. :D

Betsy called too, and makes me miss her all the more! Although Jen and I are doing well at bonding, considering our newly shared active dating lifestyles. (AKA, I've been a ho lately.)

In other news, I am shamelessly addicted to Twitter. Just, get it and tweet with me. I get the updates ON MY CELL. Seriously. Do it.

Chris, my work friend/date situation, has been basically ignoring me since our awkward Braveheart interaction. And when he isn't ignoring me, he's glad-handing me. Being WAY too nice, but detached. Honestly, I'm totally cool with things being done, he just needs to man up and tell me the deal. Especially now that Raul did his part and accidentally spilled the beans about a July 4th BBQ that Chris is currently planning that I am not invited to. Ooooops. :) But, Raul took the liberty of inviting me ("Everyone's welcome!"), and who knows? Maybe I'll show up looking hot. :P

As for Nick, he sent me a few drunken texts last night, and if you have a sharp eye (read: if they post it), you may see one on Texts from Last Night. Just saying. He texted me this morning, too, but I think I offended him unintentionally. :/ Well, if implying that drinking alone every night isn't healthy is wrong, well--well, it isn't wrong. I am right.

:)

Love you all,

-A.

Ugh, this patience thing is overrated.

No response from Craigslist mystery guy yet, unfortunately. Dammit.

However, I did get to have a short chat with Robin today, and I tell you, the more we talk, the more I think that we'll be A-OK, especially once we get back into each other's lives and have things to talk about again.

I asked Dad for some money to float June rent until I get a job and have something to build on. He was shockingly compliant, and he told me he would take it out of the money he set aside for me for this year--$2000, his tax return. I'm taking $500 for rent, and $100 for expenses for travel--Lauren is generously volunteering to drive me to Baltimore either Sunday or Monday. It's looking like Monday, as Lauren has a final Monday morning, and besides, Sunday is Mother's Day, after all.

I got a couple late texts from Joey V. and Dan--I get to see both of them before I go home, which is a very pleasant surprise, as Joey is wrapped in wedding plans for Rachaela (but thankfully, not so ensconced that he can't scheme with me), and Dan is harder to get ahold of then a greased pig. Ew.

A reminder about Dan, to myself--readers may skip this part if they wish--Alyssa, no matter how much you miss making out, DO NOT KISS DAN. Yes, he is tall and charming, but he is also very bad at commitment and at being straightforward about anything. Don't fall into the default makeout mode! You are better!

Okay, cool.

Also, I like playing detective. I am lame. WHATEVER. Brian is kind enough to indulge me (as he has a similar fantasy, I can't say it's a selfless indulgence, but OH WELL. WE ROCK).

Anyone who saw Gossip Girl last night (which I watched with Bess, because she is AWESOME--Em, where did you get sich a cool sister? :P), OKAY. CAN CHUCK BE REAL AND MINE NOW?

Ahem.

I'm feeling happy. It's nice. :)

I also like being able to update a lot, but I also feel lame that I have no readers. :P BE BETTER, GUYS.

No, I love you.

More soon--

-A.

The Date, Take Two.

I had my date with Noah, the Barnes & Noble guy. We just went and got hot cider at this crepe place nearby (DIDANYONEELSEGETSNOWTODAYAWESOME!), and chatted for a little over an hour. He was perfectly nice, and obviously a kind guy, but he was a little bland. So, not really for me. I disengaged myself as a romantic interest by shaking his hand and saying I would get in touch with him later on. I'm thinking of going to B&N when he works and bringing Robin. Is that lame?

ANYWAY, the rest of the day was wonderful. Had lunch with Robin's friend Amy, who was visiting on her way through Maryland. She was really sweet--it was nice to meet her. The rest of the day was pretty much spent with Robin, although I did watch a little bit of Hook in my apartment before Noah picked me up. Robin and I made dinner around 10:30 pm (I know, late dinner) and switched between Love Actually and Doom on TV. :P

Betsy's sister Katie is visiting, so they ended up going to a late dinner, too. Hopefully I'll get the chance to spend more time with Betsy and Katie later today. We may go see Twilight, if they get back from DC in time. :)

I also got a chance to spend some time with Annie, my roommate from freshman year tonight. It was nice to just catch up and let her in on what's new in my life and vice-versa. :D

Okay, time to do something with myself. Love you!

Muah!

-Alyssa

WashingTON, WashingTON.

I went to Washington, DC today with hopes of applying for my student visa. It was a pleasant trip, but let me elaborate:

I woke up at 9:40, and lazed in bed 'til 10, having stayed up until four with Robin at the desk. I finally rallied and dressed, then checked MARC train times and DC maps to make sure of where I was going (Embassy Row in Dupont Circle).

I got to Penn Station to catch the 11:40am train, and two girls about my age asked me if I was part of the Johns Hopkins Pre-Law DC visit to GW and Georgetown. I, obviously, was not, and they were distraught that they wouldn't find any more members of their group. I introduced myself to Kim and Leah, and managed to embarrass myself quickly by knocking the gorgeous iPhone out of Leah's hand trying to give her a handshake. UGH.

We walked down to the train together, and they waited outside of it for any potential stragglers. (Or perhaps to avoid my iPhone-Destroying Hands of Crazy.) I ended up sitting across the aisle from two nerdy but nice-looking guys who looked like law school-types. I asked, and they were, and we struck up a conversation about MICA and Italy. The boys, Alex (with really pretty blue eyes and a big Greek-style nose, although he's Romanian) and Nick (tall and lean with the signiture "dork" haircut) were shortly joined by Elias, who had, coincidentally, spent the semester before in Italy.

Also coincidentally, Alex and Nick were from PA, and Nick was from Mount Lebanon, and the three of us have November birthdays, and Alex's birthday is the same as Lauren's! It was very weird but really cool. We talked a lot about Pittsburghese and art and art school (which they found incredibly curious--it was very funny), Alex was chatting me up BIG time. It was really sweet.

We separated once the train pulled in, without exchanging last names, but I figured Elias was an unusual enough name to find on Facebook without to much trouble (I was right). I did end up running into Nick on the Metro though, and he missed his stop because we were talking about the Pens. :) It was very cool.

On to the frustrating part. I got to Dupont Circle and got a little lost, but with the help of a nice bank teller, got turned around and back on track. I found Embassy Row, but ended up walking probably a mile and a half to the Italian Embassy. I felt SO GROSS, but I didn't want to take my coat off and carry it.

SO, I finally get there, and the guy at the gate, an older Italian guy, asks my why I'm there. It goes a little like this:

Him: Alo, what can I do a-for you?
Me: I'm here to fill out a visa application.
Him: You are a-too late. (It's one-thirty pm, by the way.) The office is open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from a-10AM to 12:30pm.
Me: REALLY. Is there ANYTHING you can do?
Him: No. You a-live in Washington?
Me: No, Baltimore.
Him: Oh. You will a-have to come back, then.
Me: *frustrated tears* Oh, okay. Thanks anyway.

WORST EVER. It just stressed me out a lot, and it's That Time, so I'm even more emotional than usual. SO, I walked the mile and a half BACK to Dupont Circle, and decided to stop for coffee and something to eat. I spotted a Books-A-Million store, and walked in to find two of my favorite things: books (who'd've thunk it?) and coffee. So I grabbed New Moon off the shelf and got a coffee and piece of caramel coffee cake from the really nice guy at the register, who, coincidentally, heads out to Rome next week to sing at the Vatican, because he's in some men's choir.

I read until almost 4, which was SO unbelievably relaxing, then decided to head back to Baltimore, so I bought the book, which I was about half-done with (the check-out guy was ALSO really sweet, which was SO nice), and got back on the Metro to Union Station, bought another ticket to the MARC train, which ended up being so packed with commuters that I had to stand for the first 20 minutes of the ride.

Robin called me as they called my stop (he's in New York to see an Andrew WK show), which was a nice 'Welcome Home'-type greeting, even if he's not in Baltimore. I got home just in time to see Betsy ice a brownie cake for a classmate's birthday, then fly out the door to a Post-Bac dinner, and Marla called to ask me to model the corset she made (Jen was supposed to, but Marla made it too big--also, the photoshoot calls for me to be the character of a "Showhorse" [Corset=saddle] and Robin is my "Groom". God has a sense of humor. :P).

NOW, I'm going to finish this entry, take off my shoes and NAP until Marla calls me to watch a movie.

Whew, and then I have a grave shift, then I take a shower and meet my Illustration Concepts class at the bus at 8:15 AM to go to the Brandywine Museum, then get back at six or seven, THEN go to my 9-12 at the Commons, then it's my birthday! :) Damn, eventful weekend! But I'm looking forward to it. I won't be a teenager anymore.

(Also, I didn't get to mention the LOVELY birthday gift I got from Brandon, the new Chris Ware book. Don't know Chris Ware? Google is your friend. Thanks, Brandon. :D)

Seven weeks 'til Florence. Wow.

Love you all,

Alyssa

P.S. This entry has SO MANY tags.

ETA: P.P.S. "I remember wishing [he] were my brother. I realized now that all I really wanted was a claim on him. It didn't feel brotherly when he held me like this. It just felt nice--warm and comforting and familiar. Safe. [He] was a safe harbor."

-New Moon, page 375

I can write this because only seven people read this, and you should all know this by now if you read Em's blog.

Thisisawesomethisisawesomethisisawesome.

I missed kissing SO much.

SRSLY. This is so, so great.

I don't mean to rub it in for anyone who is not kissing--that's the last thing i want to do.

(But I really love this.)

:)

Sending some extra kisses your way,

Alyssa

Michaelangelo's Florentine Pieta and Poetry.

"How can it be, Lady, as one can see from long experience, that the live image sculpted in hard alpine stone lasts longer than its maker whom the years returned to ashes?

...[A]nd I know, for I prove it true in beautiful sculpture, that time and death can't keep their threat to the work. Therefore, I can give both of us long life in any medium, whether colours or stone, by depicting each of these faces of ours; so that a thousand years after our departure may be seen how lovely you were, how wretched I, and how in loving you I was no fool."

:)

!

September 26, 2008



Dear Alyssa,



We are pleased to announce that MICA has accepted your application to the MICA@SACI honors program for the spring 2009 semester. Congratulations! We will now send your application to SACI. SACI will be in touch with you directly regarding important logistical details of your semester in Florence.

:D:D:D:D:D

So, I got accepted, and even better: I'm still eligible for SACI's big scholarship. :)

This is awesome. I was here at the desk with Robin and Paul when I opened the e-mail, and I just thought it was about the scholarship part, which the International Affairs officer called me about earlier today already, but I read the opening lines, and this understanding just seeped through me, and this contentment and satisfaction welled up. It was really great, and Paul and Robin were happy for me, although they said they would miss me. :)

This is really cool. Dear Lord, let this pan out properly, please!

:)

In other news, I talked to Mom about Chase's visit, and she insists that Chase comes and talks to her. I expressed that I thought it was silly that it should be a requirement, and I didn't like that since Chase will do what I ask of him, it comes down to me choosing my relationship with him or compromising the one I have with my Mom. She assured me that it wouldn't change our relationship if I chose to tell Chase not to talk to her, that she would still love me and I'd still be her daughter.

I know this, but if the contempt is already breeding (and it is), there will be a change whether I speed the process or not. She already doesn't want me dating him, him going to talk to her isn't going to change that. I also expressed that while I'm her daughter and I know she wants to protect me, I'm also her nearly-TWENTY year old daughter, and I should be allowed to make my own decisions regarding MY relationship with Chase.

I see my Mom's concerns, and, honestly, I want her and Chase to talk, but if she's already set on disapproving of him until she deems me old enough to date him (yes, she said that), then what's the point?

I told her I would tell Chase to go talk to her, but now I'm thinking of calling her back and telling her to mind her own business, basically. She said herself that she needed to start transitioning out of "Active Parenting" and into "Consulting".

Also, she asked me point-blank if Chase said "I love you". Naturally, I couldn't lie, but I framed it by saying that I told him what was what, and she took it WAY better than I expected.

I got pretty emotional during the talk--although I don't think she could tell I was getting choked up. You see, my Mom and I never have these kind of conflicts. I am very interested in making my family proud of me, and in showing them I can make good decisions for myself. I hate when I disappoint them, and I hate it even more when I KNOW I'm not making a poor choice, and they're still disappointed. Sheesh.

What do you guys think about the situation? Be honest!

Love,
Alyssa

Unhealthy!

I am getting increasingly obsessed with reading the 'missed connections' page on Craigslist. You all know how much of a sap I am, after all. Sometimes the messages are like "U had blond hair adn u were soooo hott.", but sometimes they're like "You were wearing a blue dress and you took my breath away."

:)

I've looked through the Pittsburgh and Baltimore ones (and found a proposition for a professor @ MICA), and have started making my way through other cities, letting myself peek into other people's lives.

Like this one, from a 29-year-old man, posted yesterday from the Upper West Side:

'we were walking in opposite directions. i picked up your earring and caught up to you. when i got your attention, i handed you the earring and said, "here you go, ma'am. now you be careful. this city's no place for an earring all by itself." you smiled. i walked away.'

Sigh.

I am, indeed, a sap.

I had a lovely weekend. Stayed up far too late, ate too much candy, drank more alcohol than I ever have (although that just equals 1 and 3/4 glasses of wine and 3/4 of a beer over two evenings), had the right amount of fun and the right amount of drama, had a few awesome phone calls/online conversations, and I feel pretty good all around. :)

My school friends are practically bribing me to stay in Baltimore this spring instead of studying abroad. It's so tempting! But, of course, I'm going to submit my application, I'm not an idiot.

Miss you guys, update your damn blogs! :P I know you're reading this!

Love you,
Alyssa

I got Chase's first letter.

:)

(I think that sums it up nicely.)

(Love, Alyssa)

*speechless*

I just...

I could really fall in love.

I could.

Really.

I'm meeting his parents tomorrow, and he said I would be meeting his two crazy dogs, too. He mentioned that he loves having dogs, and when I said I'm a cat person, he said he could never have a cat, and I was like "Disappointment!" and he was like "No, no cats. You can have a cat calendar."

Did you guys catch that?

The implied future in one house.

I'm over analyzing and getting really psyched, but I have to tell someone, and you guys are it.

So, okay, I'm done. But I'm really excited, and I think this could be the real thing.

AHHHHHHHHH!

Okay.

Love,
Alyssa

P.S. Oh, yes, and my grandparents insisted on paying for this year at MICA. So I can go to Florence.

Oh, and Liz Peduto is ENGAGED. WHOA.

And THIS is why I watch the Olympics.

Records being broken; trash-talk being completely, well, smashed into the talkers' FACES; cheering; winning; teamwork; grace. It makes it so worthwhile to give of myself emotionally if I can see the looks on those STRANGERS' faces when they win. Is that weird? Well, I don't care--it makes me feel so connected with the human race.

(But, I also watch for the creeparound, which is shown in this photo. :D)

Ink is here!

Okay, you lucky, lucky dogs.

My movie, Ink, has arrived in the mail today! And when you all get around to joining me in Sewickley (in a matter of days--hooray!!!), we can watch it. JUST US. No Lacie, no defensive parents or siblings (on my end, your siblings/parents may watch as they like), no crazy. Crazy is not allowed. Except for crazy laughter at the way I am fetishized in this film.

Getting the package was sort of magical, actually. I had forgotten that I was expecting it, I was brushing my teeth to go to bed (5:45 AM shift tomorrow), and I walked downstairs to get something, then changed my mind, and right before I was about to turn around, I saw the white square of bubble envelope, apart form all of the other mail, and I saw my name, and the return address of my producer, and I got all warm and excited (but not "sexually anxious", of course), and I rushed up to my room, and cut open the envelope, and just glowed with that feeling. That feeling of contentment. It's nice to see something come out.

I'm torn between watching it now or waiting. On one hand, I have an early shift--on the other, it is awesome.

Hmm...I'll see if mom gives a crap, then I'll decide.

Oh, and Chico's was fine. Learning a new system is always a little scary for me. I pressure myself to get things right immediately, and it's just not a good thing. I think it'll be a fun job, though. :)

Love you all,

Alyssa