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Friday, February 8th, 2008
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3:10 pm - it ain't like mama fixed it
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So, my mom wrote this absolutely devastating LJ post re: the death of Sis, and I just wanted to share it with anybody who cares.
So I post like once a year. But today I had to euthanize our 14-year-old dog. Last fall she was found to have a large (egg-sized) tumor on her liver, and it was essentially inoperable given where a dog's liver is and her age. So we brought her home, put her on a liver-cleanse diet (hand-cooked!) and she got better for several weeks. Steve and Christina were able to say their goodbyes to her on visits in December and January -- we knew she had just weeks to live -- and it became evident last week that her system was shutting down. She had slowly stopped eating and her world had shrunk to her bed in the living room.
Yesterday I made the decision that she would be euthanized today. I came home early from work, spent about an hour brushing and petting her, and took her to the vet this afternoon. She was stoic and calm to the end, relaxed peacefully into my arms and left this world.
This was a dog who had been given a death sentence at 5 months when her first owners hit her with their car, and we were able to adopt her minus a leg. In her early years she could run with the best of them, chasing down the hill of College Hill Park. But as she got older and her spine twisted to compensate for the missing leg, the pressure on the remaining joint worsened, Walking was painful and she eventually would not do much more than hop around the yard or house.
Still, she had several peaceful years in Florida being a lanai dog, lounging by the pool in the sunshine. A year or more ago she refused to sleep outside any longer, preferring to be in the presence of her family.
I don't know if there's a dog afterlife -- at the least we know that dogs don't sin and therefore don't suffer in hell -- but I hope she is in some sort of dog paradise now, chasing butterflies and frisbees and squirrels in the sunshine, restored to health and youth.
She was a good girl. We will miss her.
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| Sunday, August 12th, 2007
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2:43 am - carved my name into his leather seats
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Why is it that I always post after a night out with Akil?
A week ago, and before that even, I was all "I hate the city, I want to go back to Australia" and part of me still feels that way, but the thing is -
I do love New York. I took a cab home tonight and on the ride I was just thinking about what an incredible city it is, and how lucky I am to be able to call this place my home, whatever its hassles.
I found an apartment. In Brooklyn, Park Slope South. Finishing payment and paperwork on Monday. Beautiful space, good location, and I'm really excited to be back in the area. It's not far from where I lived the summer after freshman year. And in that two years, the area has changed so much, it's actually really exciting.
The thing is, when I was abroad, anytime I told people I was from New York, their response was always positive - either "Oh, I love New York, I went there one time...." or "that is the one place I have always wanted to go." And you don't get that response usually here in the states. And it's true, you can't meet men when you go out here like you can elsewhere, but life doesn't revolve around sex. I'm just saying.
Nights like these, I'm so fucking happy to call myself a New Yorker.
current mood:  satisfied
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| Wednesday, August 1st, 2007
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3:43 am - mama I'm a big girl now
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Bula! I am back in the states, after a wonderful trip to Fiji. Spent 6 days traveling the Yasawa Islands, then stayed 3 nights in Pacific Harbour, on the main island. Had a blast, got a tan, snorkeled and saw bright blue starfish. Made some cool buddies, met some wonderful Fijians.
Here are some pictures, but they are really just the tip of the iceberg. I have more on facebook, and even more available upon request.
The hut we stayed in at Sunrise Lagoon Resort. I kid you not, it looks exactly like that.
a Fijian family who hosted me for lunch - the food was interesting, but not too bad!
the beach on Nanuya Lailai, one of the northern most islands in the Yasawa group
that's Tara and Albie, fellow travelers on our cruise. The Fijian tradition is that you wear the flower over your right ear if you are single, and over your left if you are taken.
our bure at Korovou resort (my personal fave) on Naviti
my favorite spot
the sunset from Bounty Island
the view from Bounty Island - that's the main island of Viti Levu in the distance
I suppose this is the end of my writings about my travels, since they are over. I head to New York tomorrow (Wednesday) night, and will spend 2 weeks apartment hunting and trying to find a job. Then home to Florida and Texas, and back to New York the last week of August.
Thanks for reading!
current mood:  chipper
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| Tuesday, July 17th, 2007
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2:42 pm - call me when the clocks hit midnight
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Hello lovers. This will likely be my last post from Australia, as I leave on Friday. I'm going to Fiji for 10 days with Amber, and may post from there, but am not sure what the internet situation is going to be like.
So let's see. I went to Melbourne this weekend. Actually did the Great Ocean Road and saw the Twelve Apostles, then stayed with friends in Bayswater, a suburb, and only went into the city late Sunday afternoon. Our flight out on Monday was at 6 am, and the bus to the airport left at 4, so we decided rather than paying for a hostel, we'd stay up all night. Louie and I had dinner in St Kilda, then met Amber at the train station. We decided to go see a movie, so went and did that. When we got out, it was about 12:30, and we lazed on some lounges outside the cinema. They kicked us out an hour later, and we wandered around looking for something else to do/somewhere else to sleep. Found two arm chairs by the escalators, Amber slept on the floor. We left the casino around 3:15, walked to the train station and waited for the bus. Slept on the bus. Got back to Sydney around 7, to our rooms around 8. I went to sleep for the next 2 hours, then had to get up and go to class.
It was a tiring weekend! But the Great Ocean Road was beautiful, and we saw koalas!
The rainbows were ridiculous - cartoon style
The Twelve Apostles
It was awesome! Am now back in Sydney. Have turned in all my papers, just have my final exam on Thursday. I don't want to leave Sydney, although it is getting a little cold. I'm excited about Fiji, but scared to death about the housing situation when I return to New York. Eek!
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| Sunday, July 8th, 2007
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10:40 pm - I would go anywhere, do anything, I don't care
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Here's a couple pics of my hair (and some friends) for those of you who don't facebook stalk me.
Ok, so they're both of me and Alex, but I guess she just brings out the best in my hair.
Only another 2 weeks left here - less, actually! More like 10 days. Soo sad. Fiji will be awesome, and I'm looking forward to seeing my friends at home and school, but I do love Sydney.
I have class in about 20 minutes. Shoot me. I did pack several snacks so that I don't become completely homicidal.
Also, made the most fabulous dinner last night. Chicken in a honey mustard sauce with red onions and baby spinach, and a side of citrus cous cous. I am domestic goddess. Ok, so the sauce was pre-made and had the recipe suggestion on the package, and the cous cous was a 5 minute mix, too. But still!
Alex and I are doing fajitas tonight.
current mood:  bouncy
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| Friday, July 6th, 2007
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1:30 pm - that's when good neighbours become good friends
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Yeah, I love trashy Aussie tv.
Anyhows, a quick update from my desk at STC - everybody's gone to lunch. I'm awaiting the return of Josie and Georgie with our massive dumpling order from Chinatown. Gotta love the Asians.
It's been quite a long week - even though it was only 4 days. Tuesday right after work I had to go to Fusion for some stupid seminar about our internships - uber lame. Afterwards we did get free dinner, but our table was the last to get served. I was displeased. Wednesday I looked adorable cause it was so warm outside I got creative with my outfit. Went out in the evening for a farewell drink with Sarah, who is moving to Wales. Came home early cause I stuffed my face at dinner. Yesterday had class straight after work - kill me now. Was sassed by Pascal when we asked him about staying in our temporary room (yeah, we had a bedbug relapse) and so Patti and I came home and moved all of our shit back into 2055. Evil. Slept bug free last night, but God knows what might happen over the next two weeks. Stupid Pascal.
Am staying in Sydney this weekend, and want to run around and play. I feel like I never get to see Alex and Maddy anymore, so I hope to kidnap them and go dancing tonight, not at The Rocks. Ew, sidenote: Wednesday night the pub we went to was in the CBD and full of Americans! Gross. They played hip hop music and everybody was clearly a tourist. No wonder I left early. I hate Americans. Anyways, back to this weekend. A lot of the kids on the program tend to find one or two bars they really like and go to them repeatedly - including tourist bars i.e. Scubar. Also, they seem to be obsessed with a club called The Argyle which is in the Rocks. It's an ok club, but seriously, there are better, less pretentious places to have fun on the weekend. So I want to hit up Nude Bar and Bungalow 8. I will not let them hang out with stupid touristy kids in the program.
I want to go to Paddy's market tomorrow and buy some produce (uber cheap!) and then take the ferry out to Bondi or Manly. Amber said there is a walk from Bondi to Coogee that is probably gorgeous, so I'm thinking that sounds cool. Maybe stay on Bondi to party?
Sunday is Opera under the Dome in the Queen Victoria Building. Sounds cool! Also, need to look for a cheap bathing suit (apparently I only brought half of mine) for Fiji, and a hoodie (I lost my ratty grey one).
And now you know what I'll be doing this weekend. Also need to write both my papers, which I think are due next weekend, when I'll be in Melbourne. No sweat. I got a B+/A on my portfolio, despite being sassy to the professor all the time. I'm just that good!
current mood:  hungry
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| Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007
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1:23 pm - life is a highway
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Hello loves! Here's a picture post for ya. Went to Byron Bay this weekend, a great little town up on the Gold Coast (middle of the East coast of Australia basically). Also have pictures from around Sydney Theatre Company, on some sunny days. Enjoy!
( Read more... )
current mood:  mischievous
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| Wednesday, June 27th, 2007
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4:17 pm - we've been spending most our lives living in the gangster's paradise
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So, I forgot to mention the other day, for all the drama nerds out there:
Oceans 13 features Edith Skinner's Speak With Disctinction and I got really excited.
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| Sunday, June 24th, 2007
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10:22 pm - someday you will find me caught beneath the landslide
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Ok so the bedbug situation has been taken care of and I have never slept better.
In even better news... we went out Saturday night after turning in our portfolios for travel writing. Amber and I went to Bungalow 8, this awesome place that overlooks Darling Harbour. Danced danced danced blah blah blah met a cute boy!!! We had been making eye contact and he came over and asked to buy me a drink, and we chatted, and he's an architect here in Sydney. He is also a baseball player!!! I didn't even know they played baseball here. Ok, forgive me if I gush a little. Anyhow, really nice, very cute, we spent all night dancing, exchanged numbers and we have a date tonight. Eeek. He's moving to London in two weeks. So... yeah.
That was possibly the least coherent thing I have ever written. Needless to say, I am ecstatic. There's so much more that I can't express, but he was just a super nice, non-sleazy guy.
In other news... there's no other news, truly. I will let you know how it all turns out, count on that.
current mood:  ecstatic
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| Thursday, June 21st, 2007
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5:42 pm - bedbugs bedbugs go away
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Ugh, yes, it's true, we have bedbugs. What a pain in the ass. They are spraying our room... well, now, and again tomorrow. So BU is paying for all of our laundry (which is incredible), and UniLodge is giving us a room for the next two nights. It's just the totally wrong time, as our big travel writing portfolio is due on Saturday (today is Thursday) and I don't need to be running around to the laundromat and between rooms and stuff.
Am also trying to book plane tickets for next weekend, but I don't think I have that money in my account yet, as I only told my mom I needed it on Monday. S-T-R-E-S-S.
Work today was delightful - mostly because we had Arabella's farewell lunch for about 3 hours on Darling Harbour, somehow paid for by STC. Makes me wish we'd ordered more food - or that I'd drank more wine/sangria. But definitely ate a lot, somehow. Good that lunch was free cause last night I was so distressed by the bed big sitch that I pigged out on cookie dough and then got a burger and fries from the mall food court. So there went twenty bucks (plus itch cream, garbage bags for our clothes, and advil - for my life). Can't cook tonight cause my room is all bug sprayed. And won't even be able to get pad thai from Uni... unless I go right now...
Ok, going going gone.
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| Monday, June 18th, 2007
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12:20 am - cause you're gonna see my heart breaking
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Hello friends and lovers. Am writing, as always, from the BU Sydney Center. About to go back into a terribly boring seminar on travel writing - I'd much rather be at work.
I'm officially interning at the Sydney Theatre Company, and after bouncing around for the first day or so, I am currently claimed by the Development and Sponsorship department. Which basically means, PR and events. It's fun. I do silly office stuff, but get to attend fancy events, also attended by Cate Blanchett and her husband, the incoming artistic directors for next season. Apparently they come into the office now and then, too, but I missed it last time.
I cut off all my hair. Just on Saturday, so this is the only picture I have so far.
I am wearing it straight today, cause there's a big auction at STC tonight that I am working. I'll try and get a picture of me all "frocked up" as they say down here.
Other news... well, it's raining. A lot. Before we got back there were some major floods in the areas around Sydney, and the rain hasn't really stopped since then.
Have to go back and hate my life. Will try and update later this week!
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| Tuesday, June 12th, 2007
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3:08 am - thank god for technology
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Just a quickie to say I am alive, and returned from my two week trip through small town Australia. Long, harrying, and quite fun at times. We saw kangaroos...
And did some heavy drinking
And spent the entire time on a bus.
We also learned a lot about Ned Kelly
And I start interning tomorrow at the Sydney Theatre Company. On that note, I'm going home and eating real food. Delicious!
current mood:  pleased
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| Monday, May 28th, 2007
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7:26 pm
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Pictures from the cruise around Darling Harbor:
( Read more... )
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12:00 pm - Fusion Coffee Cafe
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So some interesting factoids about Australia:
The world's largest island is in fact about the same size as the continental U.S. Big, huh?
The toilets have two flushers - half and full. As our bus driver says, "number 1, you flush half, number 2, you do full flush." Never would have guessed, huh?
There are no trash cans. Anywhere. Seriously, there aren't any in our rooms, and very few on the sidewalks. Even cafes don't seem to have them. So you end up just leaving your trash on the table and hopefully they clean it up.
Ok, and that's really all I've got for now. Here's a couple pictures to tide you over until I can get the good ones up.
Here's me at the airport in Sydney. Don't worry, all those bags aren't mine.
Glebe Point Road - a cool, funky strip near where we are staying.
Some cute murals on the exterior of the Broadway Mall.
Sydney University. Absolutely beautiful campus, and just across the park from where we are.
So that's that. I'll try and get some from the harbor cruise up soon.
current mood:  crazy
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| Saturday, May 26th, 2007
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10:00 am - Mountain and Smail Streets
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Here I am, in Sydney! This is going to be a really preliminary update, cause I haven't gotten out and about too much, but just for those who are wondering:
The flight was about 14 hours, on a big old plane. In the airport I got to meet a lot of the other people on the trip, which was awesome. On the plane, I watched The Painted Veil and Notes on a Scandal. I love Qantas! The food was hot and actually pretty good, we got dinner and hot breakfast, as well as a "comfort pack" sometime in the middle of the night - chips, cookies, water, mints. Everbody gets a blanket, pillow, eye mask, socks, and mini toothbrush and toothpaste. Real silverware (except the knife, haha!), and real coffee cups and mini wine glasses. I did not drink on the plane - too tired! Didn't sleep as much as I would have liked, but didn't feel too bad until yesterday evening. About 3 hours before we landed, they came around and gave everybody hot washclothes to wake you up - which was also incredible!
Anyways, arrived in the airport, went through customs, which was humorous. Aussies, for the most part, have a great sense of humor. I packed my rain boots for this trip, and one of the baggage screeners asked me if I had a pair of big boots in my bag. I told him I did, they were rain boots. He asked where I'd been. ??? I said "New York City?!" and he goes, "Oh, so no dirt on them!" Ha, indeed. If any shoes or anything you brought over has soil on it, you have to declare it on your customs form. Random, huh?
There are probably about 50-60 people in the program, most go to BU. Two buses and some nice people met us at the airport, and our bus driver, an Aussie, provided some very odd but entertaining commentary on the ride to the residence.
We are staying in a sort of hotel/apartment building called UniLodge, which also does a lot of residence for international programs like ours. My room is a 2 story loft, with the bathroom, kitchenette and living area downstairs, and then a loft with two beds and a wardrobe. My roommate's name is Patti. She is a journalism major from BU. Nice, but very quiet. Also, the staircase is this teeny, spiral-y thing. It took both of us to get our luggage up it, because it's so small!
Have been doing typical orientation things. Took a little walk around the neighborhood last night. Sydney is organized very strangely, with all the outer neighborhoods called suburbs. But because most of the commerce and stuff centers around the harbor, everything is "outer" compared to that. We are located somewhere between the suburbs of Broadway and Ultimo. We're right next to the University of Sydney and a couple other colleges. There is a big mall across the street, with 4 levels, a Target, K-Mart, and lots of other stores. Instead of escalators they just have slanted people movers - it reminds me of The Jetsons, for some reason.
The student center is just a couple blocks away from UniLodge, which is nice. I went with some girls this morning who were in search of fancy coffee, and we stumbled upon the closest thing to a New York deli I think I will find here. They said the coffee was good, so that's a plus, I guess.
The phone system here is really confusing and weird, so I'm really not going to bother letting you know my number(s) here. Once I get internet up and running in my room, we'll think about Skype. But we leave on Tuesday to go on a two-week travel trip for my course, so I'm not going to set it up until we get back from that. In the meantime, I will gladly return emails.
I will try and post pictures on Facebook later today. There is a coffee shop across the street with wireless (free with drink purchase). And we're taking a cruise on the harbor, so I will take lots of pictures of that.
I guess that's all for now. Will try and post again before we leave, or while we're gone, maybe. Hope you're all well, and would love to hear from you!
current mood: pleased
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| Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007
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11:15 pm - you don't look a day over fast cars and freedom
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Well, this is it, my last night in the States. I am about halfway packed, and expect a lot of stress tomorrow trying to stuff everything else into my other suitcase. I downsized luggage and am leaving lots of stuff behind but still am going to have to beat my clothes into submission.
Got Skype on my computer, and a headset, so if you want to chat with me, my user name is xtina-nyc. Or you can search by my name. Went to Target to stock up on toothpaste, chapstick, etc. Am doing laundry as we speak.
People keep asking me if I'm excited and of course I am, it just doesn't feel that exciting. But I think it just hasn't really hit me yet. I guess it won't, I'll just be there. I suppose it's just that I really have no idea what to expect, so I don't have any expectations. I hope I meet some cool people to hang out and explore with, and I hope I don't leave with any regrets about not doing something, cause who knows when I might be able to go so far away again.
The weather is going to be perfect - the average highs during June and July are 63 and 62 degrees, with temps going into the 40s at night. Up north in Queensland it is apparently summer-y all year long, so a beach trip might be in order at some point.
I will arrive in Syndey on Friday morning, which is Thursday evening back here. It's 15 hours ahead of Eastern time, so factor that in when looking for me online.
See you on the other side!
current mood:  curious
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| Thursday, May 10th, 2007
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2:32 pm - Australia - here I come!
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Welcome to my Australia travel blog (and variants thereof).
I got my plane tickets in the mail today - very exciting. Lots of extra information, FAQs from the travel agency, etc. I haven't had paper tickets in years, so this is quite an anomaly for me.
I also went to Sacramento today to get my ISIC (International Student Identity Card), which gives me lots of discounts in lots of places. At least in theory.
I leave two weeks from yesterday. Am so excited I can't even fathom what's going to happen. I am enrolled in a Travel Writing Course for the summer term in Sydney, and we will be travelling as a class, which is cool. I didn't find out that I got into this course until after I had already packed up my mini tape recorder and put it in storage. Of course!
Well, that's all for now. More updates when there's cause.
current mood:  calm
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| Monday, October 31st, 2005
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8:41 am
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Comment to be added
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| Friday, October 28th, 2005
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12:55 am
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| Thursday, October 27th, 2005
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8:16 pm - i've got a plan to lose it all
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Was just reading Laura's livejournal, and a friend of hers said: "Laura, you aren't too anything. Those guys just aren't enough for you yet and they know it."
So there ya go. I think I'm going to print that out and hang it up on my wall and live by it. I especially like the last part, they know it.
Laura and I are seeing Elizabethtown tonight.
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