tell me somethin' i don't know.

welp, hot off the presses, my ethnic markets article was published today as the cover story for the local paper's food section....click on the beautiful bratwurst photo to read it if you so care to!

i still haven't figured out what i want to be for halloween, which ain't a good thing...though i decided that juno or jamie lynn spears could be pretty easy to pull off. ah, if only it were 2007 so i could do amy winehouse! while 2008 cracked-out amy v 2.0 could be quite amusing as well. i'm always the worst at coming up with costume ideas; i think it's mostly because halloween sneaks up on me before i even realize it. ideas, anyone?!

last week was quite interview-filled, and i'm confident employment is imminent. i'm pretty sure that's because i've stopped caring about finding a job at this point- at least, i've stopped obsessing over it!

and, just for laughs: the other day at wal-mart, i moseyed over to a tempting sample stand with some delicious-looking waffles, and was about to go for one when the following exchange took place:

old sample lady: "are you a provable 18?"
me: "um, i'm 22 years old."
osl: "well, we worry about food allergies with kids, you know."
me: (ignoring her and biting into the waffle)
osl: "say, you sure don't look 22! you look about 16 years old."
me: (glaring at her and blinking slowly)
osl: "i know you probably don't like hearing that now, but you will one day!"

ugggggh.

fire on the mountain!

ummmm so let's talk about how seeing hanson again was the greatest thing, ever. just a few points, but pictures and video tell the whole story pretty much.

-hanson fans (a.k.a. fansons for those in the know) are CERTIFIABLY INSANE. at least some of them are. camping out at 11am on friday for an 8pm saturday show? yeah, that's normal!

- the charity walks that hanson hold before each of their shows- the majority of my pictures and one video are from this walk- are such a great idea. basically, you walk a mile barefoot with hanson, and for each walker that registers, they'll donate a dollar to an african charity of your choice (aids research, clean water, shoes for children, etc.) about 350 people showed up to yesterday's walk, so it really adds up on a tour. so great.

-because i didn't want to deal with aforementioned fanson drama, christine and i get in line about five minutes before doors open, get into the venue, and waltz over to the mezzanine area and have basically the best view ever. haaa. BRILLIANCE. i will now make you look at 10 billion ridiculous pictures and two videos.

-oh, and btw, it was so cute because before they played "mmmbop", taylor thanked the fans for being with them for "over ten years" and i realized that "oh my god, i've loved hanson for half of my life." WEIRD. so proud of them.




















I DIE.












everybody else, my beloved opening band








OH and we met everybody else, basically amazing.

this elevator's goin' down, and i'm goin' down with it.

okay, so i gave into my incessant teenybopper urges- thankfully emily had them too- and we went to see "nick and norah's infinite playlist". okay, so michael cera pretty much plays the same exact character in every movie, and kat dennings kind of annoys me to no end, but the movie was pretty adorable and actually better than i thought it would be. surprisingly, though, the funniest character was the perpetually-drunk best friend who spends most of the movie wandering around new york in a stupor. good stuff.

buuut the funniest part of the evening was when we decided to grab a few post-movie drinks at the good ol' TGI fridays bar (don't call me a townie), and as we scan the room, we realize that...hey! there's the souhegan football coach! and the attendance officer! and half the faculty! and like ten kids from our high school class! it was so fabulously random, and so fabulously amherst. but mostly it was just surreal and made me feel ridiculously old, especially after catching up with a few of our classmates and being all, "how has it been four years?" ohh god, i want my youth back.

also, a few personal recommendations:
-watch "the ex list" and "privileged" because they're such cute shows and i don't want them to get canceled.
-download these songs, courtesy of my october '08 playlist thus far:

lady gaga- "just dance" and "beautiful dirty rich"
black kids- "look at me when i rock wichoo"
britney spears- "womanizer"
the little ones- "morning tide"
oasis- "the shock of the lightning"
fall out boy- "i don't care"
ladyhawke- "paris is burning"

-someone find me these brown boots! i've been looking for ones like them forever and upon seeing these on miss degrassi-turned-90210 shenae grimes, to quote rachel zoe, "i die."



and i found out that the hanson show i'm going to on saturday is SOLD OUT. like, i love them dearly, but i'm honestly surprised- hanson is still 1000+ capacity venue-relevant?! hell yes they are, because they're fan-friggin'-tastic. details of the glorious day to follow.

it's automatic, honey

eek, 'scuse my semi-long absence (a.k.a more than a week). i legit went leaf-peeping in vermont last friday, and i was actually so happy that i've gotten to experience fall in new england for the first time in forever. i ate delicious muffin samples at the king arthur's flour store, even more delicious cheese samples at the cabot store, and then browsed weird antiques- like an old tin sign that said "been drinkin', eh?" with a caricature of this hick dude with four eyes. i legit almost bought it, but resisted due to my better judgement.

and i also went to quechee gorge, which was so pretty, but the highlight was probably getting to watch glassblowers at work in one of the shops there, complete with tie-dye and bandannas in true vermont fashion. i was obsessed with this process, and thank god for youtube, the store has clips online! okay, i don't even care if you think it's boring, IT WAS AMAZING, dammit.



i think i have found my calling. maybe.

"pizza? but i don't have any dough!"

SO, i'm sitting and sipping a rum & coke as i listlessly page through job listings that look like this: *RECENT COLLEGE GRADZ!!*~MARKETING & EVENT REPRESENTATIVES~LOOK NOW!*
uggggh. aforementioned dream job, call me now, kthnx.

anyways, all things considered, things are pretty awesome. i've begun working on my freelance piece this week- a.k.a i've visited almost every ethnic market and grocery in the area...pretty sweet for being only semi-employed. i'm not going to lie- i did feel a bit awkward as a tiny irish/italian/english gal walking into these asian, greek, russian, german, and indian markets since a lot of them really cater mainly to those nationalities, but was so happy that once i waltzed up to the owners and explained what the heck i was doing there, they were all more than happy to answer my questions. i'm kinda pissed that i didn't buy some baklava today, though- i'll have to make a return trip.

while i love fall (by fall i basically mean apple pie/crisp), i'm seriously in denial about the temperature lowering drastically right now. i did the memory walk around downtown manchester for the alzheimer's foundation last weekend because my mom volunteers for them, and i had to bring out the scarf and a jacket. MAKE IT STOP.

OH, and one of my lifelong dreams (actually, only two-year-long dreams) came true this past weekend, when kat and i decided to go out to this bar and lounge in nashua that we had never been to. when i looked it up, it turned out that former rockstar: supernova contestant and local new hampshire musical darling, josh logan, was performing there that night...watch that video and you'll see why- dude can SING. and he's damn hot, too. now, i've been intentionally trying to see him since he was kicked off the show, since he performs around here every week, but finally the fates aligned and i got to sip my not-so-great midori sour and witness the man's brilliance firsthand. love him.

now i'm not one to get all political, but i can't wait 'til this election is over. NObama, y'all, is all i have to say. clueless without a teleprompter, and waaaay scarier than the alternative, tbh. i'm not a conservative, but just romney needs to get his ass into the 2012 race, stat. or into this race, for that matter.

okay, i just made a list of areas i'm seriously thinking of moving in no particular order because i need a change. thoughts, please?

Las Vegas, NV
West Palm Beach, FL
Atlanta, GA
Baltimore, MD
Charlotte or Raleigh, NC
Philadelphia, PA
Providence, RI
Charleston, SC
Roanoke, VA
Nashville, TN

i ain't done anything wrong

welp, my grandparents are back in their apartment, our kitchen floor is going to be replaced, and good ol' oreo killed the mouse (her sole accomplishment in all 12 years as our cat...bravo!) plus, i interviewed for 3 jobs in the past week, one of which was literally my dream job- a publicist- and i've just gotta have it. things are looking up and i'm excited to relax a little bit...at least for a day or so.

i was so thrilled today because alissa, one of my longest and dearest friends who recently moved to sunny florida, was in town and we got to catch up today and indulge in coldstone. now, their ice cream is delicious, but the flavor names are still ridiculous: "like it"? "love it"? "gotta have it"? come on now!

oh, anyone been watching the new "90210"? i watched the first two episodes, but it's so god-awful i stopped watching. just give it up, you'll never be as good as the original, guys! and go back to degrassi, darcy. you're more tolerable there. but i love "privileged" and really hope it doesn't get cancelled. SO GOOD.

i'm also one step closer to my lifelong dream of being a food critic. i recently pitched an idea for a freelance piece on local ethnic restaurants and markets to the local paper's weekly food magazine, and next thing i know, i have a multi-part series on my hands! booyah.

give me some songs to download that you love right now. i'm surprisingly NOT in a music drought right now, i'm just in the mood to hear some more great new stuff.

basically we pay bills, then chill

the following has happened in my household within the past week:

-my dear, dear 90-something grandparents have basically moved in with my family
-we discovered that our dishwasher has been leaking for who knows how long, and the water has made some of our kitchen floor tiles come up...so we have to get a whole new floor. neato!
-an ugly little brown mouse stared me down while i was running on the treadmill and i ran upstairs screaming like a little girl

sure, i love the drama, but seriously, i need to move out of this house! praise the lord, i have an interview in on friday at a historic theatre in brookline i applied to forever ago- turns out that they decided not to hire for the original position after all, but an assistant position opened up, and i was offered an interview. niiiice!

also, after my previous post on new kids on the block, i've been inspired to list my top 5 guilty pleasure songs of summer 2008...despite the fact that i'm not guilty about them.

5. panic at the disco- that green gentleman: i loved them, i hated them, and now i kind of like them again.
4. shwayze and cisco adler- corona and lime: i'll be honest, i basically just like it for cisco's sweet chorus.
3. rihanna- disturbia: the girl bothers me immensely, but i inevitably love most of her songs.
2. pussycat dolls- when i grow up: i could be at a gas station filling up my car, and if this came on, i seriously couldn't help but launch into a full-scale dance routine. more hooks than a tackle box!
1. the jonas brothers- burnin' up: the perfect summer pop song in every way. uhh, except from the little faux-rap from britney's former bodyguard.

oh, and i don't know if y'all have watched the new 90210 or not, but it sucks. royally. i watched the premiere of "privileged" after it last night, and that show is heads and tails above that stupid remake. ugggh.

no thanks, NKOTB

i have to admit, though i have friends that swear they were obsessed with the new kids when they first hit the block, i pretty much missed the original frenzy that surrounded them- aside from occasionally viewing their cartoon on saturday mornings (i must have been too busy listening to one-hit wonder gems like natural selection's "do anything".) regardless, growing up in the bsb and 'n sync generation, i can relate to the hype. i would mention my hanson obsession, but i respect them more than that, dammit.

anyways, i really thought i'd give them a fair shot when i heard they were attempting a comeback- though my instincts were that it would be a massive failure. errr....okay, so they've been on the today show like three times already. but really, guys? choreographed dancing at your age? besides looking really sad, one of you might break a hip! and the comeback single, "summertime," is pretty atrocious. no one over the age of 20- actually, no one EVER- should utter the words "you had the beauty and the beach on lock." i can understand that some of these 30+ women are trying to reclaim their youth and all, but sometimes it's better to leave well alone and let "step by step" rest in peace where it belongs: in the early 90s.

thumbs down, new kids.

"this is no time for snacking!"

i'm rocking a nice half-sunburn, half-tan right now, as i fried myself at hampton beach on thursday...lovely. seriously, if you have not witnessed the trashfest that is hampton, it's really worth a visit. you'll be astounded and amazed at the people that actually exist in the world. within about an hour span on the main drag (where "fry-doe" stands, knockoff handbag vendors, and arcade shooting games abound), i saw the following:

- a tan and leathery (their skin, i mean) biker couple...the woman looked like the second coming of iggy pop, and the guy had the best golden-blonde mullet i think i've ever seen in my life. think dog the bounty hunter, but 20x better.

-a super classy gal with a massive snake tattoo wrapping around her midriff and lower back...i think the tramp stamp has officially met its match.

-a guido that made sure everyone knew he was walking with his girlfriend by grabbing her ass every 30 seconds. how endearing!

sideways baseball caps, oversized jerseys, and bad tan lines, oh my! how i love hampton.

also, is anyone else feeling *so* weird about not going back to school right now? i'm pretty creeped out...but still confident that i'm going to find a fantastic gig pretty soon- i refuse to settle!! though after watching "million dollar listing" the other night, i literally went through a 2-hour period of wanting to become a realtor. then i realized it wouldn't be all that great unless i was selling multi-million dollar homes in L.A. and could be a little brat like the dudes on the show. plus, you kiiiinda have to know math....so that's out.



but this moptop? really?! aw hell no.

instead, i've decided that i'm going to start writing my memoir pretty soon. that is going to be a riot. though apparently the key to writing a book is to, well...AVOID writing a book until you find an agent who's interested in what you're going to write about? i'm loving this already.

p.s. a big L-O-L to david duchovny entering sex addiction rehab....whaaaaaat?!

justin bobby was on the hills premiere...briefly.

gah! as of yesterday, all of my stuff is officially moved out of my apartment, which is both relieving and weird at the same time. that shit was like the loaves and the fishes, i swear- the more that came out, the more that there still was to move. but it's over now, and that's the hard part. that is, until i have to move again- whiiiich will hopefully be very soon.

as expected, the high strung's library show was nothing short of amazing. i'm on the hunt for good pictures from it, as the couple i took didn't do it justice. books were knocked off shelves, children were dancing, and jacob and i contributed to the audience-created song at the end of the set by wielding egg shakers filled with lentil beans. yep. as the lead singer wrote in a blog i just discovered on their myspace,

We finally had our first show ever in New Hampshire... after 8 years on the road... you'd think we played all of them, every city, every state. But it's not true and two nights ago we checked New Hampshire off the ol' list. The place looked mostly like what I thought it would... infinite trees... small towns scattered... small highways... thruways... something like Vermont maybe and a little less dense than say Maine. But the show... something I've given up prediciting... was incredible.

The perfect audience! Kids, teens, adults, older people... like the library was rendered a gallactic meeting room... all ages represented... and we played hard and by the end Chad was on a staircase and I was standing on a chair in the audience and Derek was making cartoon faces and it was just great. THANK YOU to New Hampshire (the Amherst Town Library)...We're gonna go back... met a great photographer... met great people... just not sure when yet. If you get the chance to play up there, I recommend you do it...

hell yes, new hampshire is amazing. i actually feel like i've been appreciating this fabulous state more lately, seeing as i spent a good portion of the last week in downtown nashua. one night at this great hole-in-the-wall sports bar called the garden with kat, where i downed $1 beers, we sat by the bathroom the whole night, and i learned the intricacies (err, simplicity) of shuffleboard. random, but good stuff. then the next evening i had probably the best bbq chicken sandwich of my life at one of my favorite microbreweries, martha's exchange. yum!

is anyone else loving the amazing VMA promos with russell brand and britney spears? bitch looks GOOD. "it's not russell brown, britney..." so funny. i just really wish she was performing so there could be another horrendous one a la last year.

OH, and i totally bought a hanson ticket for their foxboro show in october. no, i'm not kidding, and even better, it'll be my third time seeing them because they're fierce and amazing. i was on the fence about going because i didn't know where i was going to be, but when it was announced that everybody else was opening for them, i was SOLD. erica's going with me. it's going to be the best night of my life, i'm predicting. almost.

"it's like i'm walkin' on sunshine!"

i just finished baking these (hopefully) delicious"cherry revel bars" and realized that i haven't blogged in a bit. some sort of crazy summer plague briefly wiped me out, but i'm fine now. i've also been obsessively playing with my newly acquired palm centro, because i wasn't about to shell out an extra $40/month for blackberry internet access...screw you, verizon. but either way, god bless the QWERTY keyboard.

anyways, i first need to announce that this critically-acclaimed indie rock band, the high strung, are coming to the AMHERST TOWN LIBRARY on tuesday, and jacob and i have every intention of going, obviously. i mean, a band coming to amherst friggin' new hampshire, of all places. and secondly, i'm in love with whoever thought up the idea of a rock 'n' roll library tour. amazing.

ohh, and my interview went well, but i'm holding out for the promise of the all-important second interview. gahhhh. is it gross that i look forward to mondays for the fresh crop of job listings? yeah, i know. it's disgusting. the secret will come through, though; i have faith.

i think i truly may be becoming addicted to ebay. after a recent trip to victoria's secret, i went crazy over their "ooh la la" fragrance. but of course, instead of buying it, i returned home to see if i could get it for less on ebay. i'm so cheap.

finally, my mom gave me this book to borrow, called many lives, many masters, and i read it in like two hours because i couldn't put it down. SO GOOD. it's a true story about a psychiatrist and his patient, and their discovery that she has 86 past lives. it's insaaaane, and really makes you question the existence of reincarnation. though i totally believed in it before anyways. so of course, i went to do one of those free sample readings on astrology.com (that link should take you to it in case you're interested...) and the results were so legit:

Now, you were probably part of European culture during the Middle Ages, when there was considerable action and adventure, for example in the continual feuding and strife among the many fiefdoms, families, tribes, castles and kingdoms.

Your mystical, intuitive and spiritual sensitivity arises from your past lives, perhaps in early Roman times, or in the Egyptian/late Atlantean period. Then you may have been a seer with expertise in the religious mysteries of the day and in healing through the laying of hands. Your likely interest in group meditation, symbology, holistic health, and astrological timing arises from such past life experiences

Since Neptune is a higher octave of Venus, ruler of the arts, your Neptunian attunement and sensitivity give you abilities related to the arts in virtually any direction, whether as an actor, a dancer, an artist, musician or art critic. Public leadership involving large organizations through speaking to groups and writing is also indicated.

o-m-g.

we can take it to the streets.

i'm off to boston for an interview tomorrow morning, so i'll keep this short. it's for a marketing and PR position at a soon-to-be-opened luxury hotel, so i'm basically picturing myself in a real-life version of "the suite life of zach and cody." minus, um...me living in the hotel. but a girl can dream, right?

speaking of dreams come true, let's talk about how i got this adorableamazingfabulous vintage betsey johnson dress on ebay yesterday for 36 DOLLARS. i mean, besides the fact that these things usually go for $2-300 by the time the auction ends, the seller accidentally spelled her last name as "johnston" in the title so no one would have even been able to search for it! (i somehow got lucky on a generic search for 'vintage dress'.)



anyways, i ended up being the high bidder, but still hadn't won the auction with my max bid of $55, because the seller had set a reserve price which i didn't dare to try and reach. so, i e-mailed her anyways after the auction, asking out of curiosity what it was. "it was $75...it's a wonderful dress and i hope you think so too!" and then she offers it to me for the high bid of 36 bucks!! like, look at that beautiful garment. siiigh- the secret continues to work its magic! this shit is not even a joke.

so, yeah...on the book front, i just finished summer at tiffany, by this 83 year-old woman named marjorie hart. it's basically about the summer of 1947 when her and her best friend worked as the first female employees at the tiffany store in new york city. it made me nostalgic for a decade i didn't even live in...everybody was so classy and proper. very cute. and i'm in the midst of starbucked, which is awesome if you're a complete "coffee nerd", as zach affectionately calls me. i thought lewis black's whole bit about a starbucks across the street from another starbucks was an exaggeration, but oh, how wrong i was.

"PEACE OUT. FOREVER."

so....lots going on!

first, no one cares, but i'm really super excited that i finally ate at stephanie's on newbury last week- basically a boston restaurant institution that everyone says you need to go to while you're in the city. it was delicious, and i also got to catch up with my friend emily, which was fabulous as well.

oh, and after i came back from brooklyn last week, gleni and i finally saw the wackness (starring the now scary skinny josh peck of "drake and josh.") it was brilliant, and i will never be able to watch my beloved nickelodeon show in the same light again because of the three awkward sex scenes that involved him. oh josh, why you so scandalous?! speaking of good movies, THE DARK KNIGHT, oh my god. i finally saw it on friday and heath deserves an oscar- and not just because he's dead, folks.

i just returned from new york today, as i had a job interview in the city at an agency that represents celebrities, writers, athletes, etc. for speaking engagements. the interview went well, but i think my biggest predicament right now is deciding whether or not i really want to live in nyc. i like the idea of it in theory, but the reality of living in a $1300 manhattan closet or a half hour outside the city is quiiiite a bit different. i'm thinking that staying in boston for a bit, or even checking out somewhere like providence or philadelphia might suit me better right now. we shall see!

p.s. cisco adler has a new show called "buzzin'," that is really about nothing except him and his bff who's a rapper. and that no one probably appreciates except me. just needed to get the word out.

"keep moving, motherfuckerrr"

whew, this weekend has been busy, busy, dizzy...in the best sense. on friday, gleni and i headed to new york city via megabus (which, as we came to find out, was not so mega this time around) for the siren music festival at coney island...a.k.a. the end of the world. it was a brilliant, brilliant affair, including one fantastic celebrity sighting manifested by the secret (no joke.) highlight bullet time!

• staying in bed-stuy, brooklyn (correction: this actually might be the end of the world) in a sweet apartment with ac...and i fell asleep to the ghetto lullabies of sirens, intense bass out of car windows, and various people shouting. i don't think i'm tough enough to handle the neighborhood of wu-tang members and gangsta rappers.
• dinner the first night in fort greene, which is such a cute little neighborhood.
  
• eating nathans' chicken tenders on the street at coney island while sweating profusely in the 95 degree heat
• seeing hipsters dressed ridiculously in tight black jeans and bandannas...so, so impractical.
• getting to see parts & labor, annuals, and times new viking, who put on really good sets
  
• meeting up with some of gleni's high school friends for most of the day, who also lamented over the intense sun with us in an air-conditioned pizza parlor.
• broken social scene, who were one of the headliners, were great. i possibly got a contact high from the obscene amount of weed being ingested around me, these insane drunk girls were dancing crazily and made everyone nearby join in, and we could not stop hysterically laughing at the creepy dude in front of us who was repeatedly stroking his girlfriend's hair/kissing her head/smoking a cigar. sick.
• OBVIOUSLY, the best part of the whole night was after BSS ended. we went over to wait for one of gleni's friends who was getting a beer, and i see this kid standing nearby. i say to gleni, "that guy behind you looks like a ghettofied danny tamberelli from pete and pete," half joking, because he was friggin' dressed in a huge baggy mets shirt and cargo shorts, and had long hair in a ponytail and a backwards baseball cap. not cute. and then i realize...wait, that IS him. no one really believed me, of course, until we see these two girls go over to snap a picture with him. hilarious. i almost wish we had gone and bugged him. but the greatest thing is that on the way to new york, i said to gleni "let's see a celebrity while we're here," and pictured it...and the secret worked its friggin' magic. way to go.
  
• finally, our bus ride back to boston was absolutely insane- i was wondering why, even with the AC supposedly on, i was sweating profusely (this was a theme throughout the weekend, if you couldn't tell), and then the bus driver pulls into a rest stop, and tells us we'll have to wait for another bus with working AC. well, long story short, almost two hours go by before the bus comes. at least we made a couple new gal pals during the wait.

also, new project runway?! so damn good. i know blayne is trying to be the new christian, but he's hysterical. and the asian dude that made the creepy-ass hospital garb totally deserved to go!

"but i wanna be a dude, papa!"

another day, another high school grad party. this past weekend was my cousin cara's party, and the title of this entry comes thanks to one of my uncle's nephews, a small and obnoxious child who threw a tantrum after his dad told him he couldn't wear his shades. i can't stop laughing whenever i think about it. as has been the theme with these parties, the young'ns expose me to all the hip games, and i gave guitar hero a try this time around. i was booed off the stage during "school's out" by alice cooper, but after a few more songs, i made it up to 89% on the kinks' "all day and all of the night." booyaaah!

also, cara and i watched the comic masterpiece "she's the man," which i've seen about a billion times. i should be ashamed of that fact, but you know what? it's a damn good movie. while zach alleges it's "more painful than passing a tin can," i know better. only a quality film can contain such quotes as "does he have your number? 1-800-BEEYOTCH?", "so, uh, you play the beautiful game... bros... brothers... brethren?", "i'm a badass hunky dude!" and "i've got a lifetime-o-knowledge."

naturally, this inspired me to think about some other amazingly cheesy but brilliant features:

1. sister act 2. i have the saint francis high school gospel choir's moving rendition of "joyful joyful" on my ipod. fo' realz.

2. the princess diaries. robert schwartzman and a foot poppin' kiss? hell yes.

3. don't tell mom the babysitter's dead. "the dishes are done, man."


i'm goin' for the jugular on the job search now. i'm searching far and wide for random places and just e-mailing people, because apparently that's what i do best. i'm helping other folks get job interviews through applying "the secret," but it's time to attract my own damn job now!

off to brooklyn this weekend with gleni for siren fest at coney island. after your entry about it, amanda, i'm terribly frightened of it. and i'm staying in a neighborhood where GZA, Busta Rhymes and Talib Kweli live, apparently? yes yes y'all.

my destiny.

let's add to the many qualities that make me elderly, shall we? oh yes, my love for the game show network and its many quality programs, including the above-pictured word game gems "lingo" and "chain reaction" is a passionate one. so passionate, in fact, that i have made it one of my goals to appear on one of these shows and show those linguistically-challenged bitches what's up. i mean, the whole point of chain reaction is to connect seven words, one letter at a time, through forming common phrases. and one girl, when faced with the word "red" and the letters "C-R-O" (pretty obvious that it's red cross, right?) literally says "...red crow??" oh no she didn't!

last night, i saw jacob for the first time in foreeever, and we went to one of those dinner-and-a-movie places called chunkys, which i had never been to before. we ended up seeing get smart, which i really had no interest in, but it was two dollars off admission and i desperately wanted to chow down on chicken parm in the dark while watching a movie. and so i did, and the movie was actually pretty funny, though nothing too amazing.

ummm i'm seriously getting way too gung ho about this "the secret" stuff, but i swear it's changing my life already. and after bringing it up to jeff, he sent me the below video, which features ross the flamboyant "tonight show" intern talking to "house hunters" host suzanne whang (love her) about this insane secret-related story. i know no one wants to watch it, but i swear it's the best story you'll hear in a while. amazing stuff.



anyone know anything about philadelphia? or providence? i'm trying to think of some smaller cities to consider for the job hunt. gahhhh.

always where i need to be

lots going on!

first off, i'm pretty psyched and starting to believe that all of that stuff from "the secret" is starting to work. or maybe not. either way, while i'm still desperately searching for a job, i got a paid freelance position writing for the NH Visitors Guide about entertainment venues in the state. yes sir!

i went strawberry picking at this great farm in hollis the other day, and despite staining my new sandals by accidentally stepping on squished berries (smart move, i know), it was such geeky fun. and they have cherry picking in july! hooray.

...and this past saturday, i went to my cousin anna's high school graduation party. good times. as with any of my family get-togethers, it included a kitchen dance party to "superfreak" and "it's raining men" along with my aunts and cousins...complete with putting cake frosting on our noses and holding flowers in our teeth. anna's friends even joined in and proclaimed it "the best graduation party ever!" of course it was...my family don't play. i tried my hand at volleyball for the first time since middle school and surprisingly didn't suck as much as i used to, and also discovered the wonders of "rock band," where i sang to foo fighters' "learn to fly." i'm addicted to this damn game, and need it immediately.

we've been having thunderstorms here for the past two days, and it's absolutely lovely. it's the only time i reeeally enjoy rain.

oh, where did my manners go?

as i've quickly discovered, the post-college "so what are you going to do now??" often asked by friends and relatives is just as painful and torturous as the post-high school "so where are you going to college?" and each time, i'm reminded how i haven't decided yet. i'm just enjoying my summer, folks, thanks! that, and checking mediabistro religiously along with thousands of other grads. that's what i'm doing now! i just applied to work for disney in california....mmk.

last week, i went to see this free screening of an upcoming movie with rainn wilson from "the office," called "the rocker." baaasically, an 80s metal has-been joins his teenage nephew's band, and hilarity and success ensue. it was decent, but i was glad i didn't pay money for it....although teddy geiger was some nice lil' eye candy (pretty sure he's legal...uhhh.) friday was drinks at an outdoor bar down on the waterfront- like literally, there were no walls. it was kind of odd and meat-markety. whatevs.

anyways, seeing that it is just about summertime, my guilty pleasures are aboundin'. but i mean, i'm never that guilty about them anyways, so it's cool:

1. carrie underwood's new song, "last name." jacob, back me up on this one! i truly hate country music, but this song just wins my heart. the chorus when she's all "oh-no-what-have-donnnne?" genius. it's even better than that gem "before he cheats."

speaking of songs, i'll lump this one in too: "shake it" by metro station. fronted by miley cyrus' brother (yes, really) and oddly enough, the brother of one of her "hannah montana" co-stars, i can't stop singing the fucking song all day and night. it's such bad electro-pop crap, but i've fallen victim to its charms. thanks, mtv hits.

2. trying to practice that kind-of silly stuff in that book the secret. i heard about it on oprah, and basically, it says if you want something, you just have to visualize yourself having it for a few minutes each day, and the universe will find a way to help you get it. kind of squirrelly, but those bitches talking about their miracle stories on the show convinced me!

3. the return of "so you think you can dance" and "last comic standing." so good. i mean, it's shit like this that makes me so, so sad that i got out of dance in college:



SERIOUSLY GUYS!

y'all come back now

i'm back, i'm back! after an almost two-week vacation with the folks down to savannah, georgia and charleston and hilton head island, south carolina, i have returned with: something resembling an actual tan, a borderline obsession with sweet tea and pralines, and a profound hatred for books on CD. i'm postin' pics on facebook and whatnot.

highlights (and lowlights) included:

- a creepy/probably mentally disturbed gas station attendant in new jersey that blabbed on about pretzel factories for the entire time it took to fill the gas tank. uh, neat?!

- the big chicken filet at hardee's

-a group of young black children blatantly laughing at me in a mall in florence, south carolina...for what reason, i still don't know. probably the fact that i was wearing silver shoes. had to be it.

-savannah:
- this is paula deen country, folks! everything seems to be associated with her- i.e., my family stumbles into "uncle bubba's oyster house" for dinner, and suddenly we realize it's apparently owned by paula's brother. we ate outside and the food was good and all, but there were stray cats running around the deck which was kinda of sad and eventually just creepy.
- taking an old-fashioned trolley tour around the town, and seeing a lot of old houses which were adorable.
-PRALINES.
-a really cool civil war fort, Fort Pulaski, where this nerdy lil' ranger gave us a history lesson and we saw an alligator.
- a billboard near this really tacky beach community that proclaimed "LET'S TALK GOD!"
- suggesting that we eat at this local southern chain called carey hilliard's, and being horribly wrong about assuming that it could be good. this place was a combination of bickford's and roy rogers, and had a whole platter of "barbecue" advertised on the menu. what they meant by "barbecue," i can only guess. meat, i hope?

-hilton head island
-swearing i saw jacob from defunct boy band o-town on the drive there (the plates were florida, people...the 14 year-old inside me screamed for joy)
-the beach
-the beach
-the beach
-the best she-crab soup of my life
-oh, and watching a sweet thunderstorm from the hotel balcony.

-charleston
- the downtown area and even more historic houses, hooray!
- this english pub where you could decorate a dollar bill and put it up on the wall. must have been thousands or somethin'!
-the hotel's outdoor patio bar...strawberry daquiri plz.
-kind of anti-climactic. i liked savannah better.

holy crow, i love this hot weather. heading back to boston on tuesday to uh, bum around, i mean, um...look for a job. i'm applying to bravo and martha stewart living in NYC and anything else that looks remotely interesting. but then there's that whole grad school thing too, which i should hear about in the next week or so. first things first! i'm just gonna drink some sweet tea and let everything work itself out.

why take it fast? i take it slow.

i graduated on monday, so there's that. congrats to everyone else that has/will soon!

surprisingly, despite having to wait for an hour and a half in the basement of the wang theatre, the ceremony really wasn't bad, and in fact, it was pretty funny courtesy of a hilarious speech by our 30-something year-old valedictorian and the commencement speaker who was the president of mtv. so emerson. i didn't fall, and they pronounced my last name right! guess they listened to my message on the "pronounciation hotline" after all.

i went on my first (and strangest) job interview yesterday at an ad agency in the backwoods of connecticut. oh my god, it was in an office park. oh my god, i felt like i was thrown back into 1992. oh my god, there was a creative department of four people and i would be replacing the one writer they had. oh my god, i wore a nice top and sweater and pinstripe pants and the creative director remarked, "oh, i'm glad you didn't dress up."what the eff?! oh my god, i had to sit through their awful reel of TV ads with him. no. can i get into grad school now?

graduation party this weekend, then off to the south on my birthday next week. hooray!

p.s. david c. or david a. for the win on idol?! i'm calling cook, though archuleta killed it last night.