foreignfriend's Xanga

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:59:47 GMT

i have decided that blogging is boring. that's a terrible thing to write--i know. maybe i should rephrase my statement. i'm bored with blogging? as of late, i've taken to some combination of talking to the people around me, & brooding, which has negated my desire for and interest in expending whatever effort is required to maintain an online journal. all this to say that, while i may very infrequently post life-changing announcements, this should be considered my general farewell. from this point forward, i will primarily resign myself to the following activities:

1) making coffee
2) drowning in all the books i've been itching to read for months
3) hanging out with my roommate jane, & clyde, the apartment cat
4) not filling out grad school applications.
5) bicycling
6) watching movies
7) expanding my wine vocabulary
8) taking pictures
9) stealing away time with friends
10) soaking up birmingham for as long as it lasts.

bye-bye!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 11:29:58 GMT

holly is homeless again. :(

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 21:50:39 GMT

I'm drowning in almost-academia! It's funny how much my ability to sit still & study has deteriorated in the past year. Luckily for me, there's nothing like a good dose of GRE to cure the lazy mind. If no one hears from me from a few weeks, it's because I'm pretty much out of commission until various deadlines have past. If the absence continues until the new year, assume that I didn't make it...

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 04:55:07 GMT

I'm in love with New York. Everyone knew it was an inevitability, but the going through of the motions was still a necessity. It was like Chicago, only with (what I suspect will continue to be) slightly less brutal weather, more trees, more bicycles, more art, & more coffee. I was so happy here, until I went there; & now I pine. I scheme & plot & dream. I've been ruined. (Of course, all these increased cool factors come with many additionally required dollar bills...)

Actually, the weekend wasn't nearly so dramatic. I was not knocked off my feet. My jaw did not drop upon stepping off the plane. My life was not changed in a tangible way. I just felt like I was home, like I was in a place where I fit & was someone & yet part of some incomprehensible whole. It made me simultaneously miss Chicago & desire to continue my independent adventures in this new Chicago-esque place.

MoMA very nearly made me cry. Seeing Seurat as a terrible beginner sketching compositions that I could easily keep up with; standing inches away from Les Demoiselles d'Avignon; taking terrible digital photographs of the Campbell Soup cans from every angle; knowing that history & art were alive--it was all priceless. I was so overwhelmed that I kept experiencing something very like an impending fit of hysteria.

Sufjan unquestionably made me cry. Sufjan with film, which will always have my artistic heart. Sufjan with the piano--my musical heart. Sufjan with an orchestra. Sufjan with hula hoopers. Sufjan happy & comfortable & immeasurably silly...I felt, sitting rows & rows away, as if I knew him & as if God was in the chair next to me.

I don't even know where to go from here...

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 19:44:36 GMT

Bullet Points:

- Radiohead -- UNBELIEVABLE. I may just have to invest in the discbox. At this point, I can't call it a day until the album has been played at least once in entirety

- Ryan Adams -- my new musical hero. I will continue to wholeheartedly shell out money for the rest of my life, even if means hearing that indescribably voice ringing over an audience of screaming frat-boys drunk on $5 Miller Lite.

- Jose Gonzalez -- definitely gets points off the charts. He's made me inclined to dance in public. On multiple occassions. That is not normal.

- NYC -- bliss awaits me in less than 2 weeks. I just might not come home.

- Shrimp & Grits -- my first exposure to the buttery seafood tradition of the South. I think that means I'm official.

- The Banjo -- I've taught myself 4 chords. My fingers were a little sore this morning. I feel like I've made one small step in the musical world.

- The Bianchi -- he needs a name. Gael keeps floating around in my head. In 30 minutes, when I pick him up from his tune-up, we will be a legitimate force, barreling through downtown Birmingham. Watch out.

- The GRE -- is taunting me, cruelly. I must study. I meet my fate on November 19th. I think I'm going to do this, for real.

That's about as good a recap as I'm capable of at the moment. Maybe I'll be inspired to write more later. Who can say?

Monday, October 01, 2007

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:18:57 GMT

Last night when I was driving home, I had to make the switch from AC to heat. How incredible is that!

Friday, September 21, 2007

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 11:20:45 GMT

Yesterday was an amazing day. I don't think I could do it justice with any words that come to mind, except to say that from the minute our incredible customers took up residence in the store, early in the morning until the minute I lay my head on my pillow, there was not a single bad moment in it.

We are privileged to have the customers that we do, who are genuinely invested in the business. We are even more privileged to be able to consider them friends. The understanding that not only do they support our aspirations, but they also crave our company outside of the workplace is the highest compliment. It made Havilah and me endlessly giddy.

Did I mention that, somewhere amidst my perfect day, I may have broken the bank? Probably not the most practical move on my part, but my little binge definitely did not detract from the state of my day. And, among other things, I will now have mugs to drink my coffee out of in the morning & an extra layer to keep me warm when it starts to cool down here...whenever that may be...

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 12:10:52 GMT

I spent the morning sitting in the bathtub (the most sound-insulated spot I've found in the loft), talking with one of my dearest friends on the phone. I can't think of a better way to be woken up.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 11:55:06 GMT

This has possibly been one of the best weeks I've had since I moved to Birmingham.

I
On Wednesday, I got to use the Primavera connections at the McWane Center to see it's aquatic underbelly. Our cafe friend, McWane Bob, at some previous point, had befriended the fish-keeper-girls, thus earning access to the secret innards of the aquarium. The result of this friendship was an extension of the girls to Bob to us, by association, to take a little underwater tour, the highlight being some playtime with the octopus. Penelope [or Gertrude, when she's being naughty], a Pacific octopus, is a reddish-brownish-purplish color. Initially she lingers in one of the corners of her tank with a sizable measure of shyness & reservation. As soon as she determines that new faces are safe, she becomes friendly, wrapping her tentacles around your arms & attempting, quite endearingly & powerfully, to drag you into the tank to play. She also flips upside down & spreads herself out to impress her visitors.

Penelo-trude is incredibly smart. To keep her challenged, the girls put her food in various children's puzzle toys, requiring her to assemble or take apart some kind of contraption in order to eat. She is fed & "stimulated" three times a week. She especially likes shellfish. [Here I will insert a minor detail about the way in which she eats. Octopi's stomach are located directly behind their brains, which are shaped like a donut. The result is that they must take small bites so that their morsels of food will fit through the donut-hole & move into the stomach.] The entire process is ridiculously interesting.

By the time we left the McWane, I was wondering why I was an art major, why in the world I didn't know more about fish, & whether I should consider a new direction for my graduate studies. Did I mention, she also likes her head being scratched?

II
A couple of weeks ago, I met Katy, the "new" girl at church. I immediately thought to myself, "I must make this one my friend," & from that week on, began to be hopeful of an at least semi-burgeoning social life. My hopes were not in vain! Katy moved to Birmingham from the D.C. area for an internship with Cooking Lite. In January, she will begin culinary school, but in the meantime, she's living with her cousins Lydia & Andrew [who are siblings]. The combination of the three has provided a wealth of incredibly good conversation over the past few days. They are all in some kind of creative field & are passionate about living out excellence, sustainability, and Christianity [I think the three are synonymous.] in an authentic way. They also grew up in a crazy, charismatic church like me, graduated from a tiny, private Christian school, & entirely relate to so many aspects of my background that I couldn't communicate to most of the people I know, regardless of how hard I tried. It's refreshing to share this kind of understanding. "The Cousins," as I've endearingly come to call them, are already people I feel I can call friends. We've had movie night & picnic afternoon & are planning art & architecture excursions all over Alabama. I'm pretty obviously excited.

I've come to the point where I understand that, where in my control, having something is invaluable & having nothing is just pathetic. I know that I could be here for a few months or for another year. I know that, in less time than I would like to think about, Katy will leave. Some people would ask what the point is, but I've decided, from trying both approaches, that it's always worth the point. It's always worth being invested in the lives of those around you, even if it makes walking away when the time comes that much more difficult. I hate that, at least logistically, I will gain & lose a friend in a matter of months; but I love that I still have the it in my power to choose this friendship.

III
My job at Primavera was temporarily on the rocks, from the beginning of September onwards. I was pondering what direction to take, should I find myself without employment, but no clear answer was presenting itself. [It's mildly stressful not knowing any "definites" and attempting to plan the next segment on your future financial & living situations in light of this glaring lack.] On Friday, Brett & Havilah informed me that my stretch of limbo had come to an end & my position was secure. This was, of course, wonderful news, but of course renewed my apartment-hunting angst. Where would I live? First of all, I'd have to start all over again looking for spaces I could afford. Then I'd have to attempt to talk some probably disinterested landlord into bypassing a lease so that I wouldn't be tied down for the next year. While all these troublesome thoughts were milling about in my head, I got a call from Havilah, informing me that Brett's mom was offering me here currently unoccupied, new house! She is currently attempting to sell her old house &, until then, doesn't want to move into the new. This leaves the new house all alone & empty. Now she has me! And I have a place to stay! I think everyone's going to be happy with this arrangement.

With a collection of events like this, how could I not be entirely content? I knew God would take care of me, but I never expected Him to do it so effortless [although why would I expect anything else?].

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 12:51:35 GMT

I have a job again!!!