Best of Boston!

(thx to Allie for the tip)

remembering forgotten holiday joy.

heading home a little earlier this evening, I was walking up my street, lost in the pleasures of crappy pop tunes via ipoop, when something on the sidewalk made me stop in my tracks. it looked like someone had spilled a bunch of paint, and it was still wet. upon further inspection, I realized what it was.

someone had painted EASTER BUNNY FEET on the sidewalk.

curious, I looked around to see if there were more. sure enough, the next set led up the sidewalk...

up the stairs...

across the street...

...and into the garden.

after photographing this final set, I realized I was across the street, standing in my neighbor's garden like a creep. some kid is going to wake up in the morning and absolutely flip his shit over this. but, I got to discover it first, and probably enjoyed it just as much as he's going to.

happy easter, slutttts.

I got no motivation/where is my motivation?

Forgive me for being a cliche of my entire generation, but today feels exactly like I'm trapped inside Green Day's "Longview."

srsly, do you remember this video? 

So, Monday. One of my days off this week. Such an awkward day to have off, but I fell asleep last night determined to make the most of it.

I had my alarm set for 9 a.m. so I could start the day by doing some yoga or something instead of immediately funneling coffee into my face. But, of course, I woke up before that because I had to pee and my roommates with real jobs were crashing around the apartment, getting ready. 

As I zombie-walked back to bed after my pee, I knew that I should probably just get up. Just get up, Amy, it will be so great to be so productive early on, then you can spend the rest of the day writing!

But I could hear the rain outside, see the gray skies. Each raindrop taunted me, "Fuck you, there's no way you're going to make a diamond out of this coal pile of a day. Go back to bed, asshole."

So I did, hitting the snooze button until 11:15. Honestly, who sleeps until 11:15 on a Monday?

Grudgingly, the day began. I funneled coffee directly into my face. Items were crossed off my to-do list at a snail's pace. 

I left the house for an hour, bravely braving the elements, but only due to obligation. I bought toilet paper.

Now here I sit, in my bathrobe, sipping on cold coffee from the morning and thinking, "Okay. I should probably write something." So, I'm attempting to read the news blogs that I subscribe to solely so I can tell myself "Hey, at least you subscribe to news blogs!" I'm trying to get some material for a good, solid blog post of my own. But my eyes are glazing over, the words are blurring, I'm thinking about what I should eat. I look at 15 Lolcats instead.

And now I'm blogging about my day where I did nothing of any use to anyone. Just for the sake of saying "Yeah, well, I blogged today," when we all know that bloggers aren't even real writers. I'm trying to bang out some words on the screen before I go meet up with Ginger and then the two of us will combine our powers of laziness and procrastination and spend the rest of the evening trying to beat Time Trials on Mario Kart Wii.

I mean, it's a day off. It's not that bad. If my teenage self could see me, at adulthood, wasting time so gloriously, she would be psyched and automatically put in a little less effort in her classes, knowing this is how she was going to end up anyway. 

I made a JPEG. I can't even copy and paste in Paint properly. What am I doing with my life.

my aging, crumbling body.

today, the mere act of standing up - after having been sitting for about an hour, sending resume after resume to temp agencies, in The Job Search That Will Never End - caused a ligament in my knee to go FUCK YOU and send me tumbling onto the floor.

as I was lying there, the prevalent thought in my head was merely, "well, here we go."

I've gotten used to random pains and malfunctions. this isn't a statement meant to garner sympathy, it's just the truth. I've been cursed with a moody gut, allergies to both inside and outside things, a weaker immune system than most, and in recent years, an affliction that seems to be carpal tunnel but just can't decide which wrist it would rather hang out in.

and I've accepted all of this. my body doesn't work as well as others, that's just how I was made. so, I make it a point to carry Tums, Claritin, immune-strengthening vitamins, and painkillers everywhere I go.


but the Knee Thing. there's only one explanation for it, and that's this: it's been overused. and, since I'm not a marathon runner or any other Legit Athlete, the overuse can only stem from the fact that I've been using it for 26 years. (or that I spend too much time on my knees, go ahead, just get it out of your system so I can continue.)

and I believe that this is just how it's going to be, as part of getting older. I've known people who cross the threshold into their thirties, whose aches and pains require regular chiropractor visits, or even surgery. backs, knees, necks, all these wads of bones and strings and muscly bits...they're not made to last forever.


but I'm prepared. in fact, I'm certain that the older I get, the more legit my complaining will get, about aches and pains, and hell, just about everything else. I'm completely justified in freaking out on just about every birthday following my 30th. and sometimes, in my darkest, most twisted moments, I think about how awesome it might be to be an old lady. that way, I'll finally have grown into my salty disposition.


in the meantime, I should probably start cane shopping...

"get the hell off my lawn."

adorable things done by boys: pun intended.

this afternoon, I was sitting outside of the cafe where I am an indentured servant day in & out, with my boyfriend and a few co-workers. one of my co-workers was enjoying a delicious iced mocha, and when my boyfriend got up to throw some trash away, he pointed at her beverage and said, "livin' la vida mocha!"

now. being of the gratingly sarcastic disposition - so much so that people rarely take me seriously because they can't actually tell when I'm being serious - I tend to snub anything light-hearted and corny. usually, when anybody makes a lame joke, I have to bite my tongue to keep from inadvertently whining, "Moooom, you're embarassing me."

yet, for some reason, when the sweet, dorktarded object of my affection delivers a clever pun with a big stupid grin, I can't get enough. seriously. I laugh my fucking ass off. not only do I find it hilarious, but it transcends mortifying and becomes downright adorable.


it's always been so interesting to me, the things we put up with when we're smitten with someone. how sometimes things you've always written off as unacceptable in another person become tolerable, even delightful, in the right person.

of course, we'll always give them shit for liking "just one" song by Korn, or knowing most of the names of the Pokemon, or playing electronic music incessantly, even first thing in the morning. but deep down, we find it cute as hell.

except for the Korn part. dude, that's never going to be okay.

grammer rool's!!11

I go on the record saying that nothing makes me wetter in my ladyparts than some proper spelling and grammar. I own two grammar manuals, a copy of AP Style, and I sometimes read Strunk & White for shits and gigs. As a kid, a homework assignment to look through a dictionary and find words I wasn't sure how to spell turned up mostly words I didn't even know the definition of. The sight of a superfluous apostrophe sends me into paroxysms of rage.

That being said, sometimes even I am uncertain about proper usage. Which is why I bring you today's Delightful Grammar Tip...

ON PLURALIZING ACRONYMS!

Everywhere I go, I see "CD's" or "PDA's" or "FU's". My first thought is, well, the compact disc's what? But I never thought to look it up. Today, I was called upon to transcribe some notes mentioning a place that donated to "PTO's". I took it upon myself once and for all to get to the bottom of this.

Naturally, I was right. To pluralize an acronym, like most things being pluralized, simply add an "s". So, when talking about laughing out loud multiple times, you would write, "The website induced a fit of LOLs." There is NO APOSTROPHE INVOLVED.

The website I link to above has this to say regarding those nasty little upside-down commas, and it's brilliant:

Apostrophes show something is missing, so we have no reason to use them to create plurals. 

Stop stickin' it where it don't belong.

Songs to Tear You Apart (via me at seventeen)

in keeping with the recent nostalgic music posts, I've assembled a little playlist. it's been gray and dreary lately, and another New England winter is nigh, which reminds me that the seasonal depression is going to come crashing in any day now. so here we have a compilation of the 10 best emo songs ever - a.k.a. the ones I used to play at full volume while driving around my hometown late at night, smoking a clove cigarette out the window of my Jetta, and probably crying just a liiiitttle bit.

"Songs to Tear You Apart"

10. New Found Glory - "Eyesore"

this was right before I started to hate NFG for going "all commercial".

"I say your name when I fall, when I hit the bottom."

9. boysetsfire - "My Life in the Knife Trade"

 

I discovered this one while driving in the car of an unrequited love interest. oh, the irony.

 

"Your comfort in my suffering is no longer disturbing." 

 

 

8. The Get Up Kids - "Don't Hate Me"

God. I had an exboyfriend who dumped me, then came running back to me. he told me he listened to this song nonstop during our time apart. the relationship lasted about two months longer, until he essentially broke up with me because I wouldn't fuck him. I was sixteen. dick.

"At the heart, the heart is you, in everything I do." 

7. Something Corporate - "Konstantine"

I discovered this one when I was legally old enough to drink, but still.

"It's to dying in another's arms and why I had to try it."

6. Juliana Theory - "August in Bethany"

homeboy is crying about his ex-girlfriend while sitting alone on the beach. on a FRIDAY NIGHT. weeeeeeep

"Don't go, don't go...your eyes they through my soul."

5. Alkaline Trio - "Radio"

This was one of the first songs I learned on guitar. while Alk3 certainly owns with their self-pity, they mostly get drunk and pissed off about it. these guys were my FAVORITE my senior year of high school, and would be a band I returned to later in moments of heartbreak.

"In case you haven't heard, I'm sick and tired of trying."

 

4. Alkaline Trio - "I Lied My Face Off"

one of the best "woe is me, but still, fuck you" songs out there.

"I'm bad luck, can't fuck, got no reflection today. Maybe I'll stay down next time I get hit by a train."

3. Dashboard Confessional - "The Best Deceptions"

I played this at a "coffee house" that my high school put on. it was essentially a talent show for the drama kids. I also would run up to the front and scream out the lyrics every time he did this one at a concert (I saw him thrice between 2000-2002). just like the dickheads in the audience in this recording.

"So kiss me hard, 'cause this will be the last time that I let you."

2. "Blindfolded" - Saves The Day

as a teenager, I was unlucky in love. probably because I was such a relentless emo fuck, but then again, weren't we all? so this saga of rejection struck pretty close to home. not too long ago, my biffle and I realized that we both remember every single lyrics. we were quite drunk at the time, so naturally, we proceeded to scream each and every single word along with the recording. it was very therapeutic.

"And you'll say you don't want to be with me, no one ever does, no one ever thinks of me that way."


 

1.  Saves The Day - "Three Miles Down"

Jesus, God. hands-down, this song wins every emo award there is. this was the first song I learned to play on guitar, and you better believe I played it. endlessly.

"Why does my heart always beat before yours does?"

is there anything I've forgotten? what were your favorite sad-kid songs? share 'em in the comments. bonus points for including audio/video. extra triple bonus points for making me a mix cd!