Oh, sweet nuthin'.

random life

2007-07-27T17:14:41Z

I put in my two weeks at Ivy last night. I had been anticipating this event since I started working in May, but I'll still be sad to go. Other than the bouncing paychecks, I couldn't have asked for a better summer job - good pay to do relatively nothing but smile at people and utter the phrases "Good evening! Do you have a reservation tonight?" "Have a good night!" and "Bathroom? Straight back to the left through the red curtain." The gossip, typical of any restaurant, is both plentiful and irresistably entertaining. The people are young and alive. (Last night, my boss prank-called me at the front desk from the bar. This kind of thing happens all the time.)

Two girls came in toward the end of the night. One I knew as a regular - a blonde with a distinctively short, Breathless-esque haircut. They were very touchy, especially in front of the male staff, and I couldn't tell if they were lovers or just exhibitionists. They are apparently friends with a lot of the staff, as the blonde had briefly "dated"/had sex with one of the owners. He's 32. She's 22.

"Hey!" the blonde said as they were leaving. "When you get off work, you should come out with us!'

And I thought - Why the hell not?

I met them at the Beantown Pub afterward, and Chris, the bar manager at Ivy, ushered me in. Scott, the head chef, was there also. Very strange to booze with my thirty-year-old co-workers. Very strange. Drinks were apparently on the house, because I didn't pay a dime. I decided to leave when a gaggle of lawyers who were all well over 30 began to hit on us mercilessly.

I came home, buzzed from a couple gin and tonics, to find that Alex, Dave, and a couple of Dave's friends from Beverly were already over. We promptly headed up to the roof. A couple rooftops over, there was a large gathering, and a seemingly very intoxicated boy beckoned us over. It was some sort of corporate shindig with recent grads from every Ivy and elite university in America. I talked to some kid about urban planning in Detroit and Cleveland for a large chunk of the night. Somehow, I always end up talking about post-industrialism when drunk.

I am in love with the city of Boston.

sweetnlo887 @ 2006-12-28T12:40:00

2006-12-28T19:20:42Z

1.) Where did you ring in the new year? outrageously drunk in Paula's basement
2.) What was your status by Valentine's Day? I think Mark was Molly's and my Valentine
3.) Were you in school (anytime this year)? yup, and still am.
4.) How did you earn your keep? Working for the government and at an icecream shop over the summer. I am currently working at the Budget making tax-payers' dollars to play facebook.
5.) Did you have to go to the hospital? nope
6.) Did you encounter the police? There were three or four close calls in a row this summer, all involving the pot. We also had cops bust into our dormroom in November who caught us with, you guessed it, pot.
7.) Where did you go on vacation? Lake George and Chicago
8.) What did you purchase that was over $500? Nothing
9.) Did you know anybody who got married? I don't think so
10.) Did you know anybody who passed away? No, thankfully
11.) Have you run into anybody you graduated high school with? Lots of people. Lots of awkward run-ins at the mall and elsewhere around Albany
12.) Did you move anywhere? nope
13.) What sporting events did you go to? one BC football game
14.) What concerts did you go to? Silver Jews (by myself. ha), Belle & Sebastian, New Pornographers, Lollapalooza, Islands
15.) Are you registered to vote? yes
16.) If so, did you do your patriotic duty on Nov. 7? No. I should have.
17.) Where do you live now? Slingerlands, NY/ Chestnut Hill, MA
18.) Describe your birthday: Went out to dinner with my best of friends at the Gingerman in Albany. I was there for about twenty minutes before realizing that my roommate, Molly, was sitting at the table behind me. She had come up from Long Island to surprise me. Afterwards, we caravanned to Kaira's apartment where we drank and danced
19.) What's the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2006? Dance on stage in front of 40,000 spectators, made extremely close friendships with people other than my friends from home, kissed the boy I've liked since I was 16
20.) What is one thing you regretted this year? not paying more attention
21.) What's something you learned about yourself? I am much more capable than I ever could have imagined
22.) Any new additions to your family? Nope
23.) What was your best month? December was pretty damn awesome
24.) What from pop culture will you remember 2006 by? Cheney shooting that guy
25.) How would you rate this year with a scale from 1 to 10 ? a 7 - spring was good, summer was eh, fall/winter was amazing

sweetnlo887 @ 2006-09-17T14:17:00

2006-09-17T18:19:21Z

I need help.
What should I name my radio show this fall?

1. pineapple showers
2. alabaster sandbags
3. the french horn
4. kittens with mittens
5. the lollipop garden
6. kitschy banana
7. argyle toothpick
8. duct tape masquerade
9. kilroy was here
10. kites are cool
11. the things and things movement

I need to decide by tonight. Suggestions?

sweetnlo887 @ 2006-09-09T17:58:00

2006-09-09T22:08:32Z

Basically, my classes are skull-crushingly sweet:

- Film Making I
- James Joyce's Ulysses
- Religion and Sexuality in European History
- Western Cultures and Civilizations
- Intermediate French

Other than the fact that I got destructively drunk last night and apparently traipsed all around campus with the P-scholar boys,
things are good. Good good.

Also, I love the Rolling Stones, and I am not afraid to say so.

sweetnlo887 @ 2006-08-22T15:03:00

2006-08-22T19:07:30Z

Livejournal just welcomed me "back." I didn't realize that I was gone?

My birthday was yesterday.

While sitting at the Budge for 8 hours, I kept wanting to yell, "It's my birthday!" But that would have been socially unacceptable, so I refrained. I also wished that I had a little friend who would follow me around and whisper to people that today was my birthday. But no one knew it was my birthday and without anyone knowing, a birthday doesn't feel special in the least.

I arrived to the Ginger Man a little bit late. Amidst the chaos of people and wrapping paper, Ellen kept asking me questions about Molly (my roommate) which I thought was strange and vaguely annoying. After sitting for about ten minutes and thinking that everyone was acting awfully weirdly, I turned around and there was Molly at the table behind me.

Turns out she and Brendan had been planning the surprise for two weeks.

After dinner, the party moved to Kaira's apartment so that we could smoke and drink things. The night was punctuated by inflatable breasts and birthday shots and the Violent Femmes and cheap white wine and a giant doll leg that kept surfacing amidst the madness. My birthday ended on a beautiful and highly intoxicated note.

I just want to drive around and listen to Jordan O'Jordan and see everyone I know.

sweetnlo887 @ 2006-08-20T03:52:00

2006-08-20T08:23:35Z

I have had no less than THREE close-calls with the police in the past week (one of which involved me being a very drunk passenger when pulled over, the other two times involving hidden marijuana). I need to start being more careful.

Gabe worked his last night at Ross' last night, and it finally hit me that the summer is basically over. To celebrate, we spiked our sodas with Mr. Boston. We played David Bowie way too loudly and messed up almost every order in some way after that.

This summer could have been better and it could have been worse.

I wrote that last summer, but it rings truer for the current one. There have been assorted mini-adventures along with the Annual Road Trip. However, I have had 0 romantic entanglements and haven't kissed a boy since my last night in Boston. Also, I missed a Michigan a lot this summer.

I turn 19 tomorrow.

ode to lollapalooza

2006-08-08T18:04:29Z

We were sitting in the grass after Sonic Youth's set and feeling pleasantly high, when an odd-looking bespectacled man with a bushy beard approached us.

"Hey, how would you girls like to dance on stage with the Flaming Lips?"

After convincing us that he was not kidding, he gave us backstage passes. "You'll have to dress in costumes," he said. "Probably as aliens."

Naturally, we spent the next two hours obtaining vodka and drinking it as fast as we possibly could.

Forty-five minutes before the Flaming Lips' set, we met backstage with the other 20 or so who were randomly selected from the crowd of 65,000. Half of us changed into skimpy metallic space creature costmes, the other half into furry Santa suits. We were interviewed by the Flaming Lips staff, MTV, and documentary makers.

Hidden behind green alien masks, we worked it in front of an enthused crowd of tens of thousands. My fellow aliens began taking off their masks ten minutes in, and I followed suit. Exposed, I danced my ass off in the midst of theatrics and confetti.

The Lips played "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots," "Do You Realize?," and "She Don't Use Jelly." I was ten feet away.

Afterwards, we went backstage and Wayne Coyne hugged us. Back in the concert spectate haze, a handful of people recognized us from the stage. One stranger even took my picture.

During the Red Hot Chili Peppers, I stood next to a boy whom I knew nothing about other than the fact that he attended Northwestern and prefered that people say "beer" rather than "beers." We brushed arms for an hour and a half and made small comments in between songs. We never exchanged names.

@ work.

2006-07-03T15:19:51Z

I can't even handle this job. Good thing I'm only working at the Budget one day this week (today). I have 28 hours at Ross' to look forward to, though.

This summer is strange. Many of the people I would like to see often are not consistently around. I'm not sure if things were actually better last summer or if my memories of last summer are better than what's happening now. Nostalgia is tricky. What I do know is that on this night (July 3) last year, I (nearly) completed a power hour and smoked hookah on a rooftop and talked at great lengths with a good-looking boy visiting from Michigan. (I remember the date, because my fourth of July last year was spent excrutiatingly hungover under a hot sun amidst screaming children.) I've had a decent amount of adventure so far (spontaneous drive to Chicago, a night in Boston, visits to Lake George and Hunter Mountain), but I just hope things shape up. and soon.

keeyute

2006-06-11T06:29:45Z

I am damn near losing my mind in Albany.

Don't get me wrong, it's absolutely wonderful to see everyone again, but I forgot how frustrating/limiting it is to live at home with the 'rents and so (relatively) far from friends. So far, the highlights of my summer have been Matt Conn's gathering and watching Labyrinth high. And that's just pathetic.

Also, I is po'. My job at Ross' is okay, except I NEVER WORK. I have probably worked ten hours in the past two weeks. I do make a pretty mean icecream cone though, so you should probably come visit.

Since I've been home, I read Everything is Illuminated. I had a few problems with the book, but for the most part I thought it was very well done. [Not to mention that Jonathan Safran Foer is a total hottieeee!!1!1! (in a mehh-I-am-a-best-selling-author-at-the-age-of-24 sort of way)]. I recommend the book, but skip the movie. Seriously, that shit is baaadbadbad. What other books should I read this summer? Tell me!

So, let's adventure. We should plan day trips to Boston, Montreal, and New York. We should go swimming in that swimming hole in Troy. We should hike Buck.

Also, I bought this incredible Radiohead tribute LP on iTunes. All of the covers add some sort of new flavor - jazz, R&B, etc. - to Radiohead classics. I know that sounds strange, but this shit is so good.

Kaira Kristbergs, get your lovely ass home. to me.

meh.

2006-05-16T04:05:45Z

I miss how idealistic I used to be.

teeny tiny pleasantries

2005-11-15T09:31:22Z

Today was weather of the wonderful sort that makes you want to smile at the sun and push people off of sidewalks and perhaps ride a bicycle. I enjoyed a lovely walk and coffee in and around the BU area, although I was saddened by Miss Kluz' failure to answer her telephonic device.

"I was playing this girl in ping-pong and I beat her a few times and then I felt bad and let her beat me a few times," said a youthful human on the T. "And then she said, 'you know what? I'm going to start holding my paddle a weird way because I'm that much better than you.'"

Tonight will be my first genuine all-nighter of college. My progress so far enatils the penning of three paragraphs and the ingestion of three Iced-Teas and two Diet Cokes. It is 4:10 in the morning.

Last night, I had an hour long chat on the laundry room floor with one of the lads who lives upstairs. I am glad to be considered someone's confidante.

I am doing a great job of keeping this journal defunct. Oh, well.

this is strange

2005-08-29T06:20:07Z

I miss everyone terribly. Life is awfully lonely here in the A-L-B without my droogs. Driving home from Ellen's tonight was especially hard. With nearly all of my best friends gone, it is finally beginning to register that I won't see them anytime soon (unless you count our tentatively-scheduled meeting in New York). It will be interesting to see the rag-tag team of remainders that emerges during the next week. As of next weekend, I won't even be seeing anyone remotely familiar. I hope my current friendships remain fully in tact, but at the same time, I am looking forward to meeting new and interesting people. Ugh. I just want to go to Boston, dammit. I am so ready.

Last night, Ellen, Nellie, and I had one last shabang before their departures. We ventured into the Troy-let where we partied with some crazy-awkward engineering majors from RPI. (Emphasis on AWKWARD. I, however, thrive in awkward situations.)

ha, as this picture was about to be taken, I quickly invited everyone within hearing distance to get in. (And somehow I scored the kid in the white's number. hollerrr.)

Drunken impromptu trampoline action!

Please note the "Save Our Troups" ribbons on the refridgerator. Not only were they all over the fridge, but they were also coating every square inch of the ceiling.

And how much does Zach Hines look like the Jew-fro kid from 40-Year-Old Virgin/Napoleon Dynamite?

Eh? Ehhh?!?

and the city kept blinkin'

2005-08-21T06:48:45Z

So I'm 18 today. This is weird.

(And it's not fucking showing up on facebook. So leave me messages/edit my wall. Bitch.)

Ellen and I dicked around downtown for a few hours smoking cigarettes and having mini, Hemingway-esque adventures. The smell of smoke is still lingering in my hair. I kind of forgot how beautiful and eclectic downtown Albany is. It's sad how dilapidated some parts have gotten.

I am nearly nocturnal, and I like it.

midnight ramblings

2005-08-19T04:37:52Z

Distance is a funny concept. Yes, just distance in general. I don't think the human mind is capable of comprehending distance. For all purposes, 12 hours away is the same as 30 hours away is the same as 34734945754 hours away. Regardless of the exact number of miles, any great distance means you are not going to see that person very much. I keep having these strange dreams about this boy who lives far away. In these dreams, we are in various locations -- a generic theatre, restaurant, house -- and we can talk and talk and talk all we want but when I reach out to touch him, I can't. No matter how far or hard I reach, an invisible wall is always there barring me from him. And I think these dreams are the perfect metaphor for distance, really. Or at least the most accurate manifestation of what our minds perceive as distance. Or maybe just my mind. Or maybe I'm just crazy.

word, son.

2005-08-09T12:14:43Z

The past week or so has been relatively eventful. Props to Emily for the party on Friday. I love how parties bring our entire extended group of friends together. I feel like they are the only time I see certain people.

We had a huge family party on Saturday night, and I was given a beer at my aunt's insistence. It was very weird drinking in front of my family.

Tomorrow, Kaira, Ellen, Julia and I will commence our trek to the heart of Michigan. I cannot wait.

sweetnlo887 @ 2005-08-02T10:33:00

2005-08-02T15:00:34Z

Everyone should read Killing Yourself to Live by Chuck Klosterman. Seriously. So good.

My boss didn't have anything for me to do today, so she instructed me to literally "sit idly" for an hour while she attends a meeting. I'm so sick of this job. It's such tedious, mind-numbing work, which I guess explains the headcases who work here; seriously, it's a psychogist's paradise. The waste recepticals in the restroom have huge signs above them that say "No Sharps." Underneath, there is an illustration of what I'm assuming is a heroine needle with a big red "X" through it. Gotta love the New York State offices.

Last night, Kaira and I sat around her apartment drinking insta-chai, plotting our roadtrip, and making lists. It was a quality evening, as nights with Kaira usually are.

My mother has concluded that I'm "spinning out of control" and "on the wrong path," thus deciding to pull the arbitrary authority card for the remainder of the summer. When I got home last night, she assumed that I had been drinking (which I hadn't), and I informed her that I haven't drank since June -- which (with two or three exceptions) is the truth. She is making me stay home for one night this week and has even threatened to instill a curfew, a concept that is new and foreign to me. What the hell. I have a month left. Let me live, woman.

This summer could be better and it could be worse.

Greetings from sunny San Diego.

2005-07-28T05:10:56Z

This place is unreal. Last night, my sister and I took a walk along the beach as the sun sank below the horizon. As the waves slid back into the water, the last glimmer of sunlight reflected off the wet sand, leaving the entire coast silvery and irridescent. Every evening, the sun is transformed into this huge orange yolk and the sky is a muddly mess of color. The beauty is incomprehensible; it doesn't even register. I think I have a different time comprehending beauty in general. My mind is very analytical, very math-oriented, and doesn't deal well with the abstract. But I digress.. my meager descriptions do very little justice. I'll be sure to post pictures upon returning home.

This vacation has been just grand thusfar. My aunt and uncle live a block from the beach, so we've been spending inordinate and unhealthy amounts of time soakin' up the sun. My aunt and uncle -- who are rather affluent in there parts -- are tight with the lifeguards at the local beach, so my sister and I were given a sweet ride on this motorized lifeboat today. We sped up and down the Del Mar beach and got really close -- I'm talking ten feet away tops -- from a pair of dolphins. At one point, my bathing suit top started falling off and the lifeguard who was driving the boat had to slow down so I could fix it. It was pretty weird.

All that being said, I could never live in California. Or at least in Del Mar, California. It's just too damn perfect all of the time. I really do love it here, but I've always felt vaguely uncomfortable. Everything is just so.. foreign. and perfect, for lack of a better term. (As I type that, it seems strangely redundant.. "foreign" and "perfect" seem to have an awful lot in common. Ohh, 518 representttt.) Even the Beach Boys have always seemed irrelevent to me. Honestly, what kind of place is sunny and 80 degrees 365 days a year? I'll take the Northeast and all of her inconsistencies and idiosyncracies please.

So, yeah. I've been listening to a lot of Pavement. Reading a lot. I love having time to read. And missing all of your asses, obviously. Obviously.

pop pop goes the ceiling of routine

2005-06-23T05:07:24Z

"How to Break the Ice at Parties"
by Ogden Nash

Candy is dandy
But liquor is quicker.

My first house party was a success. However, it would be greatly appreciated if whoever copped the three steaks from my freezer come forward at this point. Luckily, my mom is more confused than suspicious.

sweetnlo887 @ 2005-06-15T15:23:00

2005-06-15T22:44:36Z

What I have been up to since graduation (in no particular order):

- Got a well-paying job (that could easily be performed by a machine ..or monkey)
- Went to Guilderland prom
- Got my license
- Got pulled over
- Had a graduation party
- Went to graduation parties
- Became addicted to facebook
- Ate an unhealthy amount of Bombers' burritos
- Watched repeats of pretty much the entire first season of "America's Next Top Model"
- Consumed far too much Starbucks
- Made some sweet purchases on polo.com
- Went running
- Read a lot
- Worked a lot
- Went bikeriding
- Went to several house parties
- Was "that girl"
- Played in a piano recital
- Had a nice boy cook me dinner
- Went to Thatcher Park
- Straight-up chilled.

...Aaaaand that about wraps it up. Get off your computer and go outside.

c is for CRUUUUUNNNKKK!!!!!1!!!1!

2005-05-30T15:40:17Z

I graduated from the Academy of the Holy Names yesterday. I got my very own shout-out in Cara's closing speech.

There was some hardcore crunkage last night. Ellen, Kathleen, and I had a deep talk in our innebriated states about whether or not you can compromise traditionalism with progressivism. IntensetotheMAX.

Oh, and...
Graduation party.
June 5th.
My house.
4 until whenever.
BE THEREEE.

I have a good feeling about this summer.

how to fight boredom...

2005-05-21T15:47:37Z

Last night, we had about an hour to kill before going to a party. We sat in the Tastee Freeze parking lot facing a laundromat and watched as a couple and a sketchy old man did their laundry. Jocelyn, Ellen, and I narrated their potential conversation for a good half an hour.

"dude we just got picked up by a cadillac full of girls, I didn't just call you, I called God."

2005-05-21T05:29:18Z

Facebook is consuming my life.

So I got into BC's Honors Program. wooo.

I've been in kind of a rut recently.

I think I should take a lesson from Crazy Dan and make every moment ten times more intense than it has to be.

So, the president of SADD drinks and the president of NHS plagiarizes. go figure.

2005-05-15T22:32:01Z

My internet hasn't been working for the past few days in case any of you were wondering about by abnormally prolonged absence from AIM. My iTunes somehow got erased and I accidentally erased the songs off of my iPod as well, so now I have to start from scratch. That's 1000+ songs completely gone. Soo if anyone wants to let me come over and steal their iTunes, that would be greatly appreciated.

Brendan's BBQ/all-night extravaganza was ridiculously fun. The Guilderland girls HATED us. Probably because, as Rachel says, we stole their boys and their alc. They gave us looks of death the entire night and lied to us repeatedly about where the booze was. Freaks. I actually kind of enjoyed the tension. Ellen and I worked surprisingly well together as a Beer Pong duo, nearly defeating Matt and Emma. I befriended a really attractive boy who lives in the development one over from me and is going to Michigan next year. I passed out super early, and apparently Matt put me to bed.

Good party, Bren. You're a real champ. :)

Two days left of high school. Whuttttt.

quick post in school

2005-05-10T18:39:37Z

Prom was fantastic. Everyone looked outrageously stunning. Afterwards was a little out of control between the tent of sin and people setting their limbs on fire. It was an amazing night nonetheless.

The job at Ross' fell through. I have no idea where else to seek summer employment.

Apparently I am a prime target of late-night phone calls. I woke up to my phone ringing at about 12:45 last night. It was Mike Boyle and John Sciuto driving home from New Hampshire where they saw Ben Folds in concert. They met Ben. Now, I have loved Ben Folds since 9th grade. Literally idolized him. I can't even begin to express my jealousy. Fifteen minutes later, Brian Campbell called. He was either drunk or high (or both).

dad?

2005-04-30T05:53:22Z

So it's official now:

Boston College '09

I really tore myself up trying to make a decision. I was thinking it came down to BC and Colgate and then BC and Michigan so I ultimately just went with BC. I keep second guessing myself, but I think (I hope!) I made the right choice.

Tonight was fun. We went to this "rock show" at Guilderland with Matt and Brendan and then met up with the Jew Crew there. Dave's band was a DMB cover band, and they were actually amazing. Lotsa talent. There was another pretty good band that did one of the most amazingly poignant covers of Hey Jude I have ever heard. After the show, Jordan and Josh took us to some Guilderland party in a field where we met some pretty cool people. (It helped that Rachel started every conversation with, "Oh hi, we go to Holy Names. We put out." Lots of confusion ensued.) There was no drinking, just lots and lots of reefer smoking. I did not participate. Oh how I enjoy those folks from Guilderland.

As excited as I am for college, I hate how this is the beginning of the end. There isn't time for meeting new people, getting to know people, allowing new relationships to blossom. I can't accept the fact that, in about three months, my life will be so completely different from anything I have ever known and things will never be quite the same again. Let's make this summer amazing, shall we?