HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Belatedly.

Welcome 2010!

New Year's was the first super-fun one I've had in a while. John and I went to Em's and Bri and Drea and Nickles were there, awesomely. It was low-key and dorky--we played Apples-to-Apples (Drea and I tied for the win with ten cards each)--and made fun of how Dick Clark is a corpse. (Am I right?) And J. Lo's HORRIFIC (Whore-iffic?) outfit! D:

Either way, John and I got to celebrate New Year's together (his first kiss on New Year's, woo!) with people that I really love and care about and do not see NEARLY enough (hint hint).

We had a lovely visit with Joey V. a few days back. Three mimosas for me, one for John, and a vodka martini (dirty) for Joey. But it didn't take nearly that amount of alcohol for Joey and I to get catty about high school people. :D We're fun.

Lauren is headed back to Athens, Ohio and Ohio University today--she could not be more excited. Six weeks in Sewickley is not exactly Lauren's favorite thing. She met John this week, and seemed to jive with him just fine (naturally)! (Although I did get one punch in the face)

John and I drive back to New Jersey on the 6th--we're meeting with Brandon today, and hopefully grabbing lunch with Em, Drea, etc. before we leave!

OMG HOW COULD I FORGET LUKE AND JESS GOT ENGAGED WOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

ANYWAY, Betsy called me yesterday. We had discussed the idea of me spending the summer with her at Mercersburg Academy (in PA, near State College) as a videographer while she photographed. Honestly, I'd forgotten all about it and was pretty set on trying for internships, etc. This opportunity is good money, however, and I really don't need that much experience. I'm thinking about it.

(I'd need to find a way to get iMovie onto my PC. The fact that I only need to know iMovie makes me far more qualified than I would EVER be in the true videography world.)

Hope you're all having a wonderful break! :D Two and a half weeks until my LAST semester begins! EESH!

Love,

-A.

Hark, how the bells, sweet silver bells, all seem to say 'Throw cares away'...

I'm home and settled in for the most part--John was here from Thursday to Monday and met my Dad, his wife Lisa and her daughter Sam, Robert, KJ, Em, Drea, Joey V., Bess, Abby C. and her boyfriend Greg, not to mention RE-meeting my SACI roommates Emily, Christine and Ulyssa.

We got in around 4:15 and unpacked and relaxed with KJ and Mom and Robert until about 5:30 when we drove up to my Dad's for his 49th (!) birthday dinner! Dad and Lisa really liked John, which was nice ("What's not to like?" -My mom).

After that, we met up with Drea and Eat 'N' Park (which looks all Panera-fied and not greasy/seedy AT ALL anymore, which is upsetting), and soon accumulated a few more people: Joey, Em, and Bess. When Drea, Em, and Bess has to leave, Joey gave John a very involved quiz to prove his worth. :P It was pretty great, ranging from "What is Alyssa's favorite color?" to "Do you like 'Jersey Shore'?" (PLUS A GA-GRILLION POINTS) It was fun. :D

John met Ab and Greg on Sunday night--it was a casual visit, and John was pretty quiet for the whole thing, but it was so good to catch up with Abby and see Greg again!

Monday night was great--John and I went to the South Side and met up with Emily, Christine and Uly at S Bar. We caught up and talked and it was SO good to see them (I haven't seen them since APRIL! WHAT? Almost eight months?!). They're all doing well and are all happy. It was really good to reconnect.

John left on Monday around 1, and I'm already ready for him to come back! He and Lauren didn't get to meet because Lauren was in Ohio this weekend visiting friends. But they'll both be here on the 29th to meet! Pretty exciting!

We also got our Christmas tree, but our (working) lights only cover about 2/3 of the tree. Class. :P

Cheese-tastic aside (Lauren, skip to the end :P): Since being with John, I've really begun to understand what Godly love is. I always knew God loved me, but I had no idea what that love felt like to palpably give and receive until I got into a relationship with John. He's really made me realize what it means to commit and to take chances but also feel entirely sure and confident in myself and in my relationship. He proves to me (even more) how completely God takes care of His people. I'm so thankful, and so happy. I love him! Yay!

Hope you all have an amazing and merry Christmas!

Love,

-A.

A little venting that's been building up over nearly three and a half years. (Also, template re-do!)

I’ve always doubted my talent in the visual arts. I’m quite sure of my singing talent, and decently confident in my acting abilities (usually), but I’ve never quite sat comfortably with my art.

I like my art just fine, for the most part, but it’s difficult to attend such an amazing school where you see so many fantastic people making this gorgeous, seemingly effortless work constantly. MICA does a good job of not fostering a comparative or competitive spirit, particularly within the illustration department, but I’ve always had that tendency without any help. I have a very hard time not comparing myself to my fellow classmates, for better or for worse (usually for worse).

I acknowledge that I am absolutely not the most talented student in my year and major. Most days I’m not sure I’m even in the top 50%, which is disheartening, as I’ve chosen this for my career. My mom (oh, moms) assures me I’m way too hard on myself, but I’m not so sure. After all, she isn’t here all the time, seeing what I see. Plus, she’s my MOM.

I get disappointed in myself. I know a large part of my disappointment has to do with my own lack of work ethic, which is a start. This is an issue I need to solve, and soon. However, people outside of the art community don’t seem to understand how difficult and time-consuming art really is. Try having to complete multiple pieces within a week or two. These artworks must be smart, conceptual, beautiful, individual, and perfectly-crafted. I admit, I wasn’t aware of what art was going to demand of me when MICA first accepted me.

When I arrived home after my first semester at MICA, most of my friends asked a similar question: ‘How do you grade art?’ With all of the things I mentioned above; all the effort and intelligence and beauty. Sort of like Miss America. Haha, just kidding. Miss Americas aren’t intelligent. :P

It’s a challenge, and it’s often a really fun challenge. Sophomore year was the most fun for me—the projects were usually small, quirky, useful assignments: editorial, mostly. My Narrative Illustration class helped me turn out some of my best work because I’m passionate about characters and stories. It’s a good feeling, seeing your work improve. But it’s hard to keep that confidence up when that improvement still hasn’t raised you to a level where you can compete professionally with your collegues.

I nurse a strange paranoia in myself. At MICA—at any art school—we critique artwork. Not only in class, but amongst ourselves—we rank out who can draw and who can’t. I have this feeling that my closest friends at MICA (exceptionally talented designers and artists in their own right) privately think of me as the least talented among us. I may be entirely out of my mind in thinking that (actually most of my friends haven’t seen my work due to this very insecurity), but it’s a feeling I can’t shake.

To change tack, I’m not sure I can say that I’m passionate about art. Maybe about portraits. I’m not sure I can say I’m passionate about MY art. I enjoy doing it, certainly, and I often like what I do. I love looking at beautiful art, but I’m the first to say I’m a strict classicist with little to no interest in contemporary fine art. I’ve felt passionate about people and about singing, but I’m not sure I’ve felt that same rush about art. Perhaps it’s because I’ve never really expressed myself artistically.

The closest I’ve ever come to doing so was in a thirty-page comic book/diary I drew while I was in Florence, Italy this past Spring. It was funny and cute and sometimes sad, and my artwork made some huge strides, and I was happy with the product, but I’m hesitant to call what I do ‘expressive’.

Or maybe I’m just being a giant WEENIE. Thoughts?

Thanksgiving was lovely (the soup went over well!) and TOO SHORT. But I can’t wait for this semester to be over so I can take John home to my family! :D

I got to talk to Em and Drea this week, for the first time in a babillion years. I’ve been realizing lately how close I am to them, and how much closer I’ve stayed to them as my MICA friends have shifted. I love you guys!

Overall, I’m happy, if stressed with all the effing work I have to do before the semester’s end:

-At least 15 pages of thesis work done, plus a few pages inked plus final critique.
-10 page paper for Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt plus a final exam.
-Objectivity final exam.
-ArtMarket and final Lab critique.

BLAH.

Wish me luck.

Lots and lots of love,
-A.

Chit-Chat.

It seems like I've been immersed in unusual talks with unusual people lately--Lacie and I reconnected recently in Facebook messages. Not with any overt affection on my part, although it is good to hear that she's doing better. It's nostalgic, but I have no intention of bringing our friendship back to what it once was.

On the flip side, John's ex, Christine, has been making a serious effort to do...SOMETHING I can't put my finger on. Just being nebby. A mutual friend says, "She's just jealous and wants to know what's going on." (As if I'd tell her.) Lacie summed up the situation from Christine's point-of-view rather well, actually: "Hey, I know you have something to do with my ex-boyfriend--comparing you to me, you're not totally ugly and that threatens me so let me befriend you as to assure myself that I am, in some way, better than you and can come to terms with the fact that you are in the picture."

Either way, it's been amusing, but annoying and pathetic. Time to move on (although she apparently has a new boyfriend). Today is dedicated to working that out. Wish us luck!

Otherwise, the play is going very well (November 13th and 14th if you can make it!), things with work are slow (on my part), but good, and I'm so unbelievably happy with John I can't even express it. :D On that note, I'm going to New Jersey to spend Thanksgiving with John and his family, so I won't see you Sewickley people! :( BUT, I'll be bringing John back with me for the first part of Winter Break so you all can meet him! Excitement!

I've even been hearing from some of you, which is great! (Em, I'll call again today.) Drea! Where are you, dear?!

ALSO. Hilarious news. Drea C. won a beauty pageant representing my birthplace of Reading, PA. I guess getting discovered on her own wasn't enough, so she's going for Miss America! Hysterical! Check it out here.

John gets home today from a weekend visit to his family! Yay! :) Then play practice, then actual work.

Muah--

Love,

-A.

I am popular lately!

Since I returned to Baltimore, I have been chatted up by three different guys! Maybe four, but that remains to be seen.

The most recent was a guy named Mark--he graduated in '08 and built the sets for Good Thing, the play I stage managed last spring. We never really talked much during the show--although we got along well--and all of a sudden he contacts me on Facebook and invites me to dinner! I suspect it has something to do with the fact that my profile picture is me looking model-hot in a corset. (Sources also say he's only recently single out of a long-term relationship, so we'll see.)

Since he invited me in a message, I told him I can't accept online invites and gave him my number. I intend to accept if and when he calls. Why wouldn't I? :) He is really handsome--not my usual, much broader and muscular--and from our limited and past interaction, totally nice.

We'll see how it goes over!

In other news, Ben (Bennett) came over last night and we went out to dinner. It's refreshing to have a person like him around--he's unlike any friend I've ever had, which is both awesome and sort of annoying. :P But we get along well and he's fun to be around. It's also nice to have a friend I can kiss goodbye on the cheek without feeling weird about it. I've wanted that forever! Odd desire, I know.

Also, I had coffee with John on Tuesday (he's the 'maybe four' mentioned above) and WOW, do we hit it off every time we see each other! Even better, we got to talk about faith (conservative Christian, w00t!) and he was on my page, even finishing my sentences! Very, very, very nice. And it's pretty clear that we want to spend more time together--he invited me to Boston this weekend (!), but I had to work--sorry Drea! :((( And he also offered to drive from New Jersey to Baltimore to pick me up and take me BACK to New Jersey so I can see Harry Potter 6 with him and his friends (we are nerds. love it.)! Generous and cool. There's obviously a lot of affection on both sides in a short time, but I like it! He's a sweetheart.

WHAT IS MY LIFE?! Lauren must have inadvertently passed along her hotness!

So! Anyway, I saw Marla again today, and it's looking like she's decided that our tactic for the rest of forever will be Ignoring. Classic. So, that's where we are now.

ANYWAY, enough about my social calendar--no response from the Walters yet, affirmatively or negatively. But, they did send me an e-mail that the internship was intended for grad students, but they'd pass my resume on anyway. So, it's looking unlikely, but who knows? I have a lot of cool stuff behind me.

Hope you're all doing well! Love you--

-A.

I Kept My Promise to Myself!

I didn't make out with Dan.

Yesterday was so, so awesome. And not just because of the party Dan took me to--I spent the morning with my mom, just chatting with our hairdresser while Mom got highlights put in and we had a leisurely lunch with Robert. The sun was out all day, and I got to take a long walk with Brian (who complained about the heat the whole time, like a weenie :P).

Dad's even went well! Lauren, KJ, and I were all there, as well as Sam (Dad's wife's daughter), and we had a good dinner and dessert and worked together to answer silly Jeopardy questions. It was a lot of fun!

We left Dad's at 7:30, earlier than expected, but I still took the whole hour before Dan arrived to change most od my outfit, take forever to do my hair and makeup (Headband or carefully hidden bobby pin? Flats or heels? Red lipstick?). I just finished my lipstick when Dan arrived at 8:30, and we headed out to his friend Shannon's birthday party, which was in Oakland.

We stopped at his place on the way over, and he made me a drink--a Floradora cooler, I think? Two shots of gin in it, but I was fine. Then we made it to the party at abot 9:45, and I was told to try the sweet tea vodka. Holy shit. That stuff goes straight to your head, and, okay, get ready for it...

I was drunk for the first time.

I KNOW, I know. Try to contain your shock. BUT, once the sweet tea vodka got to be too much, I had some water and didn't get too far over my head.

But, the mild drunkness was less important than the boy I met--Ben. He got to the party about 40 minutes after Dan and I, and is slender and good-looking and immediately came over to the couch I was on, and sat between me and this other girl Desiree. We got to talking about his t-shirt and we ended up spending the whole night together. (He told me later that he was interested in Desiree at first!) We were just talking at first, then hanging out outside--he shared his cigarettes with me, then he got me a beer and we were absorbed into conversation about religion (because I ALWAYS end up in there conversations so randomly! Sheesh!). After another cigarette break, he had his arm around me, and was holding my hand.

Holy crap, the tension in the room by then--people knew I'd come with Dan, obviously. I was one of the few people that NO ONE knew. And they were now noticing that I was openly affectionate with someone else. To defend myself, because I know this seems lame--Dan never specified that I was his date, and honestly, he was probably counting on me as a sure makeout session and not much more. I mean, he likes me, but he has no intention of doing anything real.

Besides, this was something new and exciting. :)

So, Ben (Bennett, and not Benjamin, which is very, inexplicably sexy to me) was holding my hand and offering me his jacket by the end of the night while 3/4 of the party (minus a few guests, the birthday girl among them, who were passed out) walked to a pizza place at 3 AM. As we left the birthday girl's apartment, one guest, a particularly drunk girl, pronounced: "You are really, pretty, you know that? Like, REALLY PRETTY. You are SO pretty!"

Dan, Desiree, Ben, and I ended up driving back to Dan's place after pizza, and after a few awkward minutes in his sitting room, I announce that I have to go home, as it is 4 AM. and my mom would have a conniption if she were to wake up to my empty bed.

SO, Ben offers to drive me home, and we awkwardly exit together while Desiree moons at a disinterested Dan. Ben was a trooper, and made it from Oakland to Sewickley with no trouble, considering he isn't from the area. We got to my house around 4:40, and he left at 6:30.

Yep.

Ah, kissing, how I've missed you.

Anyway, he lives in Virginia (and drove 4 hours for the party, I know!) and is eager to visit me next week when I get back to Baltimore, yay!

I told Robin, but you know what, it wasn't weird! And guess what! I found a Craigslist Missed Connection addressed to HIM! Weird, weird, weird! But cool. :)

So...I guess we'll see how this progresses, hm?

DREA IS HOME! WOOOOOOO!!!!

The Pens tied the series! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love you all!

-A.

Ding, Dong--The Bells Are Gonna Chime!

Weddings!

Weddings. Are. Everywhere for me right now.

I'm enjoying it, truly, but it is a needling reminder that I am at Square Zero as far as boys. Either way, I've been hearing more and more announcements about engagements for my classmates! Seriously, I can name five people my age or younger engaged in the last twelve months off the top of my head! Drea's sister just got married! Joey's sister's wedding is next week! Not to mention my mom's upcoming nuptials!

All this talk of weddings has been getting to me. Not in a bad way, but I swear, I've gotten so sensitive to the idea of people my age getting married, I've started watching "Whose Wedding Is Is Anyway?" as often as I can (and tearing up at it), and I even made a theknot.com account to stare dreamily at wedding dresses I will never afford (or at this point in my dating life, never wear).

Ugh. Is that so lame? Doesn't every girl dream about her wedding? Em and Drea and I talked about it a lot while Kamala was planning, and Em and I revisited the subject when she visited Florence. It's an exciting subject. Scary, sure, even a little frustrating (I get impatient, okay?!), but it always makes my head buzz and my stomach drop.

I should probably stop obsessing, seeing as one should actually have a serious boyfriend before diving into all of this, and any boy who sees how excited I get at the prospect of a marriage will be scared away! :P (But I can still design my gown in my head, right?)

But, despite the very, very far-into-the-future romance in store pour moi, I got a couple of lovely compliments from an old, long-distance male friend (who, I can guess, has always had a crush on me):

R: I'll be honest: you are very attractive to me. But as distance goes--got to be realistic.

~ALSO~

R: I can talk a lot, that is, until you look at me with your eyes. Then I'm probably a little school boy. (My eyes have de-aging powers, I guess? :P)

~And most unexpected of all:~

R:(about my FB profile picture--me, with wind-tossed hair on top of a medieval tower in Tuscany) I would give anything to be there at that moment, I'm sure the view was breathtaking, I know at least you'd be. WOW.

Those little (BIG) pick-me-ups are always welcome. :)

The Brighter Side

I did get to help Lauren take some initiative with the boy she likes--some older guy at school, I guess. Lauren's never had a boyfriend, and she's always been sensitive about it, especially considering how popular her two best friends are with the boys (I hear you, Lauren, don't worry!). BUT, despite that discomfort, she'd never taken the bull by the horns and ASKED A GUY OUT.

She refused to go to Prom if no one asked her, and just never felt comfortable being the 'asker', and never gave the time of day to the boys that liked her (they were usually friends of hers that she wasn't interesting in dating, and I get that, but ONE DATE).

I've had my own share of experience as the move-maker (remember when I gave my number to Doctor Cutie from JHU in that bar a year ago?), and I advised Lauren to just make the move with this boy (although the big-sister part of me is wondering how old this guy is/what his deal is. Like, is he 20 and saving money at CCAC, or 25 and in community college because he's a dummy?).

SO, she took my advice and wrote him a Facebook message (I know, but it's a start), asking him for a study date. And the next day, she texted me a glad response that he'd called her back (NOT texted, but called--awesome) and was into it. Unfortunately, we haven't heard from him since then (he'd called from a friend's phone--his was broken and that could have something to do with it), and the test they were meant to study for is tomorrow. :/

HOPEFULLY he just decided to ditch the study date and take her out properly. :P But seriously, Lauren is too beautiful to be allowed. WTF?

Mom has been in LA since Tuesday, and will be back late tonight--we're going to Dad's, which might be a little tense as Lauren and Dad got into another fight (similar to the blow up early last summer about Dad being crap at parenting) and this is her first time there in weeks. Great.

KJ's 14th birthday was on Sunday, and I'm so proud of him! I swear, his guitar and drum skills have just shot up since I was gone! It's just so weird to see him as tall as me, and his voice is so deep now! I feel weird that I missed it, and I guess it was cool to see the jump, but I've always been there, and as soon as the biggest changes starting coming, I wasn't.

He's got his Teen Attitude coming out, too--the only thing I don't like! Is every boy that bitchy at that age? Can any male readers give me the answer to that? Man, and they say GIRLS are bad?

I got to talk to Drea on Monday, which was really good--I missed her. I miss all of my girls! Why can't we just find some gorgeous penthouse in NYC and be fabulously rich and carefree and independent together forever? :P I have to say, I'm bummed that we're all separated again this summer. The summer after freshman year was awesome for that--even though I was working two jobs that made me want to cut my own head off, I still had you guys nearby.

I think it's just that fear of change coming out of me again! :) But I'm fine. Like I said in my last entry, once I have my own apartment, boyfriend, and job (banning all the work that goes into getting those things) I'll be all set! :P

Love you guys, and I hope you're having a good week--

-A.

La Citta Eterna!

So, I went to Rome this past weekend!

I caught an evening train, intending to meet Melissa at the Roma Termini station between 6 and 7. My train got in at 6:10. I knew Melissa's train got in at 6, so I looked around the relatively small platform, then planted myself nearby so she could see me. After 25 minutes, I decided to walk around a bit, see if maybe she was doing the same thing by staying in one place. No luck, so I waited in a different spot for about a half hour. By then I knew it was time to find a way to the hostel--maybe she had just gone ahead and checked in. I asked the guy at the Information Desk if he knew where I could find an internet cafe, and he just said "Outside". As in "Out there in Rome". Thank you, very helpful.

Luckily, there was one very nearby, right across the street. I went in, got my ticket, and got to work. Melissa had e-mailed me the hostel details earler in the week, so I got the name and address, and blessedly, a woman who spoke perfect English was sitting next to me, and she communicated with the owner of the internet point to direct me to 'Via Curtatone'. It took me about 20 minutes to find, despite being withing walking distance, but I got to Legends Hostel, and I was fine.

Unfortunately, Melissa was nowhere to be found. She hadn't checked in yet, and it was already 8:30, two and a half hours after she was supposed to arrive. Also, I hadn't talked to her in four days--who knows what had happened? She could be anywhere! Even worse, I had no idea which leg of the tour she was coming from.

So, I got to our room, where two guys our age were already sleeping. Or had been, because I woke them up. Thankfully, they were nice about it, and had intended to get up in order to go out and party. They were students from Lehigh, in Pennsylvania (what a coinkydink!) on spring break--Greg and Mike. I initially mistook them for my roommate Emily's boyfriend and his roommate, because they have the same names and were in Italy this past weekend, but I forgot the part where Emily's boyfriend is 28.

So, I laid out the whole deal to Greg and Mike (well, mostly Mike--Greg was still half-asleep), and after about a half hour of worrying, the snotty girl from the front desk knocked on our door, and Melissa and her giant backpack stepped out from the hall! I was so thankful! We were both pretty darn glad to see the other was okay. Since we had missed dinner at the hostel, the two of us decided to check out 'Insalata Ricca', a salad place that is apparently very popular. And with good reason. The walk was practically a hike to get there, but it was SO worth it. I had a 'miele' (honey) salad with walnuts, sliced beef, apples, and honey sauce. OMG. SO GOOD.

And since we got there so late, we were there past midnight, so Melissa was allowed to take her break from the Daniel Fast she's doing for Lent, and we shared a chocolate mousse. :)

Friday morning was the full day--We hit the major ruins first--the Colosseum (there's poetry in that diagonal, I swear), the Forum, Sacra Area (which was awesome for the new, as well as the old.), and we crossed the Tiber and checked out Isola Tiberina, this little island in the middle of the river, and I had this DELICIOUS prosciutto and brie sandwich. Then we crossed all the way and hiked up the hill to the Temple of St. Peter, where he was 'traditionally' crucified. Yeah, not so much. :P

We made it back to the hostel in time for "Pasta Night", and we met a few American students (one from Nebraska, one from Oregon) studying in Bulgaria. RANDOM! But they were so nice, and love Harry Potter. :D

That night, we went to the Trevi Fountain--it was lovely. So gorgeous--practically in motion. Melissa and I were pressured to buy a bouquet of roses (read: they were shoved into our hands and then he demanded payment), then Mel was scammed on by an aging punk-rocker with a crutch. SRSLY. Then we got giant, chocolate-dipped cones of yummy gelato, saw the Four Rivers Fountain and then walked to the Spanish Steps. The view was awesome. It's amazing to think that people live there and see it every day out their windows! It's awesome.

Saturday, we went to the Pantheon--it had been closed for a prayer mass the day before--and there was barely a crowd, which was great! Then we headed to Vatican City, got more tasty sandwiches and ate them in from of St. Peter's Basilica, then went to the Vatican Museum, where I was flirted with by one of the twentysomething workers in security. He thought I was French, then WHISTLED. It was actually pretty funny. :P

The musseum itself had some cool stuff--an early Christian art exhibit, which consusted of mostly sarcophagi from the 4th century, and the decidedly unexciting Egyptian exhibit. But it was all good preparation for the main event.

The Sistine Chapel Ceiling is, without a doubt, the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. The craft is impeccable, the motion and imposition--the bodies are COMING OUT OF THE WALLS. It was amazing. I just sat and stared for almost an hour. So gorgeous. :D

But we did have to go and get ready for our train ride home, which we caught around 6:50, and we were home by 8:30! Then we got to meet the REAL Greg and Mike. Greg was a total kind, invested, funny gentleman--Emily is a lucky girl! But she totally deserves it. And Mike was rougher around the edges, but a brilliant storyteller, and it's clear that he has a gooey center. :)

Emily and Christine's friend AJ (who goes to Pitt) also visited, and I found out that she and Brittney Nolfi happen to be great friends! But she didn't know the "Whoops, Brittney got crowned Homecoming Queen by mistake" story, so I filled her in, and AJ confirmed once again that Brittney and Tyler Kennedy did indeed date, and that he was, indeed, entirely obsessed with her. I don't think I ever doubted it--she would date any of the Pittsburgh Penguins she could get, and he would date anyone as hot as Brittney because he kind of looks like a pug. But he's a dab hand at hockey! Go TK! :P

Also, today I read a note Rachel B. posted about good men. The note wasn't important, but the responses were:

Nicole H.: I'd like to believe good men exist. All the bad men have ruined for them. it must be hard being a good man. You might never get recognized for it. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” ~ Edmund Burke

Amiri H.:(Even though I never met her, this almost in direct response to Ms H.'s comment) Sometimes, and for various reasons, good men do bad things that do a lot of damage that was never intended. This unfortunately means that the world is even more complex than we thought! Isn't that wild?!

Nicole H.: Very true. How is it then that good men do bad things? Maybe they need stronger convictions, or a better reason to do good things? I’d like to think that a good woman is enough of a reason to do good things, maybe even excellent things. Unfortunately, I’ve seen good men treat good women quite badly. Maybe the good woman is not a worthy motive because even good women can do bad things. I think the only worthy reason for a good man to do good things is because he serves a good God. My conclusion is that more men need to understand God’s unquenchable love for them and know who they are in His eyes, which is truly good men (despite their failings and shortcomings). They must learn to walk in the honor and integrity that he has called them to, strengthened by His grace. And good women? They must know the same and extend grace just as the Lord has done so unto them.

Good response, I think. Great response.

I got to talk to Robin, Sam, and Jessie yesterday! It was so great to se them together--Sam and Jessie went to Baltimore on their spring break. I miss them!

As some of you may know, in about a month I am going to Corsica with Em! Have a mentioned this? OH WELL. It's very exciting and I can't wait to see her!

How are wedding plans going for Kamala, Drea? Maid-of-Honor speech coming out well? :) I can't wait to see photos!

Ab-Fab--I saw a motorcycle jacket here that I WISH I could buy for you! I know you've been wanting one! How's YOUR Greg?

Wow. This has been a looooooong entry. Time to go do something with my day! :P

Love you guys and talk to you soon,

-A.

Two days in a row?! Insanity!

I guess I'm just making up for the slacking I've done lately. Besides, I haven't said much about Florence/Italy ITSELF. So, I'm going to do what I call an "Emily Post", and observe what's going on AROUND me, as opposed to what is just going on WITH me.

Italians have a very interesting taste. They dress fabulously well, usually in black. They are trendy as all-get-out, to a fault, even. (Puffy coats with elastic belts? EEK!) Every female here wears boots--it was one of the first things I bought besides food, firstly because they were cheap (I may have mentioned the January sales before), and secondly because Florence seems to have every style of shoe I ADORE. They also like blondes. At least the men do. :P Ask Morgan about the encounter she had her first week here, where a guy blatantly felt her ass up in the street.

The Italians practice what they call "Bella Figura". Have I mentioned it here? I forget. Basically, the objective is to look as good as you can before you walk out the door. Why the eff hasn't America gotten on that?! As a result, I LIKE to think I look more cleaned up than usual--I actually put on makeup 90% of the time now, and I try and make the effort to look aloof and bitchy. Hey, it seems to work for the Italians! I've barely been cat-called!

They also have a few obsessions: Marilyn Monroe and A Clockwork Orange. I swear, you see that shit EVERYWHERE. They pay a few respects to my girl Audrey, as well, but not nearly as much as Marilyn (typical! :P). And kebab. There's a place on every corner! This is great for my mouth, but bad for my wallet. (That's what she said.)

As for dislikes, I think that can be summed up in one big one: Traffic laws. I swear to God, the only rule is "Don't hit anyone". And the unspoken one is, "Be as big of an impatient tool as possible, too." Graar.

So, yeah! So far, that's my observation. Limited, I know, but you're reading the blog of a girl who hasn't even been inside the Uffizi for longer than an hour. And I live across the street. :/ I'm a shameful human being.

In other news, my mushroom soup went over VERY well last night! It was a little too salty, but I can fix that! I'm definitely making it for all of us when I come home! What do you guys think? My mushroom soup, and Em can make those little molten cakes of DELICIOUSNESS. Bri? Drea? Ab-Fab? Any input? Tasty bread? Salad?

The rest of my day is going to be pretty boring and slacker-y. I got about 2/3 of the way into my first little figurine (I changed my mind about the paper cutouts for now, but I'm not forgetting about them) and then, I think I changed my mind AGAIN and might do cute, tiny watercolors with my chubby little character running around and getting overwhelmed and gossiping and basically doing everything I do. :P

Did I tell you guys about my latest critique with Kevin, the MICA students supervisor? I told him I was interested in injecting more humor into my work--I feel like so many art kids take themselves SO SERIOUSLY. At that, he got really weirdly smug and "oh-yes-I-know-all-about-you" and was like "Yes, you do have that crooked smile." Do I? Really? I think he's thinking of the face I make when I'm trying not to laugh at him. I think he says shit like that because I hit the nail on the head with him in our first meeting and pointed out his caffeine jitters and mismatched socks.

Directly after this, he told me a horrifying story about a boy he was in 4th grade with who slit his wrists (and survived), due to bullying. #1: FOURTH GRADE. #2: KEVIN, WTF? DISTURBING.

Sidenote: I love my Facebook 'Favorite Quotes' section. I have a fantastic sense of humor, you know that? :P

I'm going to call my mom in the next half hour, and she's going to be all cute and engaged, and I feel a little bad to have to bring the hammer down on that in any way, but I NEED to get some solid info on the finances so I won't get beaten by the SACI:NY lady! She's out for blood, I swear.

On a lighter note, apparently Betsy and Jen (you remember, my MICA roommates from last semester) were not shy in asking Robin how far we've gone! He told them the (modest, ungraphic) truth--which is fine by me, I'm just surprised they were so forward about asking! Jen maybe, but Betsy was apparently the one who asked! Funny, and it makes me miss them. :)

Okay, I'm out. Love you guys! I'll update soon.

-A.

ETA: Just got off the phone with Mom, and we settled on a game plan for the SACI housing bill. She's really, really excited about her and Robert (of course!), and she told me that KJ is constantly playing his guitar and drums, that his grades are great, and he's taking up track and tennis! His play opens this weekend--I wish I could be there to see it! Man, he's going to be 14 soon. It seems like he's taking forever to age, but I know he'll be a man before I know it!

Let me let you in on an excerpt from an e-mail he sent after I asked him to assist me with the SACI bill: "As you well know, money is tight all over for most folks and last minute surprises are more difficult to handle. Lisa and I have always been happy to do what we can and I hope you understand that. This is frustrating for me because you're my daughter, I love you and I don't want this to create a hardship for you. I wish I could just pay it but that's not possible."

Logical, realistic and completely understandable.

But wait, what's that I hear? DAD BOUGHT A 2-SEATER CONVERTIBLE. SRSLY.

Thank you, Daddy. Thank you for focusing on the important expenses. For real.

But you've all heard me complain about this a million times. :P

Wow, February.

Already! That means I haven't exactly 2 months and 3 weeks left here!

I know, don't get too excited. :P

In other news, the Steelers are AWESOME. I admit, I got a little nervous in the end! But we pulled that shit out and reminded people who we are.

I'm supposed to meet with my teacher today for critique BUT I don't have anything. :D OH WELL. I'll just tell him I need a little more time and get cracking!

Hiked from Fiesole to Settignano on Saturday--the sun came out just for us, and it's been raining ever since. I wish I had more to report on!

I love you guys. Drea--I haven't heard from you in a while. Are you still reading?

Muah!

-A.

The Ounce of Relief.

My luggage arrived sometime in the last two hours. THANK THE LORD.

I really appreciate all your support! I've been pretty much freaking out for the last thirty hours or so, and the words of encouragement mean everything. I love you guys!

I'm SUPPOSED to go on this mandatory tour of the monuments at 3 this afternoon, but I'm so tired (I barely slept last night) that I'd rather just sit at home and unpack and relax for a little while. It's not like they're taking roll on the tour or anything. My personal wellbeing is more important to me at this point then the monuments I will undoubtedly see over my FOUR MONTHS in the city.

I'm still feeling overwhelmed, but I'm THRILLED that my luggage is here, which I'm sure will make a marked difference day-to-day.

There's a bookstore open 'til midnight around here, with free wireless, which will lend itself better to the Eastern Time Zone! Emily, I'd love to talk Sunday. Would morning or evening be better?

Alright, I should take my luggage home and unpack. I love you guys dearly, and I really miss you. I can't wait until March so I can see some of you! (Or at least Em--Drea, any news on a trip?)

Muah!

-A.

Ripped from LJ, because it was too coincidental. (Ha.)

For those of you who don't/haven't used Livejournal, there's a widget called "Writer's Block" that pops up with a new question everyday to write about. This was today's:

Whether you believe in the paranormal or not, you've probably experienced something that you couldn't explain. What was it?

I guess I never like using the word 'paranormal'. Isn't that weird? I like 'supernatural' much better, because it suggests that all of those unexplainable, miraculous, scary things run parallel to and add to what we already know to be (ha) natural.

Oddly enough, the things I find unexplainable are not unsettling. Well, okay, that's a lie, but they don't make me feel insecure. They're little things--coincidences, I guess a lot of people would mark them as. Like, whenever someone pauses in a sentence, I know what word they'll use next, 99% of the time. Maybe that's just me reading people well, and I can let that go.

Being a Christian, I believe in all kinds of unexplainable things. And, the hints I see that reassure me are unexplainable themselves. Drea and I were just talking about the supernatural side of faith last night, then--ta da!--a question about supernatural phenomena pops up on LJ. The perfection of snowflakes (Cheesy, but they are too...too PERFECT to be an accident). Cross-shaped proteins holding our cells together--you know, little things. The little ways that turn into big ways that God is in control of my life, because I let him. This whole Italy trip wasn't possible because of anything I did, aside from filling out some forms. The finances, my fellow travelers, the obstacles and how they were cleared--that was entirely God. And it's impossible to explain. I can only list the ways and let you decide.

On the sillier end, my mom was in an Oscar pool in 2005, and the bonus question was "What color dress will Hilary Swank be wearing?" I guess Mom just asked whoever was in the house, and I remember saying, specifically, "Navy." Naturally, Mom laughed and was like "Navy? Why?" And I just said, calmly, "Because she looks good in navy."

I didn't watch the red carpet part, but I remember Mom SCREAMING: "SHE'S WEARING NAVY! HOW DID YOU KNOW?!" I just knew. :P It's silly, but a little strange all the same.

Maybe I'm psychic when it comes to Oscar gowns! ;P

Love,

A.

Wooooooooo!

My visa arrived! Hooray!

Whew. Thank God.

Also, I'm home! I'm sure that you've heard. :)

And I have quite a bit of Christmas shopping to do today, so I'll update soon! :D

Love,
A


8:27 pm:

Okay! I shopped with Emily and Bessala today and it was lovely! Took care of Lauren's, KJ's, and Sam's (Dad's stepdaughter) gifts:

Lauren: The Dark Knight and Now and Then DVDs.
KJ: Drum sticks for his new DRUM SET that he will shit his pants for but my mom and sister will go nuts from.
Sam: Two GG-licious headbands and some cute bow clips.
Mom: Lauren and I went in on a facial/massage.
Dad: Us kids are going in on a digital camera.
Robin: Ah-ah-ah! He actually reads this thing. :P ;)
You four!: Ditto, but you'll like them, I hope!

So far, Lisa (Dad's wife) is not yet taken care of. :/ Ooops. But hopefully Starbucks will be open and I can get her a card to go with Lauren's Penguin Bookshop card for her.

Because I didn't update yesterday, let me recap! Emily and I were invited to brunch by Robin at Sam and Jessie's with a few other friends. It was awesome to see them so soon, and I was thrilled to be able to introduce Em to Robin and the others. The food was also DELICIOUS.

Apparently, one of the other guests, Zander (who I met this summer and who Em went to SA with), asked Robin what's up with us, and I admit, I suspected that Zander was sniffing around me already, since he and his girlfriend just broke up, and he's been texting me, etc. But basically, I think he was disappointed to see that I wasn't single. Although, Zander isn't really the guy for me, although he is cute and nice and well-dressed and all that. :)

For Ab-Fab:

Robin and his brother intended to interview Andrew WK on CMU radio, and he called in and everything, but he was acting really weird and the calls got dropped a few times, and while I don't know how the interview ended, I think it was a disappointment for Robin and Alex. Sorry guys! :( But either way, I'm sure you'd want to know, Ab. Hope Ohio was fun! :D

Also, my grandparents, who are generously footing the bill for me this year so I can go to Italy, called me tonight with some abrupt news that they want to take out and co-sign a loan with me for the next semester instead of paying up front like they did this semester. If that's what they want to do, then I guess that's that, but the fact taht they bring it up literally TWO WEEKS from my departure date and IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHRISTMAS RUSH was giving me a heart attack a little worrisome. Okay, we'll see how it pans out.

Okay, time to finish up some gifts!

Love!
A

Five weeks. :)

This is both a scary and awesome prospect--I am so not ready! :/ But I know that even if I'm not ready, I'll be where I'm supposed to be once I step off the plane.

Thanksgiving break was wonderful. I saw Drea and Abby (yay!) and Brian, and the Ruzichs (minus Mr.) and QUAIDY, which made my life. :P I also gave Lauren an AWESOME birthday gift that she wanted--a (n illegally downloaded) copy of Rosetta Stone so she can learn German! Or Italian, if she so wishes. :)

I also ran into Rachel B. (groan) who tells me that Lacie has been up and down. I then spoke to Brandon who tells me she's even crazier than I had anticipated. Ah well, it's her life.

The highlights of my break though, were the evenings I spent with Robin and his friends Sam and Jessie et. al. Tuesday, the night I got home, was spent at Ritters with S and J, just getting reacquainted and having a nice time. THEN, on Saturday, Robin came to Sewickley and met Drea and Brandon and than we met up with S and J and got a group together to play first Cranium, then Spoons, and then Asshole and Quems. (card games). It was SO MUCH FUN. It was sort of nice to just let loose with some relative strangers. :D And, of course, it's always a pleasure to spend time with Robin. :)

Okay, a lot to do before the week is out.

TO DO:

-VISA, GOD DAMMIT.
-Hand in administrative MICA forms for study abroad.
-Do a five-page paper on Olympia by Manet. By tomorrow at 9 am. (More than doable, but annoying.)
-Shellac/Fire final ceramics project.
-Do nine two-hour drawings for José. By Thursday. (AAAAAH.)

Love you guys. :) Christmas season is here! (BTW, EMILY made me lose the game, like a jerk. So, you can all lose, too. :P)

-Alyssa

P.S. I intend to go to Drea C.'s 21st birthday. It's in the works--you won't be alone, Em! :P

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving with your families, friends, food, and football. I'm so thankful for the four of you:

Em: Even though you're outside of the US, I expect you to find some canned cranberries to put on a turkey sandwich today! Love you and I can't wait to see you!

Drea: I know being back here in Sewickley stirs up a lot of unpleasant feelings, but I hope that your time with your mom and siblings (and hopefully your dad) reassures you that you'll be fine, and you're doing great and have so much to be thankful for. :)

Ab-Fab: Hope this weekend's trip to Warren, OH will be action-packed and exciting! :P I know Greg's mom will adore you--say hi and happy birthday for me! Muah!

Bri: I know you're home and I'll hopefully see you before I go back to Maryland. Spending time with your family is always fun, and either way, you make fun times wherever you go! Have a great Thanksgiving. :D

I will be at my Mom's parents' place in a few hours, wishing I were with all of you instead! :P I watched the annual fox hunt take off from my dad's ex-stepmother's farm this morning, which was nice. (I saw Maureen Megan, who cut off all of her hair and now looks like a very hipster-y lesbian.)

Love you all!

-Alyssa

Overheard at BBU: My New Love. :)

Guy 1: so when do you think a baby is made?
Guy 2: um when sperm meets egg.
Guy 1: so you think abortion is wrong?
Guy 2: FUCK YES, if people will spend a million dollars protecting the eggs of some random endangered bird the least they could do is protect the eggs of our women!!!!

FREAKING TRUE. And hilarious. :)

Updates from/for everyone!

I know I just updated earlier, but everyone (minus Bri) updated today, and I wanted to, too. :)

Today I woke up at 12:30--I stayed up 'til almost 7 AM--and I applied for my passport. Very successfully, as it was super easy! The lady who helped me out was wonderful, and she called me "sweetie" a lot. :D

THEN, I picked up Twilight when I got home--I started reading it on Thursday. I enjoy it, but there are pockets of text where I'm like "Bella, SRSLY. Tone down the despair and drama. You don't even know him. And you talk as though you're a novel narrator and not a real girl."

I lounged and read for a couple hours, until about 5, when Ryan showed up, and he, Betsy, Jen and I went to see Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. (Robin is home in Pittsburgh, and I miss him. :( ) It was really cute in places, surprisingly rough in others, and disarmingly honest overall. There's this part where Nick and Norah are lying together, and she's embarrassed, and he just tells her not to be because she's beautiful, and it's AMAZING how spot-on he was. It sounded too intimate, too real. I got shivers. YOU all know how guys sound when you're both being intimate and affectionate--it was like that.

SO, then the four of us went back to our apartments and got bundled up to walk to this Turkish restaurant for dinner. I met Ryan downstairs when I was done getting my coat on. I was wearing my pink patterned coat, pink silk scarf (thank you, Drea), and my beige wool cloche, and as soon as I stepped outside he was like,

"You look really beautiful."

Me: "THANK YOU!"

Him: "You look like something out of a movie."

It was very sweet.

So, we all walked to the restaurant, which was really cool, and we sat in this raised, enclosed booth, like a puppet show stage almost, complete with curtains, and there was a belly dancer and my food tasted like glue but it was okay because Ryan paid like a gentleman. :)

We got back to the apartment, and I read a little while the others situated their movie, and right before 12, I got up to leave, and Ryan held his arms out to hug. Naturally, I restrained myself from jumping him and his hotness and hugged him like a normal human being, then Jen asked for a hug, and then I hugged Betsy after for obvious reasons.

So, let's recap: Before the movie, he said I was lovely (he's called me that multiple times the last few days), and that I have cute moments all the time (I didn't mention that before), then I was 'really beautiful', the he hugs me. Interesting.

And HAWT.

:P

Anyway, I'm trying not to fall asleep now. Time to look at mindless stuff that will make me laugh. :)

Love you all, dearly.

Alyssa

Ouch.

Chase broke up with me last night.

We hadn't been talking as regularly, on the phone or in texts, but I supposed we were both busy. I called him on Friday because Betsy, Jen, Robin, and Ryan may be going to New York this coming weekend (the weekend Chase was supposed to visit), and they wanted us to come with them, so I asked him about it, and he was being dodgy and uncomfortable and evasive on the phone. I was uneasy, but I tried to shake it off, but Robin and I started thinking that maybe he wasn't coming after all. It sort of lingered in the back of my mind over the weekend, but then I texted him yesterday at 4:15, and he finally got back around to me at 6:15. We texted about his sister and work for an hour or so until he finally called me.

He started by apologizing for not calling as much, and I shouldered some of the blame (the phone works both ways, after all). Then he started in with those words I hate:

"I'm just going to get right to it. This isn't working out."

"Oh. Okay."

"It's just, it's hard to not have you here. I need someone here."

"Okay."

"I was going to write a letter, but I thought you might want to say something right away, and I want to give you that chance."

"Yeah. What...When did you decide this? What brought this on?"

He paused. I had a psychic moment, It's someone else.

"I'm in love with Alli."

(For those of you who don't know, Alli is Chase's coworker. He liked her for a while, and they finally started making out/dating in May. He said 'I love you' to her, too. She didn't say it back. A few weeks later, he noticed this other guy had started hanging around Alli more and more, and when he talked to the guy, he found out that this guy and Alli had been dating for a month, at the same time she was seeing Chase. Chase was pretty upset, naturally, and he talked about it with me a lot, but I always thought that the tone of our conversations were that he had learned a lesson, that he was over it. I guess he wasn't.)

"Oh. I see. Okay."

"She told me the other day that I looked different to her, and I asked if it was because she couldn't have me. (At this point I stopped listening because it was unbelievable to me.)"

"Mmhm. And does she feel the same way?"

"I think she does. We talked a few days ago."

"Okay. Then, why did you say you loved me?"

"I felt like I did." Stab. "I shouldn't have said it." Twist.

"No, you shouldn't have."

"I felt like I owed it to you to explain all this. I didn't want to pretend it just wasn't working out."

"You're right, you do owe it to me."

So, we talked a little more. Or, rather, he talked and I listened, or half-listened. I knew it was coming, but it was still a shock, you know? It's like, when you get scared, and then a few seconds pass, and the load of adrenaline hits your bloodstream.

He tried to tell me that it wasn't about my age, or my mom's rules. Which was fine, and I believe him. He said I wasn't a distraction to him, and that things would be different if I were close by. Maybe they would be for a little while, but if he's really in love with someone else, then it would have interfered eventually.

"Look, I really care about you. You're so special. And beautiful. And the most supportive woman I've ever met. And you're so understanding."

"Yeah. Thanks. Well, I guess that's that."

"You can call me if you have anymore questions or concerns or anything like that."

"Sure. Maybe I'll see you around. Good luck with Alli. Keep going with law school, too."

"Thanks, I will."

"Goodbye, Chase."

"Bye."

And that was that.

My roommates and Robin were exceedingly supportive, which was lovely. I called Drea, who was properly scandalized for my sake, and I called Lauren--I thought it might be better if she told Mom instead. The conversation went sort of like this:

Me: Chase dumped me.
Lauren: *GASP* WHAT?
Me: *surprised* Erm, yeah.
Lauren: *Insensitive*
Me: *Less surprised*
Lauren: Do you want me to tell Mom?
Me: What do you think she'd say if I told her?
Lauren: ...maybe I should tell her.

So, she did, and I spoke to Marla, who was very comforting. She told me I was dignified and handling it so well and un-hysterically. When I got home, my Mom called, and was offended that I hadn't gone to her first. She said mostly what I expected ("I'm sorry you're sad." vs. "I'm sorry Chase dumped you."), and I sort of put her in her place when she asked why I didn't call her first:

Me; You can't be surprised that you weren't the first person I called.
Mom: Actually, I was. I figured you know that I love you even f I wasn't into the Chase thing.
Me: Remember how you felt about telling your parents when Tim bugged out? When Brian bugged out? (My mom's two fiancee's that my grandparents' weren't thrilled about.)
Mom: Okay. YES. I'm completely with you. No, I totally get it. You're right.

Ha. So, me and my roommates and Marla and Robin watched A Knight's Tale (Gah, dreadful female lead) and talked. I wrote Chase a letter, and after the movie was over, Robin made me cry, but from laughing this time. :)

I'm feeling better today, but it still hurts. I mean, it's not like he said "I made out with someone else". It was "I'm in love with someone else." With a girl who already used him and threw him away like a tissue. Who only wants him because she can't have him. Or, well, I guess she CAN have him. I'm so angry with him. But I know it's for the best if he's not going to see me as someone worthy. I want someone who loves me 150%, and he wants someone familiar that he can see and touch.

A case of irreconcilable differences if I ever saw one.

My friend Brandon kept my chin up a little with this story:

Brandon: "I was showing a coworker my facebook and how it works
And then I used your page as an example of how you can see friends, etc. (you just made a status update or something)...

Sean: Who's that?
Brandon: (clicking on your profile picture) That's my friend Alyssa
Sean: She's kinda hot.
Brandon: ......yeah.
Both smiling.
That's all."

Thank you guys ahead of time for the support that I know you'll provide, I miss you guys. And Emily--please blog up a storm so I know how you are!

Love you all,

Alyssa

Personal Letters.

To Drea--

I'm so sorry about Nick. I know we both knew you guys wouldn't get married, but it's still so disappointing to see that structure you've built up for almost four years collapse so unceremoniously.

I would have hoped that Nick would have more respect for you, and a willingness to, if not work harder, let you down more gracefully than this. For someone who seems to be so even, his whims and emotions get the better of him sometimes.

You were in love for a long time, and I can't imagine how much this sucks. But you know you'll always have us.

To Emily--

I'm so excited for you to head off to England and have a blast and meet new people and make new friends (but not make TOO good of friends and forget us :P). You deserve it and I can't wait to hear your stories!

I'm ESPECIALLY excited for you to spend your break with me in Italy! Hopefully, by the time your break rolls around, I'll have gotten the hang of Florence and my routine. :) And we can go woo some Italian men. For you, of course, if you haven't found a cute and charming Oxfordian by then. :P

To our awesome upcoming spring! Cheers!

To Ab-Fab--

Despite whatever conflict arises, I'm really glad you're with Greg, and have had the chance to feel what it's like to be cherished. You're completely cherishable, and I hope you know that that's the way it should always be, not just "the best it could be".

You're awesome and we want you to take care of yourself! Love you!

To Bri--

Where are yoooooou?! You should get out of the wilderness for an hour to blog and let us all in on your adventures. Bear Grylls would be jealous. :P Either way, meet some brawny ski instructor while you're at it. :D You're so lovely and smart and funny, and it would be nice to hear from you more often!

Love you guys!

-Alyssa

P.S. I totally told Hot!Ryan he was hot last night, and I wasn't even embarrassed! I rule. :P

P.P.S. Oh, and I never mentioned that Lacie defriended me on Facebook, did I?