Guestbook
(New!)
10/30/07
Happy Hallow's Eve
Wow, a whole month where I haven't updated. Surely to say lots has been going on this past month; Ryan and I decided to go to Europe at the end of December, I found out that I'll most likely be finishing up college in June instead of the projected December 2008, and I've managed to lose around 5 to 6 pounds on the nutrition plan that Jen made for me. This also concludes month three of living away from home. Life seems to be ordinary although I did stay out until 3:30 Saturday morning for Elena's surprise birthday party that we held at Ryan's. Yesterday I started having a cold and since it hasn't subsided much, I've been poppin' alka seltzer all afternoon.
Recent events have made me reflect on life. Last year, the doomed freshman 15, and then some, seemed to find me even though it was my junior year. Needless to say, I have been pretty self-conscious about it. I was never really unhappy with my body before the weight gain, although having abs of steel was a wish of mine. I'm glad that I'm losing some weight on the diet Jen prepared for me and am hoping that I can get back to my original weight. I have friends who don't seem to be comfortable in their own skin and I feel sorry for them because of it. I'm so lucky that I learned to be confident in my body at 18. I'm sorry for those who are in their 20s and still don't. It is such a hindrance when getting close to that special someone when you aren't comfortable with your own body. Getting to that comfort level is sometimes hard, it was in my case, but it's rewarding when you get there. Well, with a sniffle and a cough, I'm out. Comment, ghouls.
9/24/07
Those Dar(e)n Pasttimes
See? I'm getting better at keeping this updated. It's just been a measly 12 days since the last time. You should be glad that I spend my precious free time doing this for you =P Kidding, of course. As of late, I've had a lot of things on my mind. Things with Ryan are alright, but I guess this is that time in a relationship, right before the year mark, that you are figuring out how things are really working out and if you're really going to be in it for the long haul. This is true of all relationships, I'm told. Ryan and I reached 10 months a few days ago. It seems like I am just worrying about everything. Worrying that we don't have anything in common, worrying that we have nothing to say to each other, worrying that where we are in life are on 2 different levels.
Facebook is a bitch. It's so easy to see what everyone is up to, which is great sometimes. With my free time before bed, I usually peruse it. I saw Daren's new girlfriend. I'm happy for them both, I really am. I'm happy for Daren because he's been going through so much with rehab and everything, getting himself back on his feet. I mean, I have my own boyfriend who I love dearly. I looked at the photo album his girlfriend had on her page. It was full of pictures of them. That in itself wasn't what made me a little sad. The pictures were of them doing the very things that Daren and I would do together. The tromps through Wal Mart in the toy section, the walks on the Huckleberry, etc. I remembered everything; everything fun. Daren and I were practically attached at the hip. We were always together if we weren't in class or at work, which even then, we might find a way to be. I miss having someone that close to me. I'm close to Ryan, but sometimes I feel detached. I don't mean to and I don't think it's anything either one of us can fix. I guess maybe I am just longing for that kind of companionship in someone. And I know that it's normal for people to compare present partners to their past ones. And I know that the relationship one has with one person, might be completely different, yet totally as great, as the one they had with someone else.
I guess all I'm saying is that seeing those pictures reminded me of some fun times in my life. Some that I wish I could share with Ryan. And I don't want you thinking that I'm still in love with Daren or that I like him more than Ryan because I don't. I just miss the memories. And it's just that I miss meshing with someone in that way, being able to share the simple pleasures in life. No two relationships could ever be the same, which is good because I don't want them to be. And while I miss some things about the relationship I had with Daren, there are other things that Ryan is way better at than Daren (example: loving me) and those things I would never want to change in a million years. So I guess, with that, I should be on my way. I just really needed to get that off my chest. Thanks for listening, guys! Show some love
9/12/07
Today's weather has been
brought to you by the Number 5
You're probably confused by my last post. Yes, it says 8/28, but you've never seen it until now. That's because I'm lazy and had every intention of writing more in the entry, but didn't and therefore never uploaded it. Yay, I'm a genius.
As for the happenings of the time between now and then, school has picked up. I have a lot more homework these days, Jen and I are taking a Zumba class at McComas twice to three times a week, and I am still working at Coldstone a couple times a week as well. With school here at VT, there is of course some football. Our qb, Sean Glennon, fucked up for the last time at this past weekend's game down at LSU. Hello, Tyrod Taylor (#5). He's a freshman this year and will be taking over, relieving Sean of his incompetence. Hopefully this change will bring back the real HOKIE football magic.
And the news on my free time, well, it's pretty much nonexistent. I've been helping friends out, being helped out, etc. It seems as though each new school year brings on various problems for us all. I guess we're all trying to get back into the groove of things. This cold weather hasn't been helping, either.
If you've been wondering about my birthday and new townhouse, I've put up pictures in my Webshots (the link is to the left) so you can see the goings on. As for this entry, I believe I'm done. I need to get to studying for the test I have this afternoon. Blah. Wish me luck! Wonderful world of...football
8/28/07
Legally Brunette
Despite my attempts, I didn't get around to updating this much over the month. Some big milestones of my life have taken place within August. I started my senior year as a HOKIE last week :-) Not only that, but I turned 21 this past Saturday! I'm finally legal! I guess I'll write about that since I don't have much else to talk about.
Let me just start by saying that I had the most perfect 21st birthday. My birthday was Saturday, but we decided to kick things off on Friday night. Jen, Ryan, Chris and I were at Rivermill. Jen and Tyler had talked to their friend Jeff, who is the head bartender, to concoct me a special drink. As you know, I don't drink so I was a little worried that I might not like it. I guess Tyler had talked to Jeff about it, because the drink turned out so well! It was made with hypnotic, raspberry vodka, and pineapple juice. It was so tasty. That definitely started things off on the right foot, that's for sure!
Saturday night was the big party that Ryan's townhouse hosted for Chris and I. So many people showed up. It was totally the best party ever. Jen and I brought the ice cream cone cupcakes we baked to the party and shared them with everyone. Jen and I danced the whole night in our little Disney princess tiaras :-) It couldn't have gone any better I don't believe. I just want to thank everyone for making my birthday the best one ever! May all your wishes come true
8/5/07
Greetings from Club
Awesome, the Beginning of the End, and a bridesmaid
Hi everyone! I'm sitting in the living room of my new townhouse at the moment. I moved in last weekend with the help of my boys. Let me just say that club awesome is truly awesome! We have a very spacious living room, a dining room, an outside deck, and even though I got the shaft with the small bedroom, it's decently sized. I decorated my room and it now looks as if Anthropologie threw up in there. My roommates haven't moved back for the year yet. They'll be coming in couple weeks for good. Until then, I'll be continuing to chill here by myself although Ryan's coming back for good on Friday.
This weekend was Steppin' Out. For all of you who aren't from town, it's a festival downtown where the merchants have tents outside and there's tons of great music and food. I have to say that I believe this was the best one ever! Jen and Tyler let me hang out w/ them downtown all weekend which was nice of them. Friday night I met up w/ Elena and we watched Chris run the Draper Mile. He got 4:53? I think. He's quite the running BAMF. Afterwards Jen, Tyler, and I danced to Sol Creech on hippie hill. Tyler then managed to slip me into Rivermill :-D I like hanging out w/ older folks because I reap the perks of them assuming that I am, too. We met up w/ She Sha Chris there. He ended up driving me home afterwards. I had a family thing in Roanoke yesterday, but went downtown w/ Jen when I got back to town. We were down there from around 4:30 until 12:30 yesterday. Tyler made us dinner at Rivermill and we found ourselves dancing on the sidewalk waiting on Sara to get to the festivities so I could give her her birthday present. Tyler got me into Rivermill last night as well. The guy working the door had seen me in there earlier with Jen for dinner so I guess he assumed I was old enough :-) Boogieburg DJs were spinning there last night so Jen and I danced the night away! We got back around 12:30 and then Chris came over to my place. Elena ended up coming a few minutes later. She really liked my place which made me happy :-)
Since Steppin' Out has come and gone now, it's the beginning of the end. Summer is almost over. Less than a month left. However, that means my birthday is right around the corner and that's something to definitely look forward to!
For more exciting news, Erin officially asked me to be a bridesmaid in her and Al's wedding in January :-D I am SO excited! I can't wait! Hopefully Ryan and I will be meeting up w/ her and Albert in the Dirty in the next couple weeks so Ryan and Al can meet before the wedding. I guess I'll be on my way now. I'll see you guys later. Pop, lock, n' drop it
7/23/07
Moving out
Well, I can finally say it's happening for sure. I'm moving out. This coming Saturday. My lease starts on Thursday, but I won't be living there until Saturday. Ryan's coming from Richmond Friday night so he can help me move my stuff. Weaver will be helping as well and maybe even Chris I. This feels so surreal to say that I'm leaving home. I've been waiting for this moment for so long and while I'm so glad it's happening, I am a little sad. I've never been away from home/my parents except for when I went away to marching band camp in high school. I'm going to miss Little Miss Macho sooo much! I'm not sure what I'm going to do without her, but I'll surely be visiting home a lot, or at least I intend to. I expect I'll eventually fade out of coming back to my house. I'm going to miss my dad a lot too, but I'll see him around. Hopefully we'll be able to work out a dinner meeting like Daren had with his parents. It will be nice to experience life on my own though. I'm glad I'm finally getting around to it. The 3 girls who are going to be my roommates seem to be very nice and I can't wait to meet them. Emily will be down not this weekend, but the next (Steppin Out weekend) to move her stuff in before going back to Richmond for work. Needless to say, I'll be living there on my own for a bit before everyone else comes back. I'm sure I'll be hanging out at my house until then during the day some since I won't have a TV haha. Anyways, I'm very excited about it all and I should move onto other updates.
Since we last spoke, Ryan came down (I mentioned he was) and we visited Erin at Emory for an afternoon. That was so nice. It was so great to see her again. I hadn't seen her since the very beginning of winter break. This was by far the longest we had ever gone without seeing each other. It was my first time seeing her since her and Al got engaged and I was able to see her ring in person :-) It's such a beautiful ring and I'm so happy for them both! Ryan and Erin got along great and I'm so happy about that. I knew they would. I think we're trying to get together in the Dirty before school starts so Ryan and Al can meet. Hopefully it'll work out. I'll definitely be getting to the Dirty to visit Erin either way.
I think I mentioned that Steppin' Out is just around the corner. I know you've heard me refer to it as the beginning of the end. That has always signaled the coming of the fall semester. I love Steppin' Out, but I hate being reminded that school is almost here. John decided to have Brenton's bachelor party that weekend (2 months ahead of the wedding) so my wish of Ryan being here for Steppin' Out won't happen. Jen is supposed to be my date for Steppin' Out :-) Chris is running the Draper Mile again and of course I'll be cheering him on. He said Elena will be here that weekend. I'm glad she'll be able to see him run a race. I've always wanted to share Steppin' Out with a loved one, but I guess it will have to wait until next year. Oh well. I guess that's a long enough entry as it is so I'll break until next time! Finally!
7/9/07
Passionate furniture
I hope everyone's been alright since I last updated. It's only been a week since my last entry which is better than recently.
Ryan's coming down again this coming weekend. I feel bad that he's having to drive here again, but it was his idea to come and I'm not going to stop him. Hopefully I'll make it to Richmond again before the summer's over.
While going to classes and working, my dad and I have been looking at furniture for my room in my new place. I'll have a decent size room and will have enough space for my full size bed, a desk, and a chair or 2. The only thing I'm worried about is the small closet. Incase you don't know me, I have tons of clothes and TONS OF SHOES! I am planning on leaving a lot of stuff here at my parents' house. It's not like I won't be able to pop over to pick up anything if I need to since I'll only be a few miles away. I'm really excited about the new place. I'm even more excited about the furniture that I'll buy to put in my new room :-) I've asked for a comforter for my upcoming birthday in August, and I am planning on buying one of those papassan chairs from Pier 1.
As for later on, I think Nomeka and I are going to Charlotte on Friday afternoon. She wants to go to Concord Mills, I want to go to Northlake to see about the comforter I want at Anthropologie. I think it will be a fun trip. I've been trying to go for awhile now. I'm just sorry that Erin won't be in town when I'm there, but I'll definitely make it to see her before the summer's over whether it's at Emory or Mooresville. I love North Carolina and I am so happy to be going :-) I guess I should get back to watching The Ex-Effect on MTV now. I guess I'll be seeing you. And we're on fire, making our way back from Mars
7/2/07
Living without
This weekend was great. Ryan came to visit Thursday night and we went to Poor Billy's for dinner after he got to town. He had brought me beautiful flowers from Richmond when he came :-) I totally wasn't expecting that. Afterwards, we danced at Attitudes with the C(h)rises and Annie. Friday and Saturday were good days. Ryan and I did our own thing those days, but then met up with everyone Saturday night. Oh, I've missed him so much. It was so great to see him.
In the management class I took this past summer session, we were learning about these various acts like the one that pregnant women fall under. It says that they're guaranteed their job when they come back to work. My professor said he was talking to the manager of a JCPenny's once, shortly after the act came into effect. He was saying how they had to learn to function without the woman in a certain position while she was out having her baby. In a way, I kind of felt that way about Ryan. I only say that because he hasn't been around so I've had to adjust to life on my own this summer. Not that I'm going to leave him or anything, because I'm not, but it just reminded me of what we had talked about in management. I love it that he came to visit, but I now know that I'm not dependent on him being here. I guess that's a good thing. While he's always on my mind, I'm still able to be an individual and function without him. I guess that's what I'm trying to say. I mean, before the summer started and I thought about him going home for the next 3 months, I never thought I'd be able to get through it. Luckily I was/am able to, but yet I'm able to fall back into the way things were when he comes back.
Anyways, as for things happening this week, I'm not too sure. Session 2 started today. I have work tomorrow and Thursday. Wednesday is the fourth. I'm not sure what that in itself will bring. I'll definitely be checking out the fireworks. Cook out? Hopefully. I'm supposed to be checking out the townhouse I'll be living in as well. I hope it's a decently sized room. I'm really counting on taking my bed from home. As for any of you folks who want to hang out this week, I need entertainment. I'll try and update this more often. I hope everyone had a great Monday today. let me know you care
6/27/07
The bug
I really haven't been back to this in awhile, despite my best efforts. It's so hard getting around to this since I'm so hell-bent on trying to have some sort of summer between classes and work. I've recently started going to the quarry with my C(h)rises some afternoons. Lots of movies have been watched because there's really nothing else to do here in the burg at night.
Well, I guess I'll get around to explaining the subject of this entry. I do say I've been bitten by the wedding bug. Erin recently got engaged to Al a few weeks ago or so. Sure, I was constantly seeing alerts on Facebook saying that so & so got engaged. I feel like it was happening to friends of friends and people who I kind of knew. Now since Erin has gotten engaged, it's right in front of me and thinking about her wedding has only got me thinking about my own (for when the time comes). As a little girl, I never really dreamt of what my wedding would be like unlike other little girls. It's just so surreal to me, that she's going to be getting married in January. I feel so old and grown up.
Speaking of love, Ryan's coming to visit again tomorrow night. He'll be here for the weekend. We're going on a date to Poor Billy's tomorrow night when he gets into town and then hopefully dancing at Attitudes with the C(h)rises and Annie. We're all planning on going to the quarry on Friday afternoon. I'm so excited to see Ryan and can't wait until he gets here tomorrow night! It's only been a couple weeks since I saw him last, but I've missed him a lot.
As for life in general, things are going pretty well. Summer Session 1 ends tomorrow. Summer 2 starts on Monday though :-\ Oh well. I think I'll try and apply to Pamplin early next week to hopefully get into HTM officially. I hope it works out. I think I'll be on my way now so as I can start studying for the 2 finals I have in the morning. I hope everyone's having a great summer! The things you have learned, they sit so beautifully with you now
5/29/07
Greetings from the
Billie Paige
I guess this whole updating thing isn't going so well for me haha. I know every time I do get around to updating, that I say I haven't because I've been so busy, but that's really how it is. I've been getting all my ducks in a row with summer school and everything. It's been an alright summer so far though. I've been missing Ryan since he's at home in Richmond now.
More on Ryan, I actually went to visit him this weekend. We did so much stuff and I had such a great time! Ryan took me down to Cary Town on Saturday. There was quite the plethora of shops there. I'm totally in love with that place! I felt bad because I knew going into women's clothing stores wasn't what Ryan wanted to do, but he was a good sport. We went out on his grandparents' boat, the Billie Paige, on Sunday. It was so much fun. We cooked out a couple nights as well as getting in the hot tub. Yesterday Ryan and I went to this place called Maymont Park. We went to the children's animal farm there where we saw some bears and fed a goat. We then played Apples to Apples on his back porch with his family. Thomas didn't get to Richmond to pick me up until around 11:30 last night due to damages caused by the big storm that hit the area. Needless to say we didn't arrive back at home until around 2:30 or 3 am. I had such an awesome time this weekend with Ryan. I've missed him so much. It was such a great trip. He'll be back here in a few weeks to help John move his furniture and I can't wait to see him!
As for having anything else to say, I don't have any. I guess I need to roll out now. I'll probably take a nap or something since I'm only operating on 4 hours of sleep. Well, I guess I'll go now. Commentz
5/9/07
Whole diamonds
Well, I'm sorry that I haven't been back to this for quite some time. Things around here have been hectic. With what happened on campus a few weeks ago, school has definitely been crazy. We had a few options for completing our classes. I ended up finishing 4 of my 5 since I already had an A in the 5th. My grades turned out well this semester. I feel a little guilty because I caught a break from this tragedy. A lot of people ended up leaving campus after the horrific event, but on the other hand, a lot of people stayed, too. Town is emptying out a little now. I'm sure it'll really empty out after graduation on Saturday. Ryan's brother John is graduating so I'll be going to graduation and whatnot. I think their dad reserved a table at the Inn for us to have dinner at. And so I guess our school year is now whole and complete. I ended up buying myself a pair of diamond earrings yesterday because I had a great semester. The best semester I've had at Tech academically and personally in a long time.
Chris is graduating as well, but he was accepted to grad school so he'll still be here thank goodness. I held a surprise dinner for him at El Rod's a week back. Only Ryan and Gregg showed up. Around 7 people accepted on Facebook, but obviously they didn't show up. It kind of pissed me off because I wanted this to be perfect for him because he's worked so hard. He said he had a great time anyway and he was really appreciative of what I had done for him. I want to try and make it to his graduation as well so I assume I'll be busy on Saturday.
So, as school is coming to a close for the semester, it will also be mine and Ryan's 6 month anniversary on the 19th of this month. He's going back to Richmond this coming Monday so we're going down to Charlotte for the day tomorrow to celebrate. I'm not sure what we'll be doing. Erin decided to stay at Emory through Friday for Al's graduation so she won't be in Mooresville when we come down tomorrow. I'm sure it will be a good day regardless. If you're leaving town, have a safe trip home and if you're staying, we should hang out this summer. Don't forget 4-16-07 when you leave. Comment in the full circle
4/21/07
4/16/07: The day our world came to a halt
I'm sure everyone who's
reading this has heard about the great tragedy that my community, the Virginia
Tech community, has suffered this past week. Monday, April 16, 2007 will never
be forgotten and those who were lost, will never be forgotten either. Cho
Seung-Hui decided to take many innocent lives along with his this past Monday.
Our world stopped and Blacksburg was catapulted onto the world's screen. Town
was bustling with media and parents coming back to pick up their children. My
phone seemed to be ringing off the hook with relatives and friends calling to
make sure I was alright.
It's been very weird, this whole week. It's very exhausting to talk about the goings-on of what happened on the 16th. At the end of everyday I seem to be completely drained, passing out in bed. I, as many of my friends, have been experiencing several emotions. At first I was sad, felt a little violated since this had happened in my town, at my school. I've never been scared to walk alone, anywhere in town. It's so surreal for me to believe this actually happened here because, not to be cliche, it's not supposed to. Then I started to move out of that and was able to laugh again, but would find myself feeling guilty for smiling and having a good time. It seems at night, I'd have come home from Ryan's and would be sitting, looking at Facebook, and would begin to cry. We've been trying to fix ourselves, talking about it with friends, getting our emotions and thoughts out to hopefully be able to move on with life this coming Monday. Like I said, it's so draining to talk about things.
The weather was simply gorgeous on Tuesday for the Convocation. Angela said the campus has a way of taking on the "mood" which the weather has. I think that's true. When the weather is beautiful, our campus is probably one of the most beautiful places you've ever seen. I'm so glad it looked that way for when the world was watching us. It's beautiful again today. Ryan and I went for a walk on the trail and then found ourselves on the Drillfield at the memorial(s). I wrote a note to Austin Cloyd, one of the victims, who graduated from BHS last year with Lucy. I told her from one Bruin and Hokie to another one, I hoped she could see our unity and see that Blacksburg really is one big family.
A couple places you may wish to visit are the: Hokie Spirit Fund and the April 16th Memorial Site. And I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all their support in this trying time. I was especially touched by those of you who are far away, yet still found time to wear your maroon and orange yesterday.
"We
are Virginia Tech
We are sad today
And we will be sad for quite a while
We are not moving on
We are embracing our mourning
We are Virginia Tech
We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly
We are brave enough to bend to cry
And sad enough to know we must laugh again
We are Virginia Tech
We do not understand this tragedy
We know we did nothing to deserve it
But neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS
Neither do the invisible children walking the night away
To avoid being captured by a rogue army
Neither does the baby elephant watching his community be devastated for ivory
Neither does the Mexican child looking for fresh water
Neither does the Appalachian infant killed in the middle of night in his crib
In the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder
Because the land was destabilized
No one deserves a tragedy
We are Virginia Tech
The Hokie nation embraces our own and reaches out with open heart and hands
To those who offer their hearts and minds
We are strong and brave and innocent and unafraid
We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be
We are alive to the imagination and the possibility
We will continue to invent the future
Through our blood and tears
Through all this sadness
We are the Hokies
We will prevail
We will prevail
We will prevail
We are... Virginia Tech."
-Nikki Giovanni