good morning, first day of school!

my bags are packed and my pens are capped and i am so, so very excited.

poetry and human sexuality today, irish literature and female german authors tomorrow.  AND jennifer is finally here AND i have a class with teresa AND i have so many things to be happy about!

first day of school outfit....what do you think?

me, circa august 2008 in new york city

in less than one week i will be on a plane bound for the east coast with my wifey for a much needed new york vacation!  one day in maryland with my aunts and then onward to manhattan for my cousin's wedding.  

the nuptials will be held here, in one of the most beautiful chapels outside of europe that i've ever seen...

then, the reception here, where there will be family reunions and dancing and an open bar (!)...

granted, the picture makes it look kind of weak, but the reception is being held at top of the times, a rooftop garden located in the heart of times square.  it's all going to be tented and gauzey with black candles and plum ribbons draped everywhere.  the picture is weak, but the event itself is going to be beautiful.

unfortunately, we only have one free day in NYC, but we're planning on making the next of it by avoiding everything touristy and instead, hitting soho for lots and lots of (window) shopping.  and maybe some real shopping...we'll see if i can restrain myself :)

right now, i need to plan my outfits and figure out what i'm going to wear for the wedding!  i have a black dress that i could use, but i got it at goodwill and while it is a sexy little number, i'd rather not wear handmedowns...looks like it's time to shop!  oh, darn.  

There's a war going on for your mind
Media mavens mount surgical strikes from trapper keeper collages and online magazine racks
Cover girl cutouts throw up pop-up ads
Infecting victims with silicone shrapnel
Worldwide passenger pigeons deploy paratroopers
Now it's raining pornography
Lovers take shelter
Post-production debutantes pursue you in nascar chariots
They construct ransom letters from biblical passages and bleed mascara into holy water supplies

There's a war going on for your mind
Industry insiders slang test tube babies to corporate crackheads
They flash logos and blast ghettos
Their embroidered neckties say "stop snitchin'"
Conscious rappers and whistleblowers get stitches made of acupuncture needles and marionette strings

There is a war going on for your mind
Professional wrestlers and vice presidents want you to believe them
The desert sky is their bluescreen
They superimpose explosions
They shout at you
"pay no attention to the men behind the barbed curtain
Nor the craters beneath the draped flags
Those hoods are there for your protection
And meteors these days are the size of corpses

There's a war going on for your mind
We are the insurgents 

my other roommate is coming home tonight!

she is the one that i haven't lived with yet, only met briefly on moving day and once a few months prior.  i'm so nervous to have someone new and different living here!  technically, though, i'm the new one but i've had this week on my own to unpack all of my things and turn the common living space into something of my own (which i hopes she doesn't have a problem with).  my bookshelf is in the living room since it doesn't fit in my bedroom, so most of the color in the living room is in my books and trinkets sitting on the shelf.

even if she does have a problem, i don't really care.   i have to put my stuff somewhere, right?

still.  i was just getting used to living alone alone, and now someone else is going to come in that i have to get used to and work with.  i guess i should stop getting home from work at night and falling asleep on the sofa.  i've done that three nights in a row, falling asleep watching TV and waking up at 1 or 2 with a crick in my neck and drool on the pillow only to then drag my half dead zombie body upstairs to the attic for bed.  oh dear, oh dear.

so nervous!

the last few days have been furiously spent trying to finish the book that i'm binding for my cousin's wedding.  as a gift to them, i offered to make their guest book, since a) i'm quite poor and can't afford a proper gift, and b) i wanted an excuse to do the only craft i know how to execute well.

two days, 64 feet of waxed linen thread, four sheets of handmade paper and an entire Strathmore pad of heavy weight drawing paper later, we have a book!

the cover is going to be decorated with a title and maybe a simple image, but i want to keep it clean and classy.  i used a new method of binding (double needle coptic) that was somewhat difficult to understand, as i've only ever used single needle.  with single needle, you use one length of thread and one needle to stitch the entire book.  with double needle, you use two lengths of thread with a needle at each end, so 4 needles all together - quite a lot to keep organized and untangled!  but, it paid off, because double needle coptic allows for a lovely braided effect down the spine of the book. 

my desk is covered in paper scraps and i have a pack of 5 brand new blades for my exacto knife.  now comes the important, artistic part - how to make the cover look stunning!

i am not here to make change

i break chains

i break dance moves.

sitting at the table, waiting.  drinking warm pabst and thinking about stepping outside for a ciggie break.  short shorts, tights, vee-neck.  soon, music will be louder than it already is and i will be sweating more than i already am and moving my hips to the beat and making people sway.

i'll be seeing him when i close my eyes, and again when i open them, and i'll be wishing all the while to trade this night for his night.  missing.  missing.  missing.

want to wake up to him every morning.

want to wake up to him every morning.

Now he’s idling 
And time is dwindling
In his mind he’s figuring out life’s about the little things 
And his labyrinth 
And all his magnificent can only keep the mice trapped
The princess is innocent
She doesn’t belong… 

i'm finally here!

so i'm sitting at my (new) table eating breakfast (that i cooked myself) in an apartment (that i now pay rent on).  it feels somewhat marvelous to FINALLY be here, on my own, but at the same time i hate it.

i love:

my very large balcony

the pool just downstairs

the lovely manicured state of the complex

my roommate, alex, and the fact that she basically has let me take over decorating the front of the house

coming and going as i please

riding my bike

i hate:

how small my room is. (it feels like i'm cinderella, being banished to the attic when i go upstairs.)

the way noise carries. (but alex loves me and turned her music up way loud so that someone and i could have private time and not be heard!)

having to climb two flights of stairs to get into my room. (my calves are bloody BURNING!)

cooking on my own. (i burnt a scrambled egg yesterday)

all in all...it could be worse.  maybe it just takes some getting used to.  i think once i get my furniture in next weekend and i can finally unpack all my boxes, i will feel more at home.  right now i'm sleeping on the mattress on the floor and it's too close to the ground and everything feels tiny and not-quite-right.

school, where are you??  i need the distractions, so hurry up!