So I've been at home (with my parents) for about a week and a half, and I've been slowly progressing through the stages of child-parents' relations. These are the stages, as I've progressed through them:

-Excitement! My mom will wash my clothes and fold them! I can write food on her grocery list and it will be in the refrigerator on Tuesday! And I get to live right in the middle of the city in their townhouse!

-Mild Annoyance. My dad still tells the same jokes. My mom is cooking a menu that only includes foods that she knows I hate: sausage, bizarre fish, jumbalaya, etc. It is always below freezing in the living room.

-Completely hysteria! (This step took a surprisingly short amount of time to reach). This includes me laughing insanely for five minutes during dinner for no reason (which might have scared my parents). I can no longer stand my parents reading headlines aloud from the newspaper and then asking me to comment on the topic. And my mom's OCD cleanliness is crazy...anytime anything is moved out of place, she will move it back, even if you are still using it. For example, never leave a cabinet open and cross the kitchen because it will be closed when you return! I related all of this to my brother on the phone and he decided not to come home for the summer (honestly). But my parents weren't very upset. My mom probably had visions of him wearing his shoes in the house.

-Unconditional love (that sounds like a Celine Dion song!) Anyway, I've realized that in the past, I've missed my parents for reasons that had nothing to do with them. I still love them so much, but I'm marking checks on their nutty-list and starting to accept them as the empty-nesters that they are. I mean, they go out to bars on worknights! It's kind of like they're living the yuppie lifestyle that they missed in the 80s because they were both in graduate school while raising two kids. I've loved being at home, but I've come to the conclusion that I could never sanely live with them again! It all works out, since my mom told me last year that I couldn't. To sum up the stages, I'll miss my parents when I leave, but a desire to be home will no longer impact my choices or emotions.

Anyway, I finally met my parents' famous neighbor last night. I went to his book signing, where I was surrounded in line by girls prepping to say things like "Will you have my baby?" and others who were hyperventilating. I was determined to remain calm. I did tell him that I was his neighbor and I said "welcome to the neighborhood," but I told him the wrong address by mistake ( I've only actually stayed at this house for 10 days so far, that's acceptable, right?). Wouldn't it be just my luck that he would suddenly decide to come over and visit me, only to find that there is no #120? Umm, hmm, since that will never happen, I've decided to live with my mistake :)

Jon Stewart on Oprah is like:
a. Keane on SNL
b. good grade on the 40-page paper that is 50% of my grade semester grade
c. flirting with professional hockey players in San Antonio (while simultaneously missing soporific 3-hour class)
d. all of the above

C'mon! I know you know it ;)
Post another metaphor if you wish...

This is way too true!

Pisces - Your Love Profile Your positive traits: You're very tuned into your lover's feelings - and always doing something caring. Sweetness - you're the most romantic person your parnter has ever met. You get easily swept away and are a total delight to fall in love with. Your negative traits: You are super duper sensitive and find it hard to get out of a sad mood. It's difficult for you to tell your sweetie no, even when you should. You often tell your partner what they want to hear, instead of being honest. Your ideal partner: Is straight from a fairy tale - the man or woman of your dreams Is a total romantic, with an artistic or creative side Loves to express their love to you, in all sorts of unique ways Your dating style: Dreamy. You like traditional romantic dates, like picnics in the park and candlelight dinners. Your seduction style: Fearless - you try what your parnter suggests, no matter how unusual. Loving. You'll take your pleasure second, if necessary. Internal. A lot of your enjoyment takes place within your head. Tips for the future: Be more realistic. Your romantic ideal is nice, but it may just not happen. Let go of your fear of rejection - it's holding you back from being with your true love. Open yourself up to a new love. The person you think you want make not be the one.. Best place to meet someone online: Platinum Romance - singles who value love, romance, and caring relationships as much as you do Best color to attract mate: Seafoam green Best day for a date: Friday Get your free love profile at Blogthings.

FIRSTS
First screen name: rosynic22
First piercing: ears, when I was 16, I think
First $ cards: Not until I left for college
First enemy: I've never really had an enemy. I think one girl hated me, but I was too busy to really care.
First concert: Duran Duran with my Dad :)

LASTS
Last big car ride: wow...um, when I moved to Minneapolis, I think.
Last kiss: Daniel
Last library book: I never go to the library anymore
Last movie seen: Sahara...good for an adventure movie
In the theatre: Same
Last food consumed: A blackberry
Last phone call: Jenny
Last CD played: I don't buy cds anymore, but I listened to Damien Rice on my ipod
Last soda drank: Sprite

SHORT ANSWER

I AM: tired tired tired
I HAVE: great friends
I WISH: I could find a sweet guy in the Twin Cities
I HATE: I reallly dislike anyone who makes children feel shame or self-hate
I WONDER: how many times my parents will take me out to eat during the next two weeks
I LOVE: the hope in the eyes of new immigrant children
I ALWAYS: feed my kitty
I AM NOT: going to stay in the Midwest forever
I DANCE: ballet, or at least I wish I did still
I SING: in the shower...Something to Talk About by Bonnie Raitt
I CRY: a lot...it sometimes makes people think I'm really sad, but it's nice to cry sometimes
I AM NOT ALWAYS: the tidiest person
I WRITE: in my blog every few days
I WIN: when I play mariokart with my brother, but he beats me at everything else
I LOSE: important documents a lot
I CONFUSE: people when I start talking about something that I was thinking about in my head for awhile.
I NEED: a man with a British accent- there is no substitute ;)
I SHOULD: be applying for jobs...but do I really want to stay in the Twin Cities? Hmm...

YES or NO
YOU KEEP A DIARY: Yes, but I haven't written in it for about three months
YOU COOK: yeah, but very simple recipes
YOU HAVE A SECRET YOU HAVEN'T SHARED WITH ANYONE: I watch American Idol

DO YOU...?
HAVE A CRUSH: Jeff on Coupling, the BBC sitcom
WANT TO GET MARRIED: hopefully, b/f I'm 30
GET MOTION SICKNESS: on one ride at the state fair that held me upside down for about 2 minutes, while spinning in two directions
THINK YOU'RE A HEALTH FREAK: not at all...
GET ALONG WITH YOUR PARENTS: Yes...they're so funny, especially my Dad's obsession with with Dietrich Boenhoffer
LIKE THUNDERSTORMS: I loved them when I was young...we used to sit on my grandparents porch and watch car drive by really fast and make huge splashes
Who I want to win American Idol: WELL, Anthony or Nadia or Bo.
Other ways I waste my time: shopping, reading nytime online, watching Coupling, going for long walks around the lakes

A Research Study on 20-Something Attendance of Episcopal Churches in the Twin Cities Area
by Nicole W.

Over the past nine months, I have done an extensive study of the number of 20-somethings attending local Episcopal churches. The results are shocking (yeah, right.) After going to five churches, looking for 20-somethings, enquiring about young adult groups, attending those groups, and trying to guess at the members' actual ages (those lying thirty-somethings, honestly), I have come to the conclusion that there is a third dimension sucking up Episcopalians who are my age. Well, that or every single one has abandoned the church between the time when they're forced to go with their parents and they feel guilty if they don't take their own children. I am sick and tired of being the only person between the ages of 15 and 40 at church! I miss my old Episcopal Campus Ministry. I had honestly started to believe that there was a decent population of intelligent, handsome, and kind Episopalian guys in this country- and that I would have girlfriends to sit and chat with during services. I was tricked. The world outside of a small portion of Forsythe street in St. Louis, MO is sparsely populated with Episcopalians who grew up in the late-80s/early 90s. Maybe we are lost in the wilderness of the aged Anglican church as a whole. Or maybe, just maybe, I am the only one who wasn't sucked into the black hole of 20-something Episcopalians. My research continues...

Which chemical element am I?

I just think that this is a really cute idea. And I'm pretty resistant to corrosion, so it's true.

Cr...Chromium You scored 33 Mass, 22 Electronegativity, 61 Metal, and 0 Radioactivity!

Oooohaaaaah.... shiny! You probably have an incredibly stable and well-maintained group of friends... that probably also don't get out much either. You're not one to get bogged down by a problem. Of course, I'm basing this upon Chromium's ultra-low water-exchange constant and it's corrosion-resistant properties, and I wouldn't be too surprised if the analogy doesn't even apply.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender : You scored higher than 34% on Mass You scored higher than 18% on Electroneg You scored higher than 70% on Metal You scored higher than 1% on Radioactivity

Link: The Which Chemical Element Am I Test written by effataigus on Ok Cupid

Hmm...sexual politics??

I read somewhere that it was actually men who decided that women should have a femenist sexual revolution in the 60's, since it would eventually lead to the situation today, when men can pretty much expect anything. It really seems like even the nice guys are digressing to the level of thinking that if woman even talks to them in a bar, that she's leading them on if she doesn't go home with him. Well, I don't want to get into that, but my point is that I'm sick of feeling guilty for having rules for myself. And I'm sick of guys who really ARE nice sinking to that level and then society accepting it. I think that we should turn it around and all girls should start demanding that they won't talk to guys unless they agree to call them the next day and actually follow through! It would be less demeaning, but wouldn't always involve a moral decision and so much regret. Plus, I think that most girls, like me, want to see a guy for more than one day (or night). I also adamently believe that this information, including the fact that patience and actually getting to know someone aren't antiquated, should be a cornerstone of the health sciences curriculum in all high schools ;) We need to start educating men early, so that they don't only begin to realize the benefits of a "relationship" when they're in their 30's.

That's my schpeel (or however you spell it) and I'm sticking to it. San Antonio was so much fun..and so hot! I did all the things that I planned on doing in my last post, except meet a cowboy. I did get an intent-to-hire offer from a school district in Maryland! And last night I met some players from the Mighty Ducks hockey team. It was so much fun spending time with them at a crazy piano bar, but the night led to my concerns above. But maybe I'm just cynical. I was listening to Bright Eyes on the airplane, and these lyrics describe almost exactly what happened:

"I picked you out of a crowd and talked to you.

I said, "I like your shoes."
You said, "Thanks can I follow you?"
So it's up the stairs and out of view-
No prying eyes
I poured some wine
I asked your name, you asked the time...
Now it's two o'clock-
the club is closed and we're up the block
Your hands on me; pressing hard against your jeans
Your tongue in my mouth, trying to keep the words from coming out
You didn't care to know who else may have been you before

I want a lover I don't have to love.
I want a girl who's too sad to give a..."

That pretty much sums it up.