I know, it’s been awhile…

Things have been good, what can I say? I’ve been busy working and living life, as have we all. I just haven’t had the motivation to blog lately, obviously. But, my new job is great…I’m working for some big clients and enjoying it. It’s not perfect, but what job is? It’s definitely a good place for me to be in the path of my career - whatever that may be.

I’ve been super busy the past couple months otherwise, and actually don’t have a free weekend until the middle of June.

A few highlights of what I’ve been doing:

• I took a Saturday about a month ago to work with a friend to produce a commercial for a local clothing store, Liberte. The shoot went well and I’m looking forward to seeing the final product.
• Going out: I had a great time at a “tini and toy” party with some fun girls a couple weeks ago. We started with a toy party (think tupperware but sex toys) then ended the evening with a table at Rain. I also recently celebrated my good friend’s birthday at Blue Gin. I’ve been to a couple happy hours at Buffalo Billards, and a few in Arlington. Stayed out way too late on a worknight, had a great dinner at Felix and enjoyed pitchers of margaritas at Lauriol Plaza on one of those warm nights we had a couple weeks ago (where are they now?!?).
• Have a bachelorette party coming up this weekend…bridal shower Mother’s Day weekend…and wedding the beginning of June. I’m super excited, it’s my first time being a bridesmaid, and I think it will be a lot of fun.
• Speaking of weddings, my college roommate/best friend got engaged on April 1. And, we all know about a certain DC Blogger doing the same recently. It must be in the air!
• I celebrated the anniversary of my adoption on April 2. Always a nice thing to remember. Especially when it is commemorated by a poem from a good friend a la Talladega Nights:

Dear sweet sweet 6lb 7oz baby Jesus laying in your manger, not knowing how to talk yet so omnipotent, thank you for making little baby AM all extra cute and shit, so cute the sweet dear white couple had to stop in their tracks and pick to adopt little AM and deliver from a life of rice and orphanage to a life of Lacoste and Ralph Lauren. Thank you baby Jesus.

• Speaking of family, my parents just informed me that they are moving to New Mexico at the end of June. They have a condo out there, so I guess it’ll be Christmas in Taos for me!
• Easter Sunday I attended the first competition for DC101 Last Band Standing. A band I know from college was competing, and although they didn’t advance to the next round, they performed well and all of the groups were great. I’ve really started to get into the local music scene, and finding all sorts of connections of people I know with it, so that’s kind of cool.
• Signed up for the 5K Race for the Cure Run/Walk with a group of fun ladies. I’m looking forward to a good time for a good cause, and I’ve already raised $250!

**********************************************************************************************************

And, I must of course note that today marks the terrible “massacre” (I hate that word, but…) at Virginia Tech. The tragedy hit pretty close to home for me, since I went to school a mere 15 minutes away. The community is very small, and all very connected. My heart goes out to everyone down there, and I can’t imagine how those students feel, and I know it will take a long time to heal and recover from such a senseless act. For today, we are all Hokies.

One of my friends wrote this and I was touched by it, I hope you will be too.

I grew up not an hour from Blacksburg, where 30+ people today lost their lives at the whim of a senseless man. I spent four years in Radford, a 15-minute car ride from Virginia Tech.

Southwest Virginia has always been largely forgotten by the mainstream media, and even many Virginians from the more privileged northern and far eastern parts of the state. The CNNBCSPAN Blob only shows up when there’s bad news. We’ve kind of become our own state. I live in Northern Virginia now, not exactly by choice, but because it’s one of the few places in the country you’re nearly guaranteed to find a job.

Southwest Virginians don’t know what it’s like not to care about someone. We don’t care if you drive a rusty Merkur XR4Ti or a Maybach 57. Most of us have never met strangers. And we have a hard time adapting to places where murders barely make the B-block of a newscast. But we adapt all the same.

No doubt… this will be hard. Hard in a way no English word should have to describe.

Being the site of the worst shooting rampage in American history is a badge I do not want my home to bear. But it will bear it, and it will survive it.

We will heal from this horror, much as we have others: the torrential flood of 1985; Hurricane Hugo; the widespread unemployment stretching from Henry County to the coalmining country of Lee and Tazewell counties; the horrible corruption by public officials in Henry County; the shootings at the Appalachian School of Law; the murders committed by Earl Bramblett; and hopefully we’ll soon start to heal from the murder of the Short family in Oak Level. These events have all had different effects on different people, but we did not lie down and let the punches come.

Make no mistake, what happened today at Virginia Tech is by far the worst event in recent memory, but we will make it.

I write this from my house in Gainesville, roughly 30 miles outside of Washington, D.C., but my home is Southwest Virginia, the first place ever referred to by our founding fathers as “God’s Country.” As Pat Conroy wrote 20 years ago, your home is permanent press: it does not wash out. It is with this pride in the hard-working, God-loving people of my home that I assure everyone who reads this that my home will prevail, and we will inspire the rest of the state, the entire country, and the world to grieve, embrace, and remember.

Indeed, God bless us all: the people of all small towns, of all nations.

I know, it’s been awhile…

Things have been good, what can I say? I’ve been busy working and living life, as have we all. I just haven’t had the motivation to blog lately, obviously. But, my new job is great…I’m working for some big clients and enjoying it. It’s not perfect, but what job is? It’s definitely a good place for me to be in the path of my career - whatever that may be.

I’ve been super busy the past couple months otherwise, and actually don’t have a free weekend until the middle of June.

A few highlights of what I’ve been doing:

• I took a Saturday about a month ago to work with a friend to produce a commercial for a local clothing store, Liberte. The shoot went well and I’m looking forward to seeing the final product.
• Going out: I had a great time at a “tini and toy” party with some fun girls a couple weeks ago. We started with a toy party (think tupperware but sex toys) then ended the evening with a table at Rain. I also recently celebrated my good friend’s birthday at Blue Gin. I’ve been to a couple happy hours at Buffalo Billards, and a few in Arlington. Stayed out way too late on a worknight, had a great dinner at Felix and enjoyed pitchers of margaritas at Lauriol Plaza on one of those warm nights we had a couple weeks ago (where are they now?!?).
• Have a bachelorette party coming up this weekend…bridal shower Mother’s Day weekend…and wedding the beginning of June. I’m super excited, it’s my first time being a bridesmaid, and I think it will be a lot of fun.
• Speaking of weddings, my college roommate/best friend got engaged on April 1. And, we all know about a certain DC Blogger doing the same recently. It must be in the air!
• I celebrated the anniversary of my adoption on April 2. Always a nice thing to remember. Especially when it is commemorated by a poem from a good friend a la Talladega Nights:

Dear sweet sweet 6lb 7oz baby Jesus laying in your manger, not knowing how to talk yet so omnipotent, thank you for making little baby AM all extra cute and shit, so cute the sweet dear white couple had to stop in their tracks and pick to adopt little AM and deliver from a life of rice and orphanage to a life of Lacoste and Ralph Lauren. Thank you baby Jesus.

• Speaking of family, my parents just informed me that they are moving to New Mexico at the end of June. They have a condo out there, so I guess it’ll be Christmas in Taos for me!
• Easter Sunday I attended the first competition for DC101 Last Band Standing. A band I know from college was competing, and although they didn’t advance to the next round, they performed well and all of the groups were great. I’ve really started to get into the local music scene, and finding all sorts of connections of people I know with it, so that’s kind of cool.
• Signed up for the 5K Race for the Cure Run/Walk with a group of fun ladies. I’m looking forward to a good time for a good cause, and I’ve already raised $250!

**********************************************************************************************************

And, I must of course note that today marks the terrible “massacre” (I hate that word, but…) at Virginia Tech. The tragedy hit pretty close to home for me, since I went to school a mere 15 minutes away. The community is very small, and all very connected. My heart goes out to everyone down there, and I can’t imagine how those students feel, and I know it will take a long time to heal and recover from such a senseless act. For today, we are all Hokies.

One of my friends wrote this and I was touched by it, I hope you will be too.

I grew up not an hour from Blacksburg, where 30+ people today lost their lives at the whim of a senseless man. I spent four years in Radford, a 15-minute car ride from Virginia Tech.

Southwest Virginia has always been largely forgotten by the mainstream media, and even many Virginians from the more privileged northern and far eastern parts of the state. The CNNBCSPAN Blob only shows up when there’s bad news. We’ve kind of become our own state. I live in Northern Virginia now, not exactly by choice, but because it’s one of the few places in the country you’re nearly guaranteed to find a job.

Southwest Virginians don’t know what it’s like not to care about someone. We don’t care if you drive a rusty Merkur XR4Ti or a Maybach 57. Most of us have never met strangers. And we have a hard time adapting to places where murders barely make the B-block of a newscast. But we adapt all the same.

No doubt… this will be hard. Hard in a way no English word should have to describe.

Being the site of the worst shooting rampage in American history is a badge I do not want my home to bear. But it will bear it, and it will survive it.

We will heal from this horror, much as we have others: the torrential flood of 1985; Hurricane Hugo; the widespread unemployment stretching from Henry County to the coalmining country of Lee and Tazewell counties; the horrible corruption by public officials in Henry County; the shootings at the Appalachian School of Law; the murders committed by Earl Bramblett; and hopefully we’ll soon start to heal from the murder of the Short family in Oak Level. These events have all had different effects on different people, but we did not lie down and let the punches come.

Make no mistake, what happened today at Virginia Tech is by far the worst event in recent memory, but we will make it.

I write this from my house in Gainesville, roughly 30 miles outside of Washington, D.C., but my home is Southwest Virginia, the first place ever referred to by our founding fathers as “God’s Country.” As Pat Conroy wrote 20 years ago, your home is permanent press: it does not wash out. It is with this pride in the hard-working, God-loving people of my home that I assure everyone who reads this that my home will prevail, and we will inspire the rest of the state, the entire country, and the world to grieve, embrace, and remember.

Indeed, God bless us all: the people of all small towns, of all nations.

…looking at scrapbook from freshman and sophomore year of college and thinking DAMN I used to be really hot (and didn’t even know it)…

…realizing that was (gasp!) 7 years ago…

FUCK.

…
…
…
…where does the time go?

UPDATE: Also depressing….comparing debt amounts (to see who had more) with BSG at 12 am on a Friday night. Yep. I rock.

A single family home that is. One of them being not having to listen to your neighbors. Every night I go to sleep, I can hear someone snoring. I can’t tell if it’s above me or the wall next to mine. I think it’s worse than hearing people have crazy loud sex, because at least that won’t last all night. Actually it just makes me want to BE the one to have really loud obnoxious sex just to counteract the noise and annoy THEM for once. I mean, I know I’m loud sometimes (on the phone for example), and I am sure that my neighbors hear me from time to time…but to be able to hear someone snoring is ridiculous. I was so annoyed tonight I even banged on the wall as hard as I could (I think I bruised my hand haha) to see if it would make them stop - and to see if it was above or beside me. I don’t think it made a difference.

In addition to the snoring, the people above us are always stomping around doing God knows what, and at odd hours. Now, I am perfectly aware that I could very well be that loud too walking around, but I doubt it. And the worst thing of all, the people above us have a dog. That barks. ALL DAY. It barks when they leave and doesn’t stop. Some dogs bark for 5 minutes, 15 minutes…whatever. Then they get over it and settle down. Not this one. If I’m ever home during the day, I can hear it the entire time I’m here.

It’s all so bad that we’ve even considered leaving “nice” notes on their doors alerting them to the noise. But of course that would be rude, especially to people we don’t know. Once in awhile noise is fine, sure…but ALL the time?

Ugh, this is why living in apartments or condos sucks.

This is why I can’t find somewhere decent to live in DC…I mean what does a girl have to do to find some prime real estate?

AM: this place is gorgeous: http://cullen.kowalski.net/HOME.htm
AM: i mean wow
Big Sky Girl: honey that’s the child molester foley’s old house
AM: what shut up
BSG: yeah it was on wonkette
AM: it’s sooo nice though lol
BSG: yeah
AM: that’s why it said former congressman house on CL….hahaha
AM: whatver that is an awesome house who fuckin cares
AM: and it’s CHEAP for all that

Whatever, I would take it…it could be an interesting point of conversation to state who used to live there…