Sunday, August 31, 2008

more health news

Chest x-ray showed (gasp) huge blob of pneumonia grossness in lungs--yuck. I'm on NEW antibiotics, and I have another doc appt on Wednesday to make sure the meds are working--if they are not, then I have to go to the hospital and get an IV of something stronger. EW IVs!!!!! ew ew ew ew ew. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

Otherwise I'm still coughing like crazy and enjoying being home with my fam...!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

back in VA

I'm in the Noke and I'm going in for a chest x-ray tomorrow at noon, unless my mom brings me to the ER tonight (which will only happen if the coughing keeps me from sleeping). Depending on what the x-ray shows, I will either start new meds or be admitted to the hospital (noooo!) but either way I will post an update here so everyone can make plans to come visit me if necessary :)

Friday, August 29, 2008

lightning-fast update

so today i realized that i'm not getting a bit better (still have a fever, feel like shit, etc), and my cough has gotten much worse actually. so I called Maude's nearest son, who lives an hour away, to see if he could take me back to the doc, and what he said was that no he really can't, and also, they will probably have to admit me, because whatever i have is resistant to antibiotics.

so then i called my mom very upset because I can't drive myself to the hospital seeing as it's 35 mins away (in another state actually) and i'm on like 3 meds that say "don't drive while on this!!" and she was so mad that Maude's son wouldn't take me that she's going to come up here (on a plane I guess) and take me and all my stuff back to Roanoke to go to the hospital (just me, not the stuff, that goes back to my house I guess).

more as it develops

cough cough hack die

ps. mccain picked a woman VP--big shocker.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

bleh

so yesterday I drove to Lenox Mass and saw Rachel and Megan (the latter of whom was giving a presentation at the Edith Wharton Estate, ooo fancy) which was a ton of fun despite the fact that Rachel is sick (pretty sick--she found out last night that she has pneumonia, yuck).

The only bad part was that when I came back, I had a really bad headache and felt all fevery; I spent the rest of the evening in bed and/or video chatting briefly w Ginny, Jen, and Nora (not all at once though); I didn't even go to Albany to hang out with Julia (from Explo) and Jonathan (her <3).

Also, my parents are on their way right now, so that should be helpful (or more stressful, we'll see). More updates later...

fajshfauihblechhhh

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Really?? BIDEN??

Bleh.

Right when I was getting pumped for Obama's run for the presidency (I even considered this button:
but I ended up getting one of these:
He goes and picks Biden for his running mate. Really? BIDEN? That guy who voted for the Defense of Marriage Act? That guy who thinks a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is a good idea? 

Hmmmm. I guess he's not THAT bad, but he's no Kathleen Sebelius.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Some Pro-Choice Internet Activism!

So, many of you probably get NARAL or NOW email alerts or something to that extent, but basically what's going down right now is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proposing some regulations that aim to give health care professionals the right to refuse women abortion or abortion-referall services. Now for those of you unaware, abortion is legal in the U.S. and is considered a legitimate medical option for women who are pregnant and don't wish to be.

The ACLU has a press release that really taps into how I feel about this:

For years, federal law has carefully balanced protections for individual religious liberty and patients' access to reproductive health care. The proposed regulations appear to take patients' health needs out of the equation.

At a time when more and more Americans are either uninsured or struggling with the soaring costs of health care, the federal government should be expanding, not hampering access to important health services.

click here for a quick and easy form letter to fill out and send to your legislators that states that you are against the regulations! Internet activism: soooo easy!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

SO MANY UPDATES

Today was a very busy day. After a bustling morning of lazing about, rifling through my two memento boxes, brushing my hair, imagining different furniture configurations, and throwing clothes around the floor, I made it out of the OC towards RC (regular Chatham) for my two job interviews.

First I went over to Our Daily Bread, a vegetarian cafe and bakery. I met with the manager, Allie, who is TOTALLY AWESOME. Here's the rundown: she's in her late 30s, single, ex-corporate bigwig, very down-to-earth and she once visited cville and went to the Mudhouse and remembers it!! So that was sort a weird connection we had, since I worked there for a summer. We hit it off really well, and she decided to hire me!! WOO! It might be because of the Mudhouse thing (aka because I can pour lattes with little hearts on them) but who cares? She explained that the shop is really laid back and basically the neatest place ever. Here's what it looks like:
SO CUTE!

At one point during the interview, all the customers left and the two [really nice] girls that were working turned up the music (Aretha Franklin!) and started dancing around, and Allie and I laughed along; it was a great moment. I got to meet both of the girls, and they are both really nice. And THEN Allie mentioned that she is sort of sick of the music selection they have and I volunteered to bring in some new tunes (JEN PLEASE HELP ME!). So that is a great perk: getting to pick music. Here are the other perks:

- Getting paid 8.50/hr (off the books if I prefer)
- Free cookies, cupcakes, bread, etc
- I can wear whatever I want
- Friends!! (One of the girls invited me to go out to some bars with her and her friends sometime/this weekend!)
- Being slightly older than most of the employees, which means Allie might let me be the regular closer, which means I would get paid more and also get to boss some people around
- Parker Posey is a regular there

That's all I can think of for now, but basically, I'm thrilled to have SOMETHING to do! I start next week and I'll keep everyone posted on that.

After my interview, I went to the video store (Video Visions, so 80s) and wandered around/pet Steve's (the owner's) dogs, and picked a foreign film called Caramel. Then I went to my second interview, at a fancyshmancy restaurant called The Blue Plate.

The lady in charge there was also nice, but she said she doesn't have a spot for me yet but probably in around a month or so. Also, she said I can learn to BARTEND!!!! AWESOME! I am really excited about that because I have [not-so-]secretly always wanted to bartend because it seems really fun and cool and it gives you great arms (ha). So that's another good thing.

Lots of good stuff. I'm still homesick/cvillesick/fifesick but i'm making it....

My bakery!

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Apple uses psychic technology

So I was just sitting here listening to itunes on shuffle and reading some of my favorite blogs (see right-hand column) and a song came on that so uncannily described a thought I had the other day that I had to write about it.

Maude's physical therapy place is about 30 minutes away in a town called Ghent (well it's sort of in Hudson, which is next to Ghent, but whatever, all the towns are the fucking same anyway: dunkin donuts, gas station, post office, flora, fauna, etc) and on the way there we pass a cemetery. And I always wonder, is it weird to be an old person and look at a cemetery? Is it extra super sad? Especially for an atheist old person like Maude?

Like most people, I have some songs on my iTunes that I've never listened to, or at least never listened to closely. So just now, one of those songs came on and I was just shocked by its relevance:

Old people in the cemetery
what must they be thinking of?
must be frightening must be scary
to visit the grave of a close friend
who was the same age as you when they died

-Old People In The Cemetery, by Of Montreal

Crazyyyyy

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

my phone is fancy

This photo of sheep being milked was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless! If you visit Carly in Old Chatham, she will take you to this sheepherding place! And buy you some cheese! Sheep cheese!

Phew

Well, it's been a day of ups and downs (or rather, downs and ups). This morning my dad called me at 7:50am to say that if I want to buy a computer, he will put it on his credit card, and then dip into the Aunt Sophie Money (aka The Money I'm Supposed To Wait Until I Turn 25 To Use, Oh Well) on my behalf and pay for it. Well too bad for you Daddy because I already bought it with my very own credit card! Woo! I'm still going to need that AS Money to pay it off though. Heh.

Anyway, then I got up and showered and brought my application in to the bakery where I want to work--called Our Daily Bread. It seems like a pretty nice place and it's only 15 minutes away from the house. The lady there told me to come see her tomorrow at 2:30 so that we can have a real sit-down. And you know what the first thing she said was when I handed her my application? "Wow, you've got really nice handwriting!" See? I knew all that practice would one day pay off.

Anyway, that means that tomorrow I have a meeting with her (Allie) and a meeting with the manager of a dinner restaurant (Marcia -- The Blue Plate) in the hopes of finding some way to work, fill up my time, and meet cool people.

Then I drove out to a place called Hudson, which seemed like a pretty nice place. The total number of 20-30 year olds that I've seen in this entire area is still somewhere around fourteen, but maybe two or three of them were in Hudson. Also I saw TWO fliers for the Felice Brothers' upcoming show(s) in the area so that made me happy. I am planning on going to at least two of their three area shows, and hopefully I'll meet some cool folks there!

This entry so far sounds about 748932% more upbeat than I was feeling earlier and most of that is due to my good (amazing) friend RACHEL!!! After Hudson I spent the afternoon moping/napping/watching the neverending story/having a pity party because I'm not having a SUPERAWESOMEFUN time up here. It's effing freezing cold and as I mentioned there's a serious lack of young people. What's more, I'm going to have to get some crappy part-time job in a bakery or restaurant, the likes of which I could just as easily get in VA, where my friends are. Not only that but everything is spread wayyyy out around here, and not in a cute, ride-your-bike-to-the-next-town way, but in a the-roads-between-the-towns-have-55mph-speed-limits way. Boo.

So I brought my complaints up with some of my wisest and nicest friends (Jen, Lauren Russo, etc) and everyone pretty much said that it's up to me and that I can either stick it out or find a way to escape. But then I talked to Rachel and she was like YOU'RE NOT QUITTING!! and she had a rebuttal for pretty much all of my complaints.

After we spoke I still was a little crabby about it but I'm starting to almost maybe think about accepting and making the best of this. I don't know. Rachel is coming this weekend and we're going to go out to the bar (yes there's only one in Chatham and it's a Welch bar called Peint O Gwrw) and other possibly hip places; Rachel is like the #1 person to go try to find friends with because she is SO friendly and SO cool (also she inadvertently attracts lap-dance-loving puerto rican lesbians sometimes).

Well that's it, in a nutshell. I'm on a first-name basis with the guy who runs the Sneak Reviews-esque video rental place, and I keep thinking about all you lucky Virginians (the Roanoke sect and the Cville sect) and how much I MISS YOU ALL but I think I'll make it through this boredom and isolation.

I think.

Please send me letters!
xoxo

PS. NORA and JESSE --> I fully expect for you to video chat me at least once during a fife meeting! Or maybe you can have all the old FIFErs say hi to me during a dessert party!! I miss fife.... :(

Monday, August 18, 2008

I Bought A Mac!

As Tamar would say, I've moved over to the good side. On the way to my little home in my little hamlet of Old Chatham (yes, it's technically a hamlet) is a BRAND NEW iMac (desktop) complete with huge-ass screen, built-in camera for video chatting, and (gasp!) a non-crashing version of adobe acrobat. Wheee!

Today I called my mom to whine about how it's really boring here, and really slow, and really full of old people, and she yelled at me and told me to stop whining. She also told me that I am required to go into Albany tomorrow and find some friends--or at least a nice coffee shop to lurk in for a while. So tomorrow the goal is to find a hip, Mudhouse-esque place (though hopefully a little less snooty) and sit around, check out the bulletin board, drink coffee, etc. So that should be fun. I already did a google search of area feminist groups (there's only the Albany chapter of NOW, boo) and even winterguards (closest one is 2.5 hrs away in NJ!) but maybe something will pop up while I'm there.

If all else fails, I rented Stick It! from itunes so I can just watch that. HA HA HA all you Stick It! Naysayers! You know who you are.

LEAVE ME COMMENTS and/or LOVE please.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

I'm Not Good At Blogging!

So I've already lapsed by 2.5/3 days since the last post--sorry! Here is an update on what's been going on in the OC.

Yesterday, Maude and I went into town to go clothes shopping and to pick up a few groceries. There's a fancy-shmancy clothing store that Maude really likes and we went in there and she bought a ridiculous amount of clothes. I bought a skirt that is really cute and colorful, but it cost $40:I think it's pretty obvious that I am doing some retail therapy to counteract the fact that although this house and town and area are all really nice, it's very quiet/boring/lonely. Oh well.

Other attempts at staving off complete boredom have included:

- buying and watching the 7th season of Gilmore Girls
- going jogging
- doing yoga
- starting weekly writing challenges with Jen
and of course, READING!! Please continue to give me suggestions for good books to check out of the library and/or purchase at the used book shop.

In other news, I am planning on going to Northampton, Mass on Sept 5 to see THE FELICE BROTHERS in concert!! SO exciting!! I'm also working on convincing my friend Travis, who lives just outside Utica, to come with me to see them on Sept 11 in Albany. Woo!

Here is a promised photo of my little study area, which is in my spare room/guest room/study/yoga room: that's a map of northern Columbia county on the wall above my desk there.

And last but not least, the anecdote about how cool me and Rachel's friend Megan is:

She is acquainted with Ellen Wittlinger, the author of my #1 most favoritest book when I was in middle school, Hard Love. Ms. Wittlinger has recently published a sequel/companion book to Hard Love and Megan said that she's going to get me a SIGNED COPY!!!!! omggggzhfajsdhlfajk!

That's all the excitement for now!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

The First Day

Today, Maude (not her real name, but I couldn't resist the nickname, sorry, shut up, I love Bud Cort) came back from rehab, where she's been staying for about a month because she hurt/broke her leg. Her daughter brought her home and has been helping us get things set up all day. We did a bit of cleaning, a lot of chatting, and then I drove Maude out to her Physical Therapy (PT) appointment, which is about 30 minutes away. We'll be going out there twice a week which is fine with me because a. I get an excuse to drive around and Columbia County is freaking beautiful and b. her physical therapist, Corey, is really cute. On the drive there and back, here are the things I learned about Maude:

1. She married a soldier when she was 17 and he was killed in WWII a year later.
2. She dated her second husband, a novelist, for three years while he was married to someone else before he got a divorce and married her.
3. She typically has a drink every afternoon around 4pm--bourbon or a gin and tonic
4. She is friends with lots of gay people
5. She's really nice.

Also on the way home, we got pulled over by a cop for speeding and/or not stopping for a pedestrian, but somehow (despite the fact that I didn't even have my registration) I managed to get off with just a warning. YIKES! OLD CHATHAM PO-POs HAVE ME ON THEIR RADAR!

For info about what I did Monday-Wednesday, check out my new facebook photo album!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

The Beginning of the Project(s)

I am having a lot of trouble starting this blog in a nice and eloquent and creative way, but after sitting here staring at the screen and eating half a bag of veggie crisps for like 15 minutes, I'm finally putting my foot down.

This blog is for:
- uploading pictures of my life in Old Chatham and my various traveling adventures
- writing practice

- keeping everyone updated on my life
- projects that you can help me with (see below)
- feminist commentary on world events

- lists
- and probably a lot more.


Without further ado, here is a description of my first project.
PROJECT #1 - Operation: Read A Zillion Books

How it works - I am going to read a zillion books. (maybe not a zillion, but a lot.) And my list of books is going to be made by YOU, my friends. How, you ask? Well, all you do is leave a comment on this post telling what your favorite book is (or maybe two) and then I will try to find it and read it. OR you have the option of sending the books to me. Soooo easy!


Upcoming Projects
Operation: Watch a Zillion Movies

Operation: Learn to Cook
Operation: Send Letters
Operation: Make a Zillion Mix CDs


and of course, PROJECT #0 - Operation: Photos of my House!
(These are photos of the lower floor; the top floor is still being fixed up and decorated, etc, so photos of that will come later!)
kitchen


breakfast room

dining room

living room

I MISS YOU ALL! More soon, promise!