~*New Years !!REVOLUTIONZ!!*~

This Years REZOLUTIONZ (to be amended and revised throughout the year)

-don't get dumped in an uncomfortable way (i think this counts as foreshadowing)
-pump iron and get tuff
-no more vegan, lots of yogurt!!
-more manicures
-save money, spend wisely and frugally
-make a few more mistakes before i'm old enough that they begin to be a little inappropriate
-make up my mind about the future and stop horsing around already
-learn to crochet
-sew, knit embroider and make books
-have a remarkably flattering haircut
-make kombucha
-acquire some new skills
-lighten up
-begin work on a project that i'm really excited to tell people about
-hang out with my mom as often as possible
-get rid of some of my junky stuff
-travel whenever the opportunity arises
-continue writing letters
-make a video mixtape
-eat less sugar
-host potlucks
-wear contact lenses
-buy some fashionable shoes
-read proust and foucault, as well as up and coming young authors.
-see things in a hopelessly romantic way whenever possible
-if i'm going to move back to new york, make a real go of it and don't end up being miserable
-finish my stop animation film, "the world's smallest baked potato" and its accompanying cookbook of little foods.
-PLEASE tidy my room this year!!
-adventures all around
-drink hot chocolate when it snows
-get stoned, by myself probably
-send more cassette tape letters
-record a song with alexia
-get a second job
-quit wearing the same clothing day in and day out
-avoid moderation, except where it will be more fun (like with sweets, in order to avoid sore stomach and absurd weight gain)

last years resolutions


1) drink tons of water everyday (sporadically achieved!)
2) eat lots and lots of fiber (always)
3) have a really awesome time whenever possible (debatable)
4) got sledding a lot (not in the least)
5) fix my stuff when it breaks (you bet)
6) write hundreds of letters (fuck yeah)
7) keep my room pretty tidy pretty often (not in a trillion years)
8) lots of mix tapes (only a few. bummer)
9) look bangin' as often as possible (not in my opinion)
10) don't let my feet grow any bigger (if only)
11) act like a grown up (no)
12) do something great after graduation (who can tell yet)
13) make out with millions of hot guys (nope)
14) be super healthy and love it (nope)
15) don't let it get to you, you know? (I let it get to me)
16) dumpster dive all over the place (up until may)
17) return sneakers instead of letting them sit in the closet, gathering dust (dusty)
18) knit some more stuff (not even a stitch)
19) make as many mistakes as can possibly be squeezed into a single 2007, in a fun way (i don't know. apparently not)
20) learn how to play backgammon and bridge and mah jong (i learned mah jong)
21) get really good grades. stellar grades. (pretty good!!)
22) go to sleep at a reasonable hour, unless out making mistakes (yep)
23) start eating breakfast (umm)
24) don't start eating cake for breakfast or anything stupid like that (ummmmmmmmm)
25)
26) get stoned (once!oh wait, twice!)
27) coerce people into hanging out in my room (yeah right. I hate that)
28) fix up my bike into a hot machine (now it's broken)
29) learn how to circuit bend and other cool shit (nope)
30) paint my toenails more often (not even once!)
31) vacuum my room sometimes (no)
32) get rid of ratty old clothing, replace with awesome new shit (i got rid of it into my parents basement)
33) more adventures (olympiadventure)
34) more art projects (and how)
35) less stressing out (impossible)
36) more getting drunk outside (too cold)
37) sign up for free classes whenever the opportunity arises (n/a)
38) don't lose touch with anyone that i like (oops)
39) lose touch with people I don't really care about (fantastic job!)
40) video games are pretty dumb and i'm glad i don't play them (still going strong)
41) hang out on my roof more, probably on my sonic youth beach towel (i moved)
42) avoid close talkers (met a few, stood far away)
43) look into getting a murphy bed (kind of joking i guess)

this is a mixtape that i made for jean that is indubitably like me at 14, 15, 16 and not very much like me now. I was all caught up in the 4am feelings, and nothing could shake it save the sober morning light. I'm sending it anyway, on principle.

SIDE NUMBER ONE ONE ONE ONE ONE ONE ONE ONE ONE ONE
1. Lyn Taitt- Soul Food
2. Pavement- Here
3. Sonic Youth- Tuff Gnarl
4. Unwound- No Tech!
5. 311- Prisoner
6. Thee Headcoatees- Ce Plan Pour Moi
7. Jonathan Richman- Give Paris One More Chance
8. Palace Brothers- I Send my Love to You
9. Herman Dune- These Arms of Mine
10. Velvet Underground- I'll be Your Mirror
SIDE NUMBER TWO TWO TWO TWO TWO TWO TWO TWO TWO TWO
1. Woody Allen- Lost Generation
2. Telephone- Le Vadou
3. Dictators- Sleeping With the TV on
4. Xray Spex- Germ Free Adolescence
5. Lee Ronaldo- The Bridge
6. Smog- Rock Bottom Riser
7. LCD Soundsystem- New York I Love You, But You're Bringing me Down
8. The Smiths- How Soon is Now?


i'm in new york and my mom is out of the hospital. I sewed a handkerchief this evening. I'm feeling really guilty about going out, so I haven't really hung out with anyone. Maybe I will go out tomorrow night. Brandon called me on Christmas when He, Hallie, Craig and Emily were watching movies at our house. It made me homesick. I'm feeling a bit lonely and bummed out as well. I'm eating brunch with Ollie and Uncle Sol tomorrow, and then to the MoMA with Colleen. Perhaps we will call Drummer and pretend it's Olympia.


It's time for this little sourpuss to get off the internet and curl up with a lovely book before bedtime. happy 2:45 am.

this is the sentimental mix cd i made for my older sister. it's a little like me at 16, 18, 21 and now.

1. Beat Happening- Hey Day
2. Yo La Tengo- Stockholm Syndrome
3. X- cyrano de berger's back (rehearsal)
4. Frog Eyes- Picture Framing The Gigantic Men Who Fought On Steam Boats
5. The Fall- What You Need
6. Cambodian Rocks Compilation- Track 3
7. Lee Ranaldo- The Bridge
8. Jeffrey Lewis- Seattle
9. Thanksgiving- I Forgot Your Name
10. The Microphones- Karl Blau
11. Smog- Rock Bottom Riser
12. Dear Nora- Suicide Song
13. Asobi Seksu- New Years
14. BARR- The Song Is The Single
15. Herman Düne- Why Would That Hurt? (If You Never Loved Me)
16. ? And The Mysterians- 96 Tears
17. Cat Power- Colors And The Kids
18. Viking Moses/ Spenking- Two More Miles

cool music videos

You know, these past few months have left me feeling an imposing lack of inspiration, motivation and creativity. I've fallen terribly in love with people and places, but I've left behind whatever it was that kept me going in years past. I'm in New York right now, at my parents house, not getting anything done. Today I visited my mother and we went up to the recreation room and glued together wooden model-toys. tomorrow we are going to sew felt stuffed animals. on my own, I am going to make mix-videos and mix-tapes for the boys and girls i love to dearly. erika and i are going to watch joseph cornell short films tomorrow evening, and then anna and i will watch Hannah and Her Sisters at midnight.

eraserhead is also screening in new york city.

by the way, i want to move far away to somewhere charming and nice.

christmas wishing

wowwwwww..wwwww..wwwww

i've got a walkman, no ipod.

i'd like some mix tapes for my birthday. old hip hop or girl groups from days gone by. december 14th. i'll be 22. gosh.



i walked to work today listening to the shangri-las and it was pretty awesome. kenny tested out the birthday pizza and it was very tasty. i am tired all the time, i bet it's from eating so much sugar. the film festival is in full swing, but i didn't have to volunteer tonight, thank goodness. i'm going to be visiting the east coast in a few weeks, but i'm too sleepy right now to mention much. it'll be nice to see some of my charming friends and my darling family after 6 long months of separation, plus i'll be able to gallop around some familiar cities again. i'm getting a bit worked up just thinking about how much i miss it all. it's a shame how much time i spend thinking and talking about myself and how little time i spend doing anything creative or worthwhile. shake your heads in disapproval, some things need to change.

brandon and i are starting a book club concentrating on novels that have been made into movies. we plan to read, watch, discuss, repeat. so far we have not invited any cute boys to join, but i truly believe that these are the sort of intellectual pursuits that get you laid.



i did finish reading Jonathon Franzen's How to Be Alone, and I really, really enjoyed it. Every tiny little thing. I think I might be a little in love. I'm a little ashamed of the things I'm drawn to-- straight pop, through and through-- but like I said, there's been too much space in my head dedicated to mediocre self analysis, and it's stopping right now.

goodnight, i'm asleep now.

iconic moments from the 20th century, reenacted by glasgow senior citizens.

jeffrey lewis's history of punk rock on the lower east side, available for download, on the internet.


Tiny Pineapple

i want 'em badly

temporarily improving the internet

apartment hunting

sometimes i'm unhappy in olympia. these are places i'd like to call my own.

in boston


in austin
New York
San Francisco
Portland
Philadelphia

I just bought these boots. On the internet.

i have been sick in bed all week and i am only barely recovering. i also have a big zit underneath my nose now, which is sickness-related i'm sure. my throat still hurts as well. i began work on the loneliest cookbook, and so far i have a recipe for a single gingersnap and a single carrot muffin. i would like to make a single serving of lasagna, one piece of sushi, a pig in a blanket, a miniature pie, maybe a mini-burger? the world's smallest baked potato for sure. i'm open to ideas.

remember when we feasted upon vegetables of the earth?

sophmore year of college was a pretty great one. This is three years old.

And so, at the dusk of their parting for the mid-Month of October Break, the four convened at the Little White Cottage of Gittleman for a Rocktober (R)Feast of Roasted Root (R)Vegetables. Little Evan James peeled the lettuce and sprinkled with fresh-freak Spring Creek Water from the Brita Tap Filter Faucet System [END LINE]. Little K.-Lane-Chan-Czoka-Karina-Czoka-Karina-Lane-Czoka-Pants spent her preparation time, tended to the Cat Satallites in the backyard Field Vegetables Creek Field. Hannah HannahHorovitz Horovitz stirred the fake beef with just the right amount of canned spicey chili. The garlic and the onions and the black beans swelled together into a wonderful herbed mix of freak fresh water spout decliciousness! Oh what a feast it was turning out to be!! Last but not least, it was Topher F. Maherikans who battered the buttered unbutter potatoes with just the right amount of splish splashed riff-raff schmenkie joint, for the perfect aroma of smells! It was the turning and tossing and flipping and spinning as his eyes were bright with popping -freak water! And so, as the four let the schmenkie-rif-raf-cabbage-potato-radish-turnips-mini-onions sizzle and pop in the yellow metal oven, the four shared a delicious plastic bowl of peeled lettuce, chopped onions and the special treat of a young finger carrot, specially peeled by Topher F and fingernailed by the Scoundrelish H.H. Hororvisions. Sca-sca-sca!!! Upon the moon reaching its penultimate positioning in the frigid 37 degree pelucid-atmospheric-sky, the four used red mits to subtract the lengthy horizontally rectangular metal pans from the charming yellow oven and Little Evan James feasted on the spicey chili and Roasted Root Vegetable Dinner Foods. And so, upon stuffing their rounded faces with such a declicious cornocopia of different colored feasted root freak-water vegetables, they all sat back in their chairs and passed around the computer, poking each other all through the festive night!! And so, my young compartment companions, this Dolphin Afterlife Lion Iron On Cat Satellites should be a lesson to you! Sca-sca-sca-----SCOUNDREL!

i signed up to take my GREs on February 4th at noon. I should probably take some photographs of the cassette tapes and books I bought for $3 at the library sale. Daniel Johnston live at SXSW in 1990 and the replacement's suck, both distributed by k... sonic youth's washing machine, they might be giant's flood, the shangri-la's 12 greatest hits...i don't know, good stuff.

this is a lame blog that i have been writing. i am deeply sorry.

I lost my passport this week, which is a total bummer since it's my only form of ID. Now I'm sick, as well. I slept for twelve house last night. In my time off from sleeping and complaining at work, I have been alternating between staying out until 4am and sitting at home reading Moby Dick, listening to the beach boys and watching nature documentaries. Now I am listening to Evan Dando, and I swear, it's exactly like it was three years ago, except I'm not in the music office, and I haven't been hopped up on caffiene for eleven hours. I have actually quit caffiene AND sugar, but this is only my first day, so who knows how well it will go.

good morning from hannah horovitz and pinball the cat

Monday, September 10th. Great.

Right now I'm sitting in the Kill Rock Stars Warehouse, updating my blog and drinking coffee with a shot of espresso in it. I'm listening to Al Green's cover of I Wanna Hold Your Hand. Did you know that it's possible to listen to the greatest music ever made in the same place? just type "silver abuse" into last.fm and listen to "similar artists". I'm probably not supposed to be here, but I am going to do some mail order so it is not an abuse of privileges. I am not having a good day. I'm listening to This American Life to make myself feel better. I don't know if it will work. It was hot today, and I didn't do much except sweat and talk to people I only know a little bit. Also, did you know that only one person responds to my letters really consistantly?Two if you were to count my mother. I'm not going to. So, one.

I keep thinking of stupid romantic things, and it's probably because I'm tired and grumpy. I guess I should go to the gym tomorrow. I keep looking at jobs on the internet, and I think if I want to do something real I need to move to Seattle or Portland. So I don't know...It's not a choice I really want to make-- I like Olympia right now, and I don't know much about Seattle or Portland.

I'm not homesick, I'm just feeling down. I kind of miss the wowhaus with my room with all of my stuff and people to talk to and lounge with.

I'm reading Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion and I think she ends her pieces really well. It makes my heart sieze up.

hey ollie, i'm sorry that you're hurting post-wisdom removal.
feel better, brothervitz.

summer's end: all i listen to is the talking heads.

this morning, i saw my first fallen leaves of the year. it was a major shock, but I'm doing fine. i had the day off work, pretty much. I biked downtown this morning to give some CDs to stereo total's tour manager and then rode out to lacey along the bike trail. I went to Michaels to pick stuff up for "the worlds smallest baked potato", the stupid movie i've decided to make.

it's been a little weird these past few days: Jon moved to Seattle and Alexia went back to France. I went to a wolves in the throne room show at Caliope last night that had a bonfire, and it was pretty awesome. Today Brandon opened up the pizzeria for a bit and I had dinner with him and his friend Jeff. I also bought a book on gardening and DIY photography stuff. We're going to turn the broken bathroom into a darkroom, and I'm still determined to build a photobooth this winter. So yeah. Lots of projects to keep busy with--who needs friends when you've got complicated projects? Not me. It's mad scientist all the way from here on out. It's raining cats and dogs right now, and I am happy to be inside. I think I might go and eat some chocolate.

my secret cafe

i will post photographs from

i want to build a music machine this winter, and set up a syllabus for myself to learn all the specifics. i'm imagining a big box with lots of buttons that connect to tape loops and weird sounds. funny looking sketches to come, i promise. i'm in san francisco right now, visiting my brother. it's the first time i've ever been here and i'm looking forward to tomorrow. i'd like to buy brown pants or shoes in the morning. i am really tired.

oh, also: there's a secret cafe at my house on tuesday.

cafe goodbye, 6pm tuesday august 28th, 1054 fir st. SE, right by the water tower.


OH, i forgot to mention the part where i realized that i'd lost my wallet half an hour before i left for san francisco, which was majorly frustrating, but i have persevered and overcame the difficulties, arriving at the airport with $2 in my pocket and a bouquet of hope in my heart. i am keeping my spirits up, folks, and my brave little soul should make it through this harrowing ordeal. it's a good thing i don't have my shit together enough to have gotten a WA ID yet, because that shit would've been G-O-N-E.

also, i am planning on holing up in my newly painted bedroom and going cold turkey on socializing, since it is no fun anyway and i haven't been good about reading or working on 'don't worry, hannah, at least you're doing something cool!" projects.

1st step: finalllly finish passage to india
2nd step: finish the floating opera
3rd step: build music machine
last step: woo boys with my literary references and catchy tunes
inevitable post-final step: repeat similar cycle.

my new book (that i made!)

also, this is a not-too-flattering photo from minneapolis, but it is the only one i took, so it will have to suffice. also, i was in minneapolis for a week TA-ing at the University of MN Design Camp, so that was cool. now, i am back in olympia and am throwing capitalization to the wind. I wrote a piece of writing that will be mailed out to those i deem least likely to criticize. i am looking for a #2 job. i moved into a lovely new room and i don't have a single piece of furniture.

this is my book. she is lovely.

In the airport (and i'm fucking b-o-r-e-d!)

My flight to Minneapolis doesn't take off until 12:55. I wasted $6.50 on sushi that I couldn't eat and then wasn't allowed to get a refund. What kind of crazy moron puts eggs in vegetarian sushi????????!!!!!!

i guess i should have asked to read the ingredients...

I bought a copy of allure magazine, and realized that I'm not the target audience. I don't want to highlight my hair, and I have little faith in the ability of lipstick to radically alter either my looks or my outlook on life. I am so sleepy, which means that I am so cranky, but I can't board my stupid plane for 45 more stupid minutes and I bet I will never find a nice boy to make eyes at ever again in my whole entire life for the rest of eternity.

what the heck fest, and my dreams for the future

while the rest of the world jetted between 77boardrums and pitchfork and ibeza, I made it to what the heck fest on friday night--no one would cover my shift on saturday night, and i am broke, so it was a one night stand for sure, but it was fun and hot and I don't regret a thing. I would have taken more pictures, but I am shy about using digital cameras unless I am drunk, so here's this one:
Of all of the nights to stay, I like to tell myself that I lucked out. Whether or not this is just a self congratulatory analysis of the circumstance, I was able to see some lovely music, and all for $5, incidentally.


Bobby Birdman
I think that he is such a babe, plus he's got such a crooning voice ANNNNDDDDD he is not playing solo any more, so that was cool. and i haven't seen him play since that econ major totally fucked up his set my sophmore year and matt and lincoln were heckling.

Lloyd & Michael
Kate from Dear Nora is in this band, and it was ever better than I expected. I was sitting with a bunch of freshly met and friendly individuals, and the music was so cozy, and there was free tea and coffee, so it all added up pretty well.

Mecca Normal
I always thought I really detested Mecca Normal, but I was lying to myself I guess, because it turns out that I don't. My plan to sit in the park and write letters, drink soda and eat candy was cut short by the jarring absence of chic-o-stix from the 7-11 and more importantly, the fucking rain. I am glad that I did not make a stubborn decision, because instead of sitting outside in the rain sulking, I realized I have a new band to like AND I stayed warm and dry.

Calvin Johnson
Sang a really funny song about a movie theatre.

The Blow
Totally bummed me out. I think I was getting pretty cranky by the time she went on, but everytime I felt like dancing, the feeling left me, and I wanted to reach for my cane and snap at the ankles of all the young whippersnappers flailing all around me. There were a couple of boys who kept holding their hands up like Parenthesis during that song, and it was much more infuriating than it should have been. My expectations were pretty high for the night, since last year I danced so hard that I had to nap in the car afterwards, as I'd worn myself out.

Dennis Driscoll
Makes my heart melt.
------this guy was a sailor who had just shipped into anacortes, who was wondering why there were so many hip kids milling around. we met him as we walked past a book store talking about harry potter, and he said "did you say something about stealing harry potter?" and then lifted up his shirt.
-------------
So, post-Heck Fest, I was dropped off at the pizzeria and began my shift, which totally sucked because of lake fair. I was getting a serious contact high from all the baked teenagers who couldn't make up their minds, and then there were snotty little brats skipping the line to tell me they had to pee and needed the bathroom key. After work, I met up with that guy, who was bummed out, and I managed to convince myself that I probably had a lot of feelings for him, an opinion which I have now amended and hope to never return to, as I think he's a moody jerk and he doesn't like me anyway. well, perhaps not a jerk, but moody and inconsiderate. and he doesn't care for me, just calls me up when he's bummed out.

so yeah, i went from total awesome weekend, straight back into bummed about boys. i think the perfect solution would be to stop thinking about boys, but they are literally everywhere (except women and trans night at the bike shop, and probably ladies night at mccoys), and it seems that I have morphed into a horny twelve year old1.

I AM MOVING ON FRIDAY THANK GOD.


1 This sort of relates to a conversation recently had regarding the heart-melting way that teenage couples hook onto one another like octopus (octopuses? octopi???).

look at these photographs

This is the charming dude that I embroidered on the back of my tshirt. he is about 2 inches across and dead center.













This guy on the right is simply a gratuitous photograph of my cluttered room, and is also meant to show off the records i bought at a yard sale for $.25 each (john lee hooker! edith piaf! ancient country recordings!!!!!!).














this is my filthy room. i am a slob and it's just something you're going to have to deal with if you actually care about me. if i had my druthers, i would while away the rest of my days at yardsales, picking through piles of cast off junk and convincing myself that I really need another old thermos, cat painting or pair of gingham overall shorts.

here are two of the books that i have made so far, shown with a photograph of a chimpanzee playing roughly with a bear cub.

I am doing well, which is cool. I mean, not RIDICULOUSLY well, but I'm happy little thing still, so that's alright. I've dealt with easier things than figuring out how I feel about all this boy trouble, but I've also dealt with more difficult situations, and since I am a grown up, I will continue to take this all in stride, with only momentary lapses into moping around.

the important news in my life is that i am moving out of my coffin room, and into a lovely house with brandon and craig. brandon and i are arranging a brilliant bike ride to seattle, which will obviously rule. there is no use providing details here, as i doubt that my meager reader base includes anyone within a trillion miles of olympia.

I am going to a dance party tonight, and am decked out in a new pair of shorts, although without a mirror, I cannot tell if I look like your mom at the beach, or a hottie with a body. Luckily, I don't care at all, and am just hoping that I will not be too scared to join in the dancing.

I like living in Olympia, WA because it is pretty and warm and the people are really great and there are not many of them, so it is easy to feel very popular and in the know, as it is impossible to avoid running into them all at once.


i am listening to evan dando, predictably, and he is still a total babe.

i just got dumped. this is great and i feel like a complete asshole.

if you're reading my life on the internet, you should leave a comment.

Look, to keep things on a positive note, I've been reading a lot of craft blogs. you know, on the world wide web. These blogs, on top of the regular dorky vegan cooking blogs I usually read, are really blowing my mind as to the totally brilliant and awesome things that people are doing in the world. for instance, had you ever thought of crocheting a squid? or cross stitching princess toadstool onto the sleeve of your dress shirt?

I've been making some pathetic attempts to emulate the crafting genius that lives on the internet, and so far, I'm falling pretty short. My Woody Allen embroidery is messy and not very convincing, and my funny little doodle embroideries pale in comparison to the epic portraiture of the interweb.

so yeah. I'm going to see if I can get some of the books I've made consigned at dumpster values. I went on a jog this morning and rode my bike up the hill twice. I've been feeling really weird about some things, so I'm trying to tire myself out and keep my mind off of things I'm better off not dwelling on. I think I'm going to see Spider and The Webs play with Sex Vid tonight. Whatever, Who Cares, this is SUMMER VACATION.



bummer, though, man. I miss hanging out with friends. Don't forget about me if you're out there, reading this in cyberspace. I've also got an actual, real life couch that I'd love for you to snuggle up on if you feel like paying me a visit*.


*offer only extended to actual friends and not any old person who stumbles over here.

Nice times in Olympia

As you might easily have guessed from my miserable attitude just 5 days ago, things are obviously alright. I've been working at old school, and hanging out with this guy. Today, I trained as a cook, which is cool, since being a cashier isn't all its chalked up to be. Tonight, I plan on taking a long walk, reading a book and watching Paris, Je T'aime and hanging out with that guy.
Tomorrow, I will work at KRS in the morning, learn more about pizza making in the early afternoon, and anything after that is too far in the future to be planned.


But....................the important thing is that I am a happy little clam at the moment, and that I have bought a plane ticket to Minneapolis for 12:55am on July 28th. It was a stupid flight to chose, but I'm a poor decision maker, so now I will begin convincing myself that it'll be exciting to hang around the airport at night.



I also embroidered a charming little dude on the back of my t-shirt last night, as I was waiting around to get sleepy. I plan to scatter more little embroidered dudes on the rest of my clothes, which is why my plans now include a trip to someplace that sells embroidery thread.

On a more positive note, I absolutely and emphatically cannot WAIT to get the dave longstreth/black flag tribute album! I think it is going to seriously RULE.

Terribly Homesick

I have settled into my mini-room in Olympia. I am ridiculously and pathetically homesick. If you happen to be on my extensive list of mail-recipients (and I don't know why anyone who didn't know me would read this), you can look forward to receiving a whiny and depressing letter, detailing my limited experiences so far. Some of the highlights including :

walking to and from downtown a few times a day.
wondering if people notice that I'm always walking to and from downtown.
chastising myself for wondering if people are noticing me.
wondering if people think I'm a weirdo for walking around so much.

It's the sort of beautiful cycle of thought that only occurs when one spends immense amounts of time alone and without aims or goals. Perhaps, as any number of people have told me in the months leading up to this move, Olympia was not the best possible destination. It is too early to tell, but it's on my mind. I've also found myself overly concerned with "bothering" people, which has so far translated into not getting in touch with anyone I knew last summer, and having my feelings hurt that my house was not demolished in a mad rush of people trying to hang out with me. So, in the end, I know I'm being pretty ridiculous and more than a little self-centered, as well as quite impatient and unrealistic. But still.

40 hours of travel, not enough naps

I arrived in Olympia on the afternoon of June 10th, and there were sunshowers, which felt pretty epic and important. I immediately hopped on the wrong bus and was almost whisked away to some shitty place where my house is not at. Luckily, the crisis was averted and yours truly was saved. So I scoped out the house and dropped off my suitcase, got take out from saigon rendezvouz and hopped on the greyhound. On the bus, I grappled with such supremely mindblowing questions as:

Do people around me know that this is fake meat I am eating?
Wouldn't it be cool to get matching tetris tattoos with someone you're pretty keen on?
Why am I going to Los Angeles?
Should I just get off in Portland and hang?
Have I drank enough water?
Have I drank enough soda?
Do my feet smell?
I smell really bad, don't I?

Obviously, this sharp little mind of mine has no trouble grappling with truly pressing issues and concerns, even when sitting on a greyhound for 25 hours, listening to a skipping cd player and reading David Foster Wallace,who, by the way, is an out-and-out genius as far as I'm concerned, mostly because of his epic and poignant footnotes. I wish I knew how to make footnotes on the internet, as this would have been a good opportunity for an homage.

An exciting story from my vacation, actually two, and both from last night:

1. As Allison and I drove towards downtown Los Angeles, on the freeway, the car began to slow down. As I was not at the wheel, and have little idea as to how cars actually do what they do, I assumed this was on purpose. Sadly, I was wrong, and we had actually run out of gas. I also had to pee. We decided to hop out of the car and look for a gas station. We asked the first car we found, asking directions from a woman who didn't speak english, and her 10-year old son. We started walking, when all of a sudden, they pulled up, asking if we wanted a bottle of gasoline. Long story short, this awesome family totally went out of their way to lend us a hand and helped us siphon gas into a car pulled over on the shoulder of a busy freeway. I fell desperately in love, not like that's uncommon. Also, throughout all this, Allison and I looked remarkably like prostitutes, as we stood on the corner wearing dresses, trying to ignore the cars that slowed down and asked if we needed a lift.

2. The second time I fell in love was at Amoeba, where the clerk in a slayer shirt was a total babe who talked about Jonathan Richman, and instead of holding a conversation about Massachusetts, and potentially asking what on earth people actually DO in Los Angeles, I didn't. Also, in retrospect, I have absolutely no idea if he was really a babe or not, which is obviously arbitrary anyway, since he complimented my purchases, and was into Jonathan Richman and Slayer. So, duh.


My suntan is still a sunburn, but it'll fade. I'm bussing it back to Olympia tomorrow, with my darling bicycle this time. Woot Woot!

11:53 am: arrive in Seattle, WA. 7:30 tomorrow: arrive in Los Angeles, CA. This is going to be a long and complicated something, but when the dust clears, I'll be taking up residence in Olympia, WA, once more. I miss Boston, I miss New York, I miss Vassar College, I wonder if this is a poorly thought out decision. I suppose I wouldn't be my fathers daughter if I wasn't nervously rethinking this all at the last moment. Airport!

so i finished college...

I've been a prize-winning graduate of a fully accredited collegiate institution for over a week, and I haven't done anything particularly notable. I've mulled over the troubling implications of flipping between "the biggest loser", a weight-loss reality TV show, and "barefoot contessa", a sickeningly heavy-on-the-butter show on the food network. I've begun to compile a master book-list, for the television-less time in the near future when I will once again be an independent woman, no longer suckling from the parental teat of full refrigerators and cable television. I've been listening to This American Life while playing tetris.

so that's my life, and this is the aforementioned book list.

David Foster Wallace A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll never do Again
Umberto Eco How to Travel with a Salmon and other stories
Amy Hempel Collected Stories
Matthew Derby Super Flat Times
Ben Marcus The Age of Wire and String
John Fante Ask the Dust
Miranda July Nobody Belongs Here More than You
Dave Eggers What is the What
Gary Lutz Stories in the Worst Way
David Ohle Motorman
Raymond Carver Where I'm Calling From: Selected Stories
Grace Paley The Collected Stories
Sarah Vowell Assassination Vacation
John Hodgman My Areas of Expertise


So there. I've got a blog.