"Time isn't wasted, when you're getting wasted..."

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

7:53 pm My clean room

Today I remembered what it is like to have free time, and it is sooo nice. I didn't go into my internship, as I normally would on a Tuesday, because Micha asked me to speak to the BU accreditation committee as a representative of the College of Communication at this luncheon thing. Always a sucker for a free lunch, I agreed. So, all day, my only commitment was from noon to 1:30. The rest of the day I had all to myself, and I took full advantage.

First, I awoke around 9:30 am, after about 10 hours of sleep. I actually sat and ate a normal breakfast (cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese), instead of cramming a power bar down my throat as I ran out the door. I listened to music as I got dressed, and even had time to do my hair. Normally, I wear my hair straight because it's actually a less time consuming process than wearing it curly. I just wash, blow-dry, straighten, and it's "Hello, Perfect."

Wearing it curly is all about timing. First, I wash it. Then I squeeze out the excess water and comb it into a low bun. I do not towel dry because that just ruins everything. After I've gotten dressed and my hair has dried slightly, I shake it out and scrunch with mousse. Then, for the next 45 minutes, I check on it, scrunching occasionally and applying hair spray to different areas. This is tricky, too - if you over-spray, your hair comes out crunchy; if you under-spray, your hair comes out with limp waves. Once it's mostly air-dried, I put my blow-dryer on low and gently dry the rest of my hair. Today, after all this, I pulled it back from my face by popping a few bobby pins in and creating a party bump. See pics below for examples of the party bump.

A lot of girls save the party bump exclusively for parties, but I've turned it into an everyday style. In Madrid, my friend Melissa would predict whether we were going to have a good night or not literally based on whether I was wearing some sort of party bump. It's a big deal. (See how much free time I have?? I can't believe I just explained all that...)

After my hair was perfected, I walked to the luncheon, instead of sprinting down Comm. Ave to class like I usually do. The luncheon was fine, and after, I ran some errands in the Kenmore Square area. When I got back to my room I chatted online for a little, and then I went to the gym for a solid sweat sesh. After the gym, I cleaned my ridiculously messy room for the first time in like, a month, while watching "The Real Housewives of New York" reruns. After, Maria, Noelle, Sasha, and I walked over to Sunset Cantina for dinner. Over a giant plate of nachos, we discussed all of the exciting events that are coming up in April and May. Marathon Monday, Senior Week, Maria's birthday, and my birthday were discussed extensively. That was when someone quoted our new favorite song, "I Love College." Hence, the title of this post. Check out the video here. I think I've been to that party...

Now, I'm back, after taking a long, luxurious, hot shower. I've been crossing things off my checklist left and right. It's amazing what you can get done when you have time to do it. Tonight, I have plans to finish cleaning my room, and then I'm going to watching the new episode of "Real Housewives" and eat some S'mores icecream.

If only every day could be this good :)

Love,

Tara

"Bottoms Up"

Monday, March 30, 2009
7:48 pm Aaaaaah.

I know I haven't blogged in forever. This past week was rather stressful. First of all, I was deathly ill. I know, it's tragic. Last Monday I woke up in the middle of the night sweating and shaking and super nauseous. Then that illness transformed into a major head cold - I can't believe a little girl like me can produce that much mucus. I've found I always get sick right before allergy season. I think my body doesn't know what to do with itself so I just get sick. Good times.

Never one to complain (...) or let circumstances get me down (...) I pressed on through the week, going to work and my internship and classes and... job interviews! The thought of living in my parents' basement until I'm 30 kept me motivated to keep churning out job applications.

So, today I'm treating myself. I had another great interview today, and even if I don't get the job, at least I'm making moves. After my interview and work in COM I came home and ate Ben & Jerry's S'mores icecream and I didn't go to kickboxing. Then I laid in bed and didn't clean my messy room. I've just been laying here, watching Golden Girls reruns for hours, and it's been awesome.

I always get super nervous before interviews. I try not to, but I think it's the worst part of the application process. Last night I was up until 2 in the morning putting together portfolios and laying out my outfit and making sure everything was perfect. I find dancing around to really loud music helps me shake the nerves, so this morning as I put on my make up and straightened my hair I listed to Bottoms Up. I heard it at my friend Melissa's party this weekend (so many BC boys!), and now I'm a little obsessed. There's nothing like a little head bobbing and singing into a hairspray bottle to make you feel a little better.

Miss Tara G, lookin' extra glossy...

Love,
Tara

"This song will never get old!"

Wednesday, March 18, 2009
6:37 pm Cold.

We need to talk about the Britney Spears concert. Monday night I went to the most cracked out "circus" I've ever seen, and IT WAS SO GREAT. First of all, we decorated t-shirts with the words "Team Britney" on the front. On the back, we each wrote a word to make up the sentence "Hit Me Britney One More Time." All the high schoolers at the concert were soooo jealous.

The Pussycat Dolls opened for Brit, and I was pleasantly surprised by their performance. They actually sang, and their dancing was crazy. It made me long to be a back-up dancer. They started to sing "I Don't Need A Man," which I told Noelle I had never heard before. Noelle looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Girl, it's like your song. You would love it." I did.

After the Dolls performed, all these crazy clowns and contortionists hit the stage to entertain us while Britney waited back stage, probably finishing her Red Bull and asking God, in a Southern accent, to bring her luck. It took FOREVER for her to finally get on stage, but when she did it was amazing. People FREAKED OUT as she descended from the ceiling on a trapeze.

It's Britney, bitch...

The concert was good. She lip-synched the entire time, but that was expected. I was a little disappointed that she didn't dance more - I mean, she wasn't singing, so it wouldn't have been hard - but it was still a really cool performance.

Towards the end, she "sang" a remix to "Hit Me Baby One More Time," and as we were screaming and singing along, Noelle yelled, "This song will never get old!" It was so true.

Love her, hate her, say what you want about her...

I'm a Britney lifer.

Love,
Tara

"I'm washing my hands of you."

Sunday, March 15, 2009
5:12 pm Beware...

Sooo, I'm still in Glastonbury. I couldn't stand to let my spring break end, so I got talked into staying until tomorrow morning. I'm taking a 6 am bus, so while extending my vacation seems like a great idea right now, I'm sure I will be cursing myself when I have to wake up at 4:30 tomorrow morning.

Anywhozzle, having another full day at home has been just lovely. I woke up at 7:30 am to go on a hike with Dad. We went over to the Kongscut Land Trust and walked around in the cold for a while. There's no marked trail so it was all a little etch-a-sketch, but we managed to find our way back. It was all good until my mind started to wander, and I thought about what would happen if we were attacked by a bear. I spent the rest of the hike looking for hiding places within running distance.

After the hike, I came home, ate a grapefruit (my favorite fruit, next to kiwis and apricots), and Mom and I went to the mall for some spring clothes shopping. I needed some stuff to wear to my internship, so we cleaned up at Express. Then we went to Ann Taylor Loft at Evergreen and did some spring clothes shopping for her. Contrary to rumors, Ann Taylor stores are not going out of business. After Mom modeled her clothes in the dressing room, and I gave the final approval, we went over to Moe's Southwest Grill for some delicious Mexican food. I suggest the Art Vandalay burrito. Mmm, I could eat another one right now.

Full of Mexican food and giddy with spendorphins (n. opiate-like hormones that are manufactured in the body and contribute to natural feelings of well-being after shopping), we came home where my parents ganged up on me and convinced me to stay until tomorrow morning. Okay, actually they suggested it, and the thought of packing now as opposed to later convinced me to stay. Give me a chance to procrastinate, and I'll take it.

Now that the rest of my day was free (though my To Do List begged to differ), Mom and I went to the Museum on the Green to look up dead relatives. Mom has really been getting into our family's geneaology, and it's kind of weird how every one of our relatives has seemed to live in Connecticut and Massachusetts for hundreds of years. Even right in Glastonbury. Apparently, we're direct relatives of the Hubbards who donated the land for Hubbard Green. Personally, I think I should be able to take the land back because my great (x 20) grandfather donated it, but I think other people might disagree, so I won't make a fuss. I'm a people-pleaser.

After scouring a dusty old book for information on relatives (okay, she scoured, I sat there for moral support), we walked around the graveyard looking for names of people we're related to. We didn't find anyone we were directly related to, but it was so nice out. As we walked through the green I received a phone call from my charming sister Stephanie, who asked me in a very accusatory tone why I had not called her all day. I told her that I had been busy spending money and eating burritos and trudging through graveyards, but she was not very sympathetic. I guess working 80 hours a week can do that to a person.

Once the graveyard stroll was over, we picked up Kaitlyn from work, and went to CVS where they wouldn't let me have my prescriptions again because they told me I wasn't insured. I hate insurance companies. Seriously. Don't ever work for one. They just spend their days trying to steal your money and not insure you. When I went part-time as a student, we told the insurance company, in keeping with being honest and, you know, not committing insurance fraud. This meant we (hahaha, I mean my parents) would have to pay much more money to give me health insurance, but whatever. Now, even though my parents have paid more than is due, Aetna still keeps saying I'm not insured. So, every time I go to CVS, the prescription pick-up guys roll their eyes like "Here's the crazy girl who thinks she has insurance, again." They can't say that though, so when I approach the counter, they just politely ask, "Um, did your insurance maybe change?" And then I politely say, "NO! Aetna is just the root of all that is evil and wrong in this world." Can't a girl pick up her nose spray without it being a big deal? I mean, seriously. Aetna - you're on my list.

After another awkward encounter with the prescription pick-up guys we drove home, where I asked Dad (very politely) how much money he was going to give me to go to grad school. He laughed and started rubbing his hands together. I thought he was doing some cool magic trick where he conjures up $200,000 and hands it to me, but instead he said, "Know what this is?"

"What, dearest Father?" I replied.

"I'm washing my hands of you."

Is this any way to treat your oldest and dearest daughter who has brought so much joy to your life? I think not. In fact, I would write this denial of education down in my notebook of Things My Parents Did That I Will Never Do to My Own Children, but I already ran out of space.

Love,
Tara

"How do you sleep?"

Thursday, March 12, 2009
12:52 pm Four days left...

So, one of the things I have thoroughly enjoyed during this spring break in Gbury is singing. Singing is not something I do much of while at school (neighbors complain, RAs get called, it gets messy), but when I'm home I sing all the time. First, there are the songs I make up. This morning I started with "Where are my keys?" and then switched to "Ima need to get over" when I needed to switch lanes on the highway. There's no particular tune to either of these songs, though when I broke out into "What will I have for lunch?" it kind of sounded like "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."
Then there are songs on the radio. While I was driving "Gives You Hell" came on, which I sang to, along with some choreographed arm movements. Luckily, that song comes on the radio every two minutes so I had many opportunities to practice. After that, "How Do You Sleep?" came on. Stephanie has been in love with Jesse McCartney since she was 11, but she was disappointed with his music video. I hated it the first time I watched it, but now I kinda like it. Regardless, I've memorized Ludacris' rap, the best part of the song.



And JM's so hot, who really cares about the video?

Love,
Tara

"Sweet Dreams"

Sunday, March 8, 2009
10:57 pm Not tired.

This daylight savings thing is really messing with my sleep schedule. Or maybe it's the fact that I didn't get up until 1:30 this afternoon. Hard to say. Either way, interning at B+S has forced me to try and live a healthier lifestyle. My first goal was to tackle sleeping. I've noticed (okay, people have told me) that I tend to be cranky and irritable when I don't get my beauty sleep. And it's true. When the 7 am alarm chimes on my Blackberry, my reaction usually involves a combination of crying and cursing the gods, with a whole bunch of expletives thrown in. You would think that the early morning text messages I receive from my doting parents, wishing me a sparkling day and a GMK (goodmorning kiss - * insert collective "awww" here*) would help, but I'm usually in such a foul mood I can't bring myself to respond to them until later.

So, to improve my life, I have come up with a sleep schedule. It goes along with my OCD tendencies and makes me feel like I have some sort of control over my life, even if it hasn't really helped me sleep better. After extensive research on the Internet, I have learned that adults typically need 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night, but it's different for everyone. In general, you should try not to let yourself sleep more than 9 hours in one night because that can lead to you feeling more tired the next day, and taking one nap a day is fine so long as it's only 20 minutes and not after 3 pm. You also should refrain from doing other activities in your bedroom besides sleeping (this has proved difficult since I live in a dorm), and you shouldn't watch TV or go on the computer before bed because it stimulates something and that's bad. Phew.

Anyway, just writing this post is making me sleepy because it's boring me to tears. I just haven't been able to come up with anything interesting to write about lately. Maybe I'll have a really inspiring dream tonight...

I hope for your sake I do.

Love,
Tara

"Really!?!"

Thursday, March 5, 2009
6:44 pm No class tonight!


This makes me laugh:



I like it for a number of reasons, but in addition to its hilarious content, it reminds me of Stephanie, who says "Really!?!" allll the time.

Love,
Tara