Rude awakenings

When I tell people that I live in an old factory that has been converted into a loft they think it's pretty cool. I thought it was cool until like the 3rd day. It's a huge space in a pretty nice neighborhood. Travis and I thought it was exactly what we were looking for. I still think Travis feels pretty good about it, but I am much more sensitive than he is. I hate hearing other people's noises (unless it's some sort of crazy, juicy conversation), smelling other people's smells, and dealing with other people's laziness (read: messes left in public places). I know this is all part of the apartment living experience, but in my last dwelling all of the people living in my "building" (a house converted into 3 apartments) were awesome.

I bring this up because I really hate my building this morning. I didn't go to bed until 2am. I had worked a late shift at the Retail Job, and I wasn't exactly tired when I came home. I didn't expect to be woken up at 8am by hammers and saws and workmen talking. But it happened. The apartment next to mine has been vacant for a while, so I guess they decided to move the door from one end of the apartment to the other (Travis later talked to the men and they're converting the apartment to a two bedroom). So instead of having my nice little lonely door at the end of the hall where I never have to talk to anyone and can just sneak in quickly before having to make conversation, I now have a door about 1 foot away from mine. So you can imagine the noise. My loft has 14 ft ceilings and no substantial furniture to absorb sound. Every little thing echos. So I had a nice time listening to echoing hammers and saws and the freight elevator going up and down.

Somehow I went back to sleep! I amazed myself. I must've been exhausted.

Well I was sleeping soundly until Stanley made a sneak attack on Miso, who had decided to cuddle with Travis at the computer desk. That woke me up, but I went back to sleep. Some Travis noises (computer, walking, shower, quiet music, etc.) made me stir, but I managed to sleep.

That is until I was abruptly woken up by the musical stylings of Bobby Vinton. WHAT?! At first I thought it was some cheesey old Christmas music, but then I listened a little harder. It was so loud and strange, so I just thought it was coming from the construction workers. I mean that would be weird, but whatever. And then I realized it was actually coming from my really strange upstairs neighbors. Oh boy.

I haven't had much luck with upstairs neighbors in this building. The first set decided it was cool if their dog peed all over their apartment, and it was even cooler that the pee dripped through their floor and into my apartment (no insulation or anything between their floor and my ceiling. Just wood floor boards and wood ceiling beams). They also thought it would be cool to blast kind of shitty R&B from 11pm to 3am. Whatever. They left at the end of July and we were ecstatic.

In comparison our new neighbors are great. They are pretty quiet most of the time. Their dog doesn't pee everywhere. But they listen to the most awful music. And they sing along. AND THEY CAN'T SING. Most of us can't, but I don't think most people crank up the Bobby Vinton at 10am on a Friday and really belt it out. Both the guy and the girl are equally awful singers and sing equally loud. Usually not together though (thank goodness). Now it only lasted about two hours, but still. Imagine living in a place where the music of your neighbors sounds like it's coming from your own stereo. And getting their lovely sing-a-long redition of top of it.

To add to their weirdness... Travis thinks that they are into acting. When he's working from home they like run lines and stuff. They also sing sans music, and then I kind of wish I were deaf. They also have these parties (I think it's a party) like once a month where a bunch of people come over, stay for an hour, leave for about 2 hours, and then come back for one or two more hours. And the whole time it sounds like they are walking around. I can hear them talk, but more than anything I can hear all of their footsteps. And it doesn't stop the whole time they're up there. What kind of party is this? Have you ever been to a party where you just walked around the whole time? I'm so confused.

But I really don't want to complain about them. I could still be living under the crazy lesbians with two bad dogs and a penchant for shitty R&B and using their crazy karate muscles to intimidate me.

Anyway. Here are some pictures of my loft because I forgot to post them before. It's so cute. I just wish I didn't have neighbors. And they put more money into nice fixtures.

Busy Beez.

Oh goodness. Things have been hectic again. A combination of work, home duties, and a new dog have totally wiped me out. Lately I've been feeling like I'm working every minute of the day. Although you probably couldn't tell yesterday as I decided to spend most of the day in bed. It was a treat I definitely earned.

Oh so yes. Travis and I adopted a pup a few weeks ago. His name is Stanley and he's a crazy bundle of energy. He'll be 3 years old in April. We think that he's a French Bulldog/Staffordshire Bull Terrier mix. But who really knows! He's cute either way.

That's him sleeping in Miso's chair. Lately the cats have been hanging out on top of the kitchen cabinets. They seem pretty happy up there, but I miss seeing them run around. I guess eventually everyone will get along ok and they can resume their romping. Miso and Nori actually kind of cuddle together. I guess Miso realized that Nori was the lesser of two evils and could tolerate her attention.

The recent cold weather has also kept me from doing anything too exciting. If I can walk there in 10 minutes, or if I can be driven there I will do it. Otherwise I've been pretty reluctant to go out. I really should be using all of this inside time for productive things, but old habits die hard.

Obviously things have been pretty boring around here. Maybe something more exciting will happen next week!

Oh My.

So you may notice by now the inconsistency of my nature. With all endeavors I take on there is this pattern I seem to follow: start strong and then kind of crap out. I've always known this about myself. In school I would start every semester saying, "I am going to re-read my notes every night, keep my papers organized, and finish every long-term assignment at least a week before it is due." Things would go this way for about 2 weeks, and then I would revert to my old ways. I guess it's a lack of discipline. But really, this is the story of my life.

I had a different blog a long time ago. I wrote in it pretty sporadically, so I decided to end it. I started this blog last winter because I felt like I would post regularly. I was busy, but felt compelled to document my experiences. It was (and still is) a very transitional time in my life.

So why has it been so difficult for me to keep up with my blog in the past few months? I am done school, I am not studying for anything (yet), and I don't bring my work home with me. I can't really answer that, but I have decided to make a concerted effort to post weekly. The end.

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I started my second part-time job this month. It is in the emergency room of a South Jersey hospital. So far I really like it and pretty much wish it was a full-time job. I am responsible for registering patients, getting their demographic and insurance info, and getting them to sign some legal documents. It doesn't sound like a very exciting job, but it actually is. I get to see how the ER works and improve my patient care skills. Travis kind of teased me because I seem to have this affliction where the craziest person in the room will tell me their life story, and I will kindly listen to them no matter how much I wish I could blow them off and run away. It doesn't matter where I go. It's pretty much guaranteed that a crazy person, clueless person, old person, or all of the above will single me out. So you can only imagine what I hear on a daily basis in the hospital.

I am still working my retail job, but hoping to hear about a more full-time Monday-Friday 9-5 type of job. I have my resume out there and hoping for a nibble. Why is it so hard to find a job? I guess a lot of us are in the same boat. I am about ready to jump overboard.

One (positive?) development that has occurred over the past few weeks is my decision to re-apply to medical school. After I had that conversation with my mom I realized there must be a reason why I was so upset. No one can make you feel anything unless you believe what they're saying. My mom has called me a lot of things, but when she said I was a disappointment I really felt like I was. I disappointed (some of) my family, friends, mentors, and mostly myself. I didn't want to take my MCATs again this summer because I really couldn't deal with more disappointment. But once I realized that there was no rush and that I could take a few months to study and prepare, I probably wouldn't be disappointed. So beginning November 1st I will begin studying for the MCAT I intend to take in March. So yeah, I wouldn't be starting med school until 2010, but at least I would feel like I wasn't rushed and that I was pursuing my dream.

Wouldn't it be nice to clearly see the path you're meant to take? I've felt so many different things in the past 6 months, and hopefully this decision will be the right one.

Dear Diary,

Tonight Travis invented a new word. Quaple.

The end.

xoxo,

Colleen

Some self indulgence

Should I really know what I want to do with my life at the age of 22? I ask myself every day. Right now I'm just happy to be making enough money to pay my rent and electric, eat, and buy a case of beer. I have lived about a quarter of my life so far (a little less). And about three quarters of that time has been spent in a learning institution. This is the first fall that I have not been in school. I don't exactly like it, but I'm happy to have a little time off. In fact, I really don't want to have anything to do with academics right now. I don't want to take a standardized test. I don't want to write an essay about my dreams and aspirations. I don't want to tell you what I did on my summer vacation.

This is all about applying to a graduate program for next fall. I have been feeling unsure of myself recently (it's been about 5 months since I've studied for anything), and that has led to my delaying applications and testing. I just don't know if I have what it takes... I mean I know that I do. But I'm afraid. I don't want to make any major choices if I'm not sure.

"Where did this all come from?" you may be wondering. Well in a word: MOM. My mom knows I don't want to be a failure. She knows that I am trying to figure out my path, but for whatever reason she keeps pushing certain sensitive issues. Tonight she just made me second guess myself. And then third guess if that's possible.

So at the end of the day, I'm left confused.

And hungry. And sick. But I'm about to eat some enchiladas so it's good. And hopefully my recent malady (chest cold, what's new?) will find it's way out overnight. 

Chchchchchchanges

The past seven days have been pretty hectic. I finally got some more hours at work (yay!), found a second job (extra yay!), revisited a friendship, celebrated a relationship milestone, saw one of my favorite performers, and enjoyed some quality time with my fav girl.

If you've been following my life since May, you would know that I've been on the prowl for a full-time job. Coming to terms with the fact that my bachelor's degree means basically nothing in the real world has been pretty difficult. No one is hiring full-time, or if they are you need about 20 different certifications and years of experience. So I followed some leads of possible well paying part-time work, and found myself in a hospital in Jersey talking to a nice HR woman. She found me a job with steady, although slightly inconvenient, hours. Come October I will be one of the many Americans with a second job. It's only temporary, right?

So Wednesday was probably my favorite day (Thursday was a close second). It was my day off, and I had originally planned on spending it riding my bike, drinking beers, and seeing Why? and Mount Eerie. But it wound up being taken up by a job interview (nice, but not the same type of fun a beer filled bike ride brings), naps, and an unexpected text message from a friend. I groggily smeared on some eyeliner, searched for my wallet, and sped off to the Pour House in East Falls to meet her for a beer. It was nice catching up, and I'm happy to know she's still the same and pretty good.

After a questionable drive along the river, I found myself around Rittenhouse. Since I've lived in Philly I've only missed one Why? show. And that was because of a car accident that landed me in the emergency room for about 8 hours. I've missed every other Mount Eerie show, so I knew the show would be a treat. I was not disappointed.

There are some bands you just need to see live to truly appreciate their talent. Sometimes because they are such a spectacle, sometimes because their ability to play ensemble is mesmerizing, and sometimes because the attention you must give to a live show helps bring out subleties you might normally miss. I admit that most of the times I've listened to Mount Eerie I've been driving. My attention fades in and out with the flow of traffic. I already knew I liked the sounds, but watching and really listening to Phil Elverum was a lovely experience. The music is simple. The words are simple. But everything is true and beautiful. I was finally able to really appreciate what he does.

And Why? was wonderful, of course. I did really want to hear some older stuff ("Just one from Hymie's Basement. Even Early Whitney. Please?") but it was fun to listen to songs from their new album. I had been listening to Alopecia pretty steadily, so I was ready to sing along. You can't stay quiet in my opinion. I did feel old (what, old at 22?) because most of the kids there were around 16. I saw smiling faces full of braces. This was strange. I felt better once Cassie got there and we looked at some Biochemistry slides. No matter how many times I see Why?, I always feel pretty sad when it's over. I'm still a little sad. Oh yeah and Travis forgot the camera so I had to use my phone and I didn't really feel happy about that thankyouverymuch.




So without making this post too long (probably at that point by now...) Let's move on to Thursday. Ah September 18th. Four years ago that day I think that Travis and I had a moment. We were seeing Mono play at the Church (Fly Pan Am got sick and canceled) and half way through their set our eyes met. We had gone to the show together, but only as friends. There was this hot energy in the air and I guess we just realized that there was something between us. I think it took a while until our relationship was verbally official, but we consider that to be our anniversary day. It's all arbitrary anyway. Pick a day and that's it, right? So for our anniversary Travis and I decided to go to the Ritz for a movie. We went to see Burn After Reading, but were enticed by free tickets to see Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. It looked cute, it was free, and we could still get our parking validated. Sweet. The movie was alright. I think we missed like 30 minutes of it, but it wasn't hard to catch up. Maybe we'll see the other movie next week, as that's what we really wanted to do.

After the movie I was pretty starving, so Travis decided he'd treat me to tapas at Bar Ferdinand. I (eventually) happily agreed. I realized that they have decently priced delicious beers. Their food is also fabulous. We ate some meat from a Spanish pig that had only been fed acorns. YAY! I am all about feeding pigs acorns. I bet that pig was really happy to eat those acorns. And I was really happy to eat that pig.

Friday=boring. Saturday was really fun. I worked all day and then went to my co-worker and friend Kim's house for a lovely dinner of fabulous cheese, beers, goat cheese and roasted red pepper lasagna, finished with some wonderful homemade cream puffs! And she claims she doesn't cook! After dinner I ran to meet some of my family for dessert. It was my Grandmom's birthday and my parents took her and my Aunt Kathy out for dinner in Old City. We met up and when to Bon Bon Artisan Gelato for coffee and dessert. After some quality family time Travis and I ran off to Sugar Mom's where we met up with my most favorite girl Netty. Got one $1 PBR just as the special was ending, bonded with my girl, and then met up with Kim and two of our other friends from work. As usual Travis was surrounded by ladies. Luckily he enjoyed their company (honestly, who wouldn't?!) And he did have a fun time drawing a lovely replica of a PBR can on the graffiti table.


The night ended around 2:45am with Travis sans one ear gauge (if you are at Sugar Mom's and randomly find a silver double flared 0-gauge tunnel please hand it over and you will receive a prize!) and me with acid reflux. Not to mention delirious from beer and a seemingly long bike ride into North Philly.

Sunday was pretty restful. Sleep, meatball sub, car ride to Wilmington, nap, a yummy Bobby (otherwise known as Thanksgiving on a roll), and a family get together. It was Travis's brother-in-law's birthday so we went to say hi and celebrate. It was nice and chill and it's always nice to see everyone.

Now for another week of work and hopefully happy hours.

A little R and R

Although I've been back for a little over a week, it's time to do the vacation post!

The weekend before there was much planning. Who was making what on which night, what supplies would be needed, what type of beer would be most appreciated. All crucial things. On Sunday Travis and I decided to stop by Whole Foods to pick out some cheeses for our wine and cheese night. Honestly, I was most excited about this aspect of the trip. I have a serious weakness for a delicious cheese and a properly paired wine. After about an hour of sniffing and thinking, we decided on three: Roncal, a generic peppered goat cheese (also Spanish), and some other Spanish goat cheese whose name totally escapes me (although its floral and earthy flavors do not).

After making the wine selections (Tempra Tantrum, a Tempranillo/Shiraz blend and a Sauvingnon Blanc from Dyed in the Wool), Travis and I began our trek to Lake Raystown Resort. We left an hour or two later than we wanted, but felt optimistic about the drive. I couldn't really remember the last time I drove more than 1.5 hours, which is the exact amount of time it takes me to get to my parents' house. Well, I can. It was the 8 or 9 hour drive we made to North Carolina in the summer of '05. But if you know me then you should know that I hate the car, especially when I am in it upwards of 2 hours. But I just let the image of cheese and wine and a lake take over, and suddenly the 3.5 hour drive to middle-of-nowhere Pennsylvania did not seem so bad. Oh yes and not to mention the good times that were about to be had. That helped too.





I remembered the route, as I had traveled it with my family about 10 years ago. My cousins live in Roaring Spring, PA which is about 10 minutes from the lake. Not much really stood out to me about the drive, aside from DRIVING THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS! Well, maybe that's how enthusiastic I had been at the age of 12. I was still (somewhat secretly) excited about that part of the drive. I have a quiet obsession with mountains. When I see one, I just feel at home. I think I'll probably end up on a mountain top. As much as I love shopping and dining and civilization, I might just run away one day.

After getting lost once (the signs are very small in this neck of the woods), getting directions, and another 20 minutes of winding roads we found ourselves at the lake. It was a relief to be out of the car, and to see our lovely accommodations. Travis's parents had rented out 3 villas, which were located right on the lake. We were staying with Travis's oldest brother, his wife, and their 3 kids. As long as I had my own room I didn't care. This wasn't really the sleeping in type of vacation. Every morning at 6:30 Enno would wake up the die hard water skiers. This did not include me, and I would sleep to about 9:00. Just enough time to feel rested, and everyone would just be getting back from the morning run.

This was my first lake vacation, but I had been told many times about the schedule. There was always a morning run. Scott would like to go out around 7:30, but Enno would insist on 6:30. It was a constant struggle. But either way there was a run too early for my liking. This is the best time for water skiing, though. There really isn't anyone else on the lake, so the water is like glass. After the morning run everyone would have breakfast together. There'd be some time for resting and then probably another run. By now, though, the lake would be pretty choppy from the tubers and people on wave runners. I liked going out then because no one would expect me to ski and I could just enjoy the scenery.

Or go tubing. As you can see in the photo above. That was after a long night of drinking and an even longer morning of headaches and uncertainty. I must admit that tubing didn't do much for the headache. Luckily it was later cured by a hot dog, ibuprofen, and a nap.

So there were many water skiing runs made each day. I just liked to go along for the ride. Everyone had a really lovely time. There wasn't really any drama. Nothing that I would give a second thought to, anyhow. It was really nice to see everyone together and having fun. Oh and we jumped off a cliff. Travis said it was a little cliff, but I thought it was a big deal. I have vertigo so being up there was pretty intense. You can watch Travis's brothers jump if you'd like. They're in the red shorts. I was already in the water, and Travis was tossing me my sunglasses.


On the last day Travis was pretty sad to go home. Neither of us had received any job offer calls, and we really didn't want to make the long drive to our empty apartment. But before we left the lake, we took a drive over to the marina where the carp live. I'd never seen a carp before and Travis wanted to let me have that experience. The little shop at the marina was selling dog chow for $0.50 under the name of "Fish Food" so we bought some to really enrich my carp time. I never knew fish were so crazy. I touched one, although Travis told me not to. I just couldn't help it, but I sort of regretted it later. I learned that carp are slimy. I have a little video of their craziness on YouTube just in case you'd like to relive my first time with the carp.


All in all it was a really fun week. Travis and I both could've stayed two more days, but oh well. We did wind up driving down to the shore the next day for some quality time with my parents, and to go to my cousin's bbq. But no trip would be complete without some kind of ridiculous event. So we got a flat tire. No biggie. Travis had changed one on my car a few months ago and he was pretty fast. BUT Travis did not have a jack in his car. What?! How could this be?


Needless to say I was pretty furious. Well, my Dad pays for AAA for a reason. I call. And I get transferred about 5 times, wait on hold for a total of 45 minutes, and have a fight with a dispatcher. Their customer service was not at all what I expected. They wanted an exact address for my disabled car, but I was on a pretty desolate stretch of road. I didn't know what exact township I was in. Am I supposed to be psychic? If I was I wouldn't have to subscribe to their service because I could predict any future road hazards. Eventually a man came with a jack and put on the spare. Then we had a lovely drive going 55mph on a road where you would normally do at least 65. Travis liked waving people around, but I just wanted to get home.

When I did finally get home I chugged a Miller Lite and hopped in my mom's Beemer. Ahh the luxurious life.