#43--Go On A Road Trip With Friends

On June 15th, a friend, her brother and I went from Norfolk, VA to Baltimore, MD (well, Towson, really) to see The Spill Canvas in concert. It took us way longer than it should have, thanks to a major accident on I-64, but we got there in time to be almost-first in line!

Notice the nice use of the seat-belt!


We left at 12pm, got there at 5pm, left around 1am, and got home at 5am. It was a very long night, but it was completely worth it. Why, you ask?


I got to meet the guys of The Spill Canvas! It was so great, I could hardly believe it. I also got to meet their Stage/Guitar Manager, Ace, who was probably the coolest person ever. I just regret not getting a picture with him :(

In any event, it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it. But I definitely want to take a much more long-distance road trip with 3 or 4 friends sometime soon! I think that would be fun. Maybe New York? Who knows!

#55--Spend A Weekend Alone

This happened more by force than choice. Living by myself in a place where I don't know anyone leaves me sort of pressed for things to do. I'd drive the 40 minutes back to my school's town to hang out with friends there, but the gas just isn't worth it.

So this weekend I've spent alone. Honestly, I've been alone since Thursday evening, and I won't be seeing anyone until Monday at 10 for an interview. It's okay, though, it helps me accomplish this goal.

I've made Easy Mac and Ramen, I made myself brinner (breakfast for dinner), I've watched Home Improvement on Nick at Nite's Summer Improvement Week. I've read pages and pages in Paramedic by Peter Canning, and I've cross stitched a ton. I write blog entries and I talk on the phone. I listen to music and take long baths. I've sat on the balcony drinking tea during sunrise. I even walked down to the grocery store and just wandered through the aisles, picking things up and looking at them and checking out the people who were there too. It's boring. But the coolest part has been lying on the couch going in and out of consciousness at random times during the day, because I have nowhere to go and no one to impress.

But I'm tired of it. I guess I thought of a lot of free time as being a mini-vacation. In some ways it is, but in others...well, vacations are usually spent with other people. I don't really feel safe walking down the streets downtown by myself, so I haven't really met...uh...anyone. It's okay, though, this is what I wanted to do, and now I've done it. I feel a sense of accomplishment, but I look forward to starting my job and interacting with people on a daily basis.

#84--Live As A Nudist For A Day

Well, for 24 hours, I did just that. I'm currently living in a place by myself, so I didn't have to worry about roommates.

Basically, I just lowered all the blinds and did the things I normally do, just...naked.

Things I learned:
When cross stitching naked, be sure you know where the needle is.
Make selections from the fridge very quickly.
If you stay naked for a while, you'll forget about it. Make sure you don't walk out the door.
Skin sticks to leather couches very uncomfortably.
When you walk past a mirror, you will most likely surprise yourself. "Oh, hey, I'm naked."

It was a really interesting experience, that's for sure.

#85--List 100 Things That Make Me Happy About My Closest Loved Ones

I did another set of 100 for Anni, one of my absolute closest friends.

There's nothing quite like it, honestly. It really forces you to sit down and consider every reason why that person is so close to you. It's a wonderful feeling to be reminded about all the great qualities that person has, even if you never really forgot.

As much as they are affirming for one's friendships and other relationships, I think this could be really self-affirming. After I've done a set for my closest loved ones, I think I'll do one for myself as well.

Sorry I don't have more to report, but with exams and all, life was pretty hectic. I'm going to try to do a ton this summer while I'm not in school.

Until next time!

#48--Have a Picnic in a Park

Well, my friend Paul bought a picnic basket and took me out on a picnic by the river. It was a sunset picnic, and absolutely beautiful weather. The food included:
Dryer-thawed Uncrustable Sandwiches
Pretzel Sticks
Melted Ice Cream
South Beach Diet Pudding Cups
Warm Coke

It was absolutely hysterical. He brought his MacBook Air so we could listen to music, and his camera so we could document it for the blog. It got cold quickly, but we had a blast.

Some quotes from the night:
Paul (jokingly): God, this is romantic as hell.
Me: Ummm, I think it's kind of hard to say it's romantic when "Magic Stick" comes on and we're acting like dinosaurs.

Paul (in reference to the spoon that came with the picnic basket): Who the hell designed this? It's so primitive.
Me: Yeah, it's like man's first spoon *grunts primally, gesturing with the spoon*
Paul: Ah, yes, made out of the legendary plastic tree.

I had a blast, and since we have the picnic basket, we're going to try and make it a regular occurrence to have picnics with our friends. It was great :) Another one down!

#78--Sing On The Corner of a Busy Street

During the middle of the birthday party, it was *so* hot. We decided to get some air, so we went outside, and it was raining slightly. I decided that I really, really wanted to do something in the rain, so a bunch of us thought that we'd cross off #78. Just then, it started POURING rain, and everyone wimped out and headed back inside. I was pretty adamant about doing it, though, so I was going to do it regardless. One person was going to make sure he saw me cross off a life goal, however.

Together, we went out to the street corner in the downpour and stood underneath the stop sign. I sang "Summertime," more to him, really, than to the world. We were both shivering because the rain was freezing cold and we were wearing party-clothes. Since it was about 1:30am, the street wasn't very busy, but I'm crossing this one off anyway.

When we came back inside, we were soaked to the bone. My hair got majorly frizzy and my make-up was running everywhere, but I didn't care at all because I had such an amazing and unforgettable time.

This one was a ton of fun, and I can't wait to do more like it. As we were heading back inside, he said "I'm glad I got to help you accomplish a life goal." I'm so lucky to have friends like these.

#19--Learn to Conduct

For my party, one of my friends helped me learn how to conduct "Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls. My roommate took this video, which shows me in the early stages of learning. Please forgive the poor conducting and the eye rolls...I actually got the hang of it later, but this is the only video we have!