twenties

Look, since your twenties are basically going to be chaos anyway, do as my grandma said to do: Take advantage of them and use the time to get some real life experiences. Travel, if you can. Try a new city. Suffer through a bunch of humiliating entry-level positions in the name of "comparison shopping."

Waitress in a scummy bar while you take voice lessons during the day or pursue your painting. Work for noble causes and nonprofits you believe in; chances are, like most do-gooder organizations, they'll pay you crap, treat you like shit, and work you to death, but hey! It beats becoming a corporate weenie at twenty-three and working eighty-hour weeks for some cryptofacist corporation that leaves you with zilch for a soul.

Now is the time when you can afford to experiment. For never again will you think it's kind of groovy to share an apartment with two other girls in the meat-packing district and eat dinner every night at bars that serve free ravioli and nachos during happy hour.

-Susan Jane Gilman, Kiss My Tiara: How to Rule the World as a SmartMouth Goddess

pura vida

PURA VIDA, literally translated means "Pure Life" but means contextually something approximate to "Full of Life", "Purified life", "This is living!", "Going great", or "Cool!" It can be used as a greeting, as a word of farewell, to express satisfaction, and in some instances to politely express indifference when describing something. The phrase has become widely known; this highly flexible statement is used by many Costa Ricans (and expatriates) since 1956. Some foreigners view the phrase as an expression of a leisurely lifestyle, of disregard for time and wanton friendliness. However, Costa Ricans use the phrase to express something akin to a philosophy of strong community, perseverance, resilience in overcomming difficulties with good spirits, and enjoying life slowly and celebrating good fortune of magnitudes small and large alike.

i make them good girls go bad.

hello all.

I have failed at every attempt to do day-by-day posts of my summer adventures, but whatever. That's not to say it doesn't bother me when I see days 1, 2, and 3, and days 4, 5, 6, and 7 are very obviously missing... but perhaps one day I will get to it. Perhaps not. I trust life will go on for most of you.

Two days after I got back from the big easy, I left for one of my favorite places in the world: Rutledge, Georgia. Rutledge, a self-proclaimed "small but special" town, population 700, and home to Hard Labor Creek State Park. Every summer, Roswell Presbyterian's youth group heads out to this glorious plot of nowhere for a week of straight up amazingness. Counselors head up the Friday before campers get there on Sunday to set up for the week and to have some time to ourselves. Upon arrival on Friday, the profuse sweating began and did not end until the following Friday. At Rutledge, hygiene is not a huge priority. Many shower in Rutledge lake--a lovely watering hole that stains you brown upon entry--and others choose not to shower at all. Andrew Brandes. The one hygienic practice we try to enforce is wearing deodorant, but there were a handful of rebels. What can you do? During the week, we play lots of softball, volleyball, and ultimate frisbee. Thankfully I had the freshmen girls for campers so I got to play in the "lower girls" league. My MVP moment of the week was catching a pop fly.. screaming as the ball arced through the air in my general direction, then taking a few less than graceful steps forward with my mitt outstretched and leaning forward, closing my eyes for a moment then opening them to see the ball had miraculously landed in my mitt, right alongside the dandelion that I'd woven into the palm of my glove. I'm a five year old girl. No big deal.

Meredith called me the Thursday night before we left for Rutledge to ask if I would do the morning skit with her.. I told her that she mustn't realize how very socially awkward I can be, but she insisted I do it with her. I responded that if she could find no one else then I'd do it, and listed off a handful of names of people who would be much better than I would be, hoping that one of them would be foolish enough to say yes. She grabbed me the next morning and told me what was only to be expected: she could find no one else, and so I would be doing the morning skit with her. Not that I don't love being in front of a crowd with a mike in my hand, it's just that I was terrified that no one would think we were funny. Apparently we did alright, though. I was Paris Holiday Inn and Meredith was my bff Nicole Poor-ie. It was hhhhhot. My personal favorite part was when I rapped, Bonquiqui style.

On the mike is a diva so listen to me scream-a.

I'm up here lookin hot.

We both lookin hot.

We strut on the runway.

We pose on the runway.

We both lookin hot and fly on the runway.

HAYYYYYY!

Skillz. I know.

A final note: WHO WILL PROTECT THIS HOUSE? WILL YOU PROTECT THIS HOUSE? WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE!!

We got back from Rutledge on Friday afternoon, then I slept for 14 glorious hours. I woke only because I had to go and see the new Harry Potter movie at the earliest time on Saturday (noon at Park 12. holler.). It was GREAT! Loved loved loved it. I wish I were Hermione Granger so badly. Also that Ron/ Rupert were my boyfriend (I'm in love with him as a wizard and as an muggle.. I don't discriminate). I had Blimpie for lunch, though, and was gravely disappointed. I was told that it was "exactly like Subway" but it most definitely was not. Subway is much better. Much.

Speaking of Subway, I just got back from Subway Fest 09. Me, Victoria, and the moms drove up to Charleston on Sunday afternoon for Victoria's orientation at the beginning of this week. We probably outdid Jared in Subway consumption over a three-day period. I need an intervention or something. The trip was great, though. Victoria got to meet all these freaks in her incoming class and calm her nerves a bit, whilst I got a jump start on my back to school shopping and celebrated free pastry day at Starbucks. Gosh my life. I also fell head over heels in love with Fresh Berry Yogurt, a Pinkberry wannabe I believe, but delicious nonetheless. On Tuesday, Victoria finished her advisement at like 11am and we had nothing else to do until 3:30 when they were handing out everyone's Cougar Cards at the bookstore. We got lunch at the dining hall, and walked around some, but ended up back at the bookstore waiting in line around 2. I picked up Chelsea Handler's My Horizontal Life and was cackling for all to hear. She is so freaking funny. I'm cheap and didn't buy the book, but my roomie has it waiting back for me at 1979 so I'll get to finish it later this week. Yessss.

This morning has been so nice. I got up fully rested, much UNLIKE the mornings waking up in the dysfunctional air-conditioned room at Days Inn. I enjoyed my coffee and cereal with Ellen Degeneres on her 51st birthday, then ran on the treadmill and have been enjoying my endorphin high ever since. I have flying lessons at 2 with Patrick, then going to the Braves game tonight at 7, then afterwards going to Athens to hang with my boo Tommy! Yay!

My current song obsessions are One Day by Matisyahu, Down by Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne (obvi.), and Good Girls Go Bad by Cobra Starship ft. LEIGHTON MEESTER. Bahhh I freaking love her. She's such a g.

Victoria has brought it to my attention that I have a lot of celebs that I am obsessed with and or want to be. Leighton Meester, Nicole Richie, the Olsen twins, Emma Watson/ Hermione Granger, Penelope Cruz in Vicki Christina Barcelona, Kristin Cavallari, Angelina Jolie.. Yes I am indeed obsessed with all of them, and probably more that I am forgetting right now, but wanting to be them? Eh. My life is pretty flippin sweet. It's good to be me.

peace out girl scouts.

peace love and yay me.

300 words on my experience in guatemala

Why are we here? To glorify God, to worship Him, and fellowship with one another. The Sunday morning ritual was being echoed a thousand miles away from home, and was just as fitting for our mission trip as it is for Sunday morning worship. At RyeX, the youth group prepares itself for worship with this mantra, so it only made sense for our Guatemala mission trip group to prepare ourselves with such a mantra; for the worship we would be doing through service for the next eight days in Guatemala. We were there first and foremost to glorify God. Personally, I felt I was fulfilling this task best in serving those around me, by striving to be Christ-like and to let my actions speak on behalf of God. We were also there to worship Him, which we did both conventionally—singing praise songs, sharing testimonies with one another, and attending church services—and not so conventionally—schlepping concrete to work sites, playing futbol with our vacation bible school students, and donning a pair of soccer cleats on barefoot children. Finally, we were there to have fellowship with one another. This last bit is by far my favorite part of any mission trip—the relationships formed with those we are serving. I find no greater joy than breaking language barriers and forging friendships with our brothers and sisters in all parts of the world. We also are able to strengthen our fellowship with one another within the church family, both youth and adults alike, which is awesome. This was my third mission trip to Guatemala, and I hope it won’t be my last. It’s an amazing experience in so many ways; I so hope that more people will get to be a part of what God is doing in this beautiful country.

the big easy-day 3

salut.

Today we went out to lunch with Pawpaw, Mimi, and Aunt Terri at Acme on the north shore. Upon arrival, Pawpaw fawned over how freaking tall Paul is, how I have blossomed into such a lady, and how much Victoria resembles a prostitute. I kid you not. The man went on and on about how Victoria looks like a hooker. A high class hooker, of course. He said that he’d be her pimp and would sell her for $5000 a trick. That’s my fam! Pawpaw has nicknames for all of us; Mom’s the poot, I’m the tomato, and Victoria is the potato. So the moral of the story is Pawpaw has a classy tomato and a trashy potato. Also Pawpaw is a g.

After lunch we headed back to Gretna and donned our bathing suits and sat poolside for a few hours. Then we headed over to the Gretna BMX track for Joseph’s race around 6. Joseph is known as “Joseph the Dirt Devil Middleton” with him BMX peeps. He is the image of U, S, and A in his star spangled shirt and pants, flag bandana around his neck, and a red, white, and blue bike. God bless Uh‘merica. Joseph won the blue ribbon for his age bracket, and was quite pleased with himself. By the time all the races were done, it was already past 9. We headed over to Tennou for sushi night, though, because we are troopers. The Jennings clan ordered our weight in sushi deliciousness and did WORK. From squid salad and edamame all the way through salmon sashimi and the New Orleans roll..we all left with food babies and an inkling of self-loathing, but sated nonetheless.

I'm not so much in the writing mood so ta for now.

peace love and trashy potatoes