Let me just say this one thing: If you've got a boyfriend who will read Flannery O'Connor stories to you over the phone until you're ready to go to sleep or bring you a huge bottle of orange juice when you're sick, you're an idiot if you don't keep him. Or if you can find a boy who buys you a book for Easter, not just candy. Or if he gets you sushi and flowers for Valentines Day. Or if he'll skip his college dance to come see you. If you've got someone like this, hold on tight.

I could go on and on, but you're already jealous, I know.

I really do not understand why some people are so arrogant. Maybe they don't even realize they are. They seem like a nice enough person, but you can't have a conversation with them without hearing about the things they've done, read, listened to, what they had for breakfast, and how cool their family or friends are. And no matter what you say, they always have something to say about it, somehow involving them, and it goes a little beyond whatever you said. The things could be completely irrelevant, but they have to outdo you somehow. If the conversation somehow takes a turn from the subject of them, they make sure to get it right back on track.

Well, news flash: there are 6,706,993,152 people in the world. You don't even make it to the top ten.

There are people who matter besides you. Other things happen to people that have absolutely nothing to do with you.

My grandmother came to lunch today. It is still astounding to me the way my dad and his wife act when his family comes. She suddenly becomes outgoing and friendly and jokes and calls her mom. My dad suddenly exaggerates his good fatherly deeds to the point of ridiculousness, acting like he's campaigning for father of the year.

We had lobster tails, which I've never had before. I can't believe my family has become one that eats lobster tails on a Saturday afternoon. Next thing you know they'll be trying to get me in pearls and a sundress for these lovely gatherings.

I was in Wal Mart today, because it was just the kind of day when you needed to go to Wal Mart to get some perspective about who you are, and I was completely snubbed by someone I used to know but who apparently doesn't want to know me anymore. I've always been taught that God will give everyone what they deserve in the end, so don't hold grudges or seek revenge.
" 'Vengeance is mine' says the Lord. 'I will repay.' " Usually that doesn't happen on a timeline I necessarily agree with, but I like the way the Lord handled this one. There are consequences for treating people badly, kids, and sometimes they burn.

I was informed yesterday that my dad has hired a nutritionist to come talk to us about our eating habits. That sounds exciting, I'm anxiously awaiting being told that what I eat will send me to an early grave. Of course I fully intend to hide the number of Big Macs and Mountain Dews I typically consume. No one knows the full extent of how much of that I actually eat, for good reason.

I am soo ready to graduate!!! And I'm super excited about Longwood, and I wasn't sure I would be. It's not a big name school or one as academically prestigious as I had originally hoped for (not that it's Radford either, though) and my pride would have liked to have people know I went somewhere that's a little harder to get in, but then a search yielded the information that The Ramones played at Longwood in 1995, and that was just the most notable to me, but there have been others. Not really my thing, but I've heard some people like The Fray. So I'll get to see some sweet free concerts. I also think having Jon Stewart come is better than the Victoria's Secret collegiate collection. We'll get there.


P.S. Listen to Greg Laswell, he's good.

Brilliant!

Pepsi has greatly impressed me with their absolute magnificence.

Coke recently came out with a new size bottle, 16 oz. I drank one, and immediately knew this would be a monumental move. The perfect amount of cool, refreshing phosphoric acid. I found myself drinking it more and more often. I would get one in the morning on the way to school. Before I even knew what was happening, I had become a Coke drinker! This was more than a little distressing to me.

And then, I walked into the gas station and beheld this little gem: a 16 ounce Mountain Dew, IN A CAN! Far superior to a bottle for obvious reasons, but if you really need me to point them out, I will. The constant opening and closing always seems to make my bottled sodas go flat sooner. And of course, cans stay colder than do bottles. By the time I get to the end of drinking a bottle, I can't finish it because it's flat and warm. A regular sized can is not enough, a bottle is too much and has the aforementioned flaws. Not only is it the perfect size, it's also a much more convenient price. Whereas a bottled Mountain Dew costs me $1.53 at my local gas station, I can get 16 oz. for $1.01 and don't have to worry about change occupying room in my pocket and causing me unnecessary annoyance. Finally, perfection. Which I think is actually Coke's marketing slogan, but Mountain Dew indubitably reached a perfection that Coke can only dream of.



Speaking of brilliance, Maddox has been a favorite writer of mine for quite a few years. He is often offensive, and I can't say I agree with everything he says, but his writing has never failed to make me laugh. That said, here's a favorite article of mine:

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=11worst

Here's a teaser:
U2-Crumbs From Your Table
"This song is about how America and its wealthiest people don't do enough to help solve world hunger. The title suggests that crumbs from our table could help starving people in Africa. Bono indicts America for being hypocritical with these lines:

Would you deny for others
What you demand for yourself?

Bono could not be reached for comment as he was stepping off his private jet and into his limousine."

Spring makes me unbearably restless, just like every other American teenager I would guess. Probable even more so this year of course, since it's my last free spring. In the years to come I suppose I'll have adult concerns like taxes and allergies. But besides that, spring makes me extremely nostalgic. I absolutely love it and hate it at the same time. After it rained really hard and then got sunny, the grass looked gleaming, like it had just been washed squeaky clean. There were tall blades of it because it hasn't been cut at all yet. I wanted to go lay down in the little sections of tufts. But I knew that because it had rained earlier this afternoon, my clothes would get wet if I did. The reason this makes me nostalgic is because 10 years ago, I wouldn't care where I was going later this evening, or if I would have to do extra laundry as a result of laying in the wet grass, because I didn't do my own laundry.

But this thought must be cut short since my sister who got out wants to act like she still owns and controls everything in this household. And she very well may.

That's a mistake!

Today I hurried home from school, knowing today was the day. I pulled into the driveway, then ran across the road to get the mail out of the box. I hurried back across the street, nearly breaking my ankle off in a pothole. I got into the Jeep and rushed down the lane, stirring up dust and bouncing up and down from the bumps. I rushed into the house, after dropping my backpack on the way in. I just left it in the driveway, there was no time to waste! The envelope was in the middle of the pile that I quickly flipped through. My heart skipped a beat when I saw that the envelope was small. I broke out into a cold sweat, I could scarcely breathe. I quickly tore through the envelope in an attempt to get the letter out. I desperately scanned the lines. "We believe that you are a very strong student who has much to offer to a competitive university environment. However, due solely to the high level of competition......" Wait listed.


Bahahahaha syyyyyke.


I was on Indian Trail taking some pictures when my dad called and said the letter was here. I said I was going out to eat with Erin and Angie. He asked, "Don't you want to find out?!?!?!" "Nah, the answer won't change while I'm eating. It'll keep."

Eight o'clock this evening I saw the envelope on the table after I got home. "Because we remain interested in you, we are offering you a place on our Reserve List in hopes that we can provide further consideration....."

And I said, "Emilee waits for no one. That's their mistake."


I'm keeping the letter to frame and maybe I'll send it back to them once I get the Pulitzer. I'm sure they'll love hearing from me again.