at the top of my lungs, i'm giving it back

thank you to the other half for taking me with you instead of taking your dad and even though you threatened it, thank you for not leaving me there. boat.
thank you croatia for inventing the neck tie.
thank you turkey for your genuine fake watches.
thank you santorini for theopholis, the best tour guide ever, and for the blue doors and blue domes and blue sky and blue water.
thank you corfu for the only proof i was on the beach, even though the sunburn on the back of my legs hurt and looked awkward for a few days.
thank you venice for showing me a part of the world unlike anything i'd ever seen and seeing the beauty in stone walkways.
thank you to our forefathers.
thank you to whoever decided that independence day and fireworks went hand in hand.
thank you to the first person who stuck a toasted marshmellow and chocolate between two graham crackers.
thank you anderson's market for free sample saturdays.
thank you to those more important than i at velocity for entrusting me with a blackberry, even if i still can't figure out exactly how to work it properly.
thank you to my grandparents for welcoming me over every wednesday for dinner and laundry and company.
thank you emily for being a friend that will not judge me for getting piss drunk on free wine and not being afraid to dance and make the dance face.
thank you old st pat's for putting on the coolest block party i've ever been to and getting me sauced.
thank you ben folds for rocking my face off.
thank you for the smile i get when i hear my text message alert.
thank you for patience.
thank you for persistence.
thank you for hope.
thank you for possibilities.
thank you for happiness and excitement and having things to look forward to.

i love summer.

if you're on the shore, than you're sure not me-o

one week from today, i'll be on a cruise ship. leaving from italy. on my way to fucking croatia.

this is ridiculously awesome.

non cruise related, i've been thinking lately about the effort i put into certain relationships with people and whether or not it's worth it. like, do i feel that the same amount of effort is given back in trying to maintain some kind of contact with me that i put into it? is it that this is happening now as i'm getting older and people are drifting or is it that i'm just now starting to recognize it? i want to feel like people care about me and i want to feel like people think about me - when i exert some kind of effort and try to reach out to people, i'd like them to do the same or at least acknowledge that i'm trying... or something. i don't know. overthinking. as usual. not a big drama - just something i'm thinking about because i'm feeling old.

oh just remember the telephone, well it works in both ways - jason mraz

good night :)

i walk like this 'cause i can back it up

you see that blue messed up picture? that's why i need a new digital camera. that's supposed to be a cute picture of me and my mom. failure. i took my mom today to get our hair cut - she hasn't had a professional haircut in at least a decade. she got 10 inches cut off and donated it to locks of love. i'm so proud of her and i'm excited because it looks great :) you could see it if my camera wasn't a piece of shit but you know.

i've been buying way too many things for the cruise (and i'm going to end up buying a new camera too because i need one that won't turn my pictures all crazy face). i think i have 10 dresses i want to take, which is just silly. i guess i'm just going to start wearing dresses all the time to make those outfits worth my money. haha. i also bought the cutest shoes at payless yesterday - 2 pairs of heels i don't need. whatever. i've already worn both of them out and they were on sale; i couldn't resist.

melissa, ro, and i are going to see 'the hangover' tomorrow night and i'm so excited - it looks hilarious. tonight, melissa and i fast forwarded our way through "he's just not that into you" which we both have already seen. at one point during the movie, i asked why scarlett johanssen's character has a framed picture of herself when she was younger - like, it looks like her 4th grade school portrait. who has a framed picture of themselves in their apartment? just them alone, not with a sibling or friend or the easter bunny or anything... random. melissa declared that we had already talked about this when we went to see the movie in the theater. i had to explain that we did not see this movie together. she was living in DC when this came out in feb. "oh, right... maybe i just thought it and meant to say something to you about it." ha.

i'm pretty conflicted about that movie. i like the actors in it. but i flat out hated some of the story lines and ginnifer goodwin was just so painfully awkward at some points, i literally was flinching and it just hurt. and what kind of message is it to try and make the point that some people can be in long term relationships and not be married and still be just as committed to each other and more devoted than other couples who are married (i.e. ben affleck was clearly a better partner than bradley cooper) but then at the end (spoiler alert), have ben affleck propose? doesn't that defeat the purpose of the point you were trying to make? just because you aren't married doesn't mean "he's just not that into you". and the whole, oh, if he/she isn't sleeping with you, they're not into you. really? great message. plus, sleeping with someone doesn't mean they're into you - it means they're looking to hook up. they may be in you, literally, but that doesn't mean they're interested in you or in a relationship. whatever. and the whole bradley cooper/jennifer connolly/scar-jo storyline = fast forward-ville. lame. i do like that justin long though and love that he and ginnifer goodwin were both on "Ed" back in the day, when they were both super gawky and not starring in movies... oh! i saw this before i saw the movie and it made me laugh; too bad they didn't have this on the dvd:



i like "no one slides down the wall while crying". oh, also: "i love everything about you... i love that just because you were in boy scouts, you consider yourself a veteran. i love that sometimes you just smile at homeless people and you don't even know it." pretty funny. (side note - when did the word 'pretty' become an adverb? like, pretty funny doesn't mean attractive funny - it means kind of funny. i wonder who decided that would happen? hmmm.)

favorite grandparent moments for the week: my grandma went to the eye doctor and they dilated her eyes. she showed this to me and asked if it looked like she had been smoking pot. WHAT?! my grandma is an 82 year old southern baptist woman who doesn't drink and does not like watching any rated R movies because of the foul language - how does she even know what pot does to your eyes? oh my word.

my grandpa, meanwhile, while watching "nights in rodanthe" abruptly asked where diane lane's hometown was. when i said i didn't know, he said, "she's not from toledo, is she?" no, i don't think so, grandpa. i'm sure we would have heard about that sometime over the years. (p.s. it's nyc). apparently, he was at k-mart the other day buying a new mop and there was, and i quote, "a shapely woman", in front of him in line who turned and he realized she was older but in great shape and her face looked familiar, like someone that he should know who she was. she joked around with him about cleaning and he left thinking that he should know that lady. he sat down to watch "nights in rodanthe" and thought to himself, i bet it was diane lane! i love my family so much.

oh man, diane lane's wikipedia just informed me that she used to be married to the highlander! crazy. my mom used to love that ridiculousness. i think she actually bought a highlander vhs tape today at buyback.

you know what's a fun game? trying to remember girls you went to high school with when you've officially been out of high school for over 6 years. the cool kids like to go to bars and sit around, just trying to top each other by naming off the most random people they can think of. the best ones were the girls who didn't make it to senior year and just disappeared... that's a fun game. brings names out of the woodwork and makes you bust out the yearbook when you get home and literally rack your brain to try and recall anyone that even remotely looked familiar. good times. makes me wonder what those people are up to. since we're not facebook friends, i can't stalk that information down like i normally would. you know, using facebook what it's for - stalking.

time to stalk out my bed. we're in a serious relationship, me and my bed. we spend hours together and we've gotten pretty close. we don't talk much but it's ok - what we do doesn't require words. it's time to go spend some more quality time and (gasp) sleep together. scandalous.

you are the best thing...

This is why we're friends: Melissa calls me while she's at work and goes, "You know that song that ends with 'Na na na na na, na na na na, na na na na na na na na na na na na na?' That's Journey, right? What song is that?" Yes. That is Journey. And it's one of the only Journey songs I don't have on my iPod. (P.S. You can google "journey na na na na" and "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'" comes up. Hilarious).



I've been having successsful shopping trips lately - two swimsuits (where the tops and bottoms don't match, which means 4 separate pieces bought at different times); 2 dresses from goodwill for a total of $10 - a black sundress and a clingy purple dress, a gorgeous blue cocktail dress that makes me feel like a movie star that I found on clearance at Sears, black capri pants, jean bermuda shorts, a pretty green sweater that matches my green flip flops, a black tube top, a denim miniskirt, a cord miniskirt (all from Old Navy), and my mom got me a fantastic navy blue dress from Charlotte Russe with this great detail on the back. Good spring and summer pieces and they'll be good for the cruise :)

"Y2K? Why not 2 K?" Oh, Felicity, bringing the Y2K jokes.

I love the realization that it's a small world after all. I love when I see the connections to friends of friends and how it all links together - oh, so this person used to date that girl that my friend used to have a crush on and talk about all the time even though I never met her and her roommate was that girl that no one liked... How it all connects.

Oh, man, I love this song - Ray LaMontagne's voice and the horns are awesome:



Baby
It’s been a long day, baby.
Things ain’t going my way
you know I need you here
here by my side
all of the time

And Baby, the way you move me its crazy.
it’s like, you see right through me, you make it easier,
You please me and you don’t even have to try.

oh because,
you are the best thing
you are the best thing
you are the best thing
ever happened to me

It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star

If I lived in New York, I could totally have this job: https://jobhuntweb.viacom.com/jobhunt/main/displayjob1.asp

MTV Series Production Department

We are currently seeking a highly motivated and skilled Executive Assistant to coordinate administrative tasks as well as production-related and self directed projects. This person will be responsible for communicating across multiple departments and production units, working closely with the heads of legal, finance, marketing, sales, online and programming groups.

Specific tasks and responsibilities include the following:

• Schedule internal and external meetings
• Work extensively on Outlook to maintain calendar, contacts & call sheets
• Prepare Travel & Expense reports
• Handle all business related travel arrangements
• Coordinate internal channel meetings/events
• Answer, screen and direct phone calls
• Administrative errands
• Maintain Department Contact Lists
• Prepare and receive shipments & courier packages
• Develop and maintain organizational systems
• Liaise with other Executive and Departmental Assistants
• Production tasks within the department, which include but aren’t limited to: dubbing DVD and Beta tape materials, routing and tracking budgets and overage memos for signatures, generating Excel grids as directed, conducting production-related research, screening footage as directed.

If I lived in Los Angeles, I'd want to follow around and just observe and work with the following amazing, strong, smart, creative women:

-Pamela Fryman
-Mindy Kaling
-Jenn Cellotta
-Tina Fey

Seriously, I just want to sit in and see them work. Pamela Fryman has directed nearly every episode of "How I Met Your Mother", which I think is one of the best shows on TV. Hands down. Mindy Kaling and Jenn Celotta both work on "The Office" and are hilarious writers, as well as producers and actors or directors. Tina Fey is the showrunner of "30 Rock". I just think that these women are making great things happen on TV and I'd love to somehow be a part of it. Even if it meant just wandering around behind them, staying out of the way and just soaking it all in, or making copies or grabbing coffee or taking notes ... Anything. It just fascinates me.

And because that's not realistic in any way, I'd at least go do fun things like constantly go and crack up at the UCB Theatre and see amazing shows like The Hills: A Staged Reading at the UCB Theatre. "You've seen Shakespeare. You've heard Mozart. Now, experience the work of the greatest geniuses of OUR time. "The Hills: A Staged Reading". It's Heidi vs. Lauren and it's really really important." Brilliant, I'd also enjoy Facebook, where "Each week 2 audience members are randomly plucked from the audience to get their FACEBOOK page examined and then turned into long form improvised comedy scenes based entirely on their profile, pictures, comments and status" and ... just about every other show they do.

When I was living in Chicago, I never got to experience some cool local things like the Brew and View at the Vic. If I were still there this weekend, I'd probably ride the el into the loop with a book, my ipod, and a ton of sunscreen, and find a good spot on the grass in grant park or millenium park and read and people watch in the sunshine. I miss Chicago. If I were in Chicago June 13th, I'd go see Phoenix at Park West.

If I were in Italy and Croatia and Turkey and Greece at the end of June...

Oh, wait. i AM going to be in Italy, Croatia, Turkey, and Greece at the end of June! Melissa and I are going on a cruise and as unbelievable as it is, we will be laying on the beach in Santorini and walking the streets of Venice in Piazza san Marco and exploring freaking Croatia and Turkey! WHAT?! I can't freaking believe it. Check out some of the sights we'll be seeing:






so, that's surreal. and as much as i live in daydreams and as much as i sometimes wish that I could be anywhere but where I am, life is good. and the best is yet to come... :)

twentyfour

I only hope to look so beautiful on my wedding day and to find a person to love so deeply and that loves me so much too - I love my friends and I'm glad that I got to be a part of their special day :)



So, I had my palm read. The "psychic" who read my palm informed me that she thinks that someone (a close friend of mine I've known for a long time) is jealous of me and might have put some kind of curse on me - that's why things aren't working out for me in my life like they should. "You're supposed to get married but you can't find and keep a relationship; you're supposed to do well with money but you're scraping by... something is causing this to happen." Of course, if I had gone to her shop and paid money for her to read some candles, she could give me names and more details. Her business card cracked me up - In addition to telling the past, present, and the future, as well as reuniting loved ones, Jaycee promises the following [spelling errors included]:
--Gives advice on love, marriage, Law suites,& business
--Overcome emergency situations
--Removes all negativity
--Spiritual Healing of the Body, Mind, & Soul
(in fine print) One visit will change your life & upcoming decision

oh, by the way, she told me all of this awesome uplifting news on my birthday. yet she wasn't psychic enough to know that it was my birthday. soooo.... you know. that was a great birthday gift.

washington d.c. was pretty awesome. got to drink and dance and do some touristy sightseeing, which is exactly what i wanted to do so thumbs up to that.

i am 24 years old. twentyfour. that's old. almost 25. i guess life is changing...

all you need is love.

when I first discovered youtube, I didn’t work for 5 days.

I did my first "ABC's of youtube" list back in August... here's part II:

A: American Idol

Norman Gentle/Nick Mitchell - And I'm Telling You

One of the most brilliant and hilarious things I've ever seen on this show that usually takes itself way too freaking seriously. Plus, I love when he passes Neil Patrick Harris in the crowd and points and says, "Doogie!" Way to go, Norman/Nick.



B: Bo Burnham

Sarah introduced me to this guy a few months ago and then I watched his Comedy Central special - oh man. FILTHY but hilarious. He's pretty clever actually but also very wrong... Some people find it offensive so here's your warning.

what's a pirate minus the ship? just a creative homeless guy...



C: Can I Have Yo Number?

I think every single person on the internet has seen this but my sister's picked up on it recently and I laughed all over again. I think a part of the reason why I laughed so hard is that I literally have met people like this before - when I worked at the info desk, I had a few interesting characters all up on the desk, trying to give me some odd compliments. ("Are you an athlete? You look athletic.")

You think a lot of men can't handle the regalness of an up-do... Own that ponytail! Work that up-do!



D: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

NPH. Love.



E: Elvis Costello - "Beautiful" (Christina Aguilera cover)

Apparently from the 'House' soundtrack. I love random cover songs.


F: Flight of the Conchords - "You Don't Have to be a Prostitute"

I'm going to see them live in Detroit next week with Rosanna and I could not be more ridiculously excited! Seriously. 4th row! Giggling kind of excited. For real. The beauty of this song:

You can put away your tool, Jermaine.
You don't have to be, a prostitute.
No no no no no
You can say no, to being a man ho. A male gigolo.
You don't have to be, a prostitute.
No no no no no
You can say no to being a night looker, boy hooker, rent boy, bro ho.



G: Girl Talk

Girl Talk is a DJ who does these amazing mash-ups. Someone made a mash-up music video to one of his tracks and it's pretty cool:



H: How I Met Your Mother

Seriously, one of the best shows on TV. I love it, i love it, i love it. More love for NPH. Here, enjoy Barney Stinson being amazing with a high five montage:



I: Ira Glass

I enjoy Ira Glass, host of "This American Life". I listen to the podcast every week. Doesn't he have a great voice? Fantastic. Ira talking about storytelling:



J: John Mayer and Paul Simon - "Boy in a Bubble"

Two of my favorite musicians together - I downloaded the songs from this special that aired a few years ago and I love listening to this and "Late in the Evening".



K: Kathy Griffin - She'll Cut a Bitch

I'm watching this on Bravo right now. I like that she makes fun of herself just as much as she makes fun of anybody else and she talks to the audience like you'd talk to your friends about things, just telling these stories. It's great. Love her specials... Here's part 1 of 5:



L: Like a Boss - The Lonely Island

Oh, man. Where do they come up with these things?



M: Michael Urie

I became friends/started following/whatever the terminology is Michael Urie on Twitter today. Michael Urie plays Marc on "Ugly Betty" and he cracks me up. I did a quick youtube search and found this amazing video of him and Becki Newton singing 80s Theme Songs at a Broadway event in the fall... That description should speak for itself about how fabulous this is:



N: Nick Swardson

Saw this guy do stand up last year with Demetri Martin and Zack Galifianakis, with Will Ferrell hosting for the "Funny or Die" tour. Awesome. First saw Nick Swardson on Comedy Central years ago and it's one of the best specials I've ever seen.



O: Omigod You Guys! - Legally Blonde: The Musical

Um, I need to see this on stage. For serious.



P: Phoenix

I saw them on SNL and I like them. Here's a video for their song "Lisztomania" that someone made, with footage from some of my favorite 80s movies (Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Footloose, etc...)



Q: Quantam of Solace / Alicia Keys / Jack White

I was at Family Video today and saw a part of the music video for this song from the latest James Bond movie - Alicia Keys and Jack White from The White Stripes. It's a very weird combination. Don't know how I feel about it.



R: Ryan Started the Fire

A tribute to The Office:



S: Skins

Thanks to Netflix, I've been obsessed with the BBC show 'Skins'. It features the kid from "About a Boy" and the main guy from "Slumdog Millionaire"... it's a teen soap opera except filthy and hilarious and very good. I don't get all of it - again, the British slang throws me off occasionally - but I dig it. I spent a long time trying to find a good clip that I could embed - all the cool ones I found are 'embedding disabled by request'... here's a trailer for the show:



T: Taylor Swift's video blogs

When "Teardrops on my Guitar" came out, I wanted to slap her in the mouth because that's a ridiculous song (honestly, I can't stand it) but I've enjoyed all of her songs since and she seems like a sweet girl and I like her video blogs. Plus, this particular one is set to the music of an AWESOME kings of leon song.



Here's a playlist of all of her video blogs --
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=6616CF0632226F8B

All right, I'm copping out and skipping U-Z. Perhaps I'll come back and find some good ones for the remainder of the alphabet ... but for now, I'm taking a pause.

Have a good weekend :)

nikka costa - someone for everyone

Where is my someone
Who'll always understand
The person who'll give everything
Just to take my hand
What if I never feel it
What if I never know
And what if it just gets easier
To spend this life alone

Rollin' with the punches
Hope my black and blue don't show
Put the bright in my eyes
So no one ever knows
How I feel on rainy days
Or what I'd do to have always
My hopes are almost suffocating
But inside I know there's...

Someone for everyone ooh
Someone for everyone

There's got to be more
Than just getting thru the day
But I don't want to settle
Just to numb the pain away
I'm holdin' out for everything
The obvious and in betweens
And some say pride lets heartache in
But inside I just know there's

...Someone for everyone.

she's got a little bit of something, god it's better than nothing

someone on tv just said "it's gonna take a bite out of crime". they were dead serious.

i rocked trivial pursuit pop culture edition tonight. i even got a sports question about the red sox. i knew that ted w. and carl y. and nomar were all red sox players - thanks fever pitch!

god, this is hot:



seriously. what is up JT? call me. i mean, if jessica biel is busy sometime... you know, i'm around.

why are jake gyllenhall, forrest whittacker, ron howard, and samuel l. jackson in the music video for "blame it on the alcohol"? what?! i mean, not gonna lie - love the song. it's ridic but it's the jam. i guess jamie foxx has connections. (and p.s. VH1 bleeps out "feeling on your butt?" ha.)

so, it's after 3 a.m. and i've been up since 8 a.m. i worked all day, planned out katie's bachelorette party with ro, had a game night with kurt, craig, and nickie and now i'm back home... awake... and of course i have to wake up tomorrow and drive harley all the way up to grand valley. of course. it's probably all the sugar - i drank a cherry coke and ate lots of chocolate around 10/11 tonight and now i'm awake. my own fault.

i think i need to force myself into sleep so i don't pass out while driving tomorrow. good night friends.