Well, hello

Since my last post, I have:

~turned 20
~visited MD (multiple times, actually)
~been visited in Greenville and Greensboro -- sometimes surprise visits!
~been to Venice, Ravenna, Padua, Florence, Pisa, Siena, Assisi, Spoleto, Sorrento, Naples, Pompei, Rome, and Milan, Italy
~been to Paris and Nice, France
~had the amazing experience of traveling abroad for two weeks with my wonderful boy, Matt
~helped my roomie celebrate her engagement
~helped another roomie get through a break-up
~gotten my first "real" solo in FUtones
~finished my first arrangement for Madrigals
~experienced the Venetian Carnivale
~been to my first cabaret

...and lots of other things that would require more time than I can devote to this thing. :-)

I'm entering a photography contest for this year's foreign study participants. I got three pictures printed today and am hopeful, although there are a lot of people entering, so I won't exactly be surprised if I don't win anything. But I took some damn good pictures. :-) My roomie's fiance (!!!) told me tonight that he thinks I should be a professional photographer. Why is it that no one thinks I should be a banker, or a secretary, or something boring like that... oh, yeah, because I would SUCK at it. Still, though. I can't exactly make oodles of money with photography, especially lacking years of experience/training. Why do I feel like I have to be ready to jump into a ::scary voice:: CAREER as soon as I graduate next year???

But anyway. I digress.

Silly as it is, I'ma put a survey in here, because that's what I do. And because I'm putting off reading Hemingway. Sigh. Why does school have to require so much... work?

Level 1
( ) Smoked A Cigarette
( ) Smoked A Cigar
(x) Kissed A Member Of The Same Sex
(x) Drank Alcohol

SO FAR: 2

Level 2
(x) Are / Been In Love
(x) Been Dumped
( ) Shoplifted
(x) Been In A Fist Fight

SO FAR: 5

Level 4
(x) Had A Crush On An Older Person
(x) Skipped School
(x) Slept With A Co-worker
(x) Seen Someone / Something Die

SO FAR: 9

Level 5
(x) Had A Crush On One Of Your Facebook Friends
(x) Been To Paris
( ) Been To Spain
(x) Been On A Plane
(x) Thrown Up From Drinking

SO FAR: 13

Level 6
( ) Eaten Sushi
( ) Been Snowboarding
( ) Met Someone BECAUSE Of Facebook
( ) Been in a Mosh Pit

SO FAR: 13

Level 7
(x) Been In An Abusive Relationship
(x) Taken Pain Killers
( ) Love/loved Someone Who You Can't Have
(x) Laid On Your Back And Watched Cloud Shapes Go By
(x) Made A Snow Angel

SO FAR: 17

Level 8
(x) Had A Tea Party
(x) Flown A Kite
(x) Built A Sand Castle
( ) Gone mudding (offroading)
(x) Played Dress Up

SO FAR: 21

Level 9
(x) Jumped Into A Pile Of Leaves
(x) Gone Sledding
(x) Cheated While Playing A Game
(x) Been Lonely
(x) Fallen Asleep At Work / School

SO FAR: 26

Level 10
(x) Watched The Sun Set
( ) Felt An Earthquake
( ) Killed A Snake

SO FAR: 27

Level 11
(x) Been Tickled
( ) Been Robbed / Vandalized
(x) Been cheated on
(x) Been Misunderstood

SO FAR: 30

Level 12
(x) Won A Contest
(x) Been Suspended From School
(x) Had Detention
(x) Been In A Car / Motorcycle Accident

SO FAR: 34

Level 13
(x) Had / Have Braces
(x) Eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night
(x) Danced in the moonlight

SO FAR: 37

Level 14
(x) Hated The Way You Look
(x) Witnessed A Crime
(x) Pole Danced
(x) Questioned Your Heart
(x) Been obsessed with post-it-notes

SO FAR: 42

Level 15
(x) Squished Barefoot Through The Mud
(x) Been Lost
( ) Been To The Opposite Side Of The World
(x) Swam In The Ocean
(x) Felt Like You Were Dying

SO FAR: 46

Level 16
(x) Cried Yourself To Sleep
(x) Played Cops And Robbers
(x) Recently Colored With Crayons / Colored Pencils / Markers
(x) Sang Karaoke
(x) Paid For A Meal With Only Coins

SO FAR: 51

Level 17
(x) Done Something You Told Yourself You Wouldn't
(x) Made Prank Phone Calls
(x) Laughed Until Some Kind Of Beverage Came Out Of Your Nose
(x) Kissed In The Rain

SO FAR: 55

Level 18
(x) Written A Letter To Santa Claus
(x) Watched The Sun Set/ sun rise With Someone You Care/Cared About
(x) Blown Bubbles
(x) Made A Bonfire On The Beach

SO FAR: 59

Level 19
(x) Crashed A Party
() Have Traveled More Than 5 Days With A Car Full Of People
() Gone Rollerskating / Blading
(x) Had A Wish Come True
() Been Humped By A Monkey

SO FAR: 61

Level 20
(x) Worn Pearls
() Jumped Off A Bridge
(x) Screamed "Penis" or "Vagina"
() Swam With Dolphins

SO FAR: 63

Level 22
(x) Got Your Tongue Stuck To A Pole/Freezer/ice Cube
() Kissed A Fish
(x) Worn The Opposite Sex's Clothes
(x) Sat On A Roof Top

SO FAR: 66

Level 23
(x) Screamed At The Top Of Your Lungs
() Done / Attempted A One-Handed Cartwheel
(x) Talked On The Phone For More Than 6 Hours
(x) Recently stayed Up for a while talking to someone you care about

SO FAR: 69

Level 24
() Picked And Ate An Apple Right Off The Tree
(x) Climbed A Tree
() Had/Been In A Tree House
(x) Been scared To Watch Scary Movies Alone

SO FAR: 71

Level 25
(x) Believed In Ghosts
(x) Have had More Than 30 Pairs Of Shoes
(x) Gone Streaking
(x) Visited Jail [like, on a tour]

SO FAR: 75

Level 26
(x) Played Chicken
() Been Pushed into a pool with all your clothes on
(x) Been Told You're Hot By A Complete Stranger
() Broken A Bone
(x) Been Easily Amused

SO FAR: 78

Level 27
() Caught A Fish Then Ate It Later
(x) Made A Porn Video/got asked to make one
(x) Caught A Butterfly
(x) Laughed So Hard You Cried
(x) Cried So Hard You Laughed

SO FAR: 82

Level 28
(x) Mooned/Flashed Someone
(x) Had Someone Moon/Flash You
(x) Cheated On A Test
(x) Forgotten Someone's Name
(x) French Braided Someones Hair
(x) Gone Skinny Dipping
(x) Been Kicked Out Of Your House
(x) Tried to hurt yourself

SO FAR: 90

Level 29
() Rode A Roller Coaster
(x) Went Scuba-Diving/Snorkeling
(x) Had A Cavity
() Black-Mailed Someone
() Been Black Mailed

SO FAR: 92

Level 31
(x) Been Used
(x) Fell Going Up The Stairs
() Licked A Cat
(x) Bitten Someone
(x) Licked Someone

SO FAR: 96

Level 32
() Been shot at/or at gunpoint
() Had sex in the rain
() Flattened someone’s tires
(x) Rode your car/truck until the gas light came on
(x) Got five pounds or less worth of gas

TOTAL: 98

I'm really not sure what the total means. I don't know the point of it. I think a better way to qualify this would be to say total number of things you wish you hadn't done (mine's 11), and total number of things you haven't done that you want to do (mine's 14). I think that makes sense. I wonder if it's healthy to have that many things I wish I hadn't done... I mean, some of them are just obvious, like watching something die. That sucks and if I didn't wish I hadn't, I'd be worried about me. Um. Anyway. Some things I haven't done are just surprising. Like, why in the world have I never eaten an apple right off the tree? That seems like something you should do. And I never have. And what the heck is wrong with me that not only did my family never have a treehouse -- I have actually never been in one. This just seems wrong. I want to fix it. At the very least, MY family will have a treehouse. And... sigh. I've never been on a roller coaster, nor do I anticipate ever enjoying one. But Matt insists it is a life experience I need to have. :-P So I suppose there's no way out.

Okay, enough procrastination. I'm sure I'll be posting again... someday... hehe.