this temptation

Wow. I can't believe it's been over a year since I last blogged. It seems like an entire lifetime. I don't think I'll bother playing catch up here, but I guess I can highlight a few things that have happened in the past 18 or so months.

- Jon and I are still together...haven't killed each other yet.
- I got an apartment. It's absolutely adorable and I love living by myself.
- I got a new job. I work at the paper, and I get quite a bit of satisfaction out of all the stuff that I do there. I feel like a grown-up.
- I got a puppy. He's a yorkie named Pepper and he's almost 10 months old now. I don't know what I would do without him. He keeps me humble, and he's the best snuggler in the world! He has several shirts, and I just spent $50 on two new sweaters, a snowsuit (with pants!) and a set of boots for him. Yes, I am that kind of dog owner.
- I pierced my nose. It's pretty sweet. I've wanted to do it for a really long time, and I don't regret it at all.
- I spent 2 weeks in the hospital over the summer because of my Crohn's. It sucked. The recap is on facebook if you wanna read it. As usual, I've gone into loads of gory detail, and got all emotional, so fair warning.
- I went back to school. MO State this time, since I refuse to go back to DU. I guess I'm still a bio major, but I don't really think I want to stick with it anymore. I just really want to graduate as soon as possible so I can get on with my life.
- Jon joined in on my family's trip to Vegas in September. We went to go see my brother get married. It's the first non-debate travel I've done in a really long time, and I got to see my dad's side of the family all together again...weird!
- I'm losing my hair. It may be the medication, or the stress of being so sick for so long, but I currently have less than 1/3 the hair I had six months ago. It's terrifying.
- I got a laptop. It's incredible. That is all.

I guess that's pretty much it. It seems kinda weird to just sum up the last year and a half in just a few bullet points, but whatever. It felt pretty damn good to see what all I've been through. Kinda makes me feel like I actually achieved something. Hey, let me have this moment.

I don't really know what I intend to do with this blog. I guess I'll just stop in every now and then (when I should probably be studying) to document some of the awesome that is my life.

We got back from NFA yesterday after driving through the night in a too-small car. Needless to say, I spent most of the time since catching up on sleep, avoiding automobiles at all costs, and being spoiled by Jon. Apparently I was missed.

I wound up breaking to Quarterfinals in Info. Very surprising since I'd spent the entire ride down to NFA memorizing my new Info, and yet I decided to do the old one 30 minutes before the round started. Curt was pretty pissed that I'd changed the plan at the last minute, but he can't complain. I was the only break our team had. I can't possibly convey the depth of my sadness upon not breaking in Persuasion, Crit, or Poetry. I was initially merely confused, but as the realization set in that this had been my last chance to get out in college forensics, the tears became hard to fight. And while I had promised Jon that I wouldn't call crying and blubbering, I couldn't help it. I've never wanted anything that badly, and not getting it was just too painful.

Georgia was beautiful. The people were fascinating, and even though we didn't bring a big team, I still managed to have fun. My camera is filled with photos of the trees, rivers, houses, churches and gravestones we found. Visually, this was the most enjoyable tournament I've been to. I would go back Rome in a heartbeat.

So I leave tomorrow for IOA. My last tournament as a competitor. My favorite event. No pressure.

I walked outside this morning to discover that it was snowing. In April. And 2 weeks ago I was bouncing around in shorts and tank tops. Crazy.

I saw some old high school friends at the Mudlounge last night. I love being able to reconnect with my old buds and see how they're doing, and it makes me really happy to see that they're doing well. Oh, and I'm probably the only person ever to get excited about this, but I witnessed real live karaoke for the very first time. It was just as I had imagined it. If only I had the guts to get up there myself...

Okay, so Thursday was my boss's birthday. I didn't know about it until 5pm that evening because as I was sitting at my desk, happily typing addresses, he invited one of my co-workers over to his house Friday evening for a birthday party. He also explained that everyone else would be there. He said nothing to me about it. Acted like I wasn't even in the room. So I went about my merry way, finishing up my work, and then I ran home and called Jon to make plans for Friday night. I wasn't mad, per se, but I did feel a bit snubbed being the only one not invited. No worries, though. I found out today that Aaron went to the party. That's why I wasn't invited. Kinda sucks that I got left out, but I'm glad I was spared the awkwardness that would have surely ensued.

So last night, Jon and I went to Gallery Bistro. I puffy heart their Chicken Rosemary. Yum! We also grabbed drinks at the MudLounge before finding Lauren at the Outland where Justin's band was playing. It was a pretty cool show, but the entire time I was really nervous that the floor would collapse. I worry about really dumb things.

I also found out last night that Ben isn't going to NFA. Yet another person I won't get to hang out with at Nationals. This sucks.

Okay, I have to admit that my recent happiness has faded a bit. Don't get me wrong, I'm still plenty happy, it's just that I'm realizing that this is my new normal. And I pray that this normal never gets boring.

I don't really know how to explain the recent lack of blog posts. I guess it's probably because there's so much of my life that I'd like to remain private. Or maybe it's because things have been happening that I can't really explain and don't know how to feel about.

I've been pretty bummed recently about certain individuals quitting the Drury debate team. I know that we'll always be friends and I wish them luck on whatever team they find themselves on, but it breaks my heart that I've worked for the past three years to build up a team, only to watch it crumble before my eyes. I'm afraid that there might not be anyone for me to coach next year, because I love forensics more than anything and I still want to be involved even if I'm not competing. Hopefully we'll get some freshmen next year.

I've copied all of my MySpace poetry to a new blog. The link is over on the right. Check it out if you want.

My entire family is gone this weekend, so I have the house all to myself. My parents are in Nashville for Jocelyn's colorguard thing, and Larry is somewhere in Arkansas for baseball. It's just me and Kiwi. I've never noticed how huge our house is before now. I guess it's probably due to the fact that I decided to clean the entire house this weekend, and I'm now fully appreciating the amount of work I have ahead of me. But I'm nearly halfway done, and I'm having fun, so it's all good.

Last weekend I decided to take a break from going out. It's just not as fun as it used to be, and I hate going out and being disappointed. Hopefully a few weeks away will make me enjoy it again. So my family is gone, Jon is off camping this weekend, my bosses and one co-irker are on vacations, I'm not going out at all with the girls, and I'm completely alone all weekend. It's nice to finally have some peace and quiet.

I think I'm gonna go to Las Vegas sometime this summer. My older brother was supposed to come to Springfield in June for my wedding, but since it's cancelled, I don't know if he is still planning on coming. And I haven't seen him in forever, and he's getting married soon, and it's been years since I went to Vegas, and I'm 21 now so I can do everything there, and I think I really need to get away from Springfield for a while to recharge. (Holy run on sentences, Batman!)