Author Archives: Julia

the romance equation

Posted in 717, relationships by

I just finished a wonderfully hysterical book called Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons. It’s sort of a parody of the Jane Austen genre. Now I do like Jane Austen but I love a good parody and laugh even more. Nothing better than a little sarcasm and over the top dramatic and flowery descriptions and overdone characters. An excerpt from the book,

“She knew from experience that intellectuals thought the proper – nay, the only
– way to fall in love with somebody was to do it the very instant you saw them.
You met somebody, and thought they were ‘A charming person. So gay and simple.’
Then you walked home from a party with them (preferably across Hampstead Heath,
about three in the morning) discussing whether you should sleep together or not.
Sometimes you asked them to go to Italy with you. Sometimes they asked yout o go
to Italy (preferably to Portofino) with them. You held hands, and laughed, and
kissed them and called them your ‘true love’. You loved them for eight months
and then you met somebody else and began being gay and simple all over again,
with small-hours’ walks across Hampstead, Portofino invitation, and all.”

I like this quote because it rings true and there’s a certain sense of silliness to it as it doesn’t take itself too seriously. For instance the set up, that this is the way intellectuals fall in love, mocks the way people have standards and formulas for love, which doesn’t follow a formula. But of course this is the way it should be done. This method for falling in love works today too though. I mean how many times have you or one of your friends met someone at a party, walked home with them discussing the possibility of sex at three AM, “fall in love”, and a short time later moved on to someone else? Happens all the time. You make plans, it all seems so easy and then it’s over. Really just a fabulously annoying pattern that maybe one day will lead, completely on accident of course, to the right one. Dating is a pain in the ass. As is being single. Done and done.

Tonight I miss Bloomington in a way I haven’t since I’ve moved. The weather has temporarily cooled off for a bit and it feels like a late spring/early summer night in Indiana. Bette and I are determined to finish the large amounts of Corona that Ang’s cousin left in our fridge last weekend. So I opened one up, took it out to the front steps along with my laptop and started making a mix (or three). All I could think of was last year around this time when Marnie, Sam and I would sit on the porch and drink beer or play beer pong in the front yard or watch tv in the living room with all the windows open. I miss my roommates and I miss those nights second semester. Funny how when I look back on them I don’t remember all the drama with Jaime or the stress of graduating or the family stuff that exploded in my face right about this time. I like that I remember that time as just peaceful.

planetarium

Posted in work by

vanity fair has the best horoscopes hands down. they include the effect of planet positions, which houses they are in and where they are on your chart. of course i am a believer in horoscopes so vanity fair’s is like a double win for me. this month mine reads,

“AQUARIUS
naturally you’re a bit restless these days. you’re a wild bird, not some parakeet that gets let out of its cage only to cling to somebody’s arm. when saturn transits the western horizon, however, you’ve got to get over your desire for complete independence and accept the fact that you want company. while you know damn well that the only person who’s going to take care of you financially in your old age is you, the fact is that you get spooked when you’re left alone. maybe there is a touch of parakeet in you after all.”

it’s true. i’m a parakeet underneath my wild bird exterior but i hate admitting to it. one of my better personality flaws to come out since i’ve moved away.

we’ve started getting lots of regular early morning coffee drinkers at work besides our 3 0r 4 regulars. i like our early morning regulars because they don’t chit chat. i do not want to make small talk with you at 6:30am. come back in two hours. one of these is a european gentleman. he speaks in a fairly heavy italian accent, wears a leather jacket over his shoulders and uses copious amounts of hairgel. he orders an espresso. this morning i suddenly saw him standing outside, smoking a cigarette and knocking on our window, obviously trying to get my attention. when i looked his way he signaled two with his fingers. confused, i walked towards the door to see what he so desperately needed as he continued to flash the two fingers. he beat me to it, opened the door and said “i want a double espresso (hence the two). i forgot that you don’t allow cigarettes in the cafe here and lit one right before i came in.” ok fine. the smoke in cafes in europe. apparently they leave their manners outside though. this is not a drivethrough fool. i do not take your order while you stand outside. i was a bit cool when he did come in and i think he noticed. he was very complimentary of our espresso (delicious. even better than in italy.) and i hope he felt at least a little bad.

boys have cooties

Posted in Green Cove, North Carolina by

well i’m about to sign away yet another summer to green cove. the fifth to be exact. though last summer didn’t fully count since it was just june camp. this year though the whole summer. and i get positions of importance. bette and i are running the riding program duing june camp. that in and of it self should be interesting. and by that i mean complete insanity. during main camp i’m going to be the hillside linehead. this means that i’ll be in charge of a group of cabins of girls age 13. this line is notorious for having naked days where they run around the cabins wearing no clothes. they were once dubbed the “hookup hillsiders” in reference to their ability to get caught making out with boys in the bushes at dances. one. i do not do naked days. not even on wednesdays. two. i have no idea how to deal with 13 year olds kissing boys. i was scared of boys at 13. let’s face it, i’m still scared of boys. needless to say, it’ll be fun. of course i won’t be actually living in a cabin with girls, which means more nights out for bette and i. maybe i’ll even be social this summer. GASP!
in other news today was an absolute beach day. i can say that more realistically than i’ve ever been able to before because i now live a mere 2 hours from the beach. i could wake up and drive there tomorrow morning. it’d be a long drive but i could do it nonetheless. i must go before i leave for camp. one of the many reasons north carolina is fabulous.

when dinosaurs roamed the earth

Posted in apartments, celebs, internet by

i have a new favorite website, http://thesuperficial.com, a celebrity gossip website. not only celebrity gossip, but also trash talking celebrities like it’s your job. for example, on mariah carey thinking about adoption,
“If you made a list of people less qualified to be a parent than Jessica Simpson there’d only be one name on it and it’d be Mariah Carey. And maybe a drawing of an angry dinosaur. But even that would be behind Mariah.”
now i don’t have a problem with mariah carey but seriously, an angry dinosaur? i think i like these stories because they come up with the most random insults. why is it ok to make fun of celebrities in such a blatant way? i guess they ask for it when they put themselves in the public spotlight. sure they don’t ask for their every move, stupid or not, to be documented and published. that simply comes in the job description, a benefit of being famous.

i’ve started a serious apartment hunt in the raleigh/chapel hill area. tomorrow i am taking my laptop with me to work and dedicating the afternoon to applying to jobs and sprucing up my resume. because every time i say i’m going to do that at home after work i just pass out on the couch or in my bed. UNproductive. i’m actually excited about living by myself. i’m finally going to get a dog. i’ll get to clean whenever i want, put whatever i want on the walls, run around naked (come on, don’t deny it, you do that when no one’s home) and play my music loudly whenever i want. of course a single will probably encourage more conversations with myself. as if i don’t have enough of those already.

loans, court dates and new cars oh my

Posted in Indianapolis, music, work by

i wandered over to guster’s website today (i’ve been doing a lot of this kind of wandering today because i have no car to go run errands such as the groccery and the post office or start my new tutoring job) and found a new road journal entry. i’m posting the link here in hopes that you’ll read it. one because it’s guster and even better brian writes and is highly amusing. two because there’s mention of the ncaa tournament. three because there is mention of passover. four because there are silly drawings of the band and crew members. http://www.guster.com/. you have to click on the link to the left that says “road journal”. check it out.
in other news i’ve discovered the downside of being a grown up. i said i wanted responsibility and i still do but it doesn’t feel as good and liberating as i had hoped.
in other other news i’m going home this weekend. i’m thrilled and cannot wait to see my family and hopefully get down to bloomington.
my quote of the day, “there are two kinds of animals in this world, dogs and cats. kind of like there are two kinds of people, indie and new age.” {casey, the morning times manager}

the (potential) death of franny

Posted in cars, money by

i’ve killed franny. on my way to work yesterday i rear ended a car. i’m not entirely sure it was my fault as he was stopped in the middle of the road, no hazard lights on or anything. though mostly my fault. by the time the whole ordeal was over i was 2 hours late for work, sopping wet and shivering, and had recieved a ticket and a mandatory court date, which conviniently falls right in the middle of our chicago excursion. you can view the damages to the left. the radiator is also apparently smashed back. i’m fucked. either i clean out my savings account to fix the damages or i clean out my savings account to buy a new car. oh well, minor setback.

today is monday and it sucks

Posted in relationships, work by

i was literally about to curl up in bed and take a nap and on cue someone started cutting the grass outside my window. now, thanks to the loud motor noises, i will surely not be able to sleep. and right now all i want is to disappear into a nap for a bit. i was hoping for a refreshing weekend and it started off just that way. i think i came out the other end just as baffled and unsure as i went in. i had my first week of personal training sessions (yes the gym is sucking money out of me like it’s their job. at least i’ll be hot. um i mean in shape…) scheduled for 4:30 this week thinking that i was done with louisburg tutoring. i came home from work this afternoon, sat down on my bed and my phone rang. of course it’s never the phone call that i want, but the very opposite. etta holmes calling to ask if i can just tutor for this one last week because she’s having trouble filling my spot. and beause i’m a sucker and a pushover i say yes. so, now i have to call rodney the personal trainer and ask him if i can reschedule. and we all know how much i hate making phone calls to people i don’t really know. i’m putting it off. i need to plan out exactly what i am going to say, especially if i have to leave a voicemail. i’ve been planning out lots of conversations in my head. the other most important one i am trying to work up the courage to have. i’m just not sure it’s necessary anymore and if it is still then is it a good idea at all? i don’t want my happiness to depend on someone else and i do want to find the courage to tell that someone else how i feel.

job numero dos

Posted in relationships, work by

the neighbor cats are fighting loudly below my window. not the first serenade i’ve gotten since i’ve been down here but sadly the most recent one. i’d rather it be “you’ve lost that loving feeling”.
i’ve recently felt like i’m living two days in one. the first consists of the coffee shop and i have no complaints. the second has me driving an hour there and an hour back for only two hours of actual work. this is my tutoring job and it’s a pain in my ass that will soon be gone. i spent lots of time discussing the pros and cons of this second job (mostly with myself on my drives to and from said job). i enjoy some of the kids. i liked tutoring reading. i dislike a lot of the kids. they’re disrespectful, calling me “ma’am” in a sarcastic tone, they don’t try and disrupt the class. the drive is a monumental Pain In The Ass and gas prices are going up. i just don’t feel that it’s worth my time. and i’m generally cranky whenever i think of going. so i’m done. i really hate quitting but i think my sanity and happiness are at stake.
in other news i’m afraid i’m being used. or that all parties involved are confused and unsure. ugh i’m too exhausted to be thinking about this crap (again…). it’s 10:30 and time for bed.

post the first

Posted in work by

i have decided to leave my not so emo but emo by default livejournal past behind and get a grown up blog. that doesn’t make sense i realize but deal with it. besides i like fresh starts and since i’ve moved i’ve been all about fresh starts.
i’m opening at the coffeeshop every day this week but tomorrow. this requires me to set me alarm (or rather alarms because i started turning off just the one in my sleep) for 5am and 5:25am in order for me to drag myself out of bed, brush my teeth and get dressed in a half asleep fashion. all just to park my car 5 blocks from the store and walk through the sketchy part of downtown before the sun comes up. i’d honestly rather work in the mornings though because then i have my whole day in front of me when i get off at noon. or i have small and sometimes sticky children to teach maths to, except that i have no idea how to teach maths. but that’s a whole other story. plus i do thoroughly enjoy seeing the same customers every morning and guessing in my head what they want. last week a man came in who orders a latte every day. only he looks a lot like a man who orders a “grande caramel latte, extra hot” so when he said “i want my regular, can you guess what that is?” i said, “uummm, large coffee?” so now i keep my guesses to myself.
i do have two trips to look forward to coming up: going home at the end of march and going to chicago with bette for our “spring break” to visit marnie and meredith.
and now i’m going to help bette write a paper!!!! this, sadly enough, makes my night. my secret’s out, i love writing papers.