oop

I’m back! Okay, I didn’t actually go anywhere, per se, but I certainly didn’t update this here blog. Why, you ask? Short answer: lazy and crazy. Long answer: I’ve been really overwhelmed lately and I’m pretty sure I’m having a quarter life crisis. As such, I haven’t been reading much. And what I have read, I haven’t felt like piecing together a review. But fear not! I’m pushing through, and I’m going to try to very slowly get back into the swing of things.

I feel bad that it’s April and I still haven’t even posted pictures from my New York aside from the awesome waving sloth. Now I feel like if I post them, it’ll be way too late. Let’s just all pretend like I shared pictures and it was lovely, yeah? Besides, I didn’t really take any super awesome pictures; those are all on Anna’s camera.

So yep. That’s been me lately. Bundle of anxiety, lots of bad feelings, and not writing as much as I should be. Fun! On the up side, I had one really good day where I looked pretty cute.

But I’m going to do more reviews soon if it kills me. You hear me? KILLS ME.

trucks bearing food

On Wednesday afternoons in September (possibly before September, too; I have no idea), Columbus Commons played host to an assortment of food trucks for what they called Lunch on the Lawn. As soon as I heard about this – during the second-to-last Tuesday of September – I knew I had to go.

Thanks to Food Network, I’ve got an unhealthy preoccupation with food trucks. They were sort of a unicorn for me; I never saw any in Memphis (though that’s likely changed, also thanks to Food Network) nor had I seen any elsewhere. The Commons are practically right down the street from my house, so I was a little disappointed that my great white whale was literally ten minutes away. And so, I decided that I’d wake up and head down the next morning to see these food trucks. And, you know, eat.

My original plan was to get a taco from MojoTaGo. They were vying for a spot on the Food Network show I love, and it seemed like a good idea to get a taste before they popped up on my TV. Since the event started at 11:30, I was there at 11:15. (I don’t like being late to things, and being on time counts as late to me. Don’t ask, I know it’s odd.)

I wandered around looking at the trucks as though I were deciding which diamond to wipe in a heist. 11:30 came and went, and MojoTaGo still wasn’t open. And I was really, really hungry. Instead of waiting around, I decided to reward a truck that was already prepared – The Cheesy Truck. The Cheesy Truck is tacky and possibly full of copyright infringement, but I sucked it up and ordered anyway.

The workers were very nice. And I think they were chatting about MojoTaGo’s unpreparedness as well. I got my sandwich and my soda and sat to eat. I’d ordered the Country Gentleman, a grilled cheddar and fried bologna sandwich. I’ve made these at home a million times, and I was disappointed that it wasn’t a taco, but it was actually very tasty. I’d definitely go patronize their tacky truck again.

One truck was sitting looking lonely, and since I felt bad, I decided to buy. Kona Ice sells shaved ice, but allows you to add your own syrup. Have I mentioned how much I love shaved ice? because it’s a lot. I’m sure my eyes lit up an unnatural amount when the sales guy explained that I could create my own flavors. I don’t even know what flavors I got; I was so drunk with syrup power that it was something like blackout rage, but really, really happy. I hope he got more business that day because everyone needs shaved ice now and then.

Lunch on the Lawn is no more now that it’s October, but if I can track down these trucks, I’ll definitely buy again.

I still wish I had a taco, though.

new haunt

Considering I had a LOT of time to kill when I was without a laptop, I took care of a few errands in the meantime. I applied for (and just received!) my replacement replacement social security card. I sort of cleaned my room and promptly messed it back up. I visited the art museum. And I got a library card. The card is probably the most exciting to me, obviously. I didn’t want to visit any of the branch locations for my first trip, and so I made my way to the main library.

It’s gorgeous. Just look at it. It looks more like a museum than a library. They have self check-out nooks. And part of the second floor is dedicated to Columbus history. My first trip there, I had to cut short because I still don’t know how to eat properly and was feeling crummy. The second trip, however, I spent about four hours roaming around. I’ll definitely be bumming around this library more often. I’m mostly just glad I have somewhere to go to get the hell out of the house.

what is love

My laptop died. I will curse Dell until I’m on my deathbed, because the company’s product has gone way, way downhill. I was assured that HP’s computers have seen plenty of improvement, and since it fit my (very, very small) budget, I went ahead and dropped the money on a new laptop. Getting the old one repaired would have been around $300, and why bother when I can get a brand new machine for just a bit more? And so, here I am, new laptop running and ready to rock and roll.

But that has nothing to do with this post; I just wanted to complain. This is really about love, and family, and the warm fuzzies you get from both. Sometimes. If you’re lucky. And I’m apparently a fairly lucky person. I kvetch about family and whatnot often, but honestly, they’re good people, and they’re at arm’s length by my own lack of effort. I don’t know how to interact with them, and so I just don’t. In my defense, I don’t know how to interact with anyone. I have a few family members that I’m closer to than others because they’re closer to my age, but that’s about it.

Semi-recently, I’ve made a very lame effort to change that. Death kind of kicked me in the face and made me slightly more aware of my mortality and the mortality of others. (Sidebar: I say slightly because I was a very, very weird child and would often contemplate death/sit in a corner and cry because someday my mom wouldn’t be around anymore and it could happen at literally any moment. Good job, creepy prophetic childhood self.) I tried to call people more, but admittedly, I failed kind of hard.

But alas! I’m trying again. My trip to Memphis made me miss these nutty people, and I started to think about how the kids in my generation in the family aren’t nearly as close as those that come before us. It made me a little sad and I wondered if it was just my family or families across the country. A brief conversation with Kat makes it seem somewhat standard nowadays, which is depressing. And so, I’m going to try to not fall away from my family. Let’s see how long I can keep this up.

PS The wedding was very nice. And as a bonus, here’s a video of my uncle and his new wife. My (former) Shamone people should get a kick out of it, at least.

PPS My dress looked pretty great but I didn’t get a shot with the shoes because wow, they hurt. This is what happens when I stop wearing heels for a year.

on the road

As I type this, I’m sitting in my cushy leather Greyhound bus seat, charging my phone and listening to Google Music using the bus’ Wifi connection. This is not the cramped as hell Greyhound I remember from my childhood. It’s confusing but very comfortable. I’m on my way to Memphis to attend a wedding (my uncle’s) and a baby shower (my good friend Keri’s). I’m absolutely flat broke because another bill came up that we didn’t anticipate and my last paycheck was a bit short because of some technical issues with work being available, so I hope everyone appreciates my coming down.

Did I mention the wedding is on my birthday and they totally forgot? Thanks, family.