never fully-clothed or intentionally misinforming

I'm sitting in Crispers on my brand spanking new laptop, surfing the web and listening to some of the employees chat while they're on their break. Four girls, two guys. It's almost closing time and it's dead in here. They've already mopped the floors behind the counter even.  They've gone from talking about terrible customers, to what they're all bringing to their apparent company holiday party, to the white foamy stuff that builds up in the corners of their mouths when they sleep with their mouths open. It's kind of cute how smoothly their conversations transition. You can tell they're not just co-workers, but friends too. It's making me smile. Actually, it's making me smile for a number of reasons. This is my first opportunity ever to people watch and blog at the same time. I'm entralled.  Alas, I have to go to the market and pick up some things for my party before I go home tonight. Le sigh. It's time to go. I love this baby alread...

I'm so burnt out on parties. Isn't that warped of me to say? I am sick of planning them. It's New Year's Eve tomorrow and, this is going to come out wrong, but I'd cancel all my plans with friends to curl up on the couch with J.M. and watch Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin on TV if I wouldn't look like a total bitch for it. It's just that last weekend I got a brutal taste of what it feels like to go unappreciated and that thoroughly burns me. But I'm moving on from that as best I can. I just don't feel like working for this fiesta at the ONF House. I don't want to put in any effort. But as shitty as this is going to make many of my friends sound, I can't count on them to provide the things any party would need -- like food. Every time we get together I request that people bring things. No one ever does. Every time we get together the party's at Angela's apartment and her food gets eaten, her drinks are had. And I'm the only one w...

I always set resolutions for the new year, but rarely ever follow through with them. This year is going to be different. I'm spearheading the 365 Photo Project in my circle (or perhaps polygon) of friends. Some of my friends and I will be participating -- taking one photograph every day for the entire year and publicly posting it on 365photographyproject.blogspot.com (a blog I set up). If it goes the way my mind's eye perceives it going, we'll all be able to teach each other a thing or two about photography. And even better than that -- at the end of year, we'll be able to look back at all 365 of our photos and see how our photography skills and eye for the visually pleasing have transitioned from the start of the year to the end. It's going to be a very difficult, but very rewarding experience. Please check the blog for updates. And PLEASE, if you're interested in participating, let me know. I'll add you to the authors list. Another resolution I'm set...

The year is over in less than 48 hours. This blows my mind because I clearly remember the hay ride, the bonfire, and the kiss from last year's New Year's party. I'm asking myself how it's possible that an entire year has gone by. And myself has no answer. Fiddle sticks. Let's think back... We started the year off by having the party at the ONF house, like we usually do. Big bonfire. Fun hay ride under the stars. It was perfect weather for ringing in the new year. New Year's Eve. Later in January my birthday happened, but I don't remember what I did, so apparently it wasn't anything cool. WAIT! I do remember. And it was cool. I went bowling. Right? I went to Golden Corral for dinner and went bowling with my friends. Detra was still pregnant so I know it had to be this year. Birthday Bonanza! In February I joined a program called Interpals and started meeting pen pals from all over the world. All of which I still keep in touch with, although not as regula...

Straight from Timothy McSweeney's interesting blog. What Could Have Been. BY COLIN PERKINS - - - - The Life My Mother Planned for Me A+ NYU Ph.D. HMO IRA The Life I Planned for Me NFL L.A. ESPN MVP VIP Double D USA! USA! USA! The Life I'm Living ADD GED DUI IHOP SOB WTF

Christmas generates a collective spirit; enlightening people to the understanding they should express their love and compassion toward one another. Christmas Spirit, the fantastically contagious holiday epidemic, causes uncontrollable happiness, compassion, and warmth generated from within. It also causes love to spew from the lips of friends and family members at delightful rates – rates which we do not see any other time of year. Christmas Spirit awakens the heart. I didn’t have the money to do much in the way of gifts this year, but I did have the creativity to make some things for the people I will be seeing. I don’t believe Christmas has anything to do with spending lots of money. What I aimed for this year was giving people things I made myself – it’s going to be a sort of one-of-a-kind artwork Christmas. I had been struggling to taste any semblance of Christmas Spirit on my tongue and in my heart this year, but after heading to the beach in nice 80 degree weather for the we...

Ever since I was too young to remember, my family has had one significantly exciting tradition. We're not too big into over-the-top traditions, but we do things like family dinners and family game night, the occasional backyard barbecue, a New Year's party, whathaveyou. But when Christmas time comes, the family favorite tradition gets refreshed, hidden in plain sight, and then hunted for. Each Christmas every member of my family (including Kelly) goes on a treasure hunt for one of their gifts. It's a fun and free way to take the emphasis off tearing open unnecessary paper, and gleefully go through present after present of items we might not ever use. So we treasure hunt. We treasure hunt for the gift we wanted, nay, longed for the most. And, aside from being with family and feeling warmth and happiness seep from every body, it's honestly become the part of Christmas I look forward to most. (yes, it trumps fresh-baked Christmas cookies.) But I've been feeling like st...