i'm back!

Well. I've actually been back since late Saturday the 28th-ish, but it's taken me this long to get back into the swing of things vis-a-vis keeping up on Twitter, Facebook, LJ, etc. I know that prolly makes me sound shallow, but I don't care - I use those networks as tools. That's all they are. Tools. They're damned pretty tools, and I'd be sad to lose them, but in the end they're nothing without the people behind them. 

*cough* Anyway, I've decided I may not end up making a generally comprehensive post about the road trip - in fact I may never.  But I will try to post pieces of conversations, AIM conversations and conversations over Facebook or LJ especially, about the trip....I prolly won't post any pictures because this blog is the most into-the-darkness of all the sites I'm on - I basically don't know any one of the people who reads this personally. It's simultaneously a good and a scared feeling to have, this feeling of living on the edge, wind in my face, and just not caring one damned bit.

...yes, I know it's pathetic to a certain degree to declare posting on a not-really-anonymous blog 'living on the edge,' but I get so many people telling me over and over again to be cautious in my writing and who I share what with that this feeling of throwing caution to the wind is just so exhilarating and freeing.  

Anyway, in other news - human ingenuity fascinates me o.o

we're gonna dance till the dance floor falls apart - miley cyrus 

no need to hide anything anymore, i'm gonna return to who i was before - anberlin

open the gates and seize the day, don't be afraid and run away - newsies

ROAD TRIP

YAY MY PARENTS ARE LENDING ME MONEY SO I CAN GO ON A ROAD TRIP.

I know how utterly pathetic it is that I am 20 years old and borrowing money from my parents....but I'm unemployed, and broke. Literally broke, not just 'oh boo hoo I'm low on money I can't buy ice cream at the moment' broke like most people mean when they say that. I HAVE NOTHING.  SOMEONE NEEDS TO HIRE ME POSTHASTE.

Anyhoo, I just basically need a vacation from my family, real bad, and taking a cross-state (maybe cross-country since we might visit Canada) road trip over springbreak is just the thing.  It's not quite as cool as last year's spring break in New York, but since that also cost about $3,000 and this should cost about $100 I think I can deal. 

I'll be gone until the 28th, since I probably shan't be taking my laptop since I expect to spend most of my time in other people house's, camping, or on the road.  No internet access in any of the aforementioned.  See y'alls later!

Quote of the Day

Taylor: "So you're allergic to dogs too?"

Gabrielle: "Yeah."

Taylor: "Damn. I kinda wanted a dog...well, the good news is if you have an untimely death, then I can get a dog to keep me company!"

Gabrielle: *glare*

Taylor: "Not...that you're...replaceable by a dog, or...anything..."

Gabrielle: "Just keep digging..."

Quote of the Day

[03:56] Cole: SO MANY DOUBLEYOUS!
[03:56] Cole: ...How do you spell "W"?

omigod i am trapped

I sleep on the couch in my family's living room a lot. I'm not sure why, maybe it's because I know I'm not supposed to sleep on it, but I always sleep better on it than I do in my bed. Craziness. Anyway, I woke up a little bit this morning to hear something about my dad hitting a deer.

I woke up again a few hours later because my dad was home and telling me that my tires were completely bald. I woke up just enough to be interrogated about whether I was going to class that day (I was and I did...bitches...although I have a terrible habit of skipping so it was really a fair question) and then passed out again. 

FINALLY I woke up for reals, to the pleasant news that: my dad was going sixty on the highway this morning and hit a deer, basically totaling his truck. Well, the grill was crunched, the headlights are both dead to rights, and even though with a lot of work they managed to get the grill pulled out enough from the engine that the car ran, it was still fucking up the fan apparently, or some shit like that. But knowing my dad a little thing like coming a hair's breadth from totaling the car won't stop him from jerry-rigging it back together and using it for ANOTHER thirty years or however the hell old it is (that thing is old as the goddamn hils). BUT the other, even better news was that my tires, my beautiful studded tires that were supposed to last through four winters at LEAST, are completely bald. I spent so much time this winter burning rubber on the icy path up to our house and trying to get myself out of other icy situations that I apparently killed my tires. TIRES ARE LIKE FUCKING SIXTY DOLLARS EACH, and I'm already broke. Fuck my life.

This comes on the heels of an ultimatum my mother made last week. It stems from the fact that I have a midnight curfew which is bullshit because I'm 20 and in college, but my parents do not understand this, and because they own me I have to listen. Besides flouting the curfew I also have a bad habit of falling asleep in my boyfriend's bed and...just...not...coming...home. Obviously I have to make up some other excuse for where I was or else my parents would fly into a fundamentalist rage and kill Taylor, but the point remains that my mom finally threatened that if I don't come home again they won't let me drive the car. BULL. SHIT. I can't do anything about it. Right before I lost my job we agreed on what price they wanted for the car and that I could buy it from them, but then I lost my job, and I haven't been able to find a new one since. Hence, they own me. 

Last of all, my friends are going on a road trip over spring break that I was invited on. To go I'd have to borrow like fifty bucks from my parents, which is apparently a BIG FUCKING DEAL because my mom was not pleased when I brought up the subject. I'm peeved because I've been shooting job applications out into the stratosphere like nobody's business, I'm pretty sure I'm getting all A's for this quarter which ends this week, and I DESERVE A REWARD LIKE A ROADTRIP, GODDAMMIT. 

Okay, yes, I know, I don't deserve anything, but I fucking need out of the house and away from my parents before I kill someone, especially now that my car's out of commission for God knows how long. But apparently my mom thinks spring break would be a great time to - you guessed it! - HUNT FOR EVEN MORE JOBS.

Fuck that noise. I need a break.

100 things I have learned

1. Sometimes people just don't like you, and you will never entirely know why.

2. Typos will be made at the most inopportune times.

3. If you tell yourself not to forget something, you will forget it.

4. Raising someone in a particular tradition, religious or otherwise, gives you not one iota of assurance that they will stay in that tradition.

5. In fact, depending how you package it, they may very well run as far from that tradition as they can get.

6. Most of the people who should not be gifted with children, are.

7. Bad days get worse.

8. If you actually like quote-on-quote 'bad' weather, sunny days will stalk you.

9. The world is full of creepers.

10. Quite often, the first impression is the weirdest.

11. No matter how subtly you try to turn your head, people in the cars next to you at stop lights freaking NOTICE if you try to stare at them.

12. I firmly pin the blame for most of the bad decisions made in the world today on a lack of sleep.

13. If you can make it into a sexual innuendo, you should do so posthaste.

14. All those people making fun of D&D over the years were just doing it cause they're jealous they don't know how to roll a natural 20.

15. It doesn't matter how many times someone tells you you're beautiful if you don't actually believe them.

16. Cats have two extremes: they either don't give a fuck or they REALLY give a fuck. And you will rarely be in doubt as to which it is.

17. Dogs are the enablers of the world. You could kill your mother in front of your puppy and it still thinks you are God.

18. Nobody cares about fish, they just make nice conversational pieces.

19. The only thing to survive the nuclear apocalypse will be Twinkies, cockroaches, and HAMSTERS. Those little buggers survive basically whatever you do to them. I should know; I had one as a child.

20. Sadly, most of the poetry written by the current population is...just...crap.

21. Inevitably, a mess will be made.

22. Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.

23. Most people do not wash their hands after using the bathroom.

24. Kissing someone on a regular basis means resigning yourself to being sick at the same time as that someone, or immediately afterwards.

25. Of course, that also generally means you will have a sympathetic shoulder to cry/puke/bellyache/blow snot on.

25. Hugging is an art.

26. Grass is, deceptively, rarely as dry as it looks.

27. The world is full of insects, and they all want a sip of your soda.

28. If you make a list of what you wish to love in someone, they will inevitably confound your expectations.

29. Life is too short to be passive aggressive.

30. Some people are to politics what bulls are to red shirts. Try not to taunt them too much.

31. Don't pay so much attention to the 'supposed to's' of life.'

32. L'art pour l'art.

33. If a fulfilling life is Rome, many paths lead there...and not all pass through the hallowed halls of higher education.

34. 'Because it's scary,' is not a good reason for not doing something.

35. If someone asks your opinion, give it to them. And don't apologize.

36. We fall so we can learn to pick ourselves up again.

37. Television shows can always be taped. Youtubed. Or simply ignored in the name of living your life on your own timetable.

38. Big purses can hold everything you need. They can also lose everything you need.

39. Color is more interesting outside the lines.

40. Just dance.

41. Don't lie if you can avoid it.

42. Money comes and money goes, but most opportunities are unique.

43. Take more pictures, even if they're blurry and you never show them to anyone else.

44. Write more poems, even if they're stupid and you never show them to anyone else.

45. Travel.

46. Cloudwatch.

47. Take walks in the rain.

48. On their death bed, no one ever wished they had spent less time with their friends.

49. Your mother will NEVER stop worrying.

50. The cake is a lie.

51. There is no spoon.

52. You can never go wrong if you keep nail clippers on hand at all times.

53. Listen to more music.

54. Don't be afraid to create.

55. DON'T censor yourself.

56. It's only as awkward as you make it.

57. Eliminate the ought.

58. Journal.

59. Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

60. The sound of silence can be one of the best in the world.

61. Beauty is found in the strangest places.

62. So are friends.

63. Life's too short, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly, and forgive quickly.

64. Stop and smell the flowers!

65. Take the road less traveled. Even if you don't have a map. ESPECIALLY if you don't have a map.

66. Hastily dismissing people is usually a mistake.

67. Don't burn bridges, you may need to beat a hasty retreat over them at some point.

68. Choose life. Even for spiders.

69. Have some fruit.

70. Tip well.

71. Sing! In the shower! On the sidewalk! To your girlfriend! In your car!

72. Stop and listen to the ocean. Not the one in the shell. The real one.

73. Watch the falling leaves.

74. Read by candlelight.

75. It is impossible to change someone's mind via argument.

76. Sometimes the only thing you can do is walk away.

77. Your best friend WILL find out eventually. Best to just give in and tell them.

78. Your parents are much, much smarter than you give them credit for. Plan accordingly.

79. Drinking water is overrated.

80. If you're going to regret not doing it, do it.

81. Some of the worst decisions make some of the best stories.

82. Public transportation will give you a much more accurate view of the world than cruising alone in your car.

83. Although cruising alone in a car with the stereo cranked up can be very cathartic.

84. Sometimes a good cry makes it all better.

85. If you love them, tell them.

86. Give people flowers.

87. Don't listen to that negative voice inside of you. It's generally wrong.

88. Pay more attention to the details.

89. But don't lose sight of the big picture.

90. Don't be so scared.

91. Love unconditionally.

92. Trust with no reservations (still working on this one).

93. Draw on the sidewalk.

94. Pick up trash, even if it's not yours...maybe even especially if it's not yours. If you don't, who will?

95. How will you know if you like it unless you try it?

96. Cookies.

97. It's fun making other people lose the game...

98. Memorize poems.

99. What has been seen cannot be unseen.

100. Lists are fun.

Quote of the Day

"America? America's culture is shit. It's like God took everything good in the world, mixed it up with a FUCKTON of grease until it was this nasty paste, and then spread it like peanut butter from sea to shining sea." 

~ Jack

Quote of the Day

"Obviously, [AIG execs] ought to be removed. But I would suggest the first thing that would make me feel a little bit better toward them is if they'd follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, I'm sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide."

~ Senator Charles Grassley (Iowa)

FRECKLES

(found on Overheard in New York)

Random guy sitting at bar: I just wanted to let you know that your freckles are truly beautiful.

20-something girl: Uh...thanks. 

Random guy sitting at bar: Ya, a girl without freckles is like a night without stars.

Quote of the Day

"C.S. Lewis is always relevant."
~ Nathan

Quote of the Day

Gabrielle: "HELL YES! NEIL GAIMAN IS GOING ON THE COLBERT REPORT ON MONDAY!"

Cole: "SWEET! NEIL GAIMAN IS HO - I AM HETEROSEXUAL!"

gah

Tell me, is or is this not WAY more creepy than our normal myths?

NOT SO ROMANTIC NOW, IS IT, STEPHENIE MEYER?

Quote of the Day

"Not all serial killers are crazy! Some of them are just sociopaths!"
~ Trevor

meerr

There's an ad on MySpace for some kind of makeup or another, and the before picture is of this girl with freckles all over her face. The after picture has the makeup covering up her freckles so all you see is clear skin.

I LIKE my freckles.

I like freckles on other people.

I find them cute.

I really shouldn't be expecting MySpace to be touting the values of nonconformity, especially with their ads, but still...

Quote of the Day

"I think a lot about things you could screw. Like jello...you could screw that. And you could screw creme puffs and no one would be able to tell!"
~ Nathan

Quote of the Day

"So anyway, what James did was rally all of the the inferior cheap knives and forks and incited riots against the expensive looking fancy silverware dishes, led by the ruthless dread pirate teapot." 

~ Nathan

run away

My little brother is kind of weird. He'll have random outbursts sometimes where he'll express a desire to go out and live in a farmhouse with well water and not have to pay taxes and no electricity, with no one for miles. I don't often agree with him (I like urban sprawl), but sometimes when I'm in certain moods...

I was driving up the highway, just as it morphs into a road in town, and I looked up at the sky, which was this beautiful shade of blue, with gorgeous cloudscapes. And then I noticed, with annoyance, that the view was blocked by traffic lights, and electrical lines, and rooftops. And I suddenly had this desire to drive forever, until there wasn't any road anymore, and when the car ran out of gas I would leave the car, and keep running until I was just one with the sun and the sky and the grass, with none of humanity's stupid trappings, like trying to put a bridle on nature, like trying to put a saddle on the sea.

...really? c'mon now

So there's this girl, Elizabeth, from my school that I'm friends with on Facebook. No boyfriend, she got kinda bitter & bitchy about it around V-Day. No biggie.  

But she did this quiz, and one of the questions was about pet peeves. Her pet peeve is apparently 'people making out.' Again, no biggie. People making out in public can be kind of gross, though I'm more tolerant to it since I acquired a boy toy - I mean boyfriend - of my own.  

But she goes on, "It's just exchanging saliva and germs. GROSS."  

Elizabeth, I'm not sure that this has crossed your mind yet, but when you DO finally get a boyfriend and stop having a bad case of Bitter Single Syndrome, what exactly do you think said boy is going to want to DO with you? Hold hands? Kiss? Make out OH MY GOD YES! YES, ELIZABETH, YOUR BOYFRIEND WILL PROBABLY WANT TO MAKE OUT. WHAT A CONCEPT. OH GOD.  

I know so many of these girls (going to private Christian high school and private Christian college will do that), that simultaneously have a bad case of the prude and also reallyreallyreally want a bf. The two don't mesh very well. Pfffffff.

Quote of the Day

"OH MY GOD, THE ANEMONE MOVED! It was pretty speedy, too. Two inches overnight. It would only take it a few months to get down the hallway and slit my throat in the night. Clearly I must not put off smiting them any longer."
~ Ursula

Quote of the Day

Status: "Gabrielle wants to verb your noun."

Sam: "Is this mad libs? I choose 'pay' and 'bills.'"

Gabrielle: "Divide by zero ERROR"

Sam: "GET YOUR MATH OUT OF MY ENGLISH"

DALEK FOUND IN POND

bahahahaha

(this moment brought to you by neil gaiman's twitter)

Quote of the Day

Brad: *shakes fist* "I cannot be bought with donuts! You know that, right?"

Mary: "You can have me for twenty dollars. All night long."

Quote of the Day

"You're talking about English! DO NOT SPEAK OF ENGLISH IN A HOUSE OF MATH!"
~ Cole

Quote of the Day

"That magnet can handle 25 pounds! You could hang a baby from that!"
~ Spencer

Quote of the Day

Remy (Ratatouille): "I'm a chef!"

Mom: "Did he say 'I'm a putz!'?"

Family: "NO!"