Friday, April 30, 2004

Last Stop: Summer Session!

I’m freaking out. Today was the last day of classes and suddenly I am in a panic. Suddenly my life just hit me in the side of the head. I came to the realization that my college career is almost over. I have the summer session left and that is it. THAT IS IT! The end of my life here is finally in sight. Holy shit, I am flipping out. Yes, I realized a long time ago that I am almost finished; however I think it all hit me today. This is the last spring time I will ever be in Centre County. I will visit but this is the last time I will actually live in this town (hopefully).

Over these next two weeks I will be saying goodbye to a good portion of the friends that I have accumulated over the years. Some I will stay in contact with, some I won’t, but not for lack of trying. These friends are heading out to the real world. Some to get jobs, some to live off mom and dad for a while, some to get married and start families, (actually, a friend asked me last night to be in her wedding when the time comes. I just about cried. I just love her and her boyfriend. They are the best couple. I am such a girl sometimes!) and a lot of my friends are heading into uncertainty. I know at this point I am one of them. I have options but still a lot of uncertainty. And I still have this summer yet! Yeah, so I am freaking. GAH! God, I need to relax. Where the hell did I put that vodka?

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Gettin' Crazy... In That Good Fun Way

Wow, what a weekend! I had an amazing time this weekend. Friday night we went to the Phryst then to the Brewery, where craziness ensued. I got pleasantly intoxicated, my friend attached a tampon to his glasses (don’t ask), I found Elisha’s missing wallet, then ate a really kick ass cheesesteak from Ernie’s. SO GOOD! All in all a very rocken’ night.

Then Saturday night was SOUL NITE! Always a blast. I came, I saw, I danced! I have to get really drunk to dance and I was REALLY drunk! (Although, not as drunk as last Thursday where I don’t remember most of the night, but drunk enough where I don’t remember a good portion of the night. J) But yeah I had a blast. Follow this link to see Pictures of me and others living it up.

Sunday rolled around and I slept most of the day. Mmmmm… hangover. I then went to see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with my friend, Danielle (my movie buddy!), from work. After I got home I settled down to work on my two papers. I was talking to B. and I jokingly suggested that he visit since he had Monday off. And guess what? He did! It was great. We had such a good time; he bought me Craisins, which are some of my favorite things in the world, caramel Hershey kisses, which are also quite yummy, and cooked my roomie and I dinner. It was fantastic. Ugh… this is soooo complicated. But, I’m figuring it out.

So yeah, overall it was a very excellent weekend. I love my friends. Big thanks to J-Leh (you need to visit more!!), Elisha, Sarah K., and Brian for an amazing time!

Saturday, April 24, 2004

Did you know PSU's former colors were Black and Pink? Crazy...

It’s Blue and White weekend here at PSU. And you know what that means… alums, parents, insanity at work (You would not believe the shit people buy) and, of course, drunken debauchery. Oh Yeah…

My best bud J-Leh is up for the weekend so it’s bound to be a good time. Last night was great and the fun will continue tonight. We have a tendency to go a little crazy so I should have a few good stories for later.

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Making Decisions One Day at a Time

Ok, so it was an insane weekend and now I am more confused then ever. Let me start from the beginning. As previously mentioned, I was going down to Maryland this weekend to basically say my last good-bye to Brian and collect the rest of my stuff. I held no ill will towards him; I wasn’t angry at all, just sad. This was the end. Well, at least that was the plan.

I left Friday afternoon and got in early evening. That night Brian and I were quiet and calm with each other. We both did not know how to react around the other. I had been since January since I have seen him and we have only talked on the phone perhaps a dozen times with maybe four of those being over ten minutes long. So it was odd seeing him and hearing his voice. Yet, it was somehow nice and a little comforting. I had missed him.

Before we settled in for bed, me on the couch, he asked me if I needed anything. I said a hug and started to cry. Her came over and held me for the longest time and just let me cry. The two of us then just talked for the next hour or so. Most of the conversation revolved around the sadness of the end and our work at planning our lives without each other. He told me that I looked older than he remembered. I told him it had been a rough few months and that will do that too you. We eventually said good night and agreed to talk more the next day after he got home from work.

The next day I went out shopping while he was at work and got to have lunch with a friend who now lives and works in the DC area. That was nice but I was dreading what the afternoon would bring after Brian returned home.

After Brian got home we continued our talk. I had him read my paper that I wrote about him as part of my thesis and he loved it. This started me crying once again. He told me that it was very insightful and captured the beauty of our relationship and also the problems. So we held on to one another and talked about what had gone wrong in our relationship. Much of the blame can be placed on the long distance from each other as well as the trouble with his job. Even though we lived together it felt like sometimes we never saw one another. We just hadn’t tried hard enough.

I left the room briefly and when I returned he took my hand and pulled me towards him and into a hug. He then told me that I was to continue to look for jobs but if I couldn’t find a job or if I found one in the DC area that I had a place to stay come August when I graduate and my lease runs out. He told me that we could try US again if I wanted to.

You seriously could have knocked me over with a feather. I was speechless and if you know me you know that this is a big deal. I was flabbergasted. I told him that I would have to think about it and that he would have to think about it. This was a big deal. I had come down to say goodbye. I was not expecting this at all.

Later after we had talked some more, I found out that he hadn’t either. He, like I had, had started to move on and was enjoying being single. Then he saw me again. The time apart had done us both some good. We both had done some growing. He reiterated the fact that I looked older but also said that I seemed older as well. I sensed a change in him as well. He had become more open minded and seemed more flexible. Case in point: I asked him well this was all contingent on my not getting a job or getting one in MD/DC, what happens if I get a job in Chicago or Seattle or something. He thought about it then told me to give him until October then he would move to wherever I was. This is a huge step for him.

The rest of the weekend went by quickly and Sunday evening I left, after a wonderful day with him Sunday. We went on a picnic and he bought me a Strawberry Julies (one of my favorite things in the world).

So where does this leave me/us? Well, we decided to continue things one day at a time. I am really busy and so is he so we are staying single. We will take it slow and see what happens. Quite honestly I have a lot to think about. Part of me is saying “RUN! Run like the wind as far and as fast as you can!!” The other part of me is saying, “Give it a try. What is there to lose?”

My friends are divided on the subject. Some think it’s bad, that I should run like hell (Some have yelled at me. However, I know that they know where I am coming from. They are in similar boy situations. They will understand.). Others think it’s romantic and that I should go for it. My mom told me that in her mind it is better to try something and end up with a broken heart then to live with the regret of wondering “what if.” I tend to agree with my mom.

I’m going to take this one day at a time. We decided to make a decision in August. Then if we decide to do this we will look for an apartment together. So, do I know what my decision will be? No. I have a few months to think about it. For now, I’m just going to continue along and attempt to graduate. Things will all end up as they should.

Sunday, April 18, 2004

Confused...

What am I doing?

What am I thinking?

I’m more confused then ever.

More later, when I don’t have 2 papers and 1 presentation due in the next two days. It will also give me time to collect my thoughts and make heads or tails of what just happened.

Thursday, April 15, 2004

Why Do I Do This to Myself?

So I am going to Maryland this weekend. My friends have been trying to talk me out of it. And trust me I am not looking forward to it.

I am going down to get the last of my stuff from his/our place. And to say good-bye. To Brian and our cats. We have two cats together and it will be hard to say good-bye to them. I know I will talk to Brian again but I may possibly never see my Ranger or Daxy again. God, that really makes me want to cry (yes I know, crazy cat lady). I will also get to see my Sam which I am looking forward to. This is how I know that I will talk/see Brian again, he still has Sam and I have to retrieve him at some point when I get settled.

So, this is truly it. The end. I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe it is really over. I think I am in denial. It hasn’t really hit me yet. I know when it will hit me… it will hit me when I am driving home on Sunday. So if you see an attractive girl sitting in a car on the side of 322 crying, don’t worry it is only me.

I’ll let you know how it goes. Wish me luck.

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

I've had 1000 hits!!!! Wooo hoooo!!!!

Spontaneity or Just Insanity…

Ahh, the joy of being spontaneous. I went a little crazy last night and did something I wouldn't normally do. I thought I was being fun and spontaneous; my friends and roomie now think I am certifiable. However, I went out on a limb and took a risk. It may not have worked out the way that I (or the other person involved) wanted it to but hey at least we took a chance. And I don't regret a minute of it. I do now however have another awesome story to tell about the crazy shit I did in college. ;-)

Sunday, April 11, 2004

I’m a Card Shark… well at least at 4am…

What a night! It started out innocent enough, I went over to Elisha’s house for dinner (which was excellent btw) and the drinking began. Not too much on my part (Elisha is another story) and then we proceeded to go a play that turned out to be well worth the effort to go. Then after going back to her house and attempting to make some Rice Crispy Squares, attempting is the key word here, there was more drinking and the decision was made to go to the Phyrst. I had never been there and with it being a holiday the place was dead, which is great because I hate crowded bars. Elisha and I drank two pitchers of Guinness and I got coned into playing pool with some crazy guy. Well the drunkenness continued and I stole a guy’s hat, which I looked much hotter in then he did. We moved the party back to Elisha’s after the bar closed and preceded to drink more.

Then an interesting thing occurred. The guy whipped out a pack of cards and we proceeded to play poker which slowly turned strip poker. I was drunk enough to go with it and was prepared to get naked and a funny thing occurred… I was good! I didn’t lose one article of clothing, Elisha didn’t lose much either, but the guy, well… ;-) He lost everything! So there he was sitting fully naked at Elisha’s kitchen table, annoyed that he lost while I gloated that I was fully dressed. Later the guy walked me home at 5:30 am. It was a long night.

So, the moral of the story is don’t play strip poker with me at 4 am… you just might lose your pants!

Tuesday, April 06, 2004

And there were Cows...

So I went to a Redneck wedding this weekend. Actually, my sister saw that I had that up in my away message, she told my mom and my mom got a little pissed. Sorry Mom. Can I call it a hick wedding instead? There were people there with chewing tobacco. Even women.

It was interesting. The person getting married is my “cousin” Jessica. When my mom got re-married I gained all of these Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Nieces and Nephews (as I mentioned before). Well most of them don’t know me and I don’t know them. I’m my mom’s invisible daughter since I don’t get to go to visit that often.

The wedding itself was nice. It was in the middle of nowhere and there were cow fields all around. Then the reception was in the local fire hall (surprise surprise). The food was good and the band was alright and most importantly the Beer was flowing.

So I guess overall I had a good, yet amusing, time. I was kinda a novelty; which was funny. I was the big city girl. Again with my amusement.

Monday, April 05, 2004

This Feminist tries to get into Loving Men

After dominating my life for the past few weeks my Women’s Studies senior thesis is done! Thank God. However it is kinda shit. Well the research part is. My paper was entitled Loving Men: A Look at Second and Third Wave Female Feminist Views of Relationships with Men. Oh the excitement. It was originally due last Tuesday but because of the shitty week I was having and the fall out I had with Brian I was not ready to write about feminists and men. If I tried it would have turned out very, very bitter. I talked to my professor and she gave me an extension till Friday. However, it didn’t get done then either. So I stayed up all night last night and finished it and turned it in today.

Actually, I did find doing the paper therapeutic. In doing all of this research it brought me to the conclusion that I am not alone in my feelings and confusions about feminism and men. I read about all the other feminists who were having trouble striking a balance between their feminism and their heterosexuality. It has been hard to balance my feminist beliefs with my desire for a male partner. I understand how the patriarchy works and sometimes I feel I am bowing to it when I craw into bed with a person with a penis.
Marilyn Frye (a feminist scholar) also gives this very telling observation, “feminism, which is thoroughly anti-patriarchal, is not compatible with female heterosexuality, which is thoroughly patriarchal.” This is very true. Feminism is based on female camaraderie and sometimes friends and the companionship of other women is all you need. Other times though, it is not quite enough. Sometimes you just want to snuggle with something male.

Anyway, back to my project. The first part (of Chapter three) was all research but I wanted to end it with something creative. I am also an English major remember. So I decided to do something in the vain of a lot of the readings I was doing. A lot of current writings are personal stories from women about their lives and their loves. So I wrote a personal narrative about my struggle to balance my feminism with my love of a man. It actually turned out fairly well in my opinion. It gave me a chance to reflect and to cry (not really the best thing when your trying to write a paper at 4am) and to being the healing process. I am kinda proud of it so if you want to read it, just ask.

Ok this turned out very long and rambling. Sorry, about the feminist digression but that has been all that I have been thinking about lately. It’s weird to think that this is the last Women’s Studies paper I will ever write. But that is a thought for another day and another post.

Thursday, April 01, 2004

More Random Thoughts…

• Happy April Fools Day Everyone!

• Conversation with guy in my English 454 class:
Me: I was thinking of calling my ex and play an April fools day joke on him.

Guy: What?

Me: I was going to call him and tell him I was pregnant.

Guy: (eyes lighting up) Oh my God! That is so horrible. Yet, so great!! Can I be there when you call? Can you put it on speaker phone??

• I still haven’t heard about the job that I went to interview for in Philly. I did run into one of the girls that I interviewed with and she said that she heard and she got the job. Right now I’m in the maybe no news in good news camp. If they didn’t want me at all they would have told me. Right? Right??

• Jewish Reggae is f**king awesome. All of you who didn’t go really missed out.

• I’m going to a redneck wedding this weekend. Yee Haw. I don’t even know the bride or the groom. When my mom remarried I got all this nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts and cousins that I don’t know. Most I have never even met. With the mood I’m in maybe going to a wedding is not such a good idea.

• Men make me cranky

• I need something regular in my life other then my period….

• My thesis is titled Loving Men: A Look at Second and Third Wave Female Feminist Views of Relationships with Men. Yes, I see the irony as well...

• Speaking of my thesis maybe I should be writing it instead of typing this… hmmmm… maybe a good plan seeing as how I got an extension till tomorrow.