Her Tree Leaves

I was on the Park and Ride this morning, on my way to class. Going down Spring Garden St., the bus passed a certain tree right when the wind blew, and seemingly hundreds of reddish-brown leaves fluttered to the ground. It was beautiful to watch, and I wondered how so many could fall out of the tree without it looking as though it hadn't lost a single one. And yet, it was sad. Autumn is my favorite season, but it's also incredibly short. The vibrant colors of changing leaves are too soon replaced with naked tree limbs--leaving the remaining branches looking cold and despondent. Because of the brevity of Fall, I suppose I am more conscious in my appreciation of it, but my deep-felt appreciation for its beauty makes its loss that much more poignant. Could it be God's way of making us anticipate Spring?

Peace and Carrots

Tomorrow morning, my family will be leaving for a week-long vacation in New York while my eldest younger brother, Tyler, and I are remaining here. Tyler will stay with our grandmother, and I will be by my lonesome at home. Ahhh perfection. I think I'll spend my Friday night relaxing in the peace and quiet of our home, since my 6 and 4 year old sister and brother usually make tranquility impossible. A bubble bath, junk food, and the movie Anne of Green Gables will probably be involved in my girl's night in. 

I recently renewed my affection for said movie and have been watching it in increments while ironing and folding laundry, etc... for the past three weeks. I forgot how ridiculously melodramatic yet strangely endearing Anne Shirley is, and I think I rewound the movie three times at the part where Gilbert calls Anne "Carrots" (because of her red hair), and she breaks her slate over his head. Soooooo funny! It's a must-see. . .or perhaps, a must-re-see.

This is Halloween!

It is approaching one of my very favorite holidays--Halloween. Here are some reasons why it is my favorite:

1) It's in the Fall (my favorite season)

2) You can dress up and be anyone you want for a night

3) CANDY! (esp. the little candy-corn pumpkins)
4) Pumpkin carving

5) Hot apple cider (possibly with Captain Morgan's in it)

6) Corn mazes 

7) Thirteen Days of Halloween on ABC family

8) Time to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas and Young Frankenstein

9) Lots of great parties

10) Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Winter Break are all right around the corner

SWAN FLU

Ahhh curses, I have a cold. Perhaps the dread SWAN FLU? Yes, the spelling was intentionally "swan" instead of "swine," mainly because swans are much prettier than swine. However, I also like to say things in a ridiculous Southern accent when I'm having a mood, and I spelled "swine" phonetically to be as I said it in my head. Sometimes, for variety, I'll use a British accent. It makes me sound very posh and aristocratic.

As you can tell, I get a bit loopy when I'm sick. Time to go overdose on some Vitamin-C now.

Birthday Piercings

Today was my birthday, and I am now 20 years old. One more year until I can buy alcohol legally. I got a microwave, a scarf, Starbucks gift cards, and two toasters. Oh, and as a present to myself, I got my nose pierced.

My dear friend Lauren went with me for moral support and to get an industrial put in her ear (for those of you who don't know, an industrial is a metal bar that goes through two places in the upper part of your ear). When we walked into the tattoo parlor, we were greeted by the friendly personnel that worked there. Each one had body art covering nearly every inch of their exposed skin, which made the experience feel that much more authentic. One guy asked us what we would like done, and Lauren very energetically said, "We'd like you to put some holes in our bodies." They liked that response very much. So they photocopied our ID's, charged us a ridiculously large sum of money, and marched us back to a tiny room with a black curtain covering the doorway.

Lauren was the first to go. The guy who was doing the piercing was a nice man named Tuna. He explained the necessary procedures for pre- and post-piercing. He made Lauren lie down on her side, take a few deep breaths, and then he shoved the bar through her ear. She sat up and said she felt a little dizzy, so I went to get her a cup of water. When I got back, Tuna was holding Lauren's shoulders, and she was having convulsions. Her face was ashen, and her lips had lost all color. Needless to say, this was a bit alarming, but as it turns out, Lauren had merely passed out, and Tuna had the situation under control. He gave Lauren a glucose tablet and I made a couple more trips to the water fountain. When she was able to stand up, it was my turn.

Getting my nose pierced was not nearly as dramatic or traumatizing as Lauren's experience, but it definitely hurt--even more than my tattoo had (I had gotten said tattoo Spring Break of my freshman year of college).Tuna put an ink dot on the right side of my nose to show where the piercing would be, then told me to take a few deep breaths. He put a cork-looking-thing up the inside of my nose and shoved something metal and pointy into it from the outside of my nose. My right eye watered, and my face screwed up into an expression of disapproval. Then he pulled the nose ring through the hole, and voilà!

Of course, when my father saw my newest piercing, he frowned and shook his head, saying, "Didn't you already have enough holes in your body?" He now refers to it as my "metal booger." Thanks Dad.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it. . .

I am a college student, and being such, means I have to sit through hours and hours of boring classes every day. I've gotten pretty good at staring at the other students in my classes, and I've noticed one thing they all have in common--they look hilarious when they yawn. So today while you're on the bus, in a business meeting, or just bored in class, watch the faces of people around you when they yawn. You may get a chuckle out of the flared nostrils and contorted expressions, or if nothing else, it will distract you from the monotony of everyday life.

Need Money for Food

I have 3 newly discovered fashion obsessions: large square scarves, TOMS shoes, and wayfarer sunglasses. Put them together, and they equal a hipster me plus an empty bank account. Ergo, I'm trying to think of creative ways to earn some extra cash. Here's what I've come up with:

1) become a surrogate mother

2) offer myself as a medical guinea pig

3) sell my hair on the internet to an overseas country

4) get a boyfriend who has a trust fund

So far, no luck. . .go figure.

The Beatles-crazed Theater Professor

My friend, Lauren, is a theater major, and everywhere we go on campus, she runs into people she knows. Theater majors all know each other and are very outgoing but rather awkward in the way they communicate to each other. For instance, instead of saying "hello," one guy threw a paper airplane at us. He then snatched a comfy chair from the coffee shop we were in and bolted outside with it (I guess the patio furniture was not to his liking).

Today at the coffee shop with Lauren, I met her adviser. Lorraine was in her sixties, had short grey hair, and wore Ray-Ban glasses. She was very friendly, and as soon as Lauren introduced us, she grabbed both of my arms, shook me in her barely-contained excitement, and said with fervor, "I love your shirt! I met them when I was eleven!" I was wearing a black t-shirt with white lettering that read THE BEATLES.
Lorraine had saved all her allowance to buy tickets but only had $5.50. This being the case, she wrote a letter (to somebody) about how she really wanted to see the Beatles but didn't have enough money, and could she get a ticket anyways? As it happened, there was to be a radio contest giving away free tickets. They fixed the contest so she would get them, and off she went to see her favorite band.

Years later, she saw them in concert again and held up a sign saying something like "Contest Winner [year it happened]." George Harrison saw it, motioned to Paul McCartney, and they both waved to her in recognition. Lauren's theater professor, aficionada, and woman who shook me like a rag doll within the first 30 seconds of meeting me.

HOLDING HANDS LEADS TO BABIES

 --WARNING--

HOLDING HANDS LEADS TO BABIES...

This is the correlation I made after the following:

I was sitting on the couch in my best friend's apartment, and I asked if I could borrow her chapstick. My best friend's boyfriend informed me that you should not share chapstick because it's the same as kissing. However, after much deliberation and research (not really), I came to the conclusion that there is a reason why my bff's boyfriend is an economics major instead of something science-related.

The heretofore mentioned boyfriend also reminded me of a camp I attended in junior high, where the counselors told us: "If you have to hold someone's hand, hold your own." This was very wise counsel, considering it would be pretty hard to have a baby when you're holding your own hand. Hmm...asexual reproduction, anyone? Heaven help the American Education System.