I'm just going to come out and say it, you were kind of a prostitute.

I'm finally sleepy tonight at a fairly early hour (early for me) too. As soon as I finish this post I am turning and sleeping in in the morning. Tomorrow was supposed to be the start of classes, but with the storm damage classes have been delayed until Tuesday, yay! So in the meantime I am going to write about the things that make me happy. Just a little something to think about in spite of all of the ickiness outside. So here are five things that make me happy, in no particular order:

1. Seneca apple chips. I love these things, especially the granny smith kind. They're better than the puffed apples that the Amish women make because they are crispier and tart. I love them better than potato chip or corn chips or pretty much any other kind of chip. I always get real excited when I see them in the supermarket and end up buying more than one bag.

2. Greeting cards. I love greeting cards so much. I try to find any occasion to give them out to my friends. I just think that there's still something so poetic about cards, especially the ones that I hand make. One of my friends has her birthday on Valentine's Day and every year I give her a mess of birthday and Valentine's cards as a part of her gift. Greeting cards, well really cards in general, are a great way to brighten up a person's day.

3. My bed. My bed is awesome! It's a full (a little small) with a cast iron bed frame that has been painted antique white. Right now I have cream flannel sheets and six pillows and two comforters. It's great when the air is cold because I will snuggle down underneath the blankets and pillows where it's all soft and fluffy and fall asleep for hours. So much wonderful sleep.

4. Snow days. We don't see as many snow days in Philadelphia as I did up in Vermont, but the ones down here are pretty epic. Last winter we had a couple of good ones where the city was completely crippled by the weather, but everything was all white and sparkly. It was so pretty outside and the best part is that school was canceled. Unfortunately it's hard to find someone to go for walks or make a mess in the snow with me.

5. Matt & Kim. Matt & Kim is the most epic music duo ever. One of my most favorite concerts at the First Unitarian was a Matt & Kim show. My ipod has a smart list dedicated to them and whenever I'm feeling a bit blue or lethargic I put on some Matt & Kim and dance around. They have helped get me up and down between Philadelphia and Vermont when I'm driving late at night. I share them with everyone I meet and everyone loves them too.

She looks like someone who gives ear drops to old cats.

This morning I went and had brunch at Yonni's house with Cynthia and as a nice surprise Kyle came over and joined us. For a really long while Kyle was just Yonni's super best man friend that we would hear about at Borders and then a couple of weeks ago Cynthia and I got to hang out with him and ever since we love Kyle. It's not quite Yonni-status love, but it's getting there, though his negativity towards (500) Days of Summer and comic book movies lost him half a point. Apparently Yonni has never cooked French toast before, because he called me yesterday to ask what kind of bread to use and he even looked up a recipe online. I told him to make sure that the bread slices were thick enough that they wouldn't get too soggy and fall apart in the batter and he definitely took my words to heart because when I showed up the French toast was almost three inches thick. Kyle kept referring to it as Texas sized, they were that big. I brought over some maple syrup that I brought back from Vermont and that opened up a whole discussion on sugaring. My friends found the whole process fascinating and the fact that it takes 40 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup. I need to take them up to Vermont in March when the sap runs and take them to Trapp Family Lodge sugaring house. I really prefer the Coty's house in Nebraska Valley, but at Trapp's you get to ski or snow shoe in, have sugar on snow while you watch the process and then after there are dill pickles and cider donuts. It's a really fun time that is a better experience than what it sounds like on the page.

It's been a slow day at work and sitting in my office chair makes me want to take a nap especially now that it is dark and raining out. I'm hoping that the rain slows before I leave here because I don't want to have to trudge through the rain and then sit in class all night all damp and uncomfortable. I really want to go for a run between work and class, but I've go to finish the readings and our first trial paper. My professor said that she isn't counting this first paper as a grade, but since I have no idea who to do the format that she wants I need to do and then have her pick it apart for me so that I know what she's is looking for for next week. This class is terrible. Usually my summer classes are fun and don't take the teacher a full three hours to teach a lesson. This professor is boring and loves to take up all of the time that she can even if she's not talking about anything class related. It's only six weeks, but  now I can't go to the Matt and Kim concert and I've had to sell my ticket on stubhub. Really really not happy about that.

I'm thinking I might go running after class. It will most likely be an inside run, but that means I can work on my pace today. I also want to get to bed early tonight or at least be inside earlyish tonight so that I remember to wake up in time for breakfast at work tomorrow. That's the only plus about the office on Friday's - graduate food. I'm also going out after work. I don't care if I'm super hungover Saturday morning, I just have to sit in a chair and I get to wear jeans. I asked Merrie what she's up to, but for someone who has been waiting three years to finally go out, she most often sits at home so it will probably be Anna who comes with me and it will most likely be late which means little sleep for Sidney so by the time Saturday night roles around there is a good chance that I will be passed out on Yonni's porch and Kyle will draw marker pictures on my face. Yonni intervene to God that I make money this weekend and make sure you eat that fruit. It will boost your immune system so that you don't have to take the cough medicine that your mummy probably hid from you. Also Cynthia, let's go dancing next week.

Kind of an Eeyore day.

Today was kind of a lame day. Maybe it was the weather, coming from total sunshine to total grey can be hard on a person, but I just haven't been able to get excited to about anything or the urge to actually get anything done. In fact I'm only writing out of boredom and desperation. The morning started out okay, I got up at a decent hour and drove to school. I got lucky with parking on Old Lanc and went for a run around Lower Merion before class. I like running in that area; I can look at the old houses and it's very quiet at that time of day.

American Lit. was boring as usual. You could literally hear students drift off. The class wouldn't be so terrible except that the teacher speaks in the most monotonous voice and goes off on tangents that are not related to what is going on in the class. And then of course there's That Guy. That Guy likes to talk, a lot. And he has one of those pretentious voices that everyone hates to listen too. After class when I was walking back to my car alone, a car full of guy yelled "SLUT" at me while they drove past. That's where the day went downhill for me. There was no one around me so they were obviously talking about me, but I had no idea who they were or what they were even talking about. It's not like I was dressed provocatively: sweatshirt, running pants, and sneakers. I was sweaty and my glasses were sliding off my face. I was so taken back that my mouth hit the ground and I couldn't move for a minute while I tried to comprehend what happened. Who yells stuff like that at people? What are you, eleven? Anyways I wanted to tell a friend about it since he usually has smart opinions and is a guy, but I've been getting a weird feeling about him (probably just the day and I'm probably reading too much into his writing tone. I need to stop listening to the Ballerina when she talks about him) so I texted Marg instead who insisted they were just being plain RUDE. Still I'm feeling really mad about it and all I want to do is go to sleep and wake up  ready to go running for BOMF.

I also have a giant know feeling in my stomach area and it's making me feel worse about the day. I just feel so crummy and I want to cry, but everything seems too silly to cry about and I feel like I shouldn't waste tears on such silly things. It's just the day after all. Tomorrow will be something new and all the silly feelings I have about school and work and my friends will be gone. I'm just really smad about how the day is going.

There were two spots of silver in my dark cloud: Jon is excited about going to see Matt & Kim (now we just need to raise some funds to get tickets and get more people to go with us) and I got a second interview. 

Two of two.

MATT AND KIM ARE COMING BACK TO PHILADELPHIA AND I AM GOING TO GO SEE THEM!!! Matt and Kim are playing at The Troc at the end of May and my friend Jon and I are going even if I have to drag him there. He's the only other person that I know that loves them almost as much as me so he's coming. You can't go to their shows alone, it's just not fun.

So this one was supposed to go up a while ago and then again last night as a complimentary piece to the first one but then I never got around to it.

I'm watching Julie & Julia right now (for the third time) and I have to admit that I kind of forgot how amazing this movie is. I absolutely hate Julie Powell for being a giant cheating whore in real life, but I really love what she did with her cooking blog. I also adore Julia Child ever since I used to watch her cooking show on PBS with my Dad. When I was little that's all we did, watch Julia Child and The Frugal Gourmet while Samantha napped.

Anyways I love this movie because of the dual stories that it portrays. In one you're watching a woman come from nothing and become a world-wide phenomenon. She has the most amazing marriage and life and her journey through the food world is simple inspirational. She also shares an extreme love of Valentine's day with me. I love the dinner that she hold where everyone wears large red hearts on their chests and when her husband Paul stands up to say beautiful words about her, she flutters her red heart for him. So romantic. She also sends out cute Valentine's postcards of Paul and her to all their friends. 

"You know what I love about cooking? I love that after a day when nothing is sure and when I say nothing, I mean nothing. You can come home and absolutely know that if you add egg yolks to chocolate and sugar and milk, it will get thick. That's such a comfort."

The other story follows a woman who literally has to her rock bottom in her life before she can pick herself up and be satisfied with her life, all while cooking a year's worth of Julia Child recipes. She is not the best character, but she is a human one with flaws that we all have and she is relatable to most people. I did love her apartment ad if she could make it work in her tiny tiny kitchen I can do it in mine. 

"You can never have too much butter."

The thing I love most about this movie is the relationships that the characters have with each other. For me the most relatable is Julie and her mother. The conversation about Julie's blog in the beginning and the talk about regimins and AA and Julie's mother takes something and goes in a totally opposite direction and misses the point; I can't tell you how many times I have conversations like that with my own mother. It's a wonder I still bother to tell her about the goings-on in my life. I deeply, deeply adore Julia and Paul's marriage. It is so filled with love and care. They perfectly compliment each other. It is really rare to see that sort of love and happiness and outside of this movie the only other marriage that comes close is Lance and Mary Ann. I really love/hate the Powell's marriage as well. The fact that Eric stuck through the Julie/Julia Project and Julie's infidelity is really cool. I love that when they fight, he fights back and stands up for themselves. Too many people are willing to be walked all over because they are too afraid to mess things up. People also put others up on pedestals and people can't handle it. We all do it and when we finally crack we don't always stand up for ourselves. Props to Eric for reminding Julie that he wasn't a saint. I love Chris Messina's portrayal of Eric. He is the man I want. Dark hair and nicely shaped and an excellent sense of humor. Lobster killer qu-est que c'est! He also has a cool job as an editor at an archaeological magazine. I need to meet someone like that and go get some beer and crab legs with them. It's the relationships that make this movie.

If you haven't seen it yet, rent it soon.

"These damn things are as hot as a stiff cock!"

I was reminded of something funny this weekend. My friend Ianni celebrated a milestone birthday and got very very inebriated. Reminded me of a time in high school after we had gotten back from Greece. I was sitting on a bench outside of Sloane's and everything was spinning. Ianni sat down next to me and started talking about Greece and graduation when all of the sudden I ralphed all over the side of the bench. Ianni was stunned and so were Katherine and Josh who were fighting in the car in front of us. Funny how things worked out with us. Two of them in Vermont, one in the army and engaged to be married and me in Philadelphia already planning the move to Portland.

Jumping around.

Grrr I have so much energy right now it's unbelievable. It's like when I listen to a hockey mix before a skating competition, that's how crazy my energy level is right now. And it really has me wanting to go skating right now. I called down to Penn yesterday so skating is definitely on for Tuesday morning. How many people in Philadelphia actually skate? Instead of skating right now I'm trying to channel my energy into writing something but I'm getting distracted by watching music videos on youtube and whenever I find one that I really like I start singing (poorly) and get up on my bed and dance around (really glad I didn't bring a guy home or that I have a roommate right now). It's good fun and I should do it more often. These are some of my favorites of the evening:

Moneygrabber by Fitz & The Tantrums. OMG I LOVE THIS SONG. And the video too. There is just something awesome about a skinny white guy singing soul rock in a blue and red themed silhouette video that makes me want to get up and jump on my bed. 

Shake Me Down by Cage the Elephant. Great song, creepy video. Though I will admit that I cry at the end. At first I reminds me of the pedophile shelter that Elizabeth Smart was kept in, but once you get through the video things start to make sense and after watching it two or three times, it's actually pretty cool.

A Silent Film's You Will Leave a Mark. Yonni Bananas was the first one to show me the video since I no longer have access to MTV at two in the morning. Love this song. 

Impossible by Anberlin. Lame video but really great song. 

Tighten Up by The Black Keys. It's funny that this group has been around for ten years and are only now hitting it big. What a fickle business the music industry is. The best part of this video is the little in the ray ban glasses singing with the deep adult voice. Awesome. It's also a throwback to Thursday mornings driving to Penn in 802. 

MY FAVORITE MUSICAL MEMORY IN A LONG TIME. Matt & Kim's Daylight. The Bacardi commercial is one of my favorites but seeing this band with Ginger Dan is one of my favorite memories in my entire life. Damn you cherry popsicle!