Sweetness
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Baby Elephant Walk by henry Mancini

Snazzy times indeed! Things continue to get better and better despite my thinking that it is impossible for that to happen. Neverhteless, life is grand.

Abby came by last Friday for her birthday weekend. We kicked it off by me giving her a gift, which was a stuffed tiger holding a note, which led her through a scavenger hunt to her next gift, the official published copy of Abby & Pat: A Story of Friendship.

L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole

She loved the gifts, which was awesome. After that, looking all snazzy as we are prone to do, we headed out to Old City and had a FANTASTIC dinner at Positano Coast. Candlelit dinner with fabulous food and tasty wine, and some good dessert as well. How classy.

On Saturday we met up with Jeff and Katie and brought some Pat's Steaks and cheese fries back to my place for a hefty lunch. Awhile after they split, Fran and Deb showed up. After some pizza, more and more people began arriving for our party to welcome the new roomie, Amiekay.

The Bare Necessities by Harry Connick, Jr.

The party was the best one we've had yet. The new furniture was looking good and gave us so many more seating options. There was a snazzy vybe at this shindig, and everyone had a blast. It was awesome seeing Abby, Jake, Bill, Eric, Deb, Barb, Alyssa, Fran, Dan,Joe, and Mark all in one place. Abby, who originally intended to head home that afternoon, ended up satying for the party, which was sweet. At midnight, we did a shot to toast her and welcome in her 23rd.

The next day, Deb joined Abby and I as we had another kickass meal, this time at Chipotle in Bala Cynwyd. All in all, that weekend was one of the best ever.

Night Time Is the Right Time by Ray Charles

On Tuesday, Deb and I worked a Camp Fair in Malvern, and met up with Abby to see The Bucket List. The movie had funny and sad parts, and overall was pretty good. We picked Alyssa and Barb up from the train station and then made our way to Jitter's for Taco Tuesday. Becca was there, and Lickey ended up joining us later on. 'Twas snazzy.

Friday was a bit of a bummer. Nasty weather was kicking our asses, but it ended well. I cooked some dinner for when Abby arrived, and we enjoyed some grub and I gave her the painting she asked for. It's green. Nice.

On Saturday, my parents brought Ken and Chelle over for the weekend. We chatted for a bit before they split, and then we headed over to Acme to score some supplies for our Mexican Feast.

At Last by Etta James

After we got back to the apartment, the four of us housed a loaf of Italian bread and went to the Bourse where we saw Fran and he got us into see Juno. That movie was awesome. Ellen Page is one of my faovirte actresses these days. Following that, we headed back to 1719 and had an amazing Mexican meal. We're pretty legit like that. After our delicious meal, we popped in The Ringer, which Ken and Chelle got a kick out of. Megan and a very drunk Jena stopped by for a bit in the middle of that, and we all crashed after they left.

Let the Good Times Roll by Shirley & Lee

The next morning we had yet another fantastic meal (we do this a lot) of pancakes and eggs. We acted like total goofballs for awhile and I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures the sibs snapped as Abby and I made the nuthouse look sane. When we found out that our buffing plans fell through, we popped in Superbad. After that, Abby headed home and I took the sibs back to NJ.

As soon as we got in the car, both Ken and Chelle told me Abby was a keeper, and Chelle said that Abby and I remind her of Mom and Dad, which was interesting.

Sing, Sing, Sing by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra

When we got to NJ, Ken got down to business with his homework and Chelle and I hung with Mom and Dad for a bit. The whole time, Chelle was raving about how awesome Abby is and telling our parents all the same things she had said in the car. I'm glad they all got along, that was quite snazzy. I'm hoping to have the sibs over to hang more often, we all had a blast.

Next weekend, we're heading up to NYC for the day. We're going to drive into Brooklyn then take the sub all around and just do whatever we want. This is weather permitting, of course, as weather.com is calling for snow on Saturday. If we do make it up there, I hope to meet up with Jersey Jess at some point, since we haven't hung out since December of '03. That's just a bit ridiculous.

That'll be a lot of fun, and I'm also really looking forward to Valentine's Day. That shall be a snazzy day/weekend as well.

In less important news, school started and all of my classes have been pretty big let-downs, with the exception of one. But I just need to get motivated and get through this with some good grades and get closer to that degree.

Grazing in the Grass by Hugh Masekela

I'm hoping to have another party somewhat soon, maybe end of February or beginning of March. I'd like to try another Formal party, a whole cheese and wine type of deal.

Speaking of March, I'll be spending Spring Break with Courtney, and I get to add Ohio and Alabama to the list of states I've been to after this trip. I'm not sure what Courtney has in store for me once I get there, but I can't wait.

In other travel news, right after my last final Abby and I are off to Phoenix to hang with Josh and Taerra before Abby's internship in Germany begins. A month after that, I'm hoping to fly out to Germany and spend the week with her before Discovery Camp starts.

For Once In My Life by Harry Connick, Jr.

I haven't been to Europe since April of 2001, and I can't wait to get over there.

Life certainly has been increasing in snazziness over the past month. It's very different, but better than I could have ever imagined. I'm really looking forward to see what happens next. Good, good times.

Peace

-Pat 

Hello Diaryland
Mood:  lucky
Now Playing: Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen

Well, well, well. What a grand time it has been since my last entry here. I finished the semester, and with that finished a film and a script, both of which received A's. Most people who have seen the film really liked it, and some of the strange people I know actually enjoyed the script as well. I think both could use more work, but I look forward to finalizing them and working on new things. I actually may show this film a few places around the city as I am taking an Exhibition & Distribution course that I am quite excited and a little nervous about. But we'll see how it goes. I love doing this stuff, and I hope I find a decent job where I can make good money doing what I love.

 "The Passenger" by Iggy Pop

 In other news, I took the lovely and talented Miss Abby Weiss to the Franklin Institute Holiday Party. It was spectacular, spectacular, the words in a vernacular could not describe this great event, I was left dumb with wonderment. After having a splendid two days with Abby, and a few awesome encounters after that, we started going out on the 1st. I can't think of a better way to start of the year than that.

 Everything has been nothing short of amazing. I really feel like this is right, we go together well. It's actually a little scary how similar we are. But it's grand. I know that good things will come of this.

Prior to that, Courtney came up to visit! It was fantastic! I'm sure it would have been scrumtulescent had we not both been sick. But we still had a blast. Next time, we'll see more of the city and whatnot.

 "Baby elephant Walk" by Henry Mancini

But we still had a blast. We sang karaoke, ate cheesesteaks, watched awesome movies, danced a lot, had a slumber party, rang in the new year with Michael Goldman and Deb, and generally enjoyed each other's company. I'm looking forward to getting on that midnight train to Georgia for my Spring Break this year.

 In other travel news, after school is out the tentative plan is to take Abby out to Phoenix. Josh and Taerra have a new house that has a guest room complete with double doors. How cool is that? 

" What Is Life" by George Harrison

Quite cool. I love Arizona and can't wait to show Abby the Grand Canyon. Hopefully with the warmer weather we'll be able to climb about a bit more than last time.

Phoenix would be another city added to the list. On Wednesday, Abby took me to Washington D.C. and showed me around the city. I have to say, I fell in love with it. I've never really been off the beaten path there, and I really liked that city. I would love to move there, as it's a change of scenery, which I will need come next May, yet close enough to home if need be. And let the record show that Chipotle is amazing. 

After such a spectacular tour, I felt the need to return the favor. So, this Saturday, I showed Abby around the historical parts of Philly. We saw Christ Church, two old cemetaries, the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and Franklin Court. We also perused South Street and ate at Maoz, which was pretty cool. 

"New Sensation" by INXS

In a couple of weeks, we're going to hit up NYC. This will be my first time seeing the city outside of just Times Square. I'm excited. One of these days I want to get up there and rush a show.

Going back to D.C. for a moment, I've decided to follow the MLS this year and support DC United. The home opener is April 5th, I can't wait to be there in that crazy crowd wearing red and black and screaming my bloody head off. It seems like my kind of place.  

In other sports news, the Flyers are f'n awesome. They are kicking ass and taking names and I like it. And I decided today that I will root for the Packers to win the NFC Championship and the Superbowl. Just as long as those dirty, stinkin Patriots don't win. I'd also like to point out that TO crying made me very, very happy.

"Kokomo" by the Beach Boys

Ha! This song gets me back on the travel bug. We kept finding all these great deals to travel places, and I am all about taking advantage of them. Bermuda was one of them, hence the comic aspect of this song. Big ones for me are Spain, which Abby hasn't seen and I think she will love, and then places I haven't seen that she has such as Ireland, Germany, and the parts of England that are outside of Heathrow.

So, financial issues at work and school aside, life is good and getting better every day. On that note, I'm going to go take down my Christmas tree, which I have been putting off for quite awhile now.

Peace and Love!

~Pat :o) 

Long, Long Time
Mood:  not sure
Now Playing: Kokomo by the Beach Boys

First of all, I had no idea it had been so long since I updated! In my defense, a hell of a whole lot has happened in the interim. In an unrelated story, since my iPod is on shuffle, I will be keeping track as the song changes. Swell. Speaking of...

"Deb's Bitches" by Deb and Mark

Erm...no offense Deb, I'm skipping it.

 "Not Too Late" by Norah Jones

Now that's more like it. So then, where shall I begin?

I will begin with October of 2005. One Tuesday morning as I was about to hop in the car and drive to Rowan for classes, Mom comes up to me at breakfast and says "Pat White contacted me." I respond "Who?" Well, Pat White is what I can only describe as, for lack of a much worse term, my biological father. Let me clarify now that my Dad is MY DAD and NO ONE could ever even come close to holding a candle to him. But this guy who has not seen me since I was about 5 weeks old, decides to contact my family after 21 years. He claims, among other things, that he had been "searching" for me for "14 years." Horse shit. My Mom typed in her maiden name online and found our current address within 5 minutes. 

"Down on the Corner" by CCR

Anyway, I admit that I did have some questions for the guy, such as what nationality is the other half of me? Do I have more half-brothers and half-sisters out there? And, why ditch a perfectly good kid and 21 years later say "Hmm, maybe I should call?" Not that I had issues or anything (sarcasm). Well, I decided I would meet him when I was good and ready, and after Christmas. Because, you see, that summer we found out that my Granddad had cancer AGAIN. This is like the 3rd or 4th time. This time may be it. So I decide I'll meet the guy in a few months, and my Mom tells him that.

"Big Pimpin' (Unplugged)" Jay-Z and the Roots 

So he responds with threats and anger, including threatening to show up at our door on Christmas day. My inital response is to ask my parents for his address and punch that fucker in the face. How DARE he threaten my mother. NO ONE threatens my mother. We go to the local cops, who say they can't do anything. But I persisted, insisting that this guy has no right to contact me or my family at all and we got a restraining order keeping him from my parents' house and my mother. But I was angry. I can guarantee that most of you have never seen me this way, but I was furious. So I decide to meet the asshole face to face. We set up a meeting at the Cherry Hill mall in early December.

"Dear Mr. Fantasy" by Traffic

I love this song. Anywho, I meet the bastard, and listen to him lie and get random facts about me wrong. He gave me a gift. It was a wrestling DVD that he had already watched. Apparently it's good. I wouldn't know, it's been on my shelf ever since but I've never watched it. I find that he doesn't have any other kids, just step-kids. He brought his stepdaughter, although this was strictly supposed to be a one on one meeting. His stepdaughter had her toddler with her and they talked about me being "a part of the family" and all that horse shit. I ended up leaving without really getting angry, because as usual, I felt bad. I felt bad. What fucking reason do I have to feel bad? It took me two months of him emailing me after that to finally say "Never contact me again" and block him, and again, I felt bad. How in the hell is it fair that someone who fucked me over so bad can lay a guilt trip on me and it works? Fuck him. Thank God he ditched us because my Mom is amazing and my Dad is the best, and I'd be lost without them. I haven't heard from Mr. White since February of 2006, and I never got any of my questions answered either. It was all about him.

It felt good to get all of that out.

"What's Love Got To Do With It" by Tina Turner

So, as you can see with the last blog, things were looking good. I moved into North Philly with Deb and Meghan, who I was dating at the time. Around my birthday I started second-guessing the relationship with Meghan, which led to it's eventual end that summer. I wondered what would have happened if I asked Rachel out instead of Meghan the previous fall, and that's probably not the best thing to think about when you live with your girlfriend.

 After the musical, which was wonderful to be a part of, Dave moved in with us. He's a friend of Deb's who she met in Puerto Rico. Dave was a way cool roommate and it was cool having him around.

I'm pretty sure this was right before or during Dave's appearance, but 

"Jane Says" by Jane's Addiction

My Granddad died. It kind of felt like my entire world just collapsed. It's been well over a year and I still can't come to terms with it and I don't think I ever will. I was so messed up after this. I kind of retreated into myself, didn't want to talk about it, etc. Only once did I look for a shoulder to cry on, and that shoulder literally shrugged me off. I did a reading at the funeral and was a pallbearer. My God it was so hard to move that casket knowing that my Granddad was in there. I was so distraught over the whole thing and could not think straight or even maintain the few coherent thoughts I had. I was a total mess.  I just couldn't get it together and had no idea what to do.

"Deja Vu" by Peter Gunns & Lord Tariq

So two days after the funeral Meghan and I went out to dinner. Things had been pretty bad with us. We hardly even talked. Not a hostile thing, just ran out of things to talk about. It was actually scary. Six months before that I figured I was done with dating and this was it. Now I felt like I was living with a stranger. In April, I was at my parents' house for three weeks with some mystery illness that didn't let me move without having an asthma attack, which sucked. In that time, Meghan and I probably talked once or twice for all of ten minutes, which is mostly my fault.So we admit we need to talk, and we go out to this dinner. I was going to suggest not living together once the lease was up at the end of August, knowing we'd eventually break up. But I told Meghan to speak her piece first, and she ended up breaking up with me. I was cool with it. The first week or so was great. We actually went back to the way we were before we were together. But then, something just clicked for me and I was just mad. I thought "How could someone I am that close to break up with me two days after my Granddad's funeral?" It bothered me for a long time. I put it behind me. But in that time that it bothered me, I made some horrible decisions.

"Hold Up" by Girl Talk

First of all, there was the first week of July 2006. I drank excessively, and it's actually scary to look back on it. On the 3rd I went to AC with Megan G, Robyn, Kristen, and Nicole. I got so drunk that the next day at work I passed out in an exhibit. A visitor walking by woke me up and I claimed I was taking my break there (it was in the animation exhibit, actually a pretty good cover up). But apparently that wasn't enough because at a party in South Jersey that night I drank a quarter keg and a six pack in an hour and a half. I continued drinking mixed drinks and probably eventually straight liquor for several hours.

"Faith" by George Michael

At some point, barely able to stand, I made my way up the stairs to the bathroom. I got sick, and got scared because blood and black, skin-looking stuff was coming up. I found out the next day after searching online that I probably vomitted part of my stomach lining and damaged my esophagus.Still, I didn't stop. Two days later I came home from work and made a double margarita as a chaser as I drank 1/3 of a bottle of tequila.

"Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica

Amidst this nonsense which is basically alcoholism, I started dating the first girl who showed interest in me. She was the antithesis of everything that I am. Dull, mean, not funny, leaning to the right, and definitely some racism going on there. I did, however, realize that I needed to stop drinking, and I did. Soon after that, I started at Temple, having had left Rowan the previous December.

I started as a Film and Media Arts major at Temple. I did well in my first hands-on film class, but was quite cavalier with attendance (a problem I'm still working on). Finally, after a racist remark and bitchy actions I hadn't dealt with since the 9th grade, I broke up with the rebound girl and resolved to get my act together. If anyone is actually reading this and got this far, I apologize for being Debbie Downer. Good things are about to happen so thanks for caring and reading this far.

Christmas was wonderful, as usual. I had moved into my Granddad's house in August and held my annual Christmas party there. Only Meghan showed up. A little awkward, but very helpful. Any resentment I may have had been holding onto was gone after watching the Muppet Christmas Carol. Love that movie. While I feel bad for how things fizzled out, I'm glad Meghan and I are friends and that's how we should've stayed in the first place. Live and learn, right?

"More Human Than Human" by White Zombie

So after a wonderful Christmas I went on a trip. I met up with Courtney at the Nashville airport and from there we flew out to Phoenix to see Josh. Josh showed us all around Phoenix, brought us to the Grand Canyon, introduced us to his awesome family and cool friends, and we had a blast! We also drove to LA, stuck our feet in the Pacific Ocean, went to the Disney Studios, toured the archives with the head of the archives, and went to Disneyland. It was a fantastic time and I can't wait to do it again.

I can't remember anything spectacular between then and March, when I turned 23. (Except for hanging with Dan, Joe, and Jeff a lot, which was awesome) (oh, and I went to VA and the week before that got electrocuted. it was cool) I kind of freaked out knowing that my Dad was 23 when he met my Mom and my Mom was 22 when they got married. Here I was, single, living alone, and not even able to think of someone I could date, let alone marry lol

"Bad Jokes" by John C. Reilly & Woody Harrelson

So I had a birthday party for me at my Granddad's house. Dan, Joe, Barb, Megan F, and Ryan all showed up. The highlight, however, was that Suz was there. I love that no matter how long Suz and I go without hanging out or chatting that we can pick right up. I really appreciated that she made the effort to come out to NE Philly. Later in the night, Barb, Megan, and I had a long, tearful chat about cancer and losing family and such, which brought us all pretty close.

With summer approaching, it was almost time for Discovery Camp, but before that started, we had a sort of impromptu CP reunion which truly was an amazing time and really changed things for me. Gotta love those CP kids :-)

"I Don't Wanna Grow Up" by Tom Waits

Courtney was coming up to visit with Becca in West Chester. I hadn't seen Courtney since my going away party in Florida, and hadn't seen Becca since December of 2005. I expected that they would come into Philly, we'd hang out for a few hours, get a cheesesteak, and that would be it. But as soon as I saw them in the train station I knew that was not how it was going to go down. We walked forever that day, went to the Franklin Institute and the Art Museum and I showed them my cool little spot behind the Art Museum on the river. We rode the subway and went to Pat's for Courtney's first cheesesteak. She loved it.

"Don't Bring Me Down" by ELO

We had a blast! We hung at my apartment, went to South St. and got rained on, it was fantastic. Oh, and in May I moved to South Philly with coworkers Megan F and Alyssa. More on that later. Basically, we had a wonderful time and I decided to skip out on two days of work to hang out with them in West Chester. We also contacted Jim to see if he could make it.

And, in fact, he did. He showed up at my apartment around 2am, and after looking at photos and reminiscing about our wild parties and crazy antics, we crashed. The next day, we went up to West Chester to meet up with Courtney, Becca, and Becca's friend Abby. We had some fun in a park in WC, and after Abby joined us, met up with some of Becca's friends in New Hope. We hit up a bar that had karaoke, and Courtney and I did so well with "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" that we got free beer and quite the ovation. Becca and Jim also tore it up with their version of "Starlight."

"Learning To Fly" by Pink Floyd

We all had a blast. The next morning, we groggily made our way from Doylestown to a Flea Market, and then hung out at the Burrow residence for awhile. We eventually said our goodbyes with promises of hanging out more often. Becca told me I'm not allowed to fall out of touch this time. I haven't, for the record. It was amazing seeing Courtney, Becca, and Jim after being apart for so long. And it was quite cool meeting Abby as well.

Now, unfortunately, another downer. As I was packing up to move out of my Granddad's house, which broke my heart to leave, my Mom called. My Grandpop had been dealing with melanoma for years, and it was never a big problem. But it had spread, and the doctors gave him a year. I literally collapsed. I laid in the middle of the living room floor just staring at the wall for over an hour.

"Fool in the Rain" by Led Zeppelin

But after that, I stood up and made a promise to myself. I still haven't forgiven myself for not seeing my Granddad in the time between Christmas and his death. It's unexcusable. I resolved to spend as much time with my Grandpop as possible. Over the end of Spring and beginning of Summer, I'd call a lot, just to chat, see what was going on. We talked about what movies we should see when he got up to my parents' house, and how we'd go buffin and he could see the Girard Ave trolleys running again. My favorite phone conversation was when I called him after my Photo exam, letting him know that I got a 100 because I remembered what he taught me when he first gave me his camera. He was so glad he was able to help me and so proud of me for doing well.

Towards the end of Spring, my Grandmom and Grandpop moved into my parents' house from Florida. They would stay there until the addition they were having put on my uncle's house was done. I went over as much as possible to hang out, and things were good. I also flew to Florida with my Uncle Matt and Uncle Warren to pack up a truck with my grandparents' stuff and drive it back.

After that trip, Disco Camp started.

"Doin It" by LL Cool J

Disco Camp, for those who don't know, is short for Discovery Camp, the museum's day camp. It was my first year as a counselor and the last part of my department I hadn't worked in. It was a blast. The staff was great, and the kids were hysterical. In the movie Knocked Up, Paul Rudd's character says to Seth Rogen's character "My kids go apeshit over bubbles. I wished I loved anything as much as they love bubbles." I thought about that all the time because these kids were just so happy. They loved the museum, the counselors, the experiements, everything. I feel like we all fed off of their energy and it improved our work ethic. Some of the kids are there for the entire summer, and I admit that I would give them preferential treatment at times. I felt bad, they spend their entire summer in a classroom environment, often having to do the same projects over and over. So I would occassionally go out of my way to make sure they weren't bored and were still having fun as the summer wore on. I think that Disco Camp is about even with Camp-In as my favorite job in the museum.

"Veronica" by Elvis Costello

On July 6, 2007 at 7am, I was about to go to work when I got a phone call from my Dad. He told me that Grandpop was not doing well at all and I should come home immediately. Luckily, I had borrowed my Mom's car for the week. I freaked out. I paced back and forth from my room to my living room for about 15 minutes wondering what the hell to do. I tried calling Fran to let him know but couldn't get through. I eventually got in the car, and flew over to my parents' house. I have no idea how, but I got there in less than half an hour when it usually takes 45 minutes. All day, all six of my aunts and uncles and my cousins were at the house. It was so awkward and sad and just terrible.

"All These Things That I Have Done" by the Killers

The hospice nurse said that the other nurse may have been wrong, and that everyone could go home. Before going to sleep, I went up to my Grandpop, told him I loved him, and that I would see him tomorrow. After a few hours, I finally managed to fall asleep on the couch. I woke up to my Grandmom's voice. She was on the phone. I knew right then that he had died. She had called my Aunt Cathy and Uncle John's house, and my cousin Joe answered. He knew by the time of night that the call came in what had happened and he was distraught. What woke me up was my Grandmom crying out "oh no, Joe" and crying. It was so surreal and heartbreaking to run into my old room and see my Grandpop there in my old bed, and knowing that he wouldn't wake up. I still can't believe it. I still go to my phone to call him to ask about photography, or tell him about some train or bus story, and then remember that he's not here anymore. It's so hard.

"Your Time Is Gonna Come" by Led Zeppelin

I was a pallbearer again. And again, it was so sad to know what I was carrying. I was a mess at the funeral and I took a week off from work because I just couldn't pull it together. I remember last summer finding solace in the fact that even though my Dad lost his Dad, that my Grandpop would be around to help him through it. But after all my family had been through, there we were again. I still can not believe that my Granddad and my Grandpop aren't here. I always said I didn't know what I'd do if I lost my grandparents, but I never thought it would be this bad.

"Casey Jones" by the Grateful Dead

Again, sorry about all the downers. But thank god for my friends. This year, I knew I couldn't handle it on my own. I turned to them and they were such a great help in their own way. I can't imagine how Barb and Bill must feel, having lost one or both parents recently, and my heart goes out to them. I hope I can help them as much as everyone has helped me.

Although things around the apartment haven't going so well since then, everything else has. Alyssa and I get along great, and it's awesome to know that I have someone to live with. Megan doesn't really speak to us that much, and she's rarely here. I wonder if she'll even stay throughout the duration of the lease. In any case, sometime by April, we're going to need a new third roommate.

In other news, as I mentioned above, I stayed in touch with Becca.

"Rich Girl" by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

It's been awesome. I joined Philly Car Share, and my first time with the Prius hybrid, I drove up to West Chester to spend a few hours with B~Styles. A few weeks ago, she came up to visit me. we hung out in town and at my place. Then, I went back down to the Dub-C last weekend for her birthday bash, which was a blast. On an unrelated note, that was a really short song.

"Jungle Boogie" by Kool and the Gang

Funky. So Becca's party was awesome. Got to hang out with Abby again, and I must say, she's awesome. The girl is funny, likes margaritas, has a good taste in music, watches football AND soccer, and is pretty easy on the eyes to cap it all off.

As for other cool things this summer:
-Went to AC with Megan G and Jena
-Took Grandmom to see Wicked
-Went to VA with Uncle Matt and crew
-Went to Busch Gardens and Water Country
-Saw DMB with Jeff, Linda, and other cool VA kids
-Cool VA kids visited Philly
-XPN festival with Dad, Deb, Candy, Jess, A-Train, Nate, Cody, and others

"Point Breeze" by Marah

So if anyone actually read this entire thing, I will cook you a nice pasta dinner. Love you all

-Pat

There's no business like...
Mood:  energetic
Now Playing: Authority Song by Jimmy Eat World
I must say, I haven't had this much fun in quite some time. Mrs. Crowe (a.k.a. Guido) called and asked Deb and I to help out with stage crew for the musical. It's wonderful. It's so hard not being out there performing but still being that close.

The cast is wonderful. They get so much better every night that I know they'll blow me away by closing night. I've really enjoyed working with them these past few nights.

After doing all this, it makes me really want to get involved with theater again. Maybe I'll try and squeeze in an acting class or two while at Temple. I want to be in a musical again.

Well, if anyone still reads this, come see Beauty and the Beast at AP!

Peace

ello
Now Playing: Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley
Been a long time...

I forgot I had this until Heather mentioned it, which is snazzy just in the fact that I haven't heard from Heather in forever. Gotta love reconnecting with the Disney crew. Ah...Florida...

So we all said goodbye to Smurf on Saturday. I'm not sure why she enlisted in the Army, but I hope she doesn't get called over to Iraq and if she does I hope she stays safe. It was sad saying goodbye, especially since I haven't been spending anywhere close to enough time with her and Rachael. During the party, Rachael, Eric Enderle, Matt Witzel, and I all went to Montgomery Park. That was old school. We are all very easily amused lol

I have an ipod now. It's so handy.

This apartment is a nightmare! It's basically been unliveable for a month and a half now with all the construction going on downstairs and up here, and now because they fucked up our electricity (no lights since last Friday) and there's a huge mouse problem. We're thinking about withholding rent because this shit is ridiculous. I can't wait to move into a new place in August.

I got accepted to Temple as a Film and Media Arts major which is wonderful. I'm looking forward to being back in school, this semester off has sucked.

I love this song.

Well, I'm off to bed. I work tomorrow and I am beat. Perhaps I'll update this more often.

Peace

Splendid
Mood:  cool
Now Playing: Killing Me Softly as covered by the Fugees
So yeah, Meghan and I are back together. Sucka.

We went to Joclyn's last night, it was a blast. They moved karaoke to Sunday nights, which is when Meghan's coworkers all go. So we hung out with them, and they are some cool people, and sang some tunes. Team Cool tore it up singing "Picture" by Kid Rock & Sheryl Crow. Then it was Meghan featuring Pat on the Fugees' version of "Killing Me Softly." I said "one time" and "two times, two times." It was awesome. So now, a list.

SONGS I'VE SANG AT KARAOKE

"I'll Be There" with Mare
"You're The One That I Want" with Suz & Jenwerts
"Crash Into Me" with Eric in the most horrible travesty done to music in its history
"What I Got"
"Cruisin" with Meghan
"Livin On A Prayer" with Jake, Jesse, Steve, Adam, and probably more people
"Friends In Low Places" with Meghan, Steve, and basically the entire bar
"Picture" with Meghan
"Killing Me Softly" with Meghan

So far, my favorites are "Killing Me Softly" and "Friends In Low Places." That was a blast.

It was a good weekend all around. Eagles win, Nittany Lions win, Flyers win, everybody wins! WHOO!

We had Camp-In training this weekend as well which is always insanely fun.

I have slept 12 out of the last 72 hours. One of those hours was definitely smack in the middle of my second class today. I was so out of it, I'm not sure if I slept through the whole class, or dozed between two classes (they're in the same room) and woke up thinking it was the end of class and not the beginning. I'm not sure. Either way, I'm going to apologize to the prof, because I really enjoy that class.

Ha, last night was badass. After work, I got Meghan and then Heather, and we went to the bar. Closed it down, then went to Tom Jones. I dropped them both off, then came home, got a shower, ate breakfast and went to class. This shit is bananas.

Rule.

Colorgenics strikes again
Now Playing: Somebody Told Me by the Killers
You are longing for some love and affection at this time - not that you have been deprived of tender loving care - but there are times when everyone needs to try something new or to go 'somewhere' else to perhaps experience that little extra 'understanding'.

The way things are you are under considerable stress and you feel that there is little hope of matters righting themselves. Everyone about you seems to aggravate the problem even more. You feel that at this time you need to be alone and you are right - move back and give yourself a chance to breathe.

You are not an argumentative sort of person and 'rather than fight - you'd switch' (an old cigarette ad cliche). But when you try to assert yourself - as sometimes you may try to do - you meet with so much resistance and effrontery that manifests itself so obviously that you become hurt, indignant and resentful. So in order to have peace and quiet you tend to become inhibited. You keep it all to yourself but deep down, you 'feel' and 'hurt' a lot.

You pretend that you are a carefree individual and that nothing really bothers you - that you are so self-sufficient that whatever problems beset you they simply flow off you as water flows off a ducks back. You are experiencing considerable stress, trying to conceal yourself from the rest of the world. In actual fact - deep down, you are not at all happy. You feel lonely and you need someone with whom you can 'Let your hair down' and share your hopes, dreams and high standards. You are imposing unnecessary self restraint on yourself. You would like to demonstrate the unique quality of your character to all and sundry.

Sometimes one fears that its not worth formulating new ideas and projects because whatever you seem to have done in the past has never worked out and you are tired of, as they say, banging your head against a brick wall. No one seems to care. So now you are trying to get away from it all by withdrawing into a 'fantasy land' but unfortunately 'fantasy land' is just that and sooner or later you will have to return to reality so why delay the inevitable? When you do return, you will find that the situation is not as tough as perhaps you thought it was.

i listen to this song a lot
Mood:  not sure
Now Playing: You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
sometimes i think there must be a god because i am truly blessed to have the friends i do, either that or i'm just very lucky to be surrounded by these amazing people during these unlucky times, either way, thank you

a mess a mess a big mess
Mood:  blue
Now Playing: You've Got To Hide Your Love Away covered by Eddie Vedder
So...a lot of shit's goin on these days, and to make a long story short I'm a wreck because I got too many emotions goin on at once. I sound like a freakin girl for saying that and I hate that I'm writing it here but it feels like no one wants to talk about it so this seems to be the only way to let people know what's going on.

I've mentioned that my Granddad has cancer. Apparently it's a lot worse than anyone originally thought, and I feel like each day's news contradicts the day before but the one consistency is that things seem to be worsening. Yesterday my parents were talking about his "wishes," you know, like final wishes and shit. My Dad, my uncles, and my Granddad planted two trees in a park yesterday where he's going to spread his ashes. Stuff like that, it gives me the chills thinking about it.

Also yesterday, I saw my cousin Jackie and my Aunt Amy. I've missed the hell out of them, I haven't seen or talked to them in 2 years because of some stupid family shit. It was wonderful to see them again, and I now that I have their contact info I'm looking forward to spending more time with them. I'm trying to get up to Dorney Park this week or next to hang out with Jackie. I also wanna get to a movie at the Ritz, I just found out Fran works there.

Before I knew about all of this, my mind was consumed with girls of course. So after everything came up, I feel guilty for even worrying about my personal life when all these other things are going on, yet I still feel it would be nice to have someone there for me through this time.

So basically, the sadness, guilt, longing, and happiness that have been going on are messing me up, mostly the sadness I guess. I do my best not to show it in front of anyone, because as hard as it might be for me, it's even harder for my parents, especially my Dad. So yeah, everything's a mess right now.

So there's that. And here's things that need to happen soon. A movie at the Ritz (with dinner at Lamberti's - hooray for being classy!), Dorney Park, and more hanging out in general.

Saw Mare, Jen, Ray, Mrs. Mulato and the Barbines recently, and that was awesome. Saw Laura that night too, and a shitload of AP people. Good times.

Anyway, as for stuff to do. I really wanna go to the Ritz this week, like Wednesday or Thursday night. The movies are great, I haven't seen a bad one there yet. I wanna see Crash before it leaves theatres. And Lamberti's, or whatever it's called now, has wonderful food and it's right there. So let's do this. Please.

As for Dorney, I wanna drive up to Allentown, get Jackie, and go over there one afternoon next week. It'll be fun.

If I haven't told you about the Great Music Exchange, it's awesome. Make a mix, and send it to someone. Theme it or just put a bunch of stuff they might've not heard on it. It's a great deal. I've gotten some awesome mixes since we started last month, and I can honestly say the last mixtape I made is the best one I've ever done. So get on that.

blah blah blah
Now Playing: You've Got To Hide Your Love Away covered by Pearl Jam
well shit. i feel old, i cant think of any other way to put it. just stressed out a bit i suppose.

i am very glad i'm home right now.

i start work tomorrow, i'm kinda looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. i'm mainly just hoping i dont screw up lol, i'm not sure what i remember.

i wanna do something this weekend, those few nights going out with the crew were awesome, i could use some more of that.

oh, and conservatives are absolutely ridiculous, at the risk of overusing the word "ridiculous."

i need white ladders by david gray, i think that's the album's name.