Someone Please Make The Sun Come Up

The good thing about insomnia is that when it snows for the first time this winter – gigantic fluffy flakes so thick you can hardly see through it – at 4:30 in the morning, you don’t miss a second of it. And because everyone around you is asleep and dreaming, you feel like it is just for you.

The bad thing about insomnia is that at 3 am, you discover that all the HBOs and Showtimes are working for no reason. And you flip past 30 Days of Night – the one with the nasty-ass vampires in the snow – and you get sucked into watching it. And then you have to go out into the snow all by yourself.

I really want to tell you about Janternet’s party, but it involves so much HTML and remembering stuff and being witty, and all I want to do right now is forget about those ugly vampires by curling up with a book about sexy vampires. Run on sentence, hi. I also want to tell you about my rekindled love affair with New Jack Swing. I will have to do it later. Maybe in a few hours when I am still awake and totally delirious?

Tonight I hung out with my high school friends and it made me so happy. Ted and I played 8 games of Egyptian Rat Screw. We won 4 games each. This battle has been going on for a decade. I think we subconciously tie on purpose because trash talking with Ted is one of my favorite things in life.

I’ve been on a New Friends Kick recently, but sometimes it helps to recharge myself by hanging out with some of the oldest, some of the best. Even when they’re farting nonstop. Even when they’re teasing me about nothing just so I’ll make “that face”. Even when they remind me that I am very, very short:

Seriously, has Warren always been two heads taller than me? Why couldn’t they make me feel this little and dainty back in the day?

I love how I started this entry with a gimmick/concept, and now I’m just rambling about anything and everything to keep the vampires away.

UPDATE: I’m all better; I just stumbled across What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, and after that is Pump Up The Volume. YES.

The Chronicles of Cuteness

The other night the Jersey Boys sent me a picture so adorable, words could not express how much I loved it. So I had to show them, Music Mike Style:

That’s how I’ve been feeling about everything lately. It’s all too cute to handle. Cute friends with top-secret missions to cheer me up, cute boys who make me laugh, cute letters arriving in the mail, cute arts and crafts, and of course that cute French kid who still cutes my socks off.

Janternet had a Radical Game Night Birthday Party tonight (yesterday?) that was so cute, it deserves its own entry. Hell, that party deserves its own trilogy. Amazing.

And the cutest thing of all? The cutest thing to cute around Cutetown? The return of Charlie the Chihuahua. He has been here all weekend. Every ten seconds or so, he does something to make me squee.

Charlie is part poodle and somehow this means he can grow a beard?

A full-grown teeny-tiny itty-bitty cute beard. That’s what it is. He is so fat and wiggly! I am dying.

~~~*~~~

I haven’t been able to sleep – worse than usual, that is – for the past month. So tonight (today?) I am resetting my circadium rhythm. I stayed up all night and plan to crash in the early evening.

When I actually PLAN to stay up all night and no one is staying up with me, I’m insanely productive and manage to have a blast while I’m at it. It’s 4am and my apartment is sparkling. In an hour or two, I’m going to make a legendary/fatty/glorious breakfast and geek out with Twilight: Book 3 while the sun comes up. (TEAM JACOB, btw.)

I’m only sharing this to explain the first half of this entry; I am not stll drunk from the party. (Charles’ awesome breathalizer gave everyone the OK to drive home.) Just slap-happy and normal happy and completely caught up with life for once.

I was going to whine to you guys about something, but it has completely escaped me. Isn’t that the best??

P.S. I cannot believe it’s taken me this long to put “Poison” by Bell Biv Devoe on my iPod. Get with the program, Stephanie.

P.P.S. Never trust a big butt and a smile…

How To Fix Your Heart

Step 1: Make a mug of hot chocolate. Preferably Mexican hot chocolate, with lots of cinnamon and foam.

Step 2: Grab a cookie. Or two. Hell, this is special so you can have three if you’d like.

Step 3: Wrap yourself in a blanket, grab a stuffed animal or (and this is the best) put on a hoodie that just came out of the dryer.

Step 4: Sit back, get cozy…

Step 5: And listen:

Once upon a time… from Capucha on Vimeo.

If it seems too adorable for you at first, just know that it gets surprisingly dark and 100% epic.

(Once again, I am eternally grateful to Rocket Queen for posting something wonderful.)

Bonus ways to fix your heart, at least if you are me: a surprise mixtape from Seattle Courtney, playing Egyptian Rat Screw AND Tetris with a boy for the first time in years, and Josh Arnold in general. Oh and Twilight, obviously.

And There You Have It

It’s finally happened…

My life has finally gotten to the point where you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.

You just wouldn’t.

I mean, my god. I think Jen put it best when she said (for completely unrelated reasons): “There’s always 2009.”

~~~*~~~

If you can’t say anything nice, link to other sites that will. Is that how it goes? It is today.

These sites make me happy and I hope they make you happy, too:

WANDERFUL: Frank’s friend Katie and her boyfriend Mark are on this magical sponsored road trip across the country. I love their stories, I love their photography and most of all I love their little dog, Mister. I will add a special link to their http://wanderful.us/?p=673 entry just for Janet. Seriously, I’m living vicariously through these two at the moment. It’s the funnest.

UPSIDEDOWN DOGS: Don’t overthink it. Just put your mouse over it and click. You can thank me later.

BRUCE TRIED SUICIDE: The other day, J reminded me of my favorite Kids in the Hall sketch. I imagine if I ever tried to kill myself, the results would be just as awkward. And probably as funny to other people. Whatever. I love it.

IDAHO SALLY: A sad (re: awesome) twitter account featuring homemaker Sally and her baby, Remmington.

THE WORST DATE OF ALL TIME PART ONE and PART TWO: A few years ago, someone asked me out to dinner and stood me up to take his ex-girlfriend fishing.* I thought that was bad, but Patrick Walsh has me beat. Especially part two. Holy crap.

CRAZY 4 CULT: Seriously mesmerizing artwork based on cult movies like Heathers, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure and The Shining. Worth the credit card debt if that’s how you got it.

THIS SITE: Because it reminds me that people, at least collectively, can be totally hilarious when we put our minds to it.

EDITED TO ADD: Omfggggggg there’s a brand new Two Rude Dudes! And it’s amazing.

So there you have it: fun sites to visit. Just promise you’ll come back?

*I kind of thought it was hilarious, especially his explanation: “Well, you weren’t supposed to find out.” Solid gold! He’s friends with the boy who just dumped me and the boy who almost killed me on the highway, which makes me think they’ve all been planning this from the beginning.

(They have nothing to do with the stuff you wouldn’t believe, as far as I know. AS FAR AS I KNOW.)

In 20 Minutes!

Alright, here’s a few pictures and stories from Halloween.

I was a contestant on The Price Is Right!

I really wanted someone else to do it with me so their board could say “800” and mine could say “801”. Surprise; I was on my own. I cut out pieces to make “666” but chickened out at the last second.

Later I got my friend Linda to draw a heart that said “Bob”.

~~~*~~~

The first night I went to Nick and Jessica’s to pass out candy and avoid boys who make me sad. Eventually more people showed up and by the end of the night, it was a party. Erin made me laugh nonstop; kudos to Erin. But my favorite part was the kids. My god. So cute.

This tiny 7 year-old boy was wearing a superhero costume with fake muscles and a mask. He took candy, started to walk away, and then turned back and yelled, “Hey guys!”

We opened the door, expecting to hear a joke.

The kid looked over his shoulder. Then in a low voice with complete seriousness, he explained, “I’m actually really a kid.” He lifted his mask and whispered, “This is just a costume.”

We gave him extra candy for being amazing.

~~~*~~~

The second night Amanda had a great party where she projected movies on this big screen in her backyard. My friends went all out with their costumes. Niki actually MADE her Snow White costume. Way to go, Niki!

Ron decided to be The Stranger from High Plains Drifter even though he had never seen the movie. Nick had a copy and Ron asked to read the plot synopsis. Here’s how it started:

The odd lakefront settlement of Lago is unsettled one day as The Stranger emerges from the hazy heat and rides into town. After committing three murders and a rape in 20 minutes…

“So I’m dressed as a rapist?”

“I guess so. Hahaha; that’s hilarious.”

“That’s terrible.”

“Yeah but…. in 20 minutes! Impressive.”

~~~*~~~

Here are my friends – adorable couples doing adorable couple things and posing adorably while I’m out wandering in the backyard:

I’m not hating at all, though. I really do think this picture is the most precious thing ever and I want to put it on my refrigerator.

But wait! You guys! I can pose adorably, too! Really!

See? I just have to crop my butt out later! But it’s adorable!

The most adorable award of the night goes to Amanda’s dog Bean. She found this dog dodging traffic in front of her work, took him home and now he is the sweetest thing ever. Except for that night. That night he was pure evil… as Osama Bean Laden:

I don’t think this picture fully communicates the teeny-tinyness of Bean and his turban, because Amanda is also tiny. She wore a box painted with ships and was a “Spanish Armanda”. Puns galore. And tiny turbans. Adorable.

Oh, but I can’t forget my girl Peaches:

AAAAAND I think that’s all the pictures I stole from Niki. We won trivia last night. It’s noon and I just woke up. The end.

Today I Didn’t Even Have To Use My A.K.

I’ve been down lately, so when I have a good day or two I really like to run with it. Mostly for my own peace of mind, but also because I feel bad when you guys come here and I bum you out.

However – I CURRENTLY HAVE SOMETHING IN MY EYE. I ALWAYS have something in my eye. It is the only upside to crying every day. I might try to make myself cry after I write this because IT IS DRIVING ME CRAZY. AAAGGHH.

Quick good news – my dad’s foot is almost totally healed and he can put weight on it again. He can’t walk yet, but he can get around on his own. My parents are relieved, which makes me relieved. Also, my dad can climb in the minivan now, which means my mom and I no longer have to trade cars. YES. It was so weird driving a minivan, although I had this awesome rule where I could only listen to Magic 104.9 or 104.1 when I drove it. Gangsta.

~~~*~~~

A couple of nights ago, I was so incredibly sad and the only person I wanted to talk to was Pammy. But I hadn’t talked to Pammy since forever ago and I didn’t know her new number or her new last name. So I just sat around for hours being totally sad and missing Pammy.

And then the next morning, I logged into my gmail and guesswhat guesswhat guesswhat. There was a message from Pammy! How bananas is that? So I think that’s what kicked off this happy… kick.

Old friends from forever ago always make my day. Last night I saw Kevin and that was a rare treat. I love that dude. I hope to visit him and Monica in Chicago soon. And I had a dance party with Pandy last week. It was delicious.

Don’t get me wrong, new friends thrill me, too. Tonight I’m going to a trivia night with RØB, Bill and some other folks. FINALLY, TRIVIA. Pat never invited me to his trivia night and that always hurt my feelings because I love showing off my geniusosity.

~~~*~~~

I think one reason I’ve been bummed out (but not the main reason) is that all the parties I attend are with the same group of friends… and lately that means 5 or 6 couples and some guys that I already dated.* Sometimes I feel lonelier around them than I would if I stayed home.

I came to that realization the other night and it really horrified me. I mean, those are the best friends I’ve ever had (the couples, not the ones I dated*) and I love them more than anything. But in order to shake this lonely feeling, I need to sometimes BE alone and go explore new places and people by myself.

Like, to get happier I have to cut back on the one thing that makes me happy. What a suck sandwich, am I right?

Not that I don’t enjoy those parties – I had a BLAST at both the Halloween parties. I still plan on seeing my friends all of the time. I think I simply need to avoid Couplespalooza Nights when I’m not in the mood to not care.

And NOTE: I’m not saying I need to go out and “get a man”. I just need to spend some time with people as opposed to pairs.

~~~*~~~

I’ve said this before – unhappiness is vital to personal growth because it is a motivator. I almost get relieved when I realize that I’m depressed, because that way I HAVE to run and I HAVE to get sleep and I HAVE to be social. I have to write, sing, draw, hula hoop, take my vitamins, do nice things for other people, clean my room, lay in the sunshine, find some puppies to pet, etc. There’s no procrastination or hesitation about taking care of myself – if I don’t do those things, I won’t survive.

I’ve put off admitting to myself (and I guess to you) that I have legit depression. I had all of these exterior reasons to be sad and I used them as excuses. But now I’m aware that I have to fix it from the inside and I’m excited. The last time I was this down, I worked so hard to bring myself up and I ended up having the best year of my life.

I’m happier today than I was yesterday. And I know for a fact that tomorrow, I’ll be even happier. Give me a month and YOU’LL be depressed that you are not me.

*ALLEGEDLY

Yes Yes Y’All, I Watched The Election Coverage

But DON’T WORRY everyone, I DVR’d 90210.

I’m only telling you that because there’s this new (cute) character played by Michael Trevino.

And I’m only telling you THAT because he looks exactly like Rhet in Teen Witch.

And I’m only telling you THAT as an excuse to repost the Greatest Moment in Cinematic History:

I will forever love Dan for bringing that clip back into my life. And truly, electing the nation’s first African-American President was the ONLY way to balance the universe after that terrible, awful, atrocious white rapping.

Congratulations, America.

Top THAT.

Happy (Almost) Election Day!

I might be stuck in line all day tomorrow (GOOOOOOO swing states!) or glued to the TV all night like last time. So I’m trying to get everything done today.

To celebrate Election Day, I thought I’d post a cute song and dance from Josh and Mort.

WARNING: Josh sings the F word about 10 times, which somehow makes it more adorable:

Thrill The World 2008

I thought I would be too sick for Thrill The World this year but I managed to miraculously heal for an hour or two. I did my makeup in the car on the way there. I don’t have a lot of pictures like last year, but Joe made this totally fun video:

I’m not sure if we made it into the Guinness Book of World Records or not, so I’ll just say that we did. (Okay, I just checked and we set a new Record Holders Republic record with 4,179 dancers in 10 countries.) Lots of people from last year were there, as well as new people like Jackie, Jen’s dad and Ron’s mom! Good stuff.

Once again, Katie and Joe were so awesome at putting this whole thing together. I’m sure Røb would like me to add that he pushed “play” on the iPod. I am in the back right corner, and you can see me high-fiving people at the end, exactly like last year. Get ready to be thrilled: