"You're just a phone call away."

HEY IT'S NOVEMBER!!

I realized last night that November is already almost halfway over, and even though that really freaked me out, am not complaining.

It's only about one month until I can actually go home and see my dogs and brother and see my mom for more than three hours. I can't wait to

actually see a different season, because although there are days here when the weather is nice and even feels slight like Autumn, it looks exactly the same as it did when I arrived here in August. And that, frankly, sucks. :|

But I've had some pretty fun adventures with my friends... last weekend Renee and I met up with Rea, Vicky and her boyfriend Marc. Originally we were in search of some trampolines that someone had put on Landis Green, but they were nowhere to

be found! So we basically just ended up walking around campus, and we actually saw some stuff that none of us had seen before, such as a random outdoor

ampitheater! You guys might have seen the pictures up on facebook... good times.

Good times, but I still miss you guys. I was telling Lizz the other

day... it's so hard to put my all into trying to

make friends because it just feels like it's supposed to be temporary. The weekend are always so depressing because I don't even have class to focus on (not that I do that all that much anyway) and I just sit at my desk and think about how much I miss being at home. It's not that I regret coming here for school, it's just that it sucks that EVERYONE else here gets to drive two hours to go home for the weekend and all I can do is call my mom. I can't even express how much I just want to be in my car, driving fast with the windows down on 199 or going slow through CW... it just suuucks.

So, I think I've told most of you about my trip to Virginia, but anyway... it was two weekends ago, and even though I was bummed that the boyy I have a crush on didn't end up going ( :P ) my fellow FSU College Dems met up in Jacksonville with some from UCF. We didn't get to out hotel in Virginia until about 3:30 in the morning, and had to be up at 7 the next day, and we soon began canvassing and phone banking for Creigh Deeds! We were going door to door ALONE first thing, and I'm not gonna lie I was shitting my pants at the prospect of knocking on doors in a strange town, but I got the hang of it after a few (dozen) houses and altogether I personally went to about 150

houses. Also, the guys from UCF, with whom I ended up riding back from Chesapeake to Jacksonville, are some of the coolest

people I've ever met. So all in all, it was a successful trip if you don't count the election results two days later...

Also, I definitely loved the atmosphere in the campaign office there. I really want to do an internship or something with a candidate at some point, which is convenient because I can see the Capitol from my dorm room window. It's such a rush, and I can only imagine how it must feel going through primaries and actually WINNING would feel!

Ooh and I finally figured out my schedule for next semester! I got the last seat in Arabic (after stalking it and seeing that someone had dropped out, and consequently camping out at my computer until 8am when the registration window opened) so I have that class every

morning. I'm also taking Geology (actually it's called DYNAMIC EARTH... haha) and an accompanying lab. Aaand, let's see... Intro. to the Old Testament for a humanities credit. I'm

also taking Islam in the Modern World because I'm doing the Global Pathways program and focusing on child and education policies in the Middle East, so I'll have an "International

Friend" who is from there and I can help them adjust to the United States as well as do different cultural things with them (things like going to a Middle Eastern restaurant or going to a Mosque, etc.). So over the next couple of semesters, I'll take a lot more Islam classes as well as Arabic and then PRAYING TO JESUS/ALLAH, etc. that I'll get to study abroad there and possibly get a Fullbright (this is way down the line) to teach there at some point! My first choice would be to go to Saudi Arabia, but I dunno... Jordan or some other countries are safer sometimes... but we'll see! Oh yeah and I'm also taking Math for Liberal Arts... fuck that shit. My schedule is 17 credits unless I feel like meeting with one of my hundred advisors to get into a Communications Disorders class. But whatev.

I wish I had some more interesting things to write on here... you wonder why I don't write that often and well, this is why. :P

Trying to think of something...

Well, nothing is coming to mind. Look at the sweet pictures I put on here and it's only FOUR WEEKS UNTIL I'M HOME AND SEE SOME OF YOU!!!!!

Love you all,

Bailey

No Way it's November

Thanksgiving is coming up!!! I'm so excited, though i can't believe I haven't seen any of my family since August...and my grandparents will see me before my actual parents and sisters because I'm flying to Philly Tuesday night, and then my family drives up to New Jersey on Wednesday. I'm really excited to go into the city too, I've been craving a NYC trip, and that's one thing I love about Thanksgiving--just being able to drive into the city and do whatever we want to do for the day...and a good part of my friends here (including my roommate) have never been into NYC, and I think that's so crazy! I mean, I know they're not from the coast or whatever, but I can't imagine never going there! (though a lot of them have been to the major west coast cities....which i really need to get to sometime...anyone want to join me??) Oh, and I decided that I'm going to Chicago one weekend, I'm serious, cause we're only a couple hours away, and I think I'd really enjoy the city (and everyone here thinks it's a little crazy i've never been...i think it serves as there New York for the most part...the shows tour there and everything). Oh, and I also plan on going to Louisville with my really good friend Kelsey one weekend, because I've never been to Kentucky. And as supposed to be a lot less hick and more pretty than everyone thinks, haha, so I'm definitely going to check that out while I have the opportunity.

The picture ^^ is Megan and I before Friday night's wind ensemble concert. I've been surprised with how much I've gotten to play in the ensembles as a freshman (was in first orchestra concert, and then played first harp in wind ensemble concert), and I've really enjoyed both ensembles! We've just had really good parts, and I've gotten to know some of the harpists better. For orchestra, I played with Ashley, who's a junior from Houston, and her practice room is right next to mine, so I really enjoyed getting to know her better. Then for wind ensemble I played with Megan, who I think is just an awesome person. She's trying to finish up her undergrad this year (she's a non-traditional student, and is also double performance majoring in voice and harp, which is, well, let's just say my 33 credit hour French major has been hard enough to incorporate with my harp major), and we had a lot of fun. She bartends at night, and kind of caused me realize that a lot of my friends are in their 20s. She was talking about the one bar, and then she realized that I might not be 21 yet, so I probably haven't been in there....haha, but she is about the same age as the doctoral student, so about 25. And then I feel like half the people in my French class are older too! I don't really notice at all, because I don't really feel that much younger even though I might be 7 years or so younger...

Anyways, I've decided that I want to bring a station wagon to campus next year. It's free with the plan I'm on, and my mom said it should be fine. I want to stay in the same dorm next year, though there's a group of us that want to get a suite together, which would be really nice. The plan I'm on froze the rates from this year to next, so the price difference is not as bad, I just have to stay in the dorms for another year. I think I'm moving out my junior year though. I'm always at Liann and Grace's house (sophomore and doctoral harpist). And Liann wants me to move in with her my junior year, well, she's already asked about next year, but I have to stay in the dorms for another year, which will probably be easier for next year anyways. But junior year I definitely want to move into a house with Liann. She's becoming a really good friend of mine, and I think we'd be really good housemates! Both the house they live in now and the one she is living in next year are even closer to the music building than my dorm, haha, so I definitely won't be far if we stay there.

October was amazing here, the campus was beautiful, and still warm enough to enjoy! Halloween was awesome! I was the ocean.....(it was amazing, don't question). And I did everything from painting pumpkins, to trick-or-treating at Liann's, to watching Hocus Pocus. And then my roommate came back and it took me a significant time helping her get all the bangles she had borrowed from me off her wrists, cause she was a little bit out of it, though because she was in the room while I was skyping with Cougzz, she asked if i was gonna make her mac-n-cheese, which caused me to start laughing a lot...haha

So, the Tarot readings! I hope I succeed academically! haha, cause if I don't, well, that would be rrreaally bad. haha, my schedule is gonna be 19 credit hours again next semester i think....though in a different way, as in some credits are ensembles, so it might be easier than this semester, and i'm deferring one again so i don't have to pay overload. But yes, I hope the tarot cards are correct there, and um, I hope I don't get too absorbed in my academics and music etc. somewhat like high school...though i always made sure to have a social life, cause I love you guys so much! and i've made some really good friends here as well. though love-life? haha, i'm not doing anything to prevent anything! though i will consciously try and make sure not to push anything aside or anything...i promise! i know i've been encouraging Bailey to pursue certain prospects, haha, so i should probably take the advice myself, i know....and Cougzz, that plan sounds good! i mean, i'm not an expert obviously, but it sounds solid. And chrissy!! haha, yours seems to predict a lot of period of adjustment or change or something, which i'm sure pertains to all of us, but I hope you're doing really well with whatever in your life! and whatever prospects you may have....keep me informed :) i'm always interested...thank you lizz for doing them, i enjoyed them a lot......miss all of you!! and i should be back sometime the night of December 18th! llooooovvveee yoou!!! -Twinkxx

Come and open up you folding chair next to me!

Today I changed my computer’s desktop background to a really autumny picture to celebrate the coming of November. Like Lizz said in her last post I really love the month of November. I’d say it’s my favorite month, probably because of the rawness of it all. It’s not as pretty as October, but I think that it embodies autumn more so then October does. In November the air has a chill in it that warns of the coming winter, while October often times is still a bit muggy and

sometimes even straight up warm. In October all the leaves are just beginning to change colors, they are still vibrant and alive, but in November the leaves lay on the ground, wet and mushy, covering the sidewalks and the trees start to look bare, but with just enough color to make them beautiful. I love it so much! And I am beyond excited for Thanksgiving break!!

In other news I had a fabulous Halloween weekend! We established that Halloween goes through this period of time in high school where you can’t really get into it because you feel like you’re too old or too cool to participate in it. But then you get to college and it’s almost like you’re a little kid again because you get to dress up and go crazy, the only difference is that you also have an excuse to party pretty hard all weekend long. :-P

So I’d had plans to go over to “The Allen House” (we call it that because it’s located on Allen St., naturally) on Friday night for my friends’ “Space Olympics” Halloween party. On Thursday Kae and I went over after biology to help set up and decorate. I’d have to say we did a pretty excellent job. There was aluminum foil all over the walls in the main hallway and we made a ghost out their radiator. Then on Friday I got ready for the party in Kae’s dorm with Jen and

Lauren. I was proud that none of us looked like whores, unlike the other 98% of the girls that were going out that night. We even got a smile from the really hot GRC security guard!! But for real, we all looked really cute. I was Marvin Martian from the Looney Tunes, Lauren was The Milky Way, she wore all black and then taped Milky Way wrappers all over her, and Kae was “athletic” Princess Lea. The party was really fun! I played Kings for the first time, which was pretty awesome. And we had all chipped in $8 to buy a stash of liquor so you can imagine we got pretty drunk pretty fast after the first time someone pulled an Ace. (In Kings, if you pull an Ace you have to do a “waterfall” where the person that picked up the card has to start drinking and everyone else follows and can’t stop drinking until the person

to their right stops). After Kings, we all basically just hung out in the hallway and did some dancing.

On the actual day of Halloween I went home with Kae to carve pumpkins! This would, by the way, be only the second time I have ever carved a pumpkin in my entire life! It was fun, and my pumpkin was pretty legit. It was cool to get to meet Kae’s family, her sisters are crazy, and her parents seemed really nice. We got back to Richmond around 8 or so and decided to get ready to head back over to the Allen House to meet up with Sammy and some other people. For Halloween, I decided to do an 80’s costume, kind of reminiscent of Flashdance. The original plan was to pre-game at the Allen House and then head to find parties or maybe go to a dance party. But, it ended up pouring down rain a little after we got their so we decided to just stay in. We played Kings...again and then just chilled, played some music, talked, drank, it was a lot of fun!

I’m really happy because I feel like I actually bonded with a lot of the people that I spent time with this weekend. It’s a really good feeling knowing you’re making legitimate friends. Which brings me to Lizz’s tarot card reading for me. I’d been feeling a little down and out about my current prospects in the love department, but her reading further drove home the point that I need to be less focused on romantic pursuits and more so on just forming lasting friendships and relationships with the people I’m meeting. So that’s what I’m going to do. I know that I have a tendency to be really shy and quiet and I don’t let people (especially guys) in when I first meet them, which would prove to be a little difficult if I am trying to get someone to like me. So if I just focus on friendships I know I’ll be more myself which would up my chances for someone liking me for me. Haha, it sounds a little corny, but I think it’s a plan!

I love you guys, and miss you!

-Cougzz

PS: I decided that the tattoo that I get of writing is going to say “The Most Happy” now. It was Anne Boleyn’s motto when she was queen. I thought it was really cool and also appropriate to get when I’m so young and in my prime. Also, Anne Boleyn is such a badass!! :-D

November 1st, 2009

November 1^st, 2009

November is one of my favorite months. Grey and brown are November’s colors, beautiful and subdued. November smells like moldering leaves, cold air, and winter spices. November isn’t gaudy, like October is, because the trees’ leaves have faded and fallen, leaving the branches bare, skeletal… but it isn’t in the heart of winter either, like December is, because there’s still that strong sense of dying, rather than death, lingering in the air. I love November for all of these poetic reasons, and also for reasons more concrete: Thanksgiving, and the Christmas season! I can’t wait to start decorating my (well, Reed and V.J.’s) dorm room with garlands and wreaths and scented candles that we can’t actually light. I can’t wait to start hearing Christmas music in all the shops. I especially can’t wait for the whole nine-and-a-half days I get off for Thanksgiving Break, and getting to actually settle into “life in Williamsburg” again, for the first time since leaving for college. AAH, I’M SO EXCITED! So I think November’s going to be good.

Since last night, Halloween, is when the veil between the spirit world and our world is at its thinnest, I decided to do tarot card readings for all of you. For each of you, I asked what love holds in store for you for the remainder of the school year. Here are your results:

BAILEY:

The past: Page of Swords

“He keeps you guessing with misinformation.” Perhaps this refers to the boys you’ve like- young, fickle, never sending clear signals or at least enough of a signal to go by.

Obstacles: Seven of Swords

“…there is no sense of trust in a relationship… examine other’s motives… on an emotional level, you may give into pressure.” I think this is saying that you will encounter communications and trust issues in pursuing a relationship, and that you may be tempted to settle for less than you deserve or make bad calls in terms of your love-life because of the pressure you impose on yourself to actually make something happen in this arena.

Influences in your favor: Knight of Wands

“Whatever you’ve been waiting for begins to materialize, perhaps in the form of the charismatic knight himself, or as an inspiring, entrepreneurial phase… events are likely to speed up.” Clearly, this card could either represent an actual love interest or a change in attitude that will get the ball rolling for you.

Further influences: King of Swords

“As a symbol of a situation, projects take off, but do pay attention to detail to avoid delay.” This seems to me to predict that it’s important to take care that you get to know the guys you’re involved with thoroughly before actually pursuing them romantically, or else it will delay the development of the sort of relationship you want.

Near future: Knight of Cups

“Affection, friendship… a creative, dreamy individual, the knight heralds new relationships and friends. If you fall for the knight romantically, he may offer affection, but you may feel uncertain about his potential as a long term partner.” I think that this card is fairly self-explanatory… it’s also worth noting how many face cards you got in this reading, all of them males. That signifies to me that you will have many potential love interests or men in your life this year.

Long-term future: The Chariot

“Journey, determination, self-control, departure… the drive for adventure… you move on towards a new relationship… at this time, you will show great determination to get where you want to go… the horses [that pull the chariot] also represent libido, so there is also the frission of sexual adventure here.” I thought it was amazing that this card should appear in your reading, after having just talked to you the other day about your desire to go places and inability to be content in one place for lack of knowing exactly what everywhere else is like. I think this card is saying that no romantic relationship you develop this year will be lasting, because your drive to explore (both the world and your options romantically) will take you elsewhere before long. Also, clearly you will be experimenting sexually :D.

MIKA:

The past: Nine of Cups

“Vanity… relationships suffer due to egotism… frustrating delays to plans.” This card seems to be addressing the fact that you haven’t always had success in relationships, perhaps sometimes due to you or the boy in question feeling that you are/he is “above” the other (one of you looking in the wrong places for love out of vanity). This also speaks to the frustration you’ve felt in the past over bad timing and inaction, i.e. “delays in plans.”

Obstacles: Four of Swords

“Time away from familiar surroundings… you may be feeling isolated due to lack of contact with others.” I think this is referring to the fact that you’re at college now, dealing with new surroundings and a very different sort of guy than the guys you’re used to dealing with back home, which majorly changes up the game.

Influences in your favor: Three of Wands

“Self-expression… events speed up, with more communication…” This is addressing the potential you have to attract people and develop relationships if you only remember to be yourself and communicate, both in the sense of trying to get to know a guy and in the sense of expressing your needs and desires in a relationship.

Further influences: Two of Cups

“A love commitment… this card indicates a happy relationship.” Clearly, since you’re single, this isn’t talking about you (as it’s a “influence” card, not a “future” card), so this could be referring to a couple in your life you influences your expectations for relationships (your mom and dad, friend’s parents… maybe even me and Reed :D!). Conversely, this card can mean “one person may be unwilling to commit to a partnership. Relationships suffer as communication fails.” In this case, it’s a caution against what may happen as you pursue relationships… or a reminder of a lesson you’ve learned in your previous relationship experiences.

Near future: Four of Wands

“Postponement… you may be finding it difficult to bring together conflicting aspect of your life just now… rewards seem elusive as you lose out to other contenders… stay focused and be open to possibility, rather than give up too soon.” This one seems pretty self-explanatory… delay in what you want due to inability to adjust or balance aspects of your life. This could refer to adjusting/balancing your attitudes about friendship versus romantic relationship. The next part suggests that guys you’re into are going to end up being into other girls, which will be discouraging. The last part is advice- be open to the possibility that the right guy for you is going to be one you didn’t expect.

Long-term future: Nine of Swords

“You may be feeling trapped by a sense of despair that is becoming all too familiar, so that it is virtually impossible to recognize a good thing when it comes along. Try to acknowledge that this way of thinking is becoming a pattern…” I think this is saying that as the year goes on you’re going to be depressed by the “postponement” (as referenced in the near future card) of anything actually happening in your love life, and start to despair of anything ever actually happening for you, which will impair your ability to follow the advice of the “near future” card- that you should be prepared to see a good thing when it comes at you from an unexpected place. You should also be aware that you’re the only constant in all your failed attempts at relationships, and it’s patterns of attitude rather than action that you need to focus on changing to bring about more positive results.

CHRISSY:

The past: Ten of Cups

“…you may find yourself missing the company of usual friends. There may be some mild disruption in a family circle or other network.” This makes sense, since obviously you, like all of us, are adjusting to life after high school, and the return of your father recently could be the disruption mention… the stress of these factors will cause you to change and develop in ways that will affect what you search for in a partner.

Obstacles: Page of Cups

“Frustration… the Page seeks attention and has difficulty expressing his feelings in a positive way. He may be a child or young person in your life who is going through a difficult phase.” I think this card could either be a person in your life, perhaps a male you’re interested in or who’s interested in you, or it could be you yourself, going through the “difficult phase” of adjusting to adulthood.

Influences in your favor: Two of Swords

“Peace returns after a time of discord and turmoil. Be cautious and factual, and consider every aspect. You will need to balance carefully your needs with those of the other party if you are to come to an agreement.” The first line may again refer to your father coming home, and the new perspective that’s given you on your parent’s relationship and also your entire family dynamics. This card also seems to caution against rushing into a crush or relationship without considering it carefully first. Finally, when you do meet someone who could be significant to you, be aware that balancing your needs and his will be an especial challenge for you- in your case, I think it’s more likely that you’ll be inclined to subsume your desires to his. The fact that this card appears as an “influence in your favor” indicates that you will be successful in doing all these things.

Further influences: Page of Wands

“Cautious progress… As a person, the Page is a natural talker, full of loquacious charm but easily bored.” From this description, I think the Page is you. This card suggests that your personality plays a big part in who is attracted to you, so always let it show through and you’ll attract the kind of people who are most compatible with you. Cautious progress means that you need to temper your personality at times even still, while never actually acting like someone you’re not.

Near future: Ace of Wands

“Delay… the timing is not right for what you want to create… this causes frustration… success is within reach, however, and with patience it will come.” Obviously this is saying that, for the time being, you will have to keep waiting for something to actually happen in terms of your love life. In the context of the reading, I feel like it’s saying that you have a lot of growing and changing to do before you’re ready for a serious relationship, because if you find someone right now who you want to be with, that same someone isn’t going to be compatible with you for long. I think the key to this is letting your personality develop and even itself out as you get older and transition to adulthood, because personality, balance, and adulthood are all recurring themes in this reading.

Long-term future: The Lover

“A successful decision is to be made, which is based upon maturity and foresight. The lovers can also reveal outgrowing an environment, such as a young person leaving home and taking a step toward independence.” This card echoes all of the others, reiterating the importance of maturity, growth, and becoming an adult. It suggests that if you can do these things, and not until then, you will be in an ideal position to begin looking for a serious relationship, so focus on growth for now and good things in your love life will follow.

KATIE:

The past: The Hanged Man

“Waiting… you may need to hang around waiting for someone else to make a decision. There is little you can do but wait.” Since this card represents the past, I think it’s referring to your situation before leaving Williamsburg, and your sense of waiting around for life to begin.

Obstacles: Two of Cups

“One person may be unwilling to commit to a partnership. Relationships suffer as communication fails…” This could be a prediction, or a warning. Maybe lack of experience with guys in the romantic sense will lead to communication problems, especially with regards to expectations in a relationship.

Influences in your favor: Strength

“Courage, patience, and persistence… aims can be achieved with quiet confidence rather than displays of overt strength. This card is also about internal conflict, and the necessity of accepting your shadow side.” I think you’re a very strong person, naturally, and so this card is clearly saying that that’s your biggest advantage in the game of love. It also cautions though that you need to accept the ways in which you’re weak- you can’t do everything and be everything for everyone, and trying to do so will impede you in finding a happy relationship.

Further influences: Seven of Wands

“…your goals are worth pursuing. You may not have an easy path to follow but, with perseverance, you can get where you need to be. There is a great chance that you will succeed.” This card seems to me like it’s speaking more to your academic goals than romantic goals. Since you have, as a musician, such rigorous demands on you and your time, this card may be suggesting that this is what you need to focus on now in order to ever feel like you deserve to take time to pursue relationships. Obviously, this is an overall positive card, since it predicts you will succeed.

Near future: Page of Pentacles

“As a person, the Page is responsible and diligent; he symbolizes hard work and a mature attitude.” It’s pretty clear to me that the page is you, Katie, and this card seems to say that as you have always been, so you will be for the near future. Your responsibilities and vision for the future will continue, for the time being, to take precedence over romantic pursuits.

Long-term future: Justice

“ Justice argues for a reasoned, pragmatic approach to challenges as opposed to avoidance and denial, or extreme responses. Balance is all.” This card warns that you may tend towards extreme responses, and that you would do well to try to temper that. You can’t be all work all the time, in other words, and balance is something you’re always going to struggle with. Another reading of this card admonishes “Judge yourself kindly”- you deserve good things, you deserve freedom, and you deserve love, so don’t forget to make time for it!