been let down before.

Out of shear boredom, I started reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I haven't read The Fountainhead but it's not like I have a copy lying around at my disposal. So Atlas Shrugged it is. Surprisingly, it's actually quite enthralling. One-thousand pages?...fuck, it's not like I have a grand social life anyhow; my hours and evenings can be wasted in pages. Suits me fine.

I had this urge to go swimming today, not in a pool but in a lake. I don't really think there are any lakes around here, or at least not any to my knowledge. I tried to find out from various people whom have lived in Pennsylvania all their lives as to where I could find one, but they were of no avail.
Instead, I laid on the roof of the Trinity for a few hours – spaced out in a bikini top and shorts. I had no water, but at least I had sun. That is, before the brief thunder and rain storm that followed shortly after I decided to go in.

Memorial weekend has been pretty bogus thus far. I've been hanging out by myself. Alison did drop by on Thursday, but since it was a crappy day, we both just kind of sat around my house and read. Tomorrow I start working. And Monday, Katherine, Allen, Felicia and myself are going to Sheila's new house for a house-warming/Memorial Day bbq. She said that I could bring a guest, aka a significant other, but yeah there's not one of those to bring. Here's hoping for good weather, and plenty of ale.

what a garden hoe.

I start working at S&H on Wednesday afternoon.

"Plants: they're in my blood. I was going to be a scientist." -Lady G.

skin deep.

Ha. Today Katherine had a Mary Kay consultant over at her house, so her, Felicia and I got treated to facials. Nice. Okay...I bought shit from the lady, but it was totally worth it.

Later on, we dropped my car off at the shop so it could get it's much needed oil change. And then Felicia and I went to get our hair cut. My hair is too gorgeous, but that's partly because I exfoliated my scalp and deep conditioned my hair the nite before. Either way, it's hot.

Billie texted messaged me throughout the day, mainly while her and some friends were at the movies watching StarWars. She said it blew, and during a smoke break she called because it'd be quicker to tell me how terrible it is/was. She said her phone would alarm everytime she had a new text message and how it was totally pissing off some random dude sitting next to her..."ruining his experience." Ha.

Allen's nephew, Matthew told him that it looks like I lost weight. Aw. I don't think I have. They say he just wants to bone me...and I don't blame him. I kid, I kid.

linking it all together.

So not having cable breeds boredom. There's only so much reading and watching movies I can stand for in a day.


Yeah, I'm bored, so why not post random links to silly shit.

•Alison's Trinity Set of Photos These were taken the same day, yesterday, when we went to the zoo. We were just hanging out at the Trinity. She likes Sherman.
•My totally bogus MySpace account This is perhaps the lamest shit ever, but oddly, I've been a part of this for months, and sadly I only have like what, 4 friends? Feel free to add me as a friend. I also have a Friendster account which is again, bogus and again I only have like what 4 friends? No link for that. Email search me there. Today was the first time I logged in after nearly 6 months of inactivity...and I really just wanted to see if it still existed. Again, feel free to add me.
•This is my portfolio site. Totally awesome?...I know. I had help with the html & flash coding, but it's my concept and design.
•Photos. This is a given, because if anyone even reads this bloggie, it's just my Flickr account, which I only have so I can occasionally post photos at she said what?
•I'm obsessed with... I spend a good few hours of my day browsing through random shit on the Philadelphia page.
•Instead of spell check... I check my spelling here. I do a lot of typing, whether it be this silly blog, random short fiction, emails, whatever...if I can't spell it right the first time around, I go here. I edit as I type, so this link is always open in it's own tab. And if someone throws out a word I don't know in an instant message, I can readily school myself. Word.
•Home Movies Sometimes when I'm bored, I'll pop over to this site and play the easiest game ever.
•God, I miss going to shows... like you wouldn't motherfuckin' believe!!! Even though I don't have money or have friends in Philadelphia who enjoy live shows, I still keep up with what's going on and if I'm lucky, I can sometimes drag someone along, although not very often. Seriously, last live show I've been to was last May...fucking sad. I hate going alone though...it's not as fun. No one really likes my musical tastes anyway, so whence I have the extra cash lying around, I may as well start going alone again.
•What's going on? I spend a lot of my time here, usually only on Thursdays when the new issue is out. I prefer to read shit online now because recycling newspapers is such a bitch. I also check the live shows here, because the above link is limited to certain venues. I like CP, better than PW, but I still read their articles, too.
•G.D.? God damn?...no, Graphic Design. I check out the happenings and read the news here just to keep myself in-touch with the G.D. world. Also, there's a link on that site which directs you to this site and there's usually some pretty interesting and geeky G.D. posts and other random links to portfolios and what not.
• Quite a Dandy.A very good friend of mine got me infatuated with this character. He is indeed whimsical. It's actually quite amazing that he exists.

Yeah, so that's about it. These are the main websites that I visit regularly. Okay, I forgot one important one – I check this at least 8 times a day. It's also my homepage because I'm obsessed with knowing the weather.
So now you know which sites I'm all about. There are handful more, but they're about as bland as Matzoh Ball soup.


Random Note: Still Standing Fast by Planes Mistaken for Stars sounds like a Loud Lucy song, and they are some old indie band from like, the mid-nineties? I was just reminded of that when it rolled over my iTunes library, and I said to myself, "wow, that sounds like Loud Lucy...I haven't heard them in years."

Bored? Of course...two posts in one day.

don't worry I'm not looking at you.

Yesterday afternoon, after waking up from a night of broken cell phones, bent glasses, and bleeding vaginas, I went to the Philadelphia Zoo with Alison. She had two free tickets, and seeing as how we both had nothing important to be doing, why the hell not. I refused to pay ten dollars for parking, so I parked on 39th and Girard...hell yeah. What's the point of having free tickets if you have to pay for parking?...exactly. So we had fun...or at least I did – I can't speak for Alison, but I'm sure she had fun as well, although the picture here may suggest otherwise...but she was just giving me a pissed look for taking her picture. I explained that it was all out of love. Ha. That face is classic, Alison!

alison looks po'd
Originally uploaded by cheersfortrout.

After dropping Alison off at Market East, I had to book it to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to meet Felicia for the Dalí exhibit at 6:30 pm. I got there early, so I parked at the Azalea Garden and walked up to the west end. Azaleas, being the showy shrubs of the genus Rhododendron, come in a variety of flower color and shapes...and on this particular day, the large, lovely selection at the Philadelphia Azalea Garden were no longer in bloom. Last month was the month to be in the Garden. It was still lovely nonetheless.
I waited around for about ten minutes before I decided I'd stand in line...a yeah, it was a long ass line. After I turned the first corner of the line and was near where I had first started, I spotted Felicia, and made her cut in front of me. She didn't like the idea, but she saw things my way: "Who the hell cares?...we're all going to the same place anyway."
So, I was disappointed that we were being herded into the exhibit like cattle, but all in all, it was nice to see such a vast collection of his work. I believe his ink sketches were my favorites. I didn't really care to much for the painted versions of the initial sketches, but it was nice seeing some of them side by side to see the evolution.
It was crowded. It was hot. It was annoying having to deal with the troves of people surrounding the audio tour pieces. I personally enjoyed using their headphones for my iPod. I had my own theme music for the event. It was nice.

After that, when I found Felicia again, I drove her home to Katherine's house, since she's crashing there for about two weeks. I stopped at Wawa for a sandwich. I hadn't really eaten much all day. It was delicious. Then I drove myself home after hanging out, watching CSI and Law & Order with everyone.

It was a good day, despite being menstrual.

I can't wait to get my new cell phone that I ordered sometime in between waking up and going to the zoo.

what say you and all your friends?

flea
Originally uploaded by cheersfortrout.

Felicia graduated this Sunday morning from PhilaU. She starts her new job tomorrow at some architecture firm here in Philadelphia. Katherine and I hung out with her family for a dramatic lunch, but all in all, it was a good celebration. I did get to see SMW for the last time, and I ran into Brittany and Caroline which was cool. Brit quickly caught me up on what she's been up to, and we exchanged our contact info before the future truly made us lose touch.

Katherine said this to me: "You know what's sad?...all our PhilaU ties are gone now; we have no reason to ever go back to that place now." Me: "Yeah, you're right." It is a bit depressing. Everyone's enrolled in the school of life.

I found a bicycle in the trash near Katherine's house later in the evening and Allen was kind enough to let me stash it in his trunk. I kind of scratched his car's paint job, but yeah I didn't realize it. Total accident. My bad. I gave the bike away to someone who would appreciate it.

My interview went rather well on Saturday. I believe I shall be hearing the aye or nay concerning the matter on Wednesday. So, we'll see.

Have I mentioned lately that I don't really know what I'm doing? I think about this one parallel constantly. It kills me to know that it was right around the corner.

soylent green...

"...is made of PEOPLE!!" -phil hartman, SNL

Saturday I have an interview for a part-time position in sales at Smith & Hawken. I know it's not graphic design, but it's equally exciting. Why is it exciting? I'll tell you quite simply: gardening, horticulture, botany, outdoor living...it all makes me happy. It is something that I grew up with and love. Hopefully, I'll get it because I would be so stoked.

Anyways, Felicia got herself an apartment around the Art Museum area. She moves in at the beginning of June. I'm excited about that, because that means I have a good friend within the city limits. Her graduation is this Sunday, and the next day she starts her new job in the city. Nuts.

I have decided, after much bullshit that I will be renewing my lease at the Trinity. I shall sleep with the Holy Ghost further more.

Last night, I saw an old chap who made me smile.

seen it all before.

Yesterday was Felicia's final thesis presentation. It was quite interesting...and to be honest, a bit boring. But all in all, it was good to see. I saw some people I haven't seen since I've left school, and also Sheila came. I feel bad that I didn't get to hang out with her more, but I'm on a tight budget and I also had a few bad personal days, so I really wouldn't have been great company. At least it was good to see her and know that she's been doing well for herself.
I'm completely over my depressed spell that I was under. It's just a way of life. I'm used to it by now, although it freaks other people out, which I hate. But oh well.
Katherine told me today that Allen proposed to her. Yay! I'm happy for her. I do enjoy a good girlie tale! I can't wait to see the ring he picked out.

Alison graced me with her company today, and that was nice. Like seriously, my week was just so shitty that it was good to see everyone and hang out with them for a bit. I also talked to both Billie and Liz, so that brightened me up. Liz got herself a new iSight camera, so yeah the one that I bought her for xmas is now hooked up to my computer. Ha...it's so ridiculously unnecessary, but it's fun to make faces in the camera. So Liz and I had an iChat video conferencing session...that was neat. Check it...

conference
Originally uploaded by cheersfortrout.

I like how I can take stills. It's fun.