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.

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

Hey-Yo.

Just a little update about how I'm doing. As you know, I was a wreck Sunday night, and yesterday I was really, really pissed off.

Today, I'm more resolute. Still bummed, still mad, but I've accepted it, and I'm doing fine. My 24 hours are up and I'm moving on. I sent the letter I wrote. Well, letters. I sent one that was written on September 30th that I never got to send, and I enclosed the new letter, which went a little like this:

Dear Chase,

A few points I wanted to make before things ended for good--before I could say my peace:

Even if I'd been with you physically, your feelings for Alli would always have interfered. Maybe I wasn't a 'distraction', per se, but it probably helped that you met me while you were so angry with her, and I showed you what a stable, grounded girl looked like. I was a change you felt you needed.

You built me up. This breakup wouldn't have been such a blow if you hadn't. You said you loved me, you indicated that you wanted to have a future with me, to marry me. Maybe I was foolish to believe you, but you were careless to say it.

You should never have indicated anything as serious as love or marriage if you had even a shadow of a feeling like that for someone else. You were unfair to me for that, and you betrayed my trust. Whether we'd been together for a month or a year, that is a heartbreak.

I thought we were on the same page as far as our faith and our goals, but I guess your goals lay closer to home, where you can see them and grasp them.

Truly, if Alli is the girl who will make you happy, and most exemplifies what you want in a partner, it would be selfish of me to keep you from that, and foolish of you not to pursue it. but I hope you aren't pursuing her because the familiar opportunity has opened to you again. I hope you weren't only waiting all this time for her to give you the time of day again. Although, if that was even a portion of your reasoning, perhaps this breakup is for the best--for me, because I want someone in 100%, and for you because I would never have satisfied you completely while Alli was on your mind.

Long-distance relationships are very difficult, as we both knew going in. I'm sorry that it was more worth it to you to pursue a more immediate target than to work for something that, while less immediate, is more reliable.

Forgive me if I seem bitter, but one can hardly blame me--if all I have to go on is now cavalier Alli was with your feelings this summer, I find it hard to swallow that you're going back for more. Hopefully she's matured since then, and I have every hope that she'll treat you like the devoted (obviously), thoughtful, and eager man that is clamoring to love her that you are. If she doesn't, I suppose that just proves her immaturity and, I suppose, your own, shall we say, wishful thinking.

By the way, has she gotten over her ex-boyfriend yet?

I'm sorry, I didn't want to say anything cruel or petty. I guess I just don't want to let you go without confronting you with the scope of your decision. I really do want you to be happy. I'm just angry with you right now and I'm prone to saying mean things. I hope you can see past the anger I've left on the page to the sentiments within it. Although, I think I've been pretty measured and sensible in my delivery.

Good luck with everything, and never settle.

-Alyssa

P.S. You began to defend Alli to me during our phone call, saying she may not have done the things you thought she did initially. It was insensitive of you to try and justify your choice to me, or perhaps to yourself. You don't need to explain why you love her and not me.

So, yeah. I feel pretty good about that letter. Really good.

Also, talked to Joey V. last night, and apparently, BritNolf has a nudey pic of TK on her phone. EUGGGGGH.

Also, Drea Chamberlain thinks that sex is what makes a relationship official. Like, you're not dating at all until you do it.

WHAT. THE. EFF.

ANYWAY, I'm done with all that.

Love you guys, thanks for your support. I'm really fine, and I'm looking forward to meeting the real man I'm meant to have.

Prepare your ears...

For the feast of a lifetime:

http://www.purevolume.com/DreaChamberlain




...


Okay, it's not THAT bad, her tone is just iffy at times, and the lyrics could NOT be MORE cliched. And the mixing is just dreadful.

It has potential. With a LOT more editing and some voice lessons. And maybe a good songwriter.

Any song that says "All the colors of the rainbow is you" has GOT to be erased from all records. First of all, bad grammar. Second of all, ew.

I'm such a bitch. :)

ETA: The aforementioned lyrics are to a worship song. I just realized this, at the end of the song. She started saying "Lord" all of a sudden. I mean, I'm a Christian, a pretty devout one. I don't claim to know much about what God thinks, but I'm pretty sure he would hate this song.

Aw, I'm mean.

A l'il ol'-big ol' update on today. :P

-Get my driver's permit renewed.
-Actually learn how to drive.
-Take my driver's test.
-Talk to Mom about applying to SACI.
-Getting my passport.
-Call MICA about withdrawing for a leave of absence in order to go to Florence.
-Talk to MICA about Financial Aid stuff/enrollment. They called me and I just have to put my forms in and I'm set.
-Get another Sallie Mae loan.
-Update stupid FAFSA.
-Fill out stupid financial forms for MICA.
-Call Chico's. I did, they called me back, and I have an interview on
Monday at 3:30--wish me luck!

I worked from 11-4 at Crazy Mocha today, and I saw Drea Chamberlain. I immediately noticed something different different about her. I soon realized she was wearing blue contacts. Yes. Blue contacts. I'm sure you remember she is half-Hawaiian (and half American war hero [General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain! Wooo!]), and has no business wearing blue contacts. She informed me that she was transferring to Pitt, because she has recently recorded a CD and would like to have more funds to dedicate to that. She plans to play live in the 'Burgh at some point. (Abby, it is your duty as the only Pittsburgh-bound girl in the group to attend one of these concerts and take extensive and humorous notes.)

After she told me all of this, she did not ask me how I was doing. That's one of my biggest pet peeves. When I say 'How are you?' I damn well expect for you to say 'I'm good/bad/on my deathbed, how are you?'. Common-effing-courtesy.

ANYWAY, it was a funny interaction. :)