ENGAGED WOOOOO!!!!!

As most of you already know, John and I got engaged this past weekend at the end of my week-long visit. It was wonderful and awesome, and I will describe the whole experience, but I'm in the process of creating an engagement/wedding blog now, apart from my personal one. I'll still update this one, but I'll be using the wedding one for wedding details/inspiration/musing. Once I get it up and running, my first post will be all about the engagement, and I'll link you right over.

ETA: Here you go! Up and running!

But, I CAN describe the trip in the meantime. Mom and I headed out to Maryland with Robert and KJ on May 28th so I could complete my move, pay my landlord (yay!), and meet up with John. John drove down from New Jersey to help me move out, and to attend my godmother's daughter Mary's graduation from the Naval Academy.

Here's us, with Mary in her dress whites, now an Ensign! The graduation was long (we had to be in the DOOR by 9 after standing outside in line for more than a half-hour), but the weather was PERFECT (although John and I got a teensy bit sunburned). Mary's party was afterwards, and I got to meet her handsome boyfriend Van Gordon (just a nickname--he goes by Gordon).

John and I headed up to Gambrills to his aunt and uncle's place after the party and spent the night there--Richie and Mandee surprised us by coming by the next day. I've written about them: Richie is John's cousin who also attends the Naval Academy, and Mandee is his gorgeous fiancée. They're a year younger than we are, and got engaged in July of 2009, but that's only because they wanted to make sure all of the midshipmen could attend the wedding before getting shipped out to their assignments a month after graduation. And since you can't get married while you're enrolled in the Naval Academy, they scheduled the wedding for one week after Richie's graduation. Intense!

So we visited briefly with them and got on the road to New Jersey, where we spent the night at John's best friend Dave's and met a few of his friends. we went out to the beach for about twenty minutes that night--it was gorgeous, even if it was chilly. Looking at the ocean in the dark is scary, but it's exciting. We went back to Cranford, John's hometown, the next day and then to John's OTHER aunt and uncle's place about an hour away for dinner and, the following day, a Memorial Day picnic. Lots of cute babies running around, throwing Cheerios at the Koi pond. :)

We met up with another one of John's close friends, Brian (or B. Ho, as I've tagged him here before) and drove to a pier on the seaside where we had an awesome lunch at a restaurant that I sadly can't remember the name of (they had this specialty butter made with garlic, oregano, dill, salt, and pepper, and maybe paprika? It was SO GOOD). We also introduced him to Wizard People, Dear Reader, which, if you're a Harry Potter fan and you haven't seen it, you should do that ASAP.

The rest of the week was basically spent hanging out and watching back Doctor Who episodes to get me caught up (we finished the whole first season) until Saturday, when set-up for John's grad party when into overdrive. The whole day was spent moving/cooking/assembling/rummaging through the garage to find every little thing necessary for the celebration, which came together without a hitch. Even better, I got to see a bunch of John's friends that I haven't seen in months, like Tracey and Marie (more on her in a moment), and John even surprised me with the awesome Colin M. Ford, who came all the way from Baltimore for the party! It was an awesome time, and I'm so glad I was there.

There was one person in John's life who did NOT attend, but that's mostly because she wasn't invited, and she isn't technically in John's life anymore. John's ex, Christine (tagged 'X'--which they actually call her, along the lines of 'Xmas') has been making things plenty weird for those of John's friends who are still in touch with him. I'd spoken to one of her close friends, Kim, in the past, who confirmed that Christine has brought me up, at least, and the fact that she's uncomfortable with Kim and I being friends (jerk). Dave also told us that X called him right before our graduation and asked him "Why did John cut me out of his life?" (never mind that she was the one to unfriend us on Facebook three months ago), "Why doesn't he like me anymore?" Sigh. Because you broke up TWO YEARS AGO. She has a boyfriend, too--sure, he looks like a potato, but they've been together almost as long as John and I have, and it's just not fair to him.

Now, at the party, Marie indicated that as soon as Christine found out about John's grad party (through me, actually--I asked Marie on her wall if she was coming--I didn't really think about Christine and Marie still being friends), Christine started calling and texting Marie after about a year of not doing anything of the kind. Obviously Marie knew what was up, so she didn't bother to return the messages--one particular voicemail was Christine saying that she "wants [Marie's] opinion on something that's been tormenting [her] for awhile". SIGH.

Marie eventually got it out of her in text--X was confused about John: first he "chews [her] out" via Facebook message (which he did, but only to tell her to stop being so desperate and weird and start treating him like a friend, NOT like an ex), and then he acts all interested in her life again! (AKA, he sent her a Happy Birthday message nearly SIX months after the initial "chewing out".) This girl. She is just so in love with John STILL--which I really can't blame her for entirely, John is a lot to lose--but it's been two years, she's had other boyfriends/hookups, she's IN A RELATIONSHIP, and still pining. It's unhealthy and weird.

I would have absolutely no issues with John and Christine being friends. Zero. If she could just stop acting like a stalker, we'd be good to go.

After the party, Tracey and Marie and a bunch of cousins and aunts and uncles stayed over, and that was the night John proposed. :D More on that another time.

The following day was all celebration and a lot of driving. We went to a wonderful church that morning, and packed up our stuff and got on the road to Pittsburgh, which is when I found out that Marie had sent Christine a looooong message, basically telling X how much she was missing out on by being so weird to John and I. It was very straightforward and mature. I was super-impressed with Marie. Hopefully Christine doesn't take it the wrong way--but that's pretty inevitable, I'd say.

So, we get back to Pittsburgh and I am TERRIFIED, but manage to tell my mom and Robert and KJ about the engagement--Mom reacted pretty well, although she's been sort of tense around us for the past couple of days. I called Lauren and Dad and told them, too--Lauren sounded positively disgusted on the phone: "ARE YOU SERIOUS? With, like, a RING?" (Imagine the word 'Ew' hanging unspoken after that sentence, and you can picture her tone. :P) We also told Joey V. and the Ruzichs, who were very excited for us. Telling people is the best part. :)

So, families and close (in proximity) friends aside, we told Facebook Monday morning, and have gotten a pretty steady stream of positive comments. Let me tell those of you reading that we are not getting married for close to two years--we're not jumping into anything here, despite popular opinion. Have faith in us!

So now we're home, and having lunch with my mom's parents today before John drives back to New Jersey. :((((((

I hope you're all having as good of a week as I've been! So much love to all of you!

-A.

THE LAST MIDTERM CRIT OF MY LIFE.

Katie posted pictures of our Oscar Party on her blog! Check it out.

Heading home tomorrow morning--packing and working tonight until John's rehearsal is over (at midnight. >:|), then SLEEP, because I have to get up early to catch le bus.

Had a great day--got up EARLY for my 6-9 AM shift, and got three solid, computer-less hours of work done before my midterm critique with Rebecca and Jamison Odone. I was mixed up with a whole bunch of new people, and saw some really great stuff! I went last (probably for the best with all of the pages I had to tack up), and heard some good feedback. I've bee told to do full color from the outset, but print in greyscale. AKA Time Suck. But I suppose it's for the best.

I got some good ideas as far as marketing myself, which is a good thing. (Phew.) I also got Jamison's email (I'm usually so good at talking to people, but his awesomeness made me into a bashful, stuttering MESS), so I'll be begging him for guidance at some point soon. :P

After the crit, I had lunch with John out in Cohen Plaza and watched other MICA students lounging out on the grass, in the sun. I watched one professor play with his adorable babies and WISHED I'd had my sketchbook so I could've drawn his adorably chubby baby son. :D Aw, bbs.

After lunch I had seminar, and I watched Jamison and three other artists present, and they were all very successful, which was encouraging. I got to work AND bond with some fellow illustrators in the senior studio after seminar, which was really refreshing, as I usually feel like I'm a completely separate entity from the department (sometimes I still did, even today).

Now I'm home, procrastinating both artwork and packing and waiting for John still.

Looking forward to heading home, but I'm not looking forward to being without John for a week. Boo. :/

Love,

A.

Oscar Night!

Well, admittedly the Oscars weren't at their most thrilling in 2010. But I did pretty well a far as my picks for the winners--fourteen correct out of 24 categories, including Best Picture, and both Supporting actors, and second in my fourteen-person Oscar pool!

Katie and Colin were very gracious to host the Oscar party (since only Robin and I--and eventually John--attended), and Katie (adorable thing that she is) made delicious Oscar-themed food with adorably punny names:

-A Serious Man-wiches (pulled pork finger sandwiches on rolls)

-A Single Man-go Salsa

-Pretzels: based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire (LOL) (and chocolate covered! :D)

-Inglourious Bon-Bons (these AMAZING chocolate cookie/vanilla ice cream bonbons dipped in chocolate.)

-The Hurt Guacker

Am I missing an Avatar-themed one? (Oh well--I'm so glad they got everything they DESERVED--visual effects and the like, not to mention a nice ex-wife burn from Kathryn to James.)

A cool fun-fact--the winning short subject documentary, Music by Prudence, was co-produced by Patrick Wright, the chair of the MICA film/video department, and, Errol, the guy who shot Good Thing (the play I stage-managed sophomore year) and showed up randomly at my birthday party in 2009 (or was it 2008?) shot some of the footage, which makes him the youngest cinematographer to shoot an Oscar-winning film in history! Pretty cool (although he's a little creepy)! Check it out here.

Did you watch? Did you enter an Oscar pool? How did you guys do?

Love,

-A.

Senior Gala/Bowling Photos! :D

Art blog updated! And photos!

A Wonderful Day! :D

What a happy follow-up! I'll have photos soon.

So, last night was the MICA Senior Party: 'Gala Obscura'. I picked out a sexy outfit (low-backed lacy corset top [with cardigan, just in case] and black high-waisted skirt with my sky-high Nine West heels) and met John, then Katie, Colin, and Robin on campus to catch the shuttle to the Wind-Up Space, where the party was held. We arrived first (yeah, we're THOSE people), but we got first pick of the seating, free beer and wine [woooooo], and the delicious food (lamb [LAMB!], spinach dip, yummy fruits and veggies...but no desserts...awwww). We met Jessica there. Everyone looked so good! Katie wore this AMAZING black kimono-esque tunic from the 70s (her mom's) with studded booties, Jess looked perfectly classy in a belted black sheath, and the boys dressed it up with ties! (With a cardigan, in Colin's case; and a vest, sans tie, in John's case.) Yay for pretty!

It was low-key, but really fun! Some of us got more than a little tipsy (ROBIN AND JESS :P), but there was dancing (Colin dances! I never knew!) and it was so, so great to see most of the cool people from our class together (making people pay $20 for a party is a sure way to weed out the dirty people--aka the ones who drink PBR :P). Plus, I got a lot of compliments on my outfit!

Bethany (a rather large-busted graphic designer): "OMG YOU LOOK GREAT. YOUR BOOBS ARE OUT! HAHA, MINE TOO! *points to herself*"

Haha, Bethany.

Katie and I had a great heart-to-heart during the party about our respective boyfriends and futures. It's really nice to have a girlfriend who WANTS to talk about these things! It's a refreshing break from people who are unserious about life/don't really know where I'm coming from.

The party went from five to eight, although we got out of there around 8:30--The Super-Six (Me, John, Colin, Katie, Jess, Robin) piled into Colin's Volvo and headed out to a duckpin bowling place where we played three games under our 'bowling names'. We averaged the scores--John (J-squared) won by a landslide, then Katie (K-Dizzle), then me (A-Bomm...Woo, bronze!), then Jess (J-Whaat), Colin (The Explosion), and Robin (Mondo Boss). It was really, really fun. :D I drew cartoon portraits of all of us, with John lending some awesome lettering skills to our names, and Colin offered some helpful advice in morphing the unsatisfactory drawings into hilarious characters. (Ex: Colin became Agnes de Goodwood, and I became Gus the Trucker.)

It's nice to have a niche. Better than nice.

Time for homework, then John and I are going to his aunt and uncle's for dinner. :)

Love,

-A.

Joyeux Anniversaire á moi!

You heard right--I am now 21!

Which, to those of you who have known me for any length of time, means that almost nothing will change, except that I can now go to bars with my friends without having to flash the bouncer/bartender. (JOKES.)

My weekend was excellent--the play was a success, and John and I got an amazing dinner at my godparents' house last night, as well as a new laptop from my mom (which I need to configure with my home internet somehow).

This morning was also very pleasant--I was my Problem of Evil class today with my slightly scary ex-CIA agent professor, and during our break, he did the little finger crook and beckoned me over, stony-faced. I about crapped my pants.

So, I walked over, and he looked at me levelly. "You've done it again."

Pause.

"You did very well on your test. You like this stuff, don't you? You're interested in it?"

I was so relieved, and totally pleased! We chatted a bit more about the distinct lack of God-talk that takes place at MICA before class started up again. When I got my test back, I saw that I did fine, but I certainly wasn't the highest grade in the class--I wondered why he'd chosen to take me aside. Maybe it was because my essay spoke so clearly to faith--my professor is a practicing Catholic. Either way, it was a very nice birthday gift. :)

My plan for the day--I have work until 3 (Robin did the packages at the desk for me as a gift!), then I'm going to shower and get ready for dinner with John, who is taking me out at 6 (but I get to open my gift before dinner! :D). We're going to get home before 9 in order to greet my friends, who are coming for the little get-together Jen planned for me! Yay!

I'll also be wearing the new dress that Lacie sent me. I've been in contact with her again, and was pleasantly surprised to find a package from her a few days ago. It's a gorgeous dress:

And I look fantastic in it. It's always great to be given the perfect birthday outfit.

I'm really looking forward to tonight! I'll update ASAP!

Love,

-A.

ETA: I can't believe I forgot to mention this--Lauren was awesome and called me exactly at midnight to wish me happy birthday. :D It was a very, very pleasant surprise and a very welcome talk. My sister is, once again, incredibly prying and inappropriate, but she really makes me laugh, and I love when she calls. :) I'm bummed I'll be missing her at Thanksgiving, but her birthday is coming up!

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.

How could I forget?!

This morning, I totally forgot to tell you guys how awesome my MICA friends are!

Last night, Paul, Marla and Robin came over, and me, my roomies and the others ate some Chinese food to celebrate the end of the semester. I worked from 9-12, amd Robin visited and then walked me back to my apartment, where I found the door locked. That was normal, so I turned my key and tried again. The bolt was done. Again, not too weird, but it was awfully early to be locking up for the night. So, I unlocked that and tried again. The CHAIN lock is done, too! So, then I figure there's something up inside that is not meant for me to see yet.

Me: "Did you know about this?"
Robin: *grin* "Know about what?"

So, Paul comes to the door and says "If I let you in, will you go STRAIGHT to your room?" So, of course, I do. Robin comes in after a few minutes and faces away from my window with me (my window looks straight into the kitchen):

Me: "How long have you guys been planning this?"
Robin: "I have no idea what you're talking about." *grin*

Finally, Betsy knocks on my door, and I turn around to see Paul, Betsy, and Jen ushering in a MASSIVE cake shaped like an alligator's head, covered in green M&Ms with a little sign saying "Cya Later Gator!" and "In a while, Crocodile!" Apparently, they all went to the supermarket as soon as I left for my shift. :) (Minus Marla, who went to a yuppie party in Federal Hill with her fellow fashion designer.) Aww, they're so sweet! So, we all changed into red-and-green (Italian colors, you know) and watched Pineapple Express (or slept though it :P), and Ryan showed up during the movie, which was nice.

___

Robin just called me to tell me he'll miss me.

:)

I'm really going to miss him, too. Not just the kissing part, obviously, but he's really grown to be my best friend this past semester. I don't really talk to anyone the way I talk to him (mostly because he's the first close guy friend I've ever really had). I think we're both like "Who are we going to confide in now?!", because while I love Melissa dearly, I can't talk to her about things with Robin, because she's even more pristine than me. And I she doesn't know the history of my roommates, or my friends at home. I won't have any more Robin to come around or to go to whenever I want to see him, and that's sad. It's like moving away from The Boy Next Door that I grew up with and shared everything with.

:(

Aw, now I'm sad.

Either way, my friends and roommates showed me how loved I am, and how much I'll be missed, and I'm SO grateful for them and their love.

But, I admit, I can't wait to get back to all of you. I've missed you guys, and I feel like we've been deprived of each other since Summer '07.

I love you all, and I'll be nearly home by this time tomorrow! :D

Muah!

-A

P.S. www.betsyvanlangen.com

>>Portfolio
>>Interrobang
>>I'm the third one in: white face with black text. :) Betsy is the first one, with the paint. Jen is covered in eggshells, Ryan in crayon wax, and Robin is PB and J.

My birthday festivities.

I had a shift on the 15th from 9pm-12am, so I turned 20 while sitting at the Commons desk. I ACTUALLY turned 20 at 4:59pm, while I was in Robin's bed.

I woke up at about 10, and just laid there until my dad called at 10:30, then got up and got myself to CLEANING. Our apartment was pretty gross (piles of dishes, clutter, dust, hair), and even though it was my birthday, I was happy to get all the crap out for 1) my party and 2) the girl I may sublet to who is coming to see the apartment tomorrow evening. It's now a trillion times more beautiful, thanks to MOI. :)

Unfortunately, Jen had to take the opportunity to be a complete ASS and talk to her ex-boyfriend on the phone and get into yet ANOTHER fight and cry all over Betsy for twenty minutes while I forced myself not to go in and yell at her. I SWEAR. Jen--Dylan always warns you that he's going to treat you badly. Boys always warn us. Yes, it sucks that he treats you like that, but you choose to engage in it time and time again, so it's your fault. I'm unafraid to say that you getting hurt by Dylan is your fault. If you had just broken it off in the first place instead of fucking him when he visited over fall break, you wouldn't be in this mess. And yet she STILL intends to take him home for Thanksgiving and pretend they're still together. LAME.

ANYWAY, I vented about it to Betsy for an hour or so while Jen ran out to get brunch, and then at about 2:30, Robin called me to tell me that his bus got in 45 minutes earlier than expected--a lovely birthday surprise. He had been in New York to see Andrew WK perform with a string quartet. So, Betsy and I picked him up, and I hung out at Robin's while Betsy and Jen started the cake.

I made it home around 5:30, then helped a mopey Jen dress (she looked all gorgeous :D), then Betsy (who has the most bomb-ass [to borrow a Lauren Term] gold Dolce high-heeled oxfords I've ever seen), then, at about 6:30, I started curling my hair. I was ready by seven, and Robin showed up around 7:20, then Erin and Melissa a few minutes after then. But, of course, my birthday seems to end up being the day people have the least respect for showing up to places on time, so Marla, Paul, and Tiff didn't get there until 8:30. And THEY had the menus! Grrr. So, we ordered our food (only five of us ended up eating out of the group of eleven), and started cake while we were waiting (Hot!Ryan [looking HOT] and Colin joined us for that). The cake was SO rich and tasty. :)

Our food showed up, and we laughed A LOT, about art kids, mostly. :) It was an incredibly pleasant evening, and I have leftovers to look forward to when I get home. :D

I'll try and have some pictures of my HAWT outfit and my AWESOME shoes by this afternoon. :) Thanks for the birthday wishes, you guys! Love you!

-Alyssa

The Big Bang

An elite group of seven scientists are aiming to recreate the Big Bang tomorrow in Switzerland.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. It scares me, actually. Maybe I'm being stupid, but it just doesn't sit right. It's like the Tower of Babel to me.

I guess the only thing I can do to feel less weird about it is to pray about it.

Happy Cake Day, by the way! Hope you guys ate your cake!

Love you,
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

WELL THEN.

Em, I was going to take a leaf out of your book tonight. I'll let you figure out where that was in the events of the night.

So, Letta Parker's going-away party was tonight (she enlisted in the Air Force Reserve and will be peacing out for several months). I haven't spent time at her house for many months, and I was feeling a little awkward at the outset--I don't know her circle of friends that well, although her fiancee (!) and I get along really great.

The awkwardness was mostly alleviated when I saw Dan Thompson there, who is SO tall and awkwardly cute. :) It was nice to FINALLY spend some time with Letta, even if I had to do it in the company of some people I may not like so much. *cough*Liz*coughAttentionWhore*cough*

Actually she treated me with courtesy tonight, I shouldn't be mean.

Bottom line is, Letta's older brother Jeff and I have a history from high school that begins with UST (Google it.) and ends with him wussing out on me after one kiss.

So, he is now single after a LONG relationship with a girl even younger than I am, and we were flirting a lot tonight, and we were all brushing against each other and doing the soulful, sultry looks, and at the end of the night, I thought "Hm, I can get some long-delayed smooches out of this..." So, I decided to let him drive me home. :P BUT, OF COURSE, there was car trouble (what is it about me, boys and car trouble?), and I ended up riding home with Letta/Dan M.(Letta's boy)/a few others. On my way out, Jeff hugged me, and did the cheek-kissy thing. (And Oh. My. God. He knows JUST how to touch a girl's waist.) So, I did the neck-kissy thing and we basically murmured plans to get together at each other. (I meant to type "with each other", but the typo stays. :D) So, we're going to talk tomorrow afternoon. I'll update, don't worry.

So, yes, in lieu of Dan Wolf, I'm going to be a bad girl and have makeouts with Jeff. What do you expect with all this...anxiety hanging around. ;)

I guess I was just surprised that he was into it. He totally called me gorgeous tonight. *blush* Yes, shameless self-esteem boost. Love it.

And love you all,

Alyssa

P.S. This is SO unlike me, isn't it? Rob, you can especially vouch for that, am I right?