2 free tickets to greenday?  I don't listen to them.  I don't know anything about them.  Box seats?  Sure I'll go.

I took Brian with me.  I wasn't going to go because it was right smack in the middle of my finals, but I thought... psssh, free concert, lets go!

So we went.  And we got to sit all high up in the most amazingly comfortable chairs with our own bar and bathrooms and the works.  That's not even the point.  It was amazing.  The best concert I've ever been to (aside from the first Ani concert I went to where I cried like a blubbering baby because I was so overly emotional about it) and I didn't even know most of their stuff.

So why was it so good?

They love their fans.

And not even, "thank you to our fans because without you we'd be nothing."  You know, that 'famous' line that bands like to say when they're winning an award while at the same time they're thinking how great they are and they have to say that because they'd lose them.

No.  Not Green day.  They rocked out to their fans.  I can't even explain it.  I mean, what band chooses people out of the audience to come play all their instruments while the lead singer sings along with them?  And then GIVES them the guitar?  What band picks the youngest little boy out of the audience to shoot water guns on the rest of them, then brings him out on that cat walk and has the audience imitate this little 8 year old tyke.

Who truly includes their audience aside from the "Everyone say "OOOhhh"" and the crowd repeats.

The lights were out and they told everyone to get out their lighters and cell phones ... and suddenly the crowd was illuminated with little sparkling lights.  You know, because everyone and their mothers grandmother have a cell phone.  It was like a really clear, starry night sky, but swaying.  Seeing it from above, it was nothing short of amazing.

It really was a good memory.  I'm glad I decided to stop writing my paper and go, and I'm so glad Brian was my guest.

The littlest things sometimes, and the most unexpected, can often times mean the most.  I love when they come out of nowhere and you're left feeling in awe, when all you were originally doing was taking a study break.

Thank you Greenday, for being real and for putting on one hell of a show for a new fan.

-A

Don't even tell me you dont like Ace of Base.  I know you do.  Way deep down inside.

I knew it.

13 days.  that's when i graduate from Pitt.  So crazy.  I'm wondering where these past 4 years went and how I got this far along so rapidly.  I'm 21, living with my boyfriend, taking care of my cat and moving to Chicago to go to grad school.  When did I become such an adult?  I guess the day I moved out of my house and headed 6 hours southwest to come here.  That's the day I became in debt and began taking control of my own life, my own money, paying for my life on my own, school included.

I can't complain though.  These past four years have been the best of my life.  I've met the most amazing people and I've met the worst people.  I've had so many new experiences that I would have never had if I didn't leave home or if I didn't go to college.  I mean, I'm taking care of a cat.  Might not mean much but if I don't feed her, she'll die and that's a pretty big responsibility to me. She's sleeping on my bed right now and looking too cute for me.

So, the ebay-er bought a couch and recliner.  $61 for both.  I must say that is a pretty damn good deal.  Brian and I went to pick them up yesterday.  We are putting them in storage until July when we move to Chicago.  Here's my favorite picture from our moving day.

It was fun. 

I love doing things with him.  It's so weird to think that we've only been together a 1 year and 2.5 months.  It's also weird to think that we've been together that long, if that makes sense.

He's my favorite.

I hate to say it, but oakland will be missed when I leave this place.  So will my friends and the run down bars and overly littered streets and the fake homeless hecklers.

Thank God Brian is coming with me.  I honestly don't think I'd be able to do it without him. <3

-A

I wonder when the exact moment was.  I think about that a lot.  Like when was that one defining moment that suddenly created a bridge between us?

She was my roommate freshman year.  The person that I was randomly selected to live with in my first year of college.  Would I hate her?  Would we clash?  Would we become best friends?

We did become best friends.  Right from the start.  We were attached at the hip.  We spent every waking moment together, and every sleeping moment together as we slept in the same room.  Our beds were on opposite sides of the room and then eventually as our friendship grew, we bunked our beds and that was that.  Like a seal on the deal or something.

She came to visit me over the summer between freshman and sophomore year.  Sophomore year we roomed together with 2 other girls.  Danielle and I in one room, Nikki and Kat in the other.  It was a great year.  My favorite year, I think.  We had so much fun that year and still continued doing everything together, with Nikki now included in a lot of our rendezvous.

Then junior year came and we moved off campus together with Eric, Adam and Michele.  That was fun too.  I enjoyed living with my 2 best friends and felt right at home.  Until Danielle and I never saw each other anymore.  I started hanging out with my other friends and she started hanging out with her volleyball friends.  Then our friendship was kind of put on hold, almost like it was put into the past and neither of us looked back.

Senior year we moved into separate apartments with different people.  I've seen her three times this whole year and one of them was randomly on the street.

It makes me sad when I think about it.  I used to be angry.  At her, mostly I guess.  Because when I really sit down and try to understand what happened and when it happened and what the one moment really was, it was when she got the e-mail saying she was on the Volleyball team after tryouts.  I was so excited for her.  She wanted to play so bad and missed it so much from high school.  I guess I didn't really think that I was up against any competition when she signed on for that.  But I was.  There were more of them and they were better than me.  And I just kind of got put on the back burner.

Volleyball has become her life.  She hangs out with the volleyball crew before practice, during practice, studies with them and parties with them.  I can't help to feel a little left out and shafted during all of this.  I guess that was why I was so angry at her.  She ditched me.

And I guess sometimes I do feel that little pinch of anger coming back, but most of the time I just accept that we're just not friends any more.  And that people change, we both did.  I loved our freshman crew.  More than anything.  I never wanted to let it go, but one moved to New York City, another joined a frat, and Danielle met new people.  So, I guess from the outside looking in, I shouldn't be angry at her.  I shouldn't hold so much emotion to her name. 

She IMd me today and told me she was coming to graduation to see her favorite roomie and one of her best friends graduate.  It gave me a nice feeling.  But at the same time I think, why bother?  Does having a history really matter now that things have gone this far?  I don't know...

But, really, when it comes down to it...

I just miss her as my friend.

-A  

man it's beautiful outside.  8)

the weather has put me in an insanely well mannered and bright mood.  i am so loving it.

brian and i played tennis on saturday.  it was decent for brian being semi drunk and both of us being smokers who can't breathe.

i am so excited.  i bought a down alternative mattress topper and it is TO DIE FOR.  i am so in love with it and i think mara is too.  she's snoozing on it right now as a matter of fact.

so this whole summer job thing is irritating me.  i hate that i'm going to be a college graduate and scraping for a $6/hr job.  the reasons behind this are because i'm moving to chicago in july and i can't really start a fresh REAL job and then quit 2 months later.  well, i could.  but i have a conscience.  and i can't keep my job at the Pitt News or any campus job for that matter because i'll be graduating.  i heard that i could work for the university for 6 months after graduation however people want students for the whole summer term, and i'll be ditchin 'em in july so i'd also feel bad for doing that.  man, this whole conscious thing is hindering.

but i have an interview today at the new american eagle they're putting in at the southside works, so we'll see about that.  i'm putting my faith into YOU ae.  oh what a sad little life i lead.  :P

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!

-A  

It was oh so wonderful to go home for the weekend.  We didn't end up getting in until 4am on friday night and then i had to be up at 9 to go with Brian to get fitted for a tux.  Since his brother, his sister and his dad were going I decided that instead of going with him I'd go to his house and take advantage of the sauna to try to get rid of some of my cold.  At around 2:30 we arrived back home where there were nearly 30 cars in my driveway and along the road. 

"What is going on?" I asked.

Silence.

"That's Nana's car... what... ?" I tried to ask again.

"That's my parents car, what the heck?" Brian said.

Lynn comes outside and pulls me into the house where everyone yells "SURPRISE!" and I still had no idea what it was for.

"Surprise for what?"

How dumb am I.  It was a surprise pre-graduation party.  Nearly everyone I know from home was there and even a few people I don't know.  I saw my Uncle who has recently gone through brain surgery and doesn't remember the past 4 months of his life, and it was so great to see him up and kickin.  I saw all of Brian's family whom I also saw an hour before that BECAUSE I WAS AT THEIR HOUSE (they duped me).  My sister and her family, all of my relatives, The Puglisi's, Wendy and her fiancee, etc etc.

Brian knew about it all along.  He's actually known since I was in Chicago for spring break.  My mom called him and gave him the 4-1-1 and asked for some help.  And Eric too.

After everyone left, minus the partiers who were all still sitting around the table getting drunk and farting, I opened up all of my cards and presents.  Amazingly for me, I made $2070. 

Luckily I have a fantastic mother and stepfather, boyfriend and best friend who were all able to put this on for me without me even being close to knowing what the heck was going on.  And I now have some money to move to Chicago with, so thank God for that.

The weekend went really fast due to the all-day party on saturday but it was well worth it.  We got back to Pittsburgh around 12:30am on sunday night and then we almost got towed and had to pay the towing guy $70 not to tow us.  That was fun.

He was such a jerk.

But everything is well and fine now.

I don't think anyone will ever really know how much that party meant to me.

-A

so i've been sitting here since i got let out of my internship early this morning at around 10am.  its now 12:40 and i have yet to pack even a single sock for the road trip home tonight. 

i am so excited.

home.  ahh.  mom! lynn! couch! 

i am still sick and so is brian.  its getting gross with all of our snot rags and our cough drop wrappers lying around for mara to pick up and carry to a corner to play with.  and i am so medicated on sore throat/cough syrup that it makes me want to vom.

the only good thing out of all of this is chewable vitamin C tablets.  Ohh, the ones that taste like oranges.  they have given me such a nostaglic feeling of when i was a kid and my nana or my mother would insist i take them and i would willingly do it because they tasted so.damn.good.    (i still love them.)

i ate nearly a half a bag of tostitos and salso con queso. yum. that was lunch but im thinking ramen is in order.  how terrible is it that even though i have money and can afford food, i still choose ramen.  i think i will always be a ramen child, it never gets old.

i am in love with the wicker park soundtrack.  so in love.  its the only cd i have bought in years.  i watched the movie and for some reason was so in love with it and the music, rightly so.  so i bought the dvd and then bought the soundtrack and they are the best two purchases ive made on e-bay yet. =)

this e-bay thing is so addicting.  i need to stop.  actually i have slowed things down a bit.  ive sold more than ive bought in the past two weeks which is a good sign.  but on days like these, when i get out of my internship early, i come home and begin my long hours of e-bay searching until i find that perfect jacket or sweater or jewerly box.

my name is andrea and i'm an e-bayaholic.

-A  

these are all the states i've visited. 21%.  that's not nearly enough.  i need to head to the west coast sometime soon.

I'm Sick.

And I gave it to Brian.  Ooops.  Now we're both sick.  We went to the bar last night for some drinks with a few friends and I think it was a bad idea . . . just made us worse.  We both woke up around 5am this morning and were awake and talking.  It was very odd. Then after falling back asleep I woke up again around 7.  Then again around 8:30 --> an hour after we were supposed to get up.  Yeah, so today started out less than wonderful and my throat still hurts so that can't mean anything good.

AND i'm trying my very hardest to ignore all of my homework that's due in Family Comm tomorrow.  I've been sitting at the computer for so long, hoping something will come into my mind to take me away from this stupid annotated bibliography.

Shoot Me.

-A

Well, I am back from Chicago

This is a picture from my sisters balcony.  It's not even the REALLY beautiful part of chicago but it is pretty at night nonetheless.  It was an amazing city to go visit and I am so excited to move there.

I got put on a waiting list for an apartment that is uber close to the city.  It's a $1000/mo apartment but I will get it for a student discount which is just fantastic.  I am really excited to move into an apartment that brian and i can call our own ... with our kitty mara of course.

I learned how to take the L (ie subway, train, EL) by myself which is exciting.  I took it to my school where I got a tour and went shopping downtown later on when my sister met up with me after she got out of work.  It's so crazy to be on a strip of downtown chicago and see prada, louis vittan, ralph lauren and all of these crazy expensive stores that I've really never been to before.  But the real exciting thing is that I am no longer a H&M virgin =)  It has become my new favorite store.

The trip out there was great, but it was so nice to finally come home to brian.  Alitza was supposed to pick me up at the train station at 4:30 am and as I was getting my bags from the baggage claim, i felt arms wrap around my waist.  It was brian.  He's so cute to surprise me even though he had to be up at 7:30 for work.  His eyes were all sleepy and I could tell he just rolled out of bed.  So adorable.

I came home to a bunch of surprises that he had done for me while i was away.  He made me this frame - he painted it and made it look rustic and then put a picture of himself in it that he had tinted a blueish color on a program he downloaded on my computer.  He also hung up this nyc painting that i had but never had the time to put up.  And he put up my ceiling circular light fixture that is just so great because i could never get it to stay.  He had made me origami flowers for our anniversary a couple of months ago and he put them on the wall around a mirror.  Just little things that he didn't have to do that makes him so friggin cute.

But, I am glad to be home with him and mara.  I missed them like crazy.  But, I think once we move to chicago, life will be even better.

I can't even imagine all that is in store for us.

-A 

it seems to have taken me awhile to update.  5 months and 2 days to be exact.  but i have been busy.

I AM . . .

• still with the love of my life (although i am not surprised)


• 


• currently living WITH the love of my life which has made my moodswings much less frequent and my love for him increase tremendously


• leaving for chicago tonight for spring break because i have been accepted into Roosevelt University's Integrated Marketing Communication graduate program, which i am extremly thrilled about


• doing well in my classes


• still in love with mara and have grown a new love for shadow


• (cats in case you can't tell :))


• working for the pitt news, the student run newspaper for the University of Pittsburgh


• interning at the IdeaMill, a local advertising firm


• addicted to e-bay shopping & selling


• learning things about myself that i never knew before


• content with my life. 

it seems that although my life has veered in the direction that i never expected it to and was reluctant to believe that it ever would, i have outdone myself.

i am happy.

and i must say, that is a new and improved concept from the beginning of my senior year.

this chicago trip is exciting.  brian couldn't get more than 2 days off or else he would be just as excited as me and we would be dancing the night away.  so it is my duty to travel there, one that i am more than willing to take under my wing.  a week filled with registration, campus tours and apartment shipping.  i am hoping all goes well and i will be even more excited when i get back.  we shall see . . .

-A 

mara is my best friend.

is it bad that mara is my cat?

i have found my senior year of college to be the worst yet and not that any previous years were bad, but this one is worse than all of my high school years combined, and that is pretty awful i must have to say.

1 week shy of my 21st birthday and here i sit, alone in my apartment with mara sleeping on my lap.  its extra crummy because today is my friend adams 22nd birthday.  i have been looking forward to this day so that i could go out and enjoy the company of the people i used to be so close with but never seem to see anymore.  i was told there would be dinner involved so that i could be a part of the social gathering.  and here it is, 10:30 PM and i have just gotten word that dinner happened earlier and sorry, but now they're going out for margaritas and will continue to bar hop for the rest of the evening.

i hope you have fun.

really, it sucks enough that i cant go out and celebrate or just go out and have drinks because thats all any of my friends do anymore which coincidentally has made me lose all of my friends because i cant go with. but, to tell me you want me there and that you love me and then to diich me....  well, it kind of stings.

oh i know i know, in one week you'll be 21.  hooray for that.  bullshit.  these people aren't my friends.  no one here is my friend.  it seems that the people that cared would spend that extra time to include me, because they "care."  well you dont care.  and im tired of caring for you.

i feel so awful for my boyfriend because even with him being 3 hours away he gets the brunt of my depression.  last week i freaked out on him and then cried for nearly two hours explaining why.  tonight i call him and tell him i get to once again sit at home on friday night because i have surface friends.  i get snippy with him and i get short with him instead of telling him that i need him.  lucky for me, he's been understanding.  i guess i take it out on him because i have no one else to.  because i love him and he's not here.  because if i had him, my life would be fine.  the person that loves me would be near and i would feel a purpose instead of a waste.

you want to know what kills me the most?  that my best friend from kindergarten is becoming one of those surface friends.  that even he can't go out of his way to show me that he still wants my friendship.

and i guess that hurts more than anything.

but i've got mara.  without her and her needing me to feed her, i think i would have slit my wrists by now.