The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

I bought this bike today. I'm super excited about it. It's not fancy or expensive, but since I haven't owned a bike since I was little, I didn't want to invest in anything too nice until I know if I'm going to use it a lot. Isn't it adorable? I got a cute basket for the front, too. I also need to get a bike rack for my car, because I'm scared to death of riding in the city. I'm afraid of the lakefront path, too. So I'm going to have to take it out to forest preserves in the suburbs when I want to ride. But next month, when everyone rides their bikes through the city yelling "Happy Friday," I will be joining them. P.S. Ryan and I were texting today, and he was bothered by the fact that we went to another bar and didn't wait for him. I told him where we were going, but he said he didn't know where that was. He told me twice that I should've waited for him, and that he didn't go anywhere else after The Spot, just went

I'm feeling like a total loser tonight. Last night, Ryan and I were supposed to watch a movie together. I texted him after class and he said he was out to dinner with a supplier and could we do it today. (I think he was lying; I got home and saw there was a Steelers game on.) Since we had originally planned on going to a wine tasting tonight, I was free, so I said yes. I looked forward to it all day. I came home from the gym, showered, made dinner, made myself look nice, looked at the clock, and wondered why he hadn't called yet. When we first started hanging out, he always called and followed through with plans. I never had to be the one to call him. So finally I texted him around 8. He asked what I was up to and what I'd been up to today. When I asked about the movie, he said it was late and he was tired because he had a meeting at 6:30 this morning. This, coming from the guy who stayed out with me till 2:00 a.m. on weeknights this summer. So whatever, I know

Soooo.... I have mixed feelings about my new position. Pros: Get to work with different grades (sometimes the little kids are fun because they get so excited) Get to teach however I want Fewer lesson plans No papers to grade Difficult classes are only there for 35 minutes Cons: Have to be super organized; no down time during the day Doing the same lesson over and over gets boring There's no way I'm going to learn all these kids' names I miss my friends at my old school In summary, I think I like my new job. It's fine for this year, at least. In other news, my trainer wants me to set goals. Perhaps this is because, after 6 months of seeing her, I've only lost like, 5 pounds. She wants me to lose 5 pounds a month. We will see how that goes. Friday I got so sick from drinking, and it was so stupid. We got to the bar at 2:00, and I knew I didn't have too long to drink, so I started sucking down vodka cranberries. I don't know what my problem was; I usually

Tonight I was over at Nina's, up on the roof of her building watching the sunset. (This is something I love about Nina- she's really into sunsets. We were hanging out, and she happened to glance out the window, and she says, "Oh my gosh, that sunset is amazing. We have to go watch it." and races to the door.) So all of a sudden Nina's eyes get huge, and she says, "Don't move." I immediately do the opposite of what she says and try to run, because I know there must be something that flutters behind me. Nina grabs me and mushes my face against her chest, wrapping her arms around my head, making me unable to see anything. When the danger had passed, she told me there had been a butterfly. Seriously? At night? On the roof of a 28 story building? They really do sense my fear and follow me around. Anyway, I love her for protecting me. She knows I'm truly terrified and doesn't just point and laugh when I have to run from them. Rachel ha

I mean this sincerely. I watch the news, and I hear people's reactions to it and see what people are saying on Facebook, and I worry. Just like Wemberly. My main concern is these town hall meetings. I think it's a great idea, and I think it shows that Democrats are very willing to listen to people's concerns and straighten out misconceptions. (Of course, I acknowledge that this view is biased since I'm a Democrat myself.) But it really scares me that people are showing up to these events with weapons, filled with hate. WEAPONS. That's kind of a big deal. And it doesn't seem like people think it's a problem! The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c The Gun Show - Barrel Fever www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Healthcare Protests It scares me that people like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O'Reilly are getting people all worked up. I think it's only a matter of time before something really bad happ

I decided I need an incentive to get my butt to the gym. Being healthy is apparently not enough. I realized I need someone to bribe me, but there's no one really in that position, so I will have to bribe myself. I'm not going to set goals in terms of pounds lost, just the amount of times I go to the gym. And strength training doesn't count, because that's an appointment I have with my trainer. I'm only counting the times I go on my own. So, after 25 visits to the gym, I get the tattoo I've been wanting. 50 visits= dress from Anthropologie 75 visits= tickets to the opera or some other event 100 visits= Wii with Mario Kart 125 visits= diamond earrings 150 visits= trip to Phoenix to see Rachel (as per her request) How am I going to pay for these things? With a credit card. It's give and take, friends; I can't be responsible in every aspect of my life. :)

Today I was really angry for no apparent reason. I knew it was irrational, but I really wanted a good fight. And so, when Pete texted me something that was vaguely annoying, I jumped all over it. Accusing him of being embarrassed to be seen with me in public, calling him names for insulting my intelligence, etc. In the middle of the angry texts, I wondered to myself why I was taking it out on him. I think it's pretty common to argue with people you trust and are close to because you know they'll still love you, but I'm not especially close to Pete, and I don't trust him. But then I thought, Pete doesn't hold grudges, and he's not easily upset. Perfect. When the name-calling started, Pete called. He was upset. Oops. He was going on and on about something, but I didn't really hear what, because I was too busy yelling over him. It felt really good. But then I apologized and told him I didn't really mean it, I was just in a bad mood and needed to

So at the wedding on Friday, I had another bridesmaid's boyfriend (who was sitting at the table with Ryan) ask how we knew each other. That way it would just seem like casual small talk, but it would tell me what's going on. She just told me that he said it was just friendship. So, mystery solved. But I still want to jump him. Would that be okay? :)

I had a lovely day with Ryan yesterday. He called and asked what I was up to, and since the answer was "thinking about all the lesson plans I should be writing but not doing anything," I agreed to go to Alsip with him to pick up his new entertainment center. It's just so easy and enjoyable to be with him, and the whole day felt so... domestic, which is not something I'm used to with guys. Several people at Wal-Mart referred to him as my husband, which was awkward. While we were waiting for Ryan to get the car, this nice guy who worked at Wal-Mart started asking for love advice, and I wasn't sure what to tell him. He's been with a girl for 5 years, and she refuses to get married. What should he do? We stopped at Portillo's for lunch, then went back to his place and assembled the entertainment center while singing along to country music. He dropped me off at my place to shower and grab a movie, and then we ordered pizza and watched Pineapple Express a

Finally!!!! They've been dating for like, 7 years! I'm so happy for them. The ceremony was absolutely beautiful. It was outside at the Cheney Mansion in Oak Park at 6:00 p.m. It was sunny but not too hot with a nice breeze. You could just feel the love radiating from (almost) everyone in attendance. (There were a few drama queens.) Everything went perfectly. Then came the reception, which was crazy and loud and hilarious because Ray was a Marine and is now in the Navy, so there were lots of military guys there. After some of the dance moves Ray was doing with the other guys, I wondered if perhaps Jen is questioning the sexual identity of her new husband. I don't have any pics right now, so I will post them when I get them. That's a lot more interesting than me just rambling on about things. BUT- I am very confused about Ryan. Still. He was a hit at the reception; his whole table loved him. It was nice because I could hang out with other people and not worr

I feel the need to write about something I am all worked about about. This morning, one of my Facebook friends posted a link to an article by Chuck Norris about something in Obama's healthcare plan. It was about parenting programs that the government wants to provide in low-income areas. The "well-trained and competent staff," would "provide parents with knowledge of age-appropriate child development in cognitive, language, social, emotional, and motor domains ... modeling, consulting, and coaching on parenting practices," and "skills to interact with their child to enhance age-appropriate development."(The quotes are taken directly from the original document; they're not Chuck Norris's words.) The girl who posted it agreed with Chuck Norris. I made the mistake of politely disagreeing and saying that I thought something like this would be great. It prompted reactions from a bunch of other people I went to college with, talking about how aw

I finally got my teaching assignment yesterday. I will be the Reading Enrichment teacher at another school in our district. At first, I was nervous/upset. There was about an hour where I thought I was going to throw up. Reading Enrichment is a special area class, so I'd be like the art or PE teacher. 850 kids is a lot. And I see each class for just 35 minutes once a week; that doesn't seem like enough time to get much done. I was sad that I won't have classes I see every day where I can really build those relationships that are so important to me. And I was so nervous about starting at a new school! But then I remembered that I did request a reading position for this year, and it's pretty cool that they gave me what I wanted, even though I'm not actually certified for it yet. And I remembered that my friend who used to teach next door to me is the PE teacher there. He texted me when he saw my Facebook status and told me we'd be on the same team and have

Yesterday I woke up hungover from a night of drinking with Ryan the night before. I'm still in like. :) We were supposed to go to a concert at Millennium Park- Mendelssohn, Haydn, and Schumann were on the program. I told him this several times. We got there a little late, and as we were approaching the band shell he was like, "I think you're lying about the concert. I don't hear any music." I said that maybe they were at a quiet part, and he looked at me like I was crazy. When we got to the band shell, it was completely packed, so there was nowhere for us to sit. But Ryan was like, "What is this??? It's not even a concert; they're just playing classical music through the speakers." I pointed out the orchestra down in the orchestra pit (which was hard to see), and he was like "Orchestra? What? I thought we were going to a real concert, like with a band!" Apparently this boy has never even heard of Mendelssohn. This cracked m

Day 1 Mom and I drove up through Wisconsin to a tiny town in the U.P. called Silver City. Our hotel was right on Lake Superior. (That is me in the water, screeching because it's cold.) That night, we went hiking in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. It truly was the wilderness. We didn't see any other people, and I have never heard silence like this before. There weren't even any sounds from birds or crickets. It was beautiful and peaceful and just what I'd been hoping for. Since we were going to be hiking at night in the wilderness, my mom and I thought we should take some precautions. Here is my mom with the rape whistle, pepper spray, and pocket knife. She is trying to look tough/ninja-like. The purpose of the hike was to look for glow-in-the-dark mushrooms. My mom thinks mushrooms are fascinating and was very excited. She even brought her Field Guide to Mushrooms on the hike. Although we did not see any glow-in-the-dark mushrooms, we saw plenty of