Showing posts with label charlotte. Show all posts
Showing posts with label charlotte. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

cohab tales, episode one

So I moved in with my boyfriend.  The experience so far has been absolutely wonderful (no sarcasm, promise).  We've lived apart for three years, and finally being in the same city, in the same little house, is really very nice.

There are, of course, some things to get used to.  And because I do not want to turn into a naggy, bitchy, grouchy person, I am trying to express my concern over certain undesirable lifestyle habits in passive-aggressive creative, light-hearted ways, that hopefully also get the point across and inspire real - yet nondramatic - change.

Exhibit A - E-Mail, sent this morning:

MILDEW

an installation sculpture by the modernist newcomer, Christopher [hislastname]

Materials:
three damp towels that were pain-stakingly cleaned and dried by the artist's loving girlfriend mere days before;
rapidly multiplying cells of obligate parasites in the species of fungi in the order erysiphales;
flippant disdain

Showing at the [ourhomeaddress] Gallery, now through when the artist again desires adult nighttime activities

 sent from my Verizon Wireless Blackberry


Friday, July 1, 2011

happy friday!

source via


Happy long weekend!  And a very very happy birthday weekend to my two favorite Elizabeths:




It breaks my heart to not spend birthdays with two girls who have made my own birth celebrations so special - case in point:

23 years, no tears.





quarter-century-club


Hopefully they will forgive me my absence as I travel to Charlotte to get some pre-moving-things taken care of, and then Holden Beach to celebrate the birth of Our Great Nation. 

I can get all lefty-lib with the best of 'em, but I am extremely proud and grateful to have grown up with the freedoms and rights afforded to Americans, and to live in a country where citizens are free to voice their opinions and make real change when they disagree with the status quo.  Plus, we murked bin laden. 'murica.

With that said, I wish all both of you a happy and relaxing weekend, replete with illegal colored explosives, grilled meats, and BEER.

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Thursday, June 23, 2011

update

Hello, singular reader.  I apologize for my radio silence over the past weeks.  Some exciting and/or time-consuming events have begun to unfold in my little old life, and I haven't had much time for introspective vain life-chronicling.

What's that? You'd like an update? With photos? And, in the absence of photos, MSPaint art? BUT OF CARSE!

1.  The major reason for my lack of posts has been illness.  A sinus infection was treated with a Z-Pack, which caused a clostridium difficile infection. DO NOT GOOGLE CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICILE.  Just trust me.  I only mention this ordeal because this is the sickest I've been as a Real Life Adult, and I learned some important lessons, which I feel compelled to share here:
  • When you feel sick, go to a doctor.  You are much better off seeing a physician at the onset of your illness rather than in the throes of it, because your ability to do things like, say, drive yourself to the doctor, will only diminish over time.  Take 2 hours out of your life and see a doctor.  They know things and they dispense drugs.  Do it.
  • Go to a legit doctor's office.  Your instinct might tell you to go to the nearest Minute Clinic because it most closely resembles the Student Health clinic from college, which, besides your ladydoctor, is the only healthcare provider you've really actually visited since the pediatrician you continued to see throughout high school.  But you are an Adult now, and you need to establish a primary care physician who can see you quickly, keep track of your medications/health history, and be available for follow-up appointments as necessary.  You will think, "oh it's too much trouble to see a legit doctor, I'll have to fill out forms and wait a week for an appointment."  You will think this because this is often the case with the ladydoctor, but for a general practitioner, this will not be the case.  Yes, you will have to fill out some new patient forms, but they will most likely be available online, so you can fill them out in the 24 hours between your call to schedule the appointment, and the appointment itself. It is extremely embarrassing that at 25 I am just now figuring this out, but I have the sneaking suspicion that this predicament applies to lots of people my age.
  • Dicyclomine is a wonderdrug, but its listed side effects should include "enhanced bewilderment and decelerated time perception while viewing certain art-house films that your well-meaning and more-cultured roommate insists you see together."


2. In the past month, I've attended bachelorette weekends thrown for two close friends by their respective Maids of Honor, both of whom are also the brides' sisters.  I knew that both weekends would be excellent fun and neither disappointed in that department, but I didn't anticipate the realization that one day, I am going to get to throw a party like this for my own sister.  This really, really excites me, and she should begin preparing her liver now.

MOH Channing, MOB Colleen, Bride Jordan

Bride Lisa, MOH Laura




One-day bride Blair, and future MOH myself.
Preview of debauchery to come, courtesy of Chi Omega Owloween '07 - perhaps a Baywatch/Harry Potter-themed bachelorette party is in our future?



3.  Speaking of weddings, my pretend-cousin Lee is getting married in October!  Lee and his brother Devon have been like brothers to Blair and I - their parents are our parents' best friends and also our Godparents, and this will be the first wedding for our little pseudo-family.  I am beyond excited for Lee and his fiancĂ©e Allison, who so very generously has included Blair and I as bridesmaids!  We are thrilled to be such an important part of their big day, and I know it will be so special for my parents to watch us stand with their Godson as he says his vows.

I mean, stop. How cute is this??


Beyond the significance of the day and the emotional family aspects of this event, I am also PUMPED for the party.  This is a group that loves to dance, and isn't afraid of usurping the microphone from the paid entertainment.  This can only make for an epic reception.

Mom and Lee


Lee, Evan (Blair's BF) and Dad.


4.  I'm moving!  As of July 17, I will be a resident of Charlotte, NC.  After 3 years in separate cities, the boyfriend and I have decided to co-locate (a term Chris uses, which I think he may have made up, and which I adore for its official-sounding nerdiness).  This is a Really Big Step for the ole relash, but a decision that I am 100% confident is the right one for us.  Besides, who can resist a man with such style?

this shirt was a joke

this shirt was not.


Obviously I am pumped to remove the "long distance" label from our relationship status, but there are some other benefits to calling the Queen City my new home.  Namely:

this person:
sisterladyfriend


and this person:
lisayourlastnamewillchangeinonemonthOMG

The prospect of the actual move is stressful, and the thought of living more than 10 feet from these little ladies already gives me separation anxiety:


And see the ginger there?  That one and I have lived together since January of 2007.  The only thing keeping my spirits up about our impending separation is anticipating the comical way in which we will both try to Irish Goodbye each other on moving day.

All that being said though, my cohabitants in the Heartbreak Hotel are all moving on to some really exciting new places and/or jobs, and I am so thrilled for each of them.  I am so proud to call these sexy ladies my besties, so lucky to have met them in the small-world-random way that we came together, and so confident that our annual Friendsgiving reunions will be basically the best time anyone's ever had.

There is, of course, the question of finding gainful employment in Charlotte.  If anyone knows anyone in the marketing/public relations/corporate communications industries in Crown Town (not kidding, that's an actual city nickname), I'd greatly appreciate an introduction!

5. Because this post has been chock-full of cheese, I'd like to close with actual cheese.  Trader Joe's Mini Brie Bites, to be specific.  They're delicious, portion-controlled, and adorable.  That's all.
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Monday, April 11, 2011

it's not the chase that I love, it's me following you

 source
I drove to Charlotte for the weekend to visit my boyfriend, and we went to the Avett Brothers concert on Saturday night.  The show was fantastic (CL Charlotte does a pretty good recap here) - the Avett Brothers are from Concord, NC, so this was definitely a hometown crowd for them, and they played a good bit of their older stuff because of it.  I wish I could say I instantly recognized and sang along to every song from the set because, like a majority of the audience on Saturday, I've been a fan since forever, but my admiration of the band only stretches back a couple of years.  Regardless, even though Chris and I were relative newbies, the show was so great and my appreciation for this band has only increased.


If you're not a fan yet, I'd be happy to share my Grooveshark playlist of my favorite Avett Brothers songs, plus you can check out their Grammys performance with Mumford & Sons and Bob Dylan here.

We were also treated to a really fun opening act, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.  Grace Potter is this cute-as-hell leggy blonde whose musical style is kind of a Bonnie-Raitt-meets-Stevie-Nicks-meets-Tina-Turner situation. 

 

For a taste of the range, check out the bluesy, real-talk "Big White Gate" and the fun and sexy "Paris - Ooh La La".  They closed with "Medicine" and a full-band drum solo, which Chris eloquently labeled a "percussion orgy."  Girlfriend also pulled the whole thing off in head-to-toe sequins and sick shoes.  Sold.


To top it all off, the show was at Bojangles' Coliseum, which means that, for the first time ever, I was in an establishment where I could purchase a Cajun Filet Biscuit and a Bud Light tallboy in one fell swoop.  I didn't (not the CFB anyway - such self control!), but it was pretty sweet nonetheless.