Day 30: A photograph of yourself today (+ 3 good things that have happened in the past 30 days)

Alright. Last day! (And I cannot lie, I intended to post this yesterday and kind of forgot… so the photo is not from today.)

3 good things from the past 30 days:

1 – The Rally to Restore Sanity, of course! That was a lot of fun and I felt good vibes there. There were a lot of different people there (for the most part) the music was alright.

2 – Ghosthunters! Mostly because we did it as a family, but it was also a good time. I’m very very blessed to have the family I do. I love them to pieces and we’re (relatively) drama-free… even on bad days.

3 – I finished this little project! I didn’t do it in order (and possibly not even on time, but who’s really watching that closely?), but it’s done. And I have a few days off to do whatever. I. Want. YAY!

Day 12: A photo of the town where I live. (I know, I know, this is WAY out of order.)

It’s our river!
Sorry, I’m not advertising my exact location in my non-private internet space. ;)

Day 29: Something I could never tire of doing…

Oh boy. I’m not sure I have a good answer for this… I tire of just about everything at some point. (You know, except loving my family and friends.) But an actual action or hobby… hrm…

I like cooking and baking. I really do… but I can’t do it all the time because I need money for ingredients/bills/rent/etc. I guess if I had a never ending supply of money, I’d do that a lot more often.

Sometimes I like to watch movies and TV shows for hours on end, but sitting for looooong stretches at a time makes me crazy.

Shopping. I like that enough to do it a lot, but there’s the money concern again. I’d totally do other people’s shopping if they paid me to do it.

Reading actually makes me sleepy sometimes. Especially at night, so it quite literally tires me. (But in a good way. Books are awesome.)

There is nothing in my life that I like so much that I could never tire of it. Do some people really like to sleep, drink and eat ONE THING? I mean, I get passions, but it seems unhealthy to NEVER tire of something… like it’s an addiction.

Day 28: My favorite movie.

Such a fluffy prompt!

My favorite movie of all time?
I’m pretty sure it’s Love Actually.

It’s just such a sweet movie. It’s got everything I like about movies in it. It’s funny at some parts. Sad at others. It’s just heartwarming and it leaves you feeling happy and hopeful.

I love that it’s multiple storylines that all overlap in some way.

Colin Firth is in it. As is Hugh Grant (and he dances, poorly)… but they aren’t fighting over a girl this time. A little boy falls in love for the first time. Two people learn a different language so they can use words to communicate love. A man mourns the loss of his wife. Oh, and a man confesses his love to his best friend’s wife… expecting nothing in return. So perfect.

I could watch this movie over and over. It’s a genuinely good movie on multiple levels. I love this movie and I’m certain I’ve said it before.

So. Good.
Um, that is all.

Day 26: A photo of somewhere I’ve been to.

((Oh my gosh, I totally forgot to post this! I skipped to 27, even though this one was ready. Geez. So now I’m a day ahead! Go me!))

This is from when I went to PSU York to see Ghosthunter’s Jay and Grant! (Another part of my dad’s birthday celebration.)

Here they are… on stage and everything. Grant looking all schmexy and stuff (while Jay also looked all schmexy and stuff).

It was a pretty good time! They’re pretty entertaining!

Day 27: A picture of me last year vs. now. How have I changed? (Let me count the ways.)

Here are my feet in 2009.

Here’s my face in 2010. (This is when I won a baseball hat and I my dad was so excited about it. So, for his sake I put on my excited thrilled face.)

How have I changed? Well, I’ve given up on men, for the most part. In the past year, my quest for mancompany has gone downhill dramatically. Strangely enough, this doesn’t bother me too much. I’m pretty ok being “on my own.” I’m a catch and anyone who wants to ignore that can kiss my ass, you know?

I barely have a real crush at the moment. It’s a little strange, but refreshing.

A year ago, I believe I was pining over someone that wound up not happening. I was hopeful then. Now I’m just focusing on the day ahead of me. I prefer this it to false hope, so that’s a good thing.

I’m still working in the same place. Working working working. I feel like I live there. I should just get my mail delivered there. I’m a bit better at cooking because I’ve been doing it longer — fewer recipes scare me. Actually, I’m quite fond of cooking and baking now. (I still love easy recipes though. They usually taste the best anyway.)

Oh, and I have my own place now… which is a step I wanted to have behind me by this time. (Though, my parents still help me out quite a bit.)

To be honest, I haven’t changed that much in one year beyond the way I think about love and relationships. For the most part, the core part of me — my personality — hasn’t changed since my first year of college. I’m just growing up a little at a time.

Day 24: A photo of something that means a lot to you.

I have three photos… and it was hard to narrow it down. At first I though, well, these important somethings would be people. But I decided that I’ll chose my few prized possessions to share with you because that’s probably what the prompt is actually asking for.

First, there is the jewelry box my pappy bought my two year old self before he passed away. (Cancer bums me out.)

It’s chock full of jewelry. I should probably purge some of that, actually because I have jewelry overflow.

Then, there’s my Peepaw’s hats. He never went anywhere without a hat on. :) My mom tells a story about their car being on fire. She ran in the house to grab her Sunday shoes because she’s sure the house is going to burn down and my Peepaw just asked “Where’s my hat?” before he bothered going outside to check it out.

I bet my mom doesn’t still have her Sunday shoes.

And last, there is my Grandma’s faux diamond necklace. It’s costume jewelry, but it makes me feel classy when I wear it. (Also, I love classy costume jewelry.)

All three of these people passed away as a result of cancer. So, get your colon checked, eat less red meat, eat more greens and antioxidants and don’t smoke.

For the love of God, don’t smoke.

Day 25: What’s in my purse? (Errr, I’ll do day 24 tomorrow… when I have time at home after work.)

Oy, it might be easier to list what ISN’T in my purse. (For example, there are no stray klittens in my purse… sadly.)

I have:

1. A smashed Twix bar. (Yum.)
2. A Progressive (online) quote from a few weeks ago.
3. Two booklets of McD’s gift certificates. (SODAS!)
4. Eclipse Gum.
5. Pink Silly Putty.
6. An oversized crystal favor from Mike and Jen’s wedding.
7. My battery charger for my point-and-shoot.
8. My iPod + skull candy ear buds.
9. My cell phone. (Blackberry, still.)
10. A blue hair tie and a LARGE rubber band.
11. Extra strength pain relief, acetaminophen. (Rapid release tablets.)
12. Extra strength headache relief, acetaminophen, aspirin & caffeine. (Also rapid release.)
13. Two small containers of hand sanitzer (Bath and Body Works, Warn Vanilla Sugar.)
14. A reusable bag, for groceries when they let me pack my own.
15. Lip gloss, mascara, lip balm and perfume.
16. Two pens for writing.
17. Two Tide to Go pens for stains.
18. Day planner.
19. Wallet.
20. Two checkbooks.
21. An envelope with coupons in.
22. Various keys on a very large collection of keychains.
23. Glasses case. (Currently holding my sun glasses.)
24. *ahem* Personal hygiene products and some belly meds.

I should minimize my load so I could also carry a small book with me, but all these things… I use on a semi-regular basis.

Day 23: 15 Facts About Me

Oh lordy… that’s a hard one.
Good prompt!

Facts about Christina, soon to be a quarter century old:

1. I hated sleeping in a twin bed. So when I moved out… I slept on one side of the bed… like a stick. Now, I sleep diagonally… and I did not enjoy my sister taking up my diagonal space last night. (Though, I did like her presence.)
2. I have a stuffed animal named Puffy. I had him since I was just a wee lassie. It looks awful, it is dirty and deflated looking. My parents tried to replace him, but the new puffy was not Puffy and I rejected him. I still have both of them.
3. The only people I am afraid of disappointing are my parents. I can live with myself otherwise, but I would feel horrible if they ever had to "explain" my actions to someone.
4. That said, I will not change my liberal tendencies to actually care that people are able to have a quality life in a world filled with inequality. Gay marriage, a woman’s right to choose, taxing the wealthier Americans to provide basic care/needs to the less fortunate, etc… even though these things are crazy-socialist-commie ideas around here.
5. I love autumn because it feels more introspective and quiet than summer. And the colors before everything goes dead? Phenomenal. I look forward to it every year. (In fact, I even liked it best when I was in school and my summers meant freedom.)
6. My first concert was Barry Manilow because my mom loves Barry Manilow so much, she went to a concert while she was pregnant. I’m sure she was trying to pass the love on to me.
7. How I dress and how I wish I could dress are very different. I have a few outfits that I feel awesome in, but many more that are just alright. I need a style guru, please. (It’s seriously something I need to work on.)
8. I still don’t like when people dress up as scary things for Halloween. I particularly don’t like it when it requires a mask that covers their entire face. It freaks me out.
9. Rainbows and shooting stars instantly make me happier. Even on a terrible day, it’s bound to make me smile for at least a moment.
10. I miss the stimulation that my art classes provided me, even if I don’t miss forced assignments. It was beneficial to me to have deadlines and guidelines.
11. I hate this about myself: my hair is like a security blanket (which is why I hated my short hair so much). I know that my hair should have little influence on my self image, but I can’t help but feel uglier when it’s short/pulled back in a pathetic ponytail.
12. The above makes me want to cut all my hair off (well, not all of it… but, you know, above shoulder length) to prove to myself that I’d still be me… but I’m not brave enough to do it.
13. I’ve only recently become an organ donor. Ever since I started driving, I would donate to the organ donation fund, but not become an actual organ donor. This time I decided to stop being a hypocrite. As a precaution, I told everyone in my family not to donate my organs until I am 100% dead. (I’m hoping they don’t have to make this decision though, obviously.)
14. So far, I’ve only found one kind of sushi I love. The Dragon Roll at a place called Miyako. So. Good. In fact, I might treat myself to some on my birthday. I’m thinking about driving downtown to do a little shopping at The HodgePodgery and sip on a Chai Latte at Cafe Di Luna. Then I’ll pop over to South Philly Hoagies to pick up the most delicious cheesesteaks you could possibly find in Central PA. In fact, they are the best thing greasy thing I have ever put in my mouth. (I have no idea why they only have THREE stars on Yelp.)
15. I wish I had a boss like Jack Donaghy. This character (and the lawyer Alec Baldwin played in My Sister’s Keeper) has made me forgive his weird cell phone outburst towards his daughter. On a related note, if I have to be single into my 30s and 40s, I hope I become more like Liz Lemon because she’s kinda awesome.

Day 22: A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.

Dear Anonymous You,

I don’t want to beat a dead horse. I’ve said all I had to say, but you didn’t like it or appreciate it. Though I’m not satisfied with the outcome, there’s no changing it and actions have spoken very clearly on numerous occasions.

It’s not worth rehashing anymore. I’ll just forget everything but the lessons I learned.

Treat everything (and everyone) with skepticism.
And always keep your walls up.

Sincerely,
Me

PS: I don’t miss hearing about how silly my ideas are and how naive I am.
They aren’t silly and I am not naive.