Alrighty, I'm off to Gatlinburg. Fare thee well, my scrumptious little morsels... aka, later dudes. Be back Sunday.

When I was leaving to go on a walk today, there was a rainbow in the sky. I saw three overall, but managed to only get a picture of one... the others went away pretty quickly. Half the sky was dark and threatening, but the other half was simply beautiful. I took some quick photos with my digital camera.

I'm leaving for Gatlinburg tomorrow morning. My sister is getting married on Saturday, and we've rented a 4-bedroom house up there for the weekend. It should be pretty cool. I haven't been to Gatlinburg since I was itty bitty, but I remember the downtown area was pretty cool, so I'm definitely taking my camera. But don't fret my pretties... I'll be back on Sunday.

Welcome back, Adam... I got a postcard of Norvins Street, Paris, in the mail today from his trip to Europe. Postcards are fantabulous... which got me thinking. Anyone want to trade postcards with me? I'll send you a cheesy North Carolina postcard, and you can send me a cheesy one from your town. Tempting, isn't it?

Okay... back with another temporary layout. I made it 100% simple. It is called temporary because it is temporary, so please don't tell me I can do better. I know it's not much to look at, but it's here. Just give me a break, mmkay?

I just saw Lord of the Rings again. It's amazing to me how a good movie can make life better. Anytime I'm upset, I can watch a good movie, and I will feel okay again. I lose myself in the visuals, and many times I come away still in the mindset of the characters. It's a great way to lose yourself... even for just a little while.

It is crazy to watch what's going on in the Eastern half of the world. Israel and Palestine are blowing up, and it appears that India and Pakistan are closer to war. I don't pretend to know all there is to know about these situations, but it does concern me, especially when we have troops in the vicinity. I'm not a great political mind or somesuch, but sometimes I wonder what would happen if Jerusalem was made some sort of international zone, sort of in the vein of Washington D.C. being made a district in itself, within America. I just sometimes come by the thought that maybe it should belong to no one... or everyone, if you will. I know the whole situation is about more than that, but like I said... it's just a thought.

I think Ted and I are going to brave the coffee-drinking crowd at Barnes and Noble next week... that's right. There's an open mic poetry night, and we are going to be there. I've never done a reading before, and I can't help but wonder what it'll be like. I need to pick a few things to read. I dunno, man... I hope my words go over well.

Fucking hell! I can't get all the links and crap on the right to align to the top, even though I put a valign tag everywhere imaginable... what to do? Eep.

New layout. I know... it's not great. But it's different. It's simple. I just wanted a change.

Wowzers. Two people are saying that I rock right now. That makes me happy. Go see Apple and Kate, and let them know that they rock too.

"Are you 20? I know how old you are! You're 20! When was your birthday? Mine's in September! My birthday's in September! Is my birthday in September? How do you know?"

Ay. I'm watching the munchkin today.

Things are falling into place as far as my California trip goes. Erin purchased my ticket tonight. I'll be there for a month! June 19th to July 19th... whoa momma.

I've been working on a separate blog for the trip, which Erin and Niniane (possibly David, too) will be posting on with me. California or bust. Add it to your links, because you are all my bitches, and I am your gutter pimp. ...Please?

Well... we finally got pretty much everything out of my room, so my mom attacked the cabinets and bookshelf that I wanted to get rid of with a crowbar. Unfortunately, behind the back of the book case is a hole in the wall, so we need to have someone come in and hang some new sheet rock. Hopefully we can get that done soon so I can start painting. Damn I'll be glad when this is done. See pictures here.

Oh my... I got all the answers correct on TV Guide's Family Ties trivia. I lubs me some Nick at Nite.

"Thank God I'm an atheist."

(Michael Stivic, All in the Family)

Why can't life be like a tv show? And I mean a good tv show, not The Nanny or some shit.

I went for a drive again, listening to Jack Johnson's album, which I borrowed from Jeff. Very nice... very nice indeed. I dig Jack with two shovels.

It's cold. Maybe the on-and-off warm weather we were having was just Mother Nature getting hot flashes. I guess she decided to turn on the air conditioner.

Fuckin a, squared.

I awoke this morning to find not one but two kitties in bed with me. Cali was in her usual spot between my body and my arm, under the covers. Chyna joined us at some point during the night... I woke up to a little growling between them. They don't generally get along. But Chyna curled up on my leg, and Cali stayed snuggled under the covers with me. It was nice to have some kitty company... so much so that I ended up going back to sleep.

Had fun tonight. Wasn't the most exciting of times, but I had some laughs nonetheless. I met up with Ted and Mike at Drips downtown, and since no one was around yet we decided to take a drive. They were hungry, so we ended up at McDonald's. After more driving, we went back to Drips. I of course had an ice mocha, and we hung out... until the band came on. I don't know what you'd call them exactly, other than the fact that they sounded like some boring high school ensemble. It was a little scary. So we left, and wound up at Barnes and Noble. We rambled around for a while, laughing at book titles, dancing in the aisles, looking at neat music and photography books. After that, there was basically nothing left to do for the night... so I drove them back downtown to Mike's car, and we parted ways. I ended up driving around alone for a while longer, listening to Ben Lee. Driving around the same roads alone is getting a little boring I think... I'll have to come up with some different roads to travel.

Odd. My computer is now upstairs in my niece's room. This used to be my room when I was a rugrat, once upon a time. I managed to clean up and get a couple of shelves and all my photography junk cleared out and into boxes today. Tomorrow my stereo, tv, some books, and a few other things will have to go. Then we can get started on tearing out the cabinets, desk and bookshelf. Once whatever damage done to the wall is repaired, I can start painting. Yay. We have to get that ugly linoleum up, too, before our new floor is put down. Man... I'll be glad when this is done.

I've been meaning to mention that my enlarger came a couple of days ago. I got an Omega DII with all the fixins... I can print 35mm, 120mm, and 4x5 negatives. Winner. That big boy makes me happy... I can't wait till I have my darkroom all set up. Joy.

Ah... I have to get up in 4 hours for breakfast at IHOP with the mother ship and her friends from work. Nothing beats bottomless-cup coffee. It's zzz time.

I made a Friend Test. Take it, if you dare... mwahahaha.

Oh goodness. It appears someone likes me, dot com style. Riiight. I hate to get these messages, because I know that in all probability there is someone I am acquainted with who received one of these messages, and therefore put in the name and e-mail of practically everyone they know, trying to figure out who it was... and so I received one of these goobery little messages declaring "OOOoooOOoooh, someone likes you!" Bah, humbug.

Bon voyage, cowboy! Sounds funny, doesn't it? Adam is leaving for London and France today... I am oh so jealous, but I hope he has a fabulous time.

Why won't anyone answer my e-mails?

I just got a spam mail with the subject "Buy Stocks for $4"... at first thought it said "Socks". I found that funny for some odd reason. I think I should go to bed.

I saw Star Wars. I saw Yoda in action. I saw Jedis kicking ass. My socks are officially rocked. YOWZA.

I picked up mom for lunch today with the intention of test-driving the purple convertible VW Karmann Ghia I've been lusting over for the past year or so... but as luck would have it, the place was closed. Bah. I did, however, manage to score two tickets to tonight's midnight showing of Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

Tonight will be lovely. It's my grandmother's birthday, so mom and I are meeting my grandparents for dinner at a yummy Chinese restaurant. I'm giving her a framed print of mine. Anyway, after that I'll be heading over to the local coffeehouse, where Ted is doing a solo set tonight. His last song will be a cover of "What's Up" by 4 Non Blondes, which is sure to be grand. Once his set is over, I'll go pick up Jeff and we'll head across town for Star Wars. Oh yes.

I had a pretty nice day today. I woke up about 1:00 with a call from Jeff, asking if I wanted to go for a drive. His friend and art manager, Anna, just bought a blue 1966 convertible Cadillac, and he's been driving it around a bit. So I went for a drive with him... it was such a nice day out. I hung out with him for a little while and helped Anna with some stuff on her computer.

I came home around 5:00, and the mother ship and I decided to go grab some food and shop for my grandmother's birthday tomorrow. We stopped by Outback and had a Bloomin Onion and some grilled shrimp, then headed over to Target for a few things. I always wander around in their home section, because they have some really neat stuff there. I found this great rug for my room, which kind of reminds me of Kandinsky's Squares with Concentric Rings, only it's all squares. It'll look really nice once with the framed art prints of his work that I'm gonna hang in here.

I think my room is going to look really great when I finally have it all redone... fresh silver-blue paint, new floor, great rug, groovy artwork, cool lighting, nice furniture... I'm gonna have to beg some people to come and visit me towards the end of the summer so it can be enjoyed. Wee.

I'm shopping for darkroom supplies, and I cannot believe the prices for a simple 4-blade easel. I mean this bitch is $146! What the fuck? That's as much as my safelight, chemicals, trays, and paper put together. I guess I'll have to grab a beat up one from ebay or something. What a shitty piece of cumquat madness.

"You're fucking up my chi."

(Swordfish)

Drat. I burned the back of my upper arm pretty badly this morning. We went over to my grandparents' house for breakfast since it's Mother's Day. The way they have their table set up, I have to edge around to the chair that's against the wall. They have their toaster oven set up next to the table for easy access, and the door of it was down... I sat in my chair and suddenly felt a sharp pain in my arm, like someone had sliced it open. So now I've got a freakin welt on my arm that's like two inches long, and it hurts like a motherfucker. Oof say I.

Uh oh... looks like Dillon's site may have gone down due to the fact that he didn't renew the domain... I will be sure to consult him when he returns from his Saturday night adventures.

TOWANDA!

Erin and I have decided that when I fly out to Los Angeles to do her promo shots, I will also be making my directorial debut in the world of music videos. Oh yes... you see, we are going to get some half naked hos and dress her up in white fur and fake gold jewelry, with champagne and loads of fake money. She will be getting her pimp on in a hot tub and her dad's Mustang convertible. We may also try a take-off of MTV Cribs. mwahaha... This is going to be fun.

Well, the eye appointment went fine. My eyes haven't changed. I suppose not being able to read the downstairs television perfectly from upstairs shouldn't be anything to worry about... but I guess as a photographer it's my job to worry about those things. I don't want anything to affect my focusing abilities.

John was fabulous yet again tonight. I went solo for the second time... it's really not so bad. I don't mind driving up there alone. It's just nice to have someone else with you, to share the experience with, and more importantly to save your spot near the front in the case that you really have to pee. Luckily I was not in this situation tonight, but you know... it happens.

Highlight of the evening: a drunk girl vomited on the floor in front of me before the show even started. Lovely.

I thought about sticking around until John decided to re-emerge once the crowd was gone, but since it was lonely waiting around on my own and my back, legs, and feet were killing me from standing for four hours with a heavy bag and camera, I decided it was time to go. Next time, Johnny boy.

I'm having my eyes checked today. I think they've gotten a little worse since I last had them checked, which was... I don't know when. Not too shabby though. My only concern is that he'll want to put those dilating drops in my eyes... I'll have to be sure to mention the fact that I must drive for over an hour directly after the appointment, as I am going to see John Mayer... again. Here's hoping I'll manage to get a good spot this time.

Drove around town for half an hour or so. I go for drives in the middle of the night in hopes that some great epiphany about my life will suddenly slap me in the face. But it doesn't happen. So I just keep driving aimlessly... as if it would change my life.

"I need you to hear, I need you to see

that I have had all I can take

and exploding seems like a definite possibility to me

So pardon me while I burst into flames

I've had enough of the world

and its people's mindless games

So pardon me while I burn, and rise above the flame

Pardon me, pardon me

I'll never be the same"

("Pardon Me" - Incubus)

John was great... he's such a funny guy. He tells the best stories, and goes into random pop or r&b songs while he's playing, then right back into the song he was singing. I enjoyed it, even if it would have been nice to have someone to laugh about it with.

My only complaints are that there were way too many swooning, screaming teenage girls, who also tended to sing along quite loudly. People... if you go to concerts and sing at the top of your lungs... for the good of that which is music, stop it. You can mouth the words. You can sing softly. But the people around you have not paid for you to sing out of key into their ears, nor to strain to hear the actual artist over your singing/screaming/I love you-ing. Yeesh. Also, the tickets were $20 each. Bitch whaaa?

I didn't get any photos tonight... I didn't get an opportune spot. People move their heads too much. But I'm gonna go extra super duper early to the next show so I will have a prime position from which to snap the shutter. Wee.

So yeah... I'm seeing John Mayer tonight. Alone. I feel a teensy bit nervous because I don't know the first thing about getting around in Winston-Salem, and I've never been to the venue. But I've got what appear to be good directions, so I think I'll be okay. Anyway, I better shake a tailfeatha.

Man. I completely forgot about the carnival tonight, and tomorrow night I'm seeing John Mayer... so I'm not sure I'll get to photograph it at sunset like I wanted. Insert many expletives here.

Fuckin a. I got home from seeing Spiderman just 20 minutes ago and already I'm bored. I can't entertain myself on this thing anymore... it makes me antsy. I just play old school Legend of the Red Dragon or endless games of Solitaire. It's really pathetic.

I don't think I've fully realized my new freedom from classes yet... I still feel all stressed out, like I still have exams to be studying for. But I don't. And tomorrow is Saturday, and there is no work that needs to be done rightthisverysecond. For some reason that feels weird. But nice.

I guess that I've just had so much on my mind lately that I am antsy due to the fact that I don't have as much to worry about. Hopefully I'll find some things to occupy myself in order to wind down. Hello relaxation, I love you.

The exam wasn't as bad as I had anticipated... it was 100 questions, and only took me about 45 minutes. I'm just so relieved to finally be done with this semester.

I might go with my mom to test drive the purple convertible VW Karmann Ghia I've been lusting over for the past year. She can drive stick, I can't... but I would be more than happy to learn if I could just have that beautiful car. I'm really not a person who normally cares about cars, but this one... it was just made to be mine.

Anyway... I'm not even sure that he reads this anymore, but I wanted to say congratulations to Sam for finishing college. I know that has to be an amazing feeling. Maybe one day I will pick a school so I can finish too.

The carnival still wasn't open today. I don't know why... maybe it was too windy. Bah.

Western Civ exam at 8am. I am procrastinating big time. Go Nick at Nite go.

It wasn't open yet. I had suspected it might be closed since when I was coming home from my Sociology test a little before 6:00, the ferris wheel wasn't on yet. I'll go tomorrow night instead.

Up down up down... I allowed myself to get upset before my Sociology test and ended up crying again. I took a nap to get my mind away from it but then proceeded to have a freaky dream. I ignored it and studied then went to take the test, which I am quite sure I botched up rather well... but I just don't give a fuck. I'm off to the carnival.

I was driving home from class and noticed a big ferris wheel in the direction of the mall. I dropped by to check it out and sure enough, there is a carnival set up in an unused section of the mall parking lot. This is perfect, because I've been in the mood to photograph a fair setting lately... I just adore the colors. I'm gonna try to head over there tonight or tomorrow. Excitement... yay.

Ug... like Charlie Brown.