Happy Girls Are Prettiest

Dearest Readers,
These past few weeks have been a hot mess of exams and general shenaniganry...however,it is finally starting to slow down in the lull between midterms and finals. (once finals hit, I will be lucky to see my room for longer than the 6 hours a day I am sleeping.) My past few weeks can be summed up by this little poetic moment I had a week or so ago:
What a decadent fall night, she thought from her perch by the library window. She sighed woefully, pushing her hesitant pencil forward to complete the task at hand. She shifted her eyes back to the page, but her mind…her mind danced with the leaves.
(I know...I know...I could be the next robert frost...bahaha...)
But seriously, I feel like I have been trapped indoors as the leaves have gushed gorgeous autumn-y shades, so I have been toiling to find personal inspiration during this time. These are inspirations I have found on other blogs lately, and feel like they are worth sharing, so that one of these may brighten your day, as they have so oft brightened mine!



This comes from a new fave blog called: ache....it's super presh...despite the sort of depressing sounding name. This just made me giggle, because it pretty accurately depicts how I try to live.




This just conjures images of people laying amongst the leaves and pointing to everything beautiful...how can that not make you smile...right now the beautiful thing I can see is my pumpkin franklin who is miraculously still alive sitting on my desk! (remember, faithful readers, that I got franklin at the Paw Paw festival a few weeks ago) well he is alive and well...my fab pal. and all the credit for this pic goes to the Words I Love web page...that I currently love myself (see how I made a joke there...i love words i love...heh heh heh).


This is a print available from The Black Apple's Etsy. If you are not already an etsy afficionado, which you should be, the website sells all handmade art work. It is so fun to explore....or to distract you from the homework you probably should be doing. But as I have been spending all my spare time reading Harry Potter, this suits me pretty well.



How sick is this bike??!! I want it right now....and I want it blow bubbles out the back while I'm at it. This picture comes from a flickr collection by intrepidacious. I just think this is so creative, and hilarious when juxtaposed against the construction sight behind it.

Well those are all the images I have for now, but I decided I am going to continue collecting and sharing images on a tumblr (a type of blog this is more conducive to sharing pictures)...and my tumblr is called The Girl Who Played With Chalk (pretty clever...right?). It has all these images and more, because I want this blog to be focused on words for now. I hope these fun interwebs images have inspired you a bit, or lead you to more pictures that you like (that's how I found these). In my own real life, I have been inspired by seeing my little brother's first homecoming (gush!), the changing fall leaves, playing in pumpkin patches, and looking forward to my trip this weekend to....THE RALLY TO RESTORE SANITY AND/OR FEAR!! How sick is that going to be (though I will miss Athens halloween...but really, it's okay in the name of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.) Moral of the story is: get inspired and keep finding ways to inspire yourself as the seasons change and you are trapped more and more indoors.

Hope you all are doing well this fine and fabulous fall day!

Happily,
Adorkable

ps. new blog name possibility: the girl who played with chalk...thoughts?

Harry Potter: My Anti-Drug

Dearest Readers,
I am a Harry Potter-aholic. I admit it plainly. They are the series that I have and will reread dozens of times like a drug addict and with the same fervor I experienced upon first reading. I will get lost in the Quidditch matches, the trips to Hogsmeade, the duels with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and the anticipation of Ron and Hermoine (the ultimate couple!). In the past week, I reread the entire 870 pages of the fifth book. (This disturbs me and should disturb you, imagine if I devoted this time to other things…I would accomplish so much!)
For those of you who don’t love the HP (you are wrong, btw), this post still applies to you. Because this post’s not really about HP, it’s about the fact that we all have habits for our own sanity; Actions we have to do by ourselves in order to continue interacting with the outside world without being grumpy. Some paint. Others dance. I read (at this time, Harry Potter). Reading is this form of catharsis for me. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I find myself enchanted by books, and completely lose contact with reality. It’s glorious.
The reason Harry Potter is so specifically gripping is hard to pin-point. As many have pointed out, it’s not like they are the most well-written books of all time. (Though she vastly improves as the series continues.) It’s the characters. They are so full of life, as are the settings and plots. I want to fly and fight and attend a school where the paintings talk and the staircases move. I just have this strong desire to be there, to live as they do. Why am I grabbed by this fantastical and unrealistic passion? I wish I could tell you.
These books also represent my childhood. My parents read them to me before they were popular after my dad’s friend from work recommended them (I think I was in 3rd grade at the time). I quickly became frustrated with waiting until each evening to hear the story, and started reading them on my own. They gripped me like no other book ever has in my life (and I am a bookworm to the max…I mean seriously, I go by the pseudo-name Adorkable). I have been to every midnight book release and every midnight movie premiere. When I finished the last book, I cried (I’m not ashamed to admit this), because it was like an end to era of my own life. (When the movies are over, I will cry again for sure.) These characters carried me through the shaky middle school years and the steadily growing self-esteem of high school years and follow me as I try to find my way through college. They ground me (which is ironic considering I feel like they take me somewhere far away). They serve as a constant and a solstice. I know it must sound bizarre to those who do not know the pages of these Hogwarts-based novels, but everyone has that activity that they do in their spare time that makes them feel like they have taken a breath of fresh air and makes the load on their shoulders a little lighter. (I could make commercials: Harry Potter: My Anti-Drug…tee hee, I bet those would go over well.)
Overall, I want everyone to reconnect with their soothing measures. (Try to keep it from getting out of control….870 pages in a week is a bit much to be honest.) But I think that we stray from these activities when we are stressed or we are embarrassed (I can’t tell you the number of times I have felt weird when my roommate walks in and I look like a lazy bum just plopped on my bed reading a lil’ HP). But it’s what I do for me. It’s my fun and fabulous me time.
Oh and just to be clear, one day my Hogwarts letter will come, I just know it…Accio Letter!
Wizard-ily,
Adorkable
ps. picture cred goes to bea mondonedo on flickr...gorgeous photo

Starting the Summer Off with Accidental Insults and Ridiculous Adventures

Dearest Readers,

Did you miss me?? (of course you did pfffft) I am very sorry for my 20ish day hiatus. I kept putting it off. Finals week. Coming home. New job. You know the drill…the more I pushed it off the greater the task seemed to loom. As if a blog post is unconquerable or a scary green and blue monster (I don’t know how I chose those colors either). So here I am…you are probably curious, oh loving readers, as to what crazy shenanigans I have been up to and what I, this crazy kid, has to say. Oh readers, have I got stories for you!

Mostly I have been working as an intern for Whirl and Edible Allegheny Magazines. (same office) All I can say is, it’s wonderful. I am working at Bath and Body Works (because scented lotion is my calling). And then I hang with my fabulous friends…and this is where all of my best stories occur.

Adorkabley Embarrassing Moment: Insulting a Room of Strangers

So lately my friends have been on a kick of trying to get out of our bubble-like suburb. So a friend, who I will call Brother Flail, discovered a comedy open mike. Oh kay people, there are several red flags here: the open mike is located at some place called “The Royal,” on a Thursday night, and it’s an open mike…oh dear. Now as a comedy lover and improv performer myself, I was wary, but we decided to go to do something different. It was something different alright. We walked up the creeky stairs to the “lounge:” an empty room over a bar decorated with canvas paintings of bricks (that’s right people, brick photos were used as art). Two people were there when we arrived, and clearly they were startled to see five college-age students arrive. It was shady, however, since no one was there I decided why not perform for just two people and my friends? HAH! (bad idea, never again). Right after I signed up, in walked 5 other comics who added their names to the list. People who had worked to come up with jokes and a plan (I had nothing…but regret of course). Everyone performed aiming their jokes solely at us, because we were the only new audience members. Some were funny, most made jokes about being unemployed or getting a divorce or something equally awkward. It was probably the two most uncomfortable hours of my life (which basically means I basically peed myself laughing and it was totally awesome). I decided, clever me, to perform my forensics (speech and debate) piece from last year: a children’s novel about santa’s daughter. (yes I know this was a bad idea, but it was all I had prepared in any way shape or form). When my turn finally came, my trouble began (because it was smooth sailing before now):

I decided to break the ice, I would talk about how I was in an improv troupe at school so I really respected how they got up in front of people in the name of comedy. That is what I intended to say, but here is what I said instead: “Just wanted to say I’m in an improv troupe, so I know what its like to perform and fail….oh gosh no I meant…I know what it’s like when a joke flops…oh wait no I meant” (at this point I was digging a severe hole, my face had reached a new level of fuchsia and my friends were sitting in the corner guffawing at me…oh expletive) from there I performed a 5 minute flustered, shortened version of my piece. (In front of a bunch of 20-40 aged men who had just performed stand up let it suffice to say it didn’t go over particularly well). I basically sprinted off stage (the show saved me for last btw, because they wanted to end with that gem) and as we were leaving, one of the guys, who was very nice I’m sure but at this point was a 28 year old guy sweating pleasantly through his shirt, asked me if I was an actress and if so could he have my number. (oh goodness was he hitting on me?) To be fair he could have been perfectly innocent in his inquiry, but I mumbled something about being gone most of the summer and ducked away in a dead sprint. As I took the stairs 4 at a time in ungraceful leaps, they yelled down that they hoped to see us next week. I think once was quite enough for me thanks.

Lesson to be learned: Do something different, because even if it doesn’t end up as you planned, you will always come back with a story.

Although I have many more stories for you, my beautiful readers, this is long enough as it is so I will leave you with one little anecdote:

Last night, my friend, who I will call the Maestro, was driving and he loves him some classical music. So the four of us in the car decided it would be fun to drive around late at night, pull up next to cars late at red lights, and blast classical music while dancing as if it was modern music. Imagine their surprise when they see these teens rocking out to Mozart! Hahahaha (how quintessentially adorkable). We switched it up by blasting the music and staring at people or sitting perfectly still or doing the robot or interpretive dancing. Moral of the story is: it was awesome.

Second Lesson to be learned: You don’t need much to do something creative, different, and hilarious.

Do something crazy today! If any of you have any stories of doing something really bizarre and hilarious please share by leaving a comment! (I love comments a whole lot.) More stories of adorkable craziness are on the way!

Tonguetied-ily Yours,

Adorkable

ps. the picture is mine again...just a summer pic!

Upside Down: First Installment of Adorkablely Embarrassing Moments and Adorkable Assets

Dearest Readers,

I have been rather philosophical in my posts lately … so I decided it was time for just a plain ole’ fun postie (with deep, impressive, and literary undertones of course … just kidding.) But seriously, I normally like to keep my identity on the down low (that’s my cool kid lingo right there), but I decided to do a new installment in the Adorkable world: Adorkablely Embarrassing Moments and Adorkable Assets. This week they both require photographic evidence of myself to believe … so sorry for the momentary narcissism. This post actually combines two things I’ve really wanted to add to the blog: my most embarrassing moments and the things I think are really cool right now so I want to share it with the bloggity world (like in last week’s blog post I talked about ColorMeKatie). The first new bloggity addition, my embarrassing moment of the week, is inspired by my day to day oopsies (yes I did just use that word), and the second, the things I love this week (I see them as assets ... get the name ;), is (are?) inspired by Post Picks, which are little blips the culture staff of the Post (my school newspaper and the staff I write for…woot woot) writes about where they just say what they like this week, these picks range from websites torompers to toilets…it’s a pretty bizarre combo. So now that the exposition is done, on to the main event!

Adorkabley Embarrassing Moment of the Week: Tie Dyed Hands and the Dean of Students (If this title doesn’t intrigue you, I don’t know what will).

(This picture was taken A DAY after I tie-dyed ... after I had showered ... these are clean in comparison!!) So basically, there was this event called Mess Fest, an event hosted by my and surrounding dorms to raise money for Relay for Life. The Fest basically consisted of tie-dying, rolling around in paint, and pizza. (Try not to be too jealous.) The net of it is, my hands were red …. Like, I-killed-a-person-it’s-freaking-engrained-in-there red, not just like oh-look-at-that-silly-girl-who-tie-dyed red. Then I had to cover the Pride Graduation for the Post (read my story on it here), a fancy event where everyone dresses up. My hands were still red despite 30 minutes of washing and even trying nail polish remover (I wouldn’t try it … doesn’t work and it definitely not good for skin).

And of course, who was at my table, but Dean Lombardi, Dean of Students, and at the neighboring table, the President’s wife, Deborah McDavis. HAH! Try explaining that one…oh I was tie-dying…no, I’m not four…no, I swear I tried to get it off my hands…yes, it does look like I’m bleeding. Not to mention, we ate dinner together. As in, my hands were on the table in front of them, no bars hold, gushing a nice shade of fuchsia…classy. Plus, the Post has a top 10 list, as a quasi joke quasi serious thing, of people not to embarrass yourself in front of if you can help it. They were both on it. I’m just a freshman and already I’m at 20%...I’m golden. All in all, I made a joke of it, and I got the dye off my hands today using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (not a joke … bought it at CVS… it so should not go on skin but it works) and painting my finger nails. In the end, the tie-dyed shirts are soooo worth it … they’re baller.

Adorkable Assets: Ridiculous Rain Gear

(Me in my yellow coat ... I am only sad, because it is raining, but I am happy on the inside because of my rain gear!!) This post is already getting long, but let me just say … everyone should own galoshes and ridiculous rain gear. My mother bought me a yellow raincoat, and it is the best article of clothing I own. It makes me look like a giant traffic cone, or maybe a traffic director. My temptation to jump into the street and direct cars randomly is high. (I won’t, however, because I value not getting arrested.) You can never lose me in crowd (even though when I am dressed this way you may want to), and in this ridiculous downpour, I am so dry. Plus, my umbrella is failing on one side, so I need it to not drown while walking to class. Go. Buy. Now.

Lesson to be learned: Attitude is everything, and being confident and amusing can get you out of most problems ... especially when you have to prove you didn't kill someone.

Well world, I hope you like the new blog set up…let me know what you think by leaving comments!! (I love comments … you should leave one … maybe tell me what you think I should write about in the future!!)

Red Handedly Yours,

Adorkable