This is how it works: You're young until you're not.

I feel like the majority of my blog posts should be titled "I am such a slacker." And yet most, if not all, never fail to mention what a slacker I am. There are two ways to fix this situation: I could blog more frequently, or I could just learn to forgive myself more easily. Neither of which you should count on. Sorry.

I've been wanting to blog for some time now, but with the adjusting into the new apartment, the new classes, the blah-blah-blah, I just haven't found the motivation to take twenty minutes out of my day and write. But right now, I'm setting aside my excuses for twenty minutes and writing, gosh dang it!

Let's start with the end of TADW. Man, that seems like ages ago. The last day, Munch N Crunch, as expected, was freaking emotional beyond my wildest dreams. I expected to witness much bawling and grief, but what I didn't expect was to find myself sobbing on someone's shoulder. What a turn of events. In a way, I feel like I didn't utilize my summer to reconnect with old friends as well as I could have. I thought that was the whole point of getting that job in the first place. But when the final day came and I looked at my friend Sarah Martellaro, who I've missed immeasurably during the previous years away, I realized I hadn't talked to her or spent time with her nearly as much as I had wanted to. And Haylee-Rae, and Jenny, and all those people I didn't even see. All of this welled up inside me after the Munch N Crunch musical review, and I found myself chasing after Haylee-Rae and Sarah and begged the day for a little more time, then... I was basically bawling on one of their shoulders. What a dramatic way to end the most adventurous summer of my life, eh? Yeah.

The next day, I was supposed to meet Joe and his friends up for dinner, but the plans were so uncertain and my mom, brother, and I had decided to start the drive back to Texas that evening. When Joe texted me and said that they wanted to go to dinner at 8 p.m., that pretty much sealed the deal. It was too late, and we wanted to be well on the road by that time. It was pretty sad, but life goes on. What can I have done?

For our final L.A. meal, we got together with my mom's relatives in Arcadia and they took us to this famous xiao long bao restaurant. Oh my gosh, those soupy dumplings were heaven! We ate and ate, and ordered more for the road and ate some more! Since then, my mom and I have been searching for xiao long bao in Houston that are as yummy as those, but to no avail. Mmmm so freaking good...

The drive home took us exactly 24 hours, which surprises me because at first the GPS predicted 28 hours. Hah, we showed them! I'm not exactly sure who "them" is in this situation, so just play along. K thanks. The scenery was awesome at first, a true sight to behold, and then we started to realize that we were looking at the same vast stretch of beautiful desert for 15 hours. Yeah, it got pretty repetitive. So after the first hour of oohs and ahhs, we were like "That's it? 20 hours of desert??" I mean, yeah it was beautiful, but nothing's so beautiful that I want to stare at it for that long. You know?

Fast forward.

We got home Tuesday night. Many happy feelings. Yay yay yay. My cats were all as cute as ever, and I gushed over them for much too long. On Thursday night, Ryan had a get-together at his man cave. Hillary, Tim, and Tim's girlfriend Melissa were all very happy to see us and we played lots of games and had the best time ever. I move into my new apartment and get ready for school.

Stop the fast forward! This deserves some detail.

So this year, I'm living in a 1-bedroom apartment in Huntsville. The move was pretty back-breaking, but I can't talk, seeing as how my dad and brother did all the work. But now, I LOVE my new apartment so much! I love coming home to it. Teehee. I want to move one of my kitties up with me, but I think they'd miss my dad too much. I'm in a pickle here. I took Indy up for a day, and he seemed fine but when my dad took him home, he was so relieved to see our house again. Ugh way to make me feel bad!

About school. Yay junior year of college!!! I'm taking 18 hours this semester, which sounds bad, but is really pretty chill. Side note: Parking on campus this year is HORRIBLE!! Where did all the freakin' people come from??? Anyway, glad I got that off my chest. I love my Spanish class. My professor is so nice and awesome. I hate my Information Analysis and History of Texas and the Southwest classes. So boring, I can't stand it! My News Reporting and Writing for Public Relations classes are above average in enjoyment, but I could live without them. My philosophy class is pretty fun because my professor is a hoot, and Ivan (DJ Frogger!) is in there with me. Speaking of DJ's and the like, I'm pretty sure the radio is going down this semester. Mrs. Cooper quit, and LeeAn is on the fence. We're going into the third week of school and we have yet to have a management meeting of any kind, and I don't think we even have a Program Director. If it sounds bad, that's because it is. VERY bad.

I have one more point to hit, then we'll call it a night. My family is OFFICIALLY moving out of our house and into a rental house in Houston. I think we're moving next weekend, but we'll definitely be out of here in the next 2 weeks. The house we're renting is really nice, and I actually really like it. I'm pretty excited to move because I just want to put this foreclosure mess behind us, but I'm so super worried about my cats. This is the house they've known forever, and I'm afraid they'll try to escape that house and come back to this one. Oh... being worried is such a horrible feeling!! I hope everything turns out okay.

I've also had a sudden desire to visit Costa Rica. I hope I get to go this summer. Now that my Spanish professor isn't a complete jerk, my love for the language has been revived. 

Side note: The "True Blood" season finale is this Sunday! I can't wait!! Eric better survive! Oh! And the "Glee" season premier is a little over 2 weeks away! I can't wait to have our "Glee" parties back! <3

There's nothing that I wouldn't... or I couldn't... and I haven't gone through.

Wow, where has this summer gone? Only two and a half weeks left until I pack my bags and hit the road with my brother and mom to go back to Texas. This summer has been the epitome of adventure, the ultimate learning experience. I must say, though, after 8 weeks of being in California without my parents, I really miss them. It's such a relief that my cousin Lynn lives here, and that Ryan is here for the summer as well, otherwise I'd be so lonely! You know who else I miss? My fatty cats. I miss them so much. :(

So, since my last blog post, which wasn't very informative, just angry... I've been living it up in the city of angels! Ryan and I have been in the live studio audience for The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson not once, but twice! The first time, the guest was Angela Kinsey (from The Office) and the second time with was Ellen Page (from Juno!). Ahh it's soo fun. And on August 2nd, we're going to be in the audience for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno! I'm sooo excited!! I've just recently been to Disneyland with Ryan and Sarah Doretti (Joe's friend from Oklahoma). That was amazing. We rode all the rides we wanted to, and even saw the new World of Color water show, which blew my mind!! I also bought a pretty Disney hoodie, which I'm in love with. :D

Work has been pretty cool. Seussical is coming along great, and I just attended the Alice in Wonderland invitational last night and it was pretty trippy, but it was actually very enjoyable. Very lively and entertaining, for sure. Afterwards, everyone went to Sizzler, which was a good time. Jon Levinson came as well, and it was nice catching up with him. In other work news, I've started directing my 10-minute play for the 10-minute play festival, and I'm loving it! My play is written by Joey Veliz, and he's such a talented writer. The cast consists of Joey, Amanda Voyce, and Josh Knoller. I love the play, it's so funny and I feel like I can do a lot with it. I can't wait to see it all come together.

I think I've done most of what I've wanted to do in L.A., or at least I'm going to before I leave. The food here is so awesome, it's probably my favorite part of being here. One of my favorite past times is finding new places to eat. There's this sushi place I'm dying to try, but I'll wait until my brother gets here so I can try it with him. It's called Sushi Central, and it was the sushi challenge on Throwdown with Bobbly Flay. Haha I'm so susceptible to media bait. Sad but true.

Before I go, one more thing. Ryan and I saw the new Christopher Nolan movie "Inception". I think it was better than "The Prestige". Mr. Nolan has done it again, dangggg.

I can't believe what you said to me...

^ Lyrics from "Speechless", probably my favorite Lady Gaga song. As usual, my title has something to do with my post, so I'll just cut to the chase.

In short, I'm furious.

I cannot believe how narrow-minded some people are, recognizing only the things that happen to them and not realizing that the world around them is suffering as well. They think that everyone who isn't suffering is a spoiled little shit, and everyone who IS suffering isn't suffering enough. It kills me to say that one of my own family members is the inspiration for this topic, but it's true. Someone I actually looked up to as a little girl and had the utmost respect for. Now I just feel like I've been lied to my whole life, and that I'm opening my eyes for the first time. Young children are so easily won over, they'll believe anything. I'm so glad that I'm older now and understand these things a little better, so that I can close my ears to the lies that I once embraced wholeheartedly. How can you say that you care but let your actions contradict any notion that you care for anyone but yourself? How can you shun your father for years, cursing him behind his back, then the minute you need his money treat him as though you've always loved him? It's nothing but stone cold deceit. Downright selfishness.

How can you tell me to open my eyes to the pain and poverty in the world and that I have no right to feel any pity for myself because of what you're going through? How about you open your eyes and look at my life for the past 3 years! How can you say I've had nothing to overcome? How can you tell me that I don't know what it means to suffer? Everyone has trials, everyone gets tested, not just you. Believe it or not, the gods are not out to get you, everyone goes through something whether it's problems with their family, finances, health, etc. I'm so lucky to have the friends that I have, the opportunities that I have, and the family that I have, but my health will never be completely up to par and I'll never be able to do some things that most people do without thinking about. You're struggling to finish college and you piss and moan about having to care for your sick mother, which in itself is pretty sick. Oh, and in your desperate attempt to finish college, you leave your mother and younger brother to fend for themselves? What a freaking saint. Now do you know where all my respect for you went? Why is finding a man more important to you than keeping your family together? Why do you blame them for the fact that no man has ever wanted you for so long? That's really the stupidest thing I've ever heard. No man wanted you because no man wanted you, it's as simple as that.

Of course, knowing you, here's what I know you're going to do. If you read this--which you probably won't because you're too busy making everyone feel guilty about your pathetic life--you're not even going to consider anything I've said. You're going to write me a long, painful letter asking me if I ever hear anything you say. That your life is shit and it's all your brother's fault, all your mom's fault, all my fault. You'll blame everyone but yourself. Then you'll lecture me about how great my life is compared to yours and that I will never have any comprehension of the hardships you're going through. How am I doing so far? You're going to list all of the things you've ever done for your mother and brother--all of which I think are expected of a caretaker, which you are according to the government--and you'll make yourself sound like the saint I used to think you were but that I now know you are not.

Oh, and while I'm at it, if you're so broke that you're "homeless" until the Fall, how did you get the money to go to L.A. last month to see your new boyfriend? So you're dirt broke? The designer clothes you were wearing in your pictures seem to suggest otherwise.

Thirty years old and you have so much growing up to do. Figure it out and stop blaming everyone else.

Oh, why'd you have to be so cute?

Okay so since I'm such a horrible blog neglecter, this post is going to be extremely long. What's new? So! Since I've been in L.A., I've had so many adventures!!

My cousin, Trang, was with me for the first week, and we basically hung out with Lynn a lot and went sight-seeing and stuff. We also went to Universal Studios with my twin, Ryan, who's interning here for the summer!! I'm so glad he is, because without him here, I'd be so alone. :( Anyhow, Universal was so amazing!! I was proud of myself, on my feet for 7 hours and I didn't start complaining about being tired until hour 6. The lines and crowds were minimal, and we went on every ride and pretty much saw every show! We even went on the Jurassic Park and The Mummy rides twice, because they were our favorite!! The studio backlot tour was unbelievable. It was amazing to see all the sets of tons of movies I've seen right there in front of my eyes, and how it's a SET, not a real city or whatever! And we drove down Wisteria Lane, where Desperate Housewives is filmed, which is pretty cool. After that, we walked up and down Hollywood Blvd until I was just utterly exhausted (in my defense, everyone else was tired too!), then we went home.

After Trang left, Ryan and I went to see Imogen Heap in concert and let me tell you, she is INCREDIBLE live!! Plus, she's such a delightful little British woman. Such a character. In fact, I'm listening to her album while I'm writing this, hence the title of this post. "Oh, why'd you have to be cute? It's impossible to ignore you...." Great stuff. The next day, I went over to Ryan's neck of the woods and we went and saw Toy Story 3 in Huntington Beach (it was the second time for me to see it, the first time I went with Trang). Man, that movie is the best. I'm amazed at Pixar's ability to churn out one masterpiece after another. The supply of great ideas seems limitless coming from them! I'd be up for seeing it a third time actually.

So, Lynn was gone for a week, but she came back on Wednesday and I've been hanging out with her. We're going to see Eclipse together (hehehe don't judge), and also, on Thursday Ryan and I are going to the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson!!! The guest that night is Angela Kinsey from The Office!!! I'm so excited!! I ordered Jimmy Kimmel tickets for us as well, but I have yet to receive an e-mail confirmation, so that's still kinda up in the air.

Work so far is pretty fun. I'm starting to feel more at home here. I hate that I'm shy by nature, and that I've had to work very hard to overcome it. But whenever I'm thrust into new situations, I'm always horribly shy and awkward and quiet for the first few days, then I open up all of a sudden (not slowly) and suddenly I'm a wired chatterbox and nobody knows what the hell happened. I hate it!! It makes me look like a crazy person!!

I also hate that I'm such a blogging slacker, because once I get around to blogging, I have so much to squeeze into one post that I end up having to summarize everything to avoid writing a novel. Bah.

I've been having a lot of thoughts lately. Just thoughts about a lot of stuff. I can't stop thinking about the person I am, and the person I want to be. It's like I'm always on this never ending road of self-molding. But that's what life is, I know. It's just weird that I really like the person that I am, but I have this gnawing in the back of my mind that tells me I'm not the kind of person I want to be. Does that make sense? No? Okay. I wish I was the kind of person who knew what they wanted and went for it without hesitation. I guess I'm 60% there, more or less. I do go for what I want, but I do tend to hesitate a lot. And I wish I wasn't so shy and self-conscious. Being self-conscious is the most irritating feeling in the world. Ugh!! I wish I could just go up to people and tell them they were beautiful, or go up to assholes and tell them they were assholes. Or have a conversation with someone I don't entirely know. A real conversation. I wish I connected with people more easily. I wish, I wish, I wish. Alright, I'm off to do something about that.

Also, I'm obsessed with frozen yogurt. I don't know what came over me.

What happens in Vegas, ends up on my blog!

Ahhhh so me and Trang went to Las Vegas about two weekends ago, May 27-May 30 to be exact, and it was sooo fun!!! I'm glad we get along and get to go on trips together like this, because they're unbeatable. We mainly went for the UFC Fan Expo, which my cousin was DYING to go to, because Anderson Silva was going to be there. Her idol. Yep, pretty much. Well, the drive there (9 hours) was pretty long because I guess we didn't really know what to expect. We snacked on beef jerky, pretzels, chestnuts, the works, and almost... ALMOST ran out of gas because there wasn't a gas station to be found for fifty miles. That was scary. But man, when we reached the lights of Las Vegas, it was all worth it!!!! 

Until.... we saw our hotel. The infamous Gold Spike!!! It was only $45.99 per night, but boy did we get EXACTLY what we paid for! And not a penny more! The walls were super thin, there was no Wi-Fi, we were awoken each morning by either a) housekeeping rattling their buckets outside the door, b) the super loud army of Vietnamese people next door who don't know the meaning of an "inside voice", or c) what sounded like river dancing on our ceiling! Pretty awesome, right? It was all part of the experience though, I harbor no bitterness. It was actually pretty funny how miserable we were. Also, let's not forget how the plumbing went haywire on the second day and every time we flushed the toilet, it would re-emerge in our bathtub! So, I had to wash my hair in the sink that night... It was pretty hilarious. You kinda had to be there. Haha. 

The fan expo was pretty fun. Trang knew the lines would get really crazy, so we rented a wheelchair for me partly because I can't stand for too long and partly hoping to gain sympathy from the fighters and guarantee us all the autographs we wanted! It was kinda worth it, in the end. Junior Dos Santos and Anderson Silva both showed me lots of sympathy, and even stroked my head like I was a precious crippled child! We almost missed Anderson though, and my cousin would've been PISSED if that happened. But we just happened to be standing in the right place at the right time, because when he entered, he walked RIGHT in front of us! My cousin's jaw practically hit the floor and we promptly left the line we were standing in to follow Anderson Silva's entourage. We apparently got in the "fast pass" line (what was this, Disneyland??) and we were in the front, but they said only people with a "fast pass" could meet Anderson. And in order to obtain one of these passes, you had to pay $25 for a 6-pack of this nasty acai berry juice that we threw away afterward anyway. This juice was so gross. It looked like chocolate milk and tasted like super ripe berries. Blegh. Anyway, so we went up to meet Anderson, wheelchair and all, and he started to walk through the crowd toward us. He may as well have been Moses because that crowd parted like the Red Sea. He stroked my head and knelt down for a picture with me! Look!

The fan expo was from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the first day (Friday) and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, so afterward, we would go eat dinner at some exotic place that I would pick, and go hit the strip! The Las Vegas strip was amazing, and kinda bizarre, but what else would you come to Vegas to experience?? It was so fun!! The drive back was a breeze, and I'm so so glad we went! 

But, note to self, NEVER stay at a place called the Gold Spike ever again!

Watch our montage! It's basically our Vegas trip in a nutshell!

Now that you're gone, l can roll on to something good.

I'm not going to explain the title. Some people understand it, and if you don't, I'm not in the mood to be bitter. I'm in the mood to be HAPPY!! Because so many good things are happening right now, and all the bad things are in the past. Done for. See ya. Thanks for coming.

The biggest news is that one of my bestest best friends, Joe Petty, is engaged!!!! He's found his one, and I couldn't be more happy for Joe and his Savannah. Ryan told me he was going to propose, but when Joe texted me the simple yet profound words, "She said yes! I'm engaged!", I was at Chili's with friends and I mentally checked out of the table conversation. I felt like a blubbering sap and I just wanted to run onto the highway and start dancing. Good for him. I always knew Joe would get married before any of us, but I can't believe that it's actually happening!! We're getting to that age, the marriage age, then the having-a-family age, and then who knows what. Things are so utterly different since freshman year of high school, when none of us knew at all where our lives were headed. And look at us now. In college, Joe getting engaged, Ryan and I going to live on our own for the summer, Tim....being Tim, and Hillary interning with an editor!! Geez Louise. And despite all the changes, our friendship and bond has, if anything, grown stronger. I love them all so much!!

So... now that I've gone and said all that, it's time to move on to the next topic. And that is Las Vegas. In 10 days. Time is passing by soooo slowly, though, because I'm so freaking excited!! Seriously, yesterday alone felt like four whole days. I can't take the waiting anymore!! But I must. So, to pass the time, I've started to make lists. List upon list. I know what you're thinking, "Oh no, Stephanie and her lists". And you're probably right. I've made three lists so far: Places to Eat, Things to Do, and Snacks to Pack. And they're all fairly lengthy. I've got the portable DVD player and my handy dandy GPS, and we're pretty much all set. Wait, I have yet to print out tickets to the fan expo we're going to, but I've got plenty of time to kill, so I'll do it tomorrow. Haha I don't want to do everything in one day and have absolutely nothing to do for the rest of the week. That would be slow, painful torture. Not that it isn't already torture. Ughhh the waiting... just kill me. But not really. Then I wouldn't be able to go to Vegas! Hehehe.

Moving right along, I have more good news!! I'm learning how to cook! Hey, better late than never, and I've come to realize that cooking is something I really enjoy, regardless of the fact that I kinda suck at it. But I'll get better! Practice makes perfect, right? I'm adding to my mental recipe book day by day, and so far, this is what I can make off the top of my head: Omelettes, poached eggs, french toast, meatloaf, green bean casserole, creamy rice casserole, cornflake chicken, chicken salad, mushroom canapes, cucumber sandwiches, chocolate banana pie, queso, scrambled eggs, baked salmon with lemon butter, and... I think that's it. But that's pretty good for a newbie, if I do say so myself. 

So far, my Summer 2010 picture project, where I take at least one picture every day for this summer and posting it on Facebook (man that album is going to be FULL by the end of this summer), is going well. Of course, it's only been four days since my summer officially started, but still! I'm having fun with it. A lot of the pictures are of Indie, my big fatty cat, sleeping in various places around the house. I didn't notice the pattern until someone commented on it, but pretty much every day I have a picture of Indie sleeping on something new! First, it was the kitchen table, then it was a chair in my dad's room, and on a couch, and now he's sleeping in my laptop case! I cannot wait to take that kitty to Huntsville with me.

That's all for today. This is the first time I've posted two entries in two consecutive days... I MUST be bored.

Smile!

All shall know the wonder of purple summer...

Wow I have a lot of catching up to do. When did I become such a blogging slacker? Well, no more of that! I have a lot to tell you! And when I say a lot, I mean it's overwhelming me just thinking of how I can blog about all this without writing a novel!! I'll just take it one step at a time. Here we go.

I think the first major thing that happened since the last time I updated was my cruise to Cozumel!! I went with my mom, and man, getting away was so awesome. Just heavenly. And this time, we learned from our mistakes from our last cruise and actually went and participated in the onboard activities, as opposed to staying in our cabin all the time like we did on our last cruise. We went to many of the Las Vegas-style shows, ate tons and tons, and participated in some of the shopping talks that they had. Plus, at these shopping talks, they gave out vouchers for free stuff in Cozumel! I was simply ecstatic when we finally got to Cozumel. We were in a time crunch because our first excursion started at 11, and we didn't get on the island until 9:30, but we managed to get all of our shopping done just in time for the glass-bottom boat/snorkeling tour. My favorite store was Del Sol, a store in which all of the merchandise changed color in the sun! The shirt and hairclip I got from there are among my favorite things to wear!! The snorkeling excursion was a blast. We went to 3 barrier reefs in a glass-bottom boat, and then we geared up and went snorkeling! The tour guide was super nice and helpful, and I even saw a barracuda! That was pretty scary, not gonna lie, but it was the experience of a lifetime and something I never before thought I could've done. That's one thing crossed off my bucket list. After that, we had lunch at a cute outdoor Mexican restaurant and experienced some authentic fajitas. Twas glorious. Energized, we plunged onto my next excursion: The manatee encounter!! That was super, super fun and I even got my own manatee to feed and play with! His name was Angel and he was bigger than me and kept grabbing onto me in an attempt to take the lettuce from my hands! I loved it so much. It was definitely a day I will never, ever forget.

The next major thing was my surprise 19th birthday party that my incredible roommates, Ryan and Melissa, coordinated and planned behind my back! It was on Friday, May 7th (Dead Day) and me and Ryan had gone to see Experimental Theater together. Then, when we got back to the apartment, pretty much every person at SHSU that was important to me was there and I was so freaking shocked! EVERYTHING was Hello Kitty, and it took me a full 3 seconds to realize that the surprise was for me. There was all this food, and this gorgeous pink cake, and a ginormous Hello Kitty balloon that I will pin to my wall once it's deflated. I got tons of gifts, all Hello Kitty, and I loved them ALL. After the initial shock wore off, we played Apples to Apples and The Game of Things, and Jen spent the night. It was my best birthday party ever, and again, something I will never, never forget as long as I live!! The next morning, all of us roommates decided to clean out the fridge, and we found some nasty things. Ryan donned his bandana over his face to protect himself from the rancid smell and, equipped with his trusty Febreze, tackled the mess! What a hero!

The next week was finals, and my grades were okay this semester. An "A" in Spanish II (which was a shocker, let me tell ya), and a "B" in everything else. I'm so glad it's summer.

Yesterday, I went back up to Huntsville to pick up some stuff I left behind, and to celebrate Raven's 20th birthday. After seeing her show, "Crimes of the Heart", at Old Town Theater, we (me, Raven, Ryan, Michael Madro, Kyle, and Ashley) all went to dinner at Chili's and then went back to our apartment for ice cream and games. It was so much fun!!! I'm so glad I came back to Huntsville for it. Everyone left at around 2 a.m., and then Trang texted me to Skype. So I Skyped with her, which was also tons of fun, until around 4:30 a.m. That's unlike me, I know. But then I fell into bed, exhausted, and woke up at 10:30 ish and went back to Tomball where I belong.

I would fill you in on the exciting details about my upcoming summer, but that would be another novel. So I'll make it quick. In short, me and Trang are going to Las Vegas in a week and a half, then I'm spending two weeks in Northern California visiting family, THEN me and Trang are going to L.A. together to hang out with Lynn..... and last but not least, I'll be working at TADW, in L.A., all summer, living on my own! OH! And Ryan Anderson will be an hour away from me all summer working on his internship in Orange County! So we'll definitely be seeing a lot of each other this summer. I can think of three words that will describe my next three months, and those words are: BEST. SUMMER. EVER.

^..^