so go on, if this will make you happier...

Last week I was telling PC that the last time I was cried was when I had to leave my friend's wedding this summer and go back to Atlanta. So its been a while. I've made up for lost time this week by managing to cry twice on Sunday, twice today, & being otherwise slightly depressed the rest of the time. I decided the only thing to do was to make myself a playlist in iTunes of the most depressing songs I can find. So far I only have 8 songs, but I am looking for suggestions. Nothing cheers me up like listening to depressing music.

Nothing Says Love Like a Children's Chorus

We all know our good buddy Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to visit NYC last month & gave a pretty hilarious speech at Columbia. SNL made an awesome short to commemorate the event. I'm sure NBC will take it down soon so enjoy it while you can.

Bad News

The Army Corps of Engineers say we won't run out of water for at least 200 days. *sigh*
I guess I'll have to wait an extra 120 days to see Atlanta go down in an apocalyptic blaze of water-less glory.

Wes Anderson Strikes Again

On Saturday night I coerced PC into going to see the new Wes Anderson film, The Darjeeling Limited, with me. It was classic Wes Anderson - bright colours, random events, dysfunctional family, & Owen Wilson. The story follows 3 brothers who go to India on spiritual journey, which they promptly screw up. The plot is generally a bit weak & predictable, but the trite journey analogy is interspersed with a few surprises that give the movie its depth. Of course, the traditional random hilarity is what really made the film. As a dedicated Wes Anderson fan, I loved it. And even though I practically had to cry to get PC to take me & he's probably lost all illusion of my churchiness (i still maintain it was one of the cleanest R-rated films i've ever seen...), it was well worth whatever he spent on it.

You part the waters, the same ones i'm thirsty for

So Atlanta is in crisis. We have about 80 days worth of water left in our reservoir till the city runs out & no back up plan. Over the weekend the governor declared a state of emergency & called for the state government to reduce water consumption. As great as it is that people are starting to really pay attention to the drought, maybe we should have thought about this a bit earlier...

I can imagine the hysteria now: With Atlanta's main populations being gangster thugs & the NRA members who stockpile guns in their basements, 5 million people + no water is bound to equal quality entertainment.

Crazy?......I Just Can't See

The Montreal Saga, part two:

So in my previously cheery post about my fall break I left out some key events. After being in Montreal for about 2 days Quebecois starting acting a bit odd. She just didn't seem very happy & said some rather rude things to the Manorexic (not that he cared, but I did). I asked her if she was okay, but she pretended like everything was fine. However, by Sunday night she was barely speaking to any of us & went off with one of her friends. We went down to Old Port & had a great time, but when we came home it was back to the weird tension. The next day WorldTraveler went home & Quebecois gave her quite a chilly farewell. We were all quite puzzled by this & after an hour of discussion couldn't come up with any reason for her attitude. That was the last time I saw Quebecois because she never bothered to come home even though I was staying at her house for another day. I found the whole thing quite odd because Quebecois & I have been friends for years and never had any type of conflict. I haven't heard from her since my return & doubt I ever will. A bit sad, but is a friend like that really that big a loss?

This whole thing made me introspective about my choice of girl friends. She is the second close friend that I feel like I've had a huge falling out with in the past year. For a while I felt like this abnormally high number was perhaps because I am socially inept & subconsciously drive girls away from me. Then I thought about all the nice people I am friends with (ChurchGirl, Popular Blogging Friend, WorldTraveler) & decided that maybe I do know how to make good friends. I just also have a hard time perceiving which ones are crazy and which ones aren't.

Other low points in the trip:
*getting hit on by a drunken Moroccan
*multiple blisters
*being repeatedly yelled at by the old lady in front of me on the plane for daring to talk to Manorexic during our 3 hour plane ride back to GA. apparently she vitally needed to listen to the safety card instructions & couldn't sleep with any noise around her. this experience was mitigated by a fellow passenger leaning over and telling her that she had as much right to buy some ear plugs as the rest of us did to talk.

Update on My Love Life

So after PC & I had our little chat last week I thought it might be awkward, but it has been surprisingly normal. The day after the talk we hung out a lot till he dropped me off at the metro to go to Canada. While I was in Canada I decided that I am cool with whatever & haven't really gone out of my way to talk to him. Being super sick helped with the apathy since I've really only cared about when I can take another dose of painkillers for the past week. Yesterday I decided that I was going home after school & sleep till Sunday, but PC called and wanted to take me out to eat. I told him in our chat last week that if he kept taking me out every Friday I would start expecting more so I am quite confused as to why he is continuing to do so. I spent most of the date in my drug-induced alternative reality so I'm not sure how it went, but I think I was kinda mean. I do recall telling him I didn't care where we ate as long as I didn't have to talk to him until we got there. I meant b/c my throat was really sore & I didn't want to talk to anyone till I got to take more painkillers, but the explanation sounded a bit lame. Oh well, that's what he gets for sending mixed signals I guess.

O Canada

I went to Montreal over fall break. (I have now FINALLY been to Canada) Two of my friends (Manorexic & WorldTraveler) from Utah flew out and we all met up in Canada to visit our friend, Quebecois. Montreal is a beautiful, culturally diverse city. Almost everyone there is fluent in both English & French so I felt totally uneducated the entire time I was there. Most of our visit revolved around eating really good food & meeting Quebecois' friends. We did manage to get in some cultural sites around the shopping and eating. For example, this is the largest church in North America:

And here we are visiting McGill Univeristy with James McGill himself:


The last few days I was there Manorexic & I went to visit some families that he knew when he served as a missionary there. This was fun/potentially awkward as all the families thought that we were married. I wanted to put my ring on my left hand & pretend we were for kicks, but he thought that if he ever goes back with a real wife it would raise questions. The best family we visited was a Chinese family with 2 adorable little boys. I spent most of the visit trying to convince the younger one that he wanted me to hold him. It was quite a victory when he finally ran over to me with his little chubby arms raised up. It made me almost consider having children.


Another highlight was going to the tam-tams, which is basically a hippie party in Parc du Mont-Royal (a big park in the city). People bring their bongo drums and just go at it. Those without drums show up to dance & smoke pot. I'm not sure if the guy in picture below dressed up for the occasion or always wears this outfit, but I thought it was pretty awesome either way:

The day we left the Manorexic & I drove up to the top of Mont-Royal to see the city. I think the best part about the city was that it was fall & all the leaves were changing. you can kinda see it in the picture below:
So that was Montreal. More scandalous stories coming soon.

Who Am I?

I was talking to ChurchGirl on g-chat the other day & I realized that I have been going through an identity crisis. At BYU I had a well-defined role in society - the irreverent sinner girl who said inappropriate things just to see how people would react . Like that I never want children or that I only watch Conference if an apostle is speaking (a 70=nap time). Or the time I dropped the F-bomb about an ex-roommate's now husband...

In Atlanta, however, I could swear all day without anyone thinking twice. If anything, I shock people by being super churchy:
We're going to get drunk on Sunday afternoon after we finish our papers, you in?
Ummm, I have to go to church. And, I don't drink.
Seriously? You go to church? Wow, that is crazy.

At least I still have the church. Maybe if I'm lucky I can teach another RS lesson on why I think gay marriage is okay. All the horrified looks of the sisters would make me feel so much better...