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When I was about to start my freshman year in college, my best friend Jackie included me, my wonderful friend Audrey, a childhood chum named Karen in on her graduation present: front row seats to the John Mayer/Ben Folds/James Morrison concert
God, we look so young (we were what, eighteen?). But the concert was fantastic, nonetheless. It was my first time seeing John Mayer live; I had originally gone for Ben Folds, being a little snotty about seeing Mister Mayer. I had liked his music, knowing the standard lyrics, "I wanna run through the halls of the high school/I wanna scream at the top of lungs," but I wasn't super crazy about him. But when he took the stage, I couldn't take my eyes away; he was such a talented musician and his comments before his songs were hilarious. One thing that he said before singing "No Such Thing" was that in high school we think we're one way but really, when we get out it's when we discover who we really are and that the times we have in college are those to really cherish and live in the moment for. I remember going right home after the concert and downloading all of his music.
As my college years have gone on, my Ipod and Itunes have housed John and his lovely jams, but I hadn't thought about that concert in 2007 in awhile. Then Friday happened: My big sis at Meredith (Maggie) skyped me and asked if I wanted to accompany her to the John Mayer/Train concert that following night because her partner in crime, Whitney, had fallen sick (I hope you're feeling better, boo!). Did I?! SCHYEAH.
It's funny to think that I saw John Mayer before I started my first year and the I got to see him as my last year in college looms ahead. Pat Monahan (the lead singer of Train), though forty-eight years old, was tall, thin, sarcastic...and talented. I could not believe the voice that came out him! He pulled a woman onstage who had the sign, "Forget Virginia...meet Karen!" Hahahaha.
When John came onstage, everyone stood up and started cheering, Maggie and I included. We just had fun the entire night (sans a creeper who tried to hit on us...I told him our names were Lisa and Joanne). He crooned his way through songs mostly from the new album, and gave random but hysterical commentary about life in general (the way he speaks reminds me of Mitch Hedberg). Then came the Song that Caused the Tears: Stop This Train. Suddenly John launches into a speech about how sometimes we can't really slow down time and next thing I know he's quietly singing, "So scared of getting older/Only good at being young", and my eyes were welling up faster than I could wipe them off. It was one of those poignant moments that I don't think I'll ever forget. It was like I was hearing that song for the first time and really understanding what those lyrics meant. It was my favorite moment of the night.
I couldn't help but think about my ladies in the class of 2010, though-he launched into a smooth rendition of "Don't Stop Believin'" and all I could think about were those colorguard highschoolers twirling flags in the back :).
Senior year starts in less than a month. I can't even believe my summer's slowly coming to a close! Before school though, my lovely friend Hannah and I are planning to storm the Wilmington beach at midnight and play in the sand. We don't know when, but it's going to happen. Man, I really am good at being young.
Welcome to the month of July! Wait, what? My summer is flying by! Senior year is looming (as I am constantly reminded by my parents), and talk of our final (final!) Meredith traditions make me simultaneously want to cheer and cry.
This past weekend made me realize that even when I graduate, I am going to love, love, love reunions. Amy, Kellie, Wise Old SCR (Sarah Catherine...but that's a nickname that's stuck since I met her), Kasey, Catie, and I all came together again for an absolutely fantastic weekend. From First Friday to traveling to Moore County to spend our Fourth of July with Amy and her sweet madre, I spent the whole weekend laughing, indulging in Amy's phenomenal blueberry tart and Red Room sangria (watermelon-honey, y'all. Watermelon-honey), and reveling in the company of some wonderful girls. Kasey and I got lost on the way to Kellie's and almost wet ourselves laughing while we tried to find our way from Johnston County to Wake (She mistakenly made me navigator, a position I am presumably fired from); our war cry for the weekend was, "It's just beyond the corn field!"
Ya-Ya's, gal pals, true blue's, whatever you want to call them-they mean a lot to me. I think there's something to be said by spending a lot of days together and never running out of stories to tell. Which is probably why when we're old, we're going to take over a neighborhood and live close-by one another...we'll probably be able to smell when Kasey makes stir-fry :D
Despite the fact that this weekend was full of friends, fourths, and feasts, it doesn't make up that currently my apartment has a few hundred guests: fleas. Ugh, ugh, ugh. I do not know how this came to be, but all I know is that I'm currently waging a war on little beasts that are about the size of a dust particle. But I'm not afraid...this fight will be won.
Happy July!
My Ipod has never been happier this summer. So many delightful playlists for the many delightful adventures I've been having, the most current one being named, "Last name 'ever', first name 'greatest':"
1) All I Do Is Win (T-Pain, Ludacris, Rick Ross, Snoop Dogg)
2) Drop the World (Weezy and Eminem)
3) Only You (Josh Kelley)
4) Hello, Good Morning (P.Diddy, T.I, every other artist you can think of)
5) I Like It (Enrique Iglesias, post-mole, and Pitbull)
6) Chelsea Dagger (The Fratellis)
7) Lisztomania (Phoenix)
8) Maybe (Ingrid M.)
9) Relator (Scarlett Johansson and Pete Yorn)
10) You and Your Heart (Jack Johnson)
11) Drop It Low (Ester Dean and Chris Brown)
12) Hallelujah (Lee DeWyze)
13) Can I Have It Like That? (Gwen Stefani and Pharrell)
14) Bigger Than My Body (John Mayer)
15) Beautiful (Moby)
16) Eenie Meenie (Sean Kingston and Justin Beiber. Shut up. I know. I can't help it. It's a guilty pleasure.)
17) Suddenly I See (K.T. Tunstall)
18) What Them Girls Like (Ludacris, Chris Brown, Sean Garrett)
19) Song for the Dumped (Ben Folds)
20) Rock 'n Roll (Eric Hutchinson)
These songs are in a random order, I know. But that's what I feel like summer's been so far: all over the place, but so, so good.
I have never moved so fast on Facebook in my entire life. Trying to make contact with one of your high school best friends who is halfway around the world doing some pretty amazing things can be pretty difficult, but if you have quick fingers, a computer positioned at the right angle (so you won't lose internet randomly), and a habit of refreshing your page every couple seconds, chatting in different time zones can work out splendidly.
This is Will (taken at a grad party from high school...ignore the horrendous khaki capris I'm sporting)
:
Will is a year younger than I am but man, we hit it off when he was just a wee little freshman in high school. What a friend! Smart, passionate, always moving in a frenzy, this guy was my go-to if I ever needed a pick-me-up or just wanted to talk about, well, everything. This picture describes us to a T. We had some amazing talks in high school that I still remember today and listened to some pretty awesome mixed c.d's while going on various little adventures. Speaking of, Will is on an incredibly cool one right now; he's been studying abroad in Argentina for the semester (He goes to UNC-CH), and when exams are over, he'll be globe-trottin' to Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay...you name it, he's probably going there. Just like Jackie and Carolyn, even if I don't get to talk to him as often as I'd like to, I am constantly amazed at how much he takes on and how positive and upbeat he stays. When I was skyping with him tonight it was like time hadn't passed at all! I love having friends like that; months may go by, but the minute you get on the phone with them it's like they've been with you that whole time. I'm so excited to see my "Willums" when he gets back and have our always-talked-about-but-never-done bagel date. Yessss!
Fun facts of the moment:
+I'm going to Boone tomorrow to help move in the famous Catie "Busta Cap" Hiztigrath
+I made Kellie a, "We're Going to Boone!" mixed c.d.
+Puck is curled up in my lap and I'm thinking of changing his name to Satan. He's worse than a child on that show The Nanny. And he's an animal for God's sake
+Sheryl and I did stadiums in the amphitheater...and felt like beasts after.
+My Meredith ring has a piece of dust in it and it will not come out. I feel like this is a crisis. But it's not. But it is.
+I'm trying to learn how to make pancakes to prove that I can cook. Volunteer taste testers? :)
I'm that girl who knew a lot of people in high school but could count the number of super close friends on one hand. And even though we've separated and don't talk as often, I can pick up the phone and call any one of them and it's as though nothing has passed and I'm in the room with them, drinking lattes and looking through magazines with hot men on the covers.
Meet Jacqueline (Jackie/Jack-Attack/Fashion Jackie), one of the truest, bluest pals a girl could ever ask for. I was lucky enough to see my on-the-move best friend before she jets off to-get this-New York to intern for Cosmo and The Knot magazines. Simultaneously. Man, you are a slacker, Jackie. Get on that, would ya ;) ? Through high school it was always me, Jackie, and our other third of the triangle, Carolyn (Caro/Blue Eyes/YO GIRL):
Picture taken in a Starbucks lot, year 2006-7ish. Carolyn, the blunt, "don't-hurt-my-friends-or-I'll-cut-you" one; Jackie, the fashionista and not-so-closeted music nerd, ready to take over the world with her magnificent style and sharp writing; and me. I hate doing me. The dreamer? The actor? The worrier? The therapist? Probably all of the above.
We've definitely had our ups and downs sometimes, but really, it was more ups than anything. It didn't matter what was going on at the time; if one was in trouble (and of course, true to girl-fashion, it could be a myriad of things: boys, clothes, families, other girls, typical adolescent crying jags...), the other two would be there to fix things. And if we couldn't necessarily fix that something, we would do the next best thing: pig out on Brueggers and Starbucks and watch trashy television shows. While Carolyn's been beaching it up at Wilmington and Jackie's sporting her own true blue Carolina colors, I, being crazy busy with all things Meredith, haven't had much time to talk to them. I've seen each one separately but we all haven't been a united triangle front.
But ya know what?
If I were in trouble, I would still call them. And they would come running. And this is why, five years later, we're still going strong.
Oh, and:
Meet Puck. Yes, I named him after hot Puck on Glee. But also because he reminds me of the character Puck from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and he shoots around like a hockey puck, clawing, meowing, and yes, farting. He's my man on four furry legs.
I am in the possession of a teeny tiny black kitty that can be picked up with one hand. He's sweet, fiery, and has quite the sharp little claws. I would put a picture up but much like a frazzled mama of human babies, I have been running after this sweet little heathen all afternoon, so pictures have taken a backseat. However, he has a penchant for curling up on your tummy and happily shoving his face into one's Oddball wig, which makes him completely adorable. Notice how "he" doesn't have a name? This is the list I've been thinking of:
1) Scout
2) Boo (as in Radley)
3) Sebastian
4) Ferdinand
5) Charlie
6) Benji
7) Ollie
8) Pedo (which means fart in espanol...this kitty knows how to rock the apartment, let me tell you)
Suggestions?
Currently this week has been full of working, not sleeping very well, cooking, and reading lots. Oh, and watching television shows-LIKE GREY'S ANATOMY. That finale tonight? Whoooo buddy. McDreamy, McSteamy, Bailey, Hot Scottish Man, babies, DANG. I love the summer telly.
Fun Fact: I'm starting to wear my hair in its natural state: curly. And you know what? I think I like it.
I woke up at 11:51 this morning. I ran errands with Kellie and we stopped at Caribou and I bought myself the Almond Milk Chocolate Iced Mocha I have been craving. I went to the gym and ran on the elliptical while listening to part one of my summer playlist. But...ya wanna know the best thing I did today? Or rather, am starting to do?
Yup. I'm starting to tackle the disaster that is my room. I made a dent today; forty-five minutes, two garbage bags full. Sheesh. At least it's only papers, books, and clothes, and not, you know, rotting food. Technically this isn't just because of my sudden desire to clean. It's actually because of my mom. She surprised me in my apartment yesterday; my roommate let her in because I was napping. She crept into my room and gasped so loud, she woke me up. She didn't gasp because she was excited to see me or because I look like an angel while I sleep (ah, my modesty...), but because of the big blue bin overflowing with (clean) clothes and the fact that you couldn't see the floor because of a lot of soon-to-be-trashed papers. So after she took one of my roommates, MaryCatherine, and I out for dinner and a lovely dessert of chocolate cherry cheesecake, I promised her that I would clean. I mean, come on. I love my mommy.
And I figured she would be shocked with happiness :)
This past weekend has been absolutely divine. Well, divine and a little bit bittersweet. I went to the class of twenty-ten's Class Day and graduation. Saying a "see ya later" to Kellie, Amy, Wise Old SCR, Catie, Lindsay, Sam Cib, Sara, Abbey, Anna, Kasey, Amirah, Bria, Madison...the list of my goes on, but man, it was hard. It made think of what will be happening in about 363 days:
But for now I'm loving that my first week of summer has already begun on a pretty great note: plans of girls' trips to the beach and mountains, a possible trip to Maine, late night movie fests, roaming downtown Raleigh, reunions with best friends that I am so lucky to have but am cursed because they are so far, going to the gym everyday (I will make myself. I will.), Crime Show Wednesday night with Sabrina, thrift shop visits with Sheryl, quality time with my mom and dad, finally decorating my room, making lots of mixed c.d's for the everyday activities, READING things I like, learning to nap properly, experiment with my hair, reading scripts, writing everyday...the list will grow as the days laze on.
