on cold mornings

april in amherst was always a funny time. it's often warm(ish) during the days and still cold at night. after the long, cold, grey amherst winter, if the temperature hit even 60 degrees during the day, the entire campus was out, in flip flops, throwing frisbees, and rolling around in the still muddy grass.

the mornings were cold, like the evenings, and my favorite thing to do was to stay in bed until the sun warmed the air, snuggling in my flannel sheets, hiding from the icy cold air blowing through my very open window. i loved those mornings.

it was 19 (~66F) degrees here when i woke up this morning, which is quite a bit colder than it's been. the sky is clear blue, and there's a strong, cold breeze about. when we woke up, liz opened the window, letting the crisp air into our somewhat stuffy bomb shelter bedroom. i snuggled deep into my sheets, hiding from the cold air, remembering how much i had loved it before.

if you need me today, i'll be in my bed. enjoying the warmth and hiding from the cold breeze.

on pre-mating rituals

i'm pretty sure that showing me your scars is a sign you want to sleep with me.

on pre-departure traditions

before i leave, i always make a new anklet. usually i make it from hemp and beads, and inevitably, it wears through* and falls off about a month or two before coming home. i try not to read too much into the symbolism of it all.

take a good look, since it won't be repatriating with me.














*i made this trip's model out of tiger tail and beads for added durability. we'll see how it goes.

on stuff 'dying' while abroad

my mom asked me why i keep referring to 'my stuff dying while abroad' when i talk about what to bring with me to israel. things like jeans, shoes, and purses/backpacks are the most frequently destroyed items. the lifespan of these items, if taken abroad, shortens to about 4-6 months.

during my past abroad experiences i have lost the following items to 'degradation' (i've only listed the important, memorable items, the ones that degraded to the point of death; many of these were my most favoritest things):

• square toe red sneakers (australia)
• mini and large backpack (australia)
• brown doc boots (ireland)
• marmot raincoat (ireland)
• best adidas sneakers ever (ireland)
  
• tiki purse (mexico)
• original vs tanks w/shelf bra in grey, yellow, & black (mexico)
• ems flip flops (mexico)
• pink beaded earrings (mexico)
• black beaded earrings (mexico)
  
• orange flip flops (mexico)
• green khakis (mexico)
  
• 3 pairs of jeans (ireland, mexico, england)
• red puma sneakers (england)
• slippers (england)
• 2 pairs of ballet flats (england)
• black sweat pants (england)
• many, many pairs of silver hoop earrings (all countries listed)
  

many other items are now stored under my bed, in 'severely used' condition, waiting to be pulled out for a romp in the mud.

i don't care what daily candy says

these boots are ugly.

200-what? -- a follow up

pete called me 'lame' and 'sad' when i told him i had spent new year's eve hanging out with annie in jersey, without a midnight kiss.

apparently pete will kiss nearly anyone in sight, including his best friend's girl, at midnight.

when asked what the big deal is, he assured me that ringing in the new year minus a kiss is bad luck.

i hate buying jeans

i'm not really going to list all of the reasons why i hate buying jeans. because. it's. boring. oh so boring.

but i will say this:

all jeans should come in ankle/short/petite length. honestly.

save your fabric! manufacture for short people!