.:wanderlust:.

i sort of missed the boat on "new year's resolutions" this year, but as my birthday is coming up in a week i have decided to make some "25-year-old resolutions" instead.

in no particular order, as a 25-year-old i will:
1) get back into exercising on a regular basis, as difficult as it may be to fit into my schedule. even if it's just doing some crunches and pushups before bed, i will do something every day.
2) go to the dentist.
3) increase my "tech" skills...specifically i would like to learn some basic php/mysql and drupal, and just generally make myself more competent with new technologies.
4) recover some semblance of "personal style," which i used to have and am now severely lacking.
5) GRADUATE LIBRARY SCHOOL AND GET A JOB.

received lots of hopeful news today, exciting! among that which relates directly to me is the fact that one of my professors/librarians said she would help me get more hours in the university libraries next semester. if i can get the max 20 hours/week, that would be wonderful because:
1) i'll get more experience and have more people to ask for references when job-application time arrives
2) that plus the fifteen hours from my internship will bring me up to 35 hours/week, and i won't have to work in food service!
3) probably ten of those hours will be at a different library, with more hours, so i can maybe work some evenings

also, my schedule for my field placement next semester should be worked out by the end of next week, so i can start making plans around that as well.

here's the one frustrating thing:
i have done *basically* the same thing to my skin for the past 3(?) or so years, and it's been working pretty well for me. but i guess something about the air or the weather here is changing the way my skin reacts and i'm going to need to find new products/routines/etc. because i went from a forehead full of grease and zits last week to dry, red, itchy face this week. this needs to get worked out, asap! any suggestions?

things are not easy with this long distance business by any stretch, but i can honestly say that i've only grown more and more in love with austin as time goes on.

it's a big day. a good day, largely. i'm still tearing up a bit when i really think about it all. i don't really know how to express it other than to say that i'm proud that we did this. that we chose something new, different, and progressive. we aren't irredeemable.

i am, however, crushed about proposition 8.

my faith in humanity is moderately restored, as i just received the nicest email, from a really old family friend that i hadn't seen in probably 12 years until my grandmother's funeral. i guess there really are some people out there who are just good, and i just need to remember that there's a big difference between being a good person and being someone that i enjoy spending time with.


Kathleen was such a special person to our family, and I think Jen put it best to say that the two girlfriends are probably sitting on a porch somewhere sipping their Southern Comforts. Our grandmothers had lots of secrets and I think it would be such a nice thing for us to all stay in touch to remember that connection.


now to hope that the rest of the country proves me right today...

i wish i was this awesome, for halloween:

hmm, i'm sure everyone is tired of my zillion coat posts, but...

so here's the thing. as much as i love the color of the coat i got at h&m, and it fits really well, it's not very warm. and as previously mentioned, the buttons look shitty. so i've been thinking about returning it. and here's the thing...i found one that i like that does look super warm. except it's from fucking LANDS END haha. but here it is, look at it.
http://www.landsend.com/pp/ChevronDownCoat~174712_59.html?bcc=y&action=order_more&sku_0=::BKY&CM_MERCH=IDX_00007__0000001029&origin=index

i kind of think it's awesome, right? it looks so warm. and it's purple. and there's a furry hood. and here's the seriously awesome thing: Over layering pieces, the Chevron Down Coat will keep you warm in -25° weather

but i need just a tad bit more reassurance that this is actually an acceptable coat for me to wear, since you know...it's from lands end.

what do you think?!?!?!

this is beautiful:

"So far, slow fashion is a tiny movement — far from the natural, traditional evolution of the garments featured in Inwood, the attempt to create small-batch cottage industries from fair trade materials can feel forced and somewhat twee. Much as local and organic eating is only beginning to shake off the stigma of yuppie luxury and become a slowly-growing cultural norm, so too must clothing with a provenance."

from: http://jezebel.com/5060611/slow-hand-native-american-dresses-forever21-kilts-and-the-recession

so i think today is the day that i will finally get serious about taking vitamins. i had forgotten how much of a disruption it is to get sick. or at least, how much of a disruption it is to get sick when your schedule leaves you with basically no wiggle room. i spent all of yesterday asleep on the couch, which was good for me but means i got nothing done. i lost five hours of paid work, in addition to the seven i'm losing next week when "fall break" rearranges our class schedule and the 14 i will lose when i go to louisville in a couple weeks (yeah...my mom called and said things are NOT getting better with my grandmother, so i'm going home for a weekend). i really need every single one of my 40.5 hours of work per week, so i just can't get sick again this semester, and that's that.

i suppose i'll be making a trek to the grocery store in the rain in a bit, since i'm out of cat food and have the aforementioned need for vitamins. there are a few other things i need too, but i feel like i'll almost definitely have to go to the store again before austin arrives, so i probably won't get too much.

i'm trying to get a zillion things done before austin gets here on monday, but i'm having trouble staying productive. i'm sure part of that is the sickness, since right now nothing seems more important than curling up on the couch, but i need to keep myself on track! tonight i must:
- go to the grocery store and cvs
- finish this marketing letter for acla
- do an assignment about MARC records for LIS2001
- do an assignment about XML code and DTDs for LIS2670
- read as much of "Double Fold" and "Glut" as humanly possible.
- make myself a healthy, vitamin-rich dinner
- do dishes

i should be able to accomplish all of that in the next seven hours, right? right?

then tomorrow i have class from 12-6, should really go to see a potential new faculty member speak beforehand, and then have to write an essay on these two books before 11:30. friday i have work 9:30-3, then a meeting with my adviser at 3:15, then a hair appointment at 4. crazy. and over the weekend i work until 5 both days, am hopefully going roller skating/dancing saturday night, and need to make some serious headway on the next search and seize.

i've been looking at the spring course offerings, and i'm feeling disappointed. while there are several courses that i'm interested in (or required to take), only two are available as on-campus courses. i have a meeting with my adviser on friday, so i'll take it up with her, but i'm frustrated. it looks like i'll definitely be taking academic librarianship and government documents, since those are actually offered on campus, and i'm still hoping to do a field placement this spring, so i guess i just need to find one more...which will mean either taking something that i want to take online, or taking something that i'm not as interested in just because it's offered on campus. either way i have to make a sacrifice, and i'm not thrilled about it.

so i've been a little shopping-crazy lately, but by and large i've restricted it to things that i actually needed so i don't feel too bad! here are some of the things that should be arriving in the next few days:

orange dolce vita pumps


grey corduroy trousers


grey "steel city" boots


crown condoms =)


GLUT


and finally...i bought a coat! it's just from h&m, so it's not super warm, and the buttons look cheap (i'll probably replace them), but it's EXACTLY the color i was looking for (a deep emerald green, really jewel-y) and it fits well. plus it was only $70, so now i can probably afford to by another, more casual, coat if i find one i like. there are no pictures on the website, but i tried to take some on my computer. the lighting in my room sucks so you can't really see it, but here it is:

and here's a close up of the cuff where you can kind of see the color and the cheap-looking button:


austin comes a week from tomorrow and i can't wait...i'm going to ride the bike every day & do lots of situps, and i'm going to eat tons of fruits/veggies, lean meat, and gallons of water all week so i can look my best. i have to say...as hard as it is on a day-to-day basis without having him here, it's really fun to make special plans for visits...to order NICE condoms and make more of an effort to look good. it keeps me positive, at least. and there are tons of things going on while he'll be here! villains @ cmu w/ todd & geoff, debate, lazercrunk (which he'll be playing at i think?). it should be fantastic. and we'll have time to hang out and be together.

but seriously...does anyone know any good websites to order buttons?

do any of you all use twitter? i haven't used it much in the past, but i'm trying to start using it more. if so, i'm anitazavrrr (shock).

also, do you have a twitter app for firefox that shows you your twitter feeds? i would like one. k thanks.

coat options!

#1...i really like the shape of this one, and the color is good in terms of flexibility. also it looks nicerbuuuut, i'm a little worried that it won't be that warm.


#2...this one is a bit more casual, which i'm not sure about, but it would definitely be warmer, and the furry hood is probably really practical since i'm not used to real winter & don't like hats. except white is really impractical & i'd probably get it filthy.


so what do you all think...go with practicality in terms of warmth/function? or in terms of flexibility/dressiness/classic style?

last night was a bit rough. the vast majority of the time i'm really happy here and things are great, but sometimes when it's been a long couple of days and i've barely slept, the loneliness gets to me. i just miss austin a lot, and it's easy to think positively about things when i'm in a good mood (only two more weeks until he's here!), but when i'm tired and putting off a stupid assignment and facing an 11 hour day, it seems so difficult (two more weeks, i'm never going to make it...). so i was sad and cried a lot, but then i did what i do best and woke up early to finish my work on a deadline and now i'm at work (although slacking off, ha). although here's a serious question...what the fuck happened to my hair between home and here? because when i left my house, it looked nice. now, it looks like i got caught in the rain and it re-dried or something. gah.

but i finished my assignment from last night, can easily finish the one that needs to be in by 11:30 this evening after class, and have tomorrow evening to work on my huge reference assignment. i can do laundry on wednesday (thank god, it's been over 3 weeks...actually i've seen austin more recently than i've done laundry, wow!), and hopefully get some sleep this week. i'm working by myself at crepes tomorrow as well, which means lots of tips.

i think this will be a spendy week, but necessarily so. i've found two winter coats that i like from topshop, and just need to pick which one to buy (seriously...IM me and help me decide). after shipping it will cost me $160-175, but i don't think that's so bad for a nice winter coat. i've just bought some orange patent-leather pumps from dolce vita, and i think i'm going to get a pair of corduroy trousers from j.crew, since i need some non-jean pants. i also need to buy a girl talk ticket, a new planner (i'm giving in and just buying a cheap one), and groceries. at some point i still need to buy boots, but they can wait.

so as of THIS MOMENT, austin will be here in less than two weeks, and i can't wait!

should i get this as my winter coat?

http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=32051&storeId=13052&categoryId=133480&parent_category_rn=133476&productId=832330&langId=-1

i need to decide soon before they sell out of small ones.

it seems like every other week i have tons of work, and every other i'm basically free. this is one of the busy ones, but it's all good. i have large assignments due in every class between now and monday, work at the math library and crepes parisienne, and attending a conference on early childhood literacy.

but even though i'm tired a lot of the time, and looking at my day planner makes my head swim, and i hate waking up in the morning without austin to cuddle up to, i'm so happy here. i know, i know...honeymoon stage. but even if it's just temporary happiness, at least it's something to be excited about.

there are a zillion things to be excited about at the moment, really. hosting a dinner party / debate watch friday, going out to fun events with new friends, seeing austin before too long, planning ahead for next semester, looking into (real) jobs...

oh, and it's FALL here. suck on that, atlanta.

i try not to do any "social" computing here at work, but my boss is at lunch and the math library is under my sole command, so i'll share this little tidbit:

i live by a school/center for the blind, so there are often actual packs of blind people roaming around in my neighborhood. it's a bit strange, i'm used to seeing a blind person here or there but a group of them still sort of throws me off. i generally try to just walk/act normally when i encounter them, because i figure they probably know what they're doing and if i'm darting around all over the place trying to avoid them it will just make things more difficult.

except this morning i was run into from behind by an old blind man with a cane, followed by an old blind woman hanging onto his shoulders conga-line style, and another old blind woman behind her doing the same. amazing. they did not even slow down, just hit me full steam even after his cane hit my feet. hahahaha.

as a side note, i'm happy and things are good. i'll try to post more often.

by some miracle, i've actually finished my huge reference assignment. well, i haven't formatted the citations yet, but that's nothing. tomorrow at work (math library) i just need to do those citations, finish a simple assignment for my organizing info class, and post my reading notes for digital libraries. i should be able to do those things in five hours, i suspect. ha. it's maybe an hour and a half of work. and then i am free for the weekend! i'll have some reading to do, but that's it. i get off work at three, and i need to go buy cat food, pick up one more present for austin, then come home and shower, finish packing, clean the litter box. and then it's off to the airport.

i simply cannot wait to see austin. he called me last night & said the sweetest stuff...i've missed him so much. it's been a rough month of being apart, more so for him than me i think, but we will finally have three nights to be together. we can make this work.

so obviously i'm excited to see austin and my aunt and my other friends (because i did actually have some at the end there), but holy shit am i not excited to be in atlanta again. i have not missed that place ONE BIT (excpet maybe willy's).

additionally, i am probably going to hit kellen in the face for being such a fucking asshole to austin & fucking everything up for my friends (i did not get to really go into this situation because of internet outage, but it's ridiculous). i realize that austin has to kind of force himself to get over it because of their business relationship (they dj together and austin really needs him for the promotion because he works too much to do it himself). but guess what? i do not have any sort of long-term, mutually beneficial relationship with that asshole. i'll try not to cause any scenes for austin's sake, but i'm probably not going to speak to him at all.

but anyway, off to todd's dnb night for drinksssss and then math library in the morning to finish all my assignments and chat with my cool librarian boss. <3

oh of COURSE my internet stopped working and of COURSE austin's phone stopped working. this really helps the long distance relationship etc. i've been working nonstop the last 48 hours. more later.