She's not so usual.

Puppy!

2007-05-07T18:10:48Z

We got a puppy. She's a 1.5 pound, 12-week-old yorkie puppy, and she's precious. We're in love.

She's my dad's early Mother's Day gift to my mom. My dad had been looking around for a yorkie puppy for a while and had contacted Lolli's breeders. Thursday morning, my mom answered the phone and the man on the other end asks if she's still interested in the puppy. Needless to say, it took my mom a minute to realize what the man was talking about, but once she did the man felt really bad--he didn't know it was supposed to be a surprise. Oops. I don't know why my dad gave the breeder our home phone and not his work phone.

I was really apprehensive at first since I think you should always adopt your dogs. There are so many homeless animals out there that it's hard to justify buying one. But as soon as we went to see her, I was hooked, and so was my mom. :)

So, here she is. We've had her since Thursday (5/3) evening, and she's really come out of her shell. She was so timid at first but now she bounces around like a bunny and acts like she's a big huge dog. She's got to be the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Lollipup! For more pictures, check out her set on my Flickr stream.

Screw grammar, apparently.

2007-02-26T19:51:08Z

I just saw a new Insight Broadband commercial claiming their sevice was "fastester." I will repeat: Insight Broadband's new slogan uses the word "fastester."

Although the woman in the commercial does admit that this is a made-up word, it is all I can do to keep from vomiting. Seriously, what in the hell are they thinking?

fairly foreign feeling

2007-01-13T05:37:18Z

Today I felt pretty good, so I sat down and took a lot of self-portraits. I'm sure I should feel vain and egocentric, but I don't. I don't ever feel like I photograph well, and I'm plain and boring and my skin isn't always clear and my features are awkward and I usually feel completely unattractive.

But today I took dozens of pictures, and the least I could narrow it down to was 26. Today I have 26 pictures of myelf that I'm so pleased with, I can't delete anymore of them. Today I had so many good pictures that I couldn't hardly choose just one to post. Today I felt really pretty, and I can't remember the last time I felt that. It's a great feeling, and I hope it happens more often.

Until then, there's plenty of self-portrait options that don't include a face. :)

Hooray, New Year meme!

2006-12-30T23:34:38Z

Will you be looking for a new job?
Most likely. It all depends on what shift I can get at the radio station, plus these last few days of work for Christmas break.

Will you be looking for a new relationship?
Not a chance.

New house?
Possibly. I’m still 50/50 on whether I want to stay in the Fair Commons apartments, or find a house to rent with someone.

What will you do different in 07?
I want to be considerably more extroverted.

New Years resolution?
One, I want to take at least one self-portrait every day for a year (as part of a Flickr group I’m in). Two, I want to lose 10 pounds.

What will you not be doing in 07?
Riding unicorns or solving Rubik’s cubes.

Any trips planned?
I’d love to take a summer road trip to New Mexico or Louisiana, but I highly doubt it will happen. One evening in Dayton is much more realistic.

Wedding plans?
Probably not, although I very selfishly hope for engagement plans at least.

What's on your calendar?
Nothing yet.

What can't you wait for?
To go back to school. Yeah, I'm a nerd.

What would you like to see happen differently?
I’d like to see myself react to things more calmly. I hate that I tend to be easily irritated and accusatory.

What about yourself will you be changing?
Hopefully an increase in exercise will get me back to how I used to look in high school.

What happened in 06 that you didn't think would ever happen?
I had a good birthday.

Will you be nicer to the people you care about?
I hope so. Kind of like I said before, I know I can be short-tempered sometimes. I absolutely hate that about myself, but I really want to work on changing that.

Will you dress differently this year than you did in 06?
Not really, although I’d like to work on incorporating more hair accessories and necklaces into my wardrobe. Otherwise, I’m very content with my style.

Will you start or quit drinking?
Nope and nope.

Will you better your relationship with your family?
I doubt it. My relationship with my parents is already good. As for my sister, I don’t have any desire to improve my relationship with her.

Will you do charity work?
I’ll continue my volunteer work for the Partners for Animal Welfare Society. I raise a lot of money for them.

Will you go to bars?
Probably not.

Will you be nice to people you don’t know?
Yes, unless they’re driving. I have little patience for asshole drivers, and I don’t feel bad cursing at them. 

Do you expect 2007 to be a good year for you?
Yes.

How much did you change from this time last year until now?
I don’t know. Some.

Do you plan on having a child?
Definitely not this year.

Will you still be friends with the same people you are friends with now?
I really don’t know. I’m sure Hannah and I will stay friends, but my college friends seem to change as my housing situation changes.

Major lifestyle changes?
I plan on becoming a pirate.

Will you be moving?
Yes—back home at the end of the semester, then back to the apartments or a house in the fall.

What will you make sure doesn't happen in 2007 that happened in 2006?
Hmm. I can’t really think of anything.

What are your New Years Eve plans?
I’ll be at Brandan’s house. I’m making Oreo cheesecake bites and people puppy chow to bring with me. We’ll probably just munch all evening and watch movies.

Will you have someone to kiss at midnight?
You bet.

Wish for 2007?
My wish is the same as it is every year. I wish for a puppy.

Honey, put on that party dress.

2006-12-21T19:22:59Z

My paid subscription to LJ expires in a few days. I don't plan to renew it.

I'm back at work, at the radio station. I love the music, and we've recently added a whole bunch of great music--some old hits, plus some new upcoming artists' stuff. Honestly, for a music lover like myself, you can't get a job much better than this. But with my best friend no longer working here with me, I'm going to have a lot more free time on my hands than I'm used to. Maybe I'll kill some time with more LJ posts. Or maybe not. I think I'm about done with LJ, considering I never have anything worth saying. I'm almost positive I lead the more boring life in the world.

Favorite songs of the day that I recommend:
Damien and Stephen Marley - All Night
Blessid Union of Souls - That's the Girl
Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil
Blur - Coffee and TV
Tom Petty - Mary Jane's Last Dance

Oh yes, and I just watched a friend of mine on The Price is Right. He graduated the year after I did--he was in a lot of theater productions with me, and was always really sweet. He made it to the showcase, then guesed a whopping $8000+ under. I'm terribly jealous of him, even if he didn't win, but excited to think that I actually KNOW someone who got to meet Bob Barker!

Books, books, books.

2006-12-13T01:18:14Z

I'm desperate for reading material. Suggestions, anyone?

Cheese.

2006-11-20T21:56:53Z

I have no good photos on Flickr, but I'm becoming more inspired by the day. Like I said earlier, it's taken over my life. I'd damn near become a prostitute for a Nikon D80 or a Canon Digital Rebel XTi. But it makes me all the more certain that my two and a half years as an education major are futile. I've been thinking about it for several months now, and I'm pretty certain I don't really want to teach. Of course, it's too late now, so I'll finish this degree and make the best of it. What was I thinking? Well, I think I'd gotten it in my head that becoming a teacher would be the next best thing to what I truly want to be--a stay at home mom--that I'd convinced myself it was the career for me. Sure, I'd have the same schedule as my kids, but what good is that if I'm not happy?

Never before has the phrase "living for tomorrow" been so true for me. I'm so close to a complete emotional shutdown it's crazy, and I'm just hanging on by reminding myself that tomorrow I'll have a welcomed, although entirely too short, break. I intend to make the most of this break, catch up with friends (especially friends with boys in other countries!) and not think about school as much as possible.

'Cause you can't find nothing at all if there was nothing there all along.

2006-11-13T16:18:11Z

I feel like I haven't updated in forever. I read everyone else's posts avidly, but I simply don't have anything worth saying. Mostly.

Over the past month or two, I've felt myself spiraling down into a depression deeper than I've felt since freshman year in high school. I know full well that my life is going great. I finally have a good, close friend to talk to, I'm making other friends as well, Brandan's still a dream come true, and my grades are good. Yet no matter how much I remind myself of these good things, the depression has consumed my entire being, leaving me lonely, unfulfilled, and thoroughly miserable. I feel the blame is entirely on this semester's classes. I've never had such a worthless bunch of classes. Specifically, my education classes are wearing me down to the point where I feel like giving up. I am learning nothing. I am doing nothing. I tell people how I never have homework, how I spend hours upon hours of every evening surfing the net or watching tv, trying to find something to keep me from being completely bored. They tell me they're envious and that I'm lucky, and that when they took these classes with another professor, they were always up to their eyeballs in homework. What they don't understand is that I'd rather spend several hours a night doing homework that will actually benefit me and my teaching career. I'd love to be doing homework, so that I felt I was actually being prepared for becoming a teacher. But mostly, I'd love to feel like I'm learning how to be the teacher I want to be, so that I can truly make a difference in my students' lives.

After two and a half years attending countless education courses, I feel no better prepared than when I graduated from high school. I've learned the occasional vocabulary term and some of the legality issues with teaching. But when it comes to actual teaching techniques, I've got nothing. This semester has been the worst at this by far. I am tutoring a second grade student who doesn't even know all the letters of the alphabet, and I know I could really help her out. Were I able to do it my way, had I some actual instruction on HOW to teach reading, I could really get this kid reading. But I am terribly restricted by my professor's ridiculous lesson plan guidelines, and as a result I doubt this girl will show any improvement at all. My professor outlines each "activity" (the same retarded activity every session) we do, expecting the children to learn from the same activity day after day. But my student is becoming bored with this activity, and it's done nothing to help her learn the alphabet. I am so limited by what my professor tells me I MUST teach that I cannot teach this girl what she truly needs to learn. I worry ithis is showing me a little of actual teaching will be like: Teachers are so harshly limited to what and how they can teach, no thanks to the Indiana Academic Standards and the No Child Left Behind Act. Regardless of what the students actually need help with, teachers are forced to teach only what is necessary to help pass the ISTEP. Sure, a student might know the difference between a noun and a verb, but how far is it going to get them if I can't teach them how to comprehend what they're reading? There are so many outlines of what a teacher MUST teach that there is no room left for what a teacher actually NEEDS to teach. It makes me not want to teach anymore.

All this makes me not want to teach anymore. I'm immensely discouraged and fed up with education in general. I want so badly to teach and interact with students, but I'm realizing that people cares less and less about helping the children and more and more about making school statistics look good. It's cliche, I know, but I really do want to become a teacher to make a difference in kids' lives. But with what I'm being taught, I'll never be able to do that. And I keep wondering why I'm pursuing something that is so disheartening when I could do something I love that people would actually appreciate. Something that I will actually be competent and well prepared to do, without all the terrible restrictions of these crappy professors, like photography or animal-assisted therapy or speech pathology.

I say all this not because I expect anyone to care. I don't, because I understand that this is boring and sounds like nothing more than complaining, but it feels good to tell this to someone. I'm afraid to admit it to anyone else.

My poor little Lola.

2006-10-29T15:11:56Z

I've got the most perfect puppy I could ever ask for, but I can't figure out how to get someone to keep her until after this year and I can get an apartment. In nine months to a year, I'd be out of the campus apartments and could keep her. But no one can keep her for me till then, so after today she'll be gone forever. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how to make it work, but it won't.

This is awful.

There's a small, small glimmer of hope after all. We'll see what happens.

Cute little hedgepig.

2006-10-19T16:36:38Z

Per request of abient, here's some pictures!

These pictures aren't the best, but I haven't gotten around to uploading newer ones. I guess if you guys like these, I can always post more. Right now, it's hard to get her to do about anything. She's very she and gets spooked by everything. I have her out every day, but she spends the majority of that time curled in a ball. She's improving, though. I'm just used to having older hedgehogs that have already been socialized, so I've got to remember to be patient with her since she's still a shy little baby.

Meet Poppy, born 8/15/06.

See how little she is? But don't worry, she's not quite full grown yet.

This is what she looks like to me the majority of the time. She pulls her forequills down over her eyes, I guess to remind me that we are not friends.

She anoints more than any hedgehog I've ever had. I find it terribly amusing. You'd think that, if they love anointing so much, they would have evolved to become more limber contortionists. They always seem like they're struggling to reach around!

Streeeeeetch!

Hedgehogs are suprisingly good swimmers, and my other hedgies have always enjoyed playing in the bathtub. This was Poppy's first swim, so I kept the water shallow.

He he, little water droplets on her head.

They're normally tucked up underneath her, but she have little nubby legs. And a soft little belly! She kept looking at her reflection on the side of the tub.
</cut>

I like making lists too.

2006-10-19T04:09:30Z

1. I think I'm losing interest in Livejournal. Flickr, on the other hand, has my undevided attention.

2. You know people don't consider you friends anymore when they leave your Facebook fan club group.

3. If you're doing a group project and I am nice enough to volunteer to put the Powerpoint together, be considerate. If I asked to have your part of the presentation by 9pm the night before (a reasonable time, I thought), do NOT stop working, leave to go watch the Project Runway season finale, and then finish afterwards, so that I'm up until midnight waiting to on you so I can finish the slides.

4. I've gotten more sleep this week than most, but I feel more tired. I must be crazy. Or nocturnal.

5. I want my hedgehog to like me.

PROOF.

2006-10-16T13:44:33Z

I guess they weren't spaghetti straps. But thank goodness I stumbled on this girl's Facebook photos!

Things that make you go "buuhhh."

2006-10-09T05:46:05Z

As promised, here's the whole story about my Saturday gone crazy. I'm cutting it just because it's so long, but I really think it's worth reading if you've got a minute and want some entertainment. Honestly, this story is the kind of thing you see on TV. BUT IT'S ALL TRUTH, BABY.

My friend, Hannah, came up and stayed the night on Friday, and was going to leave after the game on Saturday. So Saturday afternoon, about 4:30, we're both out in the Fair Commons parking lot by her car, saying our goodbyes and whatnot. A guy in his mid-50s pulls up in this little gold hatchback and gets out of the car. As he steps out from behind the car we realize he's wearing women's clothing. From the neck up, he looks like a normal, middle-aged man, but he's wearing a brown spaghetti-strap camisole top, a short short pink ruffled miniskirt, and heels. Oh, and a black sequin purse. We're trying to stifle our laughter, thinking surely this guy is either playing a joke on someone or owning up to a lost bet. We're both trying to ignore him and not laugh, but he comes up to us and asks if this is a girl's dorm. I tell him no, it's Fair Commons apartments. He says he's meeting a friend here and she lives in a girl's dorm, but he can't remember which one. Remember, I’m so completely taken aback that I don’t hardly know what to say, and Hannah’s speechless. So, in an attempt to simply get this dude to go away so we can laugh our asses off, I explain that FC isn’t near the other dorms, and point over in the general direction of the dorms. I say something along the lines of, "Well, all the dorms are over that way, so I'm sure you'll find her if she's out looking for you." In retrospect, I probably told him too much, but like I said, I was in complete shock. Honestly, I was so flabbergasted by this man’s absurd get up and totally serious, polite attitude that I was not thinking straight. I was definitely trying too hard to be polite.

We’re still not quite sure if this guys is serious or just playing a joke, but then he asks, completely seriously, “Do you think this looks good?” Holy crap. If he’s serious, I don’t want to offend him or piss him off, so the only thing I can think to say is, “Well, I think brown always looks good” or something like that. I'm thinking there, I sent him off, he'll go away. NO. He says, "Okay, this is a weird question, but do you mind taking a picture of me?" and he whips this disposable camera out of his purse. Hannah’s standing next to me with her mouth agape, being completely unhelpful, and I'm not sure what to do. I just want him to leave, so I grab the camera and snap a picture to make him happy (he poses like a girl would). Then he asks if I'll take a shot of him from the back so he can see if his panty line is showing. No joke. I just kind of aim randomly, snap the shot, and shove the camera back in his hand. But the picture isn’t good enough. He takes the camera but asks, “Really, IS my panty line showing?” Good god. Even though you could clearly see the pink and red flowered women's panties through his skirt, we both hastily say no, hoping he'll leave. He thanks us and hops in his car and drive away. As he drives away, Hannah notices that the entire back of his car is filled with women's dresses.

Hannah and I just stand, completely dumbfounded, by her car for a good two minutes or so. It's like we can't decide if it really happened or not. It was SO CREEPY. We speculate about what in the hell could have been going on with that dude. Was he playing a joke on a son or daughter on campus? What if he was someone’s parent suffering from a crazy mid-life crisis? What if he was mentally insane? What if he was a sex offender, and I just pointed him toward the dorms? I started getting really worried, but tried to convince myself he was just an innocent, if abnormally dressed, man.

Hannah leaves, and I go back to my room to just... be creeped out, I guess. I’m still in complete shock. I mean, this is something you see in crappy movies. Things like this don’t happen in real life, let alone little Christian AU! Well, the more I start the think about it, the more I wonder if maybe this guy's a sex offender trying to mack on freshman girls, so I call security.

Security Guy: “Hello?”
Me: "Look, you're not going to believe me, but I was just approached by a man in women's clothing."
Security Guy: “Well, miss, we’ve got him in our custody right now.”
Me: “Oh.” (in my head, oh shit!)

Security Guy proceeds to ask me what happened, and I explain, in detail. In the background, I hear a woman say, "Here sir, let's have you put this t-shirt on.” Security Guy hands the phone over to Head Security Lady, who starts asking me all sorts of

He hands the phone over to some Head Security Lady, who starts asking me all sorts of questions... Did he try to hurt you? Did he enter the rooms? What did he say? What did he do? Etc. I retell the whole story, again, and she listens quietly. She says, “Well, I've had trouble with this man before at Ball State. For the most part he's harmless, but he gets his kicks from entering girls' dorms, girls' locker rooms, girls' bathrooms and just giving them a scare. He's been banned from the BSU campus, and now he’s being banned from the AU campus." She talks to me some more for a while, mostly reassuring me and thanking me for calling, and hangs up.

Ten minutes later, she calls me back to tell me they've issued him all sorts of citations and warnings and whatnot and have sent him on his way home. That if I see him or his car anywhere on campus, to call security and they'll promptly have him arrested. She thanks me again for calling, and wishes me a peaceful evening. I hang and collapse on the couch. I’m laughing and shaking at the same time—I’m completely creeped out by the whole mess, but it was all so comical that I can’t stop laughing. He was just too crazy.

In sum, an older man in women's clothing got all creepy in the parking lot, I took his picture to appease him so he wouldn't rape me or chop my head off, and Campus Security arrested him and questioned me for the whole story. I still can’t get those disturbing images out of my head. It was too surreal.</cut>

Caution my ass.

2006-09-05T20:06:57Z

Bordering the university campus is The Driving Center, a facility offering Driver Education courses. I believe it to be the only such place in Anderson. That is fine and well, as I fully understand the need to teach aspiring drivers the do's and don't's of traffic. And I remember well how important Driver's Ed seemed to be to me and what a landmark it was in my high school career. Everyone wants to be able to drive. But for the love of goodness, why must every driving instructor have their student driver practice on the AU campus? They've got the whole city of Anderson to explore. Why can't they go be a roadblock and a nuisance somewhere else, for a change?

Hooray for PAWS!

2006-08-19T23:12:31Z

Today was the PAWS Pool Party. It was a blast! I was the PAWS DJ, keeping music going during the event from noon to four. I got tons of compliments about how great the music was and what a good job I did. I did play some darn good music, if I do say so myself (all summery/animal-related songs, mostly 60's and 70's). In fact, I'm so proud of the playlist I used, I'm saving it for future reference.

Anywho, it was very entertaining to watch all the dogs swimming. They were either completely gung-ho and dove in every chance they got, or completely terrified and refused to swim unless dragged in their merciless owners. And watching the owners was almost as fun--scolding your dog for sniffing another dog's butt is like scolding a person for shaking another person's hand. That's just how they say hello.

He got thrown in, and he wasn't happy.

I love the splash in this picture!

Looks remarkably like a wet rat, doesn't it?

Okay, so not everyone was having a fun time.

She carried her around like this the entire time.

He was way too cool to swim.

The girls told me this is Princess Fiona. They also told me Princess Fiona also likes to play dress-up with them.

This is my favorite picture from the whole event.

rolercoastering @ 2006-08-09T00:55:00

2006-08-09T05:02:02Z

Yesterday I got a not-so-great haircut. Basically, there weren't really any layers like I'd asked, so it was closer to a bob than anything (and I wasn't so fond of the bob). So today I went back and had them add a lot more layers, and even out my bangs. It's shorter than I'd planned, but I'm happy with it.

BEFORE:

The only real picture of the bob-cut.

P.S. Does anyone else have trouble using the "hover" with Firefox?

P.P.S. I went picture crazy over the past couple days, so I might post some a-day-in-the-life-of-Rachel pictures. Or I may not.

My fish need a new home.

2006-07-23T19:30:34Z

FOR SALE: 10-GALLON FRESHWATER AQUARIUM.

I've had this aquarium for about a year and just don't want to fool with dragging it back up to school in a month. It's in excellent condition, all fish are extremely healthy, and everything is in perfect working order.

Includes: 10 gallon aquarium with lighted hood, power filter, heater, thermometer, gravel, plants, all water and maintenance supplies, and eight fish. $50 or best offer.

1. Blue and purple betta.
2. Red-eye tetra.
3. Red-eye tetra.
4. Red-eye tetra.
5. Dwarf coral platy.
6. Hybrid hi-fin platy.
7. Very special, amazingly robust, nearly indestructable banjo catfish, "Tank".*
NOT SHOWN: One small, shy oto catfish.
*Tank has a story to explain why he looks so funny, and why he's my favorite fish ever. Ask if you're interested.

If interested:
--leave a comment.
--or call 317-679-9426.
--or email me at rnthomas(at)anderson(dot)edu.

Too much free time?

2005-11-14T06:10:49Z

I'm working on making my own mood theme, but I'm stuck. Help, please? Here's the stats:
1. I've made all the icons 60px by 60px, which I don't believe to be too big.
2. I've uploaded all the icons onto my Photobucket account.
3. I've gone through and painstakingly copied/pasted the URLs onto the Mood Theme Editor page.
4. I hit save, and everything went bye-bye.
What am I doing wrong?

[/edit: It's all good, I did it! Hooray! Man, I'm lame. What do you think? Too much? I'm not a fan of all the white background on them, but I'm not sure how to get rid of it. Ideas?]

Help.

2005-10-25T23:58:42Z

Does anyone know how to take a screencap of a DVD?

Thanks.

Obligatory Harry Potter entry.

2005-07-17T18:15:32Z

So, like the rest of the world, I like Harry Potter. I admit it. I'm not a psycho fan--I didn't wait at Barnes and Noble until midnight so I could get the first copy in Indiana, I don't wear costumes on J. K. Rowling's birthday, and I don't own a wand, but I do find great enjoyment in reading the books. So, as is customary, I must read HBP.

My dad bought it for my sister and me yesterday, and I realized a dilemma that must be fixed before I can read it. As I have pretty much the worst memory in the history of the world, I don't remember much of what happened in Order of the Phoenix at all. It's terrible.

So, LJers, I'm asking:

Can someone remind me about what happened in The Order of the Phoenix?

I guess it goes without saying that if you, in any way, reveal anything about HBP, I will be forced to hunt you down and slice your throat.

Thanks!

You should probably read this.

2005-07-05T06:30:46Z

From now on, this journal will [mostly] be

Comment to be added. Thank you.

Randomness!

2005-07-01T06:12:23Z

Today, when I let my dog in, I also let in a spider, an ant, and somehow a roly poly. Ew. I rescued the ant and the roly poly, but I'm afraid the spider is no more.

Today was Brandan's birthday. I hope he had a good one. However, it's not over yet, I've got something in mind for Saturday, it just wouldn't have worked out for a weeknight.

When my phone rings it plays the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory theme song. Happiness.

I'm getting really worried about my paranoia/forgetfulness. It's worse than ever. I do my weird breathing thing constantly now. I can't explain it, it's kind of like a really short, quick breath that I have to do. And when I say "have to do" I mean it will drive me crazy. Kind of like how its really hard to not blink and when you're in a staring contest, it's like all you can think about is blinking, and it takes every ounce of willpower you have not to blink? Well, it's kind of like that.

What's also gotten worse is my horrible memory and my constant double-checking of things. I think I press the "Lock" button on my keys about 6 times at least as I'm walking away from my car, and even then I'll run back to make sure it's locked. And then I'll ask Brandan once or twice if I've locked it. I'm sure it drives him bonkers. I just honest to goodness can't remember if I've locked it. And showers are starting to take forever, too. I know this sounds completely crazy, but I'll shampoo my hair two or three times simply because, after I've rinsed it out, I can't remember if I really shampooed it or not. Then I'll put the conditioner in, and wonder if I forgot to shampoo it first, and so I'll rinse out the conditioner and start all over. Now, I'm not sure how many times I actually wash my hair in the shower (because I can't remember), but I think it probably gets washed at least two or three times. It's pathetic, I know. But it just goes to show how bad my memory's getting. For crying out loud, I can't even remember if I've washed my hair AS I'm rinsing the shampoo out. Now that's just sad. If I'm this bad now, I can't even imagine what I'll be like when I'm 50.

Isn't there some protein or something in fish that's supposed to improve your memory? Maybe I need to go on a steady diet of seafood for the next, oh, five years.

Besides my horrible memory, things are good. Brandan's been amazing (as always) and this week's gone by fairly fast for a change. Not to mention I've been getting to bed at a better hour--1 or 2am instead of 3 or 4--so I'm feeling a little more energized.

I've just learned that someone with whom I didn't get along is NOT returning to AU this fall. I don't mean to sound mean, and I've tried so hard to be accepting, but I really think she'll be better off somewhere else. Although I know she's an extremely nice person, she was not the best suitemate. It was obvious she didn't like Anderson because she caused problems and always talked poorly about it, and I'm happy she'll be somewhere else. It's clear AU just wasn't what she was looking for. I only hope her next choice for college works better for her.

Lesson I learned yesterday: Never buy anything from an Apple store. I will stick with Best Buy from now on.
Lesson I learned today: Actors may make mistakes, but only Laurence Fishburne played Cowboy Curtis on "PeeWee's Playhouse."

Ok, time for bed. And I need to go check and make sure I remembered to close the garage door.

"That woman could lactate like nobody's business. Y'all breast-feed now, y'hear?"

2005-06-28T06:53:17Z

Freaking sweet! I just won a free t-shirt, and I never win anything. That's SO my name up at the top! In case you're not sure, Songfacts.com (along with Artistfacts.com) give all the info you could need about songs and the artists who sing them. I reference Songfacts all the time on the radio.

Two in a row!

2005-06-28T02:02:50Z

Because jessinny did it.

LAYER ONE:
-- Name: Rachel
-- Age: 19
-- Current Location: Greenfield
-- Eye Colour: brown
-- Hair Colour: brown
-- Zodiac sign: Aquarius

LAYER TWO:
-- Your heritage: native american (Choctaw) and some other stuff.
-- The shoes you wore today: Pink- and black-checkered Airwalks.
-- weaknesses: Puppies.
-- Your fears: Getting too old to take care of myself.
-- Goal you'd like to achieve: It's corny, I won't speak it!

LAYER THREE:
-- Your most overused phrase: "Your face..."
-- Your thoughts first waking up: Eew or yay, depending on where I am.
-- Your best physical feature(s): Ha.
-- Your bedtime: Some time between 1 and 3, usually.
-- Your most missed memory: Absurd late-night talks with my roommate.

LAYER FOUR:
-- Pepsi or Coke: Pepsi=Mountain Dew.
-- McDonald's or Burger King: Chick-fil-A, please.
-- Single or group dates: Doesn't matter.
-- Adidas or Nike: Adidas, or Converse, since it's owned by Nike.
-- Chocolate or vanilla: Vanilla.
-- Cappuccino or coffee: Cappuccino.

LAYER FIVE:
-- Smoke: No.
-- Cuss: Occasionally.
-- Sing: of course.
-- Have a crush: have a boyfriend :)
-- Do you think you've been in love: of course
-- Liked high school: nope
-- Want to get married: Yes.
-- Believe in yourself: for the most part, usually.
-- Think you're attractive: sometimes.
-- Think you're healthy: Yeah right. By all means I should weigh 1293 pounds. God Bless my high metabolism!
-- Like thunderstorms: Yep, as long as there's no tornados.
-- Play an instrument: Used to play viola, then alto sax.

LAYER SIX:
In the past month...
-- Drank alcohol: Nope.
-- Smoked: nope.
-- Done a drug: nope.
-- Made out: of course.
-- Gone on a date: Yes.
-- Gone to the mall: Yes.
-- Eaten sushi: Nope.
-- Been on stage: nope.
-- Been dumped: nope.
-- Gone skating: nope.
-- Made homemade cookies: nope.
-- Dyed your hair: nope.
-- Stolen anything: nope.

LAYER SEVEN:
Ever...
-- Played a game that required removal of clothing: yes.
-- If so, was it mixed company: yes.
-- Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Not really.
-- Been caught "doing something": no.
-- Been called a tease: sort of.
-- Gotten beaten up: nope.
-- Shoplifted: nope.
-- Changed who you were to fit in: Perhaps only slightly in my middle school years (happens to the best of us).

LAYER EIGHT:
-- Are you hoping to be married: More than I probably should.
-- Numbers and names of children: N/A
-- How do you want to die: I don't want to talk about that. Just DONATE MY ORGANS.
-- Where you want to go to college: I'm already there--AU!
-- What do you want to be when you grow up: Jessica Alba.
-- What country would you most like to visit: Australia!

LAYER NINE:
Any sex...
-- Best eye colour: greeny-brown
-- Best hair colour: natural
-- Short or long hair: doesn't matter.
-- Height: doesn't matter.
-- Best article of clothing: On a boy? Black tuxes are nice... :)
-- Best first date location: In the movie theater watching The Whole Ten Yards. :)
-- Best first kiss location: Anywhere that's NOT the top of a ferris wheel.

LAYER TEN:
-- Number of drugs taken illegally: None.
-- Number of people I could trust with my life: 8.
-- Number of CDs that I own: Good grief, like, 68454893.
-- Number of piercings: 5 holes in the ears.
-- Number of tattoos: None.
-- Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: Gosh, no idea... 20? 30?

[x] Spell your first name backwards: lehcaR.
[x] The story behind your username: Griffins are my favorite animals, 2-18's my birthday.
[x] Five words that sum you up: One-of-a-kind. Loud.

rolercoastering @ 2005-06-27T20:29:00

2005-06-28T01:39:26Z

Things I did this weekend:

Went to Castleton.
Ate a Chick-fil-A chicken salad sandwich and a sweet tea.
Played with the cutest black pug puppy ever.
Drove a lot.
Watched Super Mario Brothers.
Watched Brandan fall asleep.
Went to Best Buy and did NOT buy a computer.
Bought an iTrip.
Felt pretty.
Ate Chinese.
Sweat entirely too much.
Went to Tom's Hannah's house.
Watched The Jacket.
SWAM. (in a bikini and everything!)
Wished I had a horse.
Made messes.
Hung out with Brandan's Grandma and Jen.
Ate a chimichanga.
Spent an hour wandering around Walgreens.
Ate Screaming Yellow Zonkers.
Slept a lot.
Stayed up late.

Yep, that's about it. Boring, eh? It wasn't an extremely eventful weekend, but I loved it. It was so relaxing. I spent a lot of time with Brandan and even when we were doing absolutely nothing (like walking up and down the aisles of Walgreens) it was a blast. I love the weekends. I also love Blockbuster, since I pretty much have a monopoly over the place with the massive amounts of movies I rent.