The Raven!

I forgot to include the bit about how Raven has this badass sign up on the door to her room. She made it herself!

Trent Reznor is Effing Hot

Today I received the following message (entitled "long drives down pch") on Myspace:

"rockin out to a basement on the hill would be divine. the only way to make it better is with some cornbread and mac and cheese at boston market."

At first I thought the message was from my dear friend Greg Poppe, but it turned out to be from another Greg whom I have never met or even heard of. Then later today, Eugene called me and made mention of the fact that we needed to go to Boston Market together, but I didn't have his number in my phone, so I thought it was this Greg character for about 2.5 seconds. It was weird.

Last night, Angela and I saw NIN in San Diego. For me, the experience was more or less a dream come true since I'm pretty much obsessed with NIN. The Dresden Dolls opened, and they were lame as balls. In fact, the only half-decent song they played was a NIN cover. Fortunately, Trent and his posse came out in a very timely manner and played over an hour-and-a-half-long set that is still blowing my mind. When I thought it couldn't get any better, it did. And they played songs from almost (if not) every album, including some of my all-time favorites. The lighting effects were also out of control, and Trent Reznor's energy and stage presence exceeded my greatest expectations. As a side note, Trent was also looking particularly attractive. Apparently, when he's not into drugs, which he isn't anymore, he's pretty keen on protein smoothies and working out (but not in a gross sense). The people at the show were also "pretty special," as Angela would say. Lots of dominatrix outfits, some cracked-out fairy types, and people making out and licking excessive amounts of sweat off each other (which probably only describes the people directly in front of Angela and me because we obviously just get lucky when we go to shows together). The only downside to the whole evening was the shitty venue it was in. But I suppose I can't complain about seeing NIN in a smaller venue setting with general admission seating.

Moral of the story? Our trip was a huge success, and it also led to an important discovery: it is impossible for Angela and me to go through a fast food restaurant drive-thru without experiencing something extremely weird (namely from the person taking our order). On one occasion, when it was taking us a long time to order, the drive-thru attendant began snoring and "woke up" reluctantly when we finally decided what to eat. Another time, this Wendy's employee made a big to-do about how they were out of milk, and last night, this dude at Taco Bell was a cross between that annoying guy in Office Space who says, "Get a room, you two...hehehehehe!" and a bored kid who livens things up via overly-animated announcements on a PA system. Yeah...

Hmmm...that was probably really unfunny in the telling. Sorry.

Anyway, I'm beginning to realize that I really do post entries that are way too long. Thus, I will try to bring this to a close. A few last points:

• As we were exiting the freeway today to take Angela home, we saw this kid (roughly 13) selling cherries right before the stoplight at the end of the offramp (this is a frequent scene in southern California). To this, Matt exclaimed, "Hey, roll down your window, Jen, and tell him you'll pay him five dollars if he lets you touch his wee-wee."
• Angela's sister, Raven, is pretty amazing. I already knew this, but seeing her yesterday at Angela's mom's house reaffirmed this fact. She even bought me a book entitled Bad Cats, which pictures cats looking less-than-stellar with hilarious captions underneath each one.
• Tonight, it will be Mexican food and Zoolander, a nice combination, I think.
• I saw Rishi Shah last night. That made me happy.
• Tommorow I find out if I got the job at Nordstrom. Ugh, job-hunting is pretty much the worst thing ever nowadays. And it seems that whatever I do will be less-than-thrilling.

Hasta la pasta!

Photographs

From now on, I'll post photos at http://jenpaul.smugmug.com/. If I post new albums, I'll link to them in my entries, but the pictures I had on my Typepad space are all on smugmug now. I think you can also save pictures to your computer with smugmug, so save away if your heart so desires.

Today was pretty uneventful. I ate at the 17th Street Deli with Matt, Jeff, and Matin, and then I got Starburst for my mom at the grocery store since she needed something to chew on whilst dissertation-writing. Aside from that, we had a family dinner at the new California Pizza Kitchen in Huntington Center. The service was slow, but fortunately I had a tasty strawberry margarita to sip on before our meal came. I hung out with Justin a bit after dinner, and I have spent the past several hours working on my new weblog and transferring photos to my new photo space. Booorrring.

Okay. I'm too tired to write anything else. I was supposed to be in bed, like, two hours ago. I have an interview in the morning at Nordstrom. Not ideal, but at this point I just need a job, and since I've applied to at least a couple dozen jobs, this has been the only promising lead yet. We'll see how it goes.

R.I.P. Typepad

So, I decided I didn't want to have to pay for my Typepad weblog hosting anymore. Thus, I have reverted to Blogger, which I joined my first year of college. I used it twice and then forgot about it completely. From now on, though, this is where you'll want to be for all the latest and greatest. I'll miss my beloved Typepad.

I also took the time to copy-paste all of my old posts into this weblog in case you ever want to re-visit them. I still have to insert pictures in a few of them, but that'll happen soon enough.

David Hasselhoff

So, I was reading US Weekly yesterday, when I came across this profound statement by David Hasselhoff:

"I'm proud of shows like Baywatch and Knight Rider because it's about saving lives, not taking lives. I think [the entertainment industry] is responsible for a lot of world peace."

Needless to say, I have since included the quote in my Facebook profile, and I feel even more substantiated in my secret admiration of Mr. Hasselhoff.

Psych!

I just thought it was funny and thought you might agree.

Yesterday I applied for a dozen jobs or so (for about the fourth day in a row), and I'm getting to that point where it seems that finding summer employment will be totally unsuccessful. I really do have hope, but it's frustrating nonetheless. And since I have about twenty-some dollars in my bank account and a piggy bank to my name, it seems ripe time to have a steady income again. Suh-weet.

Last night I watched Curb Your Enthusiasm with Matt. We watched 4 episodes from the first season, and they were funny as all get-out. I'ma keep watching them this summer because they make me laugh.

In addition to watching Curb Your Enthusiasm last night, my mom decided she would indulge Matt and me in a little story time. This more or less consisted of her telling us about the duck she had as a child, which she appropriately named, "Quack Quack." Apparently, the duck, Quack Quack, would wake up at 5am every morning to walk my grandfather two miles to where he met up with his fellow Lockheed employees to drive to work. Then he would walk back to my mother's house (which was essentially a tin tent with an outhouse on 5 acres of fig orchards) and wake her up around 6am. The story pretty much ended there, and it made my night.

Today I have already applied for a few jobs, and I intend to apply for a few more even. I am also going to take my father to the grocery store, so he can wheel himself up and down the aisles and get re-stocked for the next little while. After that, I have to help Bob paint my mom's new office downstairs in the house. I'm pretty excited about that. Not!

(And I keep thinking about my lovely Smith ladies...)

I Need a Job

I added captions to the photos in the Coast to Coast photo album. Except they didn't show up in order. I'm pissed (!) because I numbered them 1-37, and they should've uploaded in the correct order. So a few of the captions that rely on each other might not necessarily be adjacent, but I'm sure you'll figure it out.

But now that I'm here, I suppose I should talk about what's been happening in Huntington Beach since I arrived on Saturday... Things have been sort of uneventful actually, namely because I've been spending a lot of time trying to get my room back in shape. Saturday we unloaded most of my car (it's still not finished, though), and I unpacked a few of the boxes I'd shipped home, but that's about it. I went to bed around 10, I think, and woke up Sunday morning pretty early. Since being home, I've actually been going to bed around 10 or 11 every night, which has been a very welcome change. It means I'm getting up at 7 or 8 in the morning, which seems totally outrageous, but it's been really nice to have more time to do shit during the day.

Sunday I worked on my room some more, and I went to Target (woohoo!) to pick up a new lamp for my room and a storage cart. I quickly put them to use. Sunday night my dad came over for dinner. We had chinese food. (Well, everyone except for me...I had Del Taco quesidillas instead.) After dinner, I putzed around on Craig's List, etc., looking for a job for the summer, which is always harder to do than it should be. Oh, well.

Monday was a bit more exciting. I met up with Bob and my brother Justin at Chipotle (which I still maintain is effing gross) for lunch. I had a bowl of black beans with tortillas on the side, which Justin laughed at since it wasn't much of a meal. (Well, maybe if he hadn't picked Chipotle for lunch, I could've enjoyed my meal! Jerk!) It was really good to see Justin, who has grown another inch or two since I last saw him and who is raking in all these crazy awards at Edison High School for being awesome. I'm proud of him, and I am really beginning my mission of encouraging him to go to school out of state. Some time in the summer or fall, Bob's gonna send us out to the east coast so Justin can check out some schools. I'm pretty happy to be a part of the whole process, and I imagine Justin thinks it's cool to have a big sister who's "been there, done that" to guide him along the way. (I'm pretty awesome, what can I say? Psych!)

Anyway, after lunch with Justin, I met up with Greg Poppe to go to South Coast Plaza and walk around. We talked about the Secret Service, made fun of a ridiculously tall men, who we named Ivar, and laughed at the absurdity of certain people/characteristics of good ol' Surf City, HB. We were also supposed to go to Ikea, but time didn't permit us to since I had a date with my mom. She and I ate at The Lazy Dog Cafe, which is always delicious, and had a nice talk. Despite how much she frustrates me at times, she truly is amazing. It's hard to cut her slack, but she really is taking on an incredible amount of work and stress, and now that she's getting into the heat of her dissertation, things will probably only become more challenging.

After dinner, Matt and I watched Risky Business, which I had never seen before. A scene or two was cut out because the DVD was totally effed up, but even missing those scenes, Matt and I were convinced that it's a weird movie. Seriously, it's so weird! The clothes and music were unbelievable, though, and made it worth the pain and heartache of missed scenes.

Yesterday I went to lunch with Matt and Greg at the 17th Street Deli, which is seriously the best place ever. I had turkey, avocado (and they heap it on), lettuce, and cheese on squaw bread (which is what I always have), and it was heaven. Maybe I'll go there again today... Yeah!

And this brings me to the point in the day when I went over to my dad's to watch American Idol. Hahahahaha! I won't even comment on that since most of you, I imagine, don't watch it (and neither do I). It was funny, though, and the fact that it's the #1 show on television amuses me somewhat.

Anyway, I have to go to Golden West College today to register for a fucking statistics class, and I have to stop at the bank and a few other places. Tonight I'm going to the Senior MUN Banquet to see my students, who are now graduating. I had them when they were freshmen in high school, and now they are seniors. I cannot tell you how much that puts time into perspective for me. Where the eff did it go? Seriously, it boggles my mind that it's 2005 and that 2006 is when everyone in my class is graduating from college. Oh, wait, too bad I'm not. Ugh!

Okay. So this entry was boring. I promise to bring back funny links and funny stories hopefully in the next entry. Thanks for reading anyway. I just wanted to bring you up to speed on the whos and whats of Jen Paul as of late so we can all be on the same page now.

Nine Inch Nails in San Diego on Monday with Ms. Angela Serratore. Seriously can't wait.

Pictures, etc.

I posted 37 pictures from our road trip extravaganza. I will add comments to them as soon as I'm home again tonight, but I have to jet on over to my dad's place to watch the final episode of American Idol. Yeah, yeah...I don't know how he convinced me to share in this viewing experience, but he did, and now the time has come for me to drag myself over there. But not before I pick up Taco Bell on my way. My dad's still in a wheelchair for 4 more weeks, so he's pretty much incapable of going out except to wheel around downtown HB. The least I can do is bring him Taco Bell, right? Especially since it's the BEST FAST FOOD RESTAURANT EVER. Well, that and In N Out, which I have yet to go to since being home! Gah!

Anyway, off I go. Enjoy the pictures. I thought I had more, but I guess Matt and I were so busy with the video camera that we ended up with fewer still shots than we thought.

Also, one last thing before I go, I AM SO EFFING TIRED OF ALL THESE FRECKLES APPEARING ON MY FACE. I don't even stay out in the sun; in fact, I avoid it at all cost. I mean, it's pretty to look at, and I enjoy being in it as long as I'm in the shade, but WTF? Why all the freckles? Pretty soon my face is gonna be one giant freckle, and that would be the sickest thing ever. Well, almost as sick as Topeka, KS.

Okay, peace out, playa. I'll catch up with you later tonight on the weblog. Word.

Lo Siento

I'm sorry I didn't post the second I got home, which was yesterday circa 4pm. After driving cross-country 6 days and 3,434 miles, I was and still am extremely exhausted. The fantastic news is that Bob, Matt, and I made it home safely. What's incredible is that we didn't bicker or fight the entire duration of the road trip. I suppose it's because Bob is one of the most agreeable people ever, but it was still a very pleasant surprise.

I will tell you that Topeka, KS, is pretty much the worst fucking place ever. If I learned one thing on our trip, it was that. We drove from Chicago through St. Louis and on to Kansas City and decided to go a little way beyond that, which landed us in Topeka, the capital city, mind you, of Kansas. Now, aren't capital cities supposed to be...ummm...nice? I mean, up until now, I had thought that for the most part. Topeka was seriously the pits, though. (Ewww, did I just say "the pits"?) When we got into Topeka around 9:15pm, we were all starving, so we drove around to find some place to grab a bite to eat. Too bad Topeka consists of a Walgreen's (which was closed) and a fucking luggage store. Plus a gas station or two and three hotels - two of which are Ramada Inns. Guess where we stayed. Yep, we crashed at a Ramada Inn but not before grabbing a drink at the hotel's bar, which was the only place open in all of Topeka. There we encountered the most cracked-out bartender on the face of the planet. As Bob said, "We knew something had to be wrong with her when she kept calling me 'Honey'." Oh, that Bob is one character. I really can't imagine a better person to travel across the country with now that all is said and done. He's done the trip a dozen times (at least) himself, and he's just a good sport in general and a really interesting person to talk to. When we were in Kentucky, visiting Bob's family, he found some of his old high school yearbooks; looking through them clearly provided us endless entertainment. As did Bob's youngest grandson, Max. Max is 3, and he is a troublemaker for sure, which is why Matt and I immediately fell in love with him. The last time I saw him was a couple years ago, when he was just a baby, and since babies are gross, I wasn't able to enjoy his company until this time around. And believe you me, I did.

Hmmm...what else to say...? You see, the problem I fear is that so many of the funny, curious things that happened on the trip will sound totally uninteresting in the translation. For example, at one point during our time in Kentucky, Bob called Max a Mad Man. To this, Max vehemently replied, "Not Mad Man, Mad Max!" See, that sounds totally stupid, right? After reading that, you almost certainly thought, "Guess you had to be there." Sheesh. Perhaps once I upload pictures from the trip for your viewing pleasure (and I promise to do that in the next day or so) that will help jog my memory and get the story-telling juices flowing. (OMG, what is my problem. I never say, "get the juices flowing" let alone "get the story-telling juices flowing." It's been a long day...)

Okay, I think that is it. For now at least. I'm going to bed at a pitiful 10:25pm. I did wake up at 6:30 this morning, though, and I also have to take my dad to the VA Hospital tomorrow in the LBC so he can have his cast removed and maybe, finally get out of his effing wheelchair. Poor guy. Then I'm hoping to do some work on finding a summer job, which could very well extend into the fall (the job, that is, not the job search). Man, about that. I've been home less than 36 hours, and I'm already realizing how painful this is going to be. It doesn't have to be at all, but there are just certain people (namely my mom, who is actually quite wonderful when she's not being totally impossible) who put a damper on things every now and then that make living at home totally unbearable. Meh, it'll work out. Hopefully...

Lastly, I would just like to announce for the billionth time that I miss Allison and Angela and Alex and Camaren and Casey and Poofs so much. I wish we could all just live in a giant mansion together for the rest of our lives. That would pretty much be the best thing ever.
Seriously. Bed. Time. Now. Nitey nite, ladies and gents and anyone who doesn't identify with the former or the latter. ;)

PS. Don't tell my mom that I said she can be pretty difficult at times. She already knows that, but I doubt she'd be thrilled about me publishing it on the information highway. (Information highway?!?!)

PPS. Something that dawned on me while we were driving through Pennsylvania is the following: What the fuck is a practical joke? How is a joke practical? And why don't people ever talk about impractical jokes? It's not all that important, I suppose, but it's mildly bothersome, no? Hit me up with your thoughts about this if you have any. Okay, pace.

On the Road

So I have about 4 minutes to write something in here real quickly. I didn't think I'd get a chance to see a computer until I got home, but we have free internet connection in our hotel room, so now I can tell you a little bit about what's been going on the past couple of days.

Sunday morning we started our trek across the US. Matt and I picked Bob up at the airport in Hartford, CT, early Sunday morning and drove through CT, NY, PA, WV, OH and then landed in Fort Wright, KY, where Bob's son, Brian, lives with his wife and their three kids, Jacob (7), Luke (5), and Max (3). By the end of the day, we'd driven over 800 miles! (Yikes!) We stayed there Sunday night and putzed around Bob's old stomping ground all Monday, visiting his brother and several of Bob's nieces and nephews. One of them owns a little country store on the way to Bob's farm, so we stopped there for lunch on Monday. The best part of the day was all the picture-taking we did, though. We stopped at several awesome locations and got all ADULT.-like with the camera. I promise this will all make sense when I post the pictures, but I'll have to wait to do that until I get home. Anyway, Kentucky really is beautiful with its rolling hills and bountiful greenery this time of year. Seeing Bob's family was also extremely fun, particularly all the time we got to spend with his grandkids, who are really and truly amazing.

Tuesday we left around 11 and shot up northwest to Chicago to spend the evening/night. I am actually writing from just outside of Chicago in our hotel room in Highland Park, a nice suburb filled with many affluent people and their ridiculously nice houses. Last night one of our friends from BU, Alex, met up with us for dinner. We ate an excellent Italian meal in downtown Highland Park and drove around the surrounding area afterward to take in some of the most incredible homes I've ever seen in my life. The houses in some of these northern suburbs of Chicago are truly amazing. Since Chicago is more or less the architecture mecca of the country, you can imagine how interesting and unique these homes are - not to mention how fucking huge they are, too. Michael Jordan lives around here, as do the people who occupy the home that that beloved movie of mine, Home Alone, takes place in. This morning we are stopping there on our way out to take a few pictures. I will probably enlarge them upon returning home and consider them amongst my most precious treasures. Because I'm awesome like that.

Anyway, after we drove around the area for a while, we stopped at a cafe in Evanston (near Northwestern) that could only have been founded by a Smith alum. The cafe is called Kafein, and the restrooms are what make it. There's a women's restroom, with the following sign: Women! Then, there are two men's restrooms: Men! and Men? Obviously, every male that walks into Kafein who needs to use the bathroom will head for the men's restroom with the Men! sign. Much to his dismay, though, he will find that the door is actually a trick door. He will then be forced to bow his head in shame and give in to the tomfoolery of it all by using the restroom for Men? Funny, funny.

Okay. So I am being told that I need to wrap up before we hit the road again. We're making it to Kansas City today, Dever tomorrow, Salt Lake on Friday, and home (hopefully) on Saturday. If we're too tired to drive all the way home on Saturday, though, there's always Sin City to grant us reprieve.

More elaboration later and lots of pictures, too. I just wanted to let you all know that I'm doing all right - fantastically well, in fact. Bob, Matt, and I are having a ball so much so that I think I might start living out of my car in true Jewel fashion.

Psych!

PS. Hit up one of my older posts entitled "Post-Script" to read Allison's extremely entertaining comment regarding my receipt-eating habit.

Here We Go

Senior Week traditions at Smith College are many: Ivy Day, Illumination, bountiful alumnae reunions, and of course, Commencement itself. They remind me why I am so lucky to call myself a Smithie. Seriously. I promise to elaborate on that later, but our Poofs' gigs this evening alone make it all worth my while. Singing for Smithies (and Poofs, no less!) from the classes of 1930, 1935, and 1980 was incredible. Smith alums are the heartiest ladies ever, and they truly bring a smile to my face.

This post is more or less two-fold: 1) I'm sorry I didn't update as promised. Things have been extremely busy with getting ready for the road trip on top of all the singing and bullshit errands I've had to run. Deal with it, though. 2) Now I can't update for another week or so because I'm signing off tomorrow until Saturday at the earliest. That's right, Bob, Matt, and I start our road trip promptly tomorrow morning at 9. I can't bank on having computer access throughout our travels, and chances are I'll be too busy exploring to tell you about it. Between Matt's video camera and all of our digital/film cameras, though, I'm certain I'll have plenty of things to show and tell you upon arrival in 92648 (Huntington Beach, CA).

I really am sorry, but I trust that Alex's and Angela's weblogs will suffice for the time being (should you know either of them). Otherwise, just hit up www.toothpastefordinner.com or http://www.nataliedee.com.

Do you ever talk about the future in the past?

Loveyoumissyoummmkbyebye. <3

Excuses, Excuses

It's funny when people try to make them for statements such as the following:

cacutie104: is it ok that i'm kind of obssessed with the new coldplay song?

That's all I have to say for now. I will definitely write more later and post some funny pictures from recording this week, but I think I might go eat breakfast since I just woke up. But, to be fair, I have spent 42 of the last 64 hours in the recording studio...

Byee!

Kevin!

PS. After I posted that, Matt Boese hit me up with an IM that features the best line ever:

kissmeimvulture: i dreamt of macauley caulkin today

Incredible, really and truly.

Yikes!

I am so fucking tired it's absurd. I haven't posted since last Friday and for that, I'm sorry. But you have to understand that I was in Boston all weekend and that I have since then been pent up in the recording studio with the Poofs for 16+ hour-long days. Recording is a helluva lot of fun, but it's so incredibly tiring. I have to go back tomorrow for the third day in a row with a couple other people to lay down the solo on "Californication," so I need to hit the hay ASAP. I'm a little nervy-pants about recording my solo, though, just because I know I'll be extremely critical of myself, and I never know if I'm singing it well anyway or if people like the way I sound on it (Poofs or otherwise). I guess I maybe shouldn't worry about it too much, though. Right now, I am more worried about resting up and getting rid of this mini-cold I have managed to acquire in the past 24 hours. Ballsac, for sure.

I really promise to write more as soon as I have a bit more energy, but I'm running on less than 5 hours combined sleep between Sunday and Monday nights, so I'm mildly delirious at this point. This is making me even more upset about the fact that I won't be in NY to enjoy the wonder that will be the newly announced Pixies/Interpol/LCD Soundsystem concert on June 14th.

So to end, I would like to include a tidbit of a conversation I just had with Alexandra Weiss online - further proof that she is one of the best girls ever:

h0lleg0lightle: i went to chevy's tonight
yeah laugh it up: NOOOOOOOOOOO WAY!
h0lleg0lightle: yep and my mom yelled at me for adding salt to chips
yeah laugh it up: hahahaha
h0lleg0lightle: i thought if you were there, you wouldn't yell at me

Her extreme love of both Mexican food AND salt catapults Alex into the elite category of people I pretty much can never get sick of hanging out with. Ever. I mean, everyone needs a good friend to consume Mexican food and salt with all the time, right? Angela would be in this category, too, if she wasn't such a hardass about the latter. Too bad she's a pussy, though.

Okay, I'm peacing out for real this time. I miss Alex. I miss Angela. I miss Casey, and I miss Allison. I miss so many people, and it's only going to get worse. I trust that many summertime visits will keep me afloat, or at least I hope so.

Road trip starts in 5 days. Matt and I pick Bob up in Hartford, CT, Sunday morning at 8:45am, and then we're driving to a small town in KY (quite close to Cincinnati, OH) to spend a night or two with Bob's son, daughter-in-law and their three kids, Jacob, Luke, and Max. Give or take, the boys are my nephews, and they are amazing! Seriously, cutest kids ever. I'm so excited about our road trip and its many accompanying adventures. I'll be sure to fill you in on all of that before, during (maybe?), and after.

But Boston was fun. I had the best margaritas ever Friday and Saturday nights. If you're ever at the Cactus Club on Boylston Street in Boston, give the "Snow Cone Marg" a try (strawberry, tangerine, and lime layered together like a snow cone = delicious). It was fun seeing Alex and Sharky one last time before heading home. They are good kids. Check it:


Check it: Matt and Sharky (AKA "The Sticky Bandits")*

K. No more. Love you, goodnite. ;)

*$1 if you can tell me what that's from.

Modern Romance

Go here now. Hahahahahahaha!

The Parachute Game

Holy shit, if you are going to be in or around southern California this summer, this is what we are going to be doing. ALL SUMMER LONG. Check it.

But PS. If you were one of the jerks who would purposely pull it down, you are NOT ALLOWED to play.

Sleppy, Sleppy

Today I went to the Build-a-Bear Workshop to get my mom a made-by-me poodle for Mother's Day. Basically, you should go to the next Build-a-Bear Workshop you come across. That shit is out of control. They made me jump up and down 21 times (my age) in there to seal the deal on the wish I made on the heart I kissed and put in the poodle's tummy. It was so embarassing, all these cool high schoolers waiting to get bears for their significant others were, like, watching me and stuff. It was really nervewrecking. But seriously, you should go. The last time I went there was with Alex, when we got her mom a birthday bear with a yarmulka to match. (Man, I totally just had to dictionary.com "yarmulka" - I would never have guessed that's how it's spelled.) (I also just used dictionary.com as a verb in a sentence. How dope is that?)

Speaking of Alex, she and I went to La Veracruzana for lunch today. That was pretty decent. I also deposited money at Florence Savings Bank today on behalf of the Poofs. It was pretty much the most uncomfortable banking experience I've ever had in my life. You see, at the Orange County Teacher's Federal Credit Union (more lovingly referred to as Oct-Fuck-You) that I bank at back home, you aren't required to fill out a deposit slip if you go inside to make your deposit. So there I was today at Florence Savings Bank with this massive wad of $1s, $5s, $10s, and $20s, coins galore, and a dozen checks at least when this bitch told me I had to count all that shit in front of her, do the math, and fill out a fucking deposit slip. (But I was inside! Doesn't she know you're not supposed to have to do that if you go inside to make the deposit?!) I could've died on the spot. I felt like such a fool, fumbling around and such, trying so hard to do the math by hand. She didn't even offer me a calculator, but the worst part was when she took all the bills, coins, and checks and slipped them into this machine to come up with the same fucking number I had just spent three hours trying to come up with in approximately 1/1000th the amount of time. What a dumb bitch!

I mean, that was a pretty pointless story, but maybe don't use Florence Savings Bank if you can avoid it?

Another pointless yet humorous story (or conversation, rather) from today:

m4ttyf4tty: i hate cheap razors
m4ttyf4tty: such a pet peeveyeah laugh it up: you use the mach 3, no?
m4ttyf4tty: good thing i never have to shave
m4ttyf4tty: mach 4 pussy
m4ttyf4tty: i use to have this wonderful norelco
m4ttyf4tty: but then it up and disappeared in a dumpster or something

Beat.

Jax's 21st birthday party tonight was interesting to say the least. I haven't felt that much social anxiety in a long while. It was fascinating, really, to see how segregated the Smithies were from the Amherst kids, though. I suppose we were equally at fault for keeping to ourselves as much as they excluded us, but who the eff gets a kick out of talking about trust funds and fellowships all the time? I don't, and I know noone else I went with (Angela, Laurel, Sarah, & Co.) does either.

I posted a couple pictures in a new photo album I added. I'm gonna add some pictures to it from different Smith-related events over this past year, but I'm pretty tired right now, so the few pictures from tonight will have to suffice for the time being.

To bed, or off with my head. Nite.

Post-Script

I guess it would sort of be appropriate to say that, after mentioning Otter Pops in my last post, they really do figure more prominently in my youth than almost anything else I can think of. So do receipts (insofar as I used to eat them, a lot) and brown sugar (which I used to inhale very sneakily out of my pink Hello Kitty Twin Stars cup while riding around on my splatter paint Huffy bicycle).

Man, I miss being six. Or seven. Or just being a kid. I bet I was more rascally than you.

Oxygen

I just got back from the oxygen bar at the Campus Center, where I was joined by Angela, Allison, Laurel, Casey, and Ariel. Frankly, it was not nearly as exciting as I'd hoped it would be. The experience more or less consisted of putting a piece of latex up your nose (much like the oxygen tubes used at hospitals) and breathing normally while manipulating various flavors to create refreshing scents. I was seriously looking forward to feeling it, like, in my head, but that did not happen. I would liken it more to the experience, perhaps, of sticking one's nose into a giant box of Otter Pops because that's pretty much what it smelled like for me. Ariel and I chose the "Relaxing" oxygen bar (with O2Gasm, Very Vine, Strawberry Fields, and something peachy-flavored), while Allison and Angela chose the "Energizing" bar, and Casey and Laurel the "Erotic" bar. After a couple people approached us to inquire about the after-effects of the "oxygen experience," I sort of wanted to pretend that I felt extremely fucked up from it all, you know, and start giggling a lot, stumbling about and maybe even calling people by the wrong name. Too bad there weren't any other opportunities to do so after the first bunch asked us, though, 'cuz I really would've.

Let's also discuss the fact that Casey dropped the word "minutiae" in our post-oxygen bar conversation on the walk home. Yeah, that was hilarious.

Also, to speak of another Casey, do you think Casey Affleck would like to marry me, maybe? He's just so cute, and I rarely find myself using that word, so it's got to mean something.
Ummm, and another thing that has been happening to me quite consistently lately that I have yet to mention is awkward encounters with people who I don't necessarily want to see. I won't comment any further about that except to say that it's a real shame when people are so immature and misguided that they somehow manage to justify fucking you over in such a way as to impose (daily) on your life in the most painful (if not awkward) and pointed ways - whether intentionally or not. I know I'm being vague, but I'm certain you'll know what I'm talking about if you talk to me on a somewhat regular basis. Ugh!

Also stupid? People who ditch their best friends for significant others. Ballsac.

And now, another take on our oxygen bar extravaganza from the lovely Angela Serratore as told to Matt Boese:

CACutie104: i would like you to know that jen, casey, allison, laurel and i went to the free oxygen bar that was set up at the campus center
CACutie104: and
CACutie104: because i am creative and resourceful
CACutie104: i managed to mix scents in a way
CACutie104: that smelled
CACutie104: EXACTLY
CACutie104: like cactus cooler

Speaking of Cactus Cooler, where the eff can you get it anymore? Seriously, it's the best carbonated beverage ever! We tried finding it this past weekend, like, the whole weekend, to no avail! So, please, if you know where I can find Cactus Cooler, let me know!

Oh, I forgot to tell you they let us keep the nose plugs from the oxygen bar. We plan on taking lots of inappropriate pictures with them. Casey even suggested I add mine to the "Sexy Nurse" costume my mother comically purchased for me on the occasion of Halloween 2004. That way it would be even more realistic. Ha-haaa!

I have a headache. Make it go away. Mmmkthxbyebye.

(I love you, a bushel and a peck,
A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck,
A hug around the neck and a barrel and a heap,
A barrel and a heap, and I'm talkin' in my sleep about you.
About you?
About you!)

<3

Mmmm...

Cookie dough is so delicious. Someone really ought to start marketing that shit in single-size servings. At least that's what Angela and I discussed over dinner tonight at the Boston Market in Stop 'N Shop (classy, I know). But think about it - single-size servings would not only prevent junkheads like me from eating more than their fair share but would additionally yield a greater profit for Pillsbury & Co. because single-size servings of anything cost more, naturally. Those bitches should've thought of this sooner (snicker, snicker). Now I'm gonna do it, slap on a giant patent and call it a day. Suckas!

I bring up cookie dough because I'm eating it as I type this. I'm pretty much done typing for the time being, though, 'cuz I rented Ocean's 12, and I think I'm gonna watch it right now. Man, speaking of Ocean's 12, Brad Pitt is a pretty big douchebag. I mean, I don't even like Jennifer Aniston, but that shit he's pulling with Hottie McHot-Hot (Angelina) is pretty hurting.
After Ocean's 12 I might hit up the Campus Center for a neck massage and a try at the oxygen bar (part of final's week programming), which inevitably makes me think of stupid middleschoolers at The Block at Orange on Friday nights. You probably have no idea what I'm talking about unless you're from Orange County, but it's not worth explaining, really. Question, though: should I feel guilty for taking part in final's week stress relief activities even though I don't have finals or anything finals-related at all? I mean, I don't, but I just wanted your opinion.

All right, maybe I'll write more later, maybe I won't. Hopefully something exciting will happen so that I have to. Yeah, that'd be rad.

Now go back to work. Winky!

PS. Joss Stone is a skankface. I wish she would just go away already. As Angela would say, she's no poet of our generation. That would be Kelly Clarkson, obvi, so Jossy-Joss should just give up.

We Will Not Be The Last

Tonight I had an incredibly nice conversation with Alex Lipschultz online. We talked about everything (including facial hair), and it was lovely. I also talked to Lance for two seconds in which he said something mildly profound:

[05/04/2005 - 02:37:59 AM] ecnal9: inhale this east coast air while you can, jen...

I mean, there's nothing terribly insightful about what Lance said, but reading it sort of made me realize how right he is, no? I can count the number of days I have left on the east coast for the next medium-long while of my life, and that is somewhat of a cause for sadness. I really am so lucky to be able to call this place my second home. I promise I don't have anything against the folks who stayed in California for school, but I must say I'm unbelievably happy that I did not. I just think there's so much to be gained, learned, and appreciated from living away from home (particularly if home is Orange County), and it's a shame almost not to put yourself out there to experience that at one point or another in life. At least I think so. (Back me up Angela, Matt, or Jeff...)

Tonight I got crazy with my digital camera, which reminds me that I completely forget to tell you that I got a new one! I was having a few issues with my original camera, so I took it back to Best Buy under extended warranty twice, and they finally just gave me a voucher to get a new one. So I did, and it's so beautiful I can hardly stand it. It's a DSC-P200, perfectly-sized if I do say so myself (not too small, which I find annoying, frankly).

Oh man, I also talked to Foard Copeland tonight and am I looking forward to marrying that boy or what? Foard and I know each other through NHSMUN, and it had been entirely too long since we last spoke. Before I go any further, I'd like to note that Foard is southern. Now, I generally don't think of the south in the highest regard, but Foard is a rare exception, another story altogether, in fact. Basically, his southern accent is enough to charm my pants off. Enter his winning personality and good looks and you've got one Jen Paul swooning like there's no tomorrow. All I can say, gentlemen, is that you could stand to learn a thing or two from Foard Copeland.

Goodness, Bloc Party really makes me so happy. I want to dance, smile, and laugh all at once just thinking about them. Something that has the opposite effect on me, though, is the prospect of not seeing some of my best friends in the world for an extremely long time after Thursday (exit Casey) and Friday (exit Allison). Then Alex is leaving on Saturday and really, I don't know what I'm gonna do without those ladies...probably hang out with Angela a lot over the summer and Matt and Jeff and Billy (of The Used Levi's Store, which is the BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD) and Pete (Angela's dad who is cooler than me now or ever and probably cooler than you, too). This summer's gonna be rockin' for so many reasons, though. Seriously. Road trips are in order to San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and hopefully, Austin, TX. I should also maybe get out my drum set and start banging it again. That might be fun. And TONS OF BIKE-RIDING! I can't wait! It all starts so soon - in a couple weeks, actually! I'm leaving on the 15th with Bob and our newest addition, Matt. I am extremely excited about seeing the country "in a way I've never seen it before," but I must also admit that I'm kind of tired already just thinking about it. Which brings me to my next point: I'm tired as ballsac, so g'nite! ;)

PS. Sorry this post is so disjointed.

The Scream

So Smith College (like many other schools, I imagine) has this thing called "The Scream" where everyone basically screams in unison on the eve, I think, of finals, and it just happened. And it was super obnoxious because a) I don't really have any finals, so I didn't have anything to scream about and b) even if I did have finals, I wouldn't have screamed. And now, after a less then thrilling day, I am beginning to realize, once again, how much I fucked up this semester. The strange part is that I really have no idea how I got to be where I am right now. I suppose thinking about it too long or hard can't be extremely productive, though. Therapy will be a much better context for that, and I plan on starting that up immediately upon my return home. But I think I want to start fresh and find a new therapist. That is simultaneously daunting and exciting. I don't really know where to look. Actually, I take that back. I'm certain Connie (my on-again, off-again psychologist of many, many years) will refer me to someone extremely respectable, but I just feel bad asking her. That's like breaking up with your hairdresser, and anyone who has ever become remotely involved with a regular hairdresser knows how horrible that can be. It's awful. The worst.

Where was I going with that? Oh yeah, I'm gonna be all about getting my mental health in tip-top shape when I'm at home, which only seems mildly ironic since I tend to be less sane at home, but somehow I have a feeling this is all going to work out. So nicely...

So Jax just came into my room - she is pretty much going crazy with the massive amount of work she has to do with finals and such. And she has this huge bitch of a paper due tomorrow that she is just now starting. The problem is that she just realized all the primary sources she has been gathering up over the past week are actually not in English. They are in German. All I could think to say was, "Damn, I'd really hate to be in your shoes right now." Fortunately, I didn't say that, though.

Totally unrelated, I would just like to note that I am not the kind of girl that people tend to hit on. Really and truly. I don't even know what that means - "not the kind of girl" - but trust me, it rarely happens. In the past few weeks, though, I've encountered more strange (if not awkward) situations where people have tried to hit on me than ever before in my life, and I think it's extremely bizarre. It all goes back to this really incredible story related to the first time I took Angela to Boston. We were riding the T when this middle-aged hispanic man started making eyes at us. After some unnecessarily long glances in our general direction, he said, "You girls are so pretty. You must have many boyfriend." Now, what is a girl (or two girls, in this case) to say in response to that sort of comment? We could only laugh uncomfortably and let out an awkward, "Thanks." But then (and this one takes the cake to be sure), he looked directly at Angela and said, "Your eyes are so pretty. I wish I could trade them with mine, then I would have many girlfriend." Wow. W-O-W! That is all I can say.

But getting back to all this unncessary hitting on Jen Paul business...it's been weird to say the least. It happened at the M83 show, where this relatively good-looking boy (who was probably in high school, because all the good-looking ones are...) had the guts to compliment my hair as a segway into a semi-normal conversation. He talked at length about my hair, which was mildly hysterical, and then started commenting on how incredible M83 was, etc. He wasn't a questionable young man, so I was actually pretty impressed that he found the courage to approach me, but there have been plenty of other instances where I was beside myself just thinking about how fucking weird (and sketchy) people can be when they try to hit on other people. Namely if they are homeless. Ha-haaa! I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have been flattered much more than usual lately, and it's been refreshing, comical, and alienating in varying degrees. And since I could stand to take a lesson or two in Confidence 101, it's made me think a little bit about why it's pretty hurting that I'm always so hard on myself. Ahem, moving on...

My mom called me tonight very excited at the prospect of seeing Elton John this weekend. She has apparently never seen him in concert before, and somehow she managed to convince Bob Nordheim (my illustrious step-dad) to go with her. She is so silly, but I can't fucking wait to be home. Really. I am so looking forward to giving her the best, longest hug ever, and then dashing up the stairs to play with my cats (sans Missy...). Then I'll put in a little face time with the bros and my dad. I won't have to worry about any big "Hello, I missed you!" to-dos with Bob, though, since he and I are driving home together. That's right, Bob and I are driving across the country together, and while a road trip with friends could've been extremely wild, I'm confident I'll have other chances to do that, and this trip with Bob could very well just change my life. Forever.

This is Bob:

Leather jacket w/ sleeves attached.

Leather jacket w/o sleeves attached.

Jealous? You should be.

Anyway, I had so many funny stories to tell you, but these damn pictures of Bob made me forget them all. More later...

Read All About It

For a more thorough account of this past weekend, hit up Alex's LJ entry all about it. It's hysterical to say the least...

Also hysterical? This IM from Alex:

h0lleg0lightle: all i think about is beans anymore.

A Kick in the Shin

This weekend was nuts. I've already brought you up to a speed about Thursday night's big to-dos and my plans for Friday night, but since then a lot has obviously happened. Namely, Allison, Angela, and Alex joined Matt and me in Boston yesterday afternoon for what was to be an eventful 24-hours. After picking the ladies up from South Station, we made a mildly successful stop at The Garment District in Cambridge before hitting up California Pizza Kitchen in Cambrideside Galleria. We spent a good two hours munching on appetizers and each others' food there before heading to The Middle East to take in ADULT. Or so we thought we were going to be taking in ADULT. around 9:15 when we got there... ADULT. had other plans for us, though, which included holding off their set until 11:30. And by 11:30, they naturally intended to go on at midnight. So, it was a late concert to say the least, but it was also so much fun (filled with LOTS of spastic dancing) that it was entirely worth it.

I also forgot to mention that Matt Leonard met us at the show, which made things extra special for all of us. Because Matt Leonard is special. (Freshmen year, he and I vowed to start a band together. We thought we'd make a better Blonde Redhead than Blonde Redhead since his hair is kind of a dirty blonde and mine is red even though a) we would be way better than Blonde Redhead, b) his hair is probably more akin to light brown than straight blonde, and c) Blonde Redhead is actually pretty good anyway. But still! It was such a good idea, and we kind of/sort of still pretend we're going to do it someday...even though I'll be in CA for a good portion of the next year. That's why it's a good idea, though! Ideas don't necessarily have to come to frution; it's just awesome when they do!)

Ummm...so about ADULT. It's sort of a threesome now (at least for the live shows), but I'll go ahead and pretend it's still just her (Nicola Kuperus) and him (Adam Lee Miller) all the time. Why? Because they are married. And they are doing what they love. Together. Check out the FAQs portion on the ADULT. site. It's highly enjoyable reading anytime, anywhere. You can learn about ADULT.'s grammatical nuances and read about how cool it is (or seems to be, at least) to make music with the one you love. Charming. Someday, maybe, if I'm lucky, I will be like Nicola with my very own Adam. Wouldn't that be swell?

Okay, so before I got sidetracked, I was trying to say that the ADULT. show was fabulous and that the night would already have proven itself hugely successful had it stopped there. But it didn't, because, after the show, we headed to Store 24 to stock up on cookie dough and the like before retreating to the Westin Waltham-Boston for a slumber party. I LOVE SLUMBER PARTIES. THEY ARE PRETTY MUCH MY FAVORITE THING EVER. Matt hung out with us in the hotel room for a while, but then we kicked him out because it was, you know, time to be girls and braid each other's hair and pig out on popcorn and Sour Straws and prance around in our undies and sing Beach Boys' songs into our brushes-turned-microphones. 'Cuz that's what all slumber parties are like. At least for girls. We had such a silly time, and the evening was topped off by humorous dialogue and one-of-a-kind quotes. For example:

Me: When I was little I always used to try to convince my mom to let me have a sleep-over in our Suburban. She would never let me, though, because supposedly ventilation is sort of an issue? I guess it's kind of impossible to sleep in a car anyway.
Alex: Yeah...but Jewel did it...!?

Ahem. Yes, I love Alex and the abundance of laughs she provided us with this weekend. I also love the fact that we got to sleep in the most comfortable beds ever at the Westin, where they have super swanky bedding that you can even purchase post-stay (or, I suppose, mid-stay if you are so eager) to have for your own bed at home. Even if home is a car. Because Jewel did it. (I think I'll answer everything with that catch-phrase from now on. For example, when asked what to order at California Pizza Kitchen, I'll say, "Get the Fettucine with Garlic Cream Sauce...because Jewel did it.") I also love the fact that we got to eat at Joseph's II for brunch and Anna's for dinner and that we putzed around in Harvard Square all day and even managed to run into The Walkmen before they played their set in the middle of Harvard Square in a long line-up of bands for this annual May Fair shindig. I am, in fact, in love with so many things about this weekend because it was so much fun.

And now I am exhausted (even though I was already exhausted for most of the weekend to begin with), and I wasn't even planning on writing about all of this until tomorrow, but I really needed to post this incredible picture that we took at brunch today. Or rather, I really needed to post this incredible picture that Alex took at brunch today. She has mad photo-taking skills, especially when it comes to pretending to take legit photos when actually capturing shots of other people who don't even know it. Like this man:

Whaaat? Are you joking me? Can you believe this dude? What a fucking tool! Not even Sunil Amin tops this character off. Sheesh!

Okay, enough of this tired posting business. I know I have lots more to say, and I know I'll say it, so I'm not worried. You shouldn't be either. I posted pictures up of this weekend. There aren't a ton, but they are cute. End story.