Sunday afternoon brought football with the boys after a nice rain. We were slipping and sliding, most of us losing our shoes eventually to play in bare feet. We’d fall, dirt stains and grass mingling on our jeans. I face-planted at one point, sliding along the ground on my cheek, which was not so much fun and left a lame and sort of burly red mark under my eye. Emily sat on the sideline, whittling a stick into some of sort of weapon.
After the sun went down, we decided we were freezing and sore and we made the trek back home to get warm and hang out.

We made the Costco run this weekend, getting necessities. However, no luck on the bike, so the search continues.

alright, register to vote! the deadline is coming soon.

Life is beautiful and strange.
Last night, we saw “Intimate Apparel,” a play about a turn of the century African-American seamstress struggling to find love in the New York. Eventually, she marries and is totally used by her husband for her money. It’s a play with strong female characters and an interesting man. Loyola had to hire an actor to play the man because we don’t have any strong black actors who could have played the part.
Neither one of us wanted to go out. We were tired, anti-social and would rather have curled up and just gone to sleep with a movie in.
But no, life doesn’t work like that. These are the dying days of our youth. There’s no time for sleeping, we can do that when we are dead.
We dressed, painted our faces, did our hair and make the trek down to the first party, held by the boys that we met last week. Our mutual friends were there, but left shortly after our arrival. We played games and chatted with all of the people there. Emily and I have both decided that we don’t really like either of the boys in a romantic way. One of them is sort of sleazy (totally my bad luck) and the other is sort of boring (Emily’s luck entirely). Their roommates, however, are hilarious and we all stayed up talking and laughing and it was actually a really fun time.
We ended up taking some girl home whose roommate had totally ditched her and then I called Hunter and saved him from the antics of Ian and Kyle.
All in all, good night, not too much fun, and I feel bad because we missed Matt’s birthday party. I can’t be everywhere, though.

Tell someone you love them today. The world doesn’t get enough of that. Go kiss someone (if you can) or go snuggle someone and just tell them that you’re glad they’re there. Trust me. It makes a world of difference.

“I want to look in your eyes and see your wonderful laughter.” -Ming&Ping, “Midnight on the Bridge.”

Hey jude, dont make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better.

Hey jude, dont be afraid.
You were made to go out and get her.
The minute you let her under your skin,
Then you begin to make it better.

And anytime you feel the pain, hey jude, refrain,
Dont carry the world upon your shoulders.
For well you know that its a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder.

Hey jude, dont let me down.
You have found her, now go and get her.
Remember to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better.

So let it out and let it in, hey jude, begin,
Youre waiting for someone to perform with.
And dont you know that its just you, hey jude, youll do,
The movement you need is on your shoulder.

Hey jude, dont make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her under your skin,
Then youll begin to make it
Better better better better better better, oh.

Na na na na na ,na na na, hey jude…

On Wednesday night, I went over to the boys’ house after mock trial practice to play charades with them. We’ve been playing charades most nights and we find it to be a very interesting game, no matter what the conditions.
Well, as we are sitting there, one of the boys who lives upstairs came in through the back door to tell us to be a little bit quieter. (Ironic, considering it was a game of Charades, no?) Instead of simply turning around and leaving after he said it, he stayed with us and kept on talking to us. I turned to say something, and he told me that I couldn’t talk because I was a woman.
Wow. I was shocked. I told him that it wasn’t a fair thing to say and he continued, saying things about women in general, and me for the duration of the time that he was there. We were all just sitting there, shocked.
I didn’t say anything. I catch a lot of crap from the boys about being a girl, but this was something entirely different. This was an all out attack and this wasn’t even funny, which most of the things the boys say are.
I got up and left the room and Ian and Kyle followed me.
Coupe and Hunter finally finished talking to him, and when they came back inside there was a discussion about how rude that had been.
I was still bothered by it, though, so I decided to put on my shoes and leave. On the way down the stairs, I started crying, and Ian came outside with me and talked to me and in the end, I went back inside, we locked the back door, and the boys all apologized for not saying something while he had been in the house and told me that they wouldn’t stand for it ever again and that I deserved more than that.
Well, better late than never.
I have never been treated like that as a woman. Never. It’s terrible. I thought that that kind of sexist crap wasn’t tolerated or taught anymore.
Both Emily and I consider ourselves “one of the boys,” and the boys consider us to be that as well. Granted, we are infinitely more attractive, but that’s obvious and often overlooked.
And last night, Hunter told me he was sorry again and that he never wanted me to feel like that again, especially not in their apartment (which is like my second home).

Thursday night tradition continued last night, although with a smaller crowd, which was utterly enjoyable. We always watch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and then since none of us have class on Fridays, we just hang out and play all night. Last night, I got over there as soon as I was done with class and hung out with Coupe, Ian and Hunter and waited for Kyle to get home, Jeremy to come over and Emily to get done with rehearsal.
The debate started at eight, and by eight thirty five we had all completely lost interest. We are all very politically charged people, all of us liberals, yet we couldn’t stand to watch Sarah Palin’s mouth move and her eyebrows go up and down.
So we commenced playing games and hanging out. At one point, I got into a wrestling match with Coupe, which was a bad idea, because I lost terribly (although I did put up a good fight) and now my elbows are covered in bruises.
We stayed up most of the night (as usual) and danced and played another awesome game of charades and made food and then went to sleep in our usual spots, comfortable and happy.
Yeah, great way to kick off the weekend.
Today, however, was incredibly fail. We were supposed to go to Costco, but after I took Hunter to work I came home and Emily and I ended up sleeping until a half hour ago. So, you know, it’s six o’clock and we have to get ready and go be the social creatures that Friday night seems to turn us into.
Tonight we are going to see the play “Intimate Apparel,” after which we will progress downtown to a party hosted by two brothers that we met last weekend at another party. And then, there is another party tonight celebrating our friend’s 21st. So who knows what the night will bring, but it certainly will not be wild. I hope.
Tomorrow, I am driving out somewhere because the movie that Hunter is in needs a female to pose with a police officer. So that’s what I’m doing. I can now add movie extra to my resume. Sweet.

Yeah, so. Happy Weekend!

Babysitting.
Mock Trial.
Class.
It’s never ending.
I’m exhausted.

I got two parking tickets in 12 hours, after not having gotten one since I moved here two months ago! (Can you believe that it’s been two months already? Wow.)

It’s cold here. The heat in our apartment is not on. It probably won’t be for awhile. It’s radiators, so if anyone is familiar with radiators, let me know how they will work. Doesn’t the building have to turn them on? and then we open knobs or something?
Who knows, but I’m actually wearing socks.

I’m going to go look at bikes this weekend. It’ll be nice to have one again, especially because it’s getting colder and walking anywhere is lame.

blah blah blah, update you later.
love.

That baby is my old roommate’s one year old daughter, Emma. She’s beautiful. The girl in the pictures who isn’t Emily is Sarah.
From the left in the dinner scene, we have Ian, his friend Jeremy, Hunter making a terrible face and then Emily.
The party was excellent. It was so nice to see Sarah again and her life is coming together beautifully. She’s still in school, happy and her daughter is growing up to be a lovely young lady. She’s walking now and talking a little bit.
I bought a crock pot for $10 off of the other Emily, so hopefully that will be used often.

Have a great Sunday!

Emily’s dad is in town this weekend on business, so we went out to dinner last night. It was nice to see him and I know that Emily is thrilled.

Here are some pictures that Dad sent me from the Barry family get together before I left for school in the summer.

Wow. It’s been a long week already and it’s only Tuesday.
On Monday night, Emily and I were in the basement/bike storage room doing laundry and I realized that my bike wasn’t where I had left it. I thought about it for a couple minutes, thinking that maybe I had biked somewhere and then just left it, and returned home after whatever I had been doing. But then, in the corner, wrapped around some bars on the window, I saw my bike lock. It was a long metal chain with loops at the end where I would attach the lock. The chain had been cut, and then discarded in the corner.
I am livid. In a locked room, in a locked gate, in my own apartment building, someone cut the lock on my bike and took it.

Today, for my Women, Crime and Justice class, I went downtown to Loyola’s Lewis Towers to hear Lisa Madigan speak. She’s the attorney general of Illinois and she hasn’t done anything to reopen cases for victims of police torture. (John Burge was a police commander…do you remember hearing about him?) The event required RSVPs and our class hadn’t been aware of that, so we stood outside and ended up joining the protesters. We were all yelling and the police had to come and reorganize the group. They ended up trying to gain entrance into the building to go up and get into the speech.
They were from the Campaign to End the Death Penalty and I ended up holding a clipboard and getting signatures from the passerby. It was fun. Emily went with me and took pictures. I’ll put them up as soon as the internet will let me. For some reason, it’s not working right now.

Emily and I have reached a point where we recycle more than we throw away. And it’s not even like we have a giant bin just sitting twenty away from us that we can recycle our stuff into. We carry all of it down three flights of stairs and then out to the car and then drive it half a mile to the recycling center where were unload it into huge recycling bins.
There’s no excuse.

I’m coming home tomorrow. I am exhausted. It will be nice to sleep, I think. Tonight, I plan on staying up way too late and being wild. Because it’s Thursday, it’s the premiere of the new season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and because it’s my friend’s birthday.
Sweet.

I had to write my first paper of the year last night, and I’m not altogether sure that I have retained any knowledge of anything.
According to Dave, “information is not always knowledge.”
And I think he has a point.

Happy Birthday Aunt Joan!!!!!
Hope you had a wonderful day!