Below are the most recent 8 friends' journal entries.

Thursday, December 24th, 2009
bucketheadkitty	11:26a	It's Crimmus Eve. As I type, Elliot is running crazily through the hall and jumping on any piece of furniture that jumps into her path. For Christmas Mitch got me all 3 seasons of the IT Crowd which is the best British comedy television series ever. Ever. We're moving in one week! In one week from this moment, we'll have been on the road for quite some time and Elliot will hopefully be calm and cool. Like that song from the 90s. "You gotta be calm, you gotta be cool, you gotta stay together..." OR HOWEVER IT WENT. Elliot just jumped in an open cardboard box. Now it looks like the box has a very fluffy brownish-gray tail. I can't wait to get a car! And make car payments! And I can't wait to have a washer and dryer in our place! No more laundromats! AND I CAN'T WAIT TO EAT CHEESE DIP! Seriously. What is up with the midwest not knowing about cheese dip? They have queso fundido but that stuff is not good. The mexican food up here is terrible. Who cares if it's more authentic (and who's to say it is?) Last night I stayed up very late watching season 3 episodes of the BBC's Robin Hood OnDemand. It reminded me of when I first moved up here, except then I was watching season 2 episodes (or was it season 1?) Either way, it was when I was unemployed and staying up way late while Mitch slept. Which is exactly what last night was. American Apparel shirts are so comfortable but their sizing system is ridiculously bad. You can't just say you're one size in their shirts. You can be a small in one shirt and then a large in a very similar shirt. And they're pretty expensive for what they are! (Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
persephone828	10:11a	totally copying catherine 1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? fallen in love. cue barfing sounds. but for reals. 2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? i kind of kept my last one, and next year's is no more improper/superfluous use of the word "like." i'm going to enlist everyone around me to make sure i stick to that one. 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Nawp. 4. Did anyone close to you die? Nawp, thank goodness. 5. What countries did you visit? AMURRICA 6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?  A cross-country tour with the band. A live-in boyfriend. A million dollars. 7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Dec 6th. Never you mind. 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I finished the first draft of my monster 1700-page novel. Never thought I'd see the day. 9. What was your biggest failure? I really fell behind on practicing the piano. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Disastrously sore throaty during a nine hour layover in the Atlanta airport. That was pretty hellish. 11. What was the best thing you bought/Received? Probably the Mork doll I bought for Kat was the best find. I picked out a killer jacket with my Christmas money. I'm indoors and wearing it right now, it's that awesome. 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Cassandra got engaged!! So I guess Dani's behavior merited celebration. 13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? The story is old, but it goes on. 14. Where did most of your money go? Hm...that's a good one. Traveling? Rent? Avocados? 15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Enda's visit. And the idea of him coming back to stay. 16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2009? The Wicked Soundtrack, Still Crazy, any Amanda Palmer 17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? Happier, but I was actually riding pretty high this time last year too b) thinner or fatter? I think I broke even. c) richer or poorer? Definitely richer. Thank Allah. 18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Playing piano, keeping up with geographically distant friends 19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Farting around on the interwebs (like I'm doing now) 20. How will you be spending Christmas? Christmas Eve is Dad's day, Christmas Day with Mom. 21. Did you fall in love in 2009? Yes. Feels just like I'm falling for the first time. 22. How many one-night stands? Actually, technically I guess there was one, but there was real emotion involved, so I think that negates it as a one-night stand. 23. What was your favorite TV program? Venture Brothers probably. Goddamn. 24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? I don't think I really hate anyone. I'm pretty sure actually hating someone is the emotional equivalent to slowly poisoning yourself. 25. What was the best book you read? I'm really enjoying a collection of Lovecraft stories. I honestly can't remember what else I read this year. 26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Amanda Palmer, probably. Also the Constellations are awesome. 27. What did you want and get? Tickets to see Robin Williams and Daniel Tosh. 28. What did you want and not get? I'm pretty fulfilled, actually...telekinesis? 29. What were your favorite films of this year? Let the Right One In was awesome. Also The Room changed my life. 30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? On the night of my actual birthday I was at my Dad's house. Enda and I made a cameo at his poker game and then fell asleep to Wayne's World. I turned 26 a very happy lady. 31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A completed, edited novel! It's going to take a lot of work and several months to a year to actually do, though...better get started... 32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? I actually got a good deal bolder. New fashion philosophy: wear things I like to wear and don't worry if it looks silly. 33. What kept you sane? Christopher Carroll Estes. Not an easy feat considering my night terror spiders and other shenanigans. 34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I'm still pretty googly-eyed about Obama. Also if I ever meet Ewan MacGregor in real life I think I'll be helpless to not tackle him. 35. What political issue stirred you the most? Gay marriage. Prop 8 = bullshit. 36. Who did you miss? Enda, Cassandra, Lindsay, Anthony, all the 828 kids living all over the country. 37. Who was the best new person you met? I've gotten to be friends with Thrasher, which has been cool. Sun Domingo was a good find too. 38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009: Go ahead and get your hopes up. JANUARY 1. did you have a new year's resolution this year? Go to the gym at least twice a week. I didn't always fulfill this, but I did at least try to do lots of walking or situps or something on the days I missed. 2. Who kissed you at midnight? Some stranger at our show, actually. Just a peck on the lips. 3. does it snow where you live? Sometimes. Not enough. 4. do you like hot chocolate? I do! But I can't drink it. 5. have you ever been to times square to watch the ball drop? FEBRUARY 1. who was your valentine in 2009? Ryan of Varsity Theater fame. 2. what did your valentine get you? A mixed CD of old Etta James, Hank Williams, etc. A very sweet gift. 3. when you were little, did you buy valentines for your whole class? Nope. Made em all from scratch. Got glitter everywhere. 4. Have you ever given a "Secret Admirer" card? I don't think so, but I was kind of a retard in elem and middle school, so it's not impossible. MARCH 1. are you Irish? I've got a little Irish in me. (Hey-o) 2. Do you wear green on St. Patty's Day? Yup! 3. what did you do for St. Patty's Day in 2009? Played to hundreds of people in Napper Tandy's. APRIL 1. Do you like the rain? It's my favorite sound to go to sleep to. If it's a downpour and relatively warm outside, I love playing in the rain. 2. Did you play an April fool's joke on anyone this year? I don't think so...mostly I tried to stay on my guard so I didn't get fooled, haha. 3. do you get tons of candy on easter? Yeah, too much. MAY 1. What's your favorite kind of flower? A deep red rose. 3. Do you like the spring? I adore it. 4. Finish the phrase: April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?: Yeah, Catherine's right on this one: Pilgrims. JUNE 1. What year did you graduate from school? 2006 2. Did you go on any vacations last June? I don't think so. JULY 1. What did you do on the 4th of July? Played a wedding in Durham, then high-tailed it to Mooresville to see my cousins who were visiting. I saw one firework from the highway. 2. do you go on any vacations during this month? I flew to Michigan for the annual family reunion there. It was awesome as usual. AUGUST 1. did you do anything special to end off your summer? Lay in a pool of my own sweat dreading the month of sweltering heat still to come. 2. what was your favorite summer memory of '09? Hanging out with Cassandra, Dani, Lindsay, Anthony, Jamie and Lindsay at the Windjammer and swimming in the ocean after the show. I don't know if I've ever laughed harder than when Jamie went frolicking past me in the ocean wearing Cassandra's bikini top. 3. do you go swimming a lot in the summer? Every chance I get. I think I'm part otter. 4. do you go to the beach a lot? With the band, yeah, but most of the time I don't get a chance to actually go to the beach. SEPTEMBER 1. Did you attend school/college in '09? Nope. 2. who is/was your favorite teacher? Mr. Nelms, my fourth grade teacher, probably had the most impact on me. I was a hyperactive little brat and he worked with me and my parents to get me to calm down and pay attention in class. I still remember him giving me a pencil sharpener shaped like a soccer ball to reward me for good behavior. I almost cried. 3. do you like fall better than summer? Absolutely. OCTOBER 1. what was your favorite halloween costume ever? Alex DeLarge or Marla Singer. 2. what's your favorite candy? I eat Neccos all the time. 3. what did you dress up like this year? Gerard Way. I kind of lamed out, actually, because I didn't have time to put a lot of effort into a costume. Next year I'm going all out. NOVEMBER 1. whose house do you usually go to for thanksgiving? My Dad's 2. Do you like stuffing? Only if it's been in the butt of a dead animal. 3. what are you thankful for? My amazing family and friends. And my pets. DECEMBER 1. do you celebrate Christmas? Every year. 2. have you ever been kissed under mistletoe? I don't think I have been actually!! 3. what do you want this year for Christmas? I'm wearing it. 4. what's the best present you ever got for Christmas? My Ford Focus, nine years ago. She's the only car I've ever owned, and she still runs great. 5. do you like cold weather? I prefer it over hot weather. 6. How would you rate your 09? Splendiferous. Current Mood: happy (1 Comment |Comment on this)
bucketheadkitty	9:53a	i have totally forgotten how to do a successful lj cut. sorry. 1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? adopted a cat with a significant other. gone on a long vacation with a significant other. worked at a job for over a year. colored my hair. 2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? i didn't make one at the beginning of the year. my one for 2010 is going to be to get in better shape and lose around 20 pounds successfully. 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? nope, not till 2010. 4. Did anyone close to you die? my grandpa and john brown. and my rabbit burton. mitch's grandfather also died. 5. What countries did you visit? the luxurious british virgin islands with mitch and my parents. 6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? a job i like (and i know i already have lined up!) cheese dip as well. 7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? april 16 when grandpa died. 8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? really getting my act back together and mostly figuring out what i want to do with my life. 9. What was your biggest failure? spending too much money on etsy. thank god i don't have any sort of debt. 10. Did you suffer illness or injury? nope. 11. What was the best thing you bought/Received? the last thing i bought was a shirt from alloy. 12. Whose behavior merited celebration? mitch and bobby. 13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? nobody's behavior could depress me. 14. Where did most of your money go? etsy, clothes, food. 15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? moving to atlanta, the trip we took in august. 16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2009? the travis barker remix of umbrella. we listened to it a few times in new mexico. 17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? way happier. b) thinner or fatter? probably about the same. c) richer or poorer? a lot richer. 18. What do you wish you'd done more of? balancing work life with social life. exercising. 19. What do you wish you'd done less of? nagging mitch. 20. How will you be spending Christmas? at night jennie and i are going to the bay. when we move on the 31st, my mom has christmas planned for the next day for us. 21. Did you fall in love in 2009? more so. 22. How many one-night stands? zero. i slept by him every single night except when he was gone in cleveland and when we were on vacation in the islands. 23. What was your favorite TV program? all vh1 reality dating shows (except real chance at love), top chef 24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? no. i've totally surrounded myself with good vibes. 25. What was the best book you read? i didn't read anything new probably unless it was the new kate dicamillo book which ruled of course. i always re-read the same books. 26. What was your greatest musical discovery? breaking benjamin. 27. What did you want and get? good feelings. 28. What did you want and not get? i honestly have everything i need. 29. What were your favorite films of this year? i think we only saw new moon and brothers. i can't remember anything passed that. 30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? i turned 24 and went to get mexican and margaritas with mitch, bobby, bobby's sister and savage. then we went to the bay and got silly with all the other bay folks. 31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? a job i enjoyed. 32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? the same it has always been. except i guess i am trying a little harder to have a few more adult-type pieces. i do go through the women's section in kohls now. 33. What kept you sane? mitch and the bay. 34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? i don't know really. gerard butler and hugh grant are still cracking me up. 35. What political issue stirred you the most? i don't go in for that type of stuff. but i'm starting to get pretty worked up on the gay marriage issue. i think in 20 years from now people will look back and say this was the dark ages. 36. Who did you miss? my grandpa. 37. Who was the best new person you met? jason carlson. 38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009: when bad things happen, it's good to open up to the person you love. JANUARY 1. did you have a new year's resolution this year? nope. 2. Who kissed you at midnight? mitch at the hum reunion show at the double door. 3. does it snow where you live? yes but ask me again next year and i'll say no. 4. do you like hot chocolate? swiss miss. 5. have you ever been to times square to watch the ball drop? no. i don't do crowds that big just to watch something like that. FEBRUARY 1. who was your valentine in 2009? mitch of course. 2. what did your valentine get you? you know, i can't even remember. flowers i think. and he made a delicious dinner. 3. when you were little, did you buy valentines for your whole class? yeah i always tried to get disney ones. 4. Have you ever given a "Secret Admirer" card? i doubt it. MARCH 1. are you Irish? a little bit. 2. Do you wear green on St. Patty's Day? nope. 3. what did you do for St. Patty's Day in 2009? went to the bay with kevin and laughed hysterically at all the morons in chicago. APRIL 1. Do you like the rain? when i'm not in it. 2. Did you play an April fool's joke on anyone this year? nope. 3. do you get tons of candy on easter? we didn't do anything for easter. MAY 1. What's your favorite kind of flower? i've always liked daffodils. 3. Do you like the spring? chicago barely has a spring. 4. Finish the phrase: April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?: yeah pilgrims is the only answer. JUNE 1. What year did you graduate from school? 2007. 2. Did you go on any vacations last June? june? i don't think so. rob and alisha came to visit though! JULY 1. What did you do on the 4th of July? i prepared for my birthday celebration. 2. do you go on any vacations during this month? we went to cleveland. AUGUST 1. did you do anything special to end off your summer? went to the islands. 2. what was your favorite summer memory of '09? definitely the trip mentioned above. 3. do you go swimming a lot in the summer? for a whole week in the ocean! 4. do you go to the beach a lot? not unless i'm on vacation. SEPTEMBER 1. Did you attend school/college in '09? nope. 2. who is/was your favorite teacher? mr miyagi. 3. do you like fall better than summer? i can't decide between the two. but probably. OCTOBER 1. what was your favorite halloween costume ever? tails. 2. what's your favorite candy? twix but i don't have a sweet tooth. 3. what did you dress up like this year? nothing at all. NOVEMBER 1. whose house do you usually go to for thanksgiving? my nana's in south carolina. 2. Do you like stuffing? absolutely if it's vegetarian. 3. what are you thankful for? everyone in my life. DECEMBER 1. do you celebrate Christmas? yeah i guess. 2. have you ever been kissed under mistletoe? i don't think so but maybe. i can't remember if that was mistletoe at the house one year. i don't think it was. 3. what do you want this year for Christmas? a safe drive down to atlanta. 4. what's the best present you ever got for Christmas? burton. 5. do you like cold weather? i do, but not TOO cold. 6. How would you rate your 09? it was very tough but that's life! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, December 21st, 2009
embem30	11:50p	almost... It's almost Christmas, almost bedtime, and NBC's Sing Off was almost a good show. Almost. Excuse me while I geek out. I got sucked in, and then I got disappointed by the result. The good things about the show? 2/3 of the judges, for starters. While Nicole something-or-other from The Pussycat Dolls never really said much of value and was clearly there as eye candy, Sean Stockman of Boyz II Men had some decent things to say. And it's hard to go wrong with Ben Folds. He's just a cool guy, and his comments were generally right on the money. Clearly, he knows about music and singing. Thank you, Ben Folds, for raising the intelligence level of this show. Note to self: finally time to check out the Ben Folds a cappella album. Also good: the concept. It was nice to hear these groups singing without the crutch of professional musicians on instruments. It was also interesting to know that they were mostly doing their own arrangements, aside from the combined group numbers, I assume. They managed to get some pretty good groups too, although I imagine plenty of better ones would come out of the woodwork for a second competition. ( the gory details ) Current Mood: snarky (Comment on this)
persephone828	7:51p	home for the holidaze Alright. Chapter Two of Enda Bannon’s visit. Fun fact: He had never heard of Johnny Quest or Race Bannon. I said, “Seriously? You’ve never heard of Race Bannon? You really have no idea about how awesome your last name is?” I showed him pictures and a few clips, so now he’s more or less up to date. Now I just need to get him caught up on the four or so seasons of Venture Brothers that he’s missed. So after a few days on the road with the band, we drove back to Raleigh overnight (getting home around 5am) so we could get on the 8am train to New York. After what was nothing more than a glorified nap, we woke Estes up, gathered up our snacks and Jack and luggage and walked the four or five blocks to the train station, and hunkered down for 10 hours of travel. As it turned out, Enda had never seen Boondock Saints before (what the fuck, right? Seriously, guys, he even has a long-sleeved black shirt, one of the only articles of clothing he brought with him. He’s named after a Saint. He’s a total badass. He is a Boondock Saint). We watched the movie on my laptop and then followed it up with Hot Fuzz, which was a lot funnier than I remembered, drinking Jack and diet cokes the whole time. By the time Penn Station appeared out of nowhere, I was pretty silly.  So silly, in fact, that I was convinced we were in New Jersey. “There’s all these signs for New Jersey,” I kept saying. “We’re in…god damn it, we’re in god damn New Jersey!” Enda kept explaining to me, calmly, that he was a hundred percent certain we were in New York. I was so distraught/drunk/distracted that I neglected to realize the escalator I was on was coming to an end and ended up falling on my ass. Aaaand the Hot Mess Express has pulled into the station! So despite my histrionics and totally biting it in front of a train station full of people, we made it safely to the hotel. I don’t ever want to stay in another hotel when I visit New York. It was beautiful, deranged, quirky…just perfect. There was a pub literally ten feet from the hotel, a place called Fitzgerald’s, that became our home base of barhopping. The Irish bartender Owen talked to Enda for a long time and ended up giving him a bunch of free drinks. It was also apparently the source of Catherine’s infamous airport intoxication. Small world indeed! We met up with Jeremy and Erin, and it was absolutely great to see both of them again. We talked about their lives in New York and reminisced (like we always do) about college. It turns out that all the videos we took during our Junior and Senior years, videos that I believed to be lost to the sands of time, are in Jer's possession.  The next night we watched maybe fifteen minutes of one where Kevin DeLury freestyles a song about how hot his Mom is. For real, guys. We all look sooo young too. So then Enda, Chris and I, Santa hats perched jauntily atop our heads, hit the town. We found a cool divey bar with a juke and just got silly. I called it a relatively early night at 2am, and Chris and Enda stayed at Fitzgerald's until after 4. It so warms my heart that the two of them get along.  We didn't end up doing a whole lot of New Yorky stuff, mostly just walked around and saw the sights. We did end up going to the top of the Empire State Building (a first for all of us) and walking around Times Square a lot. Enda bought an Edward Tshirt for Chris and Chris bought a High School Musical Tshirt for Enda, and each of them walked around the city wearing the other shirt. I can't believe we weren't mugged. It was hilarious. The train ride home was less fun than the ride up. On the way up we ate snacks, drank jack, watched movies. On the way back, there was a 2-hour delay at Penn Station. We made pirate hats to pass the time, which was awesome. But on the train, we were out of movies, didn't feel like getting drunk just to get home, and the other passengers in our train were beyond bizarre. There was a baby a few seats behind us who must have been the unhappiest creature in the world. It cried for most of the 10-hour trip. Two seats in front of us, this guy was going through withdrawal or something. He started moaning while listening to headphones, and his volume gradually increased during the trip, escalating to barking sounds, until the woman in front of us asked one of the employees to see if he was alright. He kind of reined it in after they told him to be quiet, but he still rocked and muttered and moaned and generally did everything a jonesing homeless meth addict does. So creepy.  After New York Enda came on the road with the band again and we mostly tried to cheer each other up and not be bummed about his impending departure. His last night in the country, we played a corporate gig on the Virginia coast, and Enda and I walked on a freezing cold beach and talked about him moving to Raleigh. What at first seemed like a distant, hypothetical concept, has turned into him moving here sometime in the Spring of 2010. The next day I drove him to the airport, got a coffee with him, and talked for about half an hour before he had to go through security. I walked him up to the security check, said goodbye, made some joke about how I wasn't going to make a scene, got ten steps away and burst into tears. I made it to my car, sat down, and cried some more, and got a text from him right before he got on the plane that basically said, "This isn't an ending, it's a beginning." That made me feel a lot better and I was able to pull it together and drive away. It's also easier knowing that (immigration laws permitting) he will be living here soon. In less sappy news, I've booked a flight to Madrid to visit Cassandra and Dani in the beginning of February!!! I'm so excited to see each of them and just spend some time in the city. It occurred to me the other day that they'll both be at work a lot of the time that I'm there and that I should learn at least a basic grasp of the Spanish language so I don't have to hide in their apartment all day, haha. I'm home for Christmas now, which has been interesting to say the least. It's been a very Shared Custody Christmas. But not without small miracles. I've watched about twenty episodes of Tim and Eric's Awesome Show Great Job and I think it's starting to affect my brain. I'll update more about this break as it develops. Current Mood: cheerful Current Music: Zwei Dunkel Jungen (Comment on this)
bucketheadkitty	10:41a	all you need is love ouuuuuuch. headaaaaaache. last night i met bobby at the bay and i THOUGHT we were going to just have a quiet night of drinking plus 7-11 nachos. his roommate eric came in and kevin and michelle were there for a brief minute. well justin was working aaaaaaaaaand we drank and drank and drank and drank and drank and drank. savage came in and drank. jason was also there and drank. so after last call he shut down the bar and we all started talking about delicious delicious food. jason, justin, bobby, his roommate, and i went over the yakzies and drank there until 4. and then i cried my eyes out saying goodbye to jason. and then justin, bobby, his roommate and i went to golden apple and ate delicious food. i have a ridiculous headache and have one eye closed while i type this and my mouth feels like death. i probably still have a bit of alcohol in me. haven't done that in awhile. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
persephone828	6:19p	believe me sir, i much prefer / the classic battle of a him and her Wow, so it's been awhile since i've done any real updating. So Thanksgiving was awesome--my Mom came over to my Dad's house for the main meal. I will never cease to be thankful for how civil they have been to each other post-marriage. It was great seeing everyone and just having a few days to relax. Soon after that, Enda visited! We were playing a show in Columbia, SC the night he arrived, and so I drove back after the show and got home around 5am. The next day we played a Raleigh show and Enda and Chris sat in a booth and drank up a combined $170 bar tab. The van ride home was hilarious except for Chris puking out the window at 55mph. Fast forward to Enda and I scooping coleslaw out of the cup holders the next morning. Yeeech. So I really had three birthdays this year--one with friends, one with my Dad, and one with my Mom. Three birthdays and four different cakes: Chris's pound cake, Kat's grover-blue cake, Dad's vanilla cake, Mom's ice cream cake. It's beginning to become clearer why Enda and I gained something like a combined 20 pounds while he was here. After Enda and I cleaned the inside and outside of the rented van (his stomach is considerably stronger with this kind of thing than mine is, what with his decades of bartending experience), we grabbed a blanket and went to Pullen Park. We rode the train and the carousel and then laid on said blanket and tried to catch leaves out of the air while listening to Paul Simon on his iPod. After a few hours of just lounging around outside, we went home and got ready for the evening. He started making mojitos and pretty much didn't stop until we hit the bars for the night. We hit up Raleigh Times, The Foundation, and Busy Bee. It was amazing seeing Enda interacting with my friends. He was a total hit. The dude’s lived all around the world (Singapore much?) and has bartended for most of his adult life, so he knows exactly how to talk to people. I’ve always had a thing for the way those of Irish descent have of telling stories, and Enda is no exception. There’s something lyrical about it, like he’s going to burst into song in the middle of telling you about the time he got pulled over by the police. It’s like I’m dating the dad from Big Fish. The next day we drove home to visit my Dad. Now, I can’t remember if I’ve written in here about my Dad surprising Enda in Amsterdam, so here’s the story: I dated Enda in the summer of 2005 in Amsterdam, for about a month. I told my Dad, who frequently travels on business, about the charming Irishman in Amsterdam. Naturally, when my Dad had to be in the area on business, he took it upon himself to track Enda down and threaten him personally. He sat down in Coco’s, Enda’s bar, and said, “Are you Enda?” Enda responded, “Erm, who wants to know?” and when my Dad said, “Risa Patterson’s father,” Enda slapped his forehead and set a free drink in front of my Dad. Now, my Dad didn’t say it outright, but I could tell that he liked Enda. So we walked into my Dad’s place, and he proceeded to give Enda, hands down, the warmest, most sincere reception I have ever, ever seen him give any of my boyfriends. He’s liked guys that I went out with before—Brendan and Joseph, mostly—but his treatment of Enda was unprecedented. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was like they were old friends. Enda told me afterwards, “When you and I break up, I hope you know I’ll still be hanging out with your Dad behind your back.” Fair enough, Bannon, you’ve earned it. The man who once hurled volley after volley of apples at my high school boyfriend clapped you on the back and invited you to play poker with him. I don’t know what the hell you learned when you were in Singapore, but there must have been some Jedi master there that held the secret to charming the D-A-L-E. My Dad plays poker with a famous NASCAR driver, a guy whose name I shouldn’t list in case he’d get in trouble for gambling. Enda and I tagged along but he was still recovering from the 40-odd hours of travel it took to get here, so we just chilled out and watched the game. We took off early and fell asleep on the couch to Wayne’s World. The next day we drove over to my Mom’s classroom, the third and final day of birthday celebration. She teaches at an International Baccaloriate school, so she brought Enda in to talk to the students and answer questions about Ireland. First question, no lie, from a 7th grader: “Are leprechauns real?” Enda’s head just dropped. AMURRRICAAA. The rest of the day was very laid-back. We went to a store and Enda picked out stuff for dinner. When my Mom got home from work he was already hands-deep in the middle of making an effing delicious pasta sauce complete with two or three pounds of vegetables. My Mom asked Enda a lot of questions about his family (he’s the second-youngest of seven siblings) and his travels. After dinner, we helped my Mom with a giant jigsaw puzzle she’d been working on, ate most of a spectacular ice cream cake, watched Thoroughly Modern Millie, and went to bed. It was a great end to my three-day birthday extravaganza. Alright, that’s enough for one post. I’ll write more about Enda’s visit and our trip to NYC soon. Current Mood: cheerful Current Music: Joni Mitchell (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
bucketheadkitty	7:55p	2 weeks till the big move. My mom called me yesterday to tell me she bought Mitch a stocking to hang with ours. When I was born she sewed mine so she found one in an antique store that almost matched mine and bought it for him. I think I almost cried it was so sweet. Today my dad call me to say that they had spent more on Mitch for Christmas than me and he felt guilty about it haha. I told him not to worry and I pretty much have everything I need. Last night Bobby and I went to Trivia at the Bay. The Pen 15 Club just couldn't bring in a win. But it was a lot of fun and we played good songs on the jukebox and had 7-11 nachos. At the end of the night I was worried that I would never see Jason again so I told him how much he meant to me and that he always cheered me up. He said he loved me to pieces and would miss me. I hope I'll see him again before the move, but I didn't want to end up never getting to say goodbye to him. Mitch's grandfather died last week so he has been gone for a few days with family. He's on his way back right now and I'm excited. I'm glad I got the chance to meet his grandfather over the summer. 2009 has been a really hard year for both of us but it's also been a great year to be together. 2010 will be even better I'm sure. (Comment on this)