Coffeebration

Sat. June 8, 2002

Right now Courtney and I are ordering food because we are HUNGRY! Julie went to Kennywood today, and I am still feeling sick. I better get better really soon because I am going home tomorrow and my dad will attack me with lysol if I let out so much as a little cough. Life in the fast lane! So …. I think summer is officially here … its been very hot outside and I have gotten my yearly allergy-death season transition sickness. Nothing much new to say. Yesterday I got my Pitt ID and went to the thrift store with Julie. I bought a whole new wardrobe for $22. I also bought a Little Foot stuffed animal for Courtney because she likes dinosaurs and he was really cute. Julie cooked delicious stuffed tomatoes, and we played Clue Master Detective, and another Clue game. I got insanely sick and took some antihistamines which made me very tired … so I drank some coffee to counter-effect it. Needless to say, it probably wasn’t the smartest thing I have done in my life. We played Miss Sue and screamed loudly every time the phone rang. Julie and I told crazy stories …. hers was about a leg and mine was about poop. We sure had some tomato fun! Todd came over around 1 and I was feeling really crazy from the antihistamine/coffee incident. Not to mention that I was sick too. We had a very nice evening/morning together. When Todd left I was very tired but still could not make myself sleep. I ended up not falling asleep until about 10am. I worked on my webpage though, and now the pictures section is done.

Blah Blah and more blah.

I didn’t get much accomplished today. I slept for most of the day due to lack of sleep last night and because I still feel kind of sick. Todd brought me some kettle popcorn which I am happily munching on right now. Courtney and I played Clue online but it sucked. I really don’t have much else to say. I am going home tomorrow and I can’t wait to see my family, my destroyed bedroom, and my cats. I’ll be back someday so I probably won’t update for a few days.

Well I’m getting sick of the recaps I have been posting in my news … they all sound the same. It’s like keeping a log of what I do, and that is cool because I will read them someday and remember how cool my life was in Pittsburgh. Anyways, since I don’t really write anything interesting about myself, here is my chance to do it …. I am bored, have nothing at all to do, so I am going to bore you with my life if you care to read on.

I didn’t know what to expect from life by moving to Pittsburgh. I knew I would be happier because I was honestly depressed in a bad way living in Indiana. Loneliness took a toll on me, and my ambition to meet new people dropped to zero. It was really affecting all aspects of my life. I wasn’t eating healthy, I had negative motivation, and sleep was my number one concern … although I was an insomniac. I’m not crazy, and in general I am a happy person, but the transition from the fun I had last summer at Cedar Point — to going back to IUP, well it just didn’t mix too well. It didn’t help matters that the routine I had lived for the last two years was no longer there for me. Jaime had quit school and moved to Susquehanna with her boyfriend, and Ashley had moved to Pittsburgh. Kimmy transferred to another college, and my psycho ex-roommate was no longer around. Living in a tiny apartment all by myself just added to my lack of motivation to get out and do things. Once I had gotten into the slump, I felt that I couldn’t get out. I seriously started thinking about my life, and where I wanted to go with it. Graduating from IUP was not at the top of my list. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to graduate from college, but …. it just didn’t seem like it was going to get me anywhere. In December, I began to seriously consider leaving IUP. I didn’t know where I was going to go, or what I was going to do, but a change was definitely necessary. When Ashley mentioned that her and Kim were moving out of the apartment in the summer, and Julie and Courtney were going to need a roommate, I really jumped at the opportunity to move to Pittsburgh. It sounded like a workable plan. Pittsburgh, not too far from home, friends, a new school, new atmosphere … I decided to go for it. By that time, leaving my life in Indiana was no longer just a dream … it was going to happen. I had maintained a GPA of 3.7 at IUP, so I wasn’t too worried about getting accepted to college there. I applied to Pitt in January, and three weeks later I got my acceptance letter. In April, I signed the lease for this summer, and on May 3, I packed up my belongings and left Indiana forever. My parents were very supporting of my decision, and that just made things better. They supported my decision 100%, so I felt really good about the choice I was making. Everyone in my family was happy for me and talked about how much better off I would be in Pittsburgh. I am really glad that they were there for me to help me make the decision because I really wanted to do it, but I was also concerned that I might just be screwing my life up more.

Well, since I have moved to Pittsburgh, my life has taken quite a turn from the boring solitaire life in Indiana. First of all, I have roommates now, and they aren’t just roommates …. they are my friends. Julie, Courtney, and I have known each other forever so it wasn’t like we didn’t know what to expect. Sure, its different when you live with the people … but so far it has been superb. I have lived with Courtney before … last summer, but it wasn’t quite the same since we had 8 other people living with us too. Courtney works all day, and I am usually not here in the evening so we haven’t seen each other too too much. Julie isn’t here a lot, but I think it is a good thing that we aren’t always here at the same time … it makes roommate fun time much more fun. My social life is now a reality … not that I have friends calling my name from every corner of the universe, but that isn’t how I operate anyways. Since I have been in college, I have really haven’t made a lot of new friends. The closest friends I have made are Ashley and Theresa (no longer in existence). I have remained close to most of my friends from home. Well, Julie and Courtney obviously …. I bet we never imagined that we would all be living together and going to the same college someday. I am still very close to Brian and Eric, and even my ex-boyfriend of almost 4 years. My mom could never understand how I could be friends with an ex, and yes … it was hard, and some things are still a little awkward …. like talking about the people we are seeing now, but we talked recently and we have both seemed to be able to go beyond our past history and remain friends. We don’t hang out with each other much, but we talk a lot . I think that when you really know someone, understand them, respect them, and have history …. it just seems better to keep the friends you have as close to you as possible. I can’t imagine my life without them, but it will, inevitably happen someday.

I think the biggest surprise about moving here is that I met someone after only being here a few days … I wasn’t even unpacked and I had a date lined up. OK, that has never happened to me before. I have never even been on a real date. I haven’t had a real boyfriend since I broke up with Steve, and I was starting to feel hopeless. My mom was concerned about me because I wasn’t even attempting to meet guys, but I was starting to think that putting forth effort was just a waste of time. I have known girls who can pick up guys left and right, and I have known girls that can wrap any guy around their finger. From my experiences, I was the type of girl who guys used as experiment to see how far they could get, or the girl that would lead a guy to conclude that his sexual preference was indeed, not girls. Yeah, I have been known to turn a guy or two gay …. haha. I got sick of not being taken seriously, and after last summer I decided that I was not going to try to meet anyone, and if something was meant to happen, it would happen. I purposely tried to avoid interactions with anyone in Indiana, because I wanted to leave so much … and it would just be my luck that I would meet someone or find some reason that would make me regret leaving. I wanted to leave with no regrets or sadness … just good memories. Well, obviously I was not meant to meet anyone in Indiana, because I had no difficulty in warding off the guys. And perhaps my whole outlook and attitude at that point wasn’t exactly attracting the guys either.

In all honesty, I had a worried feeling that I was setting myself up for disappointment by moving to Pittsburgh. I had certain goals that I wanted to achieve once coming here. I wanted to have fun and I wanted a boyfriend. I had already exhausted the 4-year high school relationship, break up … get back together multiplied by 50 … get heart-broken … pine after him, know he is wrong for you, know you have both changed, can’t let go. Got over that one … turned a guy gay, moved onto the crazy Cedar Point summer “Guess what, guys are actually interested in you, take advantage!” Attention is great, a lot of guys are assholes, and if you continue meeting the wrong ones you are going to keep getting burned. Every guy I have ever had a relationship was a jerk. Even the one I held onto for almost 4 years. I kept asking myself if there were really guys that actually wanted to be in a relationship, fall in love, and truly appreciate someone else. Well my last stage was, she doesn’t want to meet any guys, she can be happy by herself. Well I wasn’t happy, but it wasn’t just because I didn’t have anyone. I kind of felt relieved that I was single because I was really confused, depressed, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life … I don’t think a boyfriend would have made things that much better. My attitude towards guys wasn’t exactly benevolent at the time, and was just sick of putting up with the bullshit. I needed to “find myself” I guess. Yeah, I’m not sure what that’s all about, but I know that this past year has definitely made me realize what I don’t want in life. After I got accepted to Pitt, I spent all of my time planning, forming expectations of what my life was going to be like once I moved. I knew I shouldn’t set so many expectations, but I couldn’t help it because I was so excited about it.

Yes, its no secret — I did have intentions of meeting a boy when I moved here. I was anxious to start my new life in Pittsburgh, and yes that did include meeting someone. I didn’t expect it to happen right away …. I actually didn’t know if it would ever happen, but I knew that once I moved here I was going to at least put forth the effort. I figured out a lot about myself while I was single, but I didn’t want to continue in the slump, be a 40 year old spinster with 125 cats. And I was sick of the games and bullshit. I decided that I was going to make an effort to meet guys, but it was going to be different this time. I wasn’t going to sit around and wait for the phone to ring, I wasn’t going to be second-best, and I wasn’t going to be the bottom priority that gets attention only when subject is bored. But that seemed to be the whole problem … I didn’t know how or where I was going to meet a guy who wanted the same thing. I also didn’t want to go on endless dead-end dates and never find a guy who wanted to spend time with ME. It would also be a plus if I actually liked the guy, if he had some level of intelligence, if he wasn’t some ogre, and if he would be willing to put forth effort to be with me instead of playing the one way game where I do everything. I also didn’t want to settle for the first person that came along and decided to show some kind of interest in me. I tend to meet guys because they are funny or cute, I start to really like them, and then I realize they have flaws but just don’t care. I don’t care about flaws, but in the past I have been to willing to accept major flaws in guys … like not being treated equally, or playing second fiddle to the true object of his affection …. an actual object. So, maybe I was setting myself up for disappointment, but disappointment sure hasn’t caught up with me yet. I don’t know what to say for myself now. What happens when I am barely here for a week, and I meet the most incredible guy who out measures every single expectation I could ever dream of and more? Every single day he makes me like him more, by the things he says, and the things he does. I am in disbelief that I could meet someone so perfect for me … and get this, he likes me a lot. I have known him less than a month, but there is something about him … it’s more than physical or emotional … its different than the typical relationship that has only been in existence for a month … I don’t think that time matters when something is really meant to be … I cannot be 100% sure that he is the ONE, but he is everything I could ever dream of, and I definitely falling for him.

So, to conclude the very long and insane story of my life, I’m happy here. Things are definitely looking up. You have to take risks sometimes, and the risks I have taken have all been quite advantageous. I start school in the fall, and I am going to have a tough semester because I can take some of my classes I would be taking my senior year, but I think I can hack it. If I can make it through the first semester, things should be smooth sailing for the next 2 years. I have to take 17 classes at Pitt to graduate, but that will probably end up taking me 2 years. Transferring to Pitt has only set me back about 6 classes, but the credits all transferred, so yeah. Well its been great chatting …. I’m going home tomorrow for a few days, but I haven’t been home in a month, so I think it is time to spend some quality time with the family and catch up on the chat sessions with my mom.

Weds. June 5, 2002

Recap of my life, nothing interesting to say.

Schnitzle Schnitzle Shnitxxle. I’m pretty tired right now, but the longer I sit here, the more my barren land of bed will appeal to me. So ….. what is up? Tizzle Tizzle … I am watching Cheers right now, but I think I am starting to lose interest in the obsession. I have seen every episode at least 4 times … yeah, its time for a new hobby. So, today is Tuesday. What have I done for the past few days? Well, just let me tell you!

On Sunday, I went to Schenley Park with Courtney, Julie, and Ashley. We all played frisbee, minus Courtney — she was too busy getting naked on the lawn. We talked about names. My dad wanted to name me Melanie or Janice … my mom wanted to name me Alexandria. How about you? I don’t think I actually got any sun and I don’t even care. I want to be white and pasty for the rest of my life. After my unsuccessful attempt at sunbathing, we came back to our apartment. Ashley fell asleep on the couch. Courtney watched a dinosaur marathon on the Discovery channel, I decided to paint, and Julie went to sleep. I painted my first watercolor painting, and it took me like 6 hours to finish it. While painting, I had to endure Courtney’s dumb dinosaur marathon. She was freaking out when the dinosaurs ate each other and died. I thought it was cool. I wonder if she realized that the dinosaurs were not real. They didn’t even look real. I watched two fake 12 ton dinosaurs get it on, that was pretty interesting. I finished my painting and then I probably went to bed.

Monday was more eventful. Courtney and I made plans to go shopping downtown, but we had to wait for the cable guy to come and install a line in her bedroom. He was late of course, and when he got here he tried to get it on with us. Not really, but he was a freak and made perverted comments and offered to let me borrow his steel toed boots so I could kick ass because quote “you go girl, you kick ass.” Yeah ok. He also made it a point to touch Courtney and I, and gently put his hand on me and said “Can I come in your room?” Yuck. After the molestation ended, Courtney and I headed downtown and we went to Old Navy and Kaufmanns. I bought something, yeah. Ok, so after the shopping trip, Todd picked us up and we went to his apartment to eat tacos. They were very yummy. Courtney sat there and watched the Discovery Channel AGAIN, and Todd showed me some cool things in Photoshop. Then we came back to my apartment and I spent a relaxing evening with Todd, my wonderful boyfriend.

………. continued

Tuesday I woke up and met Todd at work. We went to Johnstown to go to his sister’s high school graduation. I got to meet his family, flee from a psycho stalker, and ride for long periods of time in a car. All in all I had a good time. His family is very nice, but the whole meeting the parents thing is kind of stressful, plus it was kind of hectic today, so it was kind of weird.

TODAY, I was seriously a slug all day. I felt sick until about 4PM and wanted to puke all over everything. Courtney came home from work and looked dead. She cooked ravioli’s and I made salad. Then we ate the makings. Then I walked into Courtney’s room 17 times because I don’t have a mirror in my room. Todd picked me up around 8, we ran outside and got wet, then we went to Walmart. I bought a mirror and a new phone battery. In 14 hours my phone should work. Todd bought a fan and an air conditioner. We went to his apartment and I assembled a fan while Todd tried to put the air-monster in the window … it didn’t really work out. I laughed a lot today and I am also an alien. That’s about all. I have no future plans, nor do I have a future. See ya in St. Louis.

PS: Why is there a knife in our bathroom?

Saturday June 1, 2002 3:12PM

It’s June!!! And the month of June is going to be extraordinary!!! I will probably be updating a lot more now since my life is like cool. I guess life has been treating me well lately. Our oven is FINALLY fixed, so I am going to cook something tasty in it today!! I am thinking some cabbage and noodles, although an oven is not really required for that. Anywizz — Today is Saturday, yayaayaa!! I have no plans for later, but that is just fine. On Thursday I went to the mall with Ashley after our attempt to sit outside and drink beer failed us because we did not have enough motivation to actually drink. So shopping seemed like it would stimulate our thirst. I bought a new shirt and three colorful bras. After our spending spree, we returned to Ashley’s, sat outside and drank some beer. We talked to some cool boys that were listening to Weezer and they invited us to swim in their blow-up pool. However, we declined because it wasn’t really swimming weather. Around midnight I decided that it was time for me to go home because I didn’t want to get really drunk and have to stay there. So I walked home to find that Courtney hated me and had stolen my fan. I don’t know why she was being so mean to me. I guess I borrowed the shirt she wanted to wear and she was kind of pissed at me. I talked to Julie at work for a while and then I went to sleeeeep.

Yesterday I prepared a cheesy bagel for Courtney to eat when she got home from work because I didn’t want her to hate me anymore. Courtney, Julie, and I sat on the balcony and watched the storm come. Then the power went off like 12 times, and my window fan spewed water all over my bed. Someone died at Kennywood and then some dude said there were 50 casualties …. that was a shocker! He obviously needed a lesson in vocabulary because I think he meant 50 injuries. There are a lot of trees laying on the ground outside. Julie cooked lasagna rolls and Courtney decided that she was going to cut off 12 inches of my hair. I didn’t really have the “mushroom do” in mind, but I guess it works. I was very unhappy because I knew Courtney was cutting all my hair off but there really wasn’t anything I could do about it. She kept laughing a lot and saying it was cute … but Courtney tends to laugh at really bad situations … for example, the time we were in the wreck and Steve demolished her van with his truck. She thought it was funny, however, I did not find it that humorous and it wasn’t even my vehicle that had been destroyed. Courtney tends to have a strange sense of humor and taste.

Here I am …. only days before (May 28th) happily posing with my hair:

And today (June 1st) after Courtney, the wicked witch laughed cruelly while chopping off all of my hair. Yes, I’m crying in this picture.

After the hair incident, I called Todd and he came over. We went to Mt. Washington to look at the city. Actually we had no intentions of going there, but Todd took the wrong exit going towards downtown and we ended up there. It ended up being a really fortunate accident, because the city looked so beautiful. I did not know that this place existed … I want to go back some time and take a camera so I can take nice pictures of Pittsburgh. Afterwards, we went to his apartment and hung out. I ended up staying because it got late and I didn’t really want to come home anyways.

Well, that’s about all. I am going to take a shower now and cook some good food for some good eats. Later Later Alligator!

Thurs. May 30, 2002 4:06 am

Life is just great. I have a boyfriend WHOO HOO YAY!!! Yesterday didn’t start out so well, but the most wonderful boy in the world brought me this amazing dinner, so breathtaking that I will never be able to enjoy eating again without feeling a little disappointed.

Today I rode the bus downtown to Duquense to meet Todd at work. I was a little bit nervous about getting lost, but everything was fine and I made it there with a half hour to spare. I felt kind of proud of myself. I have a little bit more courage now, so I am going to start braving more bus trips I think. Todd and I went to the Ross Park mall so he could get his car fixed, but it ended up taking over 5 hours to fix his car, so we played in the mall all day and Todd bought me a tongue ring .. woo hoo. Last night I put a paper-clip through my tongue to see if there was still a hole, and today I just decided I wanted a tongue ring. It feels kind of weird and I don’t think I will try eating with it in unless I want to digest it again. We ate some very tasty chinese-japanese-something food at the mall which was very tasty, but paled in comparison to my feast of pork chops, potatoes, and rice from last night. I love eating real meals … I should try it more often.

After the insane day at the mall, Todd and I hung out at his apartment and he played his guitar and sang some beautiful songs. I never liked a boy that could actually do something cool … Todd can do a lot of cool things. I kind of feel boring around him because I don’t think I really have any special talents. I used to play the clarinet … maybe I will get it this weekend and play it. I doubt that would be very impressive since I haven’t played it in like three years and it probably disintegrated or rotted … I don’t even know where it is.

Well, I think I am going home for the weekend … and I plan to go to Walmart and steal a battery out of a phone there. They sell the phone I own at Walmart, but nowhere in the United States has the battery that I need for it. I paid like $50 for the phone, and I am starting to get irritated by the fact that I can’t find a battery for it.

Well I am very tired …. Goodnight!

Tuesday, May. 28, 2002 – 1:25 AM

Last night Jaime, Jared, Brian, and Eric made an appearance at the apartment, and we had some fun fun fun. Jaime and Jared arrived and we bought some beer, played mall madness, and listened to Weezer. A while later, Eric and Brian arrived with more beer and we drank it. We took fake engagement pictures and played Taboo, which I think is a really fun game … especially when you are drinking. I am declaring Taboo the new group drinking game. Then the gang departed and Courtney and I watched the worst movie ever filmed as she snuggled on my butt … woo hoo fun …. grrr. We watched “About A Boy”. Don’t waste your time or money … don’t even waste your hard-drive space because this movie was terrible.

Brian & Courtney’s fake engagement picture. I don’t know why we thought these were going to look like engagement pictures. I suppose we were all pretty drunk.

Brian and me doing our thing, fake engagement picture style.

Eric and I posing for our fake engagement.

And last but not least, Courtney and Jaime posing … I don’t think this was supposed to be an engagement picture though … if so I guess Jaime forgot to put down her can of beer!

Courtney woke me up today at 11am to go play in the sun. Julie, Courtney, and myself went to Subway and got some sandwiches, and made our way to the cathedral to have a picnic in the sun. We ate and sat in the sun for a while … I got kind of sunburned and really didn’t feel that wonderful for the rest of the day. Regardless, I went on a cleaning frenzy, and I cleaned the bathroom, the kitchen, and Courtney and I did a whole bunch of laundry. I was supposed to drink with Ashley and Kim today, but I wasn’t really feeling up to it after my fun Taboo night, and I had made plans with Todd to hang out.

I went to his apartment and he showed me his beautiful new couch and papasan chair (insert frowny face). I feel rather bitter towards those with papasan chairs because I have wanted one for a long time … I am deprived. I should just suck it up and buy one. Anyways, Todd taught me how to play chess today which was very cool because I always wanted to learn how to play, but the opportunity never came about. He beat me, but I think I did pretty good for the first game. I need to learn some strategies so I can be Chess Extraordinaire and kick butt.

When I came home, Courtney asked me to watch “The Sweetest Thing” with her, but I wasn’t really feeling up to butt snuggling, so I decided I should eat something even though I wasn’t really hungry. Once again, I ate pasta-roni, ate 2 bites, and felt deathly ill. Pasta-roni looks sooo good, doesn’t taste that bad, but secretly has death poison in it. I don’t know if I will ever be able to eat again, but its ok …. I’m not exactly wasting away.

Check Mate!!

Sunday, May. 26, 2002 – 4:30 PM

It has almost been a whole month since I have written anything new. So I guess I have a lot to say. The last time I wrote on April 29, I was a sad puppy in Indiana, PA … today I am a happy girl in Pittsburgh, PA. I guess a lot has happened in a month. Actually, I think more has happened this month than in the entire last year of my life.

On May 10, I moved to Pittsburgh with my two wonderful friends, Julie and Courtney. They already lived here, but I filled in as the new roommate. So far, everything is great. I am still unemployed, but I am hoping that I can get a job soon. Let me recap the major events that have happened since I have moved here.

Well I learned how to ride the bus … (all by myself) I can’t go anywhere far away yet, but I know how to get to campus, and I can get to Kim and Ashley’s apartment. Woo-hoo! After being here for only a few days, I met a really cute boy that I just adore. We have been hanging out a lot, and I think it is starting to get serious. It was very unlike me to do something crazy like this, but I am VERY glad I decided to be not-me that day because I really think that this going somewhere, and I like like like like him A LOT! YAY!!!!

I went to the Green Day concert yesterday … woo hoo hoo — I’ll post a recap of the concert in the events section soon.

Well I guess my life hasn’t been extremely eventful, but I am really happy here, and I think that things are definitely look up. The daily interaction of having roommates, the phone ringing and it actually being for me, meeting someone that I really connect with, watching movies with my roommates, summer just around the corner … I can’t remember when I was actually this happy about everything. I still have some getting used to, but I must say I think I have a lot to look forward to and moving here so far is the best decision I have ever made.

So, I’m back in action, and stay tuned for the daily updates of my no longer boring life … I will definitely keep you entertained with things other than eggrolls and Kirstie Alley (refer to April news). And check out the events section to see what I’ve been doing, and the events planned for this summer.

Chica-Whirly Doo chickle!!!

Monday, Apr. 29, 2002 – 11:12 am

About five minutes ago, the world as I had once known it was taken from me. For reasons to be explained further down, I will never be the same, feel the same, or be happy with myself again. OK — I’m exaggerating, but I am now consumed with great unhappiness. So I called myself a Gin Blossoms fan. I was ecstatic all day Saturday, ready to relive the tunes from one of my favorite 1996 bands THE GIN BLOSSOMS. The legend, making a debut return to the stage at IUP after 7 years of disbandment, what more could a girl ask for!!!! I am glad that I did not find out the terrible news until today, or my take on the entire performance would have been soiled … just as it is now. I never really noticed the disappearance of the GIN BLOSSOMS back in the day. I was too consumed with my love for Green Day, and life was just great then. The Gin Blossoms glided into my life, and exited silently … I was unaware of the tragedies that had occurred. So now I will share my despair and announce my ignorance to this life-altering event with the rest of the world, anyone who is reading this and loves the Gin Blossoms …. in our memories, 1993 will never be quite the same.

In 1993, the band exploded on the scene with their buzz bin hit, “Hey Jealousy.” Everything was Stellar: The band was riding high on the success of its album New Miserable Experience; it was on tour with the likes of Toad the Wet Sprocket and Del Amitri, and they were planning a tour of their own. Then their world came crashing down when lead singer Doug Hopkins committed suicide in December of 1993, leading to the break up of the band. But after a few years of healing, the Gin Blossoms reunited with a new singer and are embarking on a national tour this summer.” — The Penn, by Jen Lucas.

I am not really sure I understand everything. At the concert, GB said they had been apart for 7 years, by calculation … 1995 would have been their year of demise. Ok, I just read that they disbanded in 1997. They had a CD out in 96, but the songs we all know and love are from the 1992 Gin Blossoms. So Doug Hopkins (deceased) was the singer for New Miserable Experience, and he also wrote and sang “Hey Jealousy” and “Found Out About You.” Robin Wilson … current lead singer, was the lead singer since 1992 — but he is not the guy who recorded the “New Miserable Experience” Album, however, GB was on tour for most of 94-95, and Robin was on that tour and has been the lead singer of GB since then. HERE is a link, this site is great, it has like 899 articles about Gin Blossoms, dating back to like 1987. Def a must for all you hard-core GB fans! So I guess it is still semi-original Gin Blossoms, but not really. OK UPDATE: Everything I just said was completely wrong, Robin was always the lead singer, the dead guy just wrote some songs and played guitar. Robin Wilson wrote Allison Road, which happens to be my fave GB song, so its all ok now!

Jamie and Julie livin’ it up in the rain at the Gin Blossoms concert!

Besides the shocking GB news, my day has been ok, although it is only 11:30AM. I terminated two classes today, which made me feel pretty good. I took my last Management test today … the class I have been struggling most with all semester. I needed an 82.6 on the test to get a B for the class …. and I am not really sure how I did. I think I did okay, and will hopefully get a B, but not 100% on that. The class is not really hard, and I do well on the math part of the tests, but I just don’t get the concepts or really know what I am doing. I have never really felt confused like this before, and I feel that I did not grasp the “big picture” in the class. Well, I am not a management major, and I did very well in my other management class last semester, which was Business Management. This class is Production and Operations management, and we learn about assembly lines and raw materials. I do not think I will ever be a supply manager, so as long as I get the business concept of management, and I have average knowledge of dumb management, I think I’m set for life!

I turned in my Physics paper today, and I also got my “estimated” grade, assuming I turn in a paper. I am 99.9% sure he is not going to read the papers, because he has to have them all back to us by May 3 — this Friday …. there is 60+ people in the class, and the papers were a minimum 10 pages. So my grade is a 95.3, so I am assured that I am getting an A, because I turned in a paper, and it has content. I should have gone with my intuition — filling 10 pages up with random letters, but there is a chance that he might look at it, so I actually wrote something. I did not mind because I like to write. It just makes me angry that I put effort into it, and people who didn’t will probably get the same grade. Whatever though, and A is an A and that is really all that matters.

Well, today is over — in terms of classes, and I have eliminated two from the stress-factor. I got a total of 3 hours of sleep because the insomniac monster has come back. He has been around for about 2 weeks now. For about a month I was sleeping like a normal person, I should have known better than to expect the pattern to endure finals week. I have to turn in my take home final for my Investments class tomorrow, and I am only about half done with it. I really underestimated the effort I was going to have to put forth to achieve correct answers. There is a lot of math on the test, and I am really unsure of how to do some of it. It is likely due to my poor attendance … but I seriously cannot get up for my 8am classes ….. especially during the periods of insomnia. I fall asleep between 4-5AM and it is coma time. I hear nothing — alarm clocks, phones, tornados, fires … all oblivious to me in my state of unconsciousness. I need to take a nap in the worst way, but I think I will work on some Investments until I can no longer breathe.

There was a tornado here last night and I hope it didn’t kill any more Gin Blossoms. I saw footage on the news last night of a house, some garages, and a barn that were destroyed in rural Indiana. Brian told me the Holiday Inn (where GB stayed) was damaged, but I have not heard any confirmation. I was really scared and had no power. It went out while I was studying last night and the wind was howling again. I was in fear of my life. But I’m alive. Viva la vida. It’s time to do some serious something.

Wednesday, Apr. 24, 2002 – 12:09 pm

Mmmm …… I just ate a very delicious egg roll that I purchased at the Chinese Hut. I just could not pass up the $1 satisfaction of a good juicy eggroll. It’s only noon and feel that I have been quite productive today … in fact I may just take the rest of the day off! NOT. I went to both of my classes, and turned in my article review for Physics. Any time I have a big assignment or or paper that is due, I never feel fully relieved until it is entirely shed from my body. There is just a final sigh of relief when I actually give it to the teacher. Maybe it is because so many things could happen to my magnum opus from the time I finish it to the time I turn it in. It could get swept away in a flood, destroyed in a fire, or eaten by an antelope!!! Well its not my responsibility anymore!

So what’s up with everyone asking me how to make a works cited page?? The other day it was Courtney, and today Mike in my Physics class wanted detailed instructions on how to make his reference page. It started out as “Do you know how to write a citation for a source from a book?” So I began to explain to him, and noticed that he was writing everything down. He really had no clue. Seriously … we all had to take our Lit courses, and it’s not that hard. He then proceeded to ask me how to cite journals, magazines and personal interviews. Do I look like a walking reference to these things? Apparently.

After my classes, I realized the the weather for the day had turned out to be much nicer than I had anticipated, and I found myself sweating from all the layers I was wearing. It was kind of cold when I left at 9am. Nonetheless, I strolled on over to the bank to do some bankly business … carrying my unneeded coat of course. The lady at the bank was like “Wow, this is the most checks I have cashed all week and they are all from one person!” Well, most of them are for like $2 so I don’t think it counts. I also cashed Brian’s check for the Green Day concert, and he had written in the memo “Green Day, Blink 182.” So the bank teller struck up a conversation with me about the concert and we talked about it for a while. Good thing she didn’t comment on the memo from the check that Jamie Kutsch wrote me … why you ask? Because she wrote “CRACK”. Whoo Whoo .. Green Day is exactly one month from tomorrow!!! I hate months.

On the way home, I decided to skip on over to the Chinese cart/hut outside the HUB and that is where I got my very delicious eggroll. Still not as good as Heritage Days Eggrolls, but at least it wasn’t some gross mystery meat eggroll. They are just vegetable ones, so I don’t have to worry about shrimp feces being in my chicken eggroll. Chickie Eggroll … I can’t wait for Heritage Days!!!! I think the Heritage Day eggroll people also distribute their eggrolls to the food hut at the Grove City Outlets, because I ate one there on the way back from Halloweekends at Cedar Point and my taste buds were saturated with Heritage Days nostalgia. It was so delightful!!!! So if anyone is going to be in the vicinity of Grove City, PLEASE get me 12 dozen eggrolls to tide me over until July.

My apartment is very nasty, and I really need a mop to clean my kitchen floor. I don’t even care at this point. I really need to vacuum because there is hole punch remnants and tostito crumbs all over my floor. I seriously think I will vacuum today … before bugs start eating the food on my floor. And I don’t want another mouse roomate … I’d better get on the ball before they sniff me out!

So .. I just realized that I am going to have like 4 days to do absolutely NOTHING!!! My education here at IUP is practically over on Monday. Yeah, the Monday in 5 days! I have a test and a paper due on Monday, and then I’m done … almost. Tuesday I have to turn in my take home final, and I will probably get most of it done today. And then NOTHING until Friday evening. I take my stupid final for my online class that day. Its seriously ruining my life. But its all good because I can work on moving out all week, and hopefully be totally moved out by next Saturday!!!

And I cannot forget the exciting Gin Blossoms Insanity on Saturday! Things are looking up … and I feel like dancing!

Well its time to go attack Brian and drink his white out, clean, take tests, watch my Soap Opera, and then fall into a coma. I’ll probably be up and full of vitality again around 10PM. Have a great day!!!

MY ARM IS A STUMP

Tuesday, Apr. 22, 2002 – 1:48 am

Its Monday night, and I am going to puke if I have to write one more thing. This semester — correction, this week has been a writing intensive seminar leading to a passionate desire to kill someone. I have not felt like writing anything here because all I do is write. I have finally finished my Investments disaster. It is a grand total of 193 pages. No, I did not write that many pages. The part I actually wrote is only 24 pages, but the masterpiece includes articles, financial ratios, and annual reports. GREAT! So now that I have finished, I can concentrate on my next project: Physics Paper — 10 pages — subject?? I’m thinking biomass and ethanol production.

My kitty is sick 🙁 He has another blockage in his male area and will have to have a catheder and unhappy kitty life again. He is going to the vet in the morning. This is the second time he has had it this year. The vet says that it is because he is sensitive to magnesium in his food, and it creates a blockage in his urethra. The blockage prevents him from being able to go to the bathroom, and he will die from pee poisoning his body if he doesn’t get an operation. I feel really bad. He isn’t very old, and if it keeps happening, I don’t know what his outlook long-term will be. So say a little prayer for my kitty … I love him much.

So, other than being really stressed out and the news of my cat, life is great! So I saw Mr. Dave Earl and his crazy hair tonight at Sheetz. He told me that his ex-girlfriend just died in a car accident, and then he handed me this paper. I thought it was her obituary, but it was a flyer for a concert his band is having. Too bad I already have Gin Blossoms insanity booked during that time frame.

I have insomnia and I cannot sleep. I just want the semester to be over, I think everyone does. I can’t wait for finals week. I can’t wait to take tests! I have my management final this coming Monday, a take home final that I am getting tomorrow, a paper due on April 29, and one last final on May 3rd. Its not a bad semester for me. At least I don’t have like 5 cumulative finals in a row …. or three finals on the same day. I love it when that happens.

Happy Gilmore is a GREAT movie.

Peace Out —
Hippie Lova

Wednesday, Apr. 17, 2002 – 6:21 pm

Once again, life has not been the most exciting thing in the world. I’m SOO tired right now. Too much sun and not enough sleep. Although I do feel that I am beginning to form some color on my body. Tomorrow is the last day to frolic in sunshine, so I think I will go to Mack Park and indulge in some rays. I got a little bit red today, but just my arms. I will wear some sunscreen tomorrow.

Yesterday I sat in the sun for a portion of the day, my ugly neighbor, who I seriously thought was retarded decided to strike up a conversation with me. She is actually very nice, but I think she is one of those people who will try to take over your life if you are too nice to them. She is beginning to remind me of Ron Liston, for those of you who don’t know Ron …. Ron rented an apartment from my parents, and the apartments happen to be right behind our house. Well Ron decided to reside on our front porch rather than his apartment. He was also a major freak, and he could be found sitting on our front porch 23 out of 24 hours of the day. He also began to use our yard as a used bicycle shop.

After sunshine I decided it was time to do some serious paper writing. I was getting all into it, and I had 5 word documents up, because I was copying and pasting stuff to print out, and then DEATH — the AntiChrist rose and destroyed my life. It was very ironic, that just as I was about to print my 5 unsaved word documents that I had spent about an hour copying and pasting pertinent information to, that Evil amongst all Evils decided to host a black-out party. And Microsoft Word should really prepare for instances such as this …. currently Word only auto-recovers a maximum of 2 documents.

So I sat on my porch and watched people kill each other at the 4 dead-light intersection. I was sure someone was going to wreck, and I would have to run to the rescue and perform emergency CPR. I was thinking of how famous I could become, if I inserted a straw into someone and brought them back to life. If you ever saw Nurse Betty you would know what I am talking about ….. and if you haven’t seen it, watch it!

I watched the Osbournes at Brian’s, and that was about all the time I spent there. I ventured back home to work on my term paper, and about about 2am, I became deliriuos, and began subtitling my sections with song titles such as “Should I Stay or Should I Go” and “So Happy together, so How is the Weather”. I decided that it was time to seriously let my brain die. So I went to bed.

Today was not much more exciting. I went to class, then I sat in the sun some more. Neighbor girl came and talked to me about needing money to get her driver’s permit, and trying to make dinner for her and her boyfriend with only some sauce and meat, and a little bit of noodles. That is all the food she has. I don’t know why I feel bad for her. I have less food. I can tell you exactly what is in my apartment. Pasta, sauce, Smack, really old cheese crackers, butter, kaluha creamer, coffee, and old celery. YUMMMY!

Around 3:30, Brian and I headed to the Park to relax in the sun, sporting some really cool matching bandanas. I still have mine on ….. in fact, I may never take it off. Then the bandana twins stopped off at the HUB so I could buy some dividers and a report cover for my report that is due tomorrow at 8am. I will never finish it. Actually, I have 19 pages done, and now I just need to come up with a really snazzy conclusion. Thank GOD. I want this to be over. But, my project for next week is a 10 page paper for Physics. I think I am doing it on alternative fuel, like Ethanol. FUN FUN FUN.

So, I just talked to my Grandma who is feeling rather depressed lately. She had a lumbar labectomy in January, and is still recovering from it. She is sad because she really can’t go anywhere and she has to wear a back brace. At least she takes my sjogren’s syndrome disease seriously, which is more than I can say for my mom. She is going to ask her rheumatiod arthritis doctor about it so maybe I will be able to get a referral to see her. But she also mentioned that my problems could be something called Addison’s disease. I am not sure what that is, so I will have to do some research. I’ll keep ya up to date with the haps. Well I’m off to see the Wizard.

later all,
Lucinda Sans