Joanna’s posterous

First week of classes

I'm feeling really good about life again. School and my living situation anyway. Not to mention all that much needed bridge burning I needed to get done. We'll see how the rest plays out.

The first two days of classes have been amazing and I've been eager for them to start for a while now. I'm really, really looking forward to this semester... and my future.

I'm not in an updating mood though. I took a nap earlier and have been reading ever since. So I'll leave you with a picture of Amelia and Sweetie getting acquainted (too bad you all can't hear the hissing and grumbles).



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My great romances

If there's one album that was on repeat constantly throughout my freshmen year it was Taking Back Sunday's Tell All Your Friends. It's one of my absolute favorites. I've seen them live twice now. If I'm not mistaken (which I might be) the first time I went to go see them it was my first ever real show. I went with Mandy, Jackie, and another of Jackie's friends. If not for Taking Back Sunday... the awkward Joanna and awkward Mandy may have never become friends. Tonight I considered that fact while driving back to my apartment in College Park and got goosebumps while listening to the song I'm going to share with you all.

With my last year of college beginning tomorrow I'm feeling awfully nostalgic and I'm missing all of my good friends a great deal tonight... Mandy and Krissy especially. With Mandy in Vegas and Krissy in Kenya I've made new (wonderful) girlfriends... but no one will ever replace the two girls I met almost exactly 4 years ago after moving into a hot, smelly, sticky dorm filled to the rafters with hookers.

We will forever share memories of Hungry Hungry Hippos tournaments, the creepster who lived on the boy's side of the dorm who tried to sleep with both Krissy and I in the same night while we were both sitting next to each other in my freshmen dorm room, the slutty-mooch who got hit in the face with a mud balloon while smoking a cigarette outside the dorm, Reid vomiting IN HIS PANTS in the Denton 1 girls bathroom, human bowling, golden boy, Kenny, that fucking disgusting shower that always clogged on the end, and most importantly our fights and falling out of touch only to come back stronger than ever.

Those were the fuckin' days. And I love those two girls more than any others... ever.

Come home soon.

                 
Click here to download:
My_great_romances.zip (388 KB)

Great Romances Of The 20Th Century by Taking Back Sunday  
(download)

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Something's happening

I'm not quite sure what's going on. Today has been quite weird. Not that I really mind sounding crazy because it is what it is but here's what happened.

I woke up around 9:30 when the guy who was scheduled to come and hook up the wireless internet in my new apartment called. He showed up around 10. I was immediately more flustered and awkward acting than usual. Normally I'm pretty good about keeping my cool and holding me own in a conversation without stumbling over words and whatever else. This was not the case. There's really only one other person who turns me into a mess like that. But we don't have to go into that right now.

He begins to install the internet and we're still talking. My mom sends me a text message of what the address to my new apartment is and I read the text while he was working. He said "something something heart chakra". I honestly heard "hot trucker". I had no idea what he was talking about. He then went into what a chakra was (despite the fact that I still had no idea what word he was using). He explained that there are 7, your heart being one of them. He showed me what the others were and we just continued to talk.

Initially I was slightly uncomfortable as the question then became "You're not that spiritual, are you?". I explained that I had endured 13 years of Catholic schooling and once reaching college I decided to take a break from even thinking about most things religion and spirituality related. Which is true. These are important decisions about my personal beliefs that I'm not comfortable making at 22 years old. There are a couple of beliefs that have just always been there and always will but other beliefs should probably be formed after a couple more life experiences.

I'm not sure if it was true or not but he said that he doesn't  normally talk to people about spirituality. Which makes sense. It's definitely a little taboo to just ask the person you're installing cable for if they're spiritual or not. What I find interesting about all of this is that two nights ago I began reading a big by Martha Beck called Finding Your North Star. It's about finding and listening to your essential self instead of letting your social self guide your life completely. Definitely a little spiritual. On top of all of this... on Sunday  night I was feeling incredibly lost. Incredibly. So I texted a friend who meditates frequently to ask for guidance on how to begin and what process to follow. Before the cable guy left he asked me if I meditated.

Maybe it's all coincidence. Maybe it's all bogus. Maybe I'm stupid for letting myself get curious about all of this. Whatever is going on though... I have a feeling life is looking up.

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An old favorite

This song is an oldie but very, very, very goodie. It used to be one of my favorites and its one of my absolute favorites to sing out loud. If you don't have it you should definitely get whatever Macy Gray you can get your hands on. She's got a couple albums and a best of album (which is really all you need).

I should do this song karaoke sometime. I know it'd be awesome. Especially if I could find a big, fake (realistic) afro wig

I Try by Macy Gray  
(download)

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Meet my father

My father is hands down one of my most favorite people on the planet. We're very similar in many ways. I'm completely content being a home body and watching TV or just relaxing and knitting. He's the same way. He was a carpenter for majority of his life. He built our house, actually (a 3 story, white brick home). I'm also pretty certain he can fix anything on Earth that is capable of being fixed. He's amazing with his hands and quite creative. I definitely get my crafty/creative side from him.

Besides all of that he's just a really funny, interesting person. He does such odd things sometimes that you can't help but laugh. One thing you should know is that he's a recover(ing/ed) alcoholic. He's been sober since February of 2005. After he became sober our relationship evolved. I was usually the daughter outside playing in the garden with him or going fishing but after he became sober we grew that much closer (and happier).

I thought I'd share some photographic evidence of what a goober my father is. This way you know where my gooberness comes from.

The other night I came out into the garage to say goodnight to my dad to find him sitting in a folding chair watching a gigantic spider eat an even more gigantic moth. That in and of itself is kind of weird. My father... the bug watcher. But what you need to know here is that my father found this moth, caught it, and then threw it into the spider web. He then told me that if I wanted to take the net outside I could catch the spider some more food... but not to bother with already deceased bugs. Spiders apparently don't care for those he thinks. Who knows how long he kept sitting there. I finally had to go to bed.

A couple of days later I asked him to come with me to traffic court. No one likes court, even if it's traffic court... especially me. He agreed to come with me. The morning of court I woke up around 7:30 am and went downstairs to knock on his door to see if he was ready yet. My father answers his bedroom door completely dressed up. He had brown suit pants on, a white dress shirt, a tie with a matching tie pin, and let us not forget that beautiful white/tan sport coat he wears to any wedding, church event, or anything requiring fancy dress. Suddenly my decision to not wear flip flops out of respect for the judge seemed pretty lame. Only my father would wear such a thing to traffic court. Before we left the house I asked him to pose for a picture, which he did. Also seen in the frame is the cooler he usually has packed when he's out in the garage working or outside. It's filled with Mountain Dew Code Red. So if you're ever in St. Mary's County and craving some Code Red... don't bother going to the grocery store. My father's already bought it all.

     

Click here to download:
Meet_my_father.zip (500 KB)

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Holla

Say what you want... I'd do nasty, kinky shit to this man.

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Feeling kind of crappy

I'm sure most people... most women have felt this way at one point or another. But lately I just feel completely unwanted and undesirable. I guess eventually I'll meet a new man or iron things out with an old one. Who the fuck knows? Not me.

This is a song my cousin Suzanne told me about. It's a good one. Especially when you're feeling super lame and need to cry into your tub(s) of Ben & Jerry's... the one with brownies in it is the best.

I guess I should just realize tomorrow is another day.

Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy  
(download)

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Negative Obama ad

I haven't seen any negative Obama ads yet this election season (meaning ads endorsed by him). It probably has something to do with the fact that Maryland is bluer than blue. However, I did see my first negative ad from him tonight. I took note of it even though I was making dinner at the time. I was incredibly happy with this negative ad (I have now read and seen on Olbermann that the ad is being run heavily in Indiana). The reason I was so happy with the ad is because it isn't OVERLY negative as much as it focuses on real issues as opposed to which candidate has rock star status. The ad uses actual video of McCain and real Americans with opinions and feelings about the economy. Using actual issues as a platform in his ads works much better than audio clips of crowds cheering "OBAMA" while power point slides of a smiling McCain, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears pop up on the screen. Compared to a rich, prehistoric, crooked ass republican... yeah. I guess he is kind of a rock star.

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Four things

I just realized I was tagged last Friday after making the blog rounds now that I'm back at work on Tuesday. I was tagged by Melissa and read Shannon's.


Four jobs I’ve had:
• Junior counselor at a summer camp
• Lab technician for the USDA
• Data entry clerk for the DOD (that one was fun.......)
• Coffee barista (probably my favorite of the four with my current job being close behind)


Four movies I can watch over and over:
• 40 Year Old Virgin
• The Big Lebowski
• Any muppets movie
• Noooo idea. There aren't many movies I watch over and over. I only own about 3.

Four TV shows I love to watch:
• Big Brother
• Countdown with Keith Olbermann
• COPS
• The Office

Four places I've been on vacation:
• Bermuda
• Alaska
• Parts of Canada's east coast
• Orlando, Florida

Four favorite dishes:
• My dad's homemade chicken noodle soup
• I will forever love the tuna and chicken salad sandwiches sold in my HS cafeteria
• No Rules pasts from Outback Steakhouse (yes, a chain)
• A cheeseburger and fries from pretty much anywhere (though my absolute favs are Five Guys and Wendy's)

Four websites I visit daily:
www.ravelry.com
www.gmail.com
www.thesixtyone.com
www.goallineblitz.com

Four places I'd rather be:
• Playing with Amaya somewhere
• At home in bed
• Road tripping somewhere in the US
• In class (I mean it)

Four things I want to do this year (because Shannon added it):
• Graduate
• Meet someone new
• Lose some weight
• Road trip to Vegas to see my friend Mandy

And because I'm also not going to tag people...
Four general favorite things:
• The color green
• Knitting
• Ginger ale
• Naps outside

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COLLLABOOOOO

Yell it like you're a rap star. 'This is a COLLLLLABOOOO!'. It's also fun to mad lib the sentence with your own cool made up rap name. I do it all the time. In fact that's what I yell whenever I enter a room.

Hells yeah.

This is a collaboration I heard on the radio a while ago. Maybe a month. Apparently the amazing Pharrell (from N.E.R.D.), Santogold, and Julian Casablancas (from The Strokes) teamed up for CONVERSE and recorded a single.

You may have seen part of the video on the commercial. And because I'm a big supporter of all three artists and chucks... give it a listen. And if you haven't seen the video you can watch it here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPZ5fnYFI4Q

My Drive Thru by Santogold, Pharrel Williams &  
(download)

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