Normal

I'm spending my summer in Normal, Illinois; working for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. So far I'm loving it. I took two days to drive from VA to IL, stopping in Columbus, Ohio along the way.

I work six days a week but its really not bad because I'm spending my days doing what I love. There have definitely been some really slow days but overall its been great. Monday is our day off so Sunday has become the new Friday. One Sunday we went out for karaoke at the Illinois Brewing Company in downtown Bloomington, it was so much fun! There's a dollar theatre close by, so my friends Adrian and Deleena and I went and saw Alice in Wonderland (and by making our own popcorn and sneaking it in we really did only pay a dollar to go see the movie). We've been making really popcorn on the stove at the very least once a week, and eating blackberries like nobodies business since they've been on sale for a dollar a carton. Bloomington can now boast that they have North America's largest Dairy Queen (in addition to the highest grossing taco bell). The new DQ just recently opened, its really nice and even has an outdoor fireplace on the patio.

Jess got to stop in this past Sunday on his way across the country to Los Angeles, and he stayed the night. It was so good to see him and get to snuggle after almost a month apart. Now we're seperated again untill the end of July or beginning of August when I go see him. However, thanks to skype its not too bad.

Bloomington/Normal just got a minor league baseball team this summer and their inagural game was tonight. It's pretty neat, the stadium is really close to my apartment and I can hear the music and the announcer. Around 10:30 I was pleasantly surprised to hear fireworks, and my balcony had a perfect view to watch them. I hope they do fireworks after every game.

Nightmares

It's been very strange. For the last year or so I've been having so many nightmares. Last night I was being chased by a man with a chainsaw, and he tried to cut off my hand. Then somehow My hand was fine but the man left someone else's severed hand on my front door step. I would be awesome if these nightmares would stop. Most of the time I'm fine when I wake up because Jess is there in bed with me, I see him and know that it was just a nightmare and I'm safe. But when I wake up alone, sometimes it takes me a little while to figure out if it was real or not.

Any suggestions on how to make nightmares stop? Or make them less frequent?

a little bit of sunshine

I have just, for the third year in a row, bought daffodils from Foodlion as an impulse buy. I just can't help myself, I'm a sucker for those adorable, little, yellow flowers. They're just so unexpected in January, and on a gloomy rainy day to boot; how could I not get them?

Delicious

I have been on an egg sandwich kick for months now. They are just so delicious. One fried egg with a little salt, pepper, and mayo on whatever bread like product happens to be around that day. Biscuit, bagel, whole wheat, white... doesn't matter. And I eat them anytime not just for breakfast. This morning I was brave, I decided to flip my egg with out a spatula. Julia Childs' style. And to my surprise It was a great success!

What a great way to start the day.

Lovely

Yesterday I read a post by Shauna Ahern of Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef. The particular post that I'm referring to is "Friday Island Photos : an evening ferry ride".

When I read lovely things like this it always makes me wish that I wrote things like that too. I know that my writing will not improve just by wishfull thinking, so I have decided to spend more time writing this year.

While reading that post I realized something else about myself. When I read posts like that, I hear them in my head read by Meg Ryan. I think it is a direct result of the movie You've got mail. Isn't that strange?

Tuesdays

Monday is the first day of the work week, nobody likes Monday. "Somebody's got a case of the Mondays." Wednesday is hump day, you're half way there. Thursday means that its almost Friday and thus almost the end of the week. Friday means that, for most people, by 5 the weekend is getting started. Saturday IS the weekend, you can sleep in and you still have Sunday. Sunday is such a relaxing day.

But Tuesday, what does Tuesday have?

Blue velvet couch

The library on campus has blue velvet and dark, multicolored, flower print couches and chairs scattered throughout the building. But off of the coffee shop there is a cozy little room with two blue velvet couches and three matching chairs. We appropriately call it "the blue couch room." There's a window that goes all the way to the ceiling, and a window sill large enough to sit on. the lights are dimmable Its my favorite place to do homework.

Monday I did what I had intended to do Sunday. I camped out in the library and worked all day. I only have one class on Mondays and I got an e-mail telling me it was canceled, So I spent a cold, cloudy, Monday sitting on a blue velvet couch in a room all to myself drinking ginger peach tea, and reading.

Fabulous!