Tight Pants

It may not always get from the pages of Vogue to my body but, I love fashion. I read no fewer than 10 fashion magazines a month and even rip out the "What's In" page from Bazaar every month to put on my closet door. I love to read US Weekly more to see what the stars are wearing than what they're doing. (Except for Brad Pitt-I like to what he's doing. Hooottttt!) Fashion photography takes my breath away and my favorite part of America's Next Top Model is at the end of the show when we get to see their pics.

Before I get into what I really want to talk about today, here are a few of my basic fashion rules:

1. Anything can be worn if worn with confidence (mismatched patterns, colors that don't normally go together, etc.)
2. Mismatched colors go together better than mismatched fabrics. (Example: a wool sweater and jersey knit skirt would look horrible and weird.)
3. Black rules. Black is always the new black.

So here is my problem. Leggings.



I know a lot of people have been cringing as these have come back into style but, personally, I think they look good on some people. (SOME!) Lindsay Lohan, for example, can pretty much wear anything and has been rocking the leggings lately. I even saw a girl in "real life" wearing a pair under a knee-length jean skirt that looked very good. And what could be cuter than making the transition from summer to fall by wearing a short jean skirt with leggings underneath?

So far though I have not been delusional enough to try this new fad. I'm almost certain it would look horrible and Anna Wintour would take away my subscription for Crimes Against Fashion. I'm so tempted but need to remind myself that just because Lindsay Lohan looks good in leggings, I most certainly will not.

Has anyone tried the leggings look outside of Hollywood? Has it worked? What are your thoughts? Any other fashion hottness you're totally loving or hating right now?

I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor

So is anyone else ready to start taking dance lessons after watching So You Think You Can Dance?!?! I don't know why this show is considered a guilty pleasure, it's so good! I don't even care who wins or loses, I just like to see the different dance styles.

I took dance for like, 9 years but once I had to quit in 9th grade, I definitely lost all grace and dance skill. I'd love to take it again but I don't want to have to commute to a dance class and anything nearby has the potential for people I know to be in it. I begged my mom to let me do cottilion because I wanted to do ballroom dancing but that never happened. I did do swing dancing ONCE but I didn't really like it and the DJ dragged me onto the dance floor and forced me to dance with him so then I REALLY didn't like it. He was old and sweaty and I was 16!

Back to the show though, did anyone else watch? Here are my thoughts (and I'm using the website becaues NO, I do not know everyone's names):

1. Ashlee and Ben danced to "Caught Up" in the hip hop style- I liked this. How can hip hop dancing go wrong? It's entertaining as a rule.

2. Heidi and Ryan danced to "Rumba del Solar" with cuban rumba- Holy hell this was amazing! This almost had me out the door on my way to dance class. So awesome.

3. Ivan and Allison danced to "Libertango" in the argentine tango style- Whoa! This one was amazing, too. The dance looked very tough because of all of the footwork but they did a good job. The outfits rocked, too.

4. Dmitry and Aleksandra danced to "If I Were A Painting" with the waltz- Even if they are new partners, their names go together perfectly. This dance sucked. The song sucked, the choreography was BORING, and it made me feel bad for them.

5. Donyelle and Benji with "Put The Needle On It" in pop jazz- I thought this one would be boring and not exciting but they did a good job. It's what I imagined that Britney/Justin dance-off to have been like back in the day. This routine was the West Side Story of Two Double Oh Six. Jazz Hands!

6. Musa and Natalie to "Zoot Suit Riot" cursed with the Quick Step- Bust on this one, guys. Horrible dance to an even worse song. I think with a better song it could have been better.

7. Jessica and Jaymz to "Let Go" in the contemporary style- Hit or miss I would guess but I think they hit it. Very entertaining and doesn't hurt that they used a Garden State song.

8. Martha and Travis to "Just Fine" doing hip hop- Dude, booty shorts. And how did she do hip hop in those heels!? The Timberlands were ridiculous, I hate those shoes.

OK, Thanks for letting me geek out here.

The Authority Song

One of my minor pet peeves is when I am not used to my full advantage. (Get your minds out of the gutter, please.) There are several subjects I consider myself to be the authority on or, at least, more knowledgeable than most. It's not a cocky, self-righteous thing but only that in some situations, I know I know more than the other people.

Last year, a lady in my office had a daughter who was going through the whole college process of visiting them, applying, taking AP tests, etc. I overheard countless conversations between her and the other people in my office but not once did anyone think to ask the person here who most recently graduated from college. And not only had I recently graduated from college but I majored in two extremely different fields and did an extra year at a large university. AP Tests? I took 5, I think. How could I not be asked about these things? I'm not saying this in a bragging way but only that my experience was varied and at that moment, I could have served as the authority this woman needed on college.

There are several TV shows I should always be consulted on: Friends, Alias, Gilmore Girls, The O.C., My So-Called Life, and Dawson's Creek. If I don't know the answer then your next step should be the internet.

Music. I get outwardly annoyed when someone nearby is discussing music and does not ask for my input. "Who wrote that song that goes bum bum daaaa?" And then they all stand there and have no idea and I'm sitting there, "Ask me, idiots. I know!" Now, obviously I do not know everything and would never claim to but, in a lot of cases (especially when at work), I know I know more than they do and yet they still don't ask me.

Am I alone in feeling this way? Maybe I'm better at using my resources than the other people in my office;) It's like they all stand around asking the same question but never realizing the correct person to ask. If I had a question about the violin, Dr. Quinn or Tropico, I would ask Ali. If I had a question about dam removal, Texas, or DC areas, I would ask Serena. Steven would be my go-to man for Harry Potter, music things I don't know, and Thundercats. Anna could answer any and all questions concerning cooking, Conor Oberst, and The Triangle. Vanessa's got me covered with monkeys, Richmond bouncers, and Edenpark.

So, in the future, be sure to use me as a resource when appropriate. I wish I could tell this to my officemates.

These Wooden Ideas

Today's post topics come by recommendation which, by the way, I will always take.

1. How today's world is meant for couples.

It's true. If I had a husband I would be living with twice the income and a tax breaks. Also, only one of us would have to have insurance and it would be much easier to cook meals for two than one which was always a problem in my past places. Also, weekends would potentially be easier bc 1) we'd always have a date and 2) we would have that extra money!

2. Lack of computers.

My laptop died. I am distraught. I'm taking it to hopefully get fixed today.

3. Groan up decisions.

One time I called my friend a real Grown Up because he was makin big decisions about buying large things but I accidently spelled it G-R-O-A-N. I figured it worked so I left it like that. Decisions involving any of the following suck:

a. buying property
b. insurance
c. 401K/investing/non-regular savings accounts

4. Genital warts.

NO, I do not have genital warts. I saw that an ex-friend of mine from a previous job has been going out in Fairfax recently. I told Steven about it and he jokingly asked if I wanted to make amends. I said, "Ew, no. she's a whore and thought she had genital warts one summer." She sucks. I never want to be her friend.

5. Favorite childhood experiences.

My brother called and joked that he was going to Kutztown, PA this weekend. I was instantly jealous but he had been joking. See, every summer for as long as I could remember, my entire family (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) went to the Kutztown Festival in PA. It was always so much fun! Lots of Amish and Dutch things, and the "silversmith" where I would buy rings, funnel cakes (until I stopped eating them because one year I got funnel cake mix for a present and ate so many I barfed), oysters (I never ate those, either), the big chair, buggies to take pictures with, bluegrass bands (that I didn't appreciate then but would now), sassafras beer (?), tons of quilts (blah), the one-room school house musuem, etc. It was always so much fun and I miss that part of the summer.

The Sporting Life

Soccer? What soccer?

Who cares about soccer when WIMBLEDON is starting!? The four tennis Grand Slams of the year are each like mini Christmases for me.

US Open: My favorite of the Grand Slams and the most fun to watch. Hard hitting tennis, awesome fans, and colorful outfits. I WILL go to this ASAP. I always started my fall semesters off behind because I spent the first two weeks of them watching tennis 24/7. My freshman year, my roommate pretty much thought I was insance because I would sit there for hours on end watching the US Open matches. The following years, she had gotten a little more used to it but I think she was still a little freaked out by my obsession.

Wimbledon: As a former Pete Sampras mega-fan, how could I not love this tournament? It's proper with an all-white (clothing!) rule, yet fast tennis and the trademark grass that gets so worn by the end of the two weeks. And I love the traditions of bowing to the royalty in their box and of course, strawberries and cream which is made into a story every year for someone like Bud Collins to cover. One year, when I was younger, I convinced my mom to get HBO for the month so I could watch every match.

Australian Open: I like this one bc it's another hard-hitting tournament and of course, the accents are fun. It's always so bright though and their constant reminders of the heat make it a little less fun to watch than the US Open which is it's closest counterpart. This one always has a lot of upsets because it's the first Slam of the year and of course it's where Monica Seles (another favorite) won after coming back from being stabbed.

French Open: My least favorite open but that's like picking a least favorite type of pizza-they're all good. I love to watch the players slide on the clay but the rallies can get way too long. Plus, Pete Sampras always made me nervous when he played there.

My obsession for tennis weakened a little bit once I started working a lot and didn't have the time to watch all of the matches and keep up with Tennis Magazine and online. I can no longer name every player in the Top 10 along with their sponsors and coaches names, but my freakish love for the game never died.

I'm sad to hear that Andre Agassi is retiring and I can only hope he makes an awesome run all the way to winning the US Open! Other male players I like are Roger Federer (he's too good though!), Marat Safin, Mark Philippoussis (serious crush on him at one point), Andy Roddick (needs to get his game back, though), James Blake (he can make me nervous when he plays, too), and David Nalbandian. Previous players I was all about were Pete Sampras (of course!), Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and Goran Ivanisovic (mmmmhmmmm!).

On the womens side I like Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva (stupid serve), Martina Hingis (I hated her when she dominated though), Nicole Vaidosova, and usually anyone ekse from Russia. I can't stand Serena Williams or Justin Henin-Hardenne. Previous players I loved include Monica Seles (I MET HER!!!!!), Steffi Graf, Sylvia Talala (sp?), Mary Pierce and Lindsay Davenport (not playing Wimbeldon, I met her, too!).

I'm not making any predictions for the tourney just yet. I need to get a day or so of watching in first.


XO,
SVR

Conversation

I watched Pride & Prejudice earlier today, the one with Keira Knightley and the perfect Mr. Darcy. I loved it, of course. So many moments of conversation that goes misunderstood and people holding back and then messes coming from it all. It's like in TV shows when you're screaming at the screen, "JUST TELL HIM HE'S YOUR COUSIN AND IT WILL ALL WORK OUT!" You know what I'm talking about, the boyfriend see's his girlfriend in a restaurant with a guy, they hug goodbye and then the boyfriend breaks up with the girl because she is obviously cheating on him. And in books, too. How many book plots revolve around two people who obviously like each but take 300 pages to finally realize it? So often it's one character who assumes the other is dating the person he/she is seen with when really, it's the person's coworker or sibling in from out of town. And so, to save face and not expose real emotions, the mistaken character ends up confusing the one who is actually unattached and smitten for the other and it's this crazy snowball effect that just gets worse and worse. Thank goodness TV, Movies, and Books usually have those happy endings that we all hope and cheer for.

Ok, so with that long-winded introduction, the reason I am writing about this is because of my, "OH MY GOSH TELL ME THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN CONSTANTLY IN REAL LIFE!" moment. Imagine someone trying to have a "serious conversation" with me but I take the cue incorrectly and start talking about the greenhouse effect when they really want to profess their undying love for me. Or if I'm seen with a friend from afar and it's assumed I'm taken so then noone approaches me with their own feelings. Even something as innocent as tiredness being mistaken as boredeom. Seriously, even something as stupid as that could begin the snowball effect of assumptions.

I know I've done this. I remember a friend of mine, who I just so happened to have a crush on, started hanging out A LOT with another (female) friend and I as convinced something was going on there. It's easy to assume things with people but definitely NOT easy to straighten things out and be honest and ask questions. I guess it adds to the drama. The confusion and assumptions and missed opportunities. Good thing the movies and books always* have happy endings. It won't matter if art imitates life or life imitates art. It makes me laugh to think of some of my own moments of assuming things and then later finding out how wrong I was. Or of the times when someone finally asked me for clarification and we realized the events that had unfolded because of the incorrect truth.

But back to the movie. Mr. Darcy. Accents. LOVES IT!

*I'm the girl who stops Cruel Intentions before he dies.

(Nice Dream)

I was excited to go to sleep last night. Not in the "Holy hell, I'm tired" way but in the "Oh yeah my new down comforter came!" way. This comforter is like sleeping under a cloud...with less water. So after I watched the first half of Tristan & Isolde and read a few chapters of Everyone Worth Knowing, I got under my cloud to catch my beauty sleep.

My dreams, not LSD-influenced, were quite crazy. I dreamt that myself and about 10 others were captured and put on a Lost-like island. It was weird though because we knew what happened and still had some contact with the outside world. We had our cell phones but knew not to tell anyone where we were or to talk about our plans with the other captured people (Texting was safe though, for some reason. Props to texting!)

What was also weird was that we didn't use our cars like normal but instead would push them into the water and then ride in them. At one point Creepy In Charge Guy, my sister, 2 others, and I pushed a PT Cruiser into the river and then hopped inside for our ride to town. CICG was talking to me and I realized he didn't know I had my car on the island, I lied and confirmed that I rode with a friend. Somehow I felt this could be used to our advantage later. I also tried to flirt with CICG but he saw right through my ploy and when I sat on his lap while floating in the PT Cruisher, he totally called me out.

Once we reached the town though, things shifted. All of a sudden I was running through the rain to get to my new job at Pizza Hut. I still couldn't talk freely on my cell phone but was too busy anyway, mentally calculating how much I would make and worrying that I would suck at waitressing.

I woke up before I started my shift at Pizza Hut and never did find out what happened on the island. Did I get us all to safety in my blue Elantra I hid from CICG? Did I win over CICG with my feminine wiles and use my power over him to escape? Did I make enough tips at Pizza Hut to buy an umbrella because it sure did rain a lot where I was!? Was I a good waitress?!!!?

I guess we'll never know.

Great Days For The Passenger Element

I am so not into today. It is just one of those days where I want to do nothing yet everything at the same time. I'm a bit restless here at work so of course my concentration is shot and all I can think about is iced coffee and ice cream. And going to Wawa because at least that is 30 minutes of my day and I can get cheap ($2.53!) gas to last me the weekend. Or not, depending on what I do. Oh no, it's Thursday and I don't know my Friday plans which is not a situation I like. Whether or not I'm doing something, I need to know by 11pm tonight when I will go to sleep. I need to know whether or not I'm headed north after work or heading home. I have to be prepared. Mentally and hott wise.


My sister texted me earlier that she got stung by a bee twice. Poor thing! My first reaction was of concern (I'm such a mom), of course, but then I asked if she needed anything. "Do you need me to LEAVE WORK to bring you an ice pack or anything?" "No? No ice pack? Do you need a soda or something? Because I'll do it. I'll LEAVE WORK and bring you something to drink."


I think I need to take a day off soon. But I don't want to waste a day and just sit at home, watching Gilmore Girls reruns because that is inevitably what I would do. In past years, I would have gone to the pool but ever since ours started being run by herpified cunts*, we stopped going. And other than the pool or beach, I try to avoid the outside once it gets above 80** degrees. Also putting a damper on things is my severe lack of money as I am currently in my "Pay my very awesome and generous father back for the money he loaned me to buy my bassoon" time. I mean, things aren't desperate or anything...but I will still accept donations!

*Thats putting it nicely. Seriously. And maybe it's chlamydia, I don't know. Most likely syphilis, doesn't that turn people crazy?
**I'm exaggerating on the high side as to not freak people out.

Photo

Browsing on Flickr is depressing and frustrating. I am no photographer and do not claim to be but, I haven't taken a decent shot in months. Nothing exciting, nothing contest worthy, nothing that makes it in my Fotki Favorites Folder (alliteration!). One of the few things I looked forward to with the start of spring and summer was better lighting and bright colors to capture on film but so far I have not been seeing things with an eye for the type of photo it would produce. I'm sick of the same old shot of flowers (so easy) and horizon (*snore*) but just haven't been feeling it lately and my shots taken number has decreased dramatically.

Coming up I have a few opportunites to get some good shots: Friday is Snow Patrol and if cameras are allowed, you better believe I'll be snapping away! The O.C. in August is always just begging for pictures, not to mention the car ride there with Ali which will produce 100+ of us making Olsen faces. Before that, though, I'd really like to get to a zoo because animals always make good subjects and also, it's been forever since I'm been to one.

But until then, enjoy some older, decent shots aka, ones I like:




Taken at a rave in a field I went to with my mom. No lie. Those two people "dancing" were so high on drugs they didn't know what was going on.



This one did well in a contest I entered. I also gave it to my mom for Christmas in a frame. I love that color pink!



Taken at Crockett Park in Fauquier County (oh yeah? FauQUIER County!). Almost got stung by a bee.



That one really isn't that great but I like the idea enough to include it. I try to get a lot of pictures of Jesse and Jobeth spinning records but they move so fast and it's dark so it's tough to get clear, non-blurry ones.

The Cup Of Life

"What's the good word for today?"

"What are you doing?"


These are just two conversation starters that always throw me, cause me to get that confused look and say, "Huh?" It's because I think of them too literally and think, 'Does he really want me to say a word?' and 'What does she mean, what am I doing? I'm standing here talking to her."


Similarly, I often use well-known proverbs and idioms in my speech but I either butcher it or don't really know what the saying is supposed to mean. It makes me laugh now because I find myself throwing in things like, "barking at the wrong tree" or grossly misusing a saying like, "better now than never".

More people should use the greeting, "How YOU doin'?"


(I'll be back!)

Baby One More Time

I am not a pack-rat. I first want to clarify that my house does not have newspapers from 1980 stacked in the guest room and my bed is not held up on canned green beans from the nuclear scares of my parent's childhoods. I am, however, unable to throw certain things away such as clothes, CDs, books, and certain magazines. Before I get to the matter at hand and why I am blogging about this, let me explain a few things.

1. Throw away clothes? Besides turtlenecks, there is a chance for me to wear anything in my closet. Turtlenecks are only good for covering hickies and since I think hickies are about as tacky as turtlenecks, I don't have a need for them and do not own any. (Turtleneck sweaters are different. Those are hott, but I digress.)

2. Of course I have CDs I don't listen to but to me, they're musical history and to throw them out would be like burning books or something. People try to tell me that I can sell my CDs bc they're all on iTunes but what a gamble that would be! One power surge gone wrong and I'm out 500+ CDs and also, owning the album notes is important to me as well.

3. Books. I am proud to own almost every Sweet Valley University book and I'll be damned if I ever get rid of those. Christopher Pike? Got it! Chuck Palahniuk? Got it! Books are meant to be reread in my opinion. I can't get rid of them. Besides, they make bookshelves for a reason.

4. I used to save all of my Teen, Seventeen, Sassy, and YM magazines in my closet. I don't know why but when I had a 10 year old 1991 Teen Magazine issue, it was kinda cool. The 50th anniversay Seventeen issue? I had it for years. What broke this habit was when I started getting upwards of 20 magazines a month and realized that I barely had time to read what I got, much less to go back and reread old ones. I think I kept some for fashion ideas and others because they spotlighted on someone I really liked. Now though, I keep my photography ones and some older Tennis issues. Once and awhile I'll keep a special music one on someone I really like but now they get thrown out right after I read them. OH and I keep all the Brad Pitt magazines but that's an obsession for another blog.


What is the other thing I USED to hang on to? Voice mails. I have about 8 that have been on my phone for years...until last night. I got this weird voice mail that was obviously the wrong number but was so hilarious, ("I'll bring the fried chicken on Friday!") I wanted to forward it to Ali. Imagine my SHOCK when I keyed in my password and heard, "You have one saved voice mail." What. The. Hell. I called back, hoping for a mistake, but was greeted with the same status. Maybe it's crazy to have held onto these voice mails for so long but, I had and it was a little sad to realize they were gone. The voice of a good friend I haven't heard in years, the drunk "I love you", the hilarious one from Ali making fun of someone, the "Happy Birthdays" from close friends that made me happy to hear, the forwarded one from Vanessa of some baby's momma threatening her, etc.

I was sad to see them all go. Involuntary "throwing away" is so not cool.

Alpha Beta Parking Lot

People always report that VA has the highest number of personalized license plates like it's a bad thing. I have never understood why paying the measly $10 extra dollar a year (a YEAR, for less than a cup of coffee a day is how much a personalized plate costs!) has been considered a bad thing. So with my plates up for renewal I've been considering getting personalized plates again. Yes, again. I used to have "SGT PPPR" but then there was some rotating and acquiring of cars so my sister's car ended up with those plates and since then we never paid to switch them over to my car. I love those plates though and don't want to give them up.

When I got my car last summer I went over to the DMV website to see what plates were available and tried out a few combinations:

TTSHOTT

THTSHT

LUVSIT

LOVESIT

(Before you ask, YES, I love Paris Hilton and as a side note, "Stars Are Blind" is SO going on the Summer Anthems 2006 Mix!)

Thank goodness I took a step back from the computer screen though to look at my plate ideas as an unknowing motorist might:

TITS HOTT

THAT SHIT

LUV SHIT

LOVE SHIT


Needless to say, I did not get those plates. I love neither shit, nor tits* and am happy I realized the possible mistake before I made it.

I won't say what plates I am considering until I either have them on my car or have sent in the less exciting fee to just renew the ones I have (although I do have a fun mnemonic device to remember them.) But please, if you are anti-personal plates, please tell me why. I don't understand it and when you think about it, how often are you going to be offended by them? Unless you're stalking me, the likelihood of you being behind my car more than once in awhile is slim to none. And I don't have a PT Cruiser so I'm not getting anything annoying like, "LVMYPT" or "ME N PT" nor do I have a husband so you don't have to worry about the equally stupid ones like, "SVR WPB**" or "SVR SVR***". I, too, get annoyed with those types of personlized plates but have no problem with other clever ones.

I'll report back on whether or not I join the group again!



*Why is this considered a bad word? As in, it's bleeped out on the radio. I've never understood.
**William Bradley Pitt
***How cute if my future husband's intitials are the same as mine!? Ew not cute. I'm hoping to marry into the O'Hara's or Butlers.

Undecided

So I want to put a movie on and unwind from my day (weekend) in order to eventually fall asleep. What to put on should be an easy decision, right? WRONG!

I can't put on anything scary: Donnie Darko (damn Rabbit!), Rosemary's Baby, Land of the Dead, etc.

Nothing that requires me to pay a lot of attention: Snatch, 12 Monkeys, Life Aquatic (not that it's confusing but because it's one of those "finer details" movies), etc.

I don't want to put a TV show on because then I'm afraid I'll be up for the entire disc: Friends, My So-Called Life (not to mention the flashbacks to "I Love Jordan Catalano!"*), Alias, etc.

No movies I still haven't watched because 1) I'd have to pay attention and 2) It could be scary!: Gigli (yes, I own this. I bought it for $5 to see how bad it is and still haven't watched it), Wasabi (subtitles, way too much attention required), Tigerland, etc.

Nothing that is depressing or has a sad ending: Edward Scissorhands, Romeo and Juliet, The English Patient, etc.

Nothing that requires the remote in order to start the movie (battery is dead;): Dirty Dancing is the only one so far that won't start just by pushing *play* on the actual DVD player.

So that usually leaves me considering the following:

Center Stage
Cruel Intentions
Freaky Friday
Cinderella Story
the Bourne movies
Legally Blonde (but every time I forget I can't find the disc)
Oceans 11/12


Yeah, but do I really want to watch movies with the following? Well, the answer is "YES!" but then I'm like, "Bust."
Cooper Nielson
Ryan Phillipe
Chad Michael Murray (althogh he's ugly in Freaky Friday)
Chad Michael Murray (hott in CS)
Matt Damon spy
Luke Wilson
BRAD FUCKING PITT (ummmm, slight obsession and pardon the profanity)

So like 30 minutes later, what do I have on?

Gilmore Girls.


It's going to get to the point of me needing an intervention. Someone is going to have to come and take away my GG DVDs.**

OH, and I forgot to mention that 9 times out of 10, after I finally decide on a movie to put on, I either end up turning it off five minutes later or reading with it just in the background. It's like I don't learn;)



*flashback? Sure, right. Flashback. Not present.
**Just kidding! Don't really do that. I'm fine. I have no problem. None.

Out Of Gas

Is it weird to be excited about a gas station? OH but this is no ordinary gas station...this is WAWA! The holy grail of convenience store gas stations and now, there is one only five miles from my job. I AM SO EXCITED! No more will I dread the "what to get for lunch?" indecision or the uninvited low gas light on my car. Because now, lunchtime and low gas levels = WAWA!

Now, why do I love Wawas? List form is in order:

1. There were two in my college town and we frequented them a lot. Wawa was our saving grace for middle of the night hunger or last minute runs before parties.

2. Their gas is cheap!

3. I have never been in a gross Wawa. Each and every one has been strikingly neat and clean.

4. Awesome subs. So much better than Sheetz (sorry, Sheetz. You used to be a childhood favorite because I associated you with visiting family in PA but then you got rid of your crispy chicken sandwich and then you made me a gross non-crispy one and since then, the experience is just not the same.)

5. Tons of "a la carte" type things which will be nice for lunches when I don't brown bag it.

6. Iced coffee.

Toxic

Last night, in my class, someone said, "What do you think of when you picture a Gifted and Talented kid?" Noone answered so I said, "Me."

Then, later on, someone used the analogy of a stoplight to explain something but I had a flashback to first grade instead. So while they were discussing tracking or something, I was travelling in my own pensieve back to 1986 or so.

After going to M.M. Pierce Elementary School for Kindergarten and having my teachers totally adore me, I changed schools to start 1st grade at Mary Walter Elementary. I'm trying to organize the timeline in my head and all I can come up with for changing schools without moving is that the zones changed. So with the zones changing, I began my second year of school somewhere else. Somewhere that now, in my memories, is equated with Lil' Smokies and stoplights.



I need to ask my mom, but I don't think my sarcasm was outwardly present as a 6 year old. I think I was quiet, shy, and well-behaved. I do remember curling up my nametag on my desk because that's what the popular girl did, even though extra points were given at the end of the year for nametags that stayed neat. I don't have too many memories from that school and I can't even remember my teacher's name but what I remember vividly were lunch periods.

Like most elementary schools, lunch was held in a large cafeteria with hundreds of kids at once so the volume levels could get pretty high. This school decided to use a STOPLIGHT to control our talking. As a 6 year old, I hated this. I found it ridiculous that *yellow* should be a warning to quiet down or we would have to have silent lunch. And of course there were the idiot kids who would not shut up and had to be obnoxious and push that stoplight towards red and the dreaded silent lunch.

But feared and dreaded even more than silent lunch was Lil' Smokies Day. Even the thought of Lil' Smokies Day now makes me feel ill and is probably the reason I've blocked out much of my time at that school. Other kids viewed LSD much like they did Pizza Day which was met with excitement (even mine) and and a decrease in packed lunches. LSD for me meant a packed lunch and a look of disgust towards my "friends" eating those vile little things. One day though, the worst happened and I forgot to pack my lunch. To this day I maintain they changed the lunch schedule without telling us and as a result, I was forced to participate in Lil' Smokies Day. I tried my hardest to eat the mac 'n' cheese and applesauce and leave my Lil' Smokies but apparently, that wasn't allowed. I was told to eat my (gag) smoked meat or I would get detention and as a young pleaser and do-gooder, detention was not an option. I don't think I have tasted a Lil' Smokie in 20 years but can still imagine the wretched taste those little things produce.

I ended up leaving that school halfway through the year when we moved across town and I actually re-enrolled back in M.M. Pierce. I was not sad to leave the stoplight school with nasty meat products for lunch but I was sad because I moved a week after I found out I had made the newspaper staff. At the time, I was heartbroken and felt my career as a journalist was ruined and I would never be on newspaper again. But now, when I look back, I think about how ludicrous it was for a first grader to be on newspaper. Had I stayed though, I am certain my first piece would have been an expose on Lil' Smokies and I would have worked endlessly to get rid of that damn stoplight.

Raw

With Ali (the sister) transferring from Randy Mac to GMU, we realized we were without a local sushi place to go to when I visit. When I visited her last year in Richmond, we would hit up Sticky Rice every time and enjoy our rolls and tots*. It was a sad day when we realized this luxury would be no more.

So what are two sushi loving girls to do without a place to go to enjoy the rawness?! We decided we needed to Lorelai a few places in the GMU area. First up, by recommendation, was Arigata in Fairfax near 29 and 50. I really liked the look of this place with the simple wood tables and sushi bar. It's hard not to continually make comparisons to Sticky Rice which, besides their sometimes rude waitresses and annoying door guy (sorry, V), is quite charming and have I mentioned, delicious?

The other thing I had forgotten that is different about Sticky Rice is that it is like the Americanized version of a Japanese restaurant. The sushi is authentic but the ordering is easy and nothing comes as a surprise (such as, "What IS a fish cake!?"). So since I have quite the aversion to all things mushy and/or sour cream-like, I get nervous when ordering something new. They had given us a little appetizer tempura thing which was good...until I hit the warm cream cheese part and had to tell Ali to be quite for a moment so I could concentrate on not vomiting.

We went for an all-around taste test of the place ordering three kinds of sushi (avocado, California, and tuna) and noodles for each of us. The sushi was superb! Even though it's totally gross to think about having fish eggs in one's mouth, roe on a roll really seals the deal. I think the avocado were my least favorite since I don't really like the fruit (it's a fruit, right? Has the seed and all...) but had been hoping for something comparable to the South Roll at Sticky Rice which is some heavenly concoction of, oh wait, is it sweet potato? Maybe I ordered the wrong thing.

Then our noodles came. This is also when I laughed so hard I started crying. Mine was served in what Ali called a "bedpan" but were quite tasty. I was worried about the chopsticks (Oh, no silverware!) since I usually use a fork for anything other than sushi but it went better than expected. I was glad to be eating with Ali so I wouldn't have to worry about spilling and having noodles hang out of my mouth, etc. (attractive, eh?). What Ali had ordered turned out to be more like soup. Udon soup, if you will. It looked very good (and was-I tasted it) but she realized she was in quite the predicament as she had chopsticks and one of those weird spoons they give you as her eating utensils.



Making it even more difficult were the waitresses keeping an eye on us which made it tough to experiment with eating strategies. The noodles wouldn't cut easily with the weird spoon and would slide right off when she tried to scoop them up. I tried so hard to not laugh but her facial expressions and commentary was too much for me and I slipped into a silent fit of giggles which, as usual, ended with me practically crying. We decided to take the rest of our noodles with us for later since we were full anyway. We decided Ali had made a noticeable dent in her noodle soup and we asked for To-Go boxes and our check.

I would definitely go back to Arigata. I don't think I would get the noodles again as they were a bit pricey but the rolls were very good and I look forward to trying the more daring kinds. (But none with cream cheese, goat cheese, or any other weird consistency.)



*Tator tots. A bucket of them. The best bucket of tots you've ever had! With tot sauce!

Unforgettable

A few friends and I have this thing we do called Mailtunes. Each month or so, a different person picks a theme and we all choose a certain number of songs to contribute to the ultimate mix. It's a lot of fun not only to make the choices, but also to see how other people interpreted the theme and what new music is on the final mix.

Mailtunes 1.0 (Me): Songs For When You Are Snowed In. This is our shortest mix bx it's an audio CD as opposed to the mp3/multiple disc format we adopted for the rest of them.

Mailtunes 2.0 (Anna): Love Songs (This was around Valentine's Day) "Aw!" This one was fun because I'm a total girl.

Mailtunes 3.0 (Serena): Basically a geography theme but I don't have the paper with me that gives the longer description. This was interpreted in a few ways. Serena included artists who had performed at SXSW, I think Ali and I both did songs with geography things in the titles, Anna and Allie had a few based more loosely on the theme such as a song in German, etc.

Mailtunes 4.0 (Allie): Songs From Our Memories. This was fun because I got to include things like INXS, Buffalo Tom, Aerosmith and The Rolling Stones.

Mailtunes 5.0 (Ali!) Related Mailtunes where each song must relate to the one before and after it. Example: "Nirvana-"Heart Shaped Box" (drummer Dave Grohl who sings:) "Foo Fighters- Everlong" (with bassist Nate Mendel who was in:) "Sunny Day Real Estate- Pillars" etc...Get it? It's awesome. We're working on this one right now. It's due in 3 weeks!

I'm already thinking about my next theme idea...any thoughts?

Travelin' Thru

I watched Elizabethtown last night and while I still don't like Orlando Bloom, and the movie is not my favorite CC film, it did make me want to go on a road trip. The only thing I have planned in the near future is the trip to The O.C. (Maryland) with Ali in August. We always have a fun time in the car full of awesome mix CDs, digital cameras, coffee, and lots of laughing. Other than that, there is not much going on (except for my ever present offer to be a certain person's travel buddy to New England.)

But looking backwards leads to some fond memories:

*Summer of 1995 when I got to go to Vermont with my cousin who was 23 at the time (I was 15.) I remember the car ride was full of INXS and Nirvana and PB+J sandwiches to save money. Vermont was awesome once we got there and it was, looking back, one of those awesome summers that I will always remember.

*Florida with the fam in 1993 (?). My brother graduated from Navy bootcamp in Orlando, FL so we went to it. Had it been in Idaho or somewhere boring, I bet we would not have gone but we got to use his government status to stay at a swanky resort for super cheap. We drove there: Virginia to Florida and it wasn't that bad. I do remember bringing all of my school work with me, like I thought any of it would get done. My sister listened to Billy Joel's "River of Dreams" nonstop the entire way while I got excited to see Palm Trees and the Hard Rock Cafe. I remember on our way home we stopped to go swimming at Daytona Beach but a storm was approaching and we all hopped in the car and made the ride home sandy...but maybe I'm not remembering that correctly.

*New England with Ali in 2006. Arguably my favorite road trip because I was SO excited to be going up there. We took a million pictures on the way and drank more coffee than should be possible. Ali made the first part of the trip on no sleep because we got up at 3am to leave which is around the time she had been going to bed that week. It was pretty funny because I think she went delirious by the time we got to Mystic, CT.

Places to go on future roadtrips?

*Dollywood

*Chicago

*somewhere completely random. Like the hometown of the biggest cockroach or something.

*Ali and I still need to go "Round Country" (We don't want to go "Cross Country" bc the middle bores us. We want to start and hit the hott places on the outside- Texas, Chicago, Vegas, CA, Seattle, etc.)

Creep

So yesterday I worked 130-10pm at Barnes and Noble in the music section which means I'm pretty much alone all day. As a result of this, I sometimes don't mind the occasional chat with a customer. So when a dad-like man came in and responded to my "Hi, how are you?" and continued the conversation, I went with it. But somehow the conversation went from talking about the weather to him telling me to "make a list of what you want in a [guy] and then it becomes like a goal and you will go after it"? (direct quote!) Now, talking about the weather I can do. Talking about music I can do. But talking about potential suitors with a stranger? WEIRD! SO. VERY. WEIRD.

But damn him, he got me thinking about it.

First of all, I don't like what he said. To make that sort of thing a goal is ridiculous, in my opinion. It makes it sound like NOT getting what could potentially be written down as "The Ideal" would result in failure, or disappointment.

Second of all, it seems weird to me to make a list. Now, I have standards (Boy, do I have standards!) but they aren't cut and dry. I don't think things like, "The future Mr. Scarlet Rose (or The Future Scarlet Rose's boyfrien') must have brown eyes and speak Swahili." or "The Future Mr. Scarlet Rose (or The Future Scarlet Rose's Gentleman Caller) must be at least 3 inches taller than me and like Radiohead." Sure, there are things I gravitate towards (humor, intelligence, easy on the eyes) but they aren't requirements or something I have on a checklist somewhere where 80% equals passing and therefore the opportunity to fall madly in love with me. It just sounds so odd to me to go around with the mentality of specifics. The people I am going to relate well with and keep around will possess the characteristics I need at that time. And I'm not just talking about Future Mr. Scarlet Roses' (whoa, plural!?) (or Future Scarlet Roses' purse holders) but friends, too. So the following is my list for "what I want in The Future Scarlet Rose's [fill in the blank]":

*human (male if fulfilling role other than just friend)
*non-killer
*Does not hurt puppies
*sense of humor (I've got to get specific on this one because I can't live with the sound of crickets everytime I say something funny.)


So thank you, Weird, Creepy, Barnes and Noble Customer, I've made my list.

The Sleep

I've got another post in my head but don't have the energy to get it out right now. Two long days at The Barn(es and Noble) have worn me out and I'm feeling a little like an old woman with my stiff body right now. Can't wait to stretch out and get my beauty sleep.

I'll report on my weekend in the morning. Sweet dreams!

Words Get In The Way

Blogography Part 4 of 4!

I hopped on Livejournal in 2003 because that is where most of my friends were and I liked the comment feature and friends page. My friend, who I actually met off of Makeoutclub.com (but not for that reason. Although...well...) gave me one of his codes to get on there because this was before it was free. I wrote on there a lot and oftentimes, quite cryptically. There is a lot in there about living in Richmond, working during the summer, moving back north, and all around general Scarlet-drama stuff. There is a lot about my various crushes but even I can't always be sure what I was writing about back then because I couldn't just come out and say a lot of it. I still write on there sometimes but it's usually just something really random.

Now, I may or may not have other places where I write out there, but of course, I can't tell you. I will say that for someone who is NOT a writer (me!), I sure do write a lot and instead of filling up these blogs or writing cryptically all the time, I may find other places. Maybe.

This blog, SVR, is where I spend the most time. I started this last December when I decided I wanted to get back on Blogger (from LJ) but The 451 Family blog was a mess.

I also have ipodupod which is where I am reviewing every song in my 40GB iPod (although that has since died but the songs are on iTunes anyway so the blog goes on.) It's not something where I try to review a song a day or anything but I'm up to about 45 on there and would love for some more comments on the songs. And believe me, there is something for everyone on there: "indie", rock, pop, classical, (old) country, etc. Check it out!

And rounding out my onlineness (except for all of that stuff under "Me" to the right), is Room For Answers which is where I post all of those stupid surveys or quizzes. Surprisingly, a lot of people read that which I guess is cool since it's just me answering the same questions over and over:)

I hope I didn't forget anything. Let me know if you have any questions!

M.I.A.

I've had the "Create Post" box up all morning but Holy Hell am I busy today. Not only am I getting close to a deadline on a new, on-going* project, I am also frantically trying to find a copy of the textbook for my class. You know, the one I ordered and was waiting patiently for, only to find out it had been cancelled and now has a 1-3 week ship time-Awesome! And for a 10-week class? I don't think they will work out too well. So with other (school) deadlines approaching at a quite rapid pace, I have taken to Google, my new textbook, and it is actually working quite well. But I don't have time for witty elaboration on this, I have crap to get done! So I am sorry, the Blogography will have to wait. (Don't cry. Really, don't.) Instead, why don't we do one of those "fun"** "You Ask Me Questions" things? Go ahead...ASK***!

*I know "deadline" and "on-going" seem like they don't go together but they do.
**Only fun when you participate
***Insert legal mumbo-jumbo here about not having to answer anything and everything and white lies are ok.

Words

The Blogography, Part 3 of ?. This is also when you're probably going to start thinking I've taken up way too much space online.

Second Accounting Cycle is the brainchild of me and Anna that is not only a blog, but a band. It's me (bass), Anna (guitar), and my sister, Ali (drums). I forget WHY we decided to start a band but I do remember the night, in 2001, when Anna and I chose the name for it and talked about merch. We never really got the band off the ground but did have a promise from Conrad of Trail of Dead to open for them once we were ready. This blog is mostly about how much we rock. We also had a webpage that I actually was 'proud' of because I made it from nothing but now it seems to be gone into the abyss of the internet which is probably for the best.

So The 451 Family blog went on, as I said, until late last year when I started this one. When I moved to Richmond after college, I didn't have a job for awhile because I was taking classes at VCU* so I had a lot of free time and not much else to do so once I started dominating the 451 blog, I decided I needed to start another one, by myself:

Insanity Ensuing. As you can see from the first entry, it started as a place to keep track of quotes I liked and set lists from bands I saw. Eventually it became something with more sustenance as I started having more to write about and I think I really lived up to the name I had given the blog. It was a crazy year or so full of classes which I was by then so over, friends who would piss me off by not being there, my extreme lack of money, and of course, guys, or really, my ever present flock of guy FRIENDS. One thing I got really good at with this blog was writing cryptically. I knew, for the most part, who was reading and who was not and while there were stuff I wanted to say, I didn't want to give details. I also, apparently, did a lot of surveys on this blog, too. I kept this blog up until last December, too, writing on and off and saving my more "Oh my gosh, I'm going insane" posts for it-the kind where I didn't want EVERYONE to read them but wanted it out there and perhaps run across at a later date.

I think 2003 was the Year of Blogs for me because I seemed to start a lot that year. I worked back at home for the summer at the pool for my fifth and final year of being Assistant Manager and Head Swim Team Coach. In an effort to reach out to more people, I started the "RSC Dolphins" blog where I posted news, results, and practice info. I miss coaching that team, a lot. Too bad people ran the pool into the ground and they all sucked at life and ostracized their best employees. (Good thing I'm not bitter, right?;) I'm not, really.)

I also started Halo Heart in an effort to win a Foo Fighters competition through their website. On their end it would get the word out about the band and on my end, I could potentially win some stuff. I don't know who I was kidding though, I had NO time to keep the thing updated so it pretty much sucks. The crappiness of the blog, however, is of no correlation to my love of the band, though. Just thought I'd point that out.

I also started two other, more secret blogs in 2003. One with my sister which has only three entries because we were both busy and it was just an idea we had. The other was with Anna again and we wrote on it for a few years before the true inundation of gmail and therefore, lack of need for a blog that was like email to each other anyway. I'm sorry for the lack of linking to these blogs but they are either messed up and won't work, incriminating to any potential political careers, or are ones that aren't in my discretion to put out there. (Believe me, though, you aren't missing out on anything.)



I think I only have one more part which will include Livejournal, and my current three blogs.





*No, not grad school. It's a long story, I'll tell it later.

It's Beginning To Get To Me

I don't think I will ever be able to hold a grudge with someone I love or care deeply about. It makes me feel even worse to stay angry with someone than the original reason why I got that way. I never, ever want to "go to bed angry". I would rather suck it up and get over it than leave the moment having said something horrible or having hate in my heart.


Anyway...


I had planned on getting part 3 of my Blogography done today while covering the phones but Blogger was a bitch all afternoon so it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Ups & Down

The superstitious me was afraid to say something too soon but now both concerts are over and I can report that I played my solo well for both performances! I really was nervous for those few measures and after playing it ok last night, still couldn't rest easy as I knew I had to get through it again. I really had to be careful not to psyche myself out (Sports Psychology must be fascinating) because no matter how many times I played it perfectly before the concert, I knew I had to get that right combination of concentration while not concentrating too hard.

I don't know if I can blame my worries for my concerts on my mood that seemed to set in for the entire weekend. I hate getting in a bad mood (besides the obvious-that it isn't a GOOD one) because then I think, "Wasn't I just in this mood? Why am I in a bad mood again?" because for some reason, bad moods seem to string together easier in my memory. But I know for a fact that good moods far out weight my bad ones which are few and far between. Or are they? But do I really want to sit around trying to remember when the last time I was upset was? That surely isn't the way to get out of a funk, right?


I need some "Founder's Day" punch.


I guess I should report on the fun I did have this weekend: Friday night in Richmond for my brother's 3 year anniversary extravaganza. I actually ended up working more of the night in his store but they needed the help so it's ok. Went to Sticky Rice afterwards with Vanessa for Woodchuck and tots and then back to the (anniversary) afterparty at Hyperlink. I got home so late. I listened to a lot of music, very loudly, to stay up for that ride home.

And now, the week is back. Great.


XO,
Scarlet

Losin' It

I am about to have a nervous breakdown all because...



I need to get dressed for my orchestra concert.


So we have to wear head-to-toe black, right? That shouldn't be too hard since 70% of my wardrobe is black, right? WRONG!

1. I do not own any floor length black skirts
2. I can wear a shorter one with black opaque tights but ohmygawd it's June! June and tights? BLECH!
3. It has to be something that is comfortable for 3+ hours much of which is on a hot stage and also have to be condusive to sitting and standing a lot without having to smooth my skirt, etc.
4. It can't be too casual.
5. It can't be too fancy.


I just spent like 45 minutes trying to figure out what to wear and am still not happy with what I have on. I am a 90% skirt girl once the weather turns gross (hot) so the pants were not going to happen. And we can't wear sleeveless shirts but then layering black gets tough because of (yes) different shades of black and the heat factor. I'm seriously going to scream. I am so jealous of the guys with their tuxes right now.

I ended up putting on one of the shorter length skirts with the tights but I feel like people are going to think I'm goth or something! I look so out-of-place for it being June. Believe me, I HATE summer weather but I don't go around wearing sweaters or anything. And now I have things in the washer in a last minute effort for a different shirt to wear.

I know noone really cares about my wardrobe woes but I figured there needed to be an explanation somewhere in case I do have that breakdown and can't speak anymore. People should know what happened.

Megalomaniac

Part Two

So continuing with my blogography, I guess we're on to my entrance into the blog world. Now, my profile says I joined in November 2001 with the username, queshiraz17, inspired by the Hey Mercedes song, "Que Shiraz" and my favorite number, 17.

My first blog was The 451 Family (the archives are messed up and won't show anything older than what is on the front page) started with my friend Julianne and Vanessa with the goal of getting our whole group of friends to write. The name comes from what we called ourselves, our group of friends who somehow came together senior year of college. Nick lived in the basement of a house with the address "451" and since we all hung out we named ourselves, The 451 Family. It was kind of a joke and a play on hip hop/rap because Nick and Pat had DJ names or something. Now that I'm writing it out, it sounds stupid and I guess it was, but it was also just something funny we did. It got to the point where we were referred to as a group and people would cheer when we came to parties, "The 451 is here!" We partied like rockstars and were treated like rockstars.

Anyway, I think this is my first entry, but I can't be sure because of the archive problem and there are over 1000 posts on that blog so the edit page won't show them all. It did start out being me, Vanessa, and Julianne writing and then eventually me and Julianne and then ended up just being me and I wrote on it off and on until I started SVR last December. All of the crappy template changes were my doing and we had to use an outside commenting service because Blogger didn't have one then.

We seemed to be really into quote lists on this blog, and blogging after parties (of which there were a lot).

Good memories:

*Getting a ride home from The Pavers
*Julianne and I go to NYC
*Me, Julianne, Vanessa, and Nick go skiing for spring break
*Anna (non-451 but Concert Buddy Extraordinaire) and I go to Pittsburgh to see Trail of Dead and end up partying with the bands.
*Vanessa and I have one of our weekly Hour of Dedications radio shows
*Julianne and I (with the MWC orchestra) go to NYC to play at Carnegie Hall which was also my first trip to NYC.


I could go all day with posting links to this blog but with the likelihood of only me reading them, I think I'll stop there. I would have continued on with this blog, if only because it's so old, but the template is a mess, the comments are crap, and it just seems archaic now with the way it's set up.


Part 3 of ? to come...

Autobiography

My Blogogaphry or, Scarlet Is Hogging The Internet:


I used to go to the open computer lab sessions in high school to use the internet because I didn't have it at my house. I remember going to websites like Time Magazine and Clinique and just browsing (er, surfing) the entire time. I watched my friend email one day and she told me, "Only use lower case letters in email, noone uses upper case" and that stuck with me for quite awhile until I realized, "Wait, this looks dumb and plenty of people use punctuation and capital letters!"

I got my first real computer (not Commodore 64 or Amiga) right before I headed off to college in 1998 and about 5 seconds after I had the thing hooked up I was on hotmail getting my first email address with the guidance of my roommate. I think it took me all night to decide on my hotmail username, like I was naming my first child and not an email address that I would eventually fill to capacity and then forget the password to. I finally decided on "tennisfreak80" which was probably a reflection of my extreme nervousness for the quickly approaching tennis tryouts I had in a few days and the ever present reminder that I had procrastinated on starting my summer tennis training for so long that it was now not even summer anymore.

I also had the daunting task of choosing my AIM name, something else my new roommate and her friends helped me with. They were all from the Richmond area and probably thought I was some country-bumpkin' who only had electricity on even days and was probably missing a few teeth. I did a good job with that decision though as I still use that AIM name: sgt5pepper (feel free to add me). I don't know why I thought these were such big decisions at the time. Since then I've had a gazillion more email addresses and AIM names (you know, for IM wars) but I remember that night and agonizing over my choices.

I think my first claimed space online was in a website I made although now I'm not too sure bc the first guestbook entry is March of 2000. Maybe I made it earlier and then added the guestbook...anyway, details aren't important. What is important is that you do not make fun of it. I was a bit obsessed with anything tennis related or band related at the time. Please do not judge.


Wow, I thought this Blogography was going to be short and sweet but there is no way I will get through everything without this being longer than my crush on Brad Pitt. I guess we will call this Part 1 and expect Part 2-? in the coming days.

to be continued...