My So Called Angst

Some of you reading this should just put your hands in the air now...you've heard this one. I LOVE My So Called Life. It was on during my angsty teenage years. I'm serious. I was 13. It was a rough time. I would rush home from cheerleading practice to watch Angela and her ugly crying face and to swoon over Jared Leto. I was devastated when they canceled it. The other night decided to watch some TV online and went onto ABC's site. Much to my surprise and delight, I found My So Called Life in the list of show titles. I didn't believe it at first. I clicked on the link and saw it was true. The pilot is the only episode up there but it says Fridays Online. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they add a new episode each week. One of the girls who has her hand currently raised told me that she found the DVDs (which previously were impossible to find) on Amazon. I went on the site tonight and they do have the DVDs in stock. The are double the price that the girl with her hand raised found but it may just be worth it. So now I'm signing off to watch the first of what I hope will be the full run of My So Called Life. It's a bright spot in my dark day.

Update: I just watched it and it was quite a time. The memories came back like a tidal wave. I totally heart Jordan Catalano!

Avast, Pirates!

Pirates pirates everywhere. It seems like everywhere I turn, I am encountered by pirates. No, it's not just because Halloween is a week and a half away. Whether it's people talking like pirates, people dressed up as pirates or checking out the plethora of pirate themed apparel that Bethany and I saw in Europe, pirates are everywhere. When I went to see Maroon 5, my boyfriend led us all in a pirate "yo ho" sing along. Last night I watched the West Wing episode where Zoey is inducted into the DAR and one of the women brings up Abbey being related to a pirate. I'm sure there are far more instances that I am overlooking. What it boils down to is that Johnny Depp is taking over the world as Captain Jack Sparrow and I'm ok with that.

Distracted

I don't want to provide too many details because I don't want to incriminate myself further. After leaving the school tonight, I was pulled over for speeding. The nice officer decided not to charge me with the moving violation. Instead he charged me with failure to notify the DMV of an address change. He told me that because I was polite, honest and had a good driving record he wanted to reward my good behavior. Not really sure how all of this is going to end up. I have already changed my address with the DMV online. Their may be updates later after I talk to my people.

Hello. We are the Hives from Sweeden.

Yes. Yes they are. The Hives were rockin' on Monday night. Their intense energy and pride for their homeland took over JPJ. Lead singer Pelle Almqvist strutted across the stage and into the crowd multiple times. There was a Mick Jagger-esque quality to it all. The whole band hammed it up for the crowd while being quite stylish. They were sporting matching black suits with white trim and white shoes. I didn't even stop to think that they were breaking the no white shoes after Labor Day rule. They were that rockin'. The whole band seemed to really enjoy being in Virginia and putting on a great show for us. The best part was when Pelle invited people to get out of their seats and approach the stage during Walk Idiot Walk. Sterling and I looked at each other and with that decided to take the risk to descend from row R in section 104 down to the floor. As we got to the floor the usher was not paying attention so we walked on by and up to the right of one of the stage where no one was standing. Sterling shares my love of dance and we danced our way up to the rail right in front of the stage. Jumping up and down and rocking out we caught the attention of guitarist Nicholaus Arson. That was great as it was. Just Sterling and I dancing around. Then Pelle came over, two feet away from us, and sang a whole verse just to us. Just to us people. Just to us. It was great. We felt like rock stars. It's just a shame we weren't allowed to remain there for Maroon 5.

My Boys

I know by posting this I am being completely unoriginal. I felt the need to share this with those who have yet to enjoy it. It's hilarious! The best part, both my boys are in it. What a nice treat a few days before I get to see one in person.

Friday = Drama

The Pam is a liar. I really can not fathom that she has seen people light up a smoke at a football game in the past decade. A high school football game to be clear. I can't believe she has observed such behavior because one it's not allowed and two because of what I witnesses tonight. The event I speak of is five cops removing one crack head cheer mom that decided she would light up a smoke in front of her daughter after we had already told her she couldn't, two quarters earlier. It would be one thing if an administrator strolled over and asked her to put it out but no. Five, yes five, police officers approached her at a hurried pace and removed her from the game. This was a big deal. Big deal. That is why, I believe, the Pam is a liar.

Why!?!?!?!?!

The water at my house is off again! I thought I was finished with all my utility woes, but no. I called the water company and found out that they are installing a valve near my house and the water is going to be out for about 10 hours. Really? 10 hours and no warning? What kind of show are we running here people. Do they think that everyone is out partying it up on Friday night so they won't be bothered by the lack of no water? I went out to the movies. I have an early morning tomorrow. I would enjoy water all night long. People. You are killing me here. I pay for water. I like water. I do not choose to live in the desert.

The West Wing is Like Crack

I have been without cable for the last two weeks. Wes moved out and had the cable cut off. I am in the process of trying to schedule an appointment for Comcast to come out and turn it back on. I have been fairly busy so living without cable has only been a mild challenge. My lovely aunt has loaned my family the first two seasons of the West Wing. I have been watching one or two episodes a night. The problem is, I'm finished with season two. That's right. Mrs. Landingham is dead, the tropical storm has hit and in his own sly way, President Bartlet has let us know that he has decided to run for a second term. I need more. I need to see the staff reaction. I need to hear him say he is running for a second term. I NEED MORE!!!!!!! Last night I had the shakes when I went to bed. I'm going through severe withdraw. I realize that no one should be addicted to a TV show in this way but I can't help it. The West Wing in like crack and I am willing to beg, barter and steal to get another fix. Anything to buy time until I can get a hold of the next season over Labor Day weekend. Yes, my life is sad.

Update: Lis is the best and found someone with the third season. A big thanks to Claire for lending it to me.

Ealy Morning Antics

Nope. This post isn't about doing Lis' hair or making up a dance routine at 8am. This post is about the morning that I almost called Meaghan to send Dave over but instead called Mark (and not the Hermit).

At about 12:30am on Saturday, I awoke to glass shattering. I looked out onto the street and saw nothing. After about 15 minutes of sparatic glass shattering, I had convinced myself that someone was breaking the windows on the first floor of my town house. What do you do when you think someone is breaking into your house? You call 911. And that is exactly what I did. The woman at Alexandria 911 asked me to state my emergency. I gave her my name and address (almost giving her my parents street address) and told her that I heard glass shattering and thought someone was breaking into my house. She said that the police had already been called and were on their way. Once I'm off the phone I realize that I'm still trapped in my room in a house that I believe is being broken in to. I call Wes thinking he is upstairs and will come down and save me. He doesn't answer so I leave a message where I tell him what is going on and break into tears. I believe Caroline Kennedy would cry in this situation as well. I proceed to call my other roommate. I dial the only Mark in my cell phone only to hear the lovely voice of Mark Charles answer. I want to die. At first I'm a bit stunned and can only say "Mark?" Mark confirms. "Yes, Kelly. What's wrong?" I sniff and respond "wait, Mark Charles?" Yes. I actually said that. Mark confirms and asks me again if I'm ok. My mind blanks and I totally lie to him and tell him I am fine. I told him that I was trying to get a hold of my roommate and accidentally called him. After I apologize for calling him at 12:45 in the morning I reassure him that I am fine. Mark tells me to call if I need anything and I thank him and get off the phone. Now I really want to die.

As I'm fully realizing what just happened Wes calls. He tells me that I shouldn't worry. That it's our fairly new neighbors next door and that they do this every weekend. He isn't at the house but he lets me know I should call him if I need help. Not 100% convinced, I find my pepper spray (thanks Dad) and listen at my door. I can't hear anything so I slowly open it and tip toe accross the hall to Mark's door. I knock a few times and there is no answer. I return to my room locking the door. I can see from my bedroom window that the cops have now arrived. The do not immediately rush to my house so this makes me feel better. They walk next door and then around back. I am now 99% convinced that my house is not being broken in to.

Again I gather my courage, pepper spray in hand, and head down stairs to find out what is happening at the back of the house. More cop cars are parked behind the house and I can kind of see them talking to what appears to be the next door neighbors. While downstairs, I check on my first floor to make sure there is in fact no broken windows. All the windows were in tact.

I return to my room wired. Really it's no change from the rest of the day, but it is 1am by this point. I decide to text Number 4. I know I may be risking interrupting precious Harry Potter time but I feel like she will understand, She was my next emergency call anyway. She has a lovely husband who I knew would swoop in to my rescue if asked. My text was a bit cryptic but I made sure to let her know I was ok incase she was unable to call. Being the lovely friend that she is, she gave me a call. I proceeded to tell her the long, embarrassing, scary story. She was very supportive and we had a good laugh over the whole thing.

After I got off the phone with Number 4 I went to go and talk to the cops hanging outside my house. As soon as I opened the door the told me everything was find in a condescending tone. No guns were pulled on me but the tone was unnecessary. I explained that I was one of the people that had called 911 and had thought that someone was breaking in to my house. I asked if it was really just the neighbors. The cops said they were unable to tell me who it was but there was someone in the neighborhood breaking beer bottles. I asked "are they still roaming the neighborhood?" They scoffed and said no, that there was a fight and it was being taken care of. I again returned to my bedroom and decided to post because I'm still too wired to sleep.

So here are the lessons I have learned from this mornings antics:
1. I am not as calm and collected in an emergency as I had thought I would be.
2. Always store all of your roommates phone numbers in your phone and label them well.
3. Have an emergency plan for what to do if someone is breaking in to your house.
4. If you are driving by my house in the near future, be careful of all the glass in front of and behind the house.

Fabulous Fanny Packs

Fanny packs have been in my life for quite some time. The Pam is quite the fan. She is a mom, so that is ok. Recent events have brought the fanny pack back into my life. As a tribute, I would like to post this lovely pic of myself at the Sugar Bowl. Please don't focus on my face. I look like someone should be holding my arms down so I don't hurt myself. Focus on the fanny pack. The matching fanny packs and all their glory.

The Long Wait

Before I left town for the weekend I needed to stop by CVS and pick up a prescription. The pharmacist told me it would take 20 minutes. An hour and a half later, I left CVS with my prescription. What took so long is the boring part of the story. In my hour in a half at CVS, I did a great deal of people watching. All of the condoms are placed directly in front of the pharmacy counter. It is hilarious to watch people try to be nonchalant about getting condoms. Really, there should be nothing to be embarrassed about. You are having sex. Good for you. You are being safe with your sex. Bonus points! The best thing about all these embarrassed people picking up their contraceptives is that they are in this special case. It's not really locked but as the directions state, you must push the button in front of the product you would like, open the tray and remove your item. If these steps are not followed in that specific order (which they rarely were) an announcement comes over the loud speaker. "Manager needed to assist customer in family planning." This announcement repeats until a manager resets the system. The added attention increased the squirming and was extremely amusing.

Security had to be called twice in my hour and a half of waiting. The first time was for a man who was screaming about customer service and his constitutional rights to share his opinion on CVS' customer service. The second time was about a half hour later. I heard the manager being paged to aisle 2. "Manager to aisle 2, manager to aisle 2." Directly followed by "security to aisle 2, security to aisle 2." Then the shouting started. The woman in aisle 2 screamed "oh no you didn't just call security on me." I was sitting at the end of aisle 10 and could hear her clear as day. The shouting continued and at one point I caught a glimpse of the manager with his hand on her shoulders trying to guide her out of the store. Of course, she was not happy with this. There was more shouting and she started throwing things. At one point the woman reentered the store. In the shuffle of trying to get her out again a baby was hit and the baby started wailing. To add to the mayhem, while all of this was going on the automated announcement kept repeating "Manager needed to assist customer in family planning." The manager was busy trying to remove the screaming, baby-hitting woman from the store and was unable to assist the guy in family planning. I think his face turned 8 shades of red. It was great and really helped me make it through my long wait. While CVS did take forever to fill my prescription, they did a great job entertaining me while I waited.

Workin' for the Weekend

I'm about to head out for the weekend. Big plans are ahead of me. Hon Fest, Family Summit, Sterling leaving. Big plans people. This evening we have a bit of fun in store. I'm heading to the mall to kill some time (like I'm 13) and then I'm off to meet my sister for a movie and maybe some CakeLove. We already agreed this morning that dinner would be movie theater popcorn. Bethany is coming along and does not agree with the plan. She has decided that she is going to pop in next door and bring in a taco with her to the movie. A TACO!!! Can you believe it? Have you ever heard of such a thing? I just don't know what to say. Feel free to discuss.

A Gosling We Will Go

Yesterday I made my way over to Dirksen Senate Building for a very special cause, celebrity stalking/ENOUGH campaign. Ryan Gosling and Ben Mackenzie are hot. I mean, there is a terrible crisis happening in Northern Uganda and I wanted to gather more information on what I could do to help. A horrific struggle has been going on for 20 years including displacement, murders (almost genocide), and child soldiers. The real travesty was that I didn't actually get to get close enough to speak to either of them. I had to duck out early for a date. It was a win/win situation really.
I was very interested in what all the speakers had to say. Some horrible things are going on in Uganda and, with some help, hopefully the issues can be resolved and the healing process can begin. It was a bit troubling/unconvincing how the speakers thought those in the audience should help. The wanted everyone to write letters to the White House and talk to their government officials and get them excited about that cause. It's lovely in theory but that really isn't the way to get things done. I agreed most with Melissa Fitzgerald. She said that you need to use the power of your own vote and vote for people who have the same views and passions as you. Vote these people into office so then they can vote for what you believe in. For a more detailed account on what was discussed and just another point of view, check out Bethany's take on it all.
So in summary. Ryan Gosling...

...hot.
Ben Mackenzie...

...hot but unclear as to why he was there.
A much better venture in celebrity stalking than at Thanksgiving.

Birthday Blog (almost)

As I walked towards my office door today I saw that it was closed and had the lovely addition of a big yellow bow. I opened my door to find a cheerful office covered in yellow and pink ribbon and streamers. There were sunflowers, gerbera daisies and cupcakes! It was great. The cupcakes were delicious. My girls are wonderful. I have a personal policy that no one should have to work on their birthday. My boss understands my policy and so I will be spending tomorrow poolside. It was an amazing pre-birthday celebration. Thanks ladies.

Goodbye Girls

Gilmore Girls was the origination of so many things for me. Watching TV over the phone with my sister, strangers mistaking my name "oh yes, like the show," and most and notably and importantly, Slutty Thursdays. I could go on forever about how I love the witty banter and pop culture references. Unfortunately the show could not do the same. As we were walking through the zoo, Sterling asked me how we are going to related every moment of our lives now that all our shows have been cancelled. First it was Friends, then Gilmore Girls, now we are left with nothing. It's like we will have to live our own lives. Who wants to do that? My latest theory is that nothing in life is truly real. Everything is something we saw on TV or just a figment of our imagination.

Walk Left, Stand Right

To increase my cardio, I have been trying to make the effort to walk up the escalator when riding the metro. During the morning commute this is rarely a problem. Everyone is just pushing along, trying to get to work. This morning I could see that I had a clear path up the escalator, when and old man cut me off as I was getting on and decided to stand on the left side. That's right. The left side. As I have witnessed from the masses of tourists, not everyone knows the Walk Left Stand Right rule. I don't really understand why people don't get this. It's not like there aren't escalators all over the country. I can feel the commuters behind me encroaching. I politely say "excuse me." No response. I say again "excuse me sir." The man turns around, looks at me and then turn back. I turn around to the people who are buzzing behind me and they are all giving me looks like "what is this guy's deal?!!?!" I can feel the pressure. I decide that I'm going for it. I again say "excuse me sir." The old man turns around and looks at me not saying anything. I then say "sir, you have to stand on the right." With that he moved and I could hear everyone behind me simultaneously sigh in relief. When I reached the top I felt kind of bad. It wasn't like I yelled at this man, but still. I'm sure karma is going to bite me big on this one.

Top 5: Boston

The girls and I headed up to the home of the Red Sox to cheer on our favorite bride to be and get a taste of the town (ie Dunkin' Donuts). We had an amazing time. I could definitely see myself living in Boston. Keeping with my traveling tradition, I will now list my Boston Top 5.

1. Everything about the Gay/DeLuca Wedding, including my very special duties.
2. Touring the town with my dear friend, Steven Tyler.
3. Flower boxes, small doors and purple door knobs on Beacon Hill.
4. Dinner with Paul and Stef in the North End.
5. Vanilla pancakes at the Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro.

Check out the pics of the wedding and my tour of Boston.

A Sad Sad Day

As many of you may know, there was a horrific shooting this morning at my alma mater. 22 are dead as well as the shooter(the AP is reporting that the death count is 31). My phone has been ringing off the hook with people making sure that I have heard the news. I know a hand full of kids who are there and am trying to make sure that they are all alright.

I can't imagine being a freshman at Tech this year. The first day of school was cancelled because a shooter was on the loose. This was extremely troubling to me because he shot a cop on the trail that one of my best friends walks her dog on. Now, this. I am interested to see what the transfer rate is at the end of this semester. This is a very sad day. My thoughts are with the families of those affected by this travesty.

The Back Breakdown

Without detailing all that happened today, I would just like to thank all my girls that put up with my breakdown when I was having major back trouble and a minor breakdown today. They helped me out and even put up with my stubborn streak when I refused to go home. After taking a nap at Miriam's place, I feel much better and headed to bed soon. I may even make a doctor's appointment tomorrow. At the end of the day things turned out fine. Lis found the "stolen" shower gift, Meaghan enjoyed her shower and I am able to get out of my chair. Again, thanks ladies and goodnight.

Getting in to Trouble While Mom is Away

...formerly known as: This is Your Brain on Easter.

The Pam was out of town for a "girls weekend" over Easter. We really only have one tradition for Easter, dying the dog's tail pink after we are done with the eggs.

As we sat down to dye eggs on a snowy Saturday in April my dad asked "why don't people dye raw eggs?" We sat there and thought a bit. The Pam wasn't home to make deviled eggs so we would really just be wasting the eggs if we hard boiled them. The Star Wars dye kit that we had picked up for my dad had those egg wraps that you have to submerge in hot water. We decided the older eggs would be used for those and we would then throw them out. The new eggs would be placed in cool water with the colored dye so we could use them for cooking later. My dad had one more egg to shrink wrap and found that his water had cooled off too much. He decided to place the egg with the wrap in the mug with water and put it in the microwave. As we sat there dying eggs, I heard a funny noise and told my dad to go and check on his egg. As soon as he got up we heard an explosion in the microwave. Oh yes, the wrap had constricted and crushed the egg shell. Since the egg was raw, is splattered all over the inside of the microwave. The Pam would not have been pleased.

After we cleaned up the mess and finished dying the eggs it was time to move on to our Easter tradition of dying the dog. Dying the dog originated from everyone thinking that my sisters beagle, Jade, was a boy. She is a girl. So on Easter we make it very clear by dying her tail pink. This year we got a bit carried away and dyed her paws purple as well.

Now don't get all PETA crazy on me. The dye is perfectly safe and she really doesn't have a problem with it. We feed her treats while we are holding her tail (or paws) in the dye. One lesson we have learned though is that it is not an indoor activity. The Pam would not have been pleased.

After we cleaned up our mess, we decided to make our gourmet pizza. It was going to be great. Whole wheat crust, orange peppers, pesto, ricotta, sun dried tomatoes, garlic and onions. It turned out well except for the crust. My dad had a bit of trouble spreading it out so the crust ended up being thicker than a biscuit. The Pam would not have been pleased.

Finally, Sterling and I stayed up late watching TV on my computer. It was very late and we decided to go to bed. Sterling's comforter was in the dryer and she went to get it out so she wouldn't wake up a frozen popsicle of her former self. As she was pulling it out of the dryer her hand slipped and she ended up punching herself in the mouth and giving herself a nice fat lip. The Pam would not have been pleased.

All in all it was a good Easter. The Pam came home Sunday afternoon and we had Easter dinner waiting for her...she was pleased.
The end.

Top 5: Rome

1. Trevi Fountain Roman Holiday style
2. Palentine Hill (see self portrait)
3. Bethany in a bib
4. Opening restaurants night after night.
5. Italian lessons: Bacio means kiss, ciao means we're friends...


Check out all my Rome pictures here.

Top 5: Paris

1. Watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle!
2. Momartre district. (neighborhood of our hotel)
3. Lunch of bagette et fromage every day.
4. Getting to brush up on my Francais.
5. Louvre at night. (and everything in it)


Check out my Paris set of photos here.

Virginia is for Lovers

It's a great lesson that JT taught me this weekend. Unfortunately it was not a lesson taught in person. Last night was amazing! Pink opened up the show. Her voice is so strong. She's super goofy and seems like someone you could be friends with. She is totally jacked. We later found out this is probably because she can do this. I know you can't really tell, but the whole time she was up there she was belting it out. She didn't miss a beat.

After Pink "got the party started" JT came on in all his yummy goodness. He opened up letting us know how happy he was to be back in the south and that he had heard that Virginia is for lovers. That got the crowd all fired up. Then made the mistake of mentioning that he was from Tennessee. For those of you who may not be aware, UVA lost to Tennessee earlier that day. The crowd erupted in a wave of boos. It was hilarious. He got a kick out of it as well. JT proceeded to put on an amazing show. He danced all over the stage. He also played the piano, guitar and (my favorite) the keytar. Yes, the most amazing instrument out there, the keytar. He started Dick in a Box but stopped shy of the chorus saying that there were youngins in the audience. Timbaland was there and jammed out during intermission as well as a few songs with JT. Sterling and I squealed like little girls when JT played some of his older songs. We only sat down for one slow song that we didn't know the words to. Our section wasn't very enthusiastic. Sterling and I made up for it by dancing the night away and singing at the top of our lungs. All in all it was amazing. I'm totally on a JT high today and (big shock) not getting anything done. Thanks to Sterling for the best Christmas present ever!

London Top 5

We watched High Fidelity Twice on our European vacation. This inspired many a Top 5 list. Now, I will share a few with you.

London Top 5
1. First passport stamp ever
2. Double decker bus tour (48 hour pass)
3. Accent of Chinese restaurant manager (The best British accent ever)
4. Telling the time via Big Ben (Bethany has trouble reading her watch)
5. Getting to Trafalgar Square before the masses arrived for Chinese New Year

Check out the full London photo set here.

Back in the States

Wow! I am wiped out. It's about 5:30pm in DC and 11:30pm in Rome (the city in which my day originated). I have been in three different countries today and totally feel like that was possible. I can feel my brain is turning to mush already. Instead of posting nonsense, I'll just post when I am feeling a bit more lucid. Can't wait to share all the details and pictures with everyone.

Buono Sera

Good evening from Rome. I apologize to those of you who have been checking for updates. Bethany and I have been busy taking in all the sites. Stay tuned for posts regarding our adventures when we return to the states.

For now,
Cioa!

PS. We saw Britney shaving her head on MTV news in France but the commentary was in German. We just now figured out what was going on. We were super concerned.

A Lunchtime Cheer

Yes, this is only my third post and I already have a cheer. It goes a little something like this...
We're the lunch crew
Couldn't be prouder
If you're gonna shush us
We'll shout a little louder!

There are no motions yet, but I was all ready to bust this bad boy out at lunch today. The "girls" and I were out to lunch today at our local diner. We were all just chatting it up and inevidably all busted out in laughter when one of the men sitting behind us shushed us. Really. He literally shushed us. At first we didn't know what was going on. We weren't being that loud. We weren't even being vulger. We were just a table of ladies having a good laugh over lunch. As I turn around (my back was to the shusher) I saw that it was a table of middle-aged men having lunch. I can only assume that we interupted some important congressional meeting that would result in world peace. Unfortunately for the world, our laughter has ended any hope at world peace. Beauty queens everywhere may now shed a single tear. If you don't believe my "world peace" theory, you may want to roll with my alternate discrimination theory. These men were discriminating against us due to age and sex. Yes we are young and yes were are ladies. Really, whatever theory you believe in, it's a diner people; it's not the boardroom. We should be allowed to have a good laugh from time to time.

Countdown

I think Scarlett said it best "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow." Well, I feel like that's how I have been approaching all things Europe over the past few days. Researching details like where to eat or shop are getting me all worked up. We won't even talk about the flight. Pretty much, because I can't. I just can't. It may cause a panic attack. Instead, I have been taking a few deep breaths and moving on with my day. This of course results in me being off track for planning which causes that feeling of my heart being in my throat. Due to that feeling, I have watched way too much TV, started a blog and cleaned my house from top to bottom.

My well-travelled friend Meaghan is coming over this weekend to help me pack. She will keep me on track. I have faith in her. I'm sure that I will get my act together when it comes down to the wire, but until then, I'll think about it tomorrow.

Yes, it's true...

I am now blogging. I figured this was the best time to start blogging. I'm about to embark on my first European vacation so there is qutie a bit to discuss. Stay tuned for updates on my trip and life thereafter.