Baked my first carrot cake today. Made it from scratch. Haven't tasted it yet. It's cooling. Hope it's good... if it's any good at all, that will be happy... so when I have carrot cake cravings -- instead of running to Price Club and buying full sheet cake, I can just make one. : )

So I used to say that I am a little bit clairvoyant....

clair·voy·ant (klâr-voint)
adjective:
1: perceiving things beyond the natural range of the senses
2: foreseeing the future [syn: precognitive, second-sighted]
noun:
someone who has the power of clairvoyance

Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University

Vivian: What do you want?
Edward: What do you do?
Vivian: Everything. But I don't kiss on the mouth.
Edward: Neither do I.
-Pretty Woman

This weekend has been so gray and rainy. I guess it’s been good for replenishing the water supply since it’s been so dry this year. Rainy days mean sleepy days though, and low productivity…..countless hours of watching Paul Newman (!) movies and reading my new supply of children’s book from the Glen Allen library. One of the books was “Catherine, Called Birdy” a Newberry Honor book I recommended to a READ Center student one week. READ stands for Reading and Education for Adult Development. It’s mainly an adult literacy organization based in downtown Richmond. Every week I look forward to meeting with my student, Brenda. She’s such a charming lady, super-eager to learn. We’ve been talking about goals lately and her long-term goal is to get her GED. We’ve been working on math. Last week we learned about the Pythagorean theorem, complementary angles, and how to take an average. I’ve never really tutored before, and this has been just an incredible experience. There’s so much to think about… not just teaching new things, but ensuring for retention, etc. I think the tentative plan is for her to take the exam in March…

Going to the ‘burg this week! : ) Was just there couple weekends ago and had a great time w/ the Jen, “Fran”, and Ryan. Tuesday will be different since it’ll be for recruiting/work, but that weekend (11/2) was definitely VT. When we went to Big Al’s we saw an accused, one of the scary ones… and actually when I got home, AJ Jay told me he saw my favorite “accused-not-guilty” at the football game that weekend w/ his parents. What is it with him and the parents – that time I saw the “accused-not-guilty” with my mom at Fair Oaks. : ) Maybe if I’m lucky I’ll see my favorite sometime again. Anyway, we did IHOP, Mill Mountain, Zeppoli’s, it was a nice Bburg experience. Although I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed we didn’t get a chance to head over to Hunan King to see our “Ya-Welcome” server… and get some steamed pork buns. We’re so silly when we all get together, it’s like a big slumber party… and of course episode 4 of Pride and Predjudice! Also: Coalwood, Count Gilu, the Town Hall which was in an auto shop building, Valley View Mall, scenic views along 64, Papa John’s pizza.

(11/8-10) MahJong. KC’s examination of the rules. JunZhao. Disparity of strategy. Lynchburg. Kevin! Cattle Annie’s – voted “Lynchburg’s Best Night Spot”, Blake Shelton and Emerson Drive. The lead singer’s hair. Mmm the fiddle player. Redneck Girl. Sketchy Waffle House and IHOP w/ policemen as hostesses, the Village Inn, no shampoo, Blue Ridge Parkway, ladybugs, Crabtree Falls, the road that goes nowhere, 20 minute cliff, Chirio’s nasty pizza, ice cream for Kunal, “nice” movies.

So there's something that I think is really unhappy. When you're presented with a similar situation that has occurred in the past... and in the past, the wrong decision was made. Definitely the wrong thing to do, look back on it and think I made a poor choice. Now with the second chance/occurrance, the 'right' decision should be made.... because I know what the right decision is. But why is the maturity and responsibility so difficult sometimes?

I'm going to kick you in the bak bahn!

Maybe I should move to Illinois....

Serena, IL
Zip code(s): 60549

Joy, IL (village, FIPS 38739)
Location: 41.19687 N, 90.87956 W
Population (1990): 452 (210 housing units)
Area: 1.1 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 61260

Today was all about simple pleasures. : ) Slept in… then went out “hiking” in Charlottesville w/ Talona, Mary, and GP. I got to drive : ) and we took I-64 most of the way out, but came back all the way on 250. All the leaves are changing color. I wonder what things are looking like along Skyline Drive? I’ve come to the conclusion that I like the bright red trees the best. Autumn is likely my favorite season… I love how the weather is so crisp, and it’s still jeans/shirt/light jacket weather. No humidity : ) So the hike was good, we probably did slightly under 3 miles. On the way back we were starved and ate at a very local type place. The best part about that was the jukebox. Juke box experience: Weezer, Island in the Sun, Garth Brooks, She’s Every Woman, Dave Matthews, Tripping Billies.

A week ago right now Ryan and I were sitting in his truck waiting in the Kings Dominion parking lot since we got stuck north of the sniper shooting in Ashland. We were so hungry-- we were in sad shape. We exited the park at around 10:30, and just sat in the parking lot for around 3 hours... mostly entertaining ourselves by playing Hangman. The funniest thing was listening back on my dad’s messages on my cell phone’s voicemail and the progression of urgency of each message left. (My cell phone wasn’t working.) Kings Dominion. That was a fun day too. We rode the Grizzly 6 times… most of them at night… it’s much better in the dark. I think 6 times in a day is probably a record for me. The Grizzly, my favorite!

I was talking to Justine tonight, and we finally had a chance to catch up. We had one of those conversations that make you remember why you’re best friends with someone. Similar experience talking w/ the Jen in Bahama Breeze that night after my return from vacation in HK. You have friends, and then you have Friends.

Tiurin42: they are mutually exclusive.
Tiurin42: you don't pursue boys with the idea of finding a man.
Tiurin42: otherwise, you're doomed to failure
Tiurin42: if you go after immature brats, you get immature brats. you don't expect to find someone dependable.
Tiurin42: but, boys are exciting. men are boring.
Tiurin42: 32. jeez.

ah, all the wisdom of the brother... who will be 26 on wednesday.. happy b-day bro!

yes. 32. thirty-two. XXXII. saam sup yee.

Baskinje: they are just maturing until the right point to find you
NocciolaGirl: it's like larvae... pupae...
NocciolaGirl: i'm waiting for that 32 year old guy

Baskinje: i've found that the decisions concerning life in general and boys in particular are similar to the decisions you make concerning stocks - there is a buy, sell, or hold decision to be made.
Baskinje: the basic point being that you consider past performance to an extent - but you always sell a stock that has no future. you can't hold onto a stock just because at one point it was a good buy. consider it a sunk cost. if it's not going to work, sell it, take your loss and look for something new to invest in.
Baskinje: the same idea applies to boys.

should amend jen's line to 'men'. boys are boys. i have lots of boys... 'my boys'. the term originating back in slusher even.oh, residents!! i wouldn't want any of my boys though. and they probably don't want me either. anyway :) but the line, lots of boys, but no man. i wonder if they are mutually exclusive?

everyone seems to have stock related theories on stuff.

Food. So tonight I broke down and went to Ukrops (the place is too nice, I find it sketchy). Anyway, I figured to get some premade food for dinner, well I ended up walking out of there with not only lasagna, but also: strawberries, bananas, eggs, and three packages of Halloween candy. When I got home, I was hungry, but didn't really feel any desire for that taste of food. It's weird. While I know eating is necessary, that's what I've been seeing it as, a necessity. While normally, I eat for the pure enjoyment and the taste in addition to nourishment. I guess the fact that I actively purchased food was a good step. This is all so odd, so in HK, I didn't need any sleep. I get back, and can't get enough sleep, but don't want to eat. What's going to be next?