I Am Slowly Going Crazy...

Dear Time,

Could you please stop for about a week so I can catch up on everything I have to do without getting behind on everything else in the process?

I'm leaving for the Dominican Republic in 8 days and I have about a bajillion items on my to-do list. (Note to self, make a to-do list.) I'm gonna be gone for two and a half months, which means that I should probably start packing, or making a packing list, or something... and I have two tests to take before I leave, neither of which I've even started studying for. And an entire book to read and an 8 page paper to write about said book. And I still have to work and sleep and eat and shower and all that stuff. You get the point.

So, would you please take my request under consideration and just STOP for a while? Please??

Your faithful follower,

Tuck.

Have a Lay!

The other day as I was passing in front of Straub Hall I ran into a couple of old friends from the Newman Center, Andrew and Colleen. They were laying on the sidewalk. Andrew said, "Hey, have a lay." So I did. We haven't seen each other in a long, long time so we just laid on the sidewalk and caught up on each others' lives. Kinda random, but I can now highly reccomend sidewalk laying to anybody.

So yesterday, Andrew called me and asked me if I would come to Wednesday Night Mass at the Newman Center. I had coffee before mass with David (whose comment on this entry, I'm sure, will be posted below very soon) and I decided to just do it.

It's weird saying that going to mass was such a huge step out on a limb for me. It's mass. It's a church. Right? Yeah... It's more complicated than that. I haven't been to the Newman Center since November and a whole lot of crap has gone down since then. During it all, I just didn't feel welcome or comfortable at Newman. Afterwards, I still didn't feel like I would ever be able to go back, but every time I walk by the Newman Center, I think about what it would be like if I went back. What certain peoples' reactions to my presence would be, what kind of a welcoming (or lack thereof) I would receive. I finally decided that there was only one way to find out, and that I needed to find out before I leave for the Dominican Republic (which is in 12 days, by the way). It was just something I had to do for myself, just so I wouldn't have to always be wondering about "what if." And enough water has gone under the bridge that I felt okay about going back.

So I did. I expected to acheive one of two things. Either closure to the Newman Center (and Catholic) part of my life -or- a reopening of it. And I still don't really know which one happened, it might have to settle a little bit before I can figure that out.

What wound up happening when I showed up for mass is that most everybody was really happy to see me. I got more hugs than I could ever count, and most of them were genuine, I think. There were a few people who tried to avoid me or glare at me, but I don't really care because I didn't expect anything else from them. There were a couple people who waited to see what my reaction was to them before they welcomed me back, which is understandable. Paul's prayer during mass was something to the effect of overcoming our past differences with each other and moving on.. I think that was the general theme of the night.

I didn't realize until I got there how much I missed the Newman Center. Things will never be the way they were last year and the year before, but I don't expect them to be. I've moved on, but Newman has still managed to keep a place in my heart. But more than the place, I missed the people. I'll be the first to admit that I didn't miss all of them, but I was so happy to see most of them. The ones I wasn't so excited to see weren't so excited to see me either, so I guess that worked out in a way.

It's the little things, like Tyler singing my name when he saw me, like he always does, and Father Dave calling me Melly, and Paul calling me K-9 (because of my teeth). I built strong bonds with a lot of those people, and it hurts that I had to let them go.

Life goes on, and what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. What I learned from last night is that whenever I see those people, which I haven't decided yet how often that will be, I'll always be welcomed with a warm hug and old nicknames. That makes me happy. Things will never be the way they were, but that's okay with me. So I'm happy.

Liberals Are Funny.

Today, I would like to present to you a shining example of why I love liberals, despite the fact that they're stupid and they tend to smell bad.

Liberals make every effort to piss off us right-wingers and I'll be the first to admit that sometimes, their utter absurdness does manage to get under our skin. In the end, however, all they really succeed in doing is providing us with a constant source of entertainment.

Allow me to illustrate.

The College Republicans are bringing a guest speaker, Dan Flynn to the U of O to speak on the subject of "Why the Left Hates America," which is, incidentally, the title of one of his books. We've been publicizing the event with these pink flyers everywhere:




Needless to say, that is going to grab the eye of any typical liberal nutcase. So this is what the lefties did. They took our flyer and made their own version of it, with a few minor adjustments. Check it out:




Honestly, it just has to make you laugh. What are we going to be, mad that they're helping attract attention to our event?? We want people to show up, believe it or not, and the hard work on their part to get people to attend is greatly appreciated, really.

So there you go. Their ideology may be complete bullshit, but at least liberals are funny!

Life Goes On

"What do you do? You laugh. I'm not saying I don't cry in between but I laugh and I realize how silly it is to take anything too seriously. Plus, I look forward to a good cry. It feels pretty good." ~Garden State (AMAZING movie)


So, it's been a while since I've written anything. Here's a general overview of what's been up in Tucktown.

• I turned 20. I've now been around for two decades.

• I'm still going to the Dominican Republic for the summer, although I think I'm gonna wind up going a little later than I had planned.

• There was a boyfriend for about 2 weeks. He was a liberal. He broke up with me last night because he doesn't do long distance. I'm leaving for 2 months soon. This turned out to be a problem. I don't hate him and you shouldn't either. We're still friends, or at least we both want to be. It kinda came out of the blue to me. I'm still adjusting, and I don't want to hear any I told you so's, whether or not you think you have a good one.

• I cut my hair, again. A couple of months ago, I cut of 7 inches and yesterday I cut off 5 inches. That's an entire foot of hair, in case you can't do math. I kindof did it out of the blue... I walked out the door and wound up at SuperCuts saying "Cut it off." I'm still getting used to it.

• As much as I would like to say that I've moved on, closed one chapter, and opened another, I'm still having trouble moving on from past... stuff. It always comes back to haunt me in little ways, like seeing certain people or things or places.

• I managed to get my car towed outside Adam's house, and it cost me $190. In case you can't read numbers, that's one hundred and ninety freaking dollars. But it was my fault for parking under the "Tenant Parking Only" sign, which I should have seen but didn't, even though I looked for it. I now have $4.11 to my name. That's four dollars and eleven cents. I only have to wait 22 more days for my next paycheck. Holy crap. Needless to say, if it involves spending money, I'm not doing it for now.

• I still try to keep a smile on my face, because it's just stupid not to. Don't feel sorry for me, because I don't feel sorry for myself. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

• I still love my College Republicans and I still love Dubya. I broke out my "W, Still the President" shirt today, it feels good to wear it again.