I <3 Sam

At least my quarterback has class.


(And he doesn't look like a dinosaur.)

FREEDOM!

I'm about 40 minutes away from Christmas vacation. I do have to work from home on Monday/Tuesday, but it's a little different when I'm in the comforts of my mom's house instead of in the office. I don't really have time for a thought-provoking insightful post, so here's more linkage and video!

OU people, if you haven't seen this yet... Well, there are no words really.





And I'm in love with this guy:

Gabriella Van der Vyer

Some really fun things have happened in the last 24 hours, y'all.

Let's begin with the scene I caused in the middle of our Christmas party last night. Even though I had it set to be recorded, I really wanted to see the announcement of the Heisman winner live. So we paused our revelries to watch the last 10 minutes, and boy was it worth it. We're all in silence as the envelope is opened, followed by a lot of screams and cheers coming from yours truly after the name Sam Bradford was announced. Everyone kind of stared at me like I had gone crazy, but I wasn't worried.

There aren't a whole lot of details to share about the party otherwise. I mean, it was full of baked goods, wine and champagne, and "put your chin on the table." Yeah, that about sums it up. We might have even watched part of Elf sometime in there.

Today was Christmas shopping day with Justin and Jericho. We met up this afternoon in Chinatown and set off on a knock-off expedition. Sadly, their 9-room purse emporium had been shut down since last weekend (oopsy!), so we had to settle for following enthusiastic salesmen/women into nondescript storefronts. The decision had been made well in advance that we were absolutely not climbing into any vans.

With a little background knowlege on good fakes and a lot of bargaining skills, we ended up hitting the jackpot. I got a very good-looking Chanel 2.55 bag that I will proudly be rocking this holiday. Hmm, I probably shouldn't have announced that it's fake on the internet. Oh well, I'm not concerned. I really wanted to find some black Ray-Ban Wayfarers, but I had no luck there. I even busted out a photo of Rob Pattinson at the MTV Movie Awards on my phone to show the salespeople.

Speaking of RPattz, there was another great purchase I made in Chinatown: High School Musical 3, Australia, oh and TWILIGHT on DVD. Too bad it won't let me fast forward, because if so I'd be watching the baseball scene over and over and over again. And that part where he's rocking the Wayfarers in the parking lot. But I digress...

Our next adventure took us beyond Chinatown down to the Young Designers Showcase in SoHo. This is basically a bunch of trunk shows piled into one gymnasium-style room. The talent in this place was sensational, and they made everything from hand-stitched pillows to crazy "Project Runway" style fashion to the most gorgeous jewelry I've ever seen to really random crap. I picked up a few Christmas gifts, along with a great hat/headband type thing for myself that I simply fell in love with and could not pass up.

Around this point in time is when Justin and Jericho revealed to me that they (along with our friend Christa) had decided yesterday that we needed alter egos. These characters are the much wealthier, highly entitled and somewhat snooty versions of ourselves that can be implemented when shopping at high-end realtors. (Or whenever the mood strikes, really.) Their names are Kennedy Vaughn, Duncan McDougal and Anastasia Beaverhausen - yes, it is a Will & Grace reference. Now, my first name was chosen for me during an earlier discussion from which I was absent. They picked Gabriella because, "It just sounds bad ass. It suits you." After a little research and brainstorming, Gabriella No-Last-Name became Gabriella Van der Vyer. I know, you're jealous of how awesome we are.

So Kennedy, Duncan, Gabriella and our friend who doesn't have an alter ego then went for dinner at Little Italy. And by dinner, I of course mean some random pasta dish and lots of sangria. Gotta go big or go home.

There was one final stop on this holiday express, and that was the Union Square Holiday Market, which is basically tents set up around the square where they sell all kinds of crazy crap. Some of it is quite strange, and some of it is straight up awesome. Since we had already done considerable damage to our pocketbooks at this point, we didn't spend quite as much time here, but it was still a lot of fun to peruse.

Now I'm kicked back, blogging, Facebooking and watching Twilight in the comfort of my apartment that happens to smell like Henri Bendel's "Holiday" and "Winter Spruce" candles, aka the best scents in the world. I'm also fantasizing about the fact that only four days of work stand between me and kicking off my winter holiday.

OMFG.

Y'all, this is serious. OU's going to the 'ship.

Tonight, as usual, I watched the game at the OU Club's designated bar, The Press Box. Lauren and I met up super early to guarantee that we would have a table upstairs for the Big XII Championship.

That game was mind-blowing. OU is officially the first team in NCAA history to score 60+ points in five straight games. Suck on that, Texas.

The energy in the place was great. I think my favorite part was the two guys who were battling it out over which one got to yell "BOOMER" first after we scored.

No, no... wait. The best part was, toward the end when "Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner" was followed by "Florida Sucks."

Now for Saturday, let's hope the voters pull through for Sammy B. And then it's off to party in the city where the heat is on. Boomer Sooner, everybody.

Boomer Effin' Sooner

As if the amazing win over Texas Tech wasn't enough, my football watching experience was made complete by the following event:

My friend Lauren and I met up at the Press Box, where the OU Club of NY gathers to watch Sooner football games. This just so happened to be the biggest game of the year, so the fans were out in full force. The game was the sole focus of everyone's attention, except for one guy.

He decided that he would like to further entertain the crowd and took it upon himself to break into song. We discovered this when we hear a drunken refrain of Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up" being belted from the group down the bar from us.

Unfortunately, the bartender was no fan. (He was also a fun-hater, but that's another story.) He informs our little virtuoso that "You can audition for American Idol down the street," but that he had to stop singing there.

The singer was classy enough to cut it off there rather than causing an altercation, but once the bartender had meandered on, he shared his thoughts with his friends, and everyone else within earshot. His opinion? "He's a ho-mo. He's doing homo things. All I'm saying is that's a great song."

Fantastic. Nearly as fantastic as the final score: 65-21.

Oh, and apparently I'm heartless. Not content to simply beat Tech, we needed to demolish and embarrass them. I think I caught Lauren's friend who met up with us off-guard when I announced that "I want to see a child cry." Oops. I mean, OU fans go big or go home, right?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also, on an unrelated note:

BEAT SAXET.

You know what time it is, right? It's time for OU students to make the Southbound 35 trip to Dallas to see the Sooners "beat the hell outta" texas. Unfortunately, it's not that easy to get there from NYC, so I'll be rooting from here. I'm just a little sad to miss out on the the shopping, the West End craziness, a first-hand view of the game, and all of the "What happens at OU/tx..." moments, but I'll survive.

However, I do need to throw my 2 cents into the trash-talking, so here are some jokes for you Sooner fans:

A guy in a bar leans over to the guy next to him and says, "Wanna hear a good Texas joke?"

The guy next to him replies, "Well before you tell that joke, you should know something. I'm 6' tall, 200 lbs., and I am a Texas grad. The guy sitting next to me is 6' 2" tall, weighs 225, and he's a Texas grad. And the fella next to him is 6' 5" tall, weighs 250, and he's a Texas grad. Now, you still wanna tell that joke?"

The first guy says, "No, not if I'm gonna have to explain it three times."

Q: What do you call a good looking girl on the University of Texas campus?

A: A visitor.

Q: How many Texas fans does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: One, but he gets 3 credits.

It was reported that Texas head football coach Mack Brown will only be dressing twenty players for the Oklahoma game. The rest of the players will have to get dressed by themselves.

Four college alumni were climbing a mountain one day: a Texas, an Oklahoma grad, a Florida grad, and a Notre Dame grad. Each proclaimed to be the most loyal of all fans at their alma mater.

As they climbed higher, they argued as to which one of them was the most loyal of all. They argued all the way up the mountain, and when they reached the top, the Notre Dame grad hurled himself off the mountain, shouting "This is for the Fighting Irish!" as he fell to his doom.

Not wanting to be out done, the Florida grad threw himself off the mountain proclaiming, "This is for the Gators!"

Seeing this, the Oklahoma grad walked over and shouted "This is for the Sooners!" and pushed the Longhorns fan off the side of the mountain.

Q: What's the only sign of intelligent life in Austin?

A: Norman: 370 Miles

One day in an elementary school in Austin, TX, a teacher asks her class if the Texas Longhorns are their favorite football team. The whole class says yes, except for Little Jimmy.

The teacher asks, "What's your favorite football team, Jimmy?" Little Jimmy says, "The Oklahoma Sooners."

The teacher asks, "Well, why is that?" Little Jimmy says, "Well, my dad is a Sooner fan, my mom is a Sooner fan, I guess that makes me a Sooner fan."

The teacher angered by his reply says, "If your dad was a moron and your mom was an idiot what would that make you?" Little Jimmy says, "Well, I guess that would make me a Texas fan."

All the city streets a wondrous chorus singing...

The green autumnal parks conducting
All the city streets a wondrous chorus singing
All these poses oh how can you blame me
Life is a game and true love is a trophy
-- Rufus Wainwright, Poses

Yesterday, as I was walking home, a beautifully brown leaf drifted its way down from the branch of a small tree lining 86th street and onto the fringe of my jauntily-draped tartan scarf. For me, that means Autumn is officially here in NYC. As if the quickly declining temperatures, mannequins decked in layer upon layer, and Pumpkin Spice lattes at Starbucks didn't give you the clue already.

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms."
-- Joe Fox, You've Got Mail

However, unlike Mr. Fox in You've Got Mail, school supplies are the last thing I want to think of in conjunction with this fabulous season. It makes me itch to leave the office, which is probably a good thing for my productivity. Pauses for blogging aside, I'm being ultra-efficient so I can get out of here as quickly as possible each day and go experience my favorite city in one of my favorite months. (There's a tie between October and April, if you must know.)

I know I'm about a week behind, but here's a few tidbits and anecdotes regarding the way my October has blown in:

• It seems that Christmas comes earlier and earlier each year. Of course, I'm never one to be left behind the times, so I've made my early yuletide contribution by starting my Christmas wish list. But more about that later.
• I will divulge one thing on that list - something I'm taunted with by the likes of Bloomie's and Bendel's. I love scarves. And hats. But mostly scarves. There are so many lovely ones my shopaholic heart is lusting after. (Mother, you'll be proud to know I gave in only in the form of a $5 scarf from a street fair, even though the $170 DVF ones were calling my name.) So, there's one item on my wish list: a fancy scarf (admittedly, I don't need one quite that expensive).
• The reason I'm even in the neighborhood to be tempted and teased so regularly by my favorite retail sandtraps is that I've basically been living at the Apple Store on 5th. Poor LaMaque (my MacBook) is feeling slightly under-the-weather - it is fall, after all - and I've had to make multiple trips to get him back on the up-and-up. He'll be good as new soon, though!
  
• Speaking of LaMaque, there's a funny story about how his name came to be. Let me know if you're interested. It reveals too much of my nerdiness to warrant posting here.
• The crazies come out in October, apparently. The other day, as I was walking down the block, a pack of teenage boys ran past me dressed in frog costumes and afro wigs. What?
• It's OU/tx week, y'all. Though I am a native Texan, I absolutely abhor the burnt orange travesty of a university that is home to the longhorns. Though I'm sad to miss out on the West End/Fair Park festivities this year, the rivalry is alive at the office. I decorated the desk of a UT-grad coworker today, and sent her a lovely little ditty.
• My friend Flavia and I went to Forbidden Broadway this weekend. I'm so glad I got to see the last reincarnation of this silly Off-Broadway show. I particularly loved the jab at In the Heights that reminded me of "Camp" and this diminutive diva's spoof of Kristen Chenoweth's "Glitter and Be Gay." Genius. And I got all the jokes - am I part of the theater cognoscenti now? Does that mean I should start spelling it "theatre"?
• I had a conversation on the Subway today with one of those wacky protester types. You know, the ones who stand around selling political buttons and toss out words like "jingoistic"?
• Why is it that everyone at work thinks I'm blonde? And I don't mean because of the way I act/talk. No blonde jokes in there at all. My hair is red, people. On the blonde spectrum, it's strawberry at the most. At least my handsome stranger complimented my RED hair the other day.
  
• Finally, in the everyday and mundane category, I'm a big-time media consumer lately.
  

Books: I'm rereading Velvet Elvis, by Rob Bell, which I recommend highly. This is the 4th time I've read it. I'm also very into the Tales of the City series, by Armistead Maupin. I also read at least a chapter of the Book of Job each night. It's my favorite.

Music: It's old, but you have to listen to Corrine Bailey Rae. Especially "Choux Pastry Heart" and "Three Little Birds". Another song I can't get out of my head is "I'd Rather Be Sailing/Set Those Sails," a beautiful duet from "Make Me A Song." And of course, I'm still on my MGMT kick.

TV: As much as I didn't want to do it, I've once again joined the ranks of people who schedule their evenings based on what's on TV. I think it's part of being a "grown up" in the "real world". Ha. Anyway, I'm a regular viewer of Gossip Girl, Pushing Daisies, Ugly Betty and Private Practice. Sorry to say, but Grey's jumped the shark. I'm over it.

Movies: Like I can afford $12 for a ticket? Well, maybe I can, but I'd rather spend that money on live theatre. (See what I mean about the spelling. So much classier.)


Ok folks, that's all I have for now. Vast improvement over my last few posts, no? I'm balancing this whole city love/no love for my job thing. More updates to come.

I couldn't adequately express it in my current state of mind.

After a great weekend...
I'm back on an island far-far away.

Why didn't someone nail my feet to the ground?

Just the facts, people.

Today, I'm not a fan of:

1. Running late (okay, later than usual) for work. Not that I have a set time to be in the office anyway.
2. Having 525,600 things on my to-do list. That have to be finished today.
3. My massive headache.
   
4. Being at the office until God-knows-when.
   
5. The fact that I have nearly finished the book I checked out on Saturday, and I don't have time to go to the library tonight.
6. Being freezing when I'm in the shade, but hot in the sun. Pick a temperature, NYC!
7. My chipped nail polish.
   

However, I do like:

1. Being less than 24 hours from Norman.
2. MGMT and Rufus Wainwright on my iPod.
3. My sassy shoes.
4. Cupcakes from "Burgers and Cupcakes"
5. Being engrossed in the world of Michael Tolliver and company (of course the gay man is my favorite character).
6. Having everything packed and ready to go to Home Sweet 'Homa.
7. The potential of getting a manicure tonight. If I get back to my 'hood before midnight.

If I ever get back to Oklahoma...

... gonna nail my feet to the ground."
- Jason Boland

I'm officially one week away from being back in Norman. I'll be there from Thursday to Monday, and I just cannot wait to see all of my Okie loves. My biggest plans are just to see all of the wonderful people I miss, but there are a few things I'm looking forward to while I'm in town:

1. OU football. I mean, hello, a-duh. My wonderful twin is selling me her ticket! My only complaint is how much the face value has jumped since last year. Ridic.
2. The Mont. Equally obvi. Sooner Swirls and a select number of shots are the only thing allowed. I’m pretty sure I’m not drinking again until I get to Norman in anticipation of being reunited with the most magical place on earth. (This statement might be revoked, depending on the stress/celebration level after 1DL this Friday.)
   
3. Phi Lamb chapter. I can’t remember what chapter is like not as an officer. And I want to see this next set of lovely ladies do me proud. (Plus there are 2 particular new Lambs I'm excited to meet, for reasons I cannot reveal on the blog just yet.)
4. The Phi Delt house. Sorry for partyin’, and for being old balls, but it’s just too intrinsic a part of my past four years to forsake it on a return trip. Besides, I still have a toothbrush in Ross’ room.
5. Campus Corner. Like I really need more temptation to spend money than I get on a regular basis up here, I know. But nowhere has earrings quite like Antique Garden.
6. Driving. Dudes, I don’t even own a car anymore. How SAD is that. However, I’m still insured. Who wants to let me behind their steering wheel? Please, pretty please?
7. The local food. I’ll just list off a few places, and we can take it from there: Café Plaid, Raising Cane’s, BJs, Ted’s, Mr. Goodcents, Eskimo Sno, Classics.
   
8. The North Oval. This is my favorite place on all of campus. I miss walking across it on sunny, lazy Friday afternoons after choir. You know what I’m thinking? A picnic at the Spoonholder sounds like a wonderful plan.
9. Good old fashioned Southern hospitality. And normalcy. Don’t get me wrong, I love the weirdness of NYC and (especially in my neighborhood) people are actually quite courteous, but there’s just a different brand of “nice” in Oklahoma.
10. My people. You know who you are. Whether it's PLBD, Plastics, Spice-Up-Your-Life, or various other biffels, I'm so excited to see you. (And I'm totally stopping by PSS and Student Life, because I just can't stay away.)
    

That's all I've got for now, people. You should be so proud, too, a post a day for the past few days. Even I'm impressed.

Growing pains.

I'm writing this from a Starbucks on the Florida State University campus, where I'm camped out with my work laptop, a teeny tiny bottle of water, and mountains of files. It's an interesting and welcome change of pace from the streets of New York, that's for sure.

It's nice to be in the South - familiar restaurants on the side of the road, Southern accents (okay, not precisely like mine, since it is Florida versus Texas), and a different kind of sunshine.

It's nice to be riding around in a car. Taxis just don't count. It's not the same unless you're in the passenger seat with the windows up, the AC cranked, and fun music on the radio. I even had the familiar dinging from the car reminding me to buckle my seatbelt, which reminded me of things I hadn't even realized I missed.

It's nice to be on a college campus. FSU is no OU (nothing ever will be), but I love the energy of 40,000 undergrads carrying on their collegiate lives around me. I love the football talk, the stately brick buildings, the chalkings, dodging bicyclists, textbooks, Greek letters on everything, school logos on everything, posters advertising campus events, the whole thing.

It makes me think that it's about that time... (the following was stolen from somewhere, I don't remember where. But it applies)
"Time to get back to where people believe in dollar beers, college bands for friday night entertainment, tailgating, and following your team to Dallas. It's time to return to a place where you have to drive yourself from point A to point B, where the Huff is everyone's local gym, and a place where beer pong is a form of social interaction. Time to return to place in which you bought your friends, they like you for the letters on your shirt and style you have. Time to get back to the 6th best town in the USA."

That's just over 2 weeks away, my chance to go back. I can't wait. But there's plenty to tide me over until time. For example, this crazy week. I return back to NYC from Florida tomorrow (on a 7 a.m. flight, ugh), and continue to work my little tushy off. Though, Sarah and I have plans for much needed and deserved pedicures. Small victories, people. Then Wednesday, Christa and I take the short trip to Newark for a Celine Dion concert with the tickets we got for FREE. You are jealous, admit it. Then Thursday is one more long day of work, work, working away, which I will do for as long as it takes to ensure that I don't have to work this weekend. Because, Friday Meg gets here. And the whirlwind adventure begins. I'll detail you with the aftermath, but just know that it includes a lot of Broadway. As in, I'm going to 3 shows in a span of 5 days. Then the next week is our final push before our first application deadline. AND THEN, it's back to the homeland. I'm kind of obsessed with this right now, so it might be a theme for the next 17 days.

Boomer Sooner. (Oh, and just for today, Go 'Noles.)

here and there.

Some trivia you might be interested in:

• I walked home from work yesterday. It was roughly 5 miles. In 3 inch heels, no less.
• Also, I went out of my way to ensure that Tiffany's was on my route home. Some things just never change.
• Gold nailpolish is the greatest invention ever. Thank you, Chanel.
• I'm doing lunch in Bryant Park tomorrow, so I can see the cast of 13 perform in their Broadway series. Camp + Last 5 Years = Ah-Mazing
• I'm going to DC on Friday to see mi madre. It's my first Bolt Bus experience, and I'm hoping it's a good one because Rena and I want to take the Bolt to Boston soon!
• Jonathan Horton is competing in the Men's Gymnastics All-Around tonight. I've been watching him compete for years back at OU, so I'm very glad the entire world can see just how amazing he is.

Also, I've been inspired by my friend Cherilyn to do a video blog. What should my topic be?

the only problem with new york is how far it is from oklahoma

"and through timeless words and priceless pictures
we'll fly like birds not of this earth.
and tides they turn and hearts disfigure
but that's no concern when we're wounded together.
and we tore our dresses and stained our shirts
but it's nice today. oh, the wait was so worth it."
- Jason Mraz, A Beautiful Mess

I attempted to write out a play-by-play, detailed report of my trip to Oklahoma, but you guys don't want to read a novel. Besides, with only 6 days between my return from Norman and my move to NY, most of my time is spent packing. Okay, packing and procrastinating and texting Ross constantly, but you know how it goes. So here are the highlights:

Saturday:

• First of all, there was some serious flight drama. I've never been so happy and upset about a single flight being delayed. Luckily, my ride was running late too.
• Bobby's GPS was determined to take us anywhere but Cain's. Luckily, we outsmarted it. But we'll forever hate LL Tisdale freeway, or whatever it's called.
• Girl Talk was one of my favorite shows ever. He played all of the best parts from Feed the Animals, and mixed some new things we tried really hard to remember later.
  
• Poodle and I alternated between standing in the middle of the chaos and sitting on our cozy little bench, surrounded by all the crazy people who would lean all over us.
• The trip back definitely included a McDonald's stop in Tulsa for the dinner we forgot to eat beforehand, and another one in Norman at 5 a.m. for breakfast.

I forgot to bring my camera in to the concert, so the only picture I have from Girl Talk is one I stole from Parker.

Sunday:

• Still getting over the exhaustion from travel and Girl Talk, it was a very lazy day. Ross and I finally dragged our butts out of bed and over to Virginia's workplace.
• Noteworthy is the trip V and I took to the mall, where I exerted extreme self control in not purchasing the purse I fell head over heels for. Also, the buzzword of the week emerged in the Forever 21 dressing room: "hookalah".
• The night ended in our typical grandma style, with a lovely dinner at BJ's (yum!) with some great friends, and then crashing before midnight while watching a Degrassi marathon.

Gosh, my friends are so stylish.

Monday:

• No trip to Norman would be complete without a trip to campus and Campus Corner. Though it definitely felt strange to see all the little freshmen with their enrollment packets and realizing that they go to school there now and I do not. However, it's still funny to see them try so hard not to look like freshmen and fail miserably.
  
• One highlight of this day was meeting up with my future roommate, Ashley. And for a double treat, I got to introduce her to my beloved Cafe Plaid. We're already planning to scope out some cute local cafes when we get all settled in, don't you even worry.
• The afternoon was spent lounging by the pool at the Greens with Virginia, Danielle, Jessica, Ross and... I think that was the whole crew that day. Oh wait, we can't forget "Hello Kitty girl"!
• Erin and I got to have a wonderful little girl-date, complete with all the margs and gossip we could ask for. Golly, I'd missed that a lot.
• We gathered up a group of over-21 Phi Lambs to go see a "grown-up movie" in the balcony at the Warren, where they serve drinks. Ironically, we were going to see Wall-E. Unfortunately, we missed the "grown-up" theater showing, but we did perfect our robot voices. ;)

Tuesday:

• So much of my visit revolved around where we ate our meals. I mean, I needed to get my fill of all the local fare in the short time I was there! So T.E.A. Cafe was a must.
• Danielle and I filled some down time with one of our famous "study parties". However this one was slightly different because while D worked on O-Chem, I became engrossed in Roman Holiday on TV and served as more of a distraction than anything else. Okay, so maybe it wasn't that different.
• Another sunny afternoon called for another day lounging by the pool. And you wouldn't believe it, but I actually got tan! I missed that Oklahoma sun.
• After lots of laziness, Danielle, Erin, Kely and I decided to get all dolled up (the vain people that we are) and go out for a fancy dinner. K made the excellent selection of the Cheesecake Factory, which quickly became one of my new favorite places to eat.
• I have to mention the drive back and forth, because that's one of the things I love most about my friends - singing at the top of our lungs in the car. K and I discovered that we still jump in at exactly the same random parts of songs, which made me giggle a little. We also realized that none of us know exactly what Freddy Mercury & David Bowie are singing in Under Pressure.
• Then began the time to party. I am very proud to say "I partied like a freshman." And I said it quite frequently. Complete with Sonic cup filled with Malibu. No kidding.
• There was no way I was coming to Norman without going to the Mont. That place is my Mecca. Okay, that's a little strong, but I love it. A lot.
  
• The night's festivities ended with many a round of beer pong at Lia's. I'm actually quite talented, for future reference. Add to that a standard late night chat before drifting to sleep, and you've made yourself one solid day.

PLBD! Of course, we took our standard shot from The Mont, the thorny rose.

There are three generations of Howdy Week Chairs in this photograph. It doesn't get much cooler than that.

She's my sister, one of my best friends and my wifey.

They just love bubbles. And I love them.

V, Lady and Poodle. What a great combination. And I don't know why you were arguing over what was your good side, you both look fantastic.

K and I take great pictures together, as usual.

Wednesday:

• As fun as the night before was, it made getting up for my hair appointment quite difficult. But it was so worth it. I am going to miss the lovely Katy terribly! Though she did give me plenty of ribbing about my hungover state.
• I was picked up from Ulta by a full posse and we went - where else - to grab lunch. At Raising Cane's. Yum.
  
• Kely and I spent most of the afternoon doing one of my favorite things in the entire universe - playing and singing together at the piano. We switched it up a little from our usual routine, though. Since Phi Delt was locked, we had to resort to Beaird Lounge's piano, which equals a free concert for the people who so chose to sit there that day. A faithful two stuck it out through our belting and banging on the keys. Another change was that for once, I played songs while he sang. Though, we of course had to play our #1 request, Sara Bareilles' Love Song.
• A visit to Student Life resulted in an impromptu Plastics trivia quiz with Quy. He might just have to be an honorary member by the end of it all. Oh good times. I miss my Plastics.
• If you're a regular in Nompton, you know that Wednesday night is O'Connells karaoke night. So naturally, we were so there. Lots of fun ensued, including Sarah and I getting the high score at "Monster Mash," making new friends so we could sit at the table with them, all of our new friends joining us on stage to sing Wannabe (yeah, the Spice Girls song), and John & Dan - the new besties mentioned in an earlier post - serenading us with songs from Aladdin and doing backflips in the middle of the bar.

Oh yeah, we got the high score. It's a good thing we didn't discover this thing when we were O'Connells regulars.

Some of our new friends, who turned out to be my Little's neighbors. What a small world.

My fantastic posse for both "grown-up movie" night and karaoke night.

Thursday:

• It was a bittersweet morning, packing up to leave Norman again. But my trip wasn't over yet. I still got to go on a wonderful little road trip with the adorable miss Erin back to the Tulsa airport.
  
• An Erin and Emily road trip always has a stellar soundtrack and this one was no exception. Old songs from high school, Disney soundtracks and Salty the Singing Songbook all made appearances.
• We were so adult with our lovely little lunch in the airport. Mere met up with us, and we got a taste of what things might be like in the next few years - just catching up long enough to grab a bite and hop on a plane. But it will always be worth it.
• The trip back, though much less stressful than my trip to Norman, was somewhat eventful. I channelled my inner Ross and made conversation with my "single-serving friend" on my flights. Also, I was a major CAC OB and helped design a T-shirt for H-dub '08. Seriously, I'll never get away from that stuff, and I don't think that's a bad thing. ;)
• Upon returning home, I realized just how exhausted I was. I'm not used to so much stimulation and activity. Oh, and sorry for partyin', I suppose. But hey, at least my insomnia was gone.

All in all, the trip was exactly what I wanted it to be. I was a little bit afraid that going back would make me sad and scared all over again, but it just confirmed for me how great a group of friends I have back home and how sure I am that I'm on the right track going off into the "real world." I couldn't have asked for much more than that. Of course, there were a few people I didn't get to see whom I would've loved catching up with, but there will definitely be another trip in my future. And, better yet, you guys will soon have a free place to crash in the City, so you better come visit me!

John Cougar Mellencamp would be so proud.

"They come from the cities and they come from the smaller towns.
Beat up cars with guitars and drummers goin' crack, boom, bam.
R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A. R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.
Yeah, yeah! Rockin' in the U.S.A."


I promise an update on my week in Norman is coming soon, complete with incriminating photographs, "Overheard in Oklahoma" quotes and a full play-by-play, but today is for the swimming pool, way too many people in the kitchen, Wii sports, tubing/wakeboarding, fireworks displays on the lake, and probably a few too many margaritas. (We have a machine called the "Margarator." No joke.)


However, I will provide you with a teaser photo for the exhilarating story to come. Reader, meet our new best friends, John and Dan.


Happy Independence Day, y'all. Don't blow your faces off with fireworks.

T-minus 18 hours...

I had written this whole post involving my excitement about a Ross/Emily moment*, Girl Talk**, Sooner Swirls from the Mont, haircuts with my favorite hairdresser ever, etc. ad nauseum, but the whole point comes across much more clearly when I just say:

OMGosh, I'm going to be in the heartland TODAY***!

=) =) =)

*These are "deep moments" when we make crazy realizations about how odd the world is. If you know us very well, you'll totally understand. If not, I might make a clarifying post at another time. Perhaps.

**http://www.myspace.com/girltalk. Go there, download his latest album. You won't regret it.

***Technically, I leave for OK today, since I'm currently in EST. However, I won't arrive until tomorrow, if you're on Oklahoma time.

****I stole the idea of these little explanatory asterisks from Traci Anne. But it's just so helpful, I couldn't help it.

Places I Love: Part Two

"Well, I've never been to heaven.
But I've been to Oklahoma."
- Three Dog Night

I'm known to hyperbolize, but I'm not going to compare the state of Oklahoma with the kingdom of heaven. There's no comparison, but like the song says, I've never been to heaven, yet I have been to the little slice of life known as Oklahoma, USA. And I miss it.

"But in her dreams she is far away, in Oklahoma USA."
- The Kinks

Now, I'm a Texas girl by heart and by birth, but I'm a Sooner bred. (And when I die, I'll be Sooner dead. Go ahead, you know you were singing the song.) When I moved up to Norman for school freshman year, I would have told you that I loved OU, but I didn't care a bit about the rest of the state. Over time I learned that you simply can't have one without the other.

"It blowed away, it blowed away. My Oklahoma home blowed away.
But my home is always near; it's in the atmosphere, My Oklahoma home that blowed away."
- Bruce Springsteen

Now that I'm removed from the home I made there, I find myself missing things - some strange and small, others much more significant - such as:

1. The wind - even if I did curse it while I was there. Sure the weather tends to be perfect here lately, and gosh-darn-predictable, which is nice when you're planning for the weekend, but there's something about that wind that you can't find anywhere else.
   
2. The food. I'm going to be in for a real culture shock in NY if I am having withdrawals from my Norman eateries while still in the South. I mean, I know it's no Classic 50s, but they don't even have Sonic up there! And don't get me started about Cafe Plaid. ;)
3. The way you can drive for miles and still see where you started from. Don't get me wrong, I think the landscape here in limbo is much more lovely than the flat plains, but they have their endearing qualities, you know?
4. The University. Boomer Sooner. Enough said.
   
5. The people. I've touched on my disdain for the manners (or lack thereof) here in Tennessee, so you'll understand why I miss the smiling faces of the general Oklahoma population. But then of course, there are the specific people in Oklahoma whom I love and miss dearly.
   

"You're the reason God made Oklahoma, and I'm sure missin' you."
- David Frizzell

Now here's the part where I get just a wee bit sappy. I would assume that most of the people reading this blog are people whom I met while at OU. With the addition of my family and a few select friends from my hometown, you are the people who best shaped me into who I am today, and helped put me on a path to what I will become tomorrow. So that's probably the number one reason that Oklahoma makes it onto the list of "Places I Love" - because of this state and its university, you all are a part of my life. Did I really just type "you all" instead of "y'all?" Gosh, I need to get back to Oklahoma/Texas soon.

"You be good and come to see us. Don't forget to write sometime.
Wake up in Oklahoma, where the chilly wind still blows.
Wake me up in Oklahoma to the only love I know."
- Jim Ed Brown and the Browns

Yeah, about that... If you're in the Norman area, I AM coming to see you. Very soon, in fact. And I'm VERY excited about it. Facebook/text/call me for more details, because I'm definitely not putting all THAT out there on the bloggy for any-old-body to see. But I can't end this post without saying one more, very important thing. Though I proudly claim the state of Oklahoma, I'm still 100% Texan, and there's nothing that will change that. I thought the following lyrics were wholly appropriate:

"Well now I don't mind going to Oklahoma. I never met an Okie that I didn't like. I don't mind New York City. Those Yankees talk funny but they're alright. ... Yeah I'm a hell-bent 100% Texan 'til I die." - Kevin Fowler

And so I'll leave you with this:

High/Low

"I'm awake, you're still sleeping
The sun will rise like yesterday
Everything that we are now
Is everything we can't let go
Or it's gone forever, far away
I hope tomorrow is like today"
--Guster

I remember my pledge semester in Phi Lamb going to a Bible study at Jen Battle's house with a bunch of crazy girls like Amy Draper, Kelsey Schwarz, Kristan Williams and a few more. It was a lot of fun laughing at the 80s hairstyles on the Beth Moore videos, dodging Felipe the devil cat, and spending some quality time with godly girls. The reason I'm thinking of it now is that I first learned about the concept of "high/low" at these weekly meetings.

High/Low simply means that everyone goes around and tells the high point of their week and the low point. It doesn't matter where it falls on the scale of seriousness vs. silliness; the only rule is that everyone HAS to have a high, even during the roughest weeks. And during weeks when everyone was walking on sunshine, coming up with lows was a pretty hilarious challenge.

Since then, we've done high/low in most of my covenant groups. (Gosh, remember our crazy cov group from that spring, Miss Tarr?) And we always at least attempted it in our officer meetings this year. Now, in our weekly update emails (yes, we do that - aren't we precious?) the tradition has continued. So I'm going to let you in on my high/low at the moment. I actually always start on the low, to end on a happy note, so here goes!

LOW: I got hit by a pretty solid wave of homesickness this week. It's the first round of significant events since I've been gone and I feel like I'm missing out on being there (Norman, that is) for some important things for my friends. I understand that there's a time for everything, and I wouldn't trade this opportunity I have in on another year in Norman (though I wish I could sometimes), but that doesn't make it easy to go so long without seeing my people, hearing their voices, or even talking to some of them at all.

HIGH: I don't want to jinx this, but I have a pretty good lead on a place to live in New York. It sounds like it encompasses pretty much everything I was hoping to find - so now I'm just crossing my fingers that this isn't too good to be true. But if it does work out, then all that's left to do is just get the heck up there and I'll be a New Yorker!

So what's your high/low?

People have the right to fly...

... And will when it gets compromised
Their hearts say "Move along"
Their minds say "Gotcha heart"
Let's move it along.
--John Mayer, Wheel

I graduated. I am an alumna of the University of Oklahoma. Officially.

And so much has happened between my last post and now. I’ll try to catch you up. Thursday I took my last two finals of my collegiate career – no more tests! I think I did well, despite my best efforts to not be prepared. I had sort of made the decision that hanging out with my friends was more important to me than studying for a couple of tests that didn’t really matter. I think I made a wise choice.

Then that led to the weekend, full of all kinds of graduation festivities. Friday night was Commencement, which actually turned out to be a lot of fun. Memorable moments from that include:
The CAC photo shoot
Adam and Sarah being rebels and sitting in the Gaylord section
Jordan and I texting each other the same message simultaneously
William Cohen talking about the Mont and arête
Gaylord College doing the wave and screaming constantly

And Friday night brought one final trip to the Mont and to jump the fence to the Reserve hot tub. There’s nothing like staying up until 5 a.m. every night for basically two weeks straight.

Saturday was my actual graduation, and most of the day was spent in preparation. The ceremony flew by. The Bateman kids all sat together, and I enjoyed graduating between my Student Media friends (Staci and Ashley) a lot. Afterwards was lots of cookie cake, champagne and then to Charleston’s for my graduation dinner.

That night brought the first really hard goodbye. But, like Kely said, it’s really not goodbye. I miss you guys a ton, and I can’t wait to hear about your adventures in France! That’s all the detail I’m going into about that, because it makes me too sad to talk about. We ended the night in our typical classy style, and had a giant slumber party at Phi Delt.

From that point, the emotional stuff had to go on hold, because it was time to pack up all my belongings into two cars and a U-Haul. This is quite the feat, but we got it all accomplished, with the help of my entire family plus a few really great friends. After the packing was all done, and a couple more teary “see you laters”, it was time to hit the road. We headed to Paris, packed everything up there, visited family and friends, and then it was off again this morning. I’m now sitting in a hotel outside Nashville, about five hours away from what will be home for the next six weeks.

It’s been a real whirlwind of activity and emotion, and it still hasn’t all completely sunk in. I just know that it feels incredibly weird to be eating meals without one of my best friends there, or to not have slumber parties and snuggle up with one (or two or three) of them at night. Or to not see all their smiling faces every day. But I keep reminding myself that for every memory, there’s a dream to unfold. As cheesy as it might sound, I’m ready. I’m scared and still a little saddened, but I’m ready. And I love you all immensely.

More insightful and/or exciting posts to come, but I wanted to get this all written down before too much happened. Peace and Facebook pokes.

"Slowly drifting into a peaceful breeze
Tounge-tied and twisted are all my memories
Celebrating a fantasy come true
Packing all my bags
Finally on the move
I'm leavin' today
I'm living it, I'm leaving it to change"
- Christina Aguilera, Cruz

Overheard in Norman/NY

Soon, I'll be transitioning from overhearing things like this:

Guy arguing with crazy preacher woman: Was King James a homosexual? Yes he was!
-- outside Dale Hall

Fratty guy: Wait, bro, can you drive, I can't get another DUI.
-- in line for Scandals tickets

Hippy guy: Let's buy a bunch of incense to cover up the smell of weed.
-- Medieval Fair

Singing voice coming from next room over: Greg is gonna get laid this summer. But she'll probably be a prostitute.
-- Phi Delta Theta

To overhearing things like this:

College girl #1: If you have holes in your pants and it's winter, you're not making a fashion statement, you're poor.

College girl #2: But she was wearing leggings under them...

College girl #1: No, I don't care. She's poor.


--St. John's University

Chick, to loudly burping friend: Oh my god, did you seriously just burp out loud in Bergdorf's? Who are you?!


--Bergdorf's


Drunk frat guy: I don't know about you fellas, but I'm going to Narnia. Shazam! [Dives head first into a wardrobe.]


-- NYU dorm

But before I can get wrapped up in all that, I have to work on this whole "graduating college" thing. Two finals tomorrow and then I'm done with schoolwork. Like forever. Which is incredibly exciting. But along with it comes some sad goodbyes. So before I get all teary-eyed, I'm going to force myself to study. Ugh.