overuse of the comma

the new unf library is absolutely gorgeous.
i am so jealous. beautiful. except they have spray-painted on the huge sidewalk "NEW LIBRARY ENTRANCE THIS WAY" with arrows along the whole entire path. classy.
the computer lab is huge, and is separated in its own room.

this is what excites me.

and then the new downtown library opens in september. i'm making a special trip for that one, because it too will be gorgeous.

i've eaten more food in the past two days than i have in two months.
thursday nite: hot dogs with gwynne. first one from a cart with a grill outside eclipse, second one from a cart with a steamer outside wall street. both times: ketchup, relish, onions, cheese.
friday: lunch downtown at burrito gallery with timmy & co. and of course, i rode the skyway around a bit. dinner with amy & clay at sticky fingers, where i ate pulled pork.
saturday: breakfast at beach hut with the grandparents. lunch with my great aunt at bennigans, where i had a delicious hamburger. dinner with my mom at tama's, where i had tempura.
tomorrow: breakfast at cracker barrell with the other grandparents & dad. i have to find some family members for the other two meals.
i can't believe i just typed all that, but being poor i haven't eaten out AT ALL, well aside from the late-night mcdonalds drive-thrus, and it's one of my favorite pasttimes.

i'm working on my research proposal, and i just read the bio of the creative coast head guy. the last sentence: "When he isn't dashing from meeting to meeting on his retro-Vespa scooter, he likes to sail on weekends or just chill out at any one of the local outdoor wifi cafes."
WHAT?

EDIT: i decided not to submit a research proposal, because, well, I SUCK. i can't figure out a dang methodology, and i could use my back-up plan and submit one on housing & laissez-faire racism, but i feel like i have worked on that topic enough, and i want to start working on subjects that interest me, that i want to continue to study. i think this study on savannah will really work out, but i need to finish up my methodology course, because i am just too lacking in that area. and based on my insane schedule, i think that if i actually got the scholarship, it would just make me stress entirely too much.

so i'll try next year.

great way to start off this school year.

OHMYGOD i'm going to have a drink.

for some reason, jacksonville is depressing me. i can't quite pinpoint why. i'm looking forward to going back to savannah.

my new love::the decemberists

dah dah dah

i'm wasting time in the library, when i should be getting ready to go to jacksonville.

i'm not looking forward to the drive. ugh. i might take a nap first.
i am excited though.

today at work i got my keys and passwords and my BLACK APRON. yep thats right. i'm awesome. it was also the last day of one of the shifts i've worked with a lot lately. so i was kind of sad, because i liked her. and her husband owns a pizza place, so we would order pizza whenever we opened together. and i think her husband is in the mafia. just because i really really want to believe that he is. she drives a big DENALI with RIMS, and i just love it. she's quitting because all of her paycheck is going to daycare, so she figured she might as well stay home with her 2 kids til further notice. makes sense to me. but when she left she said i should call her, and come hang out with her. so we could order pizza and chill with her kids. watch a movie. i think that sounds, well, awesome. so i'm going to do it.

haha, the other day i was talking about my LOVE for BOARD GAMES and another older lady that works there told me i should come to her house for family night, because they love board games too.

next week is going to be crazy, when i start as a shift and start my job at school. so i'm trying not to think about it. just think about this weekend. one step at a time, eh.

world affairs

so i've been thinking a lot lately, what with the london bombings, the current state of the war in iraq, clay leaving on his six month deployment, tadd's friend's boyfriend being killed in afghanistan...
but i just didn't know what to write about the subject.
while i am worried about the lines that have blurred on 9/11, iraq, saddam hussein, al qaeda, muslims, terrorism; and how they all seem to be jumbled together by the media and our president, i found solace in a salman rushdie editorial that i printed out after 9/11, entitled "Fighting the Forces of Invisibility." i found it while going through some old materials from school.

i thought i'd share some of it, that you might be interested in reading it.
the full article can be read here, but my favorite part is the end.

"The fundamentalist seeks to bring down a great deal more than buildings. Such people are against, to offer just a brief list, freedom of speech, a multi-party political system, universal adult suffrage, accountable government, Jews, homosexuals, women's rights, pluralism, secularism, short skirts, dancing, beardlessness, evolution theory, sex. These are tyrants, not Muslims. (Islam is tough on suicides, who are doomed to repeat their deaths through all eternity. However, there needs to be a thorough examination, by Muslims everywhere, of why it is that the faith they love breeds so many violent mutant strains. If the West needs to understand its Unabombers and McVeighs, Islam needs to face up to its bin Ladens.) United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has said that we should now define ourselves not only by what we are for but by what we are against. I would reverse that proposition, because in the present instance what we are against is a no-brainer. Suicidist assassins ram wide-bodied aircraft into the World Trade Center and Pentagon and kill thousands of people: um, I'm against that. But what are we for? What will we risk our lives to defend? Can we unanimously concur that all the items in the above list -- yes, even the short skirts and dancing -- are worth dying for?

The fundamentalist believes that we believe in nothing. In his world-view, he has his absolute certainties, while we are sunk in sybaritic indulgences. To prove him wrong, we must first know that he is wrong. We must agree on what matters: kissing in public places, bacon sandwiches, disagreement, cutting-edge fashion, literature, generosity, water, a more equitable distribution of the world's resources, movies, music, freedom of thought, beauty, love. These will be our weapons. Not by making war but by the unafraid way we choose to live shall we defeat them.

How to defeat terrorism? Don't be terrorized. Don't let fear rule your life. Even if you are scared."

home

i'm leaving thursday for home, and i don't think i'm coming back til monday mornin. i actually think i'm just going to drive straight from jax to statesboro monday, to work. we'll see. it's wierd how i'm accustomed to waking up at 4 in the morning, since i open all the time now.

i'm so excited for some family time. i can't wait to see my grandparents. and my great aunt. and my aunt jupee. i can't wait to go to happy hour with my mom, amy & clay, and timmy & amanda. it's strange how i was so used to seeing them all the time, and how that has changed.

and of course i'm excited about going out, seeing rachel/sarah/devon/gwynne, seeing paul dj, seeing josh's band, hanging out with juan. all the things that had been a weekly or daily occurence.

i'm ecstatic about seeing timmy and amanda. i don't know, it sounds overly dramatic, but without timmy around it's like i'm missing something.

but then i'll be happy to come back, start my new job at school. start working as a SHIFT SUPERVISOR at sbux. (he has me opening by myself, as the shift ALREADY next Friday & Saturday- i'm sortve nervous). back to stressing about financials. but also having fun times with sari & ashley.

i worked on my knitting last night. i'm starting to actually get it!

i definitely have NOT worked on my research proposal that is due BEFORE august 1st. i was thinking about putting it off completely and working on it in jacksonville, then emailing it sunday july 31st. that seems irresponsible though. so i'm trying to motivate myself to drive to statesboro today to work at the library. i'm not doing a good job.

i set up my entertainment center last night. HA yeah right. i have to take a picture, it looks so bobo. i have my dvd player on a tray, next to the couch, with the cable running across the floor to the tv, because i don't have enough outlets. then i have HUGE rabbit ears on top of the dvd player, because i don't have cable. it's hilarious.

i'm officially the worst person ever.

i'm limiting my alcohol intake for awhile.

i did karaoke last night for the first time, and it was AWFUL.
not even funny AWFUL. just AWFUL.

i want to go to sleep for four days.

la-la-la-lord

my class schedule has changed. which is sortve annoying, because i've already worked my schedule out with the honors program AND starbucks, and now i have to change it.

my advisor emailed me and advised me NOT to take theory yet, because there will be a seminar on it in the spring. so i didn't really have any other classes in sociology to take, because i DONT want to take sociology of childhood or sociology of family, yuck. so i have now signed up for ethnographic methods. it's an anthropology class, and double yikes, i've never taken an anthro class in my life.

my advisor recommended it, but i'm worried because i'll be taking quantitative research methods AND ethnographic research methods, and lord, thats a lot of methods. but it will be very helpful. ACK! i'm stressing.

i finished purse #2, and amanda, this one is definitely yours. merry christmas!



it turned out very cute. if you can't really tell from the picture, it's black with metal handles. the inside is an off-white-ish color with tiny tiny black dots. i even sewed in snaps so it closes. the buttons are whats on my profile pic.

don't dare believe the good news

holy esssss
i just registered for classes.

Sociological Theory
An overview of the major classical sociological theorists, linking their contributions to contemporary issues and concerns. Covers key theorists and basic tenets of structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism and introduces the process of theory construction.

Soc. Quantitative Analysis
Study of the techniques and statistics necessary to design and interpret quantitative sociological research. Required for the M.A. Degree in Sociology.

Seminar: Social Organizations
Examination of theories of social organization and their application at both the micro and macro levels of analysis in groups, organizations, and societies.


i can do this.




i start training to be a shift supervisor next week. i think it's going to be funny, because the manager cracks me up. i just can't even explain it, but perhaps i'll do an impression of him one day for you.

self-indulgence

i don't think it could possibly be any hotter outside.

i made a mistake last week, and its making my work situation slightly uncomfortable. but also strangely exciting.

i continually second-guess myself.

i stumbled across something i was subconsciously looking for, and it made me feel incredibly sad.

i think working so early in the morning messes with my head. or maybe its the eXXXtreme amounts of caffeine & coffee cakes.

me & another girl from work were 'secret shopped.' we totally got a 100. the district manager said it was the best he's ever seen. and its dorky but i'm proud, darn it.

i have changed this entry 4 times.

blahblah

someone made me mad last night by acting really, i don't know, immature? but when i woke up this morning i decided it was not worth getting mad over. and that made me happy.

amy came to visit for the day yesterday, sans my mom. we just walked around downtown and went in some stores. there are definitely some good ones. my favorite is a store called @home, and they have some houseware type stuff, but they also have a lot of cute stationary and cards. i love that sorta stuff. amy even bought me a little present, an agenda so i can get my shit together for school. i love it.



she really wants me to sell my purses. i gave her the purse i made for amanda, and showed her the current one i'm making. amanda, you're going to love it. i almost want to keep it for myself. haha. but it's turning out good, so far. no mess-ups yet. amy even emailed me an article today on how to set up an online business thing on ebay. we'll see. i'm going to make a purse for lilly for her birthday, and i have some felt so i'm gonna try to make a dinosaur applique for the front.

i just transfered the rest of my savings to my checking account. poor poor me.

i'm locking myself in my apartment this week to write my research proposal. i'm going to kick my procrastination habit.

hey, guess what
i'm on a sortve houseboat.
and it is soooooo cool.

but really, it's a boat, but its like a house.
it's totally insane.

latah.

rural commute

i drove out to statesboro today.
everything is set for my job, and from august 1-august12 i can work as much as i want, but then once school starts it goes down to 20 hrs. the bad thing is i dont get my first paycheck until august 22nd!

i'm nervous about the job.
i just hope i'm ready for all of this. school/work/work. it's going to be absolutely insane. i wish i could quit starbucks, but there is just no way it's possible. but in addition to my job at school, i'll be working 20-30 hours at starbucks, and taking 9 hrs of classes. that doesn't even include the research i'm supposed to be doing OR the school work in preparation for the classes. Yikes.

i need to live it up during the few weeks.

as i was driving the 40 miles there (every time it has taken me EXACTLY an hour to get from my house to the parking spot on campus) i was thinking how annoying the drive would get. but it is actually kind of relaxing. well, at least the 10 miles it takes to get from 16 to statesboro is.

it's all farmland, which i really have never seen much of. some houses, and a few antique stores. i think it will be sortve neat to watch as the crops grow. there's even a huge field of sunflowers. i drove around for about an hour, in a huge circle around all the farms. it really fascinated me, but i don't feel like i'm getting the words out right.

fresh & clean

i flooded the back room of starbucks this morning.

i left the water/soap running for what HAD to be 20 minutes,
and it was a soapy watery mess all over the back room.
it was AWESOME.

there's a girl at work who is entirely too chirpy, and has NO concept of personal space. so i elbowed her today while making a frappucino, because she was practically on top of me. i did it on purpose. and didn't apologize. a few hours later i felt horrible about it, so then i was really nice to her for about 15 minutes.

i can't wait to start my other job, where i don't have to be so nice to people all the time. it really is sortve draining. i start working for the honors program on August 1st, so it will be nice to go home and visit, and see Timmy & Amanda, before that starts.

i'm officially below the poverty line. i'm trying to think up some scam to make some cash, but it's just not in me.

i haven't gotten anything done on my research proposal. i just don't know how to begin. ugh. i wish i had more experience with methodology, because it's just not working. it wasn't dr. paulsen's strong suit either. i have to go to statesboro wednesday to sign some paperwork and turn in my immunization form (no shots needed! YEAH!), so i'm forcing myself to spend the day there and get acquainted with the library.

i had fun this past weekend. it was nice to chill with the ladies, and i found another drink option aside from the big a pbr cans. vodka & soda! seems more grown up to me. THANKS SARI if you read this. heh. aside from the financial stress, everything is going a whole helluva lot better.

i think amy, my mom, and possibly ryan are coming up saturday for the day, because i don't work til 7. so that means i need to tidy up the apartment this week. is it wierd that i'm more nervous about amy seeing everything than my mom? she does act sortve mother-ish.

HA that reminds me, when i first moved in, my mom & i were carrying stuff up the stairs to my apartment. the landlord walks up, and the first thing he says is, 'hey, i don't know if you realize it, but you're in savannah so you need to hurry up and get those valuables out of your car. someone's gonna smash the window and take it.' my mom's face was the BEST.

i tried to go to a farmer's market this morning, but i guess i slept too late.
the weatherman acted like we wouldn't have much rain from DENNIS, so i'm hoping that to be true. it's pretty gross out though.

i finished amanda's purse last night!
amanda, i don't know if you're going to like it. i'm not quite as happy with it as i thought i would be. also, just a warning, the sewing around the handles/lining is MESSY. i have such a problem with that. but i really do think i'm improving. i did pleats on it!
anyway, i think i'm going to try to bust out another purse before you two come home, so maybe you'll have a choice in the matter.

here's the pics. it's dark blue denim with a blue & white lining:





if you don't like it, it's okay, cuz i need a big purse for my knitting stuff...and the idea for the other one i'm gonna try to make is pretty cute...

all right, it's pouring now and i didn't bring my umbrella to the library. yikes.
i need to go buy a garbage can.

crazy

all right, it's official, i'm losing my mind.
i hate laundry.

what?

when i rented my apartment, i got a key to my apartment and a key to the downstairs basement type thing where the washer and dryer are located. (see previous post on june 30). for the past week, my w/d key has not worked. i have no idea why. i have tried every day for the past 4 days, because i certainly did not want to call my landlord about it.

today i finally called my landlord, and as i suspected, he acted like i was an idiot. he told me to 'jiggle the key' and 'try pushing the door in.' yeah, duh thanks. he also told me to knock on one of the doors of the people who live in the house and tell them to let me in.

yeah right.

so i went back downstairs to try yet again.

i decided to try my apartment key.
and it worked.

what the f?????

i swear i didn't use my apartment key before. i used the w/d key. but now the apartment key works.

i'm going CRAZY. losing my MIND.

so now, i guess i need to call my landlord AGAIN because if my apartment key works, that means that everyone in the stupid house can get in to my apartment.

anyway, i finally get in, and there are 4 laundry baskets scattered across the floor FILLED with clothes. i can't tell if they are clean or dirty. there's laundry in both the washer AND the dryer.
so what's the etiquette for sharing a washer/dryer with people? i wanted to take their stuff out and leave it so i could do my laundry, but got too scared.


also, to completely change the subject, i watched DANCING WITH THE STARS and it made me want to take dance classes again. (hey, it's only been 11 years). so i saw an ad in CONNECT SAVANNAH (similar to folio, but not nearly as good) for open dance classes. i'm driving out there today to see about classes. Ha!

well i was worried that i wouldn't see any fireworks for the fourth, but alas, i did go downtown to river street. they were nice, but unfortunately after the SPECTACULAR super bowl fireworks, i think i'm spoiled. so we were only there for about 10 minutes, then tadd & sari put on their own fireworks display. it was nice, and i was back home and in bed by midnight.

so it has been over a month since i've been here, and i have a little over a month before school starts. it looks like starting august 15th, i will be at school tuesday from 10-6, then wednesday and thursday from 9-9:30. that's with class and the job at honors, and a few breaks in between so i can prepare. then i'll be working at starbucks sunday, monday, friday, and saturday. it's going to be difficult, but i am really looking forward to it.

i'm going to take this last month to RELAX and have fun. jonathan, the nice fellow from work who covered for me when i showed up late, let me borrow a book. 'the big show in bololand,' about Hoover's American Relief Administration campaign in Soviet Russia in the early 20s. it looks like a dense read, but i'm going for it.

i'm also going to do some prepatory reading for school. see more of the sights in savannah. work on my research projects.

so i'll keep you all updated, as i'm sure you are interested.

DEATH

so, i was AN HOUR AND A HALF LATE TO WORK TODAY.

i just screwed up and wrote down the wrong shift.
so i definitely awoke at 9:45, when i was supposed to be at work at 8:45 to a message from jonathan saying i was supposed to be there.
i don't even know what time i got home.

and i was still drunk when i got to work.

jesus christ!
i've never done that before in MY WHOLE LIFE. am i 25, or 18?

except for one time, in DC, i announced to the bosses at my internship that i was going to georgetown that night, then didn't show up for work the next day (hello hangover), they called me, i tried to go in, but i got sick, so i had to go home. for the rest of my internship i had to work to dispel the rumor that i was an alcoholic.

but anyway, thank god jonathan was the shift on, he's the guy that goes to school in finland. he swore that he wasn't going to say anything, which is incredibly nice of him. lynne, the 46 year old that charges for refills and extra syrup, was supposed to be the shift but they switched shifts. so someone was looking out for me. i definitely could not see straight for the first 2 hours.

good lord.