Memories...gotta love 'em

Current Mood: Reminiscent

Current Song to convey mood: Summer of '69

"The only thing that remains the same is that everything changes"

And the sooner you learn to realize this, the better. It's amazing the clarity that comes w/ just one year's time. A year ago, I was a senior at my beloved University of Illinois, walking the halls of a place that I had loved and dreamed of attending since I was a young child (so sue me-I didn't dream of Harvard or Yale or an equally stuffy place, I wanted to be an ILLINI, ever since the first time I saw Chief dance out on the field!), taking amazing classes, involved in the most kick-ass organization on campus (which, literally, kicked ass...hahaha...let me hear it for my CR's!), enjoying a lively social life :o) in addition to having some of the greatest friends imaginable.

When you're involved in a situation like that, it seems impossible that you'll ever have to break away from that and start fresh somewhere else. But unfortunately, that's the bittersweet nature of college. I had the same feelings after high school graduation, and after graduation from KC-both places that I had great friends from, and amazing memories. Victoria, being part of the most recent crop of U of I grads, was talking to me about last night about how amazing it is that things can change so quickly-and she's right. I remember how things were a year ago, and I see how some relationships since then have blossomed, and withered away, some long-standing relationships have been destroyed, while others remain as strong as ever. It’s comforting to know that your true friends are never more than a hop, skip, or a phone call away…the case is true w/ my best friends from home, my KC friends, and the Chambananites…you can’t ever have too many friends, in my opinion. :o) And Springfield is finally feeling like home…I feel like it takes about 6 months to get fully adjusted to a new place, and I’m finally feeling comfortable w/ my friends here, w/ my roommates, and with the new surroundings. It’s always confusing and a little weird at first, but things are good.

Anyway, to take a turn OFF of memory lane and change the subject, I just got drunk dialed by the residents of 1004-a.k.a. Dan and Joe, who, for their previous drinking records did NOT sound all that drunk. They’re having their big Super Bowl party tomorrow, and for the first time in a few years, I won’t be going. I’ve actually got plans w/ people here-but given the state of my car, I might just end up staying in and hanging out w/ the roommates, which wouldn't be all that bad. We get along great. I miss the U of I kids, but I see them on quite the regular basis, all things considered. And I’m really starting to feel at home here in Springfield. Still, I can't live life completely without Murphy's (lol) and with that said I’m planning on going back to Chambana sometime in February, once I get settled into the new semester routine. And Victoria and maybe Natalie are coming next weekend, yay! Me and V will finally get to see Second City, which is coming to Sangamon auditorium. Fun times.

Anyway, I don’t know much else. I’m getting caught up on the work from this past week, now that the moving hysteria is over, and classes are looking busy but good. Week 2 of the internship should be exciting-I’m going to be running around the capitol like a crazy woman, and I couldn’t be more excited :D Anyway, I’m going back downstairs to watch tv w/ Elizabeth (I’m feeling pretty tired and low-key right about now), so, I love you all, and g'night.

@#$%&*! Pontiac!

My car is being a pissy little bitch. I hate midwestern winters. My dear old car, a '91 Pontiac, has survived since my high school days, and has proven very reliable 98% of the time, but this is the first time in about a year that it has just been so darn cold (we're talking 4 degrees!) that is has chosen to ignore my pleas and not start. I put some heet in the gas tank and waited about 45 minutes, but still no good. Ugh. I think I'm going to take a nap and pray it starts once the temperature raises a bit.

What's Your Style? Find out @ She's Crafty

So apparently I'm one glam chick...my style has changed, after all-but you still have to love the Levis and Gap sweaters of Amy Lynnette's undergrad days...you might even catch me wearing them once in awhile nowadays, if you're lucky.

Reading, Papers, Thesis, OH MY!

My room, with the exception of some of my desk drawers & a little laundry, is in perfect order. Just
the way I had it before-thank goodness. For of those of you who don't know me well, I'm a bit of an organization nut-I don't mind clothes thrown around or the bed not made, but I MUST have a sense of order in my room when it comes to my desk or possessions, or I'm likely to go nuts. I had my first night of good sleep last night, since the craziness of last weekend, and I couldn't be happier.

Baby Beauty Products

Totally random thought, completely off subject: my best friend Krissa made a recommendation to me a couple of months ago, saying that I should try Johnson's Baby Bedtime Bath as a body wash for it's stress-relieving properties. So I finally tried it, and that stuff rocks my world! Number 1, it smells awesome, #2, it's moisturizing and delicate for the skin, and #3, well, forget #3, it's just amazing. Being a beauty product junkie, I'm always thrilled w/ a new discovery. My last great discovery was Lancome Photogenic foundation-I have been blessed with good skin (except for about a week out of every month-BLAH), but this stuff makes a good thing even better-we're talking Catherine Zeta Jones on the front of VOGUE good skin-it's pricey, but amazing, and I have the hook-up at FB w/ my friends at the Lancome counter-we're talking free products pretty much all the time, and they're always suggesting new products and giving me free samples. Yay for great makeup!

Other Stuff

Totally changing the subject again, it seems like EVERYONE is going out tonight, including my new roomies, as well as some friends from last semester, but it's unlikely I'll be joining them, mainly because of the fact that 1) I've gotten behind this week, 2) I need to do laundry, 3) It's FREEZING! and finally, I have to work tomorrow, and I'm going out for Superbowl Sunday, so I HAVE to work on my thesis proposal and various other projects, so I can get ahead before I have a chance to get behind. Yes, I know you're probably all shaking your heads, saying, "What has HAPPENED to that girl-what a nerd!" but, unfortunately, tonight I must put on my responsible student hat-although I'd seriously kill for a carbomb right about now. I wonder if Marley's has carbombs? I haven't bothered to check thus far...(and it's not like I would actually do one here in Springfield-that is strictly a Murphy's tradition) but my roommates were talking about an interesting drink they had recently, called a 'Red-headed Slut'-lol. I didn't get around to asking what was in it, but it seems the more people I talk to, the more interesting drinks I hear about.

Not much else is going on-let the exciting night of studying begin. I can't wait until I get caught up on my reading and stuff, then I'll be able to relax once and for all, now that the fiasco is over. Until then, I've got chapters of reading waiting for my attention. Cheers, and more later from this busy lady.

Things are back to normal now, SO great, and so much better than they were a week ago. I am SO happy w/ my current housing situation. Seriously-my new roommates and I have only known each other for 48 hours, and we're already talking like old friends. It is definitely a comfortable situation. We're all so much alike, as far as study habits/living environment/social environment, it's not even funny. They seem to be a lot like me, studious and responsible, but not afraid to let lose and have fun on the weekends (or even occasionally during the week, lol, as Jess proved tonight-coming home drunk after a night out w/ her internship buddies, the girl had 8 vodka tonics and was still able to walk AND talk AND was NOT puking-why can't I be more like that?! Why not, bc I have a toilet at IHOP that loves me...hehehehe). In addition, they like to cook, clean, and enjoy watching reality television in addition to being addicted to HGTV (as am I)-why couldn't I have had them as roommates LAST semester? :o) Needless to say, I'm very happy w/ the situation.

Class tonight was by far the worst one of the semester-one of the guys summed it up by saying that he didn't think there was any activity that could have been more painful than that 3 hour class! So boring, so dry! Information that I have heard a million times, partly thanks to Poli-Sci 312 at UIUC-it's like a longer, more boring version of that, if such a thing is possible (Amy A. and Diller would tell you it's not) Oh well, that's why I'm glad that this particular class, despite its dull nature, has some of the most gorgeous guys I've ever seen on campus. DAMN. The hottest one of all, named Dan, is someone that I could seriously sit and watch all day, and to top it off, he's so nice. It's a shame this is his last semester, but oh well. I'm interested in someone else-but every girl needs good eye candy. Enough drooling for one evening on that account.

Oh, and I talked to Victoria tonight, we caught up on life in general and since I hadn't talked to her in a week or so, I told her the gory details of the hellish roommate situation. (I swear, does anyone else have such random things happen to them? I think not.) She was, of course, shocked by the horrific details, but was pleased that I had been removed from the situation. She expressed similar sentiments as Natalie and Krissa did, by saying, "OMG-get the hell out of there!" Don't worry, I AM! :o) Anyway, yay for her and Natalie coming to visit next weekend! At least they won't build a fort...

Oh, and my sister was in town tonight! She was downtown next to the Crown Plaza w/ some of her fellow KC students, they're in town for a student presentation there tomorrow, so I got an opportunity to go and visit w/ her. Yaaaayyy for that, despite our different personalities, me and Lori are really close. It reminded me of KC and similar trips for StuCo...great memories :o)--we had so much fun! So many crazy stories...if they wanted to, any of my fellow StuCo officers from my sophomore year could probably ruin any potential political career of mine before it even started-but just like the UIUC CR's, we have made a pact-what happened in Centralia, stays in Centralia (similar to Champaign)-although, there is still a questionable videotape out there (don't get excited, it's not porn, thank you-none of us are Paris Hilton wannabes)-but we won't discuss that any further. Ty, if you're reading this, here's hoping that tape has long since been DESTROYED! I know it contained many priceless memories *AHEM* of our KC glory days, but here's hoping that it has gone up in flames-for all of our sakes!

Anyway, with that said, I do believe it's time for some sleep-it's gonna be a hectic weekend, studying, thesis proposal work, actually WORKING at FB, in addition to Superbowl fun at Dempsey's. So night ya'll, go getcha some! Sleep, that is! What did you think I was talking about, you perv!

It's true, I'm just like Miranda, my favorite character from SATC!


Which Sex and the City Player Are You? Find out @ She's Crafty

Ok, now I'm really going to post something legitimate...recap of my crazy week.

-I MOVED. With that said, I would just like to forget completely from this point on about those two weeks in my life. My new addy is 2111 Carl Sandberg Ln., Apt. #5. Of course I'm still in Springfield. Come and visit any time, unless your names are Dan, Joe, and Donald, and you are planning on coming as a group. This apartment isn't ready for a toilet-papered fort.

-I've started sampling the lovely downtown Springfield eateries. I went out to lunch w/ Heather and Matt, along w/ some of the other IARF crowd, and we went to Two Olives and a Pepper, which is right next to the famed Statehouse Bar and Grill. 2 O's & a P is great-I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a quick lunch or dinner who's just down wind from the capitol. In addition, it's such an adorable little restaurant, in addition to having good food. I mentioned that I have yet to have been to the Statehhouse B & G, and Matt confided that he had yet to be to it sober-lol. This led to the sharing of drunken college stories among the three of us, which was needless to say amusing, considering that we went to arguably the 2 biggest party schools in the state-SIUC and U of I-I shared stories of the drunken quad stumble, but sorry guys, no references to my famed evenings at IHOP. I'm afraid those memories will stay with me and the IHOP women's toilet-well, and everyone who saw me stumble out-oops.

-I was formally warned by one of C-W's lobbyists to watch my back down at the capitol, simply for the fact that I am a young, unmarried woman, and that there are a bunch of disgusting pig-headed congressmen wandering the halls looking for a**. I don't care how badly I want a great political job, I'll be damned if I'll throw my morals/principles out the window and screw some geriatric congressman for a job. I'm not that kind of girl, and never will be. I've never wanted something that badly that I'd throw away my own personal pride and decency in favor of something material that can be lost just as easily as it could be gained. I don't care where I'm at 10-20 years down the road, I want to be able to look and the mirror and still recognize and LIKE the person that I see.

-Classes are hectic. Seminars are a ton of work, which is part of the reason why I am not leaving my room this weekend, except to work at Famous Barr. I've got a good GPA going into this semester, and I intend to keep it that way. Hurrah.

It's a BEAUTIFUL day in the neighborhood!!!

(In all actuality, it's really freezing outside, w/ 5+ inches of crusty snow...but I can't help it, I'm in a wonderful mood!)

Have a great day, everyone!

HOORAY, I'm moved!

My new roommates are wonderful. At this point, anything a step above what I had before was desirable, but truth be told, my new roommates are 1) friendly, 2) neat freaks-THANK GOD! and 3) not druggies or criminals! It's amazing what a horrible an impact a roommate can have on you, despite only having lived with you for 2 weeks! I got really lucky last semester w/ my roommates, and I'm glad that I only had to be in that hellish environment for 2 weeks-good riddance! I just feel so much more relaxed/relieved since I've moved out. Anyway, like I said before, now that I've gotten my apt. in order, things are pretty much perfect-I have a hectic school/interning/work schedule, but it's nothing I haven't done before, and now I can actually enjoy my classes and internship, which is fabulous.

Let me see-what else is going on...John Kerry won New Hampshire; no surprise there, in my opinion-to be perfectly honest, over the summer, I was feeling like the voters would gravitate towards Kerry-I've never been very impressed w/ Howard Dean; politics aside (yes, he's still hot, and Diller, I don't CARE if he has no neck-I'd still make out w/ him. I just wouldn't vote for him!), he's far too volatile of a person to gain the support of the DNC-they want someone politically correct and safe as far as the issues are concerned, and I believe they have found that in Kerry. I'm starting to speculate that Kerry might choose John Edwards as his running mate, if and when he gets the nomination; I'm afraid that a Kerry-Edwards combination may be the toughest hurdle the Bush campaign has faced since Osama and 9/11-maybe that's an exaggeration, but it will certainly be difficult. You've got two popular senators, coupled w/ Kerry's experience/veteran status + Edwards' youth, vibrant personality, and positive attitude. Heck, I LIKE John Edwards, I just don't like his politics. And I think America will like him as well-if they don't already. In my mind, Kerry has a shot so long as he brings Edwards along for the ride. Personally, I'm hoping that by some miracle Al Sharpton will pull out in front, so that G Dub rides on to an easy victory, but I think that we all know that's not going to happen. Drat. I knew I should have started Conservatives for Al Sharpton back at UIUC. It might have made all the difference...lol, jk. Anyway, things should get very interesting between now and November, stay tuned for Amy Lynnette's political predictions-take them how you wish, they're just my random musings.

Anyway, I'm going to take a break from the blogging and unpacking and go catch the tail end of American Idol-yes, the allure of reality TV has sucked in another victim. Later, ya'll.

OMG.

This last weekend was undoubtedly the weekend from HELL. And it's not because of Stacy, the bitch roommate anymore. I'm talking about Heidi, the OTHER new roommate. She was new, and I could tell she was very different from me, but I was still willing to give her a chance. However, the shady late night guests, the fact that the POLICE had been called to our apt. while I was gone for the weekend, in addition to the fact that she had informed me she had a criminal record-OMG-I had reached a breaking point. The last straw was last Saturday morning, when I arrived at my apartment to find her w/ one of her many male companions and in a roughed-up state-apparently, some of these friends/thugs of hers had gotten angry and decided to storm into our apartment and steal her jacket and various other possessions of hers. I faced the aftermath when I came back and discovered the situation w/ the police there. After I informed my parents of the situation, they sent me to a hotel until the situation was resolved-meaning, me MOVED OUT. Luckily, UIS housing moved very quickly, and has placed me in a new campus apartment extremely similar to my old one, and my new roommates are both normal and wonderful. That is just making a VERY long story short, but to sum up, I simply didn't feel safe anymore, bc I have NO idea what kind of crap she is involved with, and frankly, I didn't want to stay around to find out. I'm SO pleased with my new living situation, words can not describe it.

Meanwhile, moving on to more cheerful things (I'd rather forget the last 2 weeks and my hellish roommate situation, bc overall, last semester was fabulous)-I just finished Day 2 of my internship, and it is going wonderfully. Today was my orientation on the legislative and lobbying process. I was knowledgeable about most of the information, but it provided me with a refresher of the stuff I had forgotten since my freshman year of college and Poli-Sci 100. My job will primarily consist of research, IARF projects, and being down at the capitol tracking bills and sitting in hearings-a lot of legislative exposure, which is exciting. On a side note, I think I'm falling in love w/ downtown Springfield. Springfield as a whole is ok, but downtown is just fabulous-the best restaurants, the cutest shops, the most adorable coffee shops, historic sites, the capitol-the list goes on and on. I'm so excited to be living downtown starting this summer.

Ok, I'm exhausted, so I'm going to stop writing for now, but I'll fill in more of what's been going on lately when I have more time and energy. Oh, and I've decided to nickname my American Politics seminar "Bush Bash 2004" bc that's all that my Clinton-loving professor seems to do, every chance he gets. Blah. Ok kiddies, more later-love to you all.

Have you ever had such strong feelings about something/someone that you just wanted to shout it from the rooftops, and felt like you would explode otherwise? That's just about how I feel right now. Yep. Just when I think I'm becoming too jaded for words, something stupid happens to remind me that my feelings are genuine. Arg. I think I'm losing it. I always thought I had my life/emotions in perfect control, but I was WRONG!

Hello again, everyone...

It's been awhile since I've posted, but not much has been going on. My thoughts as I am finishing the second week of the semester is that things are definitely going to be crazy, in terms of schoolwork, but I've already established this. My internship starts next week, and at that point, I imagine my friends and family will see me drop off the face of the earth. The roommate situation is slightly better, at best. My bitch roommate seems to expect all of us to be quiet whenever it suits her, despite the fact that she enjoys blaring her television until all hours of the night. That, and the insistence of my roommates to keep the thermostat at seemingly sub-zero temperatures-I wore a sweatshirt and sweatpants to sleep in last night, and I was covered by two blankets, and I was just barely comfortable. Ugh. Another one of my roommates claims to have the best intentions when it comes to her schoolwork, but the empty liquor bottles in the trash have since convinced me otherwise. Meanwhile, Liz is her usual busy self, and thankfully, so am I, so I won't have to bear witness to the nonsense going on in my apt. most of the time this semester. Thank God I'm getting my own place after this semester-I think I'd go insane otherwise.

Not much else is going on-tomorrow I actually have open until my class at six, and I plan on taking full advantage of that fact by sleeping in and then spending a couple of hours at the salon. After class, I fully intend on kicking back and relaxing w/ some of my friends at Dempsey's...not my favorite Springfield bar by any means, but it will provide me an opportunity to de-stress before the hectic nature of the semester sets in.

Oh, and John Kerry came out on top after the Iowa caucuses, proving that this will indeed be an interesting Democratic primary. I'm disappointed, because if any of the candidates pose a threat to W, I feel that it is Kerry, but at the moment, I think Georgie has enough momentum to beat out any of the potential Democratic nominees...but then again, it's only January...time will tell.

With that said, it's time to kick back and relax while I still can...thank you and goodnight.

Well, well, well.

Last semester, my biggest problem w/ my roommates was the fact that one of them (I won't mention any names) left green bean casserole remains on the stove for 3 days straight-yes, disgusting, I know. I'll definitely say that I lucked out, esp. considering that I didn't even know these individuals I was rooming with! I began to think that living in one of the campus townhouses wasn't such a bad idea after all...

Fast forward...Spring semester, 2004...

I have two new roommates. One of them, Heidi, can be a bit interesting at times, we come from different backgrounds, obviously, but all in all she's a sweet girl and we get along well-and she's a clean freak, and an overall respectful roommate. However, at the last minute, housing put ANOTHER roommate in-and she's a little hellion, that girl is.

First of all-she keeps all of her food in her room-which is fine, except for the fact that she comes down and eats ours (me, Liz, and Heidi all share food). Second, her boyfriend is attempting to live w/ her while he finds his own place. All I have to say about that is-it's not going to last much longer-the other three of us are going to go to housing and file a complaint. Finally, she's just a bitchy person in general, and has a really bad attitude. Take for example the other morning. Being the EXTREMELY busy girl that I am, I got up for yet another long day, was cooking breakfast (I'm dieting, and if I don't eat in the morning, I'll end up snacking on something bad for me) and got a plate out of the cabinet. No biggie-something I've done many mornings in a row. However, the sound of the plate coming out of the cabinet was apparently too much for my roommate, (even though it was already 9:15 a.m.) and she came out of her room and very bitchily told me that I was making too much noise. I kind of rolled my eyes when she went back in her room, but I tried really hard to be quieter (even though I WASN'T being freaking noisy!). However, as I went to remove a pan from the dishwasher, it made a little creaking noise, and before I knew it, she was storming out of her room and complaining AGAIN. I had had enough at this point, and politely but firmly informed her that I was NOT trying to make a racket-however, I had places to go and things to do, and that was that. She proceeded to stomp back in her room, and the conversation was over. Yeah. My other roommates thought it was bitchy, too. Anyway, we're having dinner, the four of us on Monday night, to "discuss" things, and here's hoping we clear up some of these stupid issues. Because I can live with a lot of things, but I CANNOT live w/ hypersensitive, hypocritical, disrespectful bitches. I don't think I'm being unreasonable about this-everyone who knows me knows that I am a down-to-earth, easygoing person who gets along w/ 99% of the people I meet. I don't have to be best friends w/ my roommates, but I DO have to co-exist peacefully. Yet another reason why I'm living alone next year-I don't have to deal w/ unnecessary b.s. (And p.s., I found a FABULOUS apt. downtown-I'm so excited)

Oh-and another thing-she insists on leaving the thermostat at 70 degrees, in the WINTER! I explained to her that I want to save on power as much as everybody, but if the thermostat goes below 75 ever again, I'm gonna have an issue. I don't want to bundle up like an eskimo just to sit and watch the freaking tv.

Anyway-enough of my roommate-bashing. Hopefully we'll be able to get things cleared up on Monday. Until then, I'm going out w/ some of my Springfield friends to Mowie's tonight, and going home to C-town tomorrow for the long weekend.

All in all, except for the roommate issue, things are good-that, and the fact that I feel very sorry for one of my friends right now, just bc of all of the unnecessary b.s. that has been piled on her. Some people can be such disrespectful, unappreciative jerks-I have been in a similar position before :( and it blows. Big-time. I'm just trying to be a good and loyal friend-bc in times like these, those are the only people she can depend on. Arg.

Ok guys, that's about it for now. Oh-and classes went really well-but I can tell already I'm going to be VERY busy this semester-last semester was a vacation compared to what's ahead. In the words of my friend and fellow grad student Lesley-"Interning and work and thesis-OH MY!"

Nothing too exciting today...I'm at home in Centralia right now, getting ready to head back to good ol' Springfield. Classes start this week. I'm taking graduate seminars in state and american politics, in addition to POS 502, graduate methods of inquiry (which ultimately is designed to help me write and research my thesis-ARG). I have classes on t-w-th, all in the evening from 6:00-9:30 p.m., in addition to putting in about 15 hours a week at FB, and 3-4 days downtown interning. Fun times are ahead, but my schedule is going to be even crazier than last semester...and last semester I was dangerously close to burning out. Let's hope I keep my wits about me. It's hard to believe that in less than a year, I'll have a master's degree and be out in the "real" world. That is, unless I decide that I want to go on to law school or a Ph.D. program, (ideas which I've toyed with) but I imagine that if I do either of these things, it will be after a few years of working. I'm just trying to open myself up to take advantage of all the opportunities I can while I'm here in Springfield, so that I can #1, build up my resume and #2, gain necessary experience. That's the reason I came to UIS in the first place, and it has served me well thus far.

Anyway, I've recovered from Friday night, visited with the family, and now I'm going to head back to Spfld. and start on my application for ILSIP-it's due the first week of February. More later...

OMG.

What an evening. I think that I can safely say that I won't be having any more dinner parties w/ the Chambanaites anytime soon, at least not ones that include the company of Dan, Joe, and Donald TOGETHER-when they are by themselves, they're fine, but the three of them TOGETHER have proven to be more than I could take.

For the dinner party, I cooked a lovely dinner for everyone, chicken Parmesan, garlic bread, Caesar salad, tiramisu, red wine-and it turned out fabulous, I think it was well received. Things actually seemed mature and dignified for awhile, but it wasn't meant to last-I mean, who are we dealing w/, after all? Things went downhill as soon as the greygoose and absolut made their appearances. Those, in addition to Dan and Joe's gift of Franiza boxed wine-the consumption of these beverages made the evening one of the most hilarious, infuriating, and memorable ones that you could probably ever imagine. After sitting around my kitchen table and trying to prevent the boys from lighting napkins on fire, (candles=BAD IDEA!) the boys decided my living room was quite boring and needed decoration-if that's what you would call it.

My living room, for one brief shining moment on the evening of January 9th, was turned into a fort. The destructive forces I like to call Dan, Joe, and Donald proceeded to take the furniture in my spotlessly clean apt., and construct an elaborate fort that they claimed would protect me and my roommates from the pedofiles and rapists of the world (in addition to dirty UIS boys). But, the fort wasn't enough, apparently. When my roommate Heidi, Joe, Meghann, and I decided to go on a run for more, er, beverages, I made the mistake of letting Dan, Donald, and Diller behind-a group that I'll now refer to as the Triple-D Destructive forces. Anyway, when we returned, I was mildly alarmed to find the lights in my apt out, but assumed it was just the boys goofing off.

Goofing off is far to tame of a term to use when it comes to describing just WHAT they did to my place. If I hadn't found it just so ingenious and demented and hilarious, I swear I would have killed them. They had RAIDED my coat closet and decorated the entire apt. with toilet paper-we're talking hanging from ceiling fans, strewn on the floor-everywhere. Dan and Donald were seated underneath the fort and were waving coat hangers in the air, while Diller pretended to be passed out/dead in one of the chairs. (They told me later that they had wanted to put ketchup on him to give it the aura of a horror movie, but had decided to draw the line-WISE decision) They had also dragged out my vacuum and turned it on full blast to add to the weirdness and hysteria. Finally, they had taken pages from my roommate Liz's flip chart and decorated the upstairs balcony. If it had not been there, right in front of my eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. The worst part was, as mad as I was at them for destroying my apt., I couldn't help but laugh because GOOD GRIEF-I mean, they built a fort. If you don't believe me, I recommend to track down Joe Worobey and have him show you the pictures he took, (tragically, my disposable camera was lost in the shuffle) because that's really the only way you'll believe it.

So after the excitement of the fort, and the initial humor, I proceeded to become pissed that the kiddies had wrecked the apt. Snaps go to my new roommate Heidi, who JUST moved in yesterday, and the fact that she didn't even know me well, and didn't know my friends, and she was so cool about the entire situation is amazing. While the destructive trio plus Meghann proceeded to do...(well, I'm not sure what they did, aside from Dan sneaking into my room and putting porno wallpaper on my computer)...whatever, I, having gotten tipsy by now off of my couple of glasses of wine, proceeded to get into a long, drunken, conversation with Diller which finally ended at 4:30 a.m.-I'm just going to say that Diller is one of the best listeners I know, and I am so lucky to have such great friends. There's this *thing* I'm going through right now, something that has been bugging me, big time, since last year, and he's probably the only person that can truly understand both sides to this situation, and hopefully not think I'm being ridiculous. It just felt so good to once and for all to get it off my chest, and get advice. Many thanks to Diller for once again, being there for his friends.

Meanwhile, I took the first step in trying to reconstruct a friendship with a certain person, but I must say that I think it failed miserably, and I really don't think that I have the time and energy to deal with this particular person anymore. I'm perfectly comfortable hanging out in a social atmosphere, but that's where it ends. I know friendships aren't easy, but this particular situation has gotten to a point of ridiculousness that I can't handle anymore.

So-that is the tale of the happenings at my uber-crazy dinner party. In the beginning, I was kind of disappointed that some of my Centralia and Springfield friends couldn't make it, BUT-looking back, it's probably a good thing if you think about all of the nonsense that occurred. All in all, it was quite the interesting evening. With that said I'm going to go home to Centralia for the rest of the weekend, but I had to write about this before I forgot the details, so the whole world can have a record of just how insane last night was. more later folks-Amy Lynnette's outta here.

P.S. I GOT MY INTERSHIP! I rule. All in all, with the exception of one certain thing-life is good, and it's getting better all the time. :o)

I am quite exhausted. My sleep schedule is seriously messed up, and classes haven't even started yet. It's taken less than a week for this to happen, and it's all FB's fault. And I can't go to sleep yet, bc if I do, I'll wake up at some insane hour like 2 a.m., and I'll end up watching infomercials until my alarm goes off at 4 a.m. I hate them I hate them I hate them!!!....Ok, enough of that. I'm not going to be there much longer, so I'll enjoy the few perks of the job while I can...After-Christmas sales rock my world.

I've spent the afternoon running errands, and now I'm planning the menu for my dinner party tomorrow...I think I'm going to attempt making tiramisu this evening, which goes against every diet rule I know of, but hey, it's for my friends. Just because I'm suffering doesn't mean they have to, lol.

Not much else is going on now. For the first time in a long time, I am kind of bored, bc most of my Springfield people are still out of town, including my roommate; if she was here right now, it is likely we would be sitting in the living room watching another stupid VH1 all-access show-it's become the A #1 guilty pleasure-unhealthy, but addictive.

Speaking of guilty pleasures, I have to say that in my opinion, the first episode of The Real World San Diego was absolute crap. (you can tell I'm on break, seeing as I have time to watch this nonsense) The only cast member that I have observed to have any depth at all is Jacquese. The cast members have no chemistry worth mentioning. Once again, MTV has chosen cast members to fill specific roles: the ditzy hot girl, the feisty minority girl, the odd one out, the token african-american, the Neanderthal frat boy, and finally, the free spirit. Although MTV occasionally deviates from these stereotypical roles, the last Real World episodes have been fairly true to this standard, and I see this one as no different. My only comment on the first episode is directed about Frankie: what the H*LL is she doing smoking? She has cystic fibrosis...hi, a fatal lung disease, dangerous enough by itself, and still she decides to smoke. I really don't understand people's logic sometimes (or lack thereof).

Since I've decided to talk about TV shows, I'm going to move on to my favorite TV show of all-time-Sex and the City! There are only 7 episodes left so I'm kinda heartbroken. However, it's had a great run, I recommend that everyone catches the last few episodes (even the guys, you could learn a thing or two! *wink*), even if you haven't been a show faithful. Just to bring SATC loyalists up to speed, after this last episode I am still skeptical of the Miranda/Steve reunion, however, I'm convinced that Steve brings out a better side of Miranda. He has went out and made something of himself, which has made him comfortable w/ Miranda's career success, and meanwhile Miranda has come to face the shocking reality that she is in love with Steve (See episode 75), and finally had the guts to act on her feelings (See episode 86). Being somewhat of a cynical b*tch myself (at times!), I definitely embrace the idea of a man who can make roll my eyes, but laugh while doing so. Meanwhile, Carrie is still dating the handsome older man Alexsandar Petrovsky, but I must say that I agree with TV guide when saying that Carrie is destined to remain single. She's far too independent and has a penchant for the dramatic, which is why she hasn't managed to hold down a man thus far. We'll just have to wait and see how the series ends. Finally, commitment-shy Samantha was lured back to the arms of the only man who broke her heart, Richard Wright-but only briefly. While it appeared that things were over between her and her adoring Smith Jerrod, he proved to be the ultimate gentleman and was there for her when things crashed and burned. *awwwwwwwwww* He's GORGEOUS, decent, and I hope Sam finally gives him the commitment he deserves and they end up happy together!

Ok, enough of my tv observations...I'm going to run some errands and hang out for awhile. Catch ya on the flip side folks-I'll post again soon.

Hey all, it's been awhile.

It's been quite some time since I posted. I had originally planned for this to be a regular thing, but my hectic schedule got in the way. I hope to keep up this semester, so ya'll can follow along with what is happening.

Since we've talked last, I have finished my first semester of grad school and completed my internship with Congressman Shimkus. Classes went very well this semester. I wholeheartedly feel (after one semester at UIS) that the Poli-Sci program here deserves more recognition, I've been very impressed w/ the professors and courses. As far as my experience with Shimkus, I'd definitely say that the internship was worthwhile-it sucked that it was unpaid, but I learned a ton and made a lot of worthwhile contacts here in the capitol city. Wheeeeee...

Speaking of internships, I just got my first bitter taste of rejection. ARG. I applied for an internship w/ Cook-Witter, a well-respected lobbying firm here in Springfield. I got an interview with them, and made it into the final round; however, they ended up giving the job to someone else. I, of course, was gracious on the phone, but was, of course, inwardly furious & upset. (being as self-critical and insecure as I am) However, Bruce of C-W told me that they had been very impressed w/ my resume, and had decided to forward it to one of their clients.

So, moving on, I had my interview with them today, and it went VERY well, unlike my C-W interview, during which I was fighting the flu. Heather, the woman who interviewed me, seemed very impressed with my experience thus far, and told me that I came to to the interview very highly recommended by C-W. It looks promising-so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm realistic, though, and I won't get my hopes up. If I get this internship, it will be extremely similar to the one w/ C-W, and will have me down at the capitol during session, sitting in on committee meetings, speaking on varioius issues, and doing research and writing. In short, it's exactly the kind of experience I'm looking for!

Anyway, enough of that. *fingers crossed* Not much else is happening. Work sucks, bc of inventory, and the weather is freezing, but things are generally good. I'm taking 12 hours this semester, (my first class is next Tuesday night) I'm getting a new roommate this weekend, and some of my pals are coming to visit on Friday. Nothing much else for now...I'm going to make dinner and hang out for awhile...more later kiddies, peace out.