'always in this twilight'

I've listened to the Florence and the Machine record like, maybe 10 times today. I never get tired of it.

We had a new stove delivered today. I was in charge of letting the stove people in. Super nice guys. Nick and Tyrone. They will be getting a '10' on the delivery survey. Handsome guys, too. The process of moving stoves (and other large appliances, I would imagine) is nothing like I would have thought. I thought they would move it out on a dolly. BUT NO.

So, they were wearing these large strap things, like a backpack, but then there was a large strap connecting them to each other. I thought it was kind of cute. And then, they came in the house, tipped the stove back, knelt down, put the connecting strap under the stove, and then lifted it. So like, the stove weight was between the two of them. It was awesome. I wanted to just stare at them, but I thought that maybe would be creepy. I kind of did anyways.

And then they brought the new stove in the same way! And once it was on the ground I said,

JULIE: That thing is so awesome.
NICK: Yeah! It's way easier than using a dolly.
JULIE: It's like, super hardcore.

I couldn't believe it. I'm still in amazement. I have a new respect for anyone who moves large appliances.

So, the new stove is in. Tyrone said not to use it until it gets to room temperature, or else it may crack. It's a fancy stove. Like, a flat top one. With a non-broken door!

The reason we had to get a new stove, was because when the kitchen was being painted, the painters moved the stove out from the wall, and they broke the door. Or like, broke the vent thing that's above the door. The door still opened, but you had to do this tricky maneuver that no one except me could figure out. So, anytime for the past week and a half that we were using the oven, I needed to be present to open it up. Perhaps it's because of my small hands? Or willingness to reach into hott ovens with no worry of burning my hands. Because for some reason, I have no sense of hott and cold. Because, in order to open the oven, you needed to semi touch a hott oven surface. There was like, this metal piece that was hanging down too low inside the oven door, which was preventing it from opening.

Normally, it wasn't too hott. But like, on Thanksgiving, when the oven was on all day, it got kind of hott. Like, if an oven mitt would have fit into the small space, I would have used it. But, it didn't. And those glove-oven mitts that are semi-freaky, were like, $15. Not worth it to have a tiny burn on your hand.

ANYWAYS. I hadn't intended to tell you any of this. And now I've been talking for like, 20 minutes about this. Crazy.

The new oven is nice. I guess it's called a "range." Range? Oven? Stove? Do they all mean the same thing?? IDK! That's why I don't work at Home Depot. That's probably like, training day #1.

What I wanted to tell you about, was these dreams I had last week. I had two of them in a row.

I can't exactly remember what was happening in the second dream. I remembered it last week, and I told Kara. But she's at work right now. So I can't ask her.

But both dreams involved a massive power outage. The first dream, I was moving to a new area and applying for a job in this cafe, and then just as I was talking to the lady about working there, this huge storm moved in and the power went out, and myself and all the patrons of the cafe were trapped in the restaurant until the power came back on. Because it was too dangerous to go outside.

And then the second dream, was kind of the same idea, I remember. Like, a big storm which caused the power to go out for like, 7 hours, I think.

I just thought this was weird, having two dreams about power outages right in a row. And, it kind of freaked me out. So, I looked it up...


BLACKOUT:
To dream that there is a blackout, indicates your lack of insight and perspective on a situation. You may be feeling frustrated or experiencing failure in some work that you are attempting. The blackout may also symbolize ignorance, the unconscious, evil, death, or fear of the unknown.

STORM:

To see a storm in your dream, signifies some overwhelming struggle, shock, loss or catastrophe in your waking life. The storm also represents unexpressed fears or emotions, such as anger, rage, turmoil, etc. On a more positive note, the storm symbolizes your rising spirituality. It may signal rapid changes ahead for you.

To dream that you take cover in a storm, foretells that whatever disturbance or problems is occurring in your life will quickly blow over. Consider also the phrase "weather the storm", which refers to your ability and strength to withstand whatever comes.


I guess it kind of seems like these two things are related. Kind of scary, but also kind of comforting in a strange way. Clearly, it means that my trying to get a job is bad news.

I got something in the mail yesterday about retirement and collecting Social Security and everything. It was probably the creepiest piece of mail I've ever gotten. Like, they had a lot of information about me. But also, I was like,

JULIE: I guess I'll just retire!!!

But, it really wasn't about that. It was basically letting me know that I've worked for enough years so that if I for some reason, become disabled and cannot work, I will be allowed to collect Social Security. I think. I think that's what they told me.

So, here's the plan:
1. get married
2. have a baby
3. become emotionally disabled
4. collect social security

great! If you're married and have children, then you get more Social Security money. And that will solve my problem of not knowing what I want to do with my life. Avoidance! Yep. That's my method. It's worked well for 25 years.

Actually, I got something else in the mail a few days ago and it was from the New England Technical Institute. Or, New England Institute of Technology... one of those two. And it said on the outside of the envelope, "important career information!" So I was like, "oh, great!" So, I opened it and read all about their courses and programs.

And NOW, I think I want to become a surgical technician. Cool, right?!?! Either that, or an interior designer. OR, go into aviation science. And become a PILOT. How cool would that be?!?! Except pilots work under pretty bad conditions. Also, I'm not really good at being in airports because I get really mad and rude at people. I've just had bad experiences. So, maybe I shouldn't become a pilot.

Actually, there's probably some warning that comes up when I book an airline ticket because I did so much research on Fidel Castro and Che Guevara my last year of college. That would make sense, since I've had so many problems at airports. Especially going through customs. But actually, this has been going on since I was little. Before Div 3.

ANYWAYS.

Surgical tech seems cool. And ever since I was in 5th grade I've wanted to become a brain surgeon. So, maybe that's step one?? Wouldn't it be funny if I actually ended up a brain surgeon?? Like, after all this indecision about everything in my life. THAT'S what I become. I would love that. I like tedious things like taking things apart, so I think I'd be good at surgery. Haha, that's probably not a great reason to cut open someone's brain.

Oooo but doesn't that just sound cool??? Like, powerful and awesome?? To actually understand something like a brain? And like, there's a problem with the brain, and you will most likely know how to fix it. That sounds great. Like, to KNOW what to do.

I'd take any kind of surgery, actually. Except you probably have to wake up early to be a surgeon.

I'd also like to do something with weather. Like, not be a meteorologist, but be like, the person who reports to the meteorologist. Like, the science person who knows everything about what everything means. Unless there's no science person, and the meteorologist does all the work.

I like science a lot. But, for some reason I always hated it in school. And did pretty bad.

This makes me think that you shouldn't go to school until you're older. Like, start school at age 10, or something. And then you'd finish high school when you're like, 23 and THEN go to college.

Perhaps I'll think about this some more and then work it into my presidential campaign. I wonder if there's ever been a former brain surgeon president. Probably not. Although, maybe.

Although, by the time I would have finally finished medical school and got my brain surgeon license, it'd be time to start the presidential campaign. So, that wouldn't look good. Failed brain surgeon as president? Hm. Or, person with a brain surgical license who doesn't actually use it but instead becomes president? Hm.

I need to stop blogging if I ever want to become president. Although, that'd be cool to have a president who blogs while in office. Like, why not? Why is everything so secret? It'd be like, the most popular blog ever.

Although, I can spend a lot of time blogging. And perhaps the American people would rather have a president who spends more time on important issues, rather than blogging about them. But maybe not! Who am I to speak for the American people?

Anyways. What else can I talk about?

Kara and I have to go to Petco tonight. Chowder needs more cat food. Chowder is Ruby Tuesday's older sister. I'm excited to go to Petco, because last time we were there buying her food, we spent like, an hour staring at these hilarious mice. There was this one mouse that was just awesome. He like, thought he was Spiderman or something. Spiderman mouse. He was like, trying to climb the walls. I'm actually laughing just thinking about it. He was so funny. We were laughing pretty hard in the store that night. Haha..

So, we're into December now. I can't believe it at all. How it's been like, a year since last December. I feel like this year flew by.

It's almost been a year since I FIRST saw Crash Kings. Perhaps on that day, I'll have a Crash Kings madness blog post where I post pictures from all 18 shows I've been to. Wait, 18? Is that right? No, that can't be right. Hold on... let's do a quick recap:

- boston
- boston
- providence
- albany
- sayreville, nj
- boston
- west chester, pa
- portland
- boston
- new york city
- chicago
- portsmouth, nh
- boston
- providence
- burlington, vt
- philadelphia
- new york city
- washington, dc

holy crap, that's 18. That's a lot of times seeing Crash Kings. I think that's also the order of the cities we saw them in. I'm pretty impressed. Oh, I love Crash Kings. They are so cool.

So, my goal for this week was to unpack all my clothes into my room and clear out all the clothes I no longer wear. And it's Thursday. And I haven't started yet. I guess I only have one more day to do this. I MUST complete this personal goal.

OH!!!!

I'll do a blog challenge!!!!!! Wait, what were those called??? Hold on,

COMPETITIVE MIND SPORTS!!!!! Yes. This shall be Competitive Mind Sports, Game #2. The first one was when I had to force myself to clean out my bedroom in my apartment with one full rotation of the River City Extension record.

Hm. Well, I definitely can't do this clothes project with one listen to that record.

Okay, I have this playlist that's like, 4 hours and 15 minutes long. I wonder if I can do it in that time.

Perhaps I'll just set a time limit.

I KNOW. Starting at 6pm TONIGHT, I'll give myself 24 HOURS to complete this project. And by 6pm on Friday - it'll be done.

Okay. Now I'm excited about this. Once I put it in the blog - it's REAL. It's ON. And I have to do it. Why do I think like this? I don't know. But, it gets stuff done.

I'll outline the goals for this challenge:

- clean out my closet and bureau
- set up bags of clothes to donate to Planet Aid boxes
- bring my huge suitcase upstairs and unpack it into my closet and bureau
- get ready for a trip to the laundromat

Perhaps the laundromat trip will be a challenge for next week. My mom is making me go to the laundromat because I have too much laundry. I have no problem with that, because I enjoy laundromats. I think it's because I don't mind waiting. Lines, doctor's offices, grocery store checkout, laundromats... nope. I'll wait. I like this about myself. Perhaps it's the fact that I'm a massive procrastinator. Maybe I'm just lazy to do things quickly? (that's probably it.)

ANYWAYS.

COMPETITIVE MIND SPORTS, GAME #2 - Clothes Project. It's ON.

I'm excited about this one, guys. I like including you in my personal goals. I like to have small goals and projects to work on. Long term goals, what? No thanks.

No Day But Today? Yep. Thanks, Rent.

OK. So now my goal is to take a shower. And then maybe start the clothes project. And then meet Kara at Petco, and then go to the gym. Ugghhhhhhhhhh. THE GYM. I hate working out, but I like having an excuse to listen to dance music really loud in my headphones. So, it balances itself out.

Although lately, before I go to sleep, I put in my headphones and listen to dance music anyways. True story. I don't know why I do this right before bed. Like, I'll literally be in bed, lights out, trying to fall asleep with this dance music blaring in my ears. And then like, an hour later, I'll wake up and the dance music will still be playing. Weird. But for some reason, it helps me sleep.

Ok. I seriously started blogging this afternoon with the intention of only telling you about those dreams. But it got out of control pretty quickly when I started talking about the stoves. Or, ranges. Or, ovens. Whatevs.

So! I hope everyone has a great evening!!! It's Thursday!!!! What a great day, right?! Right!

Take care, friends!!! What are you hott plans for this weekend??? Share them with me!



have a beautiful night ♡

'because none of it was ever worth the risk'

DON'T HATE ME. I know I'm the worst blogger ever. I'M SORRY I didn't do the Thanksgiving Madness post that I promised you. I totally forgot about it until Thanksgiving night just as I was getting into bed, and then I was too tired :/

But, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

I'm so thankful that whenever I come to the blog, I feel a little bit happier. Not as lonely. I know I'm surrounded by friends :)

So on actual Thanksgiving day, I was alone, as I believe I mentioned a few times. My mom and sister had to work. I also had to work, though at not an actual job, and I wasn't getting paid. I was cooking all the delicious things we would be eating on Second Thanksgiving, which was happening on Friday.

I did a lot of cooking. Or, rather, preparing. We did the actual cooking of everything on Friday afternoon before eating. The prep was all pretty easy. This was my third year in a row cooking these recipes, so I'm kind of used to them. It's really the only real cooking I do all year. Thanksgiving Dinner. Funny, right? Kind of. I hate cooking and never do it, except for this huge day where I cook everything.

AND - everything was delicious!!! As always. Really delicious. I do a good job at things when I actually pay attention and care about them.

So, Friday was spent eating all day. Which, I have no problem with. Saturday was pretty good too. Hung around with my mom all day. Kara had to work. My mom and I went to Target and then to the grocery store. Prettttyyyyy exciting stuff happened.

Not really. But I suppose it was a nice day. Although, I was kind of in a sad mood.

Sunday was a great day. I had a great day. I met Jenn for lunch! Great. And it turned into like, a 5.5 hour lunch of us getting caught up with everything in our lives. It was really great. Jenn is like my older sister, so that's awesome. Like, seriously. An older sister to me. And I've known her my entire life, which is PRETTY COOL. (yep... still saying' "pretty cool" in the Miley voice. get used to it.)

After our lunch, I came home and got ready to go over MARIA'S house. I was sleeping over and then babysitting her little sister all day Monday. FUN FUN FUN TO THE MAXXXXXXX.

I went over and they were in the middle of decorating for Christmas!!! Also, the Sarah Palin show was on TV, and I watched like, 3 episodes. It was kind of amazing. All they did was fish. And when they weren't actually fishing, they were either talking about going fishing, setting up the fishing camp, or gutting and cleaning fish. YES. But man, Alaska looks pretty nice. Like, vacation scenery all the time.

Then, Maria and I got bored or something.... so we started playing with these giant dice. Or, di. Like, trying to balance them on our fingers. It sounds super lame and boring - but we did it for like, probably half an hour. And we decided eventually that we should become a dice balancing act, where people would pay to watch us do our tricks. Which includes: balancing dice on our fingers and saying, "whoooaaa whoa whoaaaa" a lot. Our act will be called, 'The Lady's Di.' YEP. Brillz. TOTESbrillz.

I didn't go to sleep until like, 4:30 in the morning.

On Monday! I was spending the whole day babysitting Maria's little sister, Joshie, who is awesome. She's 10. We did a lot of awesome things. First, we had breakfast. Then, she suggested that I take a quiz about puppies. So, I took the quiz. I didn't do too bad for someone who has never owned a dog. Or has never been a dog person. Then we watched the classic film, Dante's Peak, starring Pierce Brosnan. If you have never seen this cinematic gem, you must see it immediately.

In eighth grade, me and Maria were in Mrs. Schwingle's class and it was like, a half day or something. Or, maybe that was one of the week's that we had bomb threats every day and got to go home early. But, there wasn't enough time in the day to do anything productive, so we watched Dante's Peak. BUT - then the time ran out and we couldn't finish it. SO, me and Maria either immediately rented the movie, or immediately bought the movie, I can't remember which one. And ever since that day, Dante's Peak has played a major role in our lives.

We had to stop it like, right after the part where Ruth has to walk through the acid lake in order to keep the boat from sinking. YEAH. THAT'S A PART IN THE MOVIE.

Turns out, Joshie has a crush on Pierce Brosnan. After the movie was over, she drew a heart on this little marker board that said:

I
♡
PB

and she was like,

JOSHIE: That doesn't stand for peanut butter... it stands for PIERCE BROSNAN.

It was awesome. I laughed a lot. We also looked through lots of dog books, did some drawing, Joshie taught me the proper way to howl like a wolf, ate some chicken nuggets, watched some funny YouTube videos, Joshie gave me an alto saxophone, piano, and tenor saxophone concert... it was a time. A great time. I've known Joshie ever since she was a baby, so it was really cool hanging out with her just the two of us. OH - we were also texting. For some reason, texting is WAY more fun when you're in the same room as the other person.

Maria and her mom came home in the evening. We all relaxed on the couch for a while. Then, a bit later in the evening, I departed for my house. The long distance of like, 3 miles away.

Joshie also invited me to sleep over their house for an entire week. Sooo.... that's gonna be a good week. Love that fam.

Monday night was spent hanging out with my family. They are great too. Ruby Tuesday missed me a lot.

Tuesday was an exciting day. My mom had the day off work! Because she needs to use up her vaca time at work!!! Awesome! That never happened with me. I was literally waiting month to month to accrue more vacation time so I could take more time off. Haha.

We all got up early (10am) and went out for breakfast! And then had to go to Target. I needed to exchange a pair of glove/mittens that I had bought. Did I tell you about those? I think I did. Or wait sec... maybe I didn't...? Their like, gloves, with a mitten flap that goes over your fingers? And they're teal and brown? I feel like I remember typing out this.

OH. I think I typed it out to Keith. I don't think it was in the blog. Keith sometimes gets personalized blog entries, and then I get confused. It's a hard life, being an amateur blogger.

Or rather, blogging is confusing when you mix it with general correspondence, because then, like what just happened, I get confused as to where I have said things and who I have told.

Anyways, I bought those glove/mittens. They were from the kids section because everything is cheaper there and I have small hands. BUT, these glove/mittens were TOO small. They were for ages 4-7 and I should have bought 8-16. They fit, but it was a bit tight around the wrist.

So I went to exchange them, BUT THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY 8-16. Sadface. No glove/mittens for Julie. I ended up just returning them. And! The customer service lady was Grace Shaw! Who I went to high school with. Awesome! I feel like I'm back in high school. For real. It's crazy. Like, it's CRAZY. Maybe I'll just start going back to Noble. Maybe nobody would realize that I graduated like, 7 years ago. Weird. Both that I'm seeing all these high school people, and also that I graduated like, 7 years ago. WEIRD.

I also bought exciting items in Target including: allergy medicine and gum. I couldn't wait to open the gum, so I had to have a piece in the store, and then pay for it. I figured that was probably fine. Delicious gum, btw.

Then, we had to go to Home Depot. Since I've moved home, I've been to good ol' HD mayyyyyybe like, 25 times. Ok, that's a lie. It's been like, 5 times, maybe. Actually, maybe only like, 3. Too many to count, that's how many.

THEN, we came home and decorated the house for Christmas. Kara and I worked pretty hard putting up lights on the bushes outside. And putting out Frosty, who is the twinkling snowman that lives in our yard. My mom named him Frosty, but I think he looks more like an Eddie.

Then, we decorated the indoors. Put up the Christmas tree. Kara yelled at me because I was doing it wrong. The house actually looks awesome. I haven't been a part of holiday decorating in a lonnnnggggg time. Like, I can't remember the last time. So, it was kind of nice.

Then, Kara and I made macaroni and cheese and it was delicious. Like, soooo good. And we drank apple cider out of wine glasses. More fun that way. Currently I'm drinking soda out of a wine glass, and it rocks. Like, it's making everything wayyyy more fun.

Like when you drink a cold beverage out of a mug. Best thing ever.

It doesn't take much to make me happy. Like, not much at all.

OMG. omg. Omg. I haven't told you about HARRY POTTER.

I saw Harry Potter with Kara and Maria last week!!!!!!!!! O.M.G. What an amazing movie. Super creepy, super dark, bittersweet, heartbreaking, made you laugh, made you cry, all around GREAT movie. Yes, I cried. TEARS. Like, TEARS WERE STREAMING DOWN MY FACE. At the end.

This was also the first time I really HATED Voldemort. Like, the really first time. I mean, normally you just don't like him. At least, I don't. Because I generally don't hate anybody. Even if that person is Lord Voldemort. But at the end of this movie, when Voldy and Dumbledore are inches from each other.... I felt SO violated. I couldn't believe how angry I was to see that happen. And anger and hate are two emotions I never feel. And these were coming right after the tears happened. It was a lot to handle.

Also, I feel like I appreciated this movie so much. Like, seeing all the characters. Even Kreature. I was like, "awww, it's KREATURE!"

But also, for some reason, I mix up the Harry Potter movies and books SO BAD. Like, I can NEVER remember what has happened and when everything all happened. So, when Harry, Hermione and Ron go into the Black house, I was like, "awww Sirius will be there!" And then I got all excited to see Gary Oldman. And then I was like, "Hmm, when was the last time we saw Gary Oldman?" And then I remembered that it was in the 5th movie when Sirius died....

So, there would be no Gary Oldman here. But, I leaned over and asked Kara, just to make sure:

JULIE: Wait... did Sirius die...?
KARA: (shakes her head at me) Oh my God, I can't believe you're asking me that. YES.

And then afterwards she said to me,

KARA: I was embarrassed for you that the people next to me might hear what you were asking!

Kara is my go-to HP resource. She has read the books like, 5 times. She's like Harry Potter clifnotes. For realz.

ANYWAYS. The movie was amazing. Loved a lot of the camera angles. Like when Harry is trying to destroy the locket for the first time and he's like, trying all these different spells and the locket keeps jumping further and further back, and then he just goes crazy and THEN - it shows a quick shot of the back of his head. LOVED THAT SHOT. I don't know why. But, it was so good.

Also loved the shot when the snatchers were running after Harry, Ron and Hermione and they were running towards the camera, and the camera was like, running towards them. That doesn't make sense. It also doesn't make sense when I explain it in real life. But, I loved that part too.

Also loved the shot of Voldemort in Dumbledore's coffin, even though I hated that part.

Yeah, lots of great cinematography.

That was a great night.

:)

SO. Right now I'm sitting in the living room, enjoying the decorations. And the lights. Sights and sounds of the season, as some would say. Alliteration, much? Actually, there are no seasonal sounds playing currently. I'm listening to Paper Tongues. Their acoustic version of, 'Get Higher,' which is like, the most beautiful song ever.

Oh! But if I were listening to seasonal Paper Tongues, I would listen to their recording of Carol of the Bells. Great version. My mom even loved it!

I had a dream the other night about the whipped cream vodka that me and Kara had. The dream was, we were out of it, and Kara was going out to get more. And, I woke up just as she was leaving to go to the store. Great dream, right? Yep.

ALSO, been rocking out to Ke$ha a lot lately. Reallllyyyyy makes me want to go to a hott dance party. 'We R Who We R' is my jam. Actually, no. Not exactly my jam. But, a great song nonetheless. Kara and I had a dance party to that song while we were stopped at a red light on our way to Wal-Mart last week. YEP. #classy

WELL. It's about 1am. I'm tired. Ruby Tuesday is tired and wants to go to sleep. She's been out and about in the house tonight. We're going through this process of slowly reintroducing the cats to each other. Not going so well. Until tonight! Tonight was the first time they were together that didn't end in a screaming cat fight. So, progress!!! And now Ruby is running around the house playing. Awww. She's the best. Like, aside from Kara, she's probably the person I love most in the world. Notice how I called her a person. yep. She has the best personality of any cat ever. And, she has a better personality than some people I've met. You have to meet Ruby to understand what I'm talking about. And like, live with her.

She also just literally rolled down the stairs because she's chasing a green mouse around the house. It was pretty hilarious. Like, she actually rolled off a stair. Awww and she JUST ran into the living room with the green mouse in her mouth. Looks like she's in control of that situation. Don't want any loose mice in the house. Especially the green ones.

OK. I'm going to bed now. So is Ruby. She woke me up this morning and punched me right in the mouth. That's a true story. With her paw. Twice, this happened, and then I finally got up to feed her. She's awesome.

OK now it's bedtime.

I hope EVERYONE has a great day!! I have no idea what day it is! But, it should be a great one.

HOLY CRAP it's December 1st!!!! That means it's Wednesday, because that's when my storage unit payment is due. Don't worry, I already paid it.

ALSO::: MOST IMPORTANT NEWS YOU'LL HEAR ALL DAY =

My birthday is LESS THAN three months away. yep. Get ready, folks. 25 on the 25. Quarter of a century? Check. I should have a huge, blow out party. On a boat. A black tie, huge blow out party on a boat. That sounds awesome.

Also - Bro Tour 2011 will begin. This is the fake tour that I have made up in my head. With all the brother bands. yep. Awesome.

OK. I'm really going to bed now. I'm tired. Take care, friends. I will try and be better about updating. Life is pretty awesome right now, not gonna lie. Unemployment suits me well. :)


Until next time!


☭♡☼