living in tehran...

Reading Lolita in Tehran really opened up my eyes to some of the ways the Islamic world works. How interesting that this article was one of the headlines on my news home page. I think I will pay more attention to the sufferings of women worldwide because of this book.

I am so glad that I am a modern American girl who doesn't have to be afraid of what she wears [although there are days i just want to pull some of my little freshmen aside and have a talk with them] or what she studies. I am glad that I go to a college which pioneered non-home-ec degrees for women.

And speaking of studying...

don't let the fire die...

All I'm gonna say is, I had better flipping get to go to one more concert.

[now would be the appropriate time to find the boyfriend with the private jet, says emily]

funny bone...

After hitting my funny bone twice yesterday, I came to a conclusion. It's not funny.

Some other things are funny, however. Tonight, my new glasses served as the perfect excuse for "get dressed up to sit desk" night. Mary, Hannah, and I managed a hilarity of good times in our lobby [in various shades of brown] with only a camera and our ability to laugh at anything. And we didn't even break any furniture!

These girls make me laugh harder than anyone on earth. I realized that there is hardly a day where I do not laugh hard enough to get tears in my eyes. This evening was no exception. The carefully applied mascara was cascading down my face over the simple pleasures of being together and having a lovely [crazy] evening. You should see the pictures that we didn't put up...
Hannah and Em
This is how hard Mary makes me laugh
Hannah and I are upside down.
I don't remember exactly what this face was. A screeching tiger?

three for the money...

At Centralhallapalooza, we took four pictures in a polaroid photo booth. They came out pretty amazing, so we tried to recreate them tonight:

telescope eyes...

The International Premiere of eMay's new glasses:
Emelina in Vogue?
Please be quiet. You are interrupting my Emerson. Wait, Emerson? 

laundry...

Well, I kicked off the first laundry load of the semester. I'm kind of a freak about washing my sheets all the time and I've already been here for ten days...

We have new washers and dryers, so hopefully they'll work a little better than the fire-starting, never-drying ones we had before.

You know how male stand-up comics always joke about how they hate when their wife writes "laundry detergent" on the grocery list? I hate having to buy it, too. It's so traumatic and confusing.

Does it really make a difference if I buy the five dollar kind vs. the three dollar kind? And what brand? What size? I don't really want anything left over at the end of the year, but I don't want to have to buy more. And there are so many different choices to make: Hypo-allergenic? Brighter colors? Whiter whites? Higher concentrated? With color-safe bleach? "More clean" as compared to what? What exactly is "PureClean technology" and why does it make a difference if I wash my clothes with it? And let's not even get started on the scented options...

Grown up life is so complicated.

tour de 120...

door collage.
extra desk display.
beverage corner.
bookcase. i've added quite a few volumes in the last three years.

mary, mary...

This is Mary. She is a magnetic fridge poet.
I missed her all summer.
We like making kissy fishy faces! 

there are no words...

Jenny and I have discovered the Next Big Thing.

It is sweeping the nation.

It will change your life. It might possibly make you laugh or cry so hard you throw up.

Take note, World. You heard about it here first.

Crying While Eating

beachery...

Last Tuesday, I did something scandalous and told my work that I had a sudden and unavoidable commitment which had to be done before I left for Michigan, and had to be done that day. It was absolutely true. And that commitment was going to the beach - the one last thing on my summer 2006 to-do list. I had given up hope of checking it off, until...Andrew and I cruised to Nickel Creek the whole way down. He has a really sweet sound system. And he also has a habit of rewinding the tracks to point out of nerdy musical things.We met Rose and her brother Jamey and ate clam chowder. Except Rose didn't. And the bread bowl wasn't toasted. It made me want Dj's.
Rose wore a hat. I think I was the only one who didn't wear that hat some time during the day. It wouldn't fit over my ponytail. We had fun posing, anyway.

and then some...

It turned out to be a perfect Oregon Coast day. No wind, and just enough sun to keep everyone happy, but still have that cool Oregon Coast feeling.
There were daisies. They were glorious. What else were we suppose to do?
"And I'm packing your angry eyes, just in case..." How can you resist Rosie? Or keep throwing the macaroni?
We ended the day with a hike and campfire and s'mores at the Tosti's house in Pacific City until way past curfew. Didn't get much sleep before work the next morning. (ahem) But it was completely and totally worth it. Yay for friends, fun, and the Pacific!

last great adventures...

The past three weeks have been packed full of lovely times with lovely people. I cannot resist a massive picture post.

First Thursday, Girls Night:
Allison and Emily
C. Rose and E. Rose
Rose, Allie, and Em at Henry's 

michigan, take three...

I leave in just over twelve hours, and I have not brought my suitcases up from the basement. Every move, I procrastinate the task of transition just a little bit longer.

It's so much easier to face packing this year. And at the same time, I feel completely differently. I don't really have to pack my life into a box, because most of my stuff is in Michigan. I know what to expect there, I'm pretty sure about who I'll be.

Exactly two years ago, I wrote a post which included some of my fears about school:
-failing classes. I am no longer afraid of failing anything at Hillsdale. Classes are always difficult, but I choose to go to a challenging school. I have gained more than my gpa will ever show, but I'm okay with that now.
-hating my roommate. Estherina and I got along just fine, we remain friends, and I'm facing another roommateless year as Head McIntyre RA. No worries there.
-losing connections with people back home. I have learned that you can still love someone even if you only talk to them once a semester. And, though people change and drift apart, you're merely stretching the connection, not breaking. You can always call the really important people, no matter how long it's been since you've talked.
-not connecting with people there. It took me two years, but now, some of my best friends go to Hillsdale. You know who you are.
-running out of money. It has lasted surprisingly longer than expected, thanks to tremendous generosity from outside sources. I'm confident that God will continue to provide for my education. He has made it very clear that I'm suppose to be at Hillsdale.
-not living up to people's expectations. I don't even know what to say. I think I have learned that people's expectations matter so much less than I had supposed. Their trust and respect matters, but people who really love you never expect anything impossible.
-greek. Made it through three whole semesters, kids. Booyah.
-saga food. Saga food and I will never, ever get along. But I have discovered Dj's, Oakley's, Cavoni's, and if everything else fails, there's always food at Suite 334.
-the freshman fifteen. Three words: dance, dance, dance.

A year ago, I went to solemn poetic route.

Packing last year mostly meant leaving. Packing this year completely means returning. My summer was so short, it was more like a vacation. In which I worked a lot, but had some really good times.

Leaving Portland is never easy for me. This city and these people will always be home. I can't really think about it, I just have to get on that plane to Detroit [ugh, early flight] and find a way to snap myself back into that other world. I am always a slightly different person, which makes the jumping back into the space I left a little bit of a tight squeeze.

I'll miss the Statehouse the most of anything.

I just ran out of words. I should probably go pack something...

dear co-worker...

Hey M****,

I found out more information on my "Comma Shaped" Jade necklace, if you want to check it out. My sister says that they actually call it that over there. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gogok

I love wikipedia. I could follow links and rabbit trails all day.

Thanks for being the cool person at the office this summer. It wasn't exactly my dream job and I was pretty frustrated and introverted because of it. Thank you for taking an interest in me, bringing me WWeeks and chocolate, and talking to me about my weekends. I'm sorry we didn't get to talk more. It has to be more than coincidence that we share a birthday.

It also has to be more than coincidence that, while I'm pretty sure it could be scientifically proven that it is impossible to find a pair of jeans that fit me, you handed me a nice pair that happen to look great.

I am really excited about your artwork and I wish you the very best of luck. I will come to your gallery opening. :)

Please, please keep in touch! I miss Portlandish things when I'm in Michigan. It's very good for me to live different parts of America and realize how lucky I am to call Portland my hometown. There, my cultural experience is limited to a college library, the bowling alley, and midnight Wal-Mart runs in my pajamas. I have amazing friends, which makes up for so much, but some days I just want a rainy day at Powell's and some food that doesn't require ketchup.

I hope your Elvis Costello-ing was amazing!

Emily

flowers...

AmyGrace and I look lovely in floral prints. Must be a sister thing.
We made some pretty sweet arrangements, too!

blonde and brunette...

Let's just say that we all got a lot of use out of Ty's blonde wig.
I think it was almost weirder when Allison took it off and I remembered that she has short hair now. 

abbie party...

My sister has funny friends. And a pink streak in her hair.
me, ty, jared, and abbie 

tour de fake...

How could you possibly think that you wouldn't get caught doping in the Tour de France? I mean, especially if you win, especially if you're an American. Nobody over there wants another American to win, so of course they're going to test you to pieces. And naturally, they're going to find out that you were cheating.

Or does it even matter if they strip you of your title, because millions of people will at least know your name now?

I'm just wondering what kind of craziness was going through the mind of this guy and his trainers... "Oh, they won't even test you." "Oh, you'll pass." "Oh, you'll fail multiple times, but we'll tell them that it's your natural Lance-ness bod." "Oh, they'll get you, but you'll still be on a Wheaties box, Europe will hate you regardless, and the majority of American's won't even care."

Yeah. That's just lame, Landis. Lame.

personality...

And there you have it. living proof that Anna did actually come to visit for my birthday. And that we started a clothing brand. Except it's more of a "funny slogan on some random t-shirt" brand at the moment. Still, you know you want one.