An important discovery.

The past week since Mom and Robert got married has seen a change in me. I've become much firmer--even bordering on rude--with mom when she's tried to engage me in an adverse way. It's made her much meeker with me very quickly. On one hand, I'm glad to avoid more arguments, especially over stupid things. On the other, I feel that I might be denying myself the opportunity to defend myself in more depth. Like, am I showing independence by side-stepping her confrontations? Or am I just being stubborn and petty?

The discovery I'm referring to is that I've been worrying myself over something nonexistant. That is, my mom's expectations for me. 'Nonexistent' is a very final term, of course. I know Mom has general expectations for me--success, security, etc. But her aversion to my current plans (I mean future plans of engagement and marriage, not the current living situation), has made me wonder: what does she want from me? I've asked myself that question many times, but have always been distracted from the answer. Truly, what does she want from me?

I realized that she doesn't know anymore than I do. And because of that, I don't really know why she's mad! I don't know, so I can't counter it. I haven't frustrated her wishes for me to be successful or secure yet--nothing's happened! All I've been made aware of is what I shouldn't do--don't get engaged right now, don't move because you can't afford it, etc. The only "do" I've been offered is work harder, make more money. Which is fine--I know I need to work, I know I have a lot to do to make up the money I owe, both personally and for school. I have been working--both waitressing and doing art--and I feel good about it. Mom seems to approve, which is great. (As old/independent as I get, I've still been conditioned to long for her approval.)

I'm not sure what will come of this revelation, but I'll be sure to keep you posted. :)

-A.

P.S. In other news, I've updated my blog, so go check it out!

Three weeks later...

Things have settled. As soon as John went back to New Jersey all hell broke lose. Mom was FURIOUS--and still is, for the most part. Thankfully, things are slowly moving back from screaming fights to heated discussions to relatively normal day-to-day life.

I won't detail the arguments here--it's not necessary--but I will say that having repeated circular talks about something that won't happen for two years doesn't help a thing. Hopefully we can all move forward together as time goes on.

In other news, stuff with X and John has been patched up, and I spoke to Lacie last night for the first time in a while. Well, I actually saw her a month ago, which I never actually detailed here! Odd. Long story short: Me, Brian, and our friends Chris and JJ went mini-golfing, and Lacie was there with her longtime ex (and Brian, Chris, and JJs friend) Matt. It was a little bit of a "Busted!" moment, because Matt has largely spoken ill of Lacie since they broke up for good. It was awkward for everyone (after all, Brian and I are 'exes' of Lacie's, too), but we were all friendly.

I've been home alone for the last day--Mom and Robert are in Maryland/DC for a job interview (keeping my fingers crossed!) and KJ is at Dad's. Lauren moved back to OU and is settling into her new house, which is awesome.

I got a job at an upscale boutique in town--I'm pretty excited. I get to sell rich ladies expensive clothes. And we're encouraged not to lie, so I get to tell them if they look fat! Pretty psyched. Also waiting to hear from The Clay Cafe--one of those paint-your-own pottery places. They said they're losing two people by the end of this month. Hopefully my art school cred will get me in!

Wish me luck! I'll definitely need two jobs this summer, but if they're two jobs I like, I'm totally okay with that! I don't need to revisit the summer after freshman year. *shudder*

Love,

A.

THE FUTURE.

I've been thinking about a lot of facets of the future. Jobs, relationships, art, and direction in general. Let's look at some categories:

Jobs: This is the most unpredictable/uncontrollable of the four, at least as far as gainful employment is concerned. I might not get a super-profitable job thanks to not being able to drive (urg--although I wouldn't have a car even if I knew how), or a lack of credentials. I might be waiting tables or doing less-than-dignified (but perfectly fine) jobs until further notice. I'm okay with this. The problem is FINDING the job in the first place. Is anyone even hiring anymore? And are they willing to be very flexible about extended visitation with long-distance boyfriends? (That's a JOKE. Ish.)

Art: John has been instrumental in reminding me not to take myself so damn seriously all the time. I'm usually pretty down on myself/my art. I'm very aware that I'm not in the top 10% of my class as far as talent/skill--maybe not even the top 30%! (On a sidenote--having the money to get a laptop/programs to extend my skill set would've revolutionized the work I produced at MICA.) But regardless, I know that it's useless to beat myself up. I AM talented, even if I don't draw LIKE a specific other student.

I freaked myself out last night about Showcase--when the illustration seniors get to talk to an art director who was (hopefully) part of a list we submitted in March. My thesis teacher informed me that I got very lucky, and will be talking to Sarah Vinas...the art director of Glamour magazine. WHAT. So, naturally, I'm TERRIFIED, and wishing my work was ten trillion times better/more/editorial/sexier and oh-god-WHY did I do a final with old people?!

But, John kindly reminded me (after I moved myself to tears) that this isn't a job interview. She's here to talk to me about how to move forward and where to go from here. Having some time to live and work at home without the pressures of rent and bills (for now) is ideal--I can take time to worry about my art and only my art. I can experiment, practice, maybe even branch out into some design-y things. (I know!)

Relationships: John and I are obviously staying together after graduation. I don't think anyone here was questioning that. But, also obviously, this will be the biggest challenge we've faced yet as a couple (THANK GOD--what a gift! Only having to worry about a few months apart). There are big things coming for us, and I'm not worried about the distance. We're both devoted to making the effort, which takes care of that.

Direction: This one is a bit more elusive than a job, but rather easier to control, oddly enough. It goes hand-in-hand with the other three categories, and those determine it. I know--where does the aspect of control come in?! But I guess what I mean is that you should have faith that you'll end up where you need to be.

The best example of this for me starts waaay back when I was in fourth or fifth grade. I had a friend named Teresa, who was actually a bossy, controlling, BITCH, but she could draw pretty well for a nine year old. Naturally, I wanted to be just like Teresa, so I started to draw more. That summer, my mom asked if I'd like to enroll in an art class with my other friend Anna, who went to a different school. I said no, reasoning that Teresa would teach me what I needed to know about drawing (I think I cited 'shading' specifically to my mother :P). The next year, Anna moved away, and Teresa and I fell out a couple years later.

If I had started taking real art courses then, where would I have ended up? Still at MICA? (I think so.) I think that was the first time that I was offered a chance to decide my life's direction. When I was a dumbhead and said no, I was gently guided in that direction later by something that appealed more to my silly teenaged self (a character in a book who happened to be an artist). So, I got into art again, and here I am, graduating from art school. Coming to MICA was a wonderful thing, even if it was only to put me in the company of wonderful friends and a wonderful man. (I don't think that's the case, but I think you get my meaning.) Everything happens for a reason.

So, with that, John's here and is going to read to me. :) What a great guy. <3

Love,
-A.

Just Like A Prayer...

Things have been going a lot more smoothly. I still have a lot to do (although tonight and tomorrow will take care of that, mostly), and there are only three weeks until the Wedding/Graduation!

Speaking of graduation, I intended to wear my Nanette Lepore to graduation, but then I went of Target.com and found this amazing number. It was such a great deal and the planets had aligned so well for me (on sale, free shipping, left in my size alone) that after sleeping on it, I decided to buy it for graduation. :) And I'll DEFINITELY wear it again, and again, and again...

I got to sit in on the senior animators reviewing their films so-far--John's looks really great! I can't wait until he finishes and inserts the remaining scenes!

I'm looking forward to coming home how--Em will be there, and I'm really looking forward to spending some time with her after barely seeing her for the past year! :P Apart from that, I have a friend who works at ModCloth, and she's a great contact--maybe I could work there and get to look at awesome clothes all the time? We'll see.

Hope you're all well! Good luck with finals/thesis!

-A.

Looks like I get to keep my job..

Thank goodness!

I also spoke to my Uncle David about securing a loan for the rest of the rent I owe ($750). Mom was frustrated that I didn't ask for another $900 in order to pay back my godmother for the loan I got from HER. I understand and appreciate consolidating, but I'm not at all the type to ask for more than I immediately NEED, and since I'm paying it all back anyway, sending it off to two separate people or just one isn't really the battle I'm going to pick.

To my Mom it's a personal thing--she doesn't like that I got a loan from my godmother at all, and she feels that as Kathleen's close friend, it's her responsibility to get her money back first. Which I totally get, and in an ideal world, I agree. But it seems sort of weird to repay one loan with another. I don't know. Maybe I just didn't feel comfortable asking for almost $2000 from an uncle I'm not even that close to. But he was more than willing to help (Thank God), and we're on our way.

And actually, $750 is the number right now--I have another month to come up with whatever I can give my landlady before the lease is up, and I could be down to $500 by then! (Wishful thinking...) We'll see.

Today is a full day--thankfully I don't have class tonight, and can concentrate on doing work and going to bed early. WHEW.

Hope you're all well and caught up with whatever you're up to!

-A.

Limbo.

The meeting didn't tell me much--Lonnie still needed to think about whether or not he's going to fire me. I did cry, but I didn't intend to. We'll see what happens. He says his decision will be made by tomorrow.

Today was a procrastinator-y day, but I made more thumbnails than I ever have for an assignment, which is surprising. Although it was only four thumbnails--rather, eight, because the assignment is for two posters. John finished reading Pyramids to me today--we're reading Terry Pratchett's novels split into categories (Wizards, Witches, Death, Night Watch, etc.), and then reading in the order they were published within that category.

There are a few stand-alones that we're reading in between the categories--Pyramids is one of those. We've read the whole of the Wizard saga so far (minus one, which was a sort of comic book add-on, The Last Hero, which we're reading next): The Color of Magic, The Light Fantastic, Sourcery, Faust Eric, Interesting Times, and The Last Continent, plus Pyramids (That's seven books in about four months!). Small Gods is next, then the Witches.

We'll be reading 36 books in all. There are more--maybe we'll get around to those, too. :) And there are even more in store (by other authors) after that!

Almost sleep time. Hope you're well!

-A.

Whew.

Things have been much better since spilling the truth to Mom, but I'm still nervous about my meeting with Lonnie tomorrow--wish me luck!

In other news, I went to NYC yesterday for a class and walked through 15 galleries, thirteen of which were filled with shitty art. (UGH.) I really like New York (too bad John doesn't--too busy for him), and I wish I could have spent the day doing what I wanted rather than hiking through Chelsea in the chill.

I spent the first half of the day giving tours at the MICA Open House, which was fun, but TIRING, and now John and I are about to have dinner. Sorry to dash!

Hope you're all well!

-A.

...

These past 36 hours have been beyond awful. My anxiety has been eating me up over money and schoolwork and the time I have to do it in. I'm feeling a bit better after talking to John and Allan (my seminar teacher), but I'm still dealing with some bad crap. I honestly had an emotional breakdown yesterday--or as close to one as I've ever had before.

I accidentally missed a 6-9AM shift this morning, and I'm nervous about what that will mean for my job (although it's unlikely I'll be fired with only three weeks left in the semester), and due to my financial situation I CANNOT not have a job. I called my boss right away, of course, and I probably sounded hysterical (although I didn't cry, shockingly), but he was heading into a meeting and told me he would just send me an e-mail so we could follow up. Hopefully he is the kind of man who is afraid of tears and won't have the heart to fire me if I break down in his office. :P All kidding aside, however, it is serious, and I wish I could stop feeling like such a mess.

Allan, thankfully, excused me from Seminar today, and I got to have a relaxing shower. After John and I grab lunch, I'm spending the day on thesis, which has been sadly neglected due to my panic over getting stuff for my Portfolio presentation done. Allen also pushed that back to the 22nd for me. Whew.

I'm not bursting into hysterical tears at every thought of this misfortune now, thank God. Allan (who is also a Christian), gave me the always-great advice of surrender to God. I admit, I have been trying. I'm just not sure what surrender is supposed to feel like, I guess. I know God has taken amazing care of me, at least as far as my own eating habits are concerned, but I really just want this anxiety taken away so I can focus on what I have to do rather than on being a wreck for two hours.

I hope you're all having a better week than me. Wish me luck!

Love,

-A.

When life gives you lemons...

I mentioned it here, and I posted it on my art blog--over winter break, I ran into a family friend, and he generously offered me a connection to a new online magazine-type site that needed an illustrator. I e-mailed the editor (his friend), who welcomed me enthusiastically and promptly. I sent her my ideas and sketches and then...nothing.

I called her four or five days later, and she answered immediately, praising my sketches and just claiming to be weighed down by the holiday season (fair enough) and negotiating about my payment (also fair). She said she'd get back to me the following week. So, I waited.

I sent her at least seven e-mails over this past month. I got zero response. I didn't call, because I have my own schooling to be worrying about, and frankly, the ball was in her court.

I saw her on Facebook today (where I've seen her frequently--she definitely has the time to be answering my e-mails), and decided to connect again. She just waved me off saying Valentine's Day is busy for the site, and when I asked her a direct question--is the project happening or not?--she signed off. BITCH. FACE. MCGEE.

So, we'll see if I decide to pursue this--on one hand, it's paying professional work for a resume. This is a very good thing. If the opportunity DID open to me, I would take it, but OHMYLORD would there be a contract drawn up. I want to be PAID, and this flaky behavior does not indicate prompt paychecks.

I sent another e-mail to a separate editor--clearly the one I was in contact with is unreliable--asking for some answers. Wish me a prompt response!

In other news, Alexander McQueen committed suicide. D: Sad.

On a lighter note, Taylor Lautner is legal! Whoop, whoop! :P

Stay warm!

-A.

On a brighter note...

No class tonight or tomorrow!

And I updated my art blog (finally).

I should really call Lemondrop.

A Real Job and My Favorite Broadway Show--Could Life Be Better?

Over Christmas break I ran into an old friend of my parents' who I used to babysit for. We chatted and caught up over bagels with his two adorable boys and when he heard about my hopes to get into publishing/art direction/illustration, he did me a whopper of a favor and got me in touch with an old friend of his who is an editor at Lemondrop--we've been e-mailing, and I just sent off my first sketches with hopes of being hired for a new long-term project there.

It's a cute little project that is sort of perfect for me--wordplay, humor, and a casual, playful style. Let's hope I'm what they want! I have to say, the logo I designed for the project ('Chicktionary') is pretty damn adorable. Check out my art blog for more.

I'm in New Jersey, at John's now. I spent Wednesday night and Thursday day lounging around in Betsy's apartment (where I maaaaay be living after our summer stint in Mercersburg. *hopesprayswishes*)--John read us Harry Potter and we all fell asleep in her living room around 3 AM.

John and I got into the city around 4 and grabbed some Starbucks (Hot Chocolate for him, Caramel Apple Spice for me--the drink we ordered at our first post-Europe meeting) before finally getting in touch with Matt Hydzik (Tony in the production and Robert's ex-student) walking the thirty or so blocks to the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park. We made our way back along 5th Avenue, peering in at the displays and pretty clothes and jewelry. We saw Rockefeller Center--the tree was still up!

We grabbed some quick and yummy dinner at the exorbitantly expensive TGI Friday's next to The Palace Theatre (although, I guess it is Times Square) and got into the show and our seats at the perfect time.

The show itself was magical. Matt did a spectacular job (lovely voice and so handsome!), but his leading lady, Josefina Scaglione was, unfortunately, less impressive. I fell in love with Riff, played by John Arthur Greene (although Russ Tamblyn holds a special place in my heart!) and Anita (Karen Olivo) had a massive voice and presence. The dancing was captivating and thrilling, and--of course--I cried at the end. This revival was rewritten to include Spanish--most of the dialogue between the Sharks and some verses of their songs were sung and spoken entirely in Spanish. This was totally realistic, but I'm biased towards understanding the dialogue. :P

It was an amazing night, and the cherry on top was getting the chance to meet Matt and tour backstage (we were on "The List"). He was genuinely good-natured, sweet, and enthusiastic and seemed really pleased to meet us. Not at all like I was an annoying teeny-boppery fan. :D He even offered us reduced price tickets should we desire them, as he's obviously in contact with a lot of actors in a lot of shows. I told him to look Robert up when he goes back to Sewickley--I'd love to hang out with him again.

Anyway, I need to get to bed! We're getting up early and heading to Brick to move some stuff out of their beach house. Hope you're all having a great week!

Love,

-A.

P.S. Thank you, God. You are too good.

Fall break. RULES.

This weekend is my fall break (no classes tomorrow or Tuesday, woo!), and neither John nor I have classes on Friday either, so we've basically spent three days solid together, and it's been great. We've been hanging out, drinking tea, and watching movies and shows (Snow White! Glee!), which has been wonderful. We also hung out with Betsy, who came to visit from Rutgers (good visit, and she'll be back for Halloween!), saw Where the Wild Things Are (cool movie--SO INDIE) for one of John's friend's birthday's (Cara L., who is hastily and aggressively attaching herself to me at "best friend" status. She's nice but...I really only tolerate her for John's sake).

John and I had a double-date with a newlywed couple from our new church, Becky and Mark. It was SO WONDERFUL, and it basically confirmed everything I'm feeling about my relationship with John, which was a relief and a wonder.

Then we had a Target run today, and grabbed dinner--the drive home was a little scary: John was feeling sick and lost feeling in his hands, so we pulled over and stood out in the chill air, waiting for him to feel well enough to drive again. But he's fine now (thank God). He's sitting up with me at my grave shift now, the dear.

Bought some new shoes this week--practical black slip-ons (Keds mixed with vans--for $5!), real Keds in navy blue, and a pair of adorable black quilted/cap-toed flats with ankle strap (Alice would approve). I also bought two pairs of thigh-high socks (one grey with a cream top, one black with a grey top). We'll see if I can pull them off.

I think my Egypt midterm this past Wednesday went okay--better than I thought it would.

My thesis midterm critique went exceptionally well--I got some good feedback, and a lot of much-needed encouragement from my professors. It was really uplifting, and I felt like a proper artist. Speaking of which, I've also been hired by a recent grad to design some Baltimore-sports-themed tee shirts for him to sell. We'll see how that goes over, as he has no real clue what he's doing--but he did say he doesn't want to "stifle my creativity"--I had to laugh.

I intend to put my Alice costume together this week--tomorrow feels like a good thrifting day. Wish me luck!

In other news, John is perfect. Oh, wait. NOT NEWS AT ALL.

Love you all,

-A.

P.S. Pumpkin Patch Photos!

Pumpkin Picking and Wedding Accoutrements.

I forgot to mention the awesome time I had picking pumpkins at Baugher's Farm on Sunday afternoon with Robin, Colin, Katie, Ben, Nicolette, and Jen! (Shame on me!)

We went up around 1:30 and found the place to be PACKED, waited in line a few times for the hay ride up to the pumpkin patch (which was fine, because the weather was PERFECT). We took a lot of absurd photos (including an extended photo shoot where Robin and Colin switched shirts and Robin climbed all over the broken tractors pretending to be a farmer). I'll post some when I get them. :)

We all got the perfect pumpkins (Jen had a huge one, then she saw an abandoned one while we were in line for the hay ride back, and spent ten minutes deciding which one she wanted), and got some food (yummy hot dogs, hamburgers, and fries), then checked out the marketplace and tasted some amazing (FREE!) apple cider and fudge. We also acted like little kids and took photos in the 'face-sticky-outie' things (You know what I'm talking about), and got a hilarious video of Colin playing on the kids ride-y tractor.

:D I love my friends.

Even better, on Wednesday we're having a Pumpkin Carving/Seed Roasting/Pie Making party (with the apples Colin and Katie picked from the same farm the week before)! I need to prep my design! (I bet Colin will have something appropriately geeky and type-based. :P Graphic Designers. Sheesh.)

ALSO, I finally got some info back on Alexandre and Rheanna's wedding! I got a message from Rheanna with all of the bridesmaids attached, so we can start being all buddy-buddy. I'm excited. :)

Another good thing--I may be doing an illustration job for a Baltimore sports blog! At this point, it REALLY looks like it needs a designer instead of an illustrator, but if they pay me, I don't really care! :P I like Baltimore, I like sports, I like drawing! And I like money. It's a win-win-win.

Betsy is coming this weekend, too! So much excitement! And yet, I need to be concentrated on my thesis, etc. Signed up for ArtMarket, and I have some stuff to assemble.

Love you all, and I hope you're well.

-A.

I fear the drop, but once I get started...

Last Friday afternoon, Colin, who organized our Six Flags trip, Facebook-chatted me with the warning that hurricane-level rains/storms would be hitting NJ the following day, and could we maybe take the trip Sunday instead? Now, the trip had already been rescheduled once, and I had work on Sunday, not to mention that this was short-notice and this had been a seven-day forecast. I told him no way.

SO, I woke up at 7:20 AM the next morning, and called Robin five times to make sure HE was up and moving. Jen and I walked down to Colin/Katie's place at eight and met up with the three of them and Jess, who drove from Frederick, MD to be with us! We had some coffee and chit-chatted before driving out at 8:30.

The drive was easy, and a lot of fun--I actually felt so joyful to be spending time with these new friends. Colin drove, Robin was in the passenger seat, Katie, Jess, and I were in the back seat, and Jen was in the way back, where there were two extra seats one can pull out for children. :P The only hassle we ran into was a little bit of traffic about ten miles outside of the park.

We finally arrived, and the sky looked grey and it had already rained, but we were hopeful. After all, the park was nearly empty, which is always good. We met Betsy (!) in the entrance of the park, where she'd been cooling her heels waiting for us for about a half hour, but in the meantime, had made friends with a guy on stilts. We also noticed the 458' (45 stories) tower of Kingda Ka, currently the world's tallest and fastest coaster. It's pretty scary-looking, but Robin and I both committed to it first thing.

Blessedly, the rain held off all day, and the sun even came out! It was perfect. The first roller coaster we went on was El Toro--we all rode it (Jen gets nervy about coasters, and it was ALMOST the only one we all rode together), and it was TERRIFYING. I wasn't sure if I could do Kindga Ka after wimping out on El Toro--a wooden coaster.

But we kept on trucking, and by the end of the day, Robin, Colin, Jess, and I had ridden every coaster in the park (Jen, Katie, and Betsy sat out a few. Losers. :P), eaten some tasty amusement park hot dogs and french fries, gotten soaked on the Rapids ride (Jess and I, at least), and treated ourselves to ice cream.

So, yes, we rode Kingda Ka. It was really nerve-wracking at first, especially with the signs placed at the entrance of the ride that read: "Sometimes Kingda Ka's train doesn't make it over the hill. This is a normal occurance. The track is designed to reverse itself and reset." SCARY. But, we did it, and it was actually a lot of fun! I can't imagine being in the front row for that one though. :/

Since we got done with all of the coasters fairly early (we had less than 15 minute waits on all rides), I suggested that we do a couple again. We re-rode Bizarro with Jen and Katie, who missed out the first time, and Betsy, Robin, Colin, and I got in line to re-ride Nitro. When we got to the top of the line, obviously the line was longest for the front row (Nitro seats four-across), but Colin suggested we wait it out (all four minutes longer) and ride in front. New Daredevil-Alyssa was all about it, and Betsy, after slight hesitation, agreed. So, we strapped in.

I should preface by saying that Robin is afraid of the big, slow ascent, not the drop. There's something about it that really freaks him out--the possibility that something could go wrong. Kingda Ka has a massive ascent, but it goes 128 miles per hour, so there's barely time to register it. Nitro, however, is loooong and sloooow. I was happy as a clam, and Robin, two seats over, was like stone, clutching his harness and fixed on the top of the hill. In an attempt to loosen him up, I reached over Betsy to give him a high-five.

He glanced briefly in my direction, "I'm good." I had to laugh.

The ride was, naturally, the best one of the day. :)

Katie, Jess, and I boldly danced with the creepy Mr. Six guy in front of a crowd of people after that (there is video that I'll post when I can), doing the Macarena and the Cha Cha Slide and YMCA. We left the park pretty soon after that, and said goodbye to Betsy (:( ), and got on the road. The drive back was a more difficult, as the sky broke open less than twenty minutes after we left the park (Colin is a trooper). We decided to drive through Colin's hometown in PA, right near Philly, and get a cheesesteak. It was delicious, and nice to see a piece of Colin's life outside of MICA. :) Post-cheesesteak, the rain was even WORSE, elevating Colin from 'trooper' to 'demi-god' at maneuvering through it.

I had the awesome opportunity to bond with Katie, Colin, and Jess, who I don't see that often/know that well, and see Betsy, who is all ready to be an accomplished graduate student! I'm confident that the trip will spawn a pretty awesome set of friendships. At least, I hope so.

Secondly, I started classes:

Monday: The Problem of Evil. My professor is a stern-looking man with a cane who attended Yale, Oxford, and St. Andrews. He was drafted in 1969 (after dropping out of his first year of college) and went to Southeast Asia for 13 months, and returned to an offer to work for the CIA, which he did for a couple decades. He'd learned 15 or so languages before he suffered a stroke in 2003 or 2004. He had to relearn talking and walking, and he writes with his left hand now. Since then, he's brought his knowledge of languages up to nearly 20. WHAT. WHAT. AMAZING. So far, this class looks like it will be fascinating in matters of faith. I'll be challenged and reaffirmed all-together, I think. I'm excited. :)

Tuesday: The Lab. Whitney Sherman, my professor, is the chair of the illustration department. She's been described as a 'Dragon Lady', but that hasn't come out at all yet. The point of this class is to produce something to be sold--being so wrapped up in my thesis plans, I had to come up with something on the fly, and ended up with a pretty great idea, if I do say so myself! Obviously, writing is therapy to me. Also, revenge/retribution/justice has been a recent theme in my life. SO, I combined the two, and intend to make a witty "Little Book of Revenge"--a sort of workbook for people to put down all the things they WISH they could do, without actually causing harm, of course. There'll be sections for each sort of offender (exes, co-workers, roommates, telemarketers), and a blank section for "Supplies" and "Execution". I think it'll be a hit--my classmates laughed and Whitney was encouranging. At least...I'd buy it. :)

Wednesday: Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt. The best thing about this class is that I know and am friends with a lot of people in it. :) My professor is a youngish fat man with that unfortunate idea that luscious, shoulder-length hair will distract me from his hugeness. However, he seems knowledgable, and I'm looking forward to it, although it seems like a lot of work.

Thursday: Senior Thesis. The doozy. My section, with the very-pregnant, very-British, and very-adorable Rebecca Bradley, is populated with a few unfortunate candidates (in both personality and quality of work), but overall, I'm pleased. My presentation was okay, but it just reinforced the amount of work I need to get done. BLAAAH.

Senior Seminar. Allan Comport is my hero. I resolve to become one of his favorites by the end of this year, dammit. The whole of MICA IL '10 (about 100 students) broke into "study groups" of five--sort of support groups for the coming year. I got nervous--one of the unfortunate candidates above nearly approached me to form a group, but I wiggled out, and my group consists of: Tiff (Marla's roommate), Michael (Robin's roommate), Kyle (one of the first kids I made friends with at MICA), and Adam (who is a practical stranger to me, but is very nice and pretty cute :P). I'm nervous--I always get nervous about sharing work--but I think this'll be a good group, especially since I need to learn Photoshop and Kyle is really good. :D

Objectivity: What I thought was going to be a class related to the divine ratio, and other mathematical awesomeness is now a class unrelated to "Nature, numbers, and doubt", as the subtitle first referenced, but rather "An introduction to the philosophy of science." It's going to get bloody. :P John and I will be the lone Christians/Conservatives holding down the fort in the corner. My professor, Patrick, is a nearly-thirty, bald southern man who is actually really attractive (there's a touch of James McAvoy in him), but has this absurd and amazing Southern-crossed-with-posh-philosopher voice. I can't even begin to describe it without an accompanying imitation.

As far as Hector, it isn't even worth explaining at this point--our wires got crossed, misunderstandings, blah blah. Ian helped me sort things out a bit on my end thanks to his insight into Hector's feelings (or lack thereof). It's basically as I suspected-but-chose-to-push-away: He's not interested in a relationship, and I suspect if he was, he wouldn't want it with me. This was a big disappointment at first, but I'm dealing and am really looking forward to moving ahead as FRIENDS. Ian was kind enough to soften the blow by letting me in on the fact that Hector said he really enjoys spending time with me [as a friend], and I think, awkwardness aside, we'll be fine. :) Special thanks to Emily, Robin, Brandon, and Jen for putting up with me.

In other news, for those of you who are QVHSites, ALEXANDRE IS ENGAGED AND IT IS BEAUTIFUL. For those of you who don't know who that is, Alexandre (or 'The Xandman'), was a sweet but SUPER-nerdy kid in my College-in-High-School French class senior year. He got a girlfriend his freshman year at Pitt, and our CHS class was so stunned and thrilled, we actually organized a BARBECUE at his house in order to meet her. It was excellent, and she's very cool.

SO, three years later, they're all engaged! Yay!

I've also spent the last few days visiting with John and his friend from the UK, Abi, who he met while studying abroad. She's really funny and fun, and isn't offended that my apartment is London-themed and nicknamed "The Flat". (Emily R., hopefully you aren't offended either. :P) Today I'll be hanging out with them again, and if the new friendship I'm trying to establish with Hector works out for tonight, I'll see him this evening. Wish me luck!

Anyway, I'm off to hang out with Robin soon. I'm showered, wearing my new skirt and feeling pretty good (despite my small problem of missing 2/3 of a desk shift this morning...ooops). Hopefully the rest of my day can be productive and fun!

More soon--Love!

-A.

Returning to the Recent Past and other kinds of Time-Travel.

Lauren and Abby picked me up from the bus station when Robby died, and one of the first conversations we had was about his idea of the afterlife. Lauren, being as close with Robby as she was, was lucky enough to get a packet of photocopied pages directly from Robby last summer--the packet, according to Robby, summed up his ideas and beliefs about God and the world around us.

I got the chance to skim it the day before the funeral--Lauren had left it out on her bed, having finally gotten around to reading it. I'm afraid I don't remember specifics, but I remember the bulk of it having to do with reconciling God and Science into Order--to be neither purely scientific or purely religious in name. The phrase 'God of Order' was used a lot.

The point is, Lauren was vehement about Robby's salvation--"I can't believe that he's in Hell. I cannot believe that." And I agreed. But how does one get around that niggling Biblical message? John 3:16 and everything we learned about in Sunday school?

I've been coming across a few interesting passages on this subject lately, including this entry from a blog called Growing Up Lane, written by two young Catholic sisters:

"Vatican II teaches that 'Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the gospel of Christ or his church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their consciences—those too may achieve eternal salvation (LG 16).' Also, in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) we find this: 'Every man who is ignorant of the gospel of Christ and of his Church but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity' (CCC 1260).

God has written Himself into all of our hearts, and this is known to most people as conscience. Those who seek and have a conscious desire to do good, to respond to this knowledge of God in their heart, are participating in God’s plan and serving Him as faithfully as is possible for them. Just because they are ignorant of the source of the graces and salvation they may receive, it does not mean that they cannot attain them. This, however, is not an excuse for settling for what you have and refusing to further your knowledge of God. We must continually work to join ourselves with God as intimately as possible. As Catholics, we believe that this is reached as a member of the Church that was founded by Christ, and participating in the sacraments He has given us, most importantly joining in true communion with Him through the celebration of the Eucharist.
So, 'no salvation outside of the Church' means that salvation only comes from Christ through the Church, not that only members of the Church are saved."

I am no longer Catholic, of course, but I think this is a good sum-up. While, yes, the Bible says that salvation is only for those who believe in Christ and the promises of the Crucifixion and Resurrection, this leaves a lot of holes and possibilities ('What about the pygmies who've never heard of Jesus?!'). Obviously, we can't rely on the idea that Robby didn't know anything about God or Christianity--his parents are Christians, and I know they attended a Lutheran church (I'm pretty sure it was Lutheran) as children. But, knowing that God is merciful and gave us a brain to explore, paired with the idea of God "writing Himself onto our hearts" as our conscience--the bottom line is, God doesn't want us to fail.

Another thing--and hopefully this doesn't come off as morbid--but Robby's death was one without fault. It wasn't a car accident or suicide (blessedly). It was an Act of God--I would say, a specific event that serves to further God's will. This doesn't make it a pleasant endeavor--Robby's death was intensely painful--but it offers some explanation: God's plan working through the life and death of a young man seeking knowledge. I can only hope that this explanation doesn't cause anyone to blame God.

I was flipping through my History of Silence course notes yesterday morning as well, and found two quotes I wrote in that apply:

"Because you seek Me with your whole heart, I will let Myself be found." -God to Man

and

"In my practice, actively trying to find something: it becomes there." -Keenan, (a classmate of mine)



In other news, I got a random Facebook chat message from Lacie's older brother Wesley night before last. We've never spoken ten words to each other, so this was surprising (I thought it was Lacie, at first, but the conversation quickly proved to me that it wasn't.) So, we had a game of Scrabble and we talked about my thesis project. After he beat me by 100 points, heh, we said goodnight, and he told me to let him know the next time I visit NYC (he lives there now and his pursuing his doctorate of philosophy). Hold your horses--he lives with his long-time girlfriend in the city, so no romantic interest from either side. As if.

Things with Hector are...progressing. Nicely.



:)



I also got the chance to talk on the phone with Paul for the first time in forever! It was really awesome in all--it's been a LONG time--but of course, we had to breach the Marla/Me/Robin topic. And here I thought Paul was Mr. Neutral, which is apparently not the case. He took the opportunity to knock my legs out from under me: "Then I heard Marla's side of the story and was a lot less okay with the situation after that...but I'm not getting involved. It's none of my business." GRAAR.

I actually let it slide pretty well yesterday, but today I found myself really angry. Like, REALLY angry about it. I was at the point where I was almost totally cool with everything, then that little comment threw me off. Which should be a big hint that I wasn't really okay about it. I guess it's just frustrating that I continue to be the sole perpetrator in this, that my name is the one getting kicked around eight months later. Hm.

ANYWAY. I have an awesome week-and-a-half to look forward to: Emily W. moves in tomorrow and Hector gets back Sunday, then I have my last week of work, and THEN SIX FLAGS with Colin, his girlfriend Katie, Robin, Jen, Jess, Ben, and BETSY! It'll be so fun! I can't wait. Then school. CRAP.

But I AM excited, and I can't wait to see everyone! :D Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm working on a very important conversation. :P



Love,

-A.

I constantly break my own rules.

(ETA: I meant to post this yesterday, but it saved as a draft for some reason. Sorry!)

Firstly, go listen to DNA. I saw them live by accident--I was leaving work yesterday and they were playing on the ESPNZone Pier next door, so I stopped. There are three of them, and they do all of the techno/electronic stuff themselves live! They each play two or three instruments/devices each (guitars, keyboards, drums [electric and regular], laptops, cool sound-makery things). It's all executed with so much precision and life and energy and fun! If you're in Baltimore, they're playing at Recher Theater in Towson tomorrow night. Check it out.

Jen went to Long Island on Tuesday, just in time for Robin to arrive on Wednesday! We had a really, really good visit--We met at Penn Station when his bus got in, and he and I hung out with his roommate Michael for a little while before going back to my place, where Colin met us and we walked to The Brewer's Art (a little bar/restaurant-type place on Charles Street) in celebration of Robin's 21st on the fourth. After a hysterical re-telling of THE ROOM amongst ourselves and some DELICIOUS and HUGE hamburgers, we walked back to my apartment. Sarah C. (who lived in Italy when I did--I'm sure I've mentioned her here) came over and helped me lighten my hair even MORE (it's a light-golden-brown-bordering-on-blonde now--but it may be full-on Heigl blonde by September!) while we introduced her to THE ROOM. She loved it (OF COURSE).

Of course, no visit with Robs would be complete unless I watched him and Mike swear at each other about Tekken for an hour or so. :) We got breakfast together the next morning at On the Hill, and he saw me off to work. It was a short visit, but so good!

Six days 'til Bethany Beach with John and his fam, and only a few short weeks 'til school! Yay! I'm really looking forward to being back with my friends, having a social life, working the desk and SEEING ACTUAL STUDENTS. Getting back into artwork, as stressful and intense as that will be.

In other news, boys are confusing. :) BUT I CAN STICK IT. DON'T TEXT FIRST, ALYSSA.

I'm also seriously thinking of buying this, furthering my transformation into Audrey Hepburn.

Also, Brandon is visiting tomorrow! He's driving into Baltimore to see me! It should be nice to have someone else around in the apartment, especially someone cool. Maybe I'll show him THE ROOM, too? Lauren and her friends saw it (YES) and ADORED it (while simultaneously hating it). Excellent.

I have the whole of next week off from Hard Rock to make room for desk shifts and Bethany. Woo!

An abrupt change of subject: I sense that I'm becoming the girl I simultaneously befriended and hated in high school (and still do now)--the one who gets used to being complimented/liked so that when someone doesn't rush to compliment her, she gets all freaked out. I HATE that I have traces of that in me after this summer. (This doesn't make the compliments I HAVE gotten any less wonderful--to the four boys who have told me I'm beautiful that read this. :P)

Love,

-A.

Just when I thought I was consistent.

OKAY! Updates.

Well, Letta decided to be a big POOP this past week and lie to both Ben and Dan about her relationship with Dan. (To Ben and Me: 'We're over.' To Dan: 'We're not.') In finding this out, Ben and I decided to do the right thing and let Dan in on the situation of Letta's visit/stuff with Ben. I'm fuzzy on everything that's happened since then, but I'll keep you updated as I get more info.

ANYWAY, this past week was a good one for me as far as co-worker bonding. On Tuesday night I worked late and ended up getting offered a ride home by a busser who lives near me with a few servers and his girlfriend who's a hostess. His girlfriend was supposed to pick us up, but was running late, so this busser, Kenny, and his roommate Sarah, a server, invited me to Houlihan's for a drink to wait. They don't card, and as you all know, I'm not a big drinker to being with, so I asked the bartender to surprise me. He decided to make me a MASSIVE raspberry long island iced tea. It was good, but GIGANTIC. I drank 3/4 and a bit more of that, and had an Oatmeal Cookie shot (Goldschlager, Bailey's, Butterscotch Schnapps). Needless to say, I was drunk by then.

I chatted with Sarah and Jen, the bartender's girlfriend, and they were both INTENSELY supportive of me maintaining my virginity, which I thought was sweetly hysterical. I asked about Raul because, lame-o that I am, he's a total cutie patootie and we flirt like anything. He is a manwhore, by all accounts. Hm.

SO, the next night, Raul invited me out to Houlihan's and a bar in Fell's Point after his shift. Ben came over that night, and we both met Raul at Houlihan's with a bunch of other Hard Rock people. There was flirting and more drinking (but significantly less than Tuesday, although I had a tasty Mudslide), and we went to Fell's Point, to this seedy-as-balls bar called Friends, where Ben traded the use of his lighter for weed. Wow.

ANYWAY. More flirting, blah blah. The other servers that came along, Angie and Brandi (I know) didn't know my name, and were calling me 'Pretty Girl'. Sweet. Thus, this interaction ensued.

Me: That's so sweet of [Brandi and Angie]! :D

Raul: And very accurate.

Me: Oh. Thank you! :) *long pause* Um. I totally think you're super-cute.

Raul: (actually surprised) REALLY?

Me: Um. Duh.

(Later.)

Raul: You know. I didn't think you thought that about me. What you said earlier.

Me: About thinking you're totally cute?

Raul: Yeah. I mean, most girls get turned off by the, you know--

Me: Mustache? Well. I don't LOVE it. But it looks surprisingly good on you!

Things were going well. (Heh.) Finally, Ben did what we were all thinking, and was like "BTW, MAKE A MOVE, PLZ" to Raul. I DID NOT ASK HIM TO. Let this be VERY clear. I only suspected that he did it until he confirmed it after the fact.

So, Ben went inside (we'd been hanging out on the sidewalk outside of the bar), and Raul came out, like clockwork, and sat next to me on a nearby stoop. After some small talk about how glad we were that I came out, he kissed me. And the mustache wasn't that bad! :P So, we talked a bit about how things started between us--apparently, he was completely into me when we first met at Paper Moon while he was on a date with Liz, a fellow MICAn and co-worker of ours (WHOOPS), and I was with Betsy and her dad. Let me set it up and integrate our points-of-view:

Me and Liz: (Chit-chatting while Raul is in the bathroom--I haven't seen him yet.)

Raul: (Returns and sits with his back to me.)

Liz: (Introduces us.)

Raul: (Turns.)

Me: ("CUTE BOY!")

Raul: ("BEAUTIFUL GIRL! Crap. I'm on a date with this other girl! Be on the date, Raul!" [His words! He explained it like this!])

Me and Raul: (Shake hands and grin like doofs.)

Me: (Thumbs up at Liz.)

So, Raul was very clear that he was attracted from the start, and that my un-craziness was refreshing. :P We haven't talked much more since then, and have only made tentative plans, but I'll (obviously) keep you updated.

ALSO, I've reconnected with Hector, the cutie-patootie who wrote and cast me in Ink. He's returning to MICA for grad school in the fall, and he's just the sweetest and most serious guy ever, and I'm really looking forward to talking to him again and more. :)

Not much else to report otherwise, except that I'm going to New Jersey on Monday or Tuesday to see HARRY POTTER. I am so, so excited. I am going to meet John's family and friends (finally) and I'm SUPER-EXCITED, because, obviously, HP is involved. :D And costumes. (Yes, I'm a nerd. SO WHAT.)

And Robin is coming to visit next week for a Six Flags excursion next Sunday (days-off permitting)! I am very excited, because we will also be watching The Room (which he is selfishly seeing without me in Pittsburgh tonight. Jerk. :P). The Room is the Tommy Wiseau classic that brings us these shining beacons of screenwriting brilliance:

HAHAHAHA. It should be an epic first viewing for me.

Love you guys, and I hope you're all doing well.

-A.

I caved.

After nearly a year of resistance, I got a Twitter--now you can keep up with my doings even more obsessively! :P

Don't worry! I'll still be updating as much as before.

After three long, lazy days off with very little sleep, I go back to work today at 4. Then, tonight, a beautiful thing happens--Letta arrives! :D I am very, VERY excited, as I've only seen her for about an hour in the last six months. But the great thing is, she and I can always pick up right where we left off.

In other news, well...I am lazy and have barely left the house, although I DID attend the Orioles/Red Sox game with Mark, his brother, and his brother's three friends, all of whom were incredibly sweet. We were losing 10-1 by the seventh inning, when the rain began. Luckily we'd moved under the awning before we got poured on! After about 45 minutes (during which Joey V. helped me open my Twitter account via text), the game started up again, and we got 5 runs in each of the next two innings to make it 11-10! It was amazing. I'm no baseball nut, but it was cool to see a turnaround that huge!

As I said, not too much to fill you in on here, but I hope you're all having a lovely day!

-A.

I'm not even keeping score anymore.

On Saturday, Ben came and picked me up from work (that day, a woman took a photo of me with her iPhone in order to trick her friends into thinking she saw Anne Hathaway at Hard Rock, haha!), and we got dinner and rode in the paddle boats on the dirty, dirty harbor and did dramatic readings from internet chatrooms via his BlackBerry. You'd think we were nerds. :P

When we got back to the apartment, Jen informed me that she'd been invited to a party by her TA, Jon, and didn't want to go alone. Ben offered our company and his car, as the party house was in Hampden. After a lot of indecisiveness and changing in and out of pajamas, the three of us got in the car and got lost on our way to the party. :D We did make it, though, and I was surprised to find that it was a block party--there were a bunch of drunk Hampdeners sitting in folding chairs drinking and eating barbecue in the alleyway. I attempted to hula-hoop--one of the 40-year-old Hampden women, Tina, was kicking my ass and trying to teach me. She was very drunk but very encouraging. :)

After spending a little time in the alley, the three of us went into Jon's friend's house for some gumbo that had gone cold and fruit salad. After eating, I just wanted to explore the house a bit--the owner is a MICA alumnus, so it was very artsy, and ended up walking in on the alumnus-in-question rolling a joint in his living room. WHOOPS. But I forced my jaw closed and my eyebrows down and was chill about it, even though I wanted to elbow Ben in the face for taking the joint when they passed it around. (Love you, doll! :P)

While they were smoking, I started chatting with a guy in a blue plaid shirt with pretty olive eyes about living in Italy. Nick, the olive-eyed boy, is 24 and has an intensely handsome face, and was so soft-spoken and interested about my visit. (That, and he didn't take the joint. Bonus points.) It was a short chat, but we kept glancing at each other until I left to try hula-hooping again. I did manage to impress everyone with being able to "skip" the hoop. Woo! After a little while, Nick came out and was watching me and Ben try to hula-hoop with Tina guiding us nearby. When we finally stopped, Nick, who was obviously a bit drunker than when we first talked, chatted with me a little more before leaning in and adorably half-whispering: "I think you're super-cute", and confessing that he could only talk to be because he had a few beers in him.

I was charmed, and he asked me out to dinner, so we exchanged numbers and parted ways for a little while. Jen, Jon, Jon's friend Eli, Ben, and I made the plan to go a couple blocks to Rocket to Venus, a cute little bar/restaurant, so I told Nick we were heading out, and I invited him to join us if he liked. So, we went ahead--when I left the party, Tina slurred that we had to make a date to hula-hoop more and that I was so pretty. :D--and I texted him the name of the place, and he met us. I was actually surprised they let me in at all, as I was the only one under 21, but I guess they just let it slide and pretended my vertical PA ID was valid. :P Nick bought me a beer and we flirted a bit and he told me how cute/beautiful I was about fifty-trillion times and wouldn't stop starting at me. :) However, at this point I'm putting together that he is an agnostic socialist Ravens fan to my conservative Christian Steelers fan, but I let it go because we just met and I barely know him and besides, we hadn't even kissed yet!

We all walk back to Jon's house (different from the party house) and Nick and I sort of lag behind and he kisses me and holy EFF is he a good kisser, and we get to Jon's place and just chill out on the lawn while everyone else goes inside, and we talk and kiss a little more and he tells me about his visits to Ireland and Italy, and I break the news that I won't be having sex with him (which he takes very well). :P We finally go inside and the others are watching The Dark Knight. I sit on the stairs and he sits on the arm of the chair opposite me and touches me knee then gives me the 'Upstairs?' eye movement, which I immediately rebuff. After a few minutes he sits next to me on the stairs and nuzzles me, then lifts his lips to my ear and--

"I want to get married."

I smile, puzzled. "What? In general, or to me?"

He just looks at me. I try not to frown. "You're joking. Ha ha."

"Why not?"

I laugh quietly again and lower my voice. "What do you mean 'why not'? We don't even know each other. You just met me."

"You are one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen. Let's get married. I'm serious. Tomorrow." His voice has that muzzly quality that someone who is drunk and sincere has.

Me---> 8/ "No. That's not a possibility."

But he wouldn't back down. He wasn't forceful at all, but he was only concerned with doing something crazy and making an amazing story. After a few minutes, I excused us to go outside and talk this through without a potential audience.

We talked for about an hour, I guess, in circles mostly--I concentrated on why it's a crazy and dumb idea, and he concentrated on painting a picture of a life where we'd visit Europe every year (he loves to travel), and he'd take his photos and I'd illustrate books, and we'd have two kids and he'd never root for the Steelers. He also confided to me that Tina told him to follow meand fall in love with me immediately after I left the party. Truthfully, he was that kind of endearing fateful type of romantic-comedy hero who is saying something completely insane, but with the air of finally seeing things clearly at the climax of the film.

And this is why, instead of running in the other direction as about 60% of you told me to do, I agreed to still go out to dinner with him. I KNOW, I KNOW. (I can hear Lauren's "YOU'RE RETARDED" from here.)

I also went to Chris' place last night and watched half of Braveheart. I'm not sure what to make of Chris and I--he was all into it at first, but now I'm sensing this hesitance. Also, he paid more attention to his dog than to me, which I cannot abide. I don't know yet, though--Chris is just awful at expressing his feelings verbally, as far as I can tell.

And, Ben makes a Brian-esque observation about me:

Ben: You should be a spy.

Me: Haha. Why should I be a spy?

Ben: Persistent. Hunger for knowledge. Spying is like gossip. Except, instead of 'Who slept with who', it's 'Who has nukes'.

And some more "Why I Love Brian", Parts Twelve and Thirteen:

Brian: Caleb, Matt and I are reaching new levels of gay. We're going to tan before we go to Vegas.

Brian: Time to work some Mystery Method at the Edge tonight.

(shortly thereafter)

Brian: Nothin'. No girls at all. It's a 'dick farm' as Caleb put it.

Sidenote: Letta is arriving on Wednesday night, late. I am working hard to fix her and Ben up and it is working AWESOMELY. BECAUSE I AM AWESOME AND SO ARE THEY. YES. They are freakishly perfect for one another, and I am excited for both of them. :)

Another congratulations to my awesome sister, who was accepted and is attending Ohio University this fall. :D I'm so proud of her!

I love my friends, and as crazy as it is, I love my life.

-A.

Rediscovering My Heritage

I had a date with Chris yesterday, and it went well! He's not my usual type--piercings, tattoos, etc.--but we can talk and be on the same level and it's nice! He doesn't bother dating just for the hell of it--he actually wants to date someone he's interested in progressing with. He says he's more interested in me than he has been in any girl for a long time, which is always nice to hear, although it makes me a little sad that I've heard it a few times recently and it makes me wonder what the eff girls are like nowadays. Not that I'm not a great girl, but man-oh-man, where are you nice girls?!

(Sidenote: There's always this tiny flicker of disappointment that flits across a guys face when he realizes I'm not going to have sex with him. Half-pitiable, half-satisfying.)

We had a late lunch on Charles Street at Mick O'Shea's around 2, and absorbed a little Irish culture for both of us (he is VERY into his Irishness, and I never have been, really). We talked for 2 1/2 hours before I had to get going because I was meeting Mark, Jen, and Jie for Up a little after 5. So, we're going to see where things go, which sounds like a nice, slow-moving thing to me. :)

I ended up running into both Ian and Michael (two of Robin's roomies in one!)--we all kind of converged by chance at this one corner, and we caught up a bit, and I remembered how much both of them make me laugh. :D

I was still running late so I left them and met Mark outside of my apartment--he brought us pizza, and I ate a slice to be polite (I was stuffed from lunch), because it really was thoughtful of him. We met up with Jie and went to Harbor East to catch the 7:25 showing, and while we were in line for tickets, I glanced in the reflection of the glass of the box office and saw JESSIE (of formerly Sam-and-Jessie fame)! She's in town for a wedding, which I totally knew but forgot, and we immediately freaked out and hugged and are making plans to meet tomorrow for the first time since New Year's!

The movie itself was lovely and sad but also funny, and I totally cried like five times. :)

After the movie, we ran into a group of girls who graduated with Mark and Jie--one of them was bragging about making her ex cry. Who brags about that?!

We left them after a half-hour and ended up in Dougherty's Pub, where I found the Devlin crest on one of the paintings (I've seen it before so I knew what to look for) and I now know where the Devlin's came from within Ireland! Tyrone/Ulster. Bam.

So, I got a little tipsy on cider, and argued politics and a little religion with Mark and Jie (mostly Mark, who surprised me on his stances) and generally kicked butt. :P But it was fun and obviously there are no hard feelings. The transition from 'dating' to 'friendly' has been a smooth one with Mark, which I am eternally thankful for.

I have work from 12-5, then Ben is picking me up! :D It's so good when the things I've been praying for (like plenty of social activity) come true. I just love being around people. :)

Okay, I have to go--but I'll catch you all in the next couple of days!

Love,

-A.