So guess what happened?

Yes, I know, okay. There were several reasons behind my absence, none of them were legitimate enough to excuse it; I'm sorry. Burn me in effigy or call me a mean name in the comments or anything it takes to get it out of your system. Alright. Are we good? Can we proceed?

Truth be told, I've been avoiding you guys for a week or two, mostly out of embarrassment and general apathy. Well. That makes it sound more dramatic than it is-- I'm not apathetic. Right now, I'm quite purposefully shoving Wheat Thins into the wide-open, chapped-to-shit cavern that was once my mouth. I care about these Wheat Thins. They care about me. We're in an exclusive romantic relationship.

I... yeah. I got dumped.

I wasn't planning on making some giant public announcement about it, but it seems silly to hide things from you guys. This dumb blog has seen me at my worst and at my best, and to deny the existence of the former would just make the latter seem fake. So yes! I got dumped! I got dumped, I got dumped, I got dumped! I alternate between feeling 100% normal and then like I've just been shot in the stomach. Right now it's the second one... hence my efforts to fill the wound hole with high fructose corn syrup. It isn't the end of the world, but it is the end of a very big part of my life, you know? I haaaate being the victim but I can't pretend I'm not sad.

ON THE MUCH BRIGHTER SIDE, I have plenty of other things to occupy my mind. This week, I'll be finally making an official announcement about a project I've been alluding to for some time. I think most of you will find it really exciting, especially since it may (spoiler!) involve you. I hope you'll accept this token of my affection in exchange for a few more instances of blogbitching about my love life. Deal?

Chipotle burritos this year: A lot.*
Subscribers: 55,581

*There's a burrito place on campus that I can run to in between classes and while I'm ashamed to admit it, I've lost count of my designer burritos.

goodnight

So sleepy. I spent the day playing with Heather and the evening in a hot tub with other girl friends; somewhere between the jets massaging my shoulders and the cream-filled doughnut I devoured, I became so relaxed that the ride home felt like a cradle and I have no idea what this sentence is doing. My room smells like summer and the ceiling fan is blowing my hair in a very comforting rhythm. I had planned something interesting to blog about tonight, but any bit of coherency melted away an hour ago... I love you guys, but I don't want to talk to you right now.

I hope you all sleep well tonight and have fantastic dreams about cupcakes or something equally satisfying. Murrr. Goodnight. <3

P.S. Stefan! The EGOT necklace! Thank you!!

EGOT

Today is awesome because...


I don't get many chances to check my post office box, but its contents never fail to make my mouth gape open like a catfish. Someone-- I'M LOOKING AT YOU GUYS-- made me the proud owner of this little gem. For those out of the loop, it's a reference to 30 Rock, my favorite TV writing alive right now, and stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. The life goal of Tracy Morgan's eccentric character now lives around my neck. I am giddy, I am gleeful, I am grateful. It came straight from the artist, though, so I don't know who sent it to me. If you're reading this, show yourself!

I spent my morning amusing myself with your Pottermore surveys. Some of you had seriously charming responses to how your usernames represent you. (Especially yours, EJ!) Also, a surprising number of us are either cats or dogs at heart, and you know what? It makes sense. We're the types of people who spend a lot of time reading and sitting on our computers. We're domesticated. I feel that. Anyway, it makes me smile to know that I'm not alone in obsessing over this website before it even begins. Look at you people, validating my weird ass refusal to mature beyond paying $30 for a piece of wood....

On that note, we've just narrowly escaped Yaxley in my reread of Deathly Hallows, so I'm off for the night. Once again, thank you for being quirky and interesting in my comments, thank you for sending me amazing shit in the mail, and thank you for just hanging out with me every day this month. I love you guys. See you tomorrow!


Chipotle burritos this year: 16
Subscribers: 53,696

Pottermore

I've been on a Potter high since LeakyCon. Rereading Deathly Hallows, refreshing my email inbox once an hour in hopes of a Pottermore announcement, finding myself in lengthy debates to revival those preserved in 2006 forums. It's not that I'd gotten over Harry Potter-- far from it-- but even after spending months with my attentions elsewhere, Harry always seems to wiggle his way back to the forefront of my brain I'm facing some kind of uncertainty in life. I'm about to move into my first apartment, about to be 21, about to be facing the final years of my education, about to make a big career move. Nothing's really constant right now... except Hogwarts. No matter where or who I am, I'm always just a cover away from the Gryffindor common room, and this gives me more peace than I can really explain.

So in celebration of a new phase in the HP fandom, I shall now complete a Pottermore-related survey I found on tumblr. You can fill it out too, if you want (I'd legitimately be interested in reading your answers to some of them) and post it either as a comment or on your own blog/tumblr, so long as you give me a link. Ready?

1. What's your Pottermore username? AccioWizard151.
2. What House do you think it sounds like? Probably Hufflepuff, right? Because they're relational? And they'd want to... summon... friends?
3. What House do you want to be in? Gryffindor. I've been confident in my allegiance to the scarlet and gold for a long time now and, frankly, I'll probably have some kind of identity crisis if the website tries to tell me otherwise.
4. Does your username relate to you at all? No, not really. I was with a bunch of my very excited fandom friends when I registered and one of them told me it was the coolest of my options.
5. What kind of wand would you wish to get? Something shorter than a foot so I wouldn't put anyone's eye out. Hopefully one that swishes when you whip it around.
6. Are you pure, half-blooded or Muggle born? I'm pretty sure I'm a pureblood.
7. Which day did you get into Pottermore? Day 1!
8. What shape is your Patronus? A burrito.
9. What does your boggart look like? Like Mrs. Weasley's-- the death of someone close to me.
10. Would you rather be an Animagus or a Matamorphmagus? Tough one, but I'd probably go the Tonks route.
11. If you were an Animagus, what animal would you be? I've thought a lot about this. I think I share some characteristics with cats, but my whole family hates them, so that might pose a problem. I don't know. What do you think?

Alright, all this talk of Rowling is making me anxious to cuddle up and read. I hope you all have a lovely day. I'll see you tomorrow!


Chipotle burritos this year: 16
Subscribers: 53,643

Disjointed

I feel really disjointed tonight. Nothing's wrong and I don't have a thing in the world to worry about, but I just feel like every time I try to work on one of my many projects today, a cartoon thought bubble forms over my head and all it says is "bnSKJDBKJSNF LKN lamslkdjasnd." Sort of like VidCon, when I lost my voice? I'm pushing, but nothing comes out. I don't know what's up.

Prior to opening this page and beginning today's blog post, I was editing a video. And by "editing a video," I mean to say that I was starring blankly at a giant line of video clips, flexing my toes, swinging my wand from the Harry Potter theme park, yelling "Expecto YouTubenum!" and feeling disappointed by the lack of results. It's been a while since I uploaded anything decent, and I even promised to post footage of my summer travels, but I'm having a hard time finding that... creative spark. Every video project I've started in the last two months has ended with a frustrated sigh. I mean, I feel totally silly for complaining in the slightest-- waah, it's sooo hard to play around in costumes in my free time and receive recognition and compliments for it-- but it really is hard to fake creativity. When you're not feeling it, you're not feeling it. Do any of you have advice for getting over a project slump? *Frustrated sigh.*

I'm gonna end this early tonight in an effort to buckle down and accomplish something. Hopefully, I'll break through the barrier and wake up tomorrow to filled pages and exported files. Hopefully, I won't fall asleep face-down on my keyboard with a wand imprinting into my cheek. Hopefully. Goodnight, guys!


Chipotle burritos this year: 16
Subscribers: 53,589
Miles run today: 1ish? Maybe more like half of one.

P.S. I missed the chance to update yesterday because Heather, my good friend/roommate from last school year, turned up in town without much warning, so I naturally had to devote my entire evening to giggling and clapping. We gushed about our summers (fun!), rode around on a tandem bike (like senior citizens!), and saw Friends With Benefits (...meh). I wish I had a better story for you, but frankly, it sometimes feels really good to have storyless nights. My friends are good, I feel good with them, all is good. Good.

Best Friend!

Tonight's source of overflowing happiness is brought to you all the way from Portland, Oregon, and it comes in the form of Jess. Those of you who've followed this blog from the beginning are well acquainted with my best friend-- you watched as we spent every waking moment together in high school, you've heard stories of us as kindergartners, middle schoolers, graduates, and you witnessed my melancholy when she made the smart decision to get on a plane and start her adult life on the west coast. Since she left (the day before my 20th birthday), we'd seen each other just twice... well, surprise! This afternoon, I received a call from her home phone number. My Jess is home!


We spent a few hours walking around, catching up, soaking each other up. She has to leave again tomorrow morning for family vacation, but I can't even express how valuable today was. Some people have the magical ability to leave a trail of joy behind them everywhere they go. My best friend puts them to shame.

I'm going to bed on a good note tonight, blog. I hope you all have a lovely day!


Chipotle burritos this year: 16
Subscribers: 53,468

Drinking Water

I'm apparently still recovering from my spontaneous month-long trip, as evidenced by my body's determination to sleep until 2 o'clock this afternoon. I have literally never done that before in my life. Thirteen hours, body? You needed thirteen hours? You have the audacity to continue growing spiky leg hair when I let you sleep for thirteen hours?

I've been trying to get myself back on track today by going for a long walk, drinking my weight in water, and reminding myself how to drive a car. Still, the weeks of constant sitting and junk consumption have caused my leg muscles to feel like mush... and I think I've forgotten what vegetables taste like. Life on the road is exciting as hell but it isn't exactly conducive to a healthy lifestyle.

That's where you guys come into play. Along with blogging every day, finishing my novel, and working on my big Mystery Project, I'm going to devote August to getting back in fighting shape before school starts... and I need you to keep me in check. There's nothing more motivational than hearing about a friend's success, so here's the task: if, at any time during August, you do something good for your body (working out, skipping doughnuts, working to curb bad habits, etc.), leave a comment on this blog to let me know. Together, we might be able to help each other out, you know? I'll start. Today, I drank eight glasses of water. You?

And on that note, I haven't slept in about twenty minutes, so I'm off to bed. I hope you have a lovely day. See you tomorrow!


Chipotle burritos this year: 15
Subscribers: 53,406
Nail color: I forgot how boring this is when I update it every day.