Cherry Pez Coke Crush Rock Studded Boogie

Life is picking up again! Of course I can NEVER have too much going on at once... right?

I went home this weekend for Bill and LeeAnn's wedding. It was gorgeous! This is the photo of all the siblings now!

I think it is safe to say we danced our azzes off and had a pretty outstanding time. Scooter gave a great best man's toast, everyone looked quite dapper, and the band is basically best friends with us now! Party! (We were, however, all saying that it's just such a shame Bill and LeeAnn aren't attractive... sigh.)

So, I flew back to the Chi on Monday morning... by morning I mean the 6:20am flight to Chicago... which means getting up at 4:15am... if any of you have dealt with me early in the morning, you know that "Hap(p)y Holly (4)" does not exist, "Bitchy Silent Holly", however, does. Originally, I was going to fly back Sunday night, but my most excellent date, John, had to fly to the east coast for work Monday morning and he did not know the rents and thought it would be weird if he stayed there without me. Little did he know that once you stay at our house my parents pretty much take you in as one of their own, because after 6 kids, what's one more?... John is really chipper in the morning btw. He says things like, " I am going to go consult the shit out of today!" (with fist pumps and a hug just to patronize me... I threatened physical violence). NOT 'TIL I HAVE CAFFEINE!!

I am not complaining anymore though because in all fairness it ended up working out in my favor. I got bumped from my flight and got TRAVEL VOUCHERS. Woo hoo!!! On the flight back (the 9am one) I was so out of it I fell asleep. I was that person that fell asleep on the guy next to me, but only briefly, once my head hit his shoulder I woke up, apologized, and checked to make sure I did not drool, bc that would be gross. ( I did not, just to be clear).

I got to work and basically had the jitters from caffeine. I was useless.

Speaking of work, this is the e-mail I received this morning:

Subject: CRAZY SQUIRREL ALERT
I need to alert all of you to be on the look out for a crazy squirrel. One of our faculty members reported that upon returning to the office, the scholar discovered a squirrel attempting to access email. The critter had chewed through the screen of the office window. Facilities and IT were called upon.

This is what I imagine the squirrel looked like... I did not see him.

YES. You noticed it. This squirrel is a ginger kid. Only a ginger squirrel would do this.

I am not kidding you. This happened. Evidently the professor did not even notice the squirrel just chillin at his computer for awhile either. HA! Loyola Squirrels are crazy though. They have no fear and live off of McDonald's and cigarettes.

I am also super sore today, but in that amazing, 'I-just-worked-muscles-I- did-not-know-I- had' kind of way. CJ and I started pilates last night. I am in love. I have never done pilates. I tried yoga, but I am not a big fan of sitting still in awkward positions, so this seems to be a great choice for me. Normally I am a runner, and recently, due to some amazing orthodics, I can run again! Hooray!! I have missed it so much! I am up to 6 miles again... I am probably going to over do it and then be in real trouble with my podiatrist, but meh, these dogs aren't barkin yet!

Can we get a hooray for 3 day weekends?? HOORAY! This weekend will be a blast! Mostly due to the fact that the GAA concert is this weekend- Don't make me use the built in Catholic guilting gene I got from my mother... show up, or make a donation :) It's what your mother would want YOU to do.

Pools around the city are opening, cook-outs and beach going will be the theme of the weekend. There is nothing better people. Nothing better. I love food. Actually, I am pretty sure that many of my friends are convinced that if they ever decided to stop cooking for me, I would leave them. I threaten this, but truth be told, I would never ditch you if you became as lazy as I am in the kitchen. I would just not hang around you as much. Or bake you things. ( I bake, I do not cook, I CAN cook, I just don't).

I feel like I could write for days on things that are coming up and currently happening, but this just might be long enough already... and it's summer... so I am sure that I will eventually get sick of battling the university website as I try to update it (which is a pain in the ass) and need to blog. So I will catch you all later. (Yep, all 2 of you.)

hOmaha

I went home this weekend for the first time in 4 months! It was crazy how long it had been.

I like going home, it's just a good reminder of who I am, I LOVE MY FAMILY and it helps me look at things in a different way. It's undeniable that Omahans are different from Chicagoans. When I go home I have to remember that people think you are rude if you just breeze by them. I have to remember that the clerk at the check out does in fact want to talk. Also, if I walk into a bar/ restaurant or really any place where lots of people are gathered, my siblings will know someone. The cars are bigger, things are much more spread out and I am allergic to most things there now. HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? I mean I know I have lived in Chicago for 6 years almost, so I guess now, without fail my allergies act up when I go home. It's bizarre.

This weekend was a blast though. I got in late and went to Barrett's with the siblings, then stayed up until about 3am talking with my mom. According to my siblings, when I am home, I make my mom exponentially goofier.

On Saturday, we went to my soon to be sister in-law's bridal shower at my cousin Beth's house, which is so cute! Then we went shopping and got our dresses fitted. It was fun and exhausting, so exhausting in fact that my mom did not think she could make it to the next room, so she looked at my dad- who is in a wheel chair that we call "The Red Roadster" because he had surgery, no worries he is recovering well- and said, "Can I have a ride to the next room?" and this is what followed: (sorry about the laughing... you will want to turn the volume waaaay down if you can...Kelly and I could not keep it together...)

Yes, they do in fact run into the doorjamb in the end.

So after that, Bill and I went and saw Monsters vs. Aliens in 3-D. It was pretty awesome. I cannot deny it.

The next day, my mom and I went to the grocery store to get food for our big celebration of Dan and Bill's birthdays. I love family dinner, and now with every one's significant others, it's getting bigger and bigger! (there are more people to make fun of). We grilled out, but because it was raining we had to grill in the garage with the door open (the garage now smells DELICIOUS). My mom and I cooked all day and that's when I noticed this little gem of a decoration in my parents kitchen:
What I want to know is how on earth I was the first one to make a joke about it?!

My Mom loves to decorate for the holidays... if you have ever been at our house at Christmas, you know what I am talking about. Its pretty awesome. We are a winter wonderland. Easter decor in the kitchen is getting pretty close though.

Anywho, we have dinner. It's delicious. Everyone is making jokes and telling stories. Then it was time for the game. Oh yes, there is only one way to properly celebrate a 29th and 26th birthday- Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Duh.

My mom and I saw it in the dollar aisle at the store and thought that we just could not, NOT get it. So, we taped it up in the hallway and set the stakes at this:

Winner would have the Title of Favorite Child of The Week (yes, this was open to anyone in attendance, Jim's girlfriend is usually the favorite- we call her "number one" all the time, I think she even signed my birthday card that way) and the surprise gift which was a statue of a crazy squirrel, holding a sign that says: Welcome to the Nut House. I wish I had a picture of it, bc it's really the freakiest garden statue ever.

After blind folding and spinning 9 people ages 19- 33, the game was over and Bill won the title of favorite child and the coveted freaky-ass statue. It was a good night.

Other notable events: my mother is convinced we are all going to get the Swine flu and she almost killed me while driving several times. So the Swine Flu does not scare me. I made it back to Chicago in one piece after driving with my mom, THAT's an accomplishment.

All in all. hOmaha was a great time. Now on to an excellent Chicago summer!

ONE. SWEET. CONCERT.

I have not posted in yonks and yonks!

But, that is because I have been working on a project. I am working with the Global Alliance for Africa to put on a kick azz fundraiser. Thanks to some really great bands, the talented Michael Wolfe (check out the sweet poster above) the fantastic DJ Chuck Wren and Subterranean, we have the event pretty much ready to go!

I am thrilled and EXPECT TO SEE YOU ALL THERE ON MAY 24, 2009! It's $15 for some sweet music at SubT. We will have a raffle for a chance at some cold hard cash and of course your donations will be most welcome!

Please check out the bands:
The Drastics: http://www.thedrastics.com/
Paper Thick Walls http://www.myspace.com/paperthickwalls
Sona the Voice http://www.myspace.com/sonathevoice
Scott Wesley http://www.myspace.com/scottwesleyband
and
DJ Chuck Wren

To get tickets, go here: http://www.globalallianceafrica.org/donation/index.php?hid_dns_type=1


(something a little more witty perhaps will come later this week).

My Favorite Appendage, My Phone.

I left my phone at home today.

I feel like I would be just as uneasy if I had left my right arm there as well. I don't even have a fancy phone. The coolest thing my phone can do is play music from the speaker on the side of it. And really, I am going to be at work... at a computer and by a land line phone... so really, I have no reason to be uneasy, but it has become such a part of me, that it feels wrong not to have it. I mean what if one of my friends sends me a hilarious text and I don't get to see it until 5:45pm??

• THE WORLD WILL STOP TURNING!
• Someone will get offended.
• People will probably think I am dead...

This list could go on forever.

Basically, I am alive, I love you all, and please earth, keep on orbiting.

It kind of amazes me how dependent I am on my cell phone. I mean, I remember when having caller ID was super cool. Does anyone remember teen lines? I wanted one so badly, but my parents were not having any of that. Oh man, getting to have a phone in my room was a huge deal! (of course getting to decorate my room how I wanted was a big deal too... that's a story for another day, haha!) I had no use for a phone when I was 10 or 12, but little kids have WAY cooler phones than I do. It baffles me! Why does a 12 year old need an iphone? I can't even use one properly. My brother has one and I look at it the same way I look at Dick Cheney- what the hell am I supposed to do with that?

Clearly I am accessible, people know where I live, I have a work phone, 3 e-mail addresses I check regularly, facebook... ok, I am getting kind of disgusted by all the ways people can contact me- oh and I have a BLOG! Oooookaaaaayyy... hmm.

This shit is bananas. (I know a few people just sang b-a-n-a-n-a-s).

I assume at some point we will all have crackberries and iphones. I figure by the time I have kids, I will get my baby a going home outfit and a cell phone after she/he is born. (I will not have my kid behind in the times).

This is not to say I hate technology. I just am very bad at using it. I pretend like I know what to do sometimes... but normally, if I have a problem with one of my techy toys I either turn it off and on, and if that doesn't work I shake it and pray that something shifts back into place. I actually have a tiny little laptop now... for everyone who knows the SAGA of my old hp, she is still working, it was just time to move on. Now I have the tiniest pink computer- you would be shocked. Its really cool- I am proud of me :)

My mother has learned how to use the Internet. My mother did not know how to turn a computer on 2 months ago, now she is googling her children. She told me she has been googling me. hahaha... that's a little unsettling.

I don't own a camera that develops film anymore.

It is normal for people to meet potential life partners via online dating sites. Um... I still remember when chat rooms were taboo and it was considered CRAZY to meet someone you found on line in person. I still am not ok with it. I get that we are all busy but, for real? No offense if you like dating sites, I still prefer to meet someone in person and make sure that photo was not airbrushed- THEN I go home and on line "research" you, duh.

And really, texting, dear god what on EARTH do people do without it? I have made more bad decisions and said so many things I never would have if it weren't for the ability to text. I mean basically, I can talk to anyone at any time, say REALLY stupid things, and attach a personality to a guy that does not exist because we don't actually talk on the phone- we maintain a text relationship. awesome. See here for an accurate account of what text dating is like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX3ws6OnGuE

Moral of the story, I have not developed film in ages, I do not have a land line in my apartment and I don't know what I would do without facebook. I have a phone to talk to like 7 people and I text all the rest. ha.

Instant Karma

I have been in a funk. I feel like I have been slapped by the Lazy stick and cannot find it in me to do anything productive lately. As of today though, I am not going to allow this weird mood to persist. I am making my lazy ass do random things just so I can be out of this fog. I am not sure what brought it on, but I think it's a whole slew of things- one big factor is the weather here in Chicago.

TALK ABOUT A TEASE.

Mother nature is basically showing us her goodies and then saying, "no no, can't touch". (crazy old bat). Its like we get one nice day and the ENTIRE population of Chicago is outside, and then the next day its cold and rainy... I feel like I am in Ireland or something! But, anyway, I think I have been selfish and basically a waste of space.

So yesterday I rearranged my apartment, which is what I do when I need a change. I alter something significant about my surroundings, I dunno, it gives me a sense of control and a tangible instant shift in the direction of things. AND I clean. My kitchen and bedroom/living area are friggin sparkling people. My old roomies used to know when something was up because one room would be completely rearranged and spotless. ha!

TODAY! I set up some goals. I stopped making lists consistently for awhile there, which I think really threw things outta whack for me. I am completely unproductive without my lists. I am also going to a cardio class to work out some of this weird whatever is going on with me. (Whatever "it" is, "it" makes me want to walk around like a little kid saying "merg" and just flopping my arms and then disagreeing with everything you suggest I do. You know the type.) Then CJ and I are going O.U.T. Because, girl needs to dance it out a little I think.

I am a big believer in that you stay in a funk for as long as you will allow it. Your circumstances may suck, and you may not be able to change that, but your attitude about it is all on you. So to get out of a bad mood, sometimes you need to do something nice for yourself. But, for the sake of making the cosmos turn things in your favor, might I suggest doing something that not only gives you something to look forward to, but also is a way to give back?

Buy a pair of TOMS shoes. TOMS are instant karma if you ask me. You buy a pair of shoes- and when you do- a child in need gets a pair as well! See, boom! New Shoes for you (which always makes things better) and someone who needs them get some too! (It's totally what I did today- I got the gray canvas ones... sadly patterns and big feet do not mix, so plain colored ones it is, haha!) My other suggestion for giving back to get some warm fuzzies, is donate to the Global Alliance for Africa. This is SUCH a great organization, and I will GLADLY come and hug you for donating to this group :) Heck, I might even suggest planning a trip to Africa with them! How cool would that be to fund raise a trip to Africa for yourself in order to go help fight the AIDS epidemic and help orphans?! I say DO IT.

There are so many ways to brighten up a day that is seemingly going so far south that not even staring at Rob Pattinson can help. So, after a new pair of shoes and a clean rearranged apartment, I wish you Rob Pattinson kind of day, because I am back in hapyholly mode.

March Madness

To update you all on the fish situation, since I know you are concerned: We have introduced some new fish to the tank. I do not trust the killer, but so far he is behaving-ish. We caught him chasing one fish and causing a big uprising in the tank... we shall see. I have already checked on the fish many times, I even yelled at a new fish to get away from him. Yes, I yelled at a fish... in the philosophy dept...I am that sane.

Today has been crazy.

I witnessed one of the WEIRDEST fundraisers I have ever seen. I went to get lunch in our student union. Here, clubs etc., often set up tables to sell things or make people sign up for something- normally they sell food or fair trade things blah blah blah.

Ah, but not for one girl and her folding table.

No, no. This girl... and I wish I could remember her club/cause, had a little something for the ladies. A table FULL of tampons. About 7 boxes of Tampax... or just single ones, whatever you needed, for sale. It looked REAL sketchy, I think this girl raided her dorm bathroom and has a pissed off roommate somewhere. I did a double take, as did everyone who walked by this lone girl and her table full of feminine products. I was like, whats next?

Thank god there wasn't a group of guys who were forced to sit right by her to watch March Madness ... oh waaaiiittt...

Swimmin' with Da Fishes...

Dun nu. Dun nu. DUN NU DUN NU DUN NU DUUUUUUUNNNNNN!!!!
We have had a murder in the philosophy department! I know, I know, it's hard to believe!

Here are the facts:

8 neon tetras were massacred in room CC 381 on the weekend of March 6th by an unnamed Black Widow Tetra. There were no eye witnesses, but as the woman who discovered the crime scene... and wishes to remain nameless for her own safety reports,

"I left the office at 4:30pm Friday, March 6, and returned to the office Monday morning to discover the mass murder."

According to this witness there were fish parts floating in the water, the filter, and the fake grass. This witness then proceeded to clean the crime scene as the Black Widow Tetra swam menacingly in the corner.

The Black Widow Tetra was new to the tank. He had been there only a few days before he began his killing spree. Our one crime scene witness says he was quiet and swam mostly by himself. She has kept him in the tank, and has not introduced any new fish to the area for fear of the safety of other fish. She also reports that he does not seem remorseful for his actions, instead seems empowered by what he has done.

The verdict is still out on what will happen to the Black Widow Tetra. As this is a Philosophy Dept. the question of ethical procedures is of the utmost importance. One Ethics professor believes he deserves the death penalty- Death by flushing. Why deprive other fish of a clean and normally safe habitat? Others have weighed in, but the question still remains. Do we allow this killer to live in solitude, in this tank that once peacefully house 8 other fish? Or do we kill him to and introduce another set of peaceful, loving fish to Crown Center 381? You be the jury.