Blërg

blërg moved.

2010-03-20T08:55:00.001-05:00

to tumblërg.

www.zopey.tumblr.com

i painted this for sammy.

2009-12-11T02:35:00.001-06:00

bunny cat.

2009-09-15T12:09:00.002-05:00

another pen drawing.

2009-08-24T15:47:00.002-05:00

Click on it for a close-up...

seattle!

2009-08-23T18:10:00.007-05:00

My camera is broken so Kolin had to be the photographer on my trip to Seattle.

Blowing in the wind as Gasworks.

Some cool arches at Gasworks.

Art.

Just walking up a hill...

Scoping the skate spot.

Getting lectured on video chat with the Mom.

Brett, Megan, Abigail, and me. I'm hiding. Headed to the lake!

Matt didn't want his nips to burn.

The city and the Sneedle.

Pretty tree shot at Golden Gardens.

I just always look pissed.

Liv looking skeptical.

Golden Gardens. Mountaiiiiinnnsssss.

Brett, Steph, and Zach at the beach.

Kolin playing with Kitty.

Me playing with Kitty!

A brother/sister shot for our mom.

Snuggling with Kitty.

Drinking coffee at Mighty-O Donuts... an all vegan donut shop!

Trying to get the goldfish and koi to nibble my fingers.

I wish my camera wasn't broken, I would have taken soooooo many more pictures.

artpost.

2009-08-08T06:40:00.011-05:00

VEGAN DONUTS!!!

2009-08-08T03:07:00.001-05:00

FYI:

2009-07-13T21:14:00.004-05:00

Chipotle has a new item on their menu: "Gatos Sabrosos," comes with rice, beans, and your choice of salsa. *guacamole is extra.*

YUM!

laser cats!

2009-07-11T20:10:00.001-05:00

art.

2009-07-09T09:25:00.002-05:00

This is the first art I've arted in a while. It was from an ad on the back of my crossword puzzle.

Click on it for a super-duper close-up.

The last post didn't work. This one will..

2009-06-29T19:27:00.003-05:00

2009-06-14T01:46:00.001-05:00

Shit blerg shit blerg shit. i need a job and bump-out.

blogging.

2009-06-03T03:45:00.002-05:00

i am blogging.

remember that time i moved to arizona? yeah, me too.

what a stupid idea that was.

remember that time i tore my ACL and couldn't go to work and then became super broke?

yeah, that was a bad idea. should have thought that one through.

internet!

2009-06-01T19:22:00.001-05:00

new wireless hotspot... around the corner! now i only have to walk 1/4 as far as i did before to go on the sundeck. one small step for laziness, one huge relief for meee.

2009-06-01T15:14:00.001-05:00

Uh, ya blogged on a cell phone.

yes!

2009-05-28T19:58:00.001-05:00

this is what i do with my free time...

2009-05-26T03:47:00.003-05:00

blogs are stupid.

2009-05-17T16:56:00.000-05:00

i need a job.

mother's day weekend

2009-05-16T01:05:00.008-05:00

We went to the Phoenix Art Museum.

We also went to Sedona. Notice how we're both wearing the same thing. Different days. Classic.

The creek was awesome. Super creeky.

The real reason we went to Sedona was to see the shoe, of course.

Making history...

2009-05-11T21:44:00.003-05:00

Today was a very special day for my odometer...

...RIP 42069...

...your time was brief yet great...

...you will be missed...

...

2009-05-02T19:37:00.000-05:00

Arizona.

2009-05-01T01:48:00.009-05:00

So this is pretty old... from the middle of March. But now here it is. Some pictures from when my brother and I drove from Chicago to Tempe, with my cats. And then some pictures from the rest of his stay...

My brother and I are pussies. Starbucks and diet pop. COME ON!

Heh heh... STONEman...

Some majestic hole in the ground.

Me and a mountain.

Kolin and I... and a mountain.

Jesus is a pigeon.

2009-04-26T19:39:00.006-05:00

He's back.

... and he's got gifts.

this just in!

2009-04-24T21:01:00.003-05:00

i am BLOWING IT at living in arizona.

2009-04-24T03:28:00.002-05:00

I don't know what to do, ever.

I need a job, but am not actively seeking one, which is a problem for the first thing.

I have a lot less money than i originally thought... also problematic.

I don't know anybody who lives here. Okay, i know a few, but i only know the phone numbers of maybe 2 or 3 of them, and therefore have nobody to hang out with and complain to about things.

That's what i use this blog for. I am mega good at complaining.

My apartment building closed the pool for no reason. I think the reason is that it has been hot out. At least that's how it seems. I don't think they understand how life works.

What else am i blowing it at. Probably a lot of things.

Oh, having internet. I am most definitely not good at that.

On a lighter note, one thing i am NOT blowing it at is reading a lot of books. So, so many books.

Basically, the point of this is, if you're reading this you have two choices: a. make fun of me for being a stupid crybaby. OR, my favorite option, b. hang out with me. i'm not this annoying in person. no foolies.

FOR ARI

2009-04-15T20:31:00.006-05:00

"Boo hoo, I'm Ari, I'm sad because I have to do my taxes."

Ari: "Taxes!!!!"

Tim: "Oh god I'm so embarrassed to know this crazy person."

Finally.

Regarding Tim Ward:

Regarding myself:

Post edit: from a non-bearded person. beards are abrasive and velco-like.

blog'd

2009-04-13T17:26:00.002-05:00

I am at Starbucks using the internet. I tried to post a .. post.. yesterday on the sun deck but the interweb died before I could publish it. It's probably for the best though, it was just a bunch of nonsense.

Number one rule of Starbucks: have the air conditioning blasting as coldly as possible - freeze all customers to death.

I guess I don't have anything to blog really. I have a lot of bruises on my legs, more than any person should have. Doctors always used to think my parents beat me when I would go in for a check up. They gave me the "it's ok, you can tell us" look. "I skateboard! I swear!" How embarrassing...

Feck...

"Are you ovulating?"

2009-04-03T16:14:00.003-05:00

Somehow I am still alive here in Arizona. I still don't have a job... not that I've been looking. I should probably get on that. I'm on the sun deck and it's windy as fuck. As fuck, I say! I don't really know what to do with myself. When Tim gets back from running his errands I'm going to go ransack his apartment for treasures, since it's his last day and he needs to get rid of his shit. RIP Fuckhouse.

I kind of don't even have anything to say here. Once I get these pictures from my brother's visit to Arizona I'll post some of them. You guys are down with pictures, yeah?

so much sun, all the time.

2009-03-21T17:01:00.002-05:00

i wish most of my shirts weren't black. sun is hot. therefore i am hot. it is so hot.

on the sun deck i can pick up a weak internet connection, thanks linksys! on the sun deck, sometimes this awesome cat comes and hangs out with me. it's huge and fluffy and friendly, and i named him Dude and we're pals. i think animals are better than humans in most possible ways. social ways included. if an animal isn't nice to you, you better believe it has a reason for it. you probably fucked up. way to go.

i am getting rained on by weird leaf/petal things from the tree i am sitting under. speaking of things falling on things under them, for whatever reason i keep parking my car under a tree that is apparently housing a million birds... so my car is covered in bird shit and it's pretty disgusting and embarrassing. maybe i'll go try to wash some of it off at a gas station today. but more likely i won't. what's more likely is i'll sit on my couch and read all day. i finished my million page book, Misfortune. then i read Survivor by chuck palahniuk. which is fucking great. now i'm reading another one by him, invisible monsters. i borrowed these from tim, who borrowed them from someone else. i'll be done with invisible monsters within the next couple days though, so he can have them back and return them to their rightful owner.

i guess that's all for now.

I live in Arizona now, I guess.

2009-03-16T13:50:00.002-05:00

I've lived here for about 3 days now. Unfortunately I can't pick up a free wireless signal, but my brother figured out how to connect me using my phone. It's probably charging me so much money to use it like this though, so I'm going to have to call AT&T and ask them what's up.

Anyway, the trip here was crazy. I gave the cats Xanax and the sedatives the first day and when we got to the hotel that night they were acting drunk and annoying, as drunks tend to be. Radley would NOT stop meowing. Literally. I think he didn't know how to feel while drugged so he just stumbled around meowing and also making Jack hiss at him. It was all very frustrating and we were trying to sleep after driving all day and he wouldn't shut the fuck up. Kolin kept yelling. We got no sleep at all. At 6m we got out of bed and went to Shoney's for breakfast. It was gross. After that I didn't give them any more drugs and they were fine the whole time. Jack didn't even pee on any of the hotel beds! It was a miracle.

I'm slightly less stressed now since I am moved in and don't have to drive a big truck anymore. However now I have to find a job and unpack all my crap. Jobs... bah.

Kolin leaves tomorrow morning. His flight is at 6am, so I have to drive him to the airport at like 4am. We might just stay up all night PARTYING! Just kidding, we'll probably read books or cook food.

ok, here's a ridiculous one...

2009-03-07T21:20:00.002-06:00

I just called my cat "Snoop Doggy-Dog" by accident. You might ask yourself how this came about. Well, let me tell you...

I call my cats lots of things, some of them include: poo, pooper, shmoop, shmoopy, shmoopers, poop-butt, boo, snoot, and then accidentally... snoop. I just added doggy dog as an afterthought a few seconds later.

Anyway. I gave the cats some Xanax as a test to how they reacted and this was the conclusion: BAH! That means it did basically nothing. They acted the same, played the same. They might have been a little hungrier and a little meowier than usual, too. Also Radley was acting kind of drunk. None of these effects are ones I desired. You know, like, passing out stone cold, sleeping for hours, NOT meowing, not freaking out, not hyper-kitty-ventilating. I'm going to have to call the vet again. She mentioned they might need the Xanax AND sedatives. Turns out, I think that's what's in the cards for my little snoop doggy dog-cats.

moving day is soon.

2009-03-07T13:28:00.002-06:00

In 3 days Kolin and I head out on our journey cross-country. It's going to be quite an adventure. Two people, two cats, two vehicles. Granted, one vehicle is going to be attached to the other. Also, instead of sedatives apparently I'm going to be giving my cats Xanax. Hilarious. My poor little anxious dudes.

Monday we get the truck, pack it up, and then sit in my empty apartment waiting for the next day to come. When it does, we get our shit together, go back to the truck rental place, and have them attach my car to the truck. Then we leave. Vroom.

my life

2009-03-03T13:31:00.002-06:00

All I do is eat cookies for breakfast and listen to my cat meow at me. This is all I do, ever. With the occasional reading of a book. If Jack had no mouth or bladder he would be the best cat on earth.

list

2009-03-02T02:32:00.002-06:00

- I finished Kafka on the Shore. It was amazing. Of course.

- I'm leaving for Arizona in 8 days, and I'm not NOT stressing about it. Get it?

- I'm not sure why I feel the need to blog this, but I am anyway. Probably because it's 2:30 and I'm drinking tea instead of sleeping.

- I wish I was a cat.

- I haven't seen any ladybugs since this morning.

- Fuck snow, fuck cold. Just so you know.

- I'm looking forward to living in a smaller apartment. I just wish there wasn't carpet. And I mean, if there has to be carpet, why BEIGE carpet? I mean come on! Come the fuck on! Also now I'm going to need a vacuum. Frick.

- I guess that's all.

ladybug update

2009-03-01T16:41:00.000-06:00

The ladybug I saved from drowning last night survived, because it was gone this morning. However, I found a living one in the garbage this morning, and took it out.

These guys seriously have a death wish.

ladybug

2009-02-28T23:22:00.004-06:00

Since I moved into this apartment I have been seeing tons of ladybugs. I don't mind them, they don't get in the way, but I just don't understand how they survive in my apartment with nothing to eat. I have no plants... I mean, I have some cactuses, but I just got those recently and ladybugs have been dwelling in my place since I first moved in.

At one point there were a bunch of them. Maybe 10 in my room if I counted. Most of them died probably gruesomely... being played with to death by the cats and also slowly burning to death on the light fixture. I hadn't seen many this winter, but all of a sudden they're back. Not in large numbers, but there are a few. I think they're suicidal though. Yesterday one flew into the glass around the light in my room and I didn't want it to die so I turned the light off. And today I was in the shower and one landed on my cheek and scared me and I think I threw it against the shower curtain and it got really wet. Of course, being the weirdo I am, I scooped it up and (leaving the shower on, mind you) got out of the shower and tried to dry it off with some toilet paper. It's wings were soaked but I tried to make sure it's face (face?) wasn't covered with water. I left it on the counter on the toilet paper and thought it might dry out a bit. I don't know if it's dead at this point. It hasn't moved, but ladybugs tend to sit in one spot for a long time. When I poke it it's legs move. So, I guess I'll see if it's still alive tomorrow. Poor ladybug.

Here are some fun facts about ladybugs:

-In Sweden, folks believe that if a ladybug lands on a young maiden's hand, she will soon be getting married.
-If you find a ladybug in your house, count the number of spots and that is how many dollars you will soon receive.
-In England, finding a ladybug means that you will have a good harvest.
-In France, if you are sick and a ladybug lands on you, when it flies away, it will take the sickness with it.
-If a ladybug has more than seven spots, then there will be a famine. If it has less than seven, then there will be a good harvest.
-At one time, doctors would mash up ladybugs and put them in a cavity to cure a toothache.
-Some people believe that the number of spots on a ladybug indicates how many children you will have.
-If you find a ladybug in your house in the winter you will have good luck.

This is all bullshit, of course. I haven't had any good luck since moving in. I guess I haven't had bad luck either. I'm not sure I even believe in luck. I do believe in ladybugs though. We're pals.

candy canes again

2009-02-28T20:08:00.003-06:00

I have so many candy canes. It's ridiculous. I eat maybe 3 a day. I'm eating one now. It's my new thing.

So... I leave for Arizona on March 10th. Which is very soon. My brother and I are going to drive a huge moving truck towing my car behind it. And my cats are going to be squeezed in somewhere by us too, except they're probably going to be sleeping because I'm going to drug them. DRUGS.

I am anxious about moving, it's a lot of work. Maybe that's why I've formed this new candy cane addiction. I want to move right now and get it over with. I don't want to sit around thinking about it anymore. I'm going nuts. NUTS!

CANDY CANE NUTS!

420

2009-02-25T10:41:00.002-06:00

apartment

2009-02-23T13:02:00.001-06:00

My brother's interpretation of my new floor plan:

Kafka on the Shore

2009-02-23T12:23:00.003-06:00

Apparently I read a lot when I'm not in school. I think all 4 or so months that I was in school I was reading the same book that my drawing teacher recommended... that I couldn't get into. Then however long ago I finally finished it.. and I've read maybe 5 books since then. I'd have to count. Which I plan on doing in a second. Ok.

List:

1. Snow Crash (recommended by teacher... kind of sucked)

2. The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time

3. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

4. Bastard Out Of Carolina

5. Fool

Ok so I have read 4 books after Snow Crash, and I'm on my 5th. Which is Kafka On The Shore by the same dude as the Wind Up Bird Chronicle: Haruki Murakami. I'm not that far into it yet, but so far it's good... real good.

So yeah, I'm still in Arizona. I leave tomorrow. I found an apartment yesterday so I don't have to worry about that anymore. Now all I have to worry about is transporting all my shit from one side of the country to the other. There are some things that I won't need, so I can count them out. Maybe I can sell them before I leave. Oh but moving isn't the only thing I need to worry about. Also, I need to do my taxes. ALSO, I need to set up a vet appointment for my cats so I can get them some kitty sedatives so they don't completely freak out on the long, long drive to Arizona. What else... I need to talk to my landlord and make sure he's found someone to take over my apartment. He said I don't need to worry about it though, so that's good.

So I can worry about other things instead. Nice.

In Arizona.

2009-02-19T13:36:00.002-06:00

I am in Arizona and it is not snowing here. Also it is sunny. Also it's almost always 70 degrees. Also I'll stop bragging now.

Apartment hunting is difficult. There are so many, and I don't know which ones are good, or where others are, or which ones are in the best locations/have the best prices/ don't ask for a fucking $300 non-refundable pet fee. Ridiculous.

Coffee+SoyNog= Amazing.

aye

2009-02-16T23:36:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow afternoon I leave for Week-Long-Arizona-Apartment-Hunting-Trip,

but tonight,

I eat peanut butter straight out of the jar.

Adieu.

GRAPES VS. RAISINS

2009-02-15T00:14:00.001-06:00

Which is better? I can't tell. They're both so good. It's the new crunchy vs. creamy peanut butter. I'm stumped.

candy canes.

2009-02-10T01:11:00.002-06:00

It is one fourteen in the a.m. - which apparently stands for the Latin "ante meridiem" - and I am eating my second candy cane of the night. It's stale, and chewy, and old, but, it's a candy cane... so therefore it is delicious. I acquired a box of 52 candy canes in Arizona at a Walgreens. 52 candy canes for 5 cents. Yes, 5 cents. I have so many fucking candy canes. And right now I am eating my second one, because I want to. Side note - I have only had one cavity in my life and it fell out with a baby tooth.

Anyway, I finished The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle last night. It was extremely good. Since I haven't gotten around to going to a bookstore yet I just started reading a book I had. One I had bought at a used bookstore a while ago, just because. Probably because it was around 50 cents. It's called Bastard out of Carolina and it's alright. It's got everything, death, love, poverty, child abuse... what else could I ask for? It's an easy read and I have a lot of time to kill.

A man came here today to give me an estimate for his company to move all my crap to Arizona. 2700 fucking dollars. Yeah right! I'm thinking it would be easier to just sell/give away everything and just move with my necessities. But I don't know about that. I'm lucky with getting things used from people for free like couches and beds, and I feel like it would be harder to do that in a state where I don't know many people. Also, I really like my couch. It's a really good couch.

Tomorrow, 60 degrees and I think mostly sunny. Lots of skateboarding is going to happen.

Lots.

Back to reading about a bastard.

untitle'd

2009-02-08T01:36:00.002-06:00

If chewing on ice is wrong I don't want to be right.

one thing i am not doing at the moment is sleeping.

2009-02-06T00:58:00.003-06:00

I was going to. I was tired an hour ago. But now I'm not anymore. Now my fingernails just sting from biting them too short.

I'm on page 471 of my book. It's really good, I'll probably read more by the same author in the future.

I realized today that I pronounce the "body" part of the word "somebody" differently than the way I pronounce just "body" by itself. I didn't come to the realization because I said it, it was just something I was thinking about while driving today. I don't know why. Body. Bah-dee. Somebody. Suhm-buh-dee. Should it be suhm-bah-dee? I hear people pronounce it this way too. It seems weird to me when I hear it that way. It's just one of those things.

I wish I had a set of encyclopedias.

More pen people:

painting.

2009-02-04T18:50:00.004-06:00

Today I finally went to school and picked up my paintings from last semester.. and my supplies. I was kind of afraid they were going to cut the lock on my locker and throw my paint and brushes away but they hadn't. So I took my two paintings... the still life and an "abstract" which I pretty much blew it on. It's not very abstract and it's just weird and Tim Burton-esque. The pictures I took aren't in the best lighting but you can get the gist of it...

Anyway... here they are:

so.

2009-02-01T15:02:00.002-06:00

Jack peed on me again this morning. Maybe because I was refusing to let my phone ringing wake me up. But he peed on me, and that was frustrating. Then I went to make coffee and came to check my email, and guess what? He had chewed on my computer power cord. Not that that's a new thing. The whole cord is covered in black electrical tape to cover places where he's chewed on it. But I guess he was especially careful where he chewed last night because now the cord is permanently fucked. It doesn't work anymore. Thanks Jack, thanks a heap.

I am so angry and frustrated that apparently I'm nothing at all. I am indifferent. I passed the point of yelling and kicking things over and now I am just nothing. Whatever.

Anyone want a cat?

Jack Bauer the cat

2009-01-31T03:19:00.004-06:00

How can I be mad at this? Seriously, how?

new insight into cats.

2009-01-30T18:48:00.003-06:00

I have no idea why my cat pees on my couch. He doesn't pee on the arm chair... and never has. But nobody ever sits in the arm chair, except cats. Anyway, the couch is still a mystery to me. HOWEVER, I might have some info about peeing on my bed. First off, if I left my bedroom door open I'm almost positive that he would pee on my bed the first chance he got. However that's not the case. But I can go for long periods of time without him peeing on my bed while I'm asleep in it... since I leave the door open when I go to bed.

So, anyway, I haven't been sleeping in my bed since I returned from Arizona on the 17th or so. I don't know why, but I have been sleeping on the couch. I think at first it was so Jack wouldn't pee on it, but then he peed on it when I wasn't on it. Then I took off the slipcover and the water proof pads underneath it (at least I'm prepared) to wash it, and put the cushions in my bedroom where they would be safe from urine. Then when I went to sleep I could just put a blanket on the naked shell of a couch and sleep there. That evolved into me just bringing the seat cushions out of the bedroom when I went to sleep and putting them back when I got up. He never peed on me while I slept on the couch. But then for the last few days I've been sleeping in my bed. The first two nights were fine, but then this morning I awoke to a familiar scratching of paw on blanket, the telltale sign of 'you just got peed on'. With eyes still closed I reached around the bed just to make sure he had peed, and he had. My hand touched a gross warm wet spot almost literally right next to me. "God damnit Jack! What is your fucking problem!" is all I could manage to say... then I just rolled over to the other side of the bed and went back to sleep... I would deal with washing blankets later, when I wasn't so tired and angry.

Anyway, I think he did this because he decided it was time for me to wake up. I had set my alarm for 8am, just to try to wake up, and I'm pretty sure he knew what it meant for the alarm to go off, for me to half-consciously turn it off , and go back to sleep. Maybe he wanted love, maybe he wanted to make sure I wasn't dead and he knew getting peed on would evoke some kind of response from me. Maybe it was because I had been carrying around my bag all day only to realize it smelled like fucking cat piss like halfway through the day, when I couldn't really do anything about it. Maybe the smell rubbed off on my clothes. Maybe I just don't care anymore and I'm doomed to be peed on forever. Maybe I need to wake up earlier in the morning? Maybe I need to murder my cat. I'm doing laundry now. I hope he doesnt pee on me tonight.

The good news is my building has it's own recycling trash bin thing. I didn't notice until today when I was bringing out the trash. I don't know if it's been there the whole time or if I just noticed it because I recycle now... but it's there... and I'm going to utilize it.

daaahhhh.

2009-01-29T17:14:00.001-06:00

Everything I own smells like fucking cat piss!!!

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.

2009-01-29T11:10:00.004-06:00

That's what the new book is called. It is 607 pages.

title

2009-01-29T01:23:00.002-06:00

I finished the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It was sooooo good. Also I finished it in like 2 or 3 days and that last book took months. That last book sucked, a lot. My next book? I forgot the title, but it was a recommendation from a friend. I hope it's good. I have been reading a lot because I haven't been doing much else. I should work until I move, but I physically can't wake up in the morning, which is shitty, and makes having a job impossible. Atleast for now. When it's not winter I can wake up fine.

Fuck winter and snow and cold. Except last night. Last night was a good winter night... only because I had band practice very late, and I didn't get home until almost 2am. After I drove around the neighborhood for a while trying to find a parking spot, I finally got one and parked. It was really quiet outside and it was snowing a lot, and they hadn't plowed yet, so there was like 2 inches of snow on the roads and the sidewalk and it was really beautiful and silent and nobody else was around. It made me want to run around... so I did. I ran down the middle of the road and saw how far I could skid on my shoes in the snow. It wasn't far, but I did it several times and it was fun. Then I got to the sidewalk and it was untouched by footprints... so I ran around from side to side on the way to my apartment, making the occasional circle. I like making footprints. I like making footprints in the snow when it's late and quiet and nobody else is around and I can eat snowflakes. I rarely have good moments in the snow, but this was one of them and it was pretty awesome. I think snow is only good when it snows late at night.

I have been making more pen drawings of people but I haven't scanned them yet. I don't know how I feel about them either. They're kind of shitty.

So as I said before... I recycle now. I bought a huge 18 gallon plastic container thing at Home Depot and I've been putting my recycling in there. Then when it's full I can bring it over to the recycle place... which is by the Peggy something-or-other Nature Museum by the zoo. It feels good to recycle.

Also just now I have made a pact with myself. This is that I'm going to not drink anymore until March 1st. Atleast until then, maybe even further in time. I think it'll be a good thing. A very good thing. An experiment, maybe. Also I'm going to only listen to sad songs. No, just kidding, that would be bad.

Cactus update: I think they're okay. They don't seem to be getting any worse, even though they're also not getting better. So that's good, I think.

I might be able to get out of my lease by before April 1st. That would be neat. I'm waiting to hear from my landlord, though. Then I need to go find an apartment in Arizona, then come back here and start packing. So I have a lot to do, and a lot to figure out. It's stressful, but it's also exciting.

things.

2009-01-26T17:35:00.005-06:00

- I think Trader Joe's is my new favorite place.

- I dropped out of school... for now.

- I'm pretty sure I accidentally deleted everything on my computer last night. However, I'm doing a pretty good job not caring.

- Finally finished my horrible book. The ending was even horrible. What a waste of time. I'll probably start my next book tonight: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time.

- Nachos are probably going to get eaten tonight.

Update: i ate the shit out of some nachos. however i accidentally bought the refried black beans with jalapeños instead of normal ones. so that kind of sucked a bit. boo hoo.

Update #2: i have a stomach ache. possibly from nachos. possibly from nachos and then chocolate chips. possibly from something that isn't nachos or chocolate chips. i also have a headache. possibly from it being 3am right now and i should be sleeping. possibly from reading. i need a new prescription for my glasses... i can't see shit. the curious incident of the dog in the night time is a really good book. i'm on chapter 71, but the chapters are prime numbers only and they're short. radley isn't a cat. he looks like one but i'm pretty sure he isn't. he buries his face into my hair and puts his arm around my neck. we sleep this way almost every night. he is a master in the art of cuddles. cat cuddles. caddles. oh... so also, i recycle now.

pen is the new pencil.

2009-01-20T23:18:00.003-06:00

- pen is bad if you like erasing things though.

- my mouth tastes like pennies?

- i hate the book i'm reading but once you're more than half done with a book you can't just stop reading it. frustrating.

- will my cactuses not die now since i put them in nice big pots with sand? maybe? hopefully?

- the power went out in the whole neighborhood tonight. twice. i read my horrible book by flashlight. i also lit a candle. it was exciting.

- these are my new drawings of people. it started with people and quotes they said, then somehow turned into just people, in pen. looking weird.

back home

2009-01-17T22:34:00.002-06:00

I got back from Arizona this evening. For some reason instead of taking 2 days to drive there and back, I took 3 days each way. It's kind of an 8, 12, 8 hour-a-day thing. The drive wasn't too terrible. Especially on the way there... since I was excited to get out of the cold and snow. The way back, however, was pretty frustrating. Counting down the hours until I could just stop driving, but also not wanting it to end because that would mean I would be back home, in the snow. Driving from cold into beautiful sunny weather is invigorating and awesome, but driving from nice weather to terrible weather is so insanely depressing. I have been bored and biting my nails since I got home. Chicago is a horrible place.

For the last 25 minutes I've been laying on my cushionless couch, upside down, looking at the ceiling and contemplating. Contemplating why my cat loves to pee on my couch so much, but also wondering what it would be like if the floor was the ceiling and vice versa. Also thinking about what I would have to do to get out of my lease and move to Arizona with an apartment full of crap and two temperamental cats. I need to find someone to take over my lease I guess... if that's possible. I need to ask my landlord. I need to get a plastic slipcover for my couch also, like an old person who's afraid of dust. There's so much on my mind right now. It's terrible. I miss Arizona already.

Arizona!

2009-01-13T15:41:00.003-06:00

So far Arizona has been a success. Lots of doing nothing, being in the sun, not getting stuck in snow, and skateboarding. Arizona beats Illinois in all ways possible. All ways.

frigid friday.

2009-01-02T22:05:00.003-06:00

I always get to wilson right before the sun goes down. The sun and I aren't really friends right now.

The bowls were out of the question.

So we had a quarter pipe session.

Alex was there.

So was Mark.

And Jake.

Oh, I was there too.

And did I mention Alex was there?

When I couldn't feel my toes anymore, I left. I went to my parents' house and painted their bathroom. Now I have gas money for my trip across the country. I'm probably leaving Monday. The end.

NYD

2009-01-01T14:20:00.001-06:00

My new year's resolution is to clean my apartment.

Just kidding.

It's actually to kill my cat for peeing on my couch last night.

last day of the year.

2008-12-31T15:57:00.003-06:00

Today is the last day of 2008 and I have managed to totally blow it. I was supposed to paint today, but I couldn't sleep last night, so I ended up getting 2 hours of sleep before my alarm went off. I woke up, was still in bed, but I was so ready to get up and go to work. Then somehow I fell asleep again, because I suck at waking up and not sleeping forever. I woke up at 7:30am or something and had to text the boss telling him I overslept. I am a terrible person. He said they'd be okay without me today so I didn't go. I put on some coffee and sat on the couch for a minute. This was my chance to be up early and fix my sleep schedule. I couldn't even keep my eyes open. So I went back to sleep and woke up again at 3:15pm. Now it's 4pm and the sun is setting. There went my day.

2008 hasn't really been the best year for me. Half of it was spent being injured, going to physical therapy, and going to classes that couldn't have been more boring. There were some good things that happened this year too though. It hasn't been all bad.

I need to get my shit together and not blow it in 2009.

Wish me luck.

coping with winter.

2008-12-30T22:06:00.003-06:00

wilson.

2008-12-30T21:18:00.003-06:00

lists of things

2008-12-28T18:23:00.012-06:00

SOME THINGS I LIKE:

My metal bedroom at the basement apartment.

Arizona, complete with mountains and trailers. (and cacti)

Coffee, with soymilk.

Hand-feeding walnuts to squirrels.

Lego candy buildings.

Fritz, when he was still alive.

Skateboarding.

Skateboarding, with friends, in the summertime, in 2002.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOME THINGS I DON'T LIKE:

Snow.

Cy Twombly

When my cat pees on my stuff. Especially my red cowboy boots.

Getting terrible burns from motorcycle exhaust pipes.

White pants.

Traffic.

Meat of all kinds.

i don't know anything about editing...

2008-12-27T01:45:00.002-06:00

Today at the ramp fun was had by all. Mark and I filmed this on my phone, so it's shitty.

Zoe and Mark clip off zoe's phone from Mark Szymanski on Vimeo.

christmas eve

2008-12-24T19:38:00.002-06:00

I'm staying over at my parents' house tonight for, you know, Christmas. I took the train because I didn't want to deal with my car getting stuck in the snow/ice again.

Anyway, on the way from the train to their house I was looking down, minding my own business, trying to avoid the massive patches of ice infesting the sidewalks. I was concentrating pretty hard on this ice-avoiding business when I heard knocking from somewhere. I thought maybe it was my imagination so I ignored it for a second. Then it got louder and more sporadic and I had to look up and around for the source of the knocking. Turns out, it was a man knocking on his window across the street. It was a big window, he was standing in perfect view. He was wearing a full Santa costume, and waving at me. I stopped in my tracks, almost slipping on a patch of ice that I would have seen if I hadn't been interrupted by santa. Of course I waved back, for a while actually. For some reason this dude brightened my day a little bit. I'm not a religious person at all, so ignoring that part of this situation, this guy is dressed up as Santa, standing in his window, waving at people on the sidewalk... being a good person. At least I think that makes you a good person. He was trying to bring some cheer to people slipping on ice and freezing their asses outside. It definitely worked for me, hopefully some other people were lucky enough to get waved at by Santa as well.

Tomorrow afternoon my parents and I are going to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. We see a movie every Christmas day for some reason. I think it's a jew thing, even though my dad isn't jewish. My jew relatives are going to see that hitler-killing movie- Valkyrie or something. Go figure. I think that's hilarious.

the RRST pro model.

2008-12-24T01:14:00.004-06:00

also this:

2008-12-23T20:08:00.002-06:00

I'm just psyched that I can do disasters again.

christmukkah?

2008-12-23T19:47:00.006-06:00

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I still haven't gotten my parents any gifts. I am a terrible daughter. A terrible procrastinator also. I even bought my cats presents, but not the parents. What do you even buy for parents? Gift certificates to Red Lobster? Or what?

In the holiday spirit I have made vegan gingerbread men. I used to make gingerbread women too, but I guess the past few years I've been too lazy to go through the trouble of adding hair and a skirt to the men, I guess making them more gingerbread trannies than gingerbread women. Whatever, my cookies aren't PC, deal with it.

And I'm not the only one half-assing Christmas. This is my parent's idea of a Christmas tree:

I am not much in the holiday spirit this year. I'm over holidays and obligations. I'm also over winters. If I never saw snow ever again I would probably be fine. I could also do without shoveling my car out of snow and getting stuck on piles of ice. I could do without a lot of things. The internet, however, is probably not one of them.

fuck winter.

2008-12-22T00:37:00.002-06:00

Fuck winter, fuck chicago, and fuck snow. Also, fuck -4˚.

I got stuck on the snow/ice not once, but TWICE today. Two fucking times. The first time I had to call Grant to come push my car off a mound of ice, and the second time my mom and cousin had to push me out of a parking spot because my wheels wouldn't grip the ice.

So stupid. I'm going to Arizona soon where I won't get stuck in the snow. Also I won't be freezing most of the time. Also there will be cacti. So much cacti.

christmas comes early.

2008-12-20T02:16:00.003-06:00

I went to my parents' house to do laundry today. I felt like I needed to get out of the house, you know, do something. Anything. Anything productive. I slept until 4pm. I'm pretty sure I went to bed at 1am.... so if my calculations are correct I slept for 15 hours. That's shitty. What's even shittier is I had so many dreams, all of which were either frustrating or just plain sad. Or sometimes both. I had so many dreams. 15 hours is a lot of time.

Anyway, the point is I had to do something, so I went to do laundry for free. While I was there I was asked if I wanted to get some little early holiday presents, or if I wanted to wait for Hanukkah and/or Christmas. I said I'd like to get them now, because I needed some cheering up. Just little things: hand lotion, a polka dotted bath towel, a little bag of Swedish Fish.

Then I unwrapped this:

I was confused. A BRITA filter that didn't go with my sink attachment thingy... where my filter had run out a while ago but I keep using anyway. At least I can pretend I'm drinking filtered water. Anyway, turns out I was also given a BRITA pitcher. That the filter went to. It all made sense.

Yeah this wasn't very interesting I know. But check out the sweet bow on my head. I'm resourceful as you can see... I turn ordinary present-wrapping ribbon into sweet hair accessories. Just kidding I totally took it off soon after I put it on. Bows are gross.

murder ballads.

2008-12-18T17:08:00.004-06:00

So yes, the show went pretty well last night. I was nervous before, during, and after it, but it was fun and I’m glad some friends showed up. Yeah. Here are some pics from last night:

They spelled school wrong.

Colin took this one on his iPhone. Awesome.

Yeah I guess that's all I have right now.

Oh right, so earlier, I had the song "La Cucaracha" stuck in my head. Except instead of cucaracha it was kitten-racha. Sort of like, "La kitten-racha, la kitten-racha, da da dada dadada..." Just that line, over and over again, in my brain. And sometimes I would sing it out loud. But it's gone now. Phew.

blarg.

2008-12-17T16:05:00.002-06:00

Today I woke up with an eye twitch. I called it. Nervous.

Also, today at physical therapy I was told to jump from side to side over a small box. After doing this for 30 seconds I felt terrible, lightheaded and nauseous. Then I puked. It was gross. It was coffee and bile puke, because I hadn't had any breakfast. I probably should have. I felt terrible for the rest of the session. Add that to already feeling sore from Monday, and Paul has no mercy whatsoever, so he was pretty much getting pleasure out of seeing me suffer. So now I'm double sore, and I have PT again tomorrow morning. Triple sore?

My getup for tonight is ridiculous. I mean, if it fit well it wouldn't be, but I look like a young girl in a grown man's clothing. Which is pretty accurate. Yeah. The adult small shirt could be a dress on me. A weird weird dress. The pants fit though.

Have I mentioned yet that I'm nervous?

can't sleep, i wish i was a cat.

2008-12-17T02:49:00.006-06:00

Sleeping until 3:30pm and then drinking coffee is apparently a horrible idea. I wish I would have known this about 11 hours ago. I could have speculated, but I was probably too busy being mad about my cat pissing all over my clothes this morning. Jack Bauer the Cat, most snuggly kitty ever, is also a huge asshole. He loves peeing on my stuff, whether it be my couch, my bed, or any unattended item of clothing on the floor or APPARENTLY also on my dresser. Because he loves peeing on clothes on the floor, I pile clothes on top of my dresser, thinking it's safe. I guess that is no longer safe. It has been up until this point though. Anyway he peed on all of my clothes that were up there, including my favorite sweatshirt and a new pair of pants. I washed them today, but I think the sweatshirt still smells like cat urine, which let me tell you, is NOT a pleasant smell. It's like bad B.O. and ammonia mixed together. Oh boy is it smelly. But enough about cat pee.

The point of this was supposed to be about not being able to sleep. So yeah. I can't sleep. I tried to read but my mind kept wandering and I found myself reading the same sentence multiple times. I gave up on that about 30 minutes ago. Then I spooned with Jack on the couch a little, but he got tired of that pretty fast. So now I'm just sitting here on the couch, blogging, being totally useless. Tomorrow is the show and I'm nervous. Nail-bitingly nervous. Really, really nervous. Thirsty and nervous. I could be more nervous though, because my eyelid isn't twitching. It'll probably start up tomorrow.

For some reason I just felt like eating cake. Not wanting to eat cake, but I felt like I was actually eating cake. Weird. It passed though. Now I'm just thirsty again. Thirsty and tired. But I can't sleep.

I wish I was a cat.

running out of tricks is horrifying now.

2008-12-17T02:41:00.003-06:00

chicago is shitty.

2008-12-16T17:42:00.003-06:00

You know it's true. Fuck Chicago. It's always cold, or if it's not cold, its raining, or if it's not raining, it's windy, of if it's now windy, it's hot and humid. Right now it's snowing, which means it's extra shitty. Also whoever the genius was who decided it wasn't necessary to plow or salt the side streets anymore should be shot in the fucking face.

Anyway, enough about that I guess. I just hate snow. It makes it hard to do anything, ever. I need to go run errands but my car is buried under snow and I probably wouldn't be able to find a parking spot when I came back because someone would have claimed it as their own with plastic lawn chairs and fisher price big wheels. I need to go outside and wipe the snow off of my car pretty soon or it will probably freeze overnight. That means I have to go outside. In warm clothes. And boots. I haven't been outside at all today because I am a terrible lazy human. I went to bed at probably 2am the latest, it might have even been 1am, and I got up today at 3:30pm. What the fuck? My cats tried to wake me up multiple times but I shooed them away. They probably thought I was dead, and were just making sure I wasn't. They probably wanted to eat my corpse.

Tomorrow the band I'm in is playing a show. We are called Red River School of Taxidermy. Ummm... I play the drums. Badly. But I play them nonetheless. Also if you're reading this you should come to the show. We play at 10:30 at the Subterranean . Which is you know, that place on North Ave. right by the Milwaukee/Damen intersection. You know the place. You should come though, it should be pretty fun. Or if it's not you could make it fun by making fun of my horrible drumming.

I can sort of skateboard again.

2008-12-12T23:33:00.000-06:00

artstuffs.

2008-12-12T23:15:00.001-06:00

Some art stuff I've done this semester:

today.

2008-12-12T15:13:00.000-06:00

Today is my first day of freedom. Sort of. The school semester is over. My first semester of college, ever. In celebration of this momentous occasion I slept until 2pm. Just kidding, I totally would have done that anyway. I sleep way too much. I think maybe I should go get a blood test, again, and see if there's something wrong with me. There won't be, there never is. I just sleep a lot I guess.

Yesterday I was chewing on my lip all day and today it's all swollen and annoying. Also drinking coffee stings the hell out of it. ALSO I still can't stop chewing on it. Stupid.

It is now 3:20 pm and the only things I have done so far today is drink coffee, solve a rubik's cube, and do a crossword puzzle on the internet. At least I'm using my brain a little bit.

I'm going to finish my coffee, take a shower, attempt to stop chewing on my lip, and then take pictures of art stuff that I did this semester. You know, to post on this blog later. Nobody will see it though.

cats

2008-12-09T12:28:00.000-06:00

What makes them feel the need to take one paw and slowly nudge things off of other things? If it's light enough for them to move, they will push it off of whatever it's on. Why? WHY DAMNIT?!

Next time: Why do cats pee on everything?