Eshe & Nia go to... NEW YOOOOOORK!!! CONCRETE JUNGLE... you get the idea.

12/17 - This was a sad night.  But not like, weepy, cry me a river sad, just... sad.  It started out okay enough.  I was dogsitting this weekend for Lisa and Mike and sat around for much of the day.  Eshe's party wasn't until later that night... so I had a few hours in which I needed to figure out what I was going to do...

I remembered there were signs and talk of a teacher get-together at Dart Bowl on the 17th... accompanied with a message saying, "HOPE YOU CAN MAKE IT!"  Of course, this was on the white board in the faculty lounge and... long story short, after much debate I decided to go.  At first it was super awk... because I only kind of knew some of the people... but eventually we talked some more, and now I feel like I have a slightly better relationship with my fellow teachers!  It was nice :)

I was slightly more dressed up than one would normally be at a bowling alley (due to plans to go downtown with Hannah after Eshe's)... so it was a little awkward bowling in a short black dress... with an assistant principal showing up, but whatever, I had a good time :)

Then I went over to Buddy's and we headed to Eshe's.  When we got there, there was a lot of dancing... mostly done by all the kiddos, who are SUPER ADORBS!  Nia is one lil dancing queen!

So cute!

Most of the rest of the night was spent with Buddy, Kristi, and me hovering around Kristi's buffalo chicken wing dip (if you haven't had it, it's to freakin' DIE FOR).  We talked about all sorts of things... you know, the usual with us.  Eshe and some of her anthropology classmates came and joined us, but for the most part... instead of focusing on how much we'd miss her, we basically spent a lot of time talking about... the same ol' shit... and reminiscing on... the same ol' shit.  :)  We all love her and we'll miss her and her baby girl oh so very much!

And now for a photo montage of moments I've had with Eshe in the past 7.5 years in no particular order :)

Me, Eshe, Nia, Kristi & Buddy 

@ her going away

Eshe & Me 

@ her going away party

Nia, Eshe, Kristi, me & Kayla (aka the Sisterhood) 

@ our very first excursion to Cafe Monet (2010)

The Sisterhood 

@ El Arroyo for Kayla's engagement! (early 2011)

Maggie, Kristi, Eshe, Hannah, Johnny, Buddy, Bryan, me, Luis & Schutte 

@ Hill House's housewarming (late 2011)

Maranda, me, Eshe, Kayla, Kristi & Maggie

@ Nia's Baby Shower (mid 2009)

Jackie, Eshe, me

@ LHS Wine & Cheese (Fall 2006)

Stephen, Kayla, Mr., Oro, Kyle, Eshe, Johnny, Buddy, me

@ Stephen's Lake House in Waco (Fall 2007)

Buddy, Sinae, Johnny, me, Kyle, Byron, Kayla, Mr., Eshe (aka The Seniors!)

@ La Palapa after singing "We Go Together" (Fall 2007)

The Senior Ladies

@ Backstage for the "We Are Family" show before singing Lady Marmalade (Spring 2008)

Eshe, Mr., Kyle, Kayla, Oro, and me (aka Fall '04!)

@ Ken Capps for OU Weekend (Fall 2007)

Eshe, Johnny, Buddy, me, Mr. & Kayla

@ Commencement!  (Spring 2008)

Maggie, me, Eshe, Kristi & Kayla

@ Amy's Ice Cream feeling up Nia (Spring 2009)

Where it all began :)

LHS NUGI Class Fall 2004

This kind of makes it looked like she died.  But no!  She is very much alive!  And in NEW YORK (lucky bitch!)  :)  We can't wait for her to come back but we're so proud of what she's doing!

9/19 - Shanna Poramapornpilas (No, I did not randomly choose letters like this: "lakjweflmksdlfjk" this is in fact her last name) came up to Austin.  I legit have not seen this girl since... maybe... 2008?  She was a good friend my junior year in college and an even BETTER friend my summer abroad.  Being someone who never lived in a dorm and never had to share a room, I can officially say that Shanna is my only ROOM-mate.  And it wasn't so bad either!  It helps when you're in Paris, I suppose.  We met at one of our favorite places for dinner--Madam Mam's of course.  And we had one of the four boys (our favorite) from the Paris trip join us!  Mr. Michael O'Neill!

Michael & Shanna

Me & Shanna 2011

Me & Shanna 2007

Which landmark is more recognizable?  I suppose it depends on who you ask :)

The Answer Is Always Paris.

So on Yahoo! today, I saw an article entitled "Best Fall Getaways."  It seemed interesting, and since I've recently-recaught the travel bug (now if I could only afford to have it), I was curious what they had in mind.

10. Yellowstone
9. Savannah, GA
8. Boston, MA
7. Austin, TX (hells yeah)
6. Vancouver, BC
5. New York City, NY
4. Las Vegas, NV
3. Chicago, IL
2. San Francisco, CA
1. Paris, France


So... I put in bold the locations I've visited (four of which I've visited--a couple multiple times--in the last 3 years!)... looks like I got 3 more to go!  Might as well do it in the fall, no?  And really though... Paris?  Like it wouldn't top the list for ANY season?!

Here are some photos of my travel companions, our lovely destinations, and... of course... me:

Thomas & Me at the Bean, our visit to Schutte

Chicago 11/2008... our first trip together!

Thomas & Me at the Public Garden, our visit to Jenny

Boston 5/2009

JJ, Buddy & Me at Harpoon Brewery, random visit/Jenny's graduation

Boston 5/2010

Chi Thu, Lisa & Me at The Central Park Boathouse, sister trip!

NYC 7/2010

Rachel, Najia & Me in Italy The Forum Shops (yeah... we didn't have a whole lot of pics of us all together), On our "Summer Lovin'" trip

Las Vegas 7/2011

Felix, Me, Nappy, Natasha & Donson in the Miracle Mile Shops (... apparently, malls are where you take photos in Vegas), On the "Let's Just Go To Vegas" trip

Las Vegas 8/2011

Anyway... this next one was not one of my more recent visits... but who cares?  It's still one of my favorites of ALL TIME!

LC, Me & Shana on the Champ de Mars

Paris 7/2007

Hey Thomas... where are we going next?

You Can't Kill The Rooster... Just Time In A Train Station

On my way to Perugia, Italy to see my lovely LC, I was in the middle of reading David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day.  It was my second of David Sedaris books.  I had read Holidays on Ice before, but... it confused me.  It took me awhile to realize some were just short stories, and not necessarily non-fiction.  So MTPOD was the book that officially made me fall in love with David.  He's amazing.

So anyway, to kill time at the train station with Shana, I read her the essay, "You Can't Kill The Rooster."  It was one of my favorite ones in the entire book... I think I also might've read it out loud to LC sometime when we were in another train station--sometimes there's just not a whole lot else to do when you're waiting HOURS and HOURS.

Anyway, here's a youtube vid of David Sedaris reading it... it also features his sister (another fave) Amy reading the dialogue of their brother Paul, or "Rooster."

More Johnny as Salad Fingers

Because I knew y'all (especially my cousin Jimmy) just couldn't get enough...

Again, refer to this video to "understand" what the hell Johnny was for Halloween 2005.

Some Things Never Change...

So I was re-reading some old xanga posts (hells yeah) and came across this gem:

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Can we please just give Gays rights, already? I mean honestly, the time and effort that the legislation puts into restricting their marital rights and whatnot would be so much more useful elsewhere. How about dealing with some education reform (we're having to deal with re-segregation here, people. COME ON!) Socio-economic status is the new issue at hand, the poor . And when CAN we stop with the affirmative action already? I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's just continuing this neverending cycle of "reverse subordination." Anyway, someone please read Loving v. Virginia and then tell me, that under the substantive due process ruling... the fact that "marriage is a liberty"... tell me why we're denying it to our citizens... simply because of sex of the person they choose to have intimate relationships with.

I get headaches when I leave government, even though I love it.

Posted 4/19/2006 6:34 PM

Ugh, I was a badass then, and I'm still a badass now. Also, Johnny. Here was his comment: "fuckers couldn't stop women's rights, and they couldn't stop black rights, and they won't stop gay rights. bigotry is dying becuz the rest of us are better than them, and they know it, and they're afraid.......o, and they won't stop mutant rights!! GO X-MEN!!"

It [Will] Get(s) Better!

P.S. - This was my 200th post!

You Can Just Ignore This Post

I feel like I haven't written any substantial blogs lately.

This post will be no different.

I think the reason why I even thought about it was because I just read Maggie's blog and she mentioned that she hadn't blogged in awhile because she's been HAPPY! :) I think that's partially why I haven't blogged anything serious lately. Not that my life is sunshine and daisies (in fact in the past week or so I've had a couple severely low points)... but for the most part, I've been keeping myself busy and staying happy as well.

Here's a little picture that makes me happy to hopefully spread some cheer. I'm subbing tomorrow all day and if I have time, I'll see if I can write a lil somethin' :)

If this doesn't SCREAM college, I don't know what does!One of Byron & Chris's popular Power Hours from Summer 2006!

It Is A Truth Universally Acknowledged...

That I suck.

No, I didn't do any laundry today. However, I am currently in the process (umm... blogging about soon-being in the process) of separating my laundry into PILES... so that... oh I don't know... if a magic laundry fairy comes to visit me this weekend... it just might get done... I don't know... wishful thinking I guess.

I put on "Lost in Austen" because, well, it's sooooo September 2009, and the music takes me back to a slightly different time. No, I'm not talking about Jane Austen's Georgian England... but wherever I was in my stage of life back then. Isn't it weird how 6 months can seem like such a long long time ago?

I'm wearing a Metric shirt that I got from my visit to California (from the maker of the graphic designer for Metric at the time) back in August of 2006.

I'm grabbing the love handles that formed sometime between Fall 2007 and Fall 2008.

I'm looking at the pile of clothes that need to be done by NOW in 2010, but haven't been separated into ready-to-go laundry piles yet! URGH! Time to stop procrastinating!

Updated just a short while later (read: not enough time to have done anything but hang up 4 dresses): Goodnight.

Childhood Shenanigans

I didn't plan on doing this. I thought about it before, but thought it might be a little weird, so I chose not to. But I keep remembering things and now I can't help but write about it.

I found out a week ago or so that an old friend (and by old, I mean 4th-5th grade, and by friend, I mean someone who I hadn't really talked to since 5th grade or so) passed away the night before New Years Eve. Macy Gillum (or as I knew her, Metcalf) is survived by her family--including a husband and son. An 18 month old son. I haven't talked about it much, just kind of to Ashley at work when I found out, a little with Lisa that night, and then one night I called Jenny crying/blubbering like a baby because I just couldn't imagine that poor little boy (Jackson) having to grow up without his mom.

My memories of Macy aren't very many... and they all date back to elementary school. Most of my memories of her had to do with my mischievous days. I never got in trouble except for when I was her friend. I think that's why she and I stopped hanging out, I got tired of going to the principal's office (yes, twice. Once was the assistant, Mr. Swearingen, and the other time, the LAST time, was with the principal, Mr. Davis... both deceased now, sad...) I will say one thing--she gave me the childhood stories that my safe, boring, good-girl self never would have had on my own. Just to name a few...

For some reason, Macy et al did not like a 3rd grade boy. I don't remember his name, I don't remember if he was someone I later knew, I do remember where he lived. In the blue house on the other side of the street of Sageyork from Macy. For whatever reason, they taunted him. I think this is reason #1 why I was sent to Mr. Swearingen's office. I guess if you can't (or are too afraid to) blame the big dog, you blame the little follower who really can't do anything to you (because she, herself, is sized like a 2nd grader). I was blamed for picking on him. I honestly remember that I never was guilty of that. I just remember being her friend... walking home with her... and somehow I was blamed. I was NOT happy about that.

Then there was the chase. I can't even remember the other girls involved, but I do know there was me, Macy, and Elizabeth Peabody... and then a sprinkling of other girls from our neighborhood. They chased (I think) the same boy down Kirkvale. I don't know if he instigated it, but whatever it was, I just remember about five backpacks dropping to the ground and me and Elizabeth just standing there. Now that I think about it, I'm surprised Elizabeth didn't run too... after all, she was always physically fit like that. I hated running, even back then. I was NOT about to go run after some kid that I barely knew. But who got called into the Principal's office? Me and Elizabeth Peabody. It makes me sad to imagine it... a bunch of 5th grade girls running after a 3rd grade boy. Aaron's in 3rd grade. OH MY GOD. I WOULD MURDER ANY CHILD WHO CHASED HIM AND TEASED HIM. I'm glad I got in trouble. Well, NOW. I don't think my parents ever found out, cause it was 5th grade and I had never EVER been in trouble like that... I think the principal knew I wasn't a ringleader, but I'm glad I got called out on being a blind follower. So stupid. I think from that day on I just couldn't hang out with her without feeling like I would get in trouble.

There were good times , though.

I remember I used to think she was Gwen Stefani's twin. I was in love with the Tragic Kingdom cd and Macy would come over and we'd sit in my garage, listen to the cd on my little white cd player and sing "Spiderwebs." I remember she did not believe me that the words were, "Sorry I'm not home right now, I'm walking in a spiderweb so leave a message and I'll call you back. A likely story, but leave a message and I'll call you back." I wish I remembered what she thought the lyrics were, because I remember having a very heated discussion about why her lyrics were obviously impossible. Since the cd player I had did not have ff and rewind capabilities, we'd have to just go back to the beginning and wait to listen again and again... and again. But I remembered telling Macy she was so pretty (cause she was tall and blonde and white, everything I wanted to be when I was young) and that she had to be related to Gwen Stefani (who I'm pretty sure we all pronounced "Stephanie" at some point).

Then there was the break-in of my twin house on Sagecanyon, the street right next to Macy's. It was right next to the Cirilo's, across the street from Elizabeth Peabody's grandparents, Michael Johnson, Tam Nguyen, and Travis Daigle. I was always jealous of that street. Not just because Michael Johnson lived on it, and I had a huge crush on him since Kindergarten, and not just because Natalie & Krystin lived there (they were both separately my best friends at different times)--but because they ALL lived there, and they all got to play outside like it was a big party everyday. The only kid my age who lived on my street was Daniel Petty and, until high school, he went to private school. Anyway, back to the break in. There was a house that was identical to mine, except that it was a mirrored version (like Amy Knutson and Liz Nguyen's). To the rest of the world, it was for sale. But to us, it was an empty house that was just begging for us to make it our hangout. All of those named previously (with the exception of Daniel of course, and possibly Amy?) were there. I'm pretty sure Trinity Coody & Henry Busby was there too. Someone climbed onto the balcony, which, luckily enough for us, had an unlocked sliding door. They came down the house and opened the side garage door and we all filtered in. We ran up the stares, we chased each other. I mostly marveled at how a house can look exactly like mine and be so empty. I kept trying to find the difference--things we'd changed to our house. I have a vague memory of a boy (Henry?) peeing off the upstairs loft to the ground... which is gross, so it may have just been a dream, but we were young so who knows? I remember giggling, doors slamming, and lots of yelling. I also remember someone saying that Michael's mom was coming and she was going to call the cops! We all ran outside and jumped the fence to the Cirilo's. It was exhilarating. It was the baddest thing I had done up to that point.

We never had a falling out. We just had a... change of groups of friends. We'd still say hi if we walked past each other in the hall. I only heard stories about her throughout middle school and high school, and I remember them doing a Dobie News thing on her because the Volleyball (right?) team was in Las Vegas (or something) and ended up on a tv show as a Julia Roberts look-a-like. Was it the View? I don't know. They gave her a makeover. I remember being annoyed because I didn't see why someone, who was already pretty, would need to get a makeover to be more pretty--and get to be on tv for it.

But that was it. That was all I knew of Macy Nichole Gillum (née Metcalf). Then, early January, Stephon wrote a facebook status about her and I investigated. She died in a car crash on her way home from work. Left a husband and a son. I wish I could say that she lived a long and fulfilled life. Maybe it was fulfilled, but it certainly wasn't long. Instead, I'll say that she will forever be in the memories of her family and friends (old ones included) that she left behind. And it whistles through the ghosts still left behind.

Macy Nichole Gillum (1986-2009)

I realize I'm probably PMSing

Me & Shanna, the first time we got to see the Eiffel Tower
So, like the title says, I realize this... and this explains why my brain is everywhere and I'm in a huge mood to reminisce and feel sorry for myself. I was just re-reading old wall-to-walls that Shanna and I had and it really makes me miss our summer together. Through laughter, tears, and some regrets, she shared some of my most memorable moments in Paris. I can't wait to go back!

It really does make me really SAD to re-read some of my stuff from Europe--mostly because it makes me feel like I'm not doing anything worthwhile. But I know that somehow I must be... so I'm okay with the way things are right now. :) I have food to eat, a place to call a home, a family that loves me, friends that make me laugh (and hopefully love me too), and... really awesome pictures to help me relive better days... haha. No, but really. Just so Thomas doesn't text me again and ask me what's wrong... there is NOTHING wrong. I'm just in the mood to cry, be dramatic, and be emotional.

Off to read now! Or sleep. If I don't sleep right away I'll hate myself in the morning. That happens normally anyway, so I'm sure I'll be fine!

What I hope to see the next time I wake up from a nap...

A Late 2008 Review

I usually do a "Year in Review" kind of thing on ever blog I've ever had. This year the blogspot is the lucky one that gets it I suppose. I've decided to do something a little different. I'm using a list of primary emotions to help highlight some points of the year:

1. Love

- Christmas with the Kids: We finally got to meet and fall in love with Paulina & Nicolae, my newly adopted nieces and nephews from Romania. I learned some Romanian (... 5 year old Romanian, that is) and had such a great time exploring the things Houston has to offer for little kids! We hit up the zoo (on a very cold day), the Aquarium, the Children's Museum and the Natural Science Museum.

- 08/08/08: A bus traveling from Houston to Carthage, Missouri was carrying Vietnamese Catholics for a yearly pilgrimage. This particular bus got into an accident on the road North of Dallas. I found out about it early that morning via e-mail from my family stating that one of our uncles was on the bus. I checked the news and immediately it was on the front page of every Houston news website (and even international). I went to work but was sent home after I kept bursting into tears as the death toll slowly rose. I called my cousin Jimmy (it was also his birthday) only to find out that he didn't actually know anything about it. I called around to Dallas area hospitals and finally located him in one of them. The next day we (Lisa, Mike & I) drove up to Dallas and we stayed with Thomas's family. We visited my uncle in the hospital and it broke my heart to see him lying in his bed with his neck brace on. I just thanked God that he was okay. I was never particularly close to this uncle (he is my godfather too), but that doesn't mean I didn't love him. Should this have gone under fear/sadness?

2. Joy

- Commencement: It was great to get to sit with my Business school gals (Shanna, Crystal, Crissy, and one guy--Eric) during the commencement ceremony at the main mall. The best was seeing everyone in their graduation garb (especially Johnny who intended to not partake in the festivities) before the ceremony. That picture is, and I think will always be, one that signifies the best thing that happened to me at UT--I met my best friends.

- Wicked: Katie and I went to visit Theresa in LA. When I found out that they were playing it in LA, I told them that I didn't care WHAT else we did, but I HAD to get us tickets to Wicked. When we went to buy the tickets that morning, the only ones available were the most expensive ones--$96 or maybe $98 a ticket. I said, "Fuck it," and bought all three of us our tickets. Orchestra seats, Row N. For the first 30 minutes or so, I was on the edge of my seat... and on the edge of tears. It was beautiful. The stage, the lights, the actors--the ensemble alone sounded so wonderful! It took all the restraint I could muster to stop myself from singing along... loudly. I still sang along a little. This could possibly also go under the category of "Love" cause it's THAT good.

3. Surprise

- My 22nd Birthday: It wasn't much of a surprise, since I kind of figured it out as soon as we started walking there, but Thomas invited some of my closest friends to eat with us at Tony's Vineyard (now Drungo's?) for a surprise birthday dinner. I believe it was me, Thomas, Lisa, Mike, Johnny, Kyle, Buddy, Kayla, Mr., Carl & Rachel. Did I forget anyone? I apologize profusely if I did. Afterwards they met us at my apartment and then we headed downtown.

- Eshe's Pregnancy: I was floored when she told me. We were a Buddy's going away party at The Belmont. She decided to tell me something... and it seemed like quite a juicy secret. I really thought she was going to tell me she was engaged to some guy I've never heard of. Instead she was pregnant [...by a guy I've never heard of]! My reaction was to cry hysterically--with excitement, of course. I was so excited... I'm not sure if that is a normal reaction. I think I was proud to know that Eshe had a great backbone of friends who would be there and support her through everything.

- Dani in Miami: Dani from Tila Tequila (a show that Buddy, Johnny & I enjoyed way too much) was at a club in Miami. Johnny somehow ended up on the other side of the velvet rope and was standing there talking to Dani. He wanted her. Hell, I wanted her. Then Bible College took off her shirt, and that made everyone want to leave... which sparked the infamous Johnny Pham Miami Car Rant.

4. Anger

- Work: That kind of says it all.

- After NOM5...6?: Whichever NOM it was at Oro's in all black. That night was awesome--and terribly frustrating at the same time. Yes, this is somewhat cryptic, but everyone knows don't they? Don't you? It involved Thomas scaling walls to land on a balcony. And breaking into a friend's apartment? You remember now don't you? No? Maybe cause it wasn't really a big deal? Yeah. Like Johnny said, "Can someone PLEASE tell me why this matters?! There are kids dying in Africa! "

5. Sadness

- Last Singers Show: Singing the solos for "No Place But Texas" with Kayla & Mr. Matt was something I was dreading during the last show. I was terrified that I'd start crying. Thankfully I didn't, but it was nice to see LC & Cesar in the front row during it. MeLCeez was one of the best things about my sophomore year.

6. Fear

- Job Hunting: It didn't last too long, as I was lucky enough to get a full time offer from the office I was working part time for. But the thought of not knowing where I'll be or what I'll be doing after graduation was definitely scary.

- Thomas Missing the Train: I don't know if you can really classify it as "fear" but it was something close to it. When we went to visit Schutte in Chicago, we used the train quite a bit. On our last day there, Schutte was going to school, and on the way she was dropping us off a stop where we could walk to the museums. I believe it was called Roosevelt. We had to take a bus to get us to the stop where the train was, though. Thomas didn't hear Schutte when she said that we were going to need to run once we get off the bus to catch the train. The next thing I know, I hop on the train, turn around, and Thomas is barely getting past the bar to get in. The door shut on his face. I was probably more annoyed at him than scared--since we have phones and it's pretty easy to reconnect.

***

There are obviously more, but I can't really think of them right now. I'll add them as I remember more.