african love

when i was in Kenya several years ago, i had a little summer love fling with one of the Kenyan guys i lived with there. i didn't take it too seriously, but after i got back to the states i felt a little guilty about it. so when i went to Zambia this past summer i made a personal goal to avoid such foreign entanglements. other than the occasional hugs & kisses from my Latino roommate i managed to avoid the males in general & was pretty proud of myself. (seriously, who really wants to date someone in a city where the HIV prevalence is something like 50% anyway?)

a few weeks ago i got an email from the American missionary that was in my branch there. i was pretty good friends with the elders so i was really happy to hear from him & emailed him back. then today i got another email from him that definitely included romantic notions & talk of the future. even though i was in a class, i starting laughing. i don't think he realizes that he is the same age as my little brother.

to his credit, i'm probably the only white girl he's seen in 1.5 years me, boaz (zambian), Elder WM (texan), Elder really long ethiopian name

solitude

i like my friends. i really do. but i would like them better if they would stop calling me & trying to make me spend time with them.

the winter is long in the city

my last week was crazy. here a few things that happened:

- flew to NYC & back for a conference

- first few days of school with all that entails

- spend all day at the hospital with PC bc he got hit by a car (he'll be fine)

- drove to TN & back to hear Boy speak & say goodbye. he heads to the MTC tomorrow

- had a friend staying at my house bc of tensions at her house

- attended at least 3 social events that i really didn't want to but i gave in to peer pressure

... i'm exhausted.

my four food groups

remember before the food pyramids how there were the four basic food groups? my personal food groups are:

1) herbal tea
2) candy/ice cream
3) vegetarian curry from the indian restaurant down the street
4) cold cereal. specifically, Quaker Oatmeal Squares.

Bookends

a lot of people are doing a retrospect of 2008 on their blogs but that wasn’t the best year for me so instead i thought i’d reminisce about some of my favorite memories from my “blogosphere” friends.

* one time ChurchGirl and i played old school Nintendo together. she was awed by my skills. seriously, you should ask her about how awesome i was.

* one time PC & i went to blockbuster to get a movie. after wandering for about 30 minutes, he lay down on the floor & started moaning. we finally got an Austrian film i had suggested in the 1st five minutes, went home, & watched a dvd my roommate already had

* many times another friend laughed loudly in church. a little late. from the stand. and everyone in the congregation would then laugh as well. it was usually the best part of church.

* one time i was upset so The Manorexic cheered me up by saying in all seriousness that he didn’t have any weaknesses. i think it was the only time i laughed the entire week and i laughed hard. really hard.

* one time Popular Blogging Friend & i watched Arrested Development for hours. it was probably the best night of my life. i will be forever grateful

the problem with my life

i recently realized what is wrong with me.

1) i like to stay up till 2-3am every night
2) i like to get up early (like 7-8am) & be productive in the mornings
3) i really like to sleep & cannot function on less than 8 hours

so basically i’m embroiled in a constant inner war & function in a semi-conscious state most of the time. this obviously impairs my judgments & explains all my crazy/irresponsible/lazy behavior. i think I need a sleep therapist.

and when its party time...i party by myself because i'm such a special guy

options i considered for my new year's eve:

plan one: watch the fireworks in baltimore over the chesapeake bay

plan two: go to NYC with friends

plan three: go to NJ with my 95 year old grandma to keep her company

plan four: sit around my house in TN with my parents bc i was forced to return to TN instead of staying in the northeast bc i passed out in a museum & felt like crap for 3 days. going out in k-town wasn't an option b/c
a) there is nothing to do here anyway
b) when i went to the store alone today my mom interrogated me on how much food i'd eaten and forced me to take snacks & water with me for a 1 hour trip - apparently anytime i leave the house i might just keel over

guess which one i ending up doing?