new (home)

So now I live in a New home on the east coast. I followed my boyfriend to whom I am obviously quite attached. So now I am trying to figure out how to keep strong and find my own life without making him feel like he dragged me here.
List of things to do to fulfill my own life while supporting my boyfriend:
-walk beagles for a beagle rescue
-get a job at a local place so that I can meet people and make my own friends
-get a library card and hang out at the library pretending to read cool books until someone approaches me about how smart I am
-find people from my sorority alumni chapter and make friends with people that I can cook dinner for
-learn how to cook
-learn how to like eating vegetables so that I am healthier
-find a way to exercise in the winter (does anyone know if you can run when it's 10 degrees outside? is that healthy?)
-find friends to watch nfl with, or find somewhere to watch nfl where other people are crazy about football
- pick an nfl team because Penn State has basically all of the same enemies as USC so I can still root for Penn State while secretly rooting for USC. shh. don't tell.
 - Get into TV shows that make fun of other people in this country (Honey Boo Boo and Four Weddings) to keep up moral even though I am away from my home land.
- Learn how to steam milk so that I can keep my job.

What My Landlord Thinks my Name is and Why I Don’t Correct Him

What My Landlord Thinks my Name is and Why I Don’t Correct Him

There is a short answer to this and a long answer to this. For those of you who know me, you know I am not one for short answers, but for those of you who don’t care to know me, I’ll give it to you anyway.

This is the short answer: Catherine, and because he pays my utilities and puts a roof over my head.

This is the long answer:

I live in a studio apartment over my landlord’s garage on the same property as his own home. We share trashcans, a driveway, and ivy cutting tools, and a plunger. To fully understand my mindset, I must first inform the reader that this incorrect name-calling business is not a one time occasion. Nor is it a permanent name change. My landlord receives my huge rent check once a month with my full name on it. He occasionally gets my mail and puts it in my box instead, and he emails me at my personal email address with my full name included, whenever he needs someone to watch his cat. I would also like to disclaim that I have no prejudice against the name Catherine, in fact, on good days, I take it as a compliment. It was the name of some pretty great people in history, although even as a history major, I can’t quite remember who, it was the name of one of my best friends in high school, a wonderful and caring person, and it is also the name of a cousin whom I look freakishly similar to who lives in Connecticut.

Now, there are also days when this bugs the hell out of me. I never forget his name. He has the same name as my boyfriend, a close, but gross friend, and two of my uncles. It is also the name of a star from a specific religious suggestion, and a large part of the book, No David! No!  Not only does my name carry significance in every American’s childhood via a much loved book about a spider (p.s. she dies at the end), but for my generation, it is considered an “old-fashioned” and “unique” name. It’s even making a come-back on the 2012 Epic Baby Name lists because it is so out of style. Talk about hipster. I am awesome.

If anyone who wanted the short answer but curiously read the long answer on accident is thinking, why don’t you just correct him? then you are one of three things. You either do not have a parent or close relative around the age of 45-90, you don’t personally know the person who pays your water and electric bills (or you know them too well), or you are just way ballsy-er than I am. I will explain.

As everyone knows, age is most definitely NOT just a number. It is so much not a number that there are birthday cards, both funny and polite, that specifically mark every decade that we are alive. When babies are born simultaneously, if the mother takes too long to recover between births, she is destined to have a middle child for life. As I have personally witnessed, being the second born twin has the power to change a lifetime. Not only is age a number, but down to the second, we can all agree that age plays an incredibly significant part in our daily thoughts, feelings, and decisions. For three years on high school and two in college I was called Michael Jackson because I couldn’t seem to slip my little arms around someone who wasn’t even a day older than me. the closest I ever got was two and a half months, which didn’t really work out anyway. Let’s be honest, I was much too mature for someone that much younger than me. I’m getting off track.

My point is this: I can not wait for the life of me to get old and crochity, to be a rude mean old lady to people I don’t like, and be sweet as a sunflower to people who bring me chocolate. BUT, if my own father, who has always had a ridiculous and inexplicable sense of humor about basically everything in life, is beginning to have panic attacks about when his next AARP offer is going to come in the mail, and how being alive for six decades makes paying a little less for the Sunday matinee of Mission Impossible 4, an unbearable thought, and I can’t even make jokes with him,  then there is NO WAY IN HELL that I am going to remind my landlord, a man with two grown children and a fly fishing hobby, that he is slowly losing his mind and that he cannot remember what the C. in my name stands for, when I live 55 feet from his back doorstep.

And that is why my name is Charlotte, but I do not correct my landlord when he calls me Catherine.

SANTA!

Incase you were wondering, Santa Clause does in fact exist. I have met him. I have exchanged emails with him. I have tugged on his beard. I have hugged his giant belly. They say it is filled with a bowl full of jelly; it’s really tri-tip actually but that doesn’t rhyme so they just changed it to jelly, if you were wondering.

            Santa is wonderful! I see him year round and it’s true. Like that movie with Tim Allen, the beard really does appear as though overnight. We’ve been trained to expect santa to only be there for us in December. But the truth is, people really just don’t know where to look for him during the rest of the year (central California). The ho-ho-ho thing is also (unfortunately) untrue. He laughs like a normal person, but he does laugh quite a bit.

            Santa is a wonderful joyful person, although he is a human person (that is, a real person). He usually delivers good news, but sometimes bad. But the good thing is that he is always honest. He is also a great listener (not many people realize that until it’s too late and they are convinced he is no longer real). Santa always listens, and responds thoughtfully, or funnily, or both, depending on what is appropriate (and he always knows what is appropriate). Santa makes sure to always make himself available to anyone who needs him. He always makes me feel included, whenever I see him. He is great at introducing and connecting people.

            Santa Clause is very supportive of those around him. he has a small group of elves that congregate once a week to deiscuss the events of the week, compose themselves, and hipe for the future. They are a small group that makes a BIG difference!

            Santa is a great person and you would be lucky to have him in your life. whatever your circumstance or your level of belief, I can tell you with complete honesty that Santa Clause does infact exist. I have met him. I have exchanged emails with him. I have tugged his beard. I have hugged his giant tri tip filled belly.

lists

Lists

Things that make me happy

Red Balloons

Milk and cheetos

The things my dad used to let me eat when I was a kid.

Asking my dad one question about the bible and then getting a sermon Saturday night, in addition to Sunday morning.

A good foot rub

My green lamp

My colorful house style

Things being clean (sheets, house, body, clothes, car, floor, dishes)

Frames

Art that is beyond my capability

Things that I could Stare at for Hours

Corona commercials

Rainbows

Clouds

The ocean

The letter magnets on my refrigerator

A book

Post Secrets

The innards of a home improvement store

Christmas decorations

Rocks and sand on a beach

Photos of myself

Photos

Things that make me feel creative

Empty glass jars

Feeling stressed

Seeing someone else’s’ art that I think I could make my own version of

Frames

Aaron Brothers stores

Crayons

Going into Pottery Barn

The letter magnets on my refrigerator

Grocery stores

Cook books

Craft stores (only sometimes)

Fabric stores (almost always)

Thanksgiving

Things that make me cry

Soldier Homecomings

War/holocaust survivors talking about war/holocaust experiences

War/holocaust survivors talking about every day life

Being treated like less than I know I am.

Being told that I am a certain way (you are pale, you are quiet, …)

Not making time to read.

Watching too much T.V,

My parents not picking up the phone when I call.

Being challenged.

People dying.

When David gets angry

Things that Suck the Life out of Me

Not going to the beach for a long time

Not going to Disneyland for a long time

Not having a puppy

Not getting enough sleep

Running boring errands

Working at Talbot’s

My fish dying

When my dad calls and I can tell that he has something bad to tell me before he says it (He has a “somebody died” voice)

Not keeping in contact with people that I wish I did.

Not being able to buy my grandma flowers every month.

Easter

Hoppy Easter all you awesome adventurers!
This week's adventure takes place in Sunny San Jose, California!
I was fortunate to invite myself/be invited to the boyfriend's family's crazy festivities of wonderful Easter weekend. After announcing his graduate school acceptance announcement (Penn State should be lucky to have him), we headed off to church. Being up north from south of where I was, it is only natural to see these thangs ERRRRYWHERE. and thus,

Easter Sunday Church Service. Boyfriend's (arguably famous) Father at church, IN THE NORTHFACE!

Northface Adventures: Disneyland

This blog was inspired by Kelsey Abourezk and the following meme: 

 

 Because of this HILARIOUS meme, my boyfriend and I decided that it would be fully worth our time and camera battery life if we embraced this theory. For those of you who are not familiar, 

 This is a standard North Face Jacket:











And this is a completely unnecessary North Face Jacket:

And This is Our List of Disneyland Adventures in our North Faces:

       Rain's Out Guns Out, In the North Face:              

 

Weather's nice? Ain't no thang, In the North Face.

(it was pouring rain and freezing all day, actually justified being at Disneyland.) (In the North Face.)

Cutest picture possible in the rain with Mickey, Walt, the castle, in the North Face:

Standard Charlotte. Normally at Disneyland, you want to find the 

hidden Mickey but here, I challenge you to find the hidden North Face:

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day, at Disneyland, In the North Face:

 

OMG Disney Magic, In the North Face:

 

Pulling the Sword out of the Stone, In the North Face:

 

On a cruise through the jungle, almost got eaten by hippos, luckily In the North Face:

f

Disney has this cool new thing where you take pictures, and then the manually go in and add balloons so when you look at them online, you can't add balloons over your friend's face. They are already there, In the North Face:

Or not there, In the North Face:

 

(Wookie Mistake)

Street sweeper was actually just in a Cast Jacket, but we saw him drawing these amazing pictures with his broom on the ground. It was cold so we were, In the North Face:

Epic things kept happening to us all day. We planned a great Space Mountain Picture and it all went smoothly. Unfortunately the cast members who scan the photos for dirty things were laughing at our picture and accidentally deleted it, so they let us cut the line, re-ride, and this was the result. Thank you happy couple. Space Mountain gets us off too, In the North Face.

 

Really racist, but really awesome Peter Pan Ride at 11:45 pm 

(because really, when else do you ride the kiddie rides), In the North Face:

 

Pinocchio's "this ride is creepy" "It's even creepier because we are the only one's on it" "you're the worst boyfriend ever at 11:50 pm" Ride, In the North Face:

Snow White's "hey, I always knew this ride was scary but it actually says Scary in the title! No wonder" Ride with no line at 11:55pm, In the North Face:

Looking at pretty things that I've never seen before because local's don't go to Disneyland in the rain because we can just re-schedule, In the North Face:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The second day, we went to California Adventure and it was sunny. But, for the sake of Kelsey, the meme, and this blog, we chose to keep the North Faces on and tough it out in the searing California sun. Plus as soon as we took them off, it got cold. Not pictured here are the following events:

-NOT getting stuck on California Screamin' Roller Coaster for 45 minutes at the top because we wanted to go on Toy Story Dirty Ride first
-Watching Disneyland fireworks, that were previously cancelled, from California Adventure to the sound of Katy Perry's song "Firework."
-Getting stuck on Monsters Inc. Ride and getting to walk through the whole ride and make up our own dialogue
-Watching a night time light up frisbee show (who knew)
-Seeing a family dress all of their children up like the entire cast of Peter Pan (debatably most racist sexist movie ever, but still good)
-Ordering adventurous soda when we went to the most expensive restuarant in the park specifically to drink wine, because it was unlimited free refills on Disney Property (seriously unbelievable. had to go for it duh).
-Getting Wookie hat comments all day b/c everyone is always jealous of everything we do.


Front of California Adventure, In the North Face:

Hollywood Tower of Terror (I would do this for NOBODY ELSE) In the North Face:

Imitating Disney Magic Fail in picture as seen above, In the North Face:

Toy Story Dirty Ride, In the North Face:

David beating me (and something else), In the North Face (Not pictured here):

Mickey Ice Cream and Pilot's License, In the North Face:

Disney designers, has someone has had a little too much to drink? I didn't ask for Chicken Strips. I asked for CARS LAND!!!, In the North Face:

OMG CARS VOM, In the North Face:

There's this movie called Tron that only Disney seems to think was successful and thus they have themed their entire night park after it but nobody even saw it but at least I get to lay out sexily on this cool plastic couch, In the North Face.

Drawing the sword of Disney Magic, In the North Face:

World of Color, probably designed by people from Nor Cal, In the North Face:

My amazing Ellie Badge, in the North Face:

NOMNOMNOMSUGARSMURFMOUTHNOMNOMNOM, In the North Face:

Thanks for joining me on this little adventure to the wonderful world of Disney!! Goofy photobomb, In the North Face:

This trip was amazing. We make such an awesome Disneyland team. and the North Face Adventures were too many to count. One of the best weekends ever with the best kid ever. the Wookie hats helped and the rain made it just absolutely magical. See you next time for more adventures, In the North Face.