proof that the youth are revolting.

Yes, that title is a Five Iron Frenzy reference.  I am the "youth," and here is your proof:

And then Katie and I dyed it:

Which you can't tell AT ALL with it wet/against my pink shirt, so I put on my blue jacket.

It'll totally look redder dry... right?  Maybe not.  We did run out of dye too soon.  Yeah, even after cutting off like 5 inches, my hair is THAT thick.

P.s. I know that video is WEIRD and something is way messed up.  If anyone knows what I did wrong, please inform me.  I am not techno savvy in the least.

EDIT.  I was revolting against long, light brown hair, in case you were wondering.

thoughts while waiting for my tea to cool.

I'm at the library, in my second favorite spot.  I have "Trampled Rose," by Carolina Chocolate Drops stuck in my head.  I ordered a peppermint chocolate latte (which, I suppose, is actually a peppermint mocha), but The Bookmark Cafe hasn't gotten their order of milk in yet today.  So I settled for an earl grey tea.  But, let's be honest, there wasn't much "settling" about it.  I kind of wanted earl grey, actually, but feared the lack of sugar mixed with my caffeine would inhibit the hyper mess I had hoped to become today.

My only problem with ordering hot tea at a coffee shop is that the "hot" is taken too literally.  With coffee drinks, you get the same "hot" at the beginning, but it peters out after all the other fun stuff goes in.  With tea, seriously, all you get is the tea to tone things down (which it doesn't).  I would have added cream or something, but I like earl grey the way it is, so now I'm stuck with a delicious-smelling cup of scalding water that I won't be able to drink for another fifteen minutes, at least.

I may not make it to hyper mess today.  I may have to settle for mellow mess.  But as long as I can get some work done, and touch my drink to my mouth without gagging on white hot steam, I'll get through the day just fine.

prized possessions, a shell with shoes on, and some fancy fiddlin'.

Perhaps I changed the look of my blog AGAIN because I wanted to see it as retro blueish... wallpaper.  I don't really have an explanation for this, other than not having found the design that I Absolutely Love yet.

My Katie is here, and we had a well deserved girls night out.  Girls evening out, really.  I finally bought a thing I've had my eyes on for quite some time:

Coconut shell earrings.  I ended up with two pairs, actually.  A light and a dark.  Only $5 each!  And I was all like, yeah I want two!  Then I sat down in front of the full length mirror-- right there in the store-- and wiggled and fumbled until I was finally able to work those fastening posts.  It's not like you can see anything back there.  It was kind of like putting in contacts for the first time.  Hopefully I'll master these the way I mastered that.  Also, Fizz is a really neat place.  Go check out that link.  Jewelry/funky stuff heaven.  Hmm.  Kind of like the rest of Market Square.  But I am not complaining about that.

So, here are 7 things I'm loving right now:

1.  This video:

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

Thank you, Leslie.

2.  Coconut earrings.  Check.

3.  Our new kitten, of course.  And the fact that said kitten likes to sleep under the covers.  And that he is nursing on my pinky finger right now.  

4.  Dahlonega, GA.  The name "Dahlonega," which comes from a Cherokee word for gold, is not pronounced, "daluh-NAY-ga," which is what I would have thought, but "dah-LOHN-ega," which is so much more pleasing to my ears.  Everyone in North Georgia is rolling their eyes at me right now, but I wanted to share my delight anyway.

5.  Poetry.  I want to read more of it.

6.  All the music Crooked Still has ever made.  Sampling, here:

7.  The way I feel on fall nights.  Romantic.  Adventurous.  Nostalgic.  Excited for nothing in particular.

That's all, I suppose, though surely I could go on for hours.

my husband makes me laugh, part three. or four.

Me:  Would you still love me, even if you [insert vaguely spoilery detail from a certain book that shall remain nameless]...?

Him:  Well, since that doesn't really exist, yes.

***

And here's my favorite, from a couple of months ago, on our way back from D.C.  We were in Virginia, going south west back home, and we passed a sign for Glasgow.

Me:  Glasgow?  Is there a Glasgow,Virginia?  Or is it for Glasgow, Kentucky?

Him:  I don't know... it must be Virginia.

Me: (being stupid)  Or maybe it's for Scotland!

Him: (completely straight-faced)  No... It can't be Scotland, Scotland's east.

the hobbyist.

I believe the best job I could have would be to collect and study hobbies. I would be called The Hobbyist, and I would learn all kinds of fun stuff. Who wants to be an expert in any given field, when you could be mediocre at a lot of interesting things?!

No, seriously. That speaks directly to my soul. I am even, perhaps, an expert at mediocrity.

Here are the hobbies I would study:

1. Soapmaking. Vegan, probably, because dead animal parts freak me out.

2. Candle making. Same thing.

3. Cooking. Please.

4. Craftiness.

5. Making (but mostly watching) Youtube videos.

6. Blogging (hey!)

7. Hand dancing?

Sure. As long as you only expect so-so, I can totally do all these things.

cat baby.

Weeeee have a new cat.  He looks like this:

.

the pirate ship and the sand box.

When I was a little kid, I went through a phase where I didn't like books or movies or TV shows, because I knew they weren't real.  That's not to say that I was overly pragmatic or concrete (in fact, I doubt I've ever been either of those things).  I just couldn't bear the thought of these stories I loved-- desired, even-- not being real.

the rugrats having a pirate adventure.
from here.  also, "yo ho ho and a
bottle of milk?" hilarious.

Who remembers the Nickelodeon classic RUGRATS?  Man, it took a long time for little Julie to enjoy that show.  The basic arc of any given episode went as such:  Tommy and the gang create an elaborate and fun adventure for themselves, somehow revolving around the events of the day.  Let's say they have a pirate adventure.  It's grand and exciting and everybody's happy.  Until the end of the episode, when we find out they've really been in the sand box the whole time.  I thought this was so awful as a child.  I wanted desperately for them to really be on a pirate ship, and it depressed me that they weren't.  I knew that if it wouldn't really happen for them in the cartoon, it could definitely never happen for me in real life.

I pined for adventure as a child.  I don't know why.  I'd always led a happy life, and I wanted for nothing growing up.  But why did the characters in books get to have all these fascinating, compelling experiences, and I never did?  Maybe this is why I spent the majority of my youth involved in theatre.  I discovered an outlet where I could effectively pretend to be the one having the adventure, and people believed me.  I became, for one example, Joan of Arc.  I got to be closer to the pirate ship without having to wake up in the sand box.  Because if I had been in the sand box, I would have been in the audience.

the play in which i played joan of arc,
way back at walden in '02.  i would have
posted a picture of me in costume,
but those are all at my parents' house.

Looking back on it now, I realize it was taking that passive, observational role that upset me.  I wanted to be actively involved in the storytelling.  I miss acting so much sometimes, it's unbearable.  I miss the moment, the way I felt on stage.  I even miss memorizing lines.  I miss being a character, reacting to a situation.  But most of all, I miss the journey.  I miss the cathartic energy of living in someone else's story.

So, is it really that strange that I should enjoy writing, as well?  If my desire is to be actively involved in telling a story, then I think not.


I can handle books and movies and TV shows a lot better now, if you were wondering.  Though, I must admit, reading THE HUNGER GAMES, CATCHING FIRE and MOCKINGJAY twice through within a month (not kidding) has sort of shut down my creative brain for a while.  As soon as I get over the fact that I will never write anything as brilliant or important as that, I'll be fine.

seriously, why even try?
it doesn't get better than this.
remember the signs of a stellar book?
number one, fan art.

in chicago.

Yes, that's where I am.  And it feels like July.  What happened?

Sorry, it's another tiny post.  Hope you don't mind.

The next time I have time to wrap my mind around something, I'll write more.

No, I did not run, by the way.  But Joshua did.  2:47!

another joshuaism.

Me:  "Well, how do you know I love you no matter what?"  (I was having a borderline crisis.)

Joshua:  "Because you say you do.  And you seem pretty honest."