tough call: subject to change.

gah!

so, I made my decision. well, maybe.

I went to Michael's where a nice girl named Mary helped me with the foam board and all. I got all black and one turquoise, thinking I'd put the picture of Jess, Renee and I that Otto took at Mayfest on that one (he's my *sig O* so he can enter too!) I came home and set out to cut the board--which took a loooong time. And made my hand hurt. But I did it.

I mounted all of the pictures on the boards with this cool spray adhesive stuff--it's repositionable!--and set all nine of them (not counting otto's) against the wall
to evaluate. I stepped back a bit and thought "which ones catch my eye?" The people one was out immediately--the person leaping is off to the side, and it just doesn't look as good far away. The other choices were not so easy.

But here are the six I've chosen. The fruit bowl looks especially stunning against the turquoise foamboard--not overkill, I swear. Plus, it doesn't look quite so neon on the turq.







and two runners up are at the bottom of the post. the impala looks a skosh fuzzy and it's kind of hard to tell what it is from very far away.

anyhoo, if you think I'm making a mistake, let me know. Else, I'm done! I'll submit them on Friday (they're due by 2pm eastern daylight).

PS-Blade's Season Finale was awesome. I pity the fool who didn't watch it (said in my best Mr. T voice, which, admittedly, sounds better in my head than it does in reality).
PPS-This is my four-hundredth post. Zowee!
PPPS-I think Hazel has an eye infection. :( I'm taking her to the vet on Saturday anyway, so I'm secretly hoping it will clear up or at least not get worse, and I can wait to take her until then, since I won't have a car today and tomorrow is the day before the appt (plus I would have to drop her off, not stay)...hmm.

macaroni and cheese, phone calls and revelations.

strike that, reverse it. or read the post from the bottom up, maybe?

In addition to the wedding festivities, I've had a pretty busy last few days.

It all began on Friday. Oh, Friday, how I love thee. Anyhoo. On the way to Podunkish, VA, the little puzzle pieces that make up Carrie's thought processes were assembling themselves. Logic, insight and good old-fashioned gut feelings helped form the pieces into an actual concept. And I talked to Otto about it, and I've decided something.

I am not going to paint anymore.

Okay, well that's not exactly true. I'm just not going to paint anymore unless I really, really want to.

I am an okay painter. I enjoy it, but about 1/3 of the time I don't really dig what I paint and I end up being disappointed that I spent my time doing it. Sometimes I get really excited about a certain thing I painted, and that makes me happy.

However, I think in comparison, for me,

photography skills >>> painting skills.

And, (here's logical Carrie coming into the equation) photography is cheaper (both upfront and to produce an actual photo), it produces a result more quickly, it is easier to take a picture that someone else will like than to paint one that someone else will like, it also makes me happy and if I take a picture I don't like it's not a big deal at all. So, um, I want to be Carrie, the Material Scientist / Chemical Engineer / Pretty-Darn-Good-Photographer, not /Mediocre-Painter.

I think I'm putting that on my to-do list.

Anyhoo, I decided this on Friday, and I told Otto about it—that I was thinking about mostly abandoning painting and so on. And after hesitating for a moment to make sure I was serious, he said, "Good. Because you're a damn good photographer." This made Carrie pleased.

Then all that weekend stuff happened. And while I was attempting to sleep on the way home, I got a message from my two bestest friends. They rule. THANKS. It's quite nice when your friends totally affirm a choice you've made in your life without yet being aware that you've made it. So...

We were talking about you, about your birthday, they said, which led us to talking about the pictures we saw on your blog. And, um, we think you're very amazing at that and really talented and you should do that as a job or something. Or at least a part time one and show your pictures at Mayfest and stuff because we think people would absolutely buy them. Ooh! And then you could travel the world and take pictures and we could come with you—Jessica would help us talk to people and Renee would provide the musical background—and then we could make a documentary of it! But really, you're very talented at photography and we think you should put lots of time and energy into it.

And, as Renee once said about me, if you've ever wondered why Renee and Jessica are my best friends, now you know. (cft love to the both of you)

So, that pretty much firmed up that thought, yup yup. And I could breathe a nice sigh of relief instead of wonder if I was losing my mind. Which, um, I felt like I might be doing. I LOVE painting. It's hard to decide not to pursue something you enjoy, y'know? But I feel much better about it now.

Oh, and about the macaroni? Well, Carrie the Cook RUINED BOX MACARONI.

TWICE.

How in the world do you do that, you might wonder--ruin box macaroni in TWO ways???…well, first of all, use Annie's 'cause it's yummy and it's better for you anyhow. And be very hungry and lazy from your travels so you just want to fix something quick and easy. And then get distracted by Season 4 Episode 2 of Gilmore Girls for just thislong. But, uh, be distracted after you've cooked and drained the noodles and after you add the cheese powder but before you add the milk and a tiny bit of butter.

And then your cheese powder will be burned on the bottom but look totally normal on top. Double bonus if you can manage to spill half of the cooked pasta on the floor instead of into the pan, and you have to fight with two cats to try to put it in the trash before they can eat it.

Now picture this in your head. Wish someone had been filming—America's Funniest Home Videos here I come!

and PS-thank you, as well, to you folks who told me which pictures you liked, or how great/fun/amazing they were. not only did you absolutely make my day(s), but you helped me realize this too. and I appreciate it. ooh! and though I've printed the photos (and I'm going to have to re-print the tree one 'cause it came out too dark) I've yet to decide which ones, exactly, are going in. but both shells and the ferris wheel are, for sure.

wedding fun: saturday, the rest of

Otto, Erik and I got ready and went to the wedding. Had a little hair-o-the-dog, got cleaned up and dressed and all. My hair was even curly for like three whole minutes, and then it returned to its usual stick-straight self. Oh well. The boys looked slick though, methinks.

The wedding itself was gee-org-jus. Wow. And Kate looked radiant, and they both looked so happy. I hear their vows were incredible, but as we were 1)sitting in the back and 2)it was an outdoor wedding with no microphones, we didn't really hear most of them. But just by seeing their faces, you could tell how spectacular they were. And I liked it that the minister said the vows they'd written and they repeated it--so there was no memorizing.

they even had this guy playing. wonder what that instrument is. Someone said it may be a guitar harp. It was lovely. AND loverly. :)

And the party? Spectacular! Awesome food. Good good music. Lots of wine and beer. Yum.

But my favorite part (because sometimes I'm a very tacky person) was the table that I sat at. There were eight people there. Seven engineers and a second grade teacher. I bet you can guess who the second grade teacher was. (there’s nothing wrong with being a teacher, by the by. In general, I admire them quite a lot.) So I asked a lot of them about Virginia Tech (which is on my list of possible schools) and talked engineering stuff for quite a while, much to the disappointment of one of our table members. In response, however, she made a point of mentioning how there was no such thing as a guy who wasn't hard up. Even guys with girlfriends are hard up. Which, of course, I found annoying.

The first dance was so sweet (to Iron & Wine's version of Such Great Heights) and the toasts were moving. We are sooooo giving them this pic I took for Christmas. Do you think they'll like it?

No one really boogied, which was kind of sad, but the little kids did put on a dance show for us. And everyone loved the shoes I borrowed from Mary Alise. Oodles of nice things said. Carrie happy.

At 1030ish, once the bar had closed, and I said goodbye to Lynn (the very nice bartender that I made a point of making friends with), we headed off to our hotel to change again. Others met us there, and we carpooled--and guess who rode in my car AND dissed my Regina Spektor? You guessed it.

It took FOREVER to get to the bar, since it was already 20 minutes away, plus the guy leading us missed his exit, leading on a twenty five minute detour, as the next exit was 15 miles away. The bar was fun, though. Erik and I took silly pictures. Until we got kicked out at 2.

And then? Then?!? After a run by Mickey D's to feed the drunk people Otto and I took J and Erik to their hotel. And then ENTIRE way there, J talked about *ahem* very specific bedroom activities and the techniques for such. And inquired about my choices in said activities. "Do you do that?" She said? "Do you this or this? 'Cause if you this then I just think that's awful." And on, and on, and on. In graphic, specific detail. And her personal choices were always the less, um, let's go with common. I avoided her questions as much as possible, thankyouverymuch. But I learned a lot about her that I didn't ever, ever want to know. And you don't either, trust me.

I was SO. RELIVED. when she got out of the car. And in the morning she had to go back to Raleigh to catch her flight to Cali, so there just wasn't time for her to join us for breakfast. Shucks. And Golly Gee. The rest of the weekend was pretty un-eventful. Another trip to Joe's Diner and a rainstorm on the way home. Then a nap, some gilmore girls, and a dinner story I'll tell you later.

wedding fun: saturday pre-wedding.

so, it's the morning after, and I wake up to erik snoring. a LOT. :)

we ate at Joe's Diner, which I found out about from the front desk guy at LaQuinta. Though he couldn't be much more than 3-4 years younger than I am, he called me "ma'am" about seventeen times in the three sentences we exchanged. grr.


anyhoo, so here we are at Joe's. Don't you just LOVE Erik's beard? Me too. Good quote from

the weekend--"the beard will be happy once I smother it in sausage gravy." Erik ordered a separate meal for his beard. Good stuff.

then, I found out something amusing. mentos+diet coke= exploding soda. see?

wedding fun: friday

So, we'll begin at the beginning, and when we get to the end, we'll stop.

Otto and I left work early to drive to VA, via the beautiful blue ridge parkway. SO PRETTY! Otto and I need to go back so I can get out and take pictures when we aren't on a schedule.

We stopped once to pick up a snack--funyuns and a soda--and drove on our merry way. Then, Otto, Erik and I met at Otto's and my hotel. We each had a forty, and changed into more party-appropriate clothes. Forty-five minutes later than we expected we arrived at the party, and I began aerating the lawn.

With.
My.
Pink.
Heels.

boo.

The party was calm/lame. At least, until the crazy college friends (aka the three of us--I'm a pseudo college friend) arrived and brought beer. Yeesh. They had some beer there, but most were having soda with their bbq. The three of us moved to the deck, near the cooler, and began getting to know other people.

Following Paige's advice, I drank slowly after that. J was there, and she was unpleasant at best. Never blatantly rude, but some little mean pokes. I played nice anyhow.

So, around 1100, after many you-had-to-be-there moments, including being asked to leave by the groom's brother, talking to someone about photography for an hour and making fun of the guy with his eyeglasses that used to be oakley sunglasses, we realized it was time to go. And that we were all drunk. But I'd had two and a half beers during our three hours there. Weird.

Know what's missing in this story? DINNER. Gosh, we're idiots.

(PS, thats topleft-me, top right-the guys, bottom left-me playing nice w/ O's exgf and the guy Jon who was hitting on her HARD and bottom right--joe and me (the wedding photog))

We decided we wanted to go into Blacksburg and go to a bar, and that we'd pull into some fast food joint on the way. But we saw a Sonic, pulled a u-ee, and enjoyed the yummy goodness there. The people even gave me free onion rings (I forgot to ask for them instead of fries with my #1) and when Otto spilled my drink all over the hood of my car, they brought me a new one of those too, no charge. We were, however, those loud drunk people, and we had the lights turned out on us. And, when I walked inside to give our server a $5 tip (which is very good for a $17 meal) he looked at me like I'd handed him monopoly money. Weird.

After the Sonic people turned off the lights on us we returned to the hotel, rehydrated with some gatorate and passed out. Poor Erik had to sleep on the floor. (long story that ends with--we couldn't get a different room since we'd booked through hotels.com). but we were home safe, sound, fed and attempting to pre-appease hangover gods. and it sort of worked! more later.

nervous.

but just a little bit.

 

today I'm headed to a place near Blacksburg, VA to go to the wedding of one of Otto's college friends.  I've met her, and she's a cool gal. tonight we go to her house for a post-rehearsal-dinner party, and then tomorrow is the wedding.

 

So, stay with me here, it gets a bit mucky. But just a skosh.

 

In college, Otto was friends with a group of  people, including Kate (the bride) and Erik (who's hella fun and comes to visit periodically).  Kate is friends with J (Otto's ex gf) and Mel (Erik's ex gf)--and J and Mel are best friends (or were, not 100% positive).  Erik and Otto are still good friends with Kate. And Erik and J still talk, I guess. 

 

So, since Erik doesn't have a date and J doesn't have a date, they're being each others pretend dates, and they're sharing a hotel room--with two beds, for the record. 

 

And Otto and Erik can't be within a hundred mile radius of each other and not hang out.  It's in the bylaws or something.  Sooooo, since Erik can't really abandon J to hang out with Otto and me, she'll be coming along.  Which has an awkward potential of: HIGH.

 

Now, all of this could be Carrie getting paranoid.  It's certainly possible.  But just how many of you have been in a similar sitch of sorts--you still have to see your ex in class, or at work or church or in public or whatever.  Generally it can be a bit tense, but it works out.  (PS, this makes me want to go on a tangent and tell you about when my prof put my in a group with my at-the-time-enemy and sorority sister and my recent ex, with whom I'd had a very ugly break-up.  I totally got that changed, let me tell you.  Anyhoo.)  MOST of the time, even if you have to be in the same room as your ex, you get to avoid him/her.  But this chick is going to be with us--eating food, sitting at the table, having convos, going out in the evening.  And she, um--how shall I say this--has a reputation.  Concerning her behavior.  And it ain't good.

 

So, for the record, I'm not AT ALL worried about Otto or him having feelings for her.  That was soooo two years ago.  But I AM worried about how this girl will behave towards me.  I don't think she's had a serious relationship since him.  Hmm. I'm going to be nice until she's mean, and then I'll just be less nice, never mean.  That's the plan.

 

Good news is you'll be seeing some terribly cute pictures of me next week, 'cause let me tell you, I'm going to look hot.  Constantly.  Mary Alise loaned me these adorable silver shoes, and my red dress is smashing, and I have excellent outfits for tonight, Saturday day, Saturday post-wedding and Sunday day.  All will go well, I hope.

 

*crosses fingers*

 

And Paige gave me a good piece of advice--from experience.  Be very very careful about how much you drink. Because for some reason, if an ex is involved, the amount of drunkeness escalates quickly and can make you say things you prolly don't want to...

attention all tulsans, former tulsans, people who know (former) tulsans, people who were never tulsans and don't ever expect to be tulsans, et al.

have you heard about this? holy sh*t!

perhaps it's old news to some of you, but I hadn't heard about it until this evening. not sure what was revealed in advance...

at first I found it frustrating. but then I thought it might be really really good for the city. huh. this is definitely an off-the-wall idea. but a pat on the back goes to the inventive people who thought of it--whether or not you agree!

there are pros and cons ecologically--what about the river life? but then that solar power stuff is a huge plus in my book. and how progressive! hmm.

wow.

seriously, watch the video. it's like two minutes long and yeesh! um, the music is a bit much though, so I wouldn't blame you if you muted your computer for the duration of said video.

opinion needed.

so, I'm wanting to enter a photography contest at work. I could (potentially) win between $30 and $75, if they like mine. I'm doing it more for fun than for the money, and I'll be pleased if just one of them gets an "honorable mention."

However, I can only enter SIX. Which is a hard pick. So here's my options. Can you tell me which ones you think are best? Of course, I can enter fewer than six, too. Jackie, I KNOW you have an opinion... :)

SIGH. this is one of those days that CRAWLS.

it never hurts to ask...

okay, well sometimes it does. but not in this case.

however, my newfound source of glee-for-the-day makes me also super lame. because I am excited--nay, thrilled--that my professor has agreed to let homework be due on mondays instead of fridays. meaning that I can work on it over the weekend, if I so choose. this makes me extremely pleased. and lame. plame? lased? pleamed? right.

anyhoo.

additionally, new camera complete with working memory chip? spectacular. i heart it.

This weekend I did hardly anything, which was nice. Helped Mary Alise get Sampson, bought new sunglasses, went to a party, slept and FINISHED SEASON 2 OF LOST. Holy smokes, people, that show is crazy sh*t. I am soooo looking forward to the first ep of season 3--which is less than a month away. Seriously, good stuff. And I am soooo mad at Michael. Sooooo mad.

Ooh, and shopped for couches. I have a few that I like, and one that I love, except I can't find fabric that I love. And then I also (gasp!) looked at leather couches. Which is soooo something I never thought I'd want, but actually, they're kind of nice. And they aren't all eleventy-billion dollars. Hmm. Otto and I went to, let's see...four places...and came out with a lot of "maybes." Hopefully I'll decide on something soonish.

and, uh, other than that I'm trying to figure out when, exactly, to go to Tulsa for Christmas. Which is harder to decide than you might think. I was hoping priceline would decide for me, but it's in a bad mood, so that ain't happening. Eh, whatev. There's lots of time, I just don't want the plane ticket prices to skyrocket.

Ooh, and? Finished Water for Elephants. I really enjoyed this book. Really really. It's about a circus and a vet and his life and wow. Well written and engaging and I could absolutely picture it all, which I like. I recommend it.

lessons learned in the bathroom.

Never, ever, EVER walk around the public bathroom/locker-room at work completely naked.  It's just a bad idea.*

So, like five minutes ago I'm in the bathroom at the sink, flossing and brushing my teeth.  I do this pretty much every afternoon (I am trying to avoid more of those miserable, miserable root canals and roof-of-the-mouth shots).  So, I'm in there, and I realize that someone is using one of the stalls.  I think, "oh, dammit, someone's in here.  and now I'm going to get that who-brushes-their-teeth-in-the-middle-of-the-day look.  great." I wait for the person to exit and provide me with their look of confusion/disgust/disdain, when lo! and behold!, I see a naked woman with not a spec of clothing on, save for sneakers and an insulin pump attached to her.  She goes to pick up her clothes from the bench, and then goes to take a shower.

Now, here's the thing.  If we were at, say, a gym, or a spa, or an athletic club of some type, I'd understand.  It's okay to be naked, y'know?  But not somewhere where a superior of your same gender could see you in your bare-assed glory.  Or at least not at work, and not when you could potentially have to sit across from them during a meeting forty-five minutes later.  If you and your boss worked out at the same gym, the situation could be semi-understandable.  And I do believe that woman had just been working out—lots of people do during their lunch here.  But really, it's friggin Annie put your clothes on, as Carrie Bradshaw would say. 

But at least it made my oral health regimen not nearly as weird. Exposing your floss at work is not nearly as awkward as exposing your flesh, methinks.

*unless, of course, you've spilled chemicals all over yourself and had to strip down naked under the safety shower.  but even then, at least cover up your not-g-rated bits.

sampson.

aaawwwww....

this little guy is a cute. His name is Sampson, and Mary Alise adopted him on Saturday. She got him yesterday, and he's CUTE and PLAYFUL! And he cuddles too. Clearly I could not resist the urge to take pictures of this guy.

oh, and the cat ladies? nutso. seriously.

Friday night the Cat Lady with bfpa called me to thank me for recommending Mary Alise to them. She left a message telling me that they'd been talking, and that there was a pair of older boy kitties that she was interested in. I thought, "huh, this is weird. Mary Alise wants one kitten, and she wants a kitten, not a cat. Hmm."


Saturday morning before we go to Petsmart she explains that the lady tried to force it on her, and we conclude that the Cat Lady was trying to coerce us--if I bit, I'd try to convince Mary Alise to get the two kitties who were older, thinking that was what she would want.

She finds Sampson, and he's great! Cat Lady is a bit reluctant though, and Mary Alise is kind of worried they aren't going to let he have him. We go and buy kitty stuff, and come to say goodbye to Sampson. With a sigh and a hint of disappointment, Cat Lady says someone will bring Sampson to Mary Alise on Sunday.

Sunday a Sane Cat Lady shows up with the spectacular Sampson. She explains that Cat Lady called Sane Cat Lady to tell her about Sampson's adoption, and said, "But I have to tell you something..." Sane Cat Lady's thoughts race--does this girl have a record? is she an unfit pet owner? has she done something terrible?..."He's going to be an only cat." Sane Cat Lady almost fell out of her chair she thought this was so ridiculous. For the most part, there's nothing wrong with having an only cat, if you give him/her the attention you need.

Sane Cat Lady also apologized to Mary Alise for Cat Lady's behavior. Because, really. 'Course this is the same lady that almost yelled at me last October when I said I was going to use over-the-counter flea meds on her. I mean, really. Yeesh.

Anyhoo, that's the story of Sampson. He's a cutie!