St Andrews

Though I'm not there anymore, I simply had to share this photo when I saw it posted up on my friend's Facebook.  This was where I lived while over there.  My room was on the second floor, the window furthest to the left.  What you don't see is the beautiful St Andrews Bay/North Sea, which is to the far left, and to which the girls next door had a great view.  The girls who live there call themselves the Wardlaw princesses, Wardlaw for the name of that wing of our dorm, and princess since Wardlaw looks so much like a castle.  Perfect for me, huh? :)

The snow never stuck much when I was there, but isn't this lovely?

My Fall 2008 TV Week

Going from college where I had my room and could watch whatever I wanted whenever I wanted to home with the parentals and having to watch TV in the family room has definitely had an influence on what I watch.  And the fact that sometimes my work schedule has me working at night.  Luckily, we just got DVR, which means I never have to miss certain shows again!  These are the ones though that I have to watch:

Sunday: I'm all about Desperate Housewives.  It's my bonding with my mom.  I've been watching it since it started and this is the first season where I've actually been able to watch it with my mom in the same room, instead of calling her from school during the commercial breaks to discuss it.  It's definitely still a fave and this season is particularly juicy.

Monday: The Hills.  I was never an avid watcher of it.  My roommates would watch it, but it conflicted with The Bachelor last year, and I had a standing date with a friend for that show.  Now, I cannot wait for Mondays at 10pm and am catching up on the previous seasons online.

Tuesday: NCIS is my new favorite show.  I would tolerate it before when my parents would watch it, not really paying attention.  I don't know what happened, but I am suddenly obsessed with this show!  It has everything: attractive guys - one for each generation in the forms of Mark Harmon and Michael Weatherly, an adorably quirky girl, a hint of sexual tension, and it's local - NCIS is based in the Navy Yard in DC.  Thank goodness for its syndication on USA and Ion this season, so I can catch up!

Friday: Since watching The Hills itself is never enough, I watch The Soup on E!, since a clip of Audrina or Heidi is usually featured in Joel McHale's funny commentary of the week in TV.  Some of the best inside jokes from my roommates from last year and I come from this show.

Noticeably missing?

- Grey's Anatomy.  If I happen to be not working or have other plans, I'll watch it, but it's definitely not a must see anymore for me.

- I tried watching the new 90210, but I'm such a fan of the original that I just can't get into this new cast.  Plus the first ten minutes of the pilot were excruciating.  The dialogue and acting were so corny.

What am I excited about for Spring 2009?

- The return of LOST.  I cannot wait to find out what is going to be revealed this season.  Who's really dead?  Will the Oceanic Six find the island again?

- The newest season of The Bachelor.  I'm not at all the gooey romantic type, but I love this show.  I think it's more the way the women act; I like to see how catty they'll get or if there are any amusing personalities.

What do you have to watch?

Update - But Nothing Has Changed

I wore boots today in order to inspire courage and they failed me.

But he looks so adorable in a sweatshirt and jeans. *sigh*

ARGH!!!!!

I thought that maybe I would be happy just enjoying the crush life, but no.  Unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to be forward and see if I can get something started.

EDIT: I was choosing my labels for this post and realized how much more boy-centric this blog has become since old blue eyes popped onto the scene.  I was going to be so careful about not mentioning that stuff.  Nevermind. :)

Middle School Crush

Oh my goodness.  I am acting like such a twelve year old right now, and I honestly mean that in the best way possible.

You remember those middle school days when you would have a crush on a boy, right?  When you would get excited just to see him in the hallway and you would think of silly ways to accidentally-on-purpose bump into him?  (Well, at least that's what I did.)  That's pretty much how I've been acting lately.  Okay, I'm not bumping into anyone, but when talking to my friends (one in particular since she knows the guy), I find myself saying things like: "And then he walked past me, when he totally could have gone around the other way since he knew I was there!" and "He took a double take when he saw me today!"  Sigh.  I'm having so much fun with it though.  And it's those feelings of, I just want to tell everyone that I have a crush on so-and-so, but yet, I don't want anyone to know, but yet, I want everyone to know!

But then sometimes I go into what-if-something-actually-happened mode:

- would he really like me back?

- what if we went out and things were awkward?

- what if we started seriously dating?  Is he really someone I'd want to have a long relationship with?

- am I mature enough for something long term?

- what happens if/when there's a break up?

Why do all these questions have to come along?  Why can't I just live in the moment and enjoy the silliness of my middle school crush?  Why do I have to overthink everything?

These weren't really questions I concerned myself with at twelve, with the exception of the first one.  It was a time when "going out" simply meant holding hands in the hallway and being driven to a movie by the parentals.

I guess I'll just continue with my silliness (check), have fun (check), not expect anything (I'll have to work on that one), and see where it leads!

Garlic bread saved my night :)

So it's been a rough couple days working in the cafe, plus just an extra emotional rollercoaster with the holidays coming up and my dog not being here anymore for them.  But tonight I came home and there were three slices of garlic bread leftover from dinner waiting for me!  That seriously boosted my spirits.

Well, that and the fact that I had a ten minute conversation with blue-eyed boy today, which is quite an accomplishment. :)

5 Randoms

1) Britney Spears' "Womanizer" is stuck in my head.  It's really good though.  I'm really proud of her and am glad to see her doing so much better.  I listened to a sampler from her new album and it seems to be a winner.  Boy don't try to front/I, I know just just what you are are are...

2) If you love "The Office" and John Krasinski, you HAVE to watch this interview with him.  He is a great storyteller and this proves it.  It was actually this video that introduced me to him and made me start watching "The Office" just so I could see more.

3) I have to be at work today at 5pm.  I'm bored though (which is partly why I'm blogging), so I want to go in early, but then I'll just be bored at work.  At least at home I can still chill in my sweats.  I like having these days where I pretty much have the whole day before going to work and I don't have any other plans.  I'll usually end up trying something new with my hair.  Today I straightened it.  I know it's straight already, but right now it's like Jennifer Aniston in "Friends" straight.  I'm playing around with "The Hills" style hairstyles since they always do interesting things with their hair.

4) I'm looking over this post so far and it's making me think: I know TV show titles are put in quotations while movies would be italicized, but italicized usually looks cooler.  I can't let go of my English major upbringing though, so they'll stay in quotations.

5) I had a few conversations with blue eyed boy yesterday.  I told him that he was like Frank Sinatra because of the Old Blue Eyes thing, having previously gotten the hint that he is a fan of Frank.  Unfortunately, he's quiet and can be kind of expressionless, so I have no clue if he was flattered or thinks I'm crazy.  Maybe I'll find out in the next few days.  But in the mean time, I have to figure out my hair (since it's my thing, according to Courtney) and which Hills star to copy! :)

Writing Block Crumbled?

Though I didn't officially sign up for it, my plan was to try and follow along with NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, which happens every November.  The goal is to write 50,000 words of a novel.  It doesn't have to be good; quantity, not quality, is the point.

Let's just say that having only 10% of that isn't very good for it being November 17.

To be fair, the story I'm working on is actually one that I've prepared more for, so I at least know where it's going.  I have an outline for eleven chapters.  But then I got stuck on one of the major plot lines.  So for weeks I've been trying to figure out how to resolve that story.  Last night, I decided to read a few chapters from Someday My Prince Will Come (I cannot stress how eerily similar the author is to me!) and when I turned the light off, I started thinking about the relationships/non-relationships she had just described in those chapters (since that's sort of what my plot has to deal with).  Two perfect, lovely English guys who promised to call never did.  A third perfect English guy turned out to be gay, but offered her marriage, so that he could have the perfect identity for becoming prime minister and she could remain in England once her visa expired (living in England and marrying royalty being her lifelong dream).  She describes how her father wouldn't care, but her mother would be very disappointed, which made me think: if I had to choose, would I pick my family/common sense or a boy/the life I've dreamed of?  What would my character do?  What would you do?

Is it okay that I'm oblivious?

This weekend I found out about two people I know that have started dating.  I had no idea and have never seen the signs, though apparently to others, it was quite obvious.  And I never know when someone is interested in me without someone outright telling me, "So-and-so likes you."

Is it okay that I'm so oblivious to these romantic cues?  Is it just my lack of experience?  My lack of really seeking the signs?  Boys and dating have never really been at the top of my priorities, so maybe I just never cared enough to notice these things?

Another friend told me there's nothing wrong with me, that's just how I am and another friend is just like me.  So again, is this okay and if not, how do I learn to read the signs not only when someone is interested in me, but also to pick up on signals when two other people are interested in each other?

Weekend!

This weekend I finally got to visit JMU again.  Even though it was loads of fun, I realized that I'm kind of glad that I'm done with the college thing.

Highlights:

- formal afternoon tea with Courtney at Mrs. Hardesty's Tea Room!  We had been wanting to do that for all of last year and we finally made it.  It was soo delicious.  And we managed to eat everything.  There were so many sandwich choices, cinnamon and chocolate chip scones (with clotted cream!), and seven different types of sweets.  It was everything I could have hoped it to be.

- DG semiformal!  It was great seeing all the girls again, especially my littles and grandlittle.  And I got tons of compliments on my dress, which is always fun. :)  It was really weird too, because I felt like I had never left, yet there were so many people I didn't know.

- breakfast at Sheetz.  Sunday morning was also delish, getting a breakfast sandwich and hash browns from Sheetz with Courtney, coming back to her house, and watching Bridget Jones's Diary.  That pretty much is the ideal circumstance.

Going back actually reenergized me in my job search.  I got three resumes out last night, so hopefully I'll get at least one interview out of them.  I had started feeling complacent in my B&N job, which I do have fun at, but I know at the same time, that I need to look for something else.  I also feel more ready to grow up.  We'll see how long that lasts. :)