Saturday, August 29

I am beginning to enjoy being back at school. Now that the rest of the girls have filtered back in, and classes have started, I am starting to enjoy it.

Wednesday, August 26 - This even FEELS horribly damaged

Last night Christin and I decided to go and get some Sheetz. I had a Voice meeting, and it didnt get out until around 11:00 so we went then. Just a few miles out of Sweet Briar, a huge dog went in front of my car and I hit it, causing it to go underneath my car and dragging it for a bit. All these warning lights came on, and we had to abandon my car in the Autozone parking lot since my steering went all funny. The front bumper is cracked, as is the grill. When we were sitting at Autozone I texted Kevin and told him what had happened, although I said, "I just hit a car and now m car won't start." Instead of "I just hit a dog." So he called me immediately, freaking out. But he walked me through looking inside my hood to try to figure out what was going on. But, being a girl, I was clueless. Still, it was very sweet of him. Ashley and Kayt came to get us, thank god. On the way back to school a dog ran in front of Ashley's car. It was crazy.

This morning we had some diversity workshop, which was just frustrating for everyone invlved. The instructor was black, and there were no black people in the room, so every time we wanted to say "black" it would turn into a very awkward "african american...?" Oh well.

This afternoon I interviewed with Kristen about possibly getting the Phonathon intern position. I would love it if I get the position, as it is an amazing resume builder, but I think I will still be happy it I don't get it. I already am stressing out with everything I have on my plate, and classes haven't even started yet. So if I don't get the position, I will probably be better off. I will find out tomorrow, I think.

Speaking of tomorrow, classes are starting. I am beginning the year with printmaking, which will be awesome. Then Ancient Greece and Leadership in the Arts Organizations. I am excited.

Tomorrow I will deal with getting my car fixed. Tomorrow.

Tuesday, Ausust 25

SGA training today. First we had a Ethics workshop where the instructor told us h was a convicted murderer. And was dead serious. He had us still believing him until the very end when he said he wasn't. Still. I was concerned.

Then we had the public speaking teacher come in and we had t give little one minute impromptu speeches. At the end of mine she said, "you have a nice face." Thank you?

At lunch we laid eyes on the hot new Classics professor. Alle, Megan, Celeste, Ashley and I may or may not have made extra trips to get food just to stare and drool. Holy god.

Mock trial where Alkire was hilarious. Weezie came back. I am hungry and cold.

Met with Loftus for over two hours today to talk about my special study. It was a fun meeting.

Going to my first Voice meeting right now. I am sleepy.

This is a weird post.

Monday, August 24 - Back at the Briar

Yesterday was the first full day for the freshman. Last night we taught them about traditions, honor code, and all of that fun stuff. Watching Caitlin Nealon and Madeline Davis act out all of the potential "uh-ohs" was hilarious. And it was interesting to learn about Sweet Briar from the perspective of a first year.

Also, Jenny and Ashley and Lauren came back yesterday. Three of my favorite people. I helped Lauren and Jenny move in, then I had SGA dinner and whatnot.

Last night Ebie, Jenny and I had lots of fun for our first night together back at school. Along with Kristen, M, and Nell we woke up a good amount of freshman by running around their halls. Jenny and I invited our little sisters along, and we hung out with them for a while. It was a good night.

Tonight Ashley and I will be going back to White Hart, after a very long vacation. I am starving thinking about it.

Day 100 - End.

I think today will be my last daily blog. It is fitting, I suppose, to end on day 100. The freshman moved in today, officially marking the end of my summer and the start of a new school year.

I don;t know how I will continue with the blogs. I mean I plan to, but how will a label them? I know that is a weird thing to worry about, but I like going day by day. I would continue to do so, although here it will just be classes, meetings, art, and sleep. That wont be too exciting for a daily blog. I will just blog when I feel the need.

Day 99 - SGA

Today I had SGA training meetings, and that was about it. Freshman get here tomorrow.

Day 98 - Back to School

Today I got back to school. I slept in this morning, got my Groucho's sandwich, bought a new adapter for my iPod, and hit the road.

I stopped by storage when I got into Madison Heights and I was going to get a bunch of stuff, but Megan and Jodie's things were on top. So I just grabbed my bed sheets, which were thankfully on top, and went to Walmart to buy towels and detergent.

Got to school, unpacked, and cried.

I dont want to be here.

Day 97 - Horrible Day

Today was terrible. So. Terrible.

I slept in, nice and late. Got up, packed my car, said bye to my mom, had lunch with my dad, and drove to Arlington. When I was leaving Arlington I got gas before starting the drove to Columbia, and there was this old man in the store. Apparently he had ought a prepaid phone there earlier today, and it still was not working. The woman told him that sometimes it takes a few hours to activate. So then this little old man with a cane threw the phone, breaking it to a bunch of little pieces. Then he took the largest chunk, went outside, and ran it over with his car as he was leaving. Aaaalright.

After I got gas I began the drove to Columbia. It was completely uneventful until I was an hour away from Columbia. I had been listening to an audio book and the CD played stopped working. I stopped, turned my car off and on and it was still acting up. I couldn’t switch to my iPod since the adapter for that is broken as well. Then the whole entertainment console shut off. The screen is black, with little green lines running down it. The CD player still wont work, but the radio is working, although I cant see the screen to see what channel I am on, or what the temp is set at. So that put a major damper on the last hour of my ride, since I hate the radio more than anything.

I got to the hotel, ready to put my stuff down and go get a Groucho’s sandwich. But the hotel lost my reservation. I had to sit there forever while they sorted it out, and I got hungrier and hungrier. Finally they figured it out and I walked to Groucho’s. Only to find it closed. Seriously, there were tears. I have been wanting Groucho’s all summer, and it was closed. It doesn’t open until 11 tomorrow, and I was going to leave at around 10. Bt now I think I will stick around to get lunch.

Then I left, walked back to my car, and drove to Chickfila. That was closed too. It is Wednesday. What the hell. Finally settled on McDonalds. Yuck. I have been sitting in this damn hotel room all night, on my old MySpace. When I was sifting through the 9,000 some odd friends on that one, I found 3 or 4 people using my pictures as their own, and a bunch of fakes of Jamie XTC. I clocked on those, because they are always hilarious, and for a good amount of them, I was in the top friends. What the fuck. I started clicking on a lot of younger “scene” girls MySpaces, and I was in the top friends of so many people I don’t know. It is so creepy. I deleted a good amount of them. Seriously, what the hell. I am not that interesting. Pick someone else to creep up on.

Tomorrow I will be back at Sweet Briar. Summer is over. What will happen to my blog?

Day 96 - Boring

Today I pretty much just packed. Got my oil changed. Bought school supplies. Went to the Brick for dinner.

Day 95 - Liam, Corbett

Today was my second to last day at home. I babysat Liam all day, and we had a lot of fun. We went to Chamblins to take in some books, and then we met up with Corbett for lunch at Chickfila. Yum. Liam and I went to Jungle Quest this afternoon, and that was so much fun. I have never been there but he goes a lot. It is mainly for kids so I was given funny looks. I didn’t care. I had so much fun hanging out with Liam. We went rock climbing and zip lining and whatnot. There was this little boy who was rock climbing with us, and I fell in love. His name was Alex and he is 6. He would race Liam and I to the top of the rock wall and even did it blindfolded with us. He was so cute. I wanted to tell hi parents I would be willing to babysit anytime but he disappeared while I was blindfolded at the rock wall. And that is saying a lot, coming from me. I hate children. But he was one of the most adorable things ever.

I spent the rest of the day packing. The End.

Day 94 - Rob, Inksmith, Heidi Montag, District 9, Little Sister

This morning Rob and I went to lunch (this morning?) at the Loop. As usual. He was going to get a tattoo today, and Eddy was going to do it, although Mike was using the table at Inksmith so we couldn’t. And Rob wanted white ink and Eddy didn’t think Rob fully understood what white ink looks like, but he did. Oh well. We left Inksmith, and went to Starbucks then his apartment. Where we beat each other up and read Heidi Montag’s terrible interview with Spencer in PlayBoy. The pictures were hilarious. I love her, just because I love to hate her so much. They are a weird group.

Once I got home I went with my mom and Liam to Publix, where I was beat up again, this time by Mikey and Liam who tag teamed me in the freezer aisle. I am going to have intense bruises on my arms tomorrow. The one that is already showing is from when I jumped onto Mikey to hug him and my arm hit his nose. Already tender and blue. Oh well.

Tonight I met Christina, my little sister for school. We met up at Starbucks in San Marco and just talked about school and Jacksonville and whatnot. We seem to be really similar and I m excited about this.

After I left San Marco I drove to Tinseltown and met up with Kevin and we saw District 9. I have heard so much about it being one of the most amazing movies ever, but I thought it was just really weird. I didn’t see how it was so amazing. It was alright. Once we left the theater we sat on my car and talked, and laughed at all of the hilariously awkward couples in the parking lot until we realized we were a part of it. There were these two horribly annoying girls running through the parking lot, obviously hiding from someone. They were running and yelling and being really obnoxious. Kevin wanted to shoot them with his paint ball gun. I encouraged him to do so, but he wouldn’t. Finally we realized that they were the third and fourth wheels on their friends date, and turned out it was this girl’s first date with this guy. It was a hilarious situation to watch unfold. We eventually left and got Icee’s. I usually don’t like having more than one Icee flavor at once, but Kevin made the most magical concoction. It was delicious. We went back to the Tinseltown parking lot so he could get his car. We sat there and talked, and we both fell asleep in my car. Not for very long, but it happened. I was exhausted.

Day 93 - Jetsetting

Today I woke up in Chesapeake. Drove to Norfolk. Napped in Jacksonville. Spent the day in Ponte Vedra. Alright.

Day 92 - Chrysler, Susan

This morning we woke up and first thing I called Apple to figure out what is going on with Jenn’s computer. The first woman we talked to had a serious attitude problem, and was not listening to me whenever I explained the issue. I feel like she finally got frustrated when I was equally rude to me, as she hung up. We called back and got a different woman, who was very nice, but dumb as a brick. So in the end we figured nothing out.

We got dressed and went to the Chrysler. On the way we were hungry so we caved and went to McDonalds for a delicious happy meal. As we were leaving we both turned to throw away our trash, and sitting right there was the most hilarious yet adorable sight I have ever seen. A homeless looking black man, eating a vanilla ice cream cone. He stopped dead when we turned, and his face looked like he had been caught doing something wrong, yet to innocent at the same time. And there was ice cream on his mouth, in his beard, and on his nose. It was the most adorable thing I have ever seen. I was laughing so hard I had to run outside and spit out the sip of soda I had taken before I turned and saw him. It was adorable.

We got to the museum and it was amazing. There was an Egyptian exhibit, amazing contemporary art, Japanese prints, and so much more. I loved the Chrysler.

Tonight Jenn and I went to Susan’s house for dinner. Ashley was supposed to come but she didn’t feel well. Susan and her daughters are so sweet. And I am really glad that Jenn gets along with them so well. Spending time with Jenn and her dad and Susan has made me realize how crappy my relationship with my dad is. Jenn and her dad are best friends, and Susan texts Jenn just to say hello. I didn’t even have my dad’s fiancé’s number until recently, and when I called her trying to find my dad she had no clue who I was, even after I said “Its Kate.” Ugh. Oh well.

Day 91 - Mall, Unpacking, Dinner

This morning we slept in entirely too long. Once we were up and dressed we went to TCC to meet with Jenn’s adviser. Everyone there was either black or crippled. It was really weird. If there was a white person, they were on crutches. Without fail. We were there for a few hours while Jenn took a placement test and met with an adviser who was of no help at all.

We went to the mall, had lunch and looked around for a bit. Mainly looked for friends. Fail.
Once we got back to her house we went to Target where Jenn bought the majority of the hangers they sold, then met Susan and her daughters for dinner with Jenn’s dad.

We came back to her Dad’s house and hung clothes and unpacked for 4 hours. Progress.

Day 90 - Norfolk, South of the Border

This morning I woke up at like 5:00. Which is very uncharacteristic. Jenn picked me up a bit later and we got all ready to drive up to Norfolk. First we had to go by Mike’s house so that she could get her charger and then back to her house to pick up a few things. We hit the road and I promptly fell asleep.

We drove until South of the border, where we got out and explored. I found the Charles Trippy CTFxC thing, and took a picture, feeling very lame as I did so. But whatever. We went into the little shops, and went to the top of the huge sombrero. It was fun. After that we got back in the car, got some lunch, and spent the rest of the drive listening to Disney music and whistling along until we were light headed. And then I fell asleep for a bit.

When I woke up we were in Jenn’s dad’s driveway, but neither he nor his girlfriend were around to let us in. He rents the back apartment to this girl named Ashley who is just a bit older than us, and she is really nice. She let us in and we hung out with her for a bit in her apartment and watched TV and talked about fun stuff to do up here.

Once Susan came over and unlocked the house, we spent a while unloading most of Jenn’s things out of her car. And now there is just a clusterfuck of stuff on her bedroom floor. We are going to bed in a minute.

Day 89 - Arlington, Evan

Today was a very lazy day. The only productive thing I did during the day was to take stuff to be embroidered in Arlington.

Tonight I hung out with Evan one last time. Our similarities are getting to be quite scary. What did I wear? White BDG pants, black BDG v-neck. What did he wear? Black pants. White BDG v-neck. It’s a problem. I have realized that each time we hang out we are dressed similarly. We just smoked hookah and talked about school and Pokémon and music. And it was nice. He goes back to school tomorrow morning, and I will be heading to Virginia to help Jenn get all moved in.

Day 88 - Mall, Rock Climbing, Jenn

Today was Ashley’s last day visiting. First off we went to the Y to go rock climbing, but there were camps going on. So instead we went to the town center to kill some time before going back. We went by Anthropologie so that she could return some stuff she bought that didn’t fit, and I returned the amazing plaid shirt I bought the other day since it was broken. Very sad. And of course they didn’t have my size so I settled for yet another BDG V-neck. I have a problem. I own almost every color.

We went back to the Y and went rock climbing for a few hours. Ashley is afraid of heights so it was fun trying to get her to push her limits and make it up to the top. She didn’t today, but maybe next time. SWEBOP goes every Friday, so we want to start getting more involved with that. I bruised the bone in my pinky finger the other night at the show when some guy hit me. And it has been uncomfortable even when moving it, but today it was in agony trying to hold on for dear life. Oh well.

After rock climbing I took her to the Loop for lunch, then we went to Peterbrooke so that she could buy some chocolate. We took the long way home so that Ashley could see some of the old houses in Avondale and old Ortega. On the way back Corbett called to go to lunch, but he just followed me home instead and hung out for a few minutes while Ashley packed. Ashley and I headed to the airport, and I dropped her off. I did pretty much nothing else all day. Just relaxed and hung around the house. Went with Jenn to Target and Zaxbys. The End.

Day 87 - Ponte Vedra, Kickbacks, 500 Days of Summer

We went out to Ponte Vedra and spent the day laying out by the pool, enjoying some margaritas. And of course getting sun burned. My face is pretty red, but Ashley has the most amazing sunglasses tan ever. It’s not bad at all, and it should fade by tomorrow, but you can see the line.

We met up with Jenn and took Ashley to Kickbacks. Then we went to see 500 Days of Summer in Orange Park. It was so good. Although it was a direct copy of Jenn’s life, so that was kind of weird.

Day 86 - Fox, Art Market, JMOCA, Cummer, Shai Hulud, SATURDAY

Today was far more eventdul than yesterday, thank god. We woke up and went to get breakfast at the Fox. On the way there we stopped and saw Jenn at Casablanca. I have never been there. She gave us the tour. Then we went to Breakfast, and saw Amber slaving away back in the kitchen. Didn’t get to say hello. From there we went to the Art Market. It keeps getting worse and worse. There is less art and more children’s clothing. It is really disappointing. We did meet this one really nice artist, Jay Negron, who had some amazing charcoals. After we walked around the art market for a bit we went to walk around Five Points. Took Ashley to Edge City, Clothing Warehouse, Anomaly, and Wolfgang. I bought an amazing dress at Wolfgang. We left 5 pts and went to JMOCA. I haven’t been there in a while. There had a huge Rosenquist that was amazing.

This afternoon we also went to the Cummer, and we sat in the garden and painted for over an hour. It was a nice day. We came home, showered, and went to dinner with my mom and Jenn at Timiquana. Then Ashley, Jenn and I went to the Pit to see the Shai Hulud show. Colton was there, of course, completely wasted, of course. Therefore more Colton Words of Wisdom came out of his mouth. He is one of the funniest people I know. At one point during the show we were outside ad we were dancing, ballroom style. I said, “Colton why didn’t you dance with me at my prom?” And he put his hands on his hips and stood in the gayest way possible, then said, “Kate, a lot has changed since your prom. I’m a man now.” It was the funniest thing ever.

Saw Kevin also. And Stamps. And a lot of people I did not care to see, including Justin Jarrell. Ew. During one of the bands I was sitting outside with Colton and Stamps and Ashley, and this girl runs by, and just starts hitting this other girl and pulling her hair. It was like the third fight that night. But, since it was a girl fight, no one broke it up. Kevin ran after then taking pictures. It was hilarious. The whole time they were fighting Colton was jumping around yelling, “It’s Saturday! It’s Saturday!!” Overall it was a hilarious night.

Day 85 - Mall, Ugly Truth

This morning we woke up and my mom had laid out breakfast for us. Cereal and fruit and whatnot. Yummy. Then we got dressed and headed to the town center. Ashley unfortunately has no Anthropologie in Virginia Beach so we spent quite some time there. And Urban. Of course. We met up with my mom, Granny, and Marsha and had dinner at Maggiano’s. Then back to Anthropologie. Of course.

Tonight we saw the movie The Ugly Truth. It was just one of those movies that made me hate my life. But it was really good.

Day 84 - Ashley, Brick, Chamblin's, Pearl

Day 84 - Ashley, Pearl, Chamblins
Today was day one of Ashley being here. I don’t remember what I did this morning, but I picked up Ashley at the airport this afternoon. I took her to lunch at the Brick, because the is the staple of the Ortega lifestyle. From there we walked around Avondale, and I took her to Peterbrooke and Let Them Eat Cake. She was obviously very excited about those. I mean, who cant be excited about a store that sells nothing but stuff covered in chocolate? They even have chocolate covered wine bottles now.

From there we went to Chamblin’s. She was blown away. I ended up getting one more Taoism book, and one on Printmakers. She loved the Architecture section and she bought a book on Gaudi. We came back to my house, saw my dad and Liam before they left for Kentucky, and just hung out for a while.

Tonight we went to the Pearl. Beforehand we were on our usual Joose run, but this time I was ten times sketchier than it normally is. Of course, with Ashley with us. We scared her. We drove around for a bit trying to find Amber around Avondale. We eventually met up with her at Fishweir Park, but we all felt like we were about to be killed.

Then we had a normal evening at the Pearl. Then End.

Day 83 - Lazy day

Today was a horribly lazy day. I woke up at 6:30 this morning, went a got Chickfila, and surprised Jenn at her house for a birthday breakfast. I dont really remember being there, honestly. I never fully woke up for that. I came home and went back to sleep and didn't wake up until 1. Wow, Kate. Wow.

I continued cleaning, but not much got done. Went to dinner at El Rodeo with the Holman/Wilseys. Jenn and I were going to go out for her birthday but she had to work the whole day so she was a sleepy girl. So I have done nothing tonight. Reading the Tao of Pooh and going to sleep.

ASHLEY GETS HERE TOMORROW! SO. EXCITED.

Day 82 - Timiquana, THRASH AND BURN

This morning Jenn and I began the day by going to Timiquana to lay out and swim for a while. Of course it started to rain right when we got there, though. We swam and used the rest of her roll of underwater film. Other wise it was pretty uneventful.

Tonight was Thrash and Burn, and I had been looking forward to it for months, seriously. It was amazing. It started at 3, but Evan and I didn't get there until around 8. MyChildren MyBride had JUST played when we got there, but that was alright. Right when I got there I saw Colton, Kevin, Chris, and Stamps. Eddy and Brandon were supposed to come up there as well but they didn't. Oh well. Evan and I watched all these crazy bands. Emmure played, and Emmure just reminds me of Wyatt so I never really listen to them. But I stayed to watch. The second the started to play a pit broke out, and immediately this really big guy fell to the ground, and his head was gushing blood. Evan and I were stumped. I have no clue what happened. But the guy was draged over right next to where I was standing, and he was unconscious. They had to carry him out, leaving behind an immense amount of blood. I still don't know what happened to him. I will hopefully find out from Colton. Emmure was pretty good, though. After the guy was carried out someone kept messing with my hair. I was standing in the pit, and right behind me there was a nother level so I was eye level with people's feet. I kept giving this girl a dirty look, thinking that she was messing with my hair. But then I saw a Ked's Classic running away. Kevin. I untied his shoe. Being as scrawny as he is, he squeezed through the bars and stood with Evan and I for a bit, warning me of the pool of blood I was standing in. Yech.

We went to the other stage and watched some crazy metal band that had all these 40 year old guys with hair to their waists. And their drummer was 13 years old. So that was impressive. There were no other horribly eventful things that happened though. It was an amazing show. I have never seen or listened to DevilDriver before, and I saw them today. Epic. Seriously. I have already downloaded all of their CDs. It was so good.

After the show Evan dropped me off at Murray hill where I met up with Jenn and we went to Kickbacks to ring in her birthday. Usually, you get to Kickback's and it takes about 10 minutes for anyone to realize that you are waiting for service. But about 2 minutes after we sat down, the waiter from last night brought Jenn a little thing of Chocolate syrup with a straw. It was hilarious, but she was embarrassed. We rang in her birthday with chocolate milk and our favorite waiter. It was good times.

Matthew Hastings of MCMB replied to one of my tweets I sent him on Twitter. I about peed myself.

Tomorrow is her birthday. I am excited.

Day 81 - Day of Adventures with Jenn

Today was Jenn's first full day home. We woke up early this morning (well, early for me) and went to the Fox for breakfast. Honestly, I am the worst Ortegro ever. This morning was the third time I have been to the Fox. That is just shameful. We went from the Fox to the town center, where pretty much all we managed to do was walk around Urban and go to Barnes and Noble. At Barnes and Noble I bought the Tao Te Ching and the Hua Hu Ching. I am excited to start reading those. The guy that was at Barnes and Noble the other night when I was there with Emma was there again, and we talked about Chamblins some more.

So after all that talk about Chamblins, Jenn and I headed to the new Chamblins downtown. I got even more Taoism books, including the Tao of Pooh, which explains Taoism using all of the characters from Winnie the Pooh. I feel like its a good starting point to getting into all of this Taoism business.

Then this afternoon Jenn and I decided to go rock climbing. but first we went to the tax collectors office to get her tag renewed, and we were there for about an hour. In that time I was able to read about half of the Tao of Pooh. So far its really good and very helpful. There were some of the sketchiest people ever at the tax collector's office. this one guy that came in had a really old slipknot shirt on that was way too short, and it hit about an inch above his waistline, suspenders, and Levi's. He looked like a rapist. And his butt was hanging out of his pants.

Finally we got to the Y, and we had to sign up for rock climbing classes since either of us were certified for that location. So about an hour later, we had learned how to tie all the knots and do the self-belays, then we asked our instructor if we could just do the auto-belays. Apparently we wasted $10, and an hour of our time and his time. Oops. Anyways climbing was a lot of fun. Jenn just went last week in Colorado, but I haven't done it in years. Although apparnelty I am scared of haights and I didn't really know it until I was half way up the wall. I was terrified that my belay wouldn't catch as I started to repel each time so that was fun. Until I got a little too confident in the belay and started flinging myself off the wall and flying about all willy-nilly. I got in trouble. Oh well. After a few hours of climbing, we went to the San Marco Loop for dinner. It was the first thing I had eaten since the Fox and I was about to just drop. Starved.

We got back to my house and started to watch the Girl with the Pearl Earring. Of course I fell asleep one minute into it and woke up right at the end. Oh well. Jenn and I were both hungry yet again, so we decided to get up and go to Kickbacks. We got there at about 10:30, and Rob and Clay and Clay were already there. Clay and I have been barely missing each other every time I go. I leave, then Clay tweets about getting there. So for once we were there at the same time. A bit after we got there, Eddy walked in so Jenn and I hung out with him. Just a few minutes later a fight broke out. I have never seen a fight at Kickbacks before. This woman started yelling and there were chairs in the air. It was crazy. The police came a bit later and that was that. Jenn and I just sat there and Eddy ate dinner. Then Jenn and I decided to get the brownie bits. They come with chocolate dipping sauce, which all it is is Hershey's syrup. So after we ate the brownies, Jenn went to town on the chocolate sauce with her straw while Eddy and I watched and laughed. Once she finished that one, a waiter who wasn't even ours brought her another. She ate that one as well.

The three of us left Kickbacks and went to Shanty Town, since it was Metal Mondays. I have never been to Shanty Town before, and I was very glad Eddy was with us. We followed him there and the whole way there and I was thinking "where the hellll is he taking usssssss." It was like off 8th street but still downtown. It was in a perfectly fine area, but it was late and I doubt I would have wanted to be there if it was just Jenn and I. thankful for Eddy. So we just hung out there, listened to music and talked.

Came home. Now it is time to go to sleep. I feel like today lasted 3 days instead of one. It was a very good day.

I can't feel my arms.

Day 80 - The I Ching is changing my life (oh and Jenn came home)

Jenn came home today. Finally. I sent the morning doing even more cleaning, and I picked up my old bookshelf from my Dad’s so that is now in my room and it makes my life easier.

Jenn and I went to Kickbacks, and on the way there I told her about I have been reading and using the I Ching, and how it is changing my life. She said she wanted to read it, and I had a hard time explaining its not a book you can just read. So once we got inside I pulled it out and some coins and explained to her how to use it, and what the hexagrams mean. So for her first time using it, er question was if moving to Virginia was a good idea. Her result also has her sold on the I Ching. She got the 56th hexagram, Sojourning. Which is all about traveling, journeys: “This is a time of wandering, seeking and living apart. You are a stranger in a strange land, whose identity comes from a distant centre. You are alone, outside the social network, with few connections, on a quest of your own. Make clear decisions even if they are painful…” After I read it out loud I looked up and Jenn’s jaw was pretty much on the table. It was dead on. She knew it was a good idea to move before, but this pretty much sealed the deal. We did a few more and she saw how each hexagram is so different, and its not like a horoscope where you can take anything and mold it to fit your situation. It truly is an oracle. I have never been one to believe in such things, but in the last week that I have been reading and using the I Ching, my life has changed. And I know that is weird, but it makes you view the world differently.

I have been reading a lot about Taoism as well, and I feel like that is for me. I was telling Jenn about this today as well. I have been raised in a Christian house hold. I have gone to Christian schools. I always have and always will consider myself to be a strong Christian. I believe in Jesus and the Bible, but it has never really altered me in any ways. Jenn’s dad is both a Christian and a Buddhist and I feel like I am like him. Christian, but I need something else to explain the world. And that is how Taoism is. It is seriously life altering.

Jenn made me read The Alchemist tonight (Emma lent it to me). I read it cover to cover without moving. It was amazing. It dealt with the idea of connecting to nature and the world around you, so it was right on track with where my mind has been lately. After I read it I was reading more about Taoism when I decided to go back to the I Ching. I was wondering is Taoism was a good fit for me, and I got the 23rd hexagram, Stripping. “This is a time to strip away what is unusable, habits and ideas that have grown old and outmoded. Remove and uncover things. This is an end of a cycle and the preparation for the new. Done deal. I am sold. Tomorrow Jenn and I are going to Chamblins and I will be loading up on books. I am going to get her the I Ching for her birthday. I hope she doesn’t read this.

I don’t know who reads this, but you NEED to read and use the I Ching. It will change your life.

Day 79 - Chamblins, Town Center, Kickbacks

This morning I got a hair cut. The End.

Then after being incapacitated by the worst back pain known to man for a few hours, I went to Chamblins. I love going there. I sat in the art history section for almost two hours, reading the I Ching. Perfection.

I met up with my mom, Liam, Granny and Marsha at the town center and we went to dinner at Mitchells. I went back to Urban and I may or may not have bought even more clothing. Hint: I did.

I went to Kickbacks tonight with Emma, Corbett and John. I have hung out with John only a few times but tonight I finally felt like he was opening up a bit, and I am glad that he was. Emma was always saying hes a really funny guy... but I just didn't see it.

We hung out there for a few hours then I came home and kept reading.