hello, blog

I'll skip the excuses for being a poor blogger and just get right to business....

1. The United States just elected its first black president, and I feel that I should at least say something about it, so bear with me:

I will not say who I voted for or what I believe, in an attempt to avoid random angry comments from people. I will say, however, that for the first time in a long while, I have hope. I am so tired of hearing how horrible our government is, and hearing that things need to change, and I am just happy to finally hear that change is coming. Even bad change is change, and anything that changes has a chance to make something better. I wish The future President all the best, and I hope that he may be numbered among the great in our History.

2. I have a job. after what seems like ages of joblessness and searching and interviewing, I have landed the perfect job as a Graphic Designer. I am so excited to have finally reached the point in life where I will no longer have to wait on tables or hold temporary jobs just to make money for gas. This job comes with an arsenal of fantastic benefits and perks, and I could not be happier.

3. Troy bought me a flickr pro account today. randomly. So that means that I have something to keep me occupied until I start my new job, and I will be scanning in my moleskine paintings. I also no longer have to delete pictures just to add more. so keep an eye out for flickr updates.

4. Troy and I have been re-thinking the marriage thing. I mean, the marriage is still on, its just the Wedding that is up in the air. There is alot to consider, but I think that, once we make the big decisions (venue, food, day) things will be fun, and much more easy. and, FYI, i do not want to hear wedding horror stories. I wont say that mine will be different, because I know it wont, but I refuse to allow fear to run my wedding.

Now, if I could just afford the dress I want. Believe it or not, it is part of the Disney's Princess collection. It is beautiful, but I am afraid of the price tag.

5. We have begun working on our future home. Its a complicated narrative, so I'll save it for a later day.

6. I have finished my first moleskine book. I'm addicted, and I'm glad. The motivation and creative outlet is good for me.

7. Maryland might get its first snow flurries this weekend. Not sure how I feel about it yet. I'm not really ready for it.

8. "If All Goes Wrong" just came out, and of course Troy bought it that day. If you are a Smashing Pumpkins fan, or just a fan of music and the artistic struggle behind good music, you should see the interview with Pete Townshend and the documentary. Genius. BIlly Corgan always has a way of taking my own personal beliefs and putting them into words.

9. The Pour House closed down. The Pour House is a local coffee shop in my town, and, while it was always packed with obnoxious teens and the prices were pretty high, it was still a local business beloved by the community. I spent the better part of my highschool and early college years there, and now I cannot believe it is gone. I have been going less and less in the past few years, but it felt good to know that the place would be there if ever I needed it. NOt to mention, now, that is one less local business. some person's savings and dreams, devoured by the economy. As much as I love starbucks coffee, I would rather see the local starbcks shut its doors, at least starbucks has a chance to come back. a local business, however, cannot just bounce back, it sucks up every resourse the owner has, and then thats it. I try my best to patronize local business as often as possible because they have more integrity and sincerity toward customers than a giant corporate chain. But, alas, the pour house is no more.

10. Gas is currently 1.97 in my home town. How crazy is that? I do not even know what else to say about it. lets just leave it at this: I hope it stays that way.

11. finally, a word about football: HURRAY RAVENS. lets just keep moving forward and I'll be happy.

thats it for now. good day to you, my random reader.

the update and other ramblings

again, I must apologize to myself for not writing more often. such a vicious cycle. but enough self-deprecation, I will attempt to move onto something with a bit more substance.

I posted a blog a few months ago about a friend who was in a terrible accident on his motorcycle and was in a coma. Here is the update: I was sitting at my desk yesterday doing whatever it is that I do at my desk, when my phone rang. I was scared when said friend's name appeared on the ID, afraid that it may be bad news. I certainly did not expect to hear his voice.

apparently, in the time that has elapsed since my last news of him, he has almost fully recovered. he is home from the hospital, progressing well with his physical therapy, and is, so far, mentally sound. The biggest relief was that he sounded like himself. He paused more between words, but for the massive amount of head trauma, I am surprised that he can even talk.

he remembers nothing of the accident, and his only worry is over what caused the crash. he has a sort of guilt complex, and wants to know if it was his fault. my advice was simple: he is better off not knowing. he does not need to feel guilty over it, nor does he need the anger and resentment over knowing that someone else put him through so much.

right now, he is off of all medication, and is only taking blood thinners for a clot that is forming in his leg. he has a few mending bones and ribs, but overall, he is fine, and i am relieved. it felt so good to hear his voice. such a difference from second hand information. it is terrible to think that someone so young and with so much more life to live may have either died or live in a persistent vegetative state.

he is going back to college tomorrow. that shocks me more than anything else. he insists that, while stressful, the mental exercise will help him recover more quickly.


in other news, football is in full swing. (American football, just so there is no confusion. i love soccer, too, but football season means only one thing: football)

I'll keep this brief: i am proud of my team. The ravens have played well so far, in spite of the massive problems that have plagued the team (injuries, two incapacitated quarterbacks, and having a rookie starting QB.) If they continue to play as well as they have been playing, I have no doubt that they will be a major contender for the post season. notice I say "post season." any person saying the actual name of the big game this early in the season is an idiot, and should be ashamed.

Last Saturday night was my high school reunion. five years has gone by rather quickly, and I now feel quite old. I was not popular in high school, mostly owing to the fact that I split my high school years between two schools, and at that age, two years is not long enough to make friends and move out of the "new kid" status. The good news is that this reunion gave me the chance to speak to some people that I never would have spoken to in school. I am always amazed at the changes that a person goes through between the ages of 16 and 25. in high school, everyone believes that they have life figured out, and yet most people have no true concept of self at that age.

in other news, have I mentioned that I broke my toe recently? I feel terrible complaining of pain in my little toe, but it actually hurts. If someone had complained to me about a similar pain a month ago, I would have laughed, but the truth is that this little bone fracture is causing me more pain that I expected. and shoes? forget it! its fine to walk on, but once I step into a shoe, the pain flares up and the swelling begins. it has been almost two weeks, and I hope the pain subsides soon.

I believe that is all of the news I have for now. stay tuned for either a posting of some artwork, or opinionated commentary on the economic status of America, depending on my mood.

as a (comical) side note, the last time I was shopping in New York, I found myself eating fantastic Swiss chocolate truffles from a place near the plaza hotel on 5th ave. I plan to visit New York again within the next month or two, perhaps I will have to treat myself again. Swiss chocolate is not my favorite, but I cannot resist that smooth, flawless texture that only Swiss chocolate has.

no time for losers.

First things first: a lesson.

Cheaters never prosper.

That’s all I want to say about the massive upset tonight. The NY Giants pulled together and beat, nay, destroyed the New England Patriots. I have what I wanted. I am complete. My season has ended perfectly. Bring on the new Ravens coach and next season, I’m ready.

I really couldn’t care who won the Super bowl, as long as the Patriots lost. It could have been the Steelers (and you know how I feel about the Steelers), as long as the Patriots were knocked down from their high horse of false idol-hood.


Now, on to the project. It is getting pretty massive and I am running out of time. I need to pick up the pace. It will be ready before the 13th or I will be upset (and not sleeping on the 12th.)

I love secrets.

Cheating is Patriotic, according to the NFL

Why has there been no parallel drawn in the NFL between the Patriot’s perfect record and their “brief” stint as cheaters? Am I the only person who understands that people who cheat are given an unfair advantage over those who do not? Why else would they do it?

Warning: This may be the result of post-losing-streak bitterness, but I honestly feel that the Patriots should forfeit their winning streak.

After being caught spying on other teams, the Patriots were barely slapped on the wrist with a few fines: Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000, according to AP. For a team that pays their QB $60 million, I think $250,000 sounds like petty change. Even if $250,000 is a substantial amount of money, it does not destroy the unfair advantage that the team gained from cheating.

As a side note: Who actually believes that this is the first instance of cheating. Aren’t most big-time thieves caught after stealing their first candy bar? No, not usually. The NFL Commissioner believes that the team will abide by the rules from this point on. I’m sure.

While I do not feel that taking the Patriots out of the equation this season would not have helped the Ravens, I must admit that I wonder if we, too, might have been undefeated had we cheated. I think that’s a fair stab.

To be fair, I would normally commend and hope the best for a team with such an excellent record. Even if the Steelers were undefeated (never going to happen as long as they have to play the Ravens at home. If we can beat no other team in the NFL, at least we can beat them). Anyway, I don’t care if the hated Steelers had a perfect season, I would admit that they deserve it. If a team—regardless of who they are—worked so hard and put so much into the game that they maintained a perfect record, I would personally shake their hand and congratulate them on a job well-done and a W much-deserved. “Deserved.” Do the Patriots DESERVE to win the Super Bowl?

Do the Patriots DESERVE to be undefeated? How much of that record depends on good players, amazing training, concentration, power, muscle, determination, and flawless execution of plays? How much of the record is the result of information gained by cheating? Knowing another team’s plays and patterns can make or break a game. Especially a really important game.

In short: I hope they go all the way and then lose. I hope they make it to the Super Bowl and get shut out. That’s what they deserve: to be cheated out of the Super Bowl like they have cheated other teams out of Wins.

By the by, I really hope the Packers are the team to do the honors of blowing the Patriots away. It is my opinion that Favre (if not the rest of the team) deserves the Super Bowl after the shit he went through last season. He is amazing, and just generally deserves the honor.




I am Ravens Girl, through and through, but I have always loved the packers too. Who doesnt?

Lets see a repeat of XXXI!

terps basketball

I went to my first Terps game ever. Actually, it was my first basketball game too! I'm a football kind of gal, so it was not a really big deal, but I had fun. Being on a real college campus with sports and school spirit made me sad. Sometimes I regret going to UB. We have no sports teams, no school colors or mascots, no spirit or sense of unity. UB is a school for the busy, working, parenting, trying to rush through a degree kind of student. The few events we have are usually dead, unless you count the welcome week block party. (which is when they bring beer to campus and charge us a dollar. surprise, the turn out for the block party is always staggering)

The Terps lost. Not normal. As we were leaving our seats, a young guy was yelling toward the court: "What is going on? You're the Terps. You just lost to American. Come on!" I do not follow the Terps, but even I know that this was a strange loss. They just could'nt get into a rhythm. I've seen it in football all season: the Ravens simply cannot get it together.

The crowd was the real show. I was amazed that all of the students remained standing throughout the entire game. That is spirit. And the rituals! I do not know what the newspaper thing means, but while the other team was being announced, every student shook a newspaper until the lineup was finished, then they crumpled the papers up and threw them into the air. After half-time, the cheerleaders brought out spinning discs, and the crowd spun them when the other team took penalty shots. The discs were meant to be a distraction, but it didnt do much good tonight.

I would like to go to a real college for Grad school. I am thinking about Georgetown. I know, big goals, but I think I could do it. I have always assumed I would not get into the schools I like, but after two years of straight 4.0 at UB, and national honor societies, I have new confidence in myself. I am only half joking when I say that I would like to take the L-Sat blindly, and see how I do. If I do well, I will abandon writing for Law School. If I do not do well, I will go to Emerson and continue writing. I guess I feel as though I have to prove myself to the world. I see someone wearing a Harvard Law or Georgetown, or other ivy league hoodie, and I want to tell them that I, too, could get in if I so chose.

But for now, I will just focus on graduating. And then on getting a job. Harvard material or not, the job market is scarce these days. People should just pay me for my opinion, I'm full of those.