I just don't know where to start.

I know that I have been kind of slack in not posting anything, especially now that I am back from Mexico. The thing is, I just really don't know where to start. I think I have decided to make a list for you-- The Top 5 Things I Loved and The Top 5 Things I Hated. So, here you go.

TOP 5 THINGS I LOVED:
1. Key West, Florida- I've never been there before and it was so fun. It's a pretty little town and there isn't that much traffic and you can pretty much walk the whole stretch of land that is important (Duval Street). Zach and I had a great time shopping and visiting the tourist sites- like Ernest Hemingway's house!
2. Carlos N' Charlies in Cozumel, MX- This place was so fun! It was great mexican food and they had funny waiters and clowns running around making balloon figures and messing with the people in the restaurant. I about had a heart attack when one of the clowns put a fake roach on the table next to me. Still funny though.
3. Hairy Chest Contest on the Boat- So funny. These guys got so into it, dancing like fools. Zach entered, but didn't win because he wasn't drunk enough. ;)
4. THE FOOD- omg, it was so good! I had some seafood like every night and even tried fresh mozzarella with beefsteak tomatoes and that was good (weird, b/c I hate tomatoes!).
5. The Mayan Ruins in Cozumel- We were upset that the boat was diverted from Progresso because we really wanted to see some ruins, so we were happy to find out that we could rent a Jeep in Cozumel and drive over to the largest ruins in Cozumel. It was pretty neat- we saw a ton of iguanas that just scurried around all the tourists. I just could never imagine that people actually lived in those little (sometimes big) stone buildings. Amazing.

TOP 5 THINGS I HATED:
1. The boat rocking through the hurricane waters- Hurricane Dolly had just left the building when we headed over to Cozumel from Key West and the water was so rough. I fell out of the bed one night because we were rocking so bad.
2. Getting on the boat- This really sucked. There was a line to park your car, a line to give your baggage over, a line to get on the escalator to go up to security, a line to go through security, a line to get checked in, and a line to get your picture taken before actually getting on the boat. Ugh.
3. Getting off the boat- MUCH WORSE. They let you set your luggage outside the door of your cabin so that you don't have to carry it off the boat, but then when you get into the terminal (after waiting in a line to get off the boat and another line to go down the escalator), you have to go get your luggage and hoist it to another HUGE line to go through customs. Poor Zach, he had to carry my giant bag over his shoulder the whole time.
4. The way people drove in Mexico- DUDE...it was bad. Most people in Mexico drive either (A) pieces of shit cars or (B) scooters of some sort. The pieces of shit would just pull out in front of you and the scooters would zoom around you and cut you off. It was so scary that I had Zach take the Jeep (that we rented) back to the rental place as soon as we were done seeing the ruins [even though we rented the Jeep for the day] because I didn't want to drive ANYWHERE ANYMORE.
5. The fact that the ship's dining room is right over the back of the boat- The dining room would shake the whole time we were in there and this was especially bad the night that we were going through rough seas because there was shaking and rocking the whole time. I thought I was going to ralph.

So, that was my trip in a nutshell. We had a great time; though, next time we go on a cruise, we are going to go on one of the newer bigger boats. People said that they were much less prone to being knocked around by the water-- or at least you feel it less.

MY BIRTHDAY- So, my 24th birthday is in 10 days! Woot. The following message is for my friends that might consider buying me a gift:
Please don't buy me the fourth Stephenie Meyer book because I will probably go buy it myself the day it comes out! I can't wait for my birthday! :)
Things that I would be interested in receiving:
Books: The Eat Clean Diet Book OR Lord Save Us From Y0ur Followers
CDs: Sugarland- Love on the Inside, Paolo Nutini- These Streets, John Mayer- Continuum, OR Miranda Lambert- Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Anything else you think I'd like! :)

Mex-EE-co!

So, I'm headed off on my honeymoon to Mexico... I won't be back to blog until next Thursday or Friday, but I'm sure I'll have something to say when I get back.

P.S. Go see "The Dark Knight." It's a loooong movie, but a great one.

Sorority Life.

Does anyone remember that show that came on MTV? It was about the "lives" (producer- created, of course) of college girls going through sorority rush and then living in a house together while pledging. It was filled with all kinds of drama- duh- and ended up being the catalyst of social commentary on the dangers/evils/horrors/morality of joining a sorority. To be honest, I did experience similar drama in my sorority and with the other sororities on campus (there were only 3 and that fact bred some serious competition between the organizations- Greek Week was nuts). It's a commonly known fact, girls don't get along when forced to live together and spend every minute in each other's company. Also, there is typically such different kinds of personalities thrown together in one group (especially in my sorority) that personalities just WILL NOT mesh. So, I have to say that after watching that show, I agree that sorority life can sometimes be like that.

I did experience amazing moments in my sorority. I made friends for life, one of which was recently a bridesmaid in my wedding- and I had some great fun. Things that don't even stand out at the time as things that I would remember now, like midnight trips to Krispy Kreme, scavenger hunts that led down to the baseball field dugout where we all came together and revealed our sincere hopes for the girls we called our sisters, lunches in the cafeteria where I couldn't even eat because I laughed so hard the whole time, a Greek Week performance of The Cell Block Tango from Chicago the Musical, the trip to Savannah where I got my first (and only) tattoo, my candleblow revealing my engagement, the Big Sis/Lil Sis revealings that touched my heart, and creating the sisterhood videos for recruitment-- these things make me smile and I think back to those wonderful times and how amazing I felt. I love my sisters, even those that I had "difficulty" with. They made me who I am and I love them for it.

With that said, I must comment on something that has become a sort of epidemic in my sorority, mostly since I have left. Well that's not true. Two of them occurred while I was there. See, I love my sorority sisters and this is not a commentary on them or their choices or even their behavior, really. I just have to say something. SOMETHING. See, out of the three sororities on campus, only my sorority sisters (and those who joined but never were initiated) have been careless (and, yes, you all know its true) to get pregnant while still in school. Granted, three of the four [YEP FOUR] were in relationships with the person who impregnated them at the time and at this moment all three of those relationships are in tact (two are married to the baby's daddy). Two of the three were very upfront with everyone about the pregnancy- even had a candleblow (that's what we do to announce lavaliers, engagements, and pregnancies) to tell the sisters. We had baby showers for them and gave them every bit of support. These two are the ones who are married to the father of the baby. Both of them finished school (one graduated before the baby was born and the other had the baby and came back to finish). While it may not have been planned and may not have been the best time, these two handled the whole thing with maturity and honesty and I respect them for it.

HOWEVER, I did have one sorority sister who was not in a relationship when she got pregnant and she tried to hide it. I think she got pregnant in January, and we weren't getting out of school until May- this girl is a petite TINY little thing and all of a sudden her boobs got huge and she started gaining weight only in her belly. People even asked her and she denied it the whole time. Well, until her roommate found folic acid in her stuff. Um. yeah, she knows she preggers. Anyway, she kept denying it and finally let the whole thing out during the summer to her bff (also in my sorority) and the whole time she was under the impression that she would just have the baby and then come back to school. GIRL. I've never been responsible for an infant before, but I imagine it's not like a puppy. You can't just leave the baby in a crate while you go to school and parties and such. Her parents were rich, though, and she was able to get a lot of help with child care and all the baby stuff. Turns out, she never came back, but she did finish school back where she was from- Jersey. I mean, good for her-- she's married now, but I wish she could have just been honest. Its difficult to be happy for someone who lied to you for so long. Ya know?

So, you must be wondering what brought this whole subject into light for me in the first place?! Well, this girl, who accepted a bid to join my sorority and then dropped before initiation- I don't think I have to consider her my sister- is pregnant. She hasn't admitted it publicly. Whatever. I don't really care. The only thing I have a problem with is the fact that she just got engaged to the baby's daddy (assuming she's been faithful, because LORD KNOWS he hasn't). Okay, so my problem really isn't with her. It's with him. HE is a jerk. He dated my lil sis in the sorority for three years and while doing so, screwed this girl from his hometown multiple times and never told my lil sis. Worse still, that girl ended up at my college, joined my sorority and befriended my lil sis and ME all the while, sleeping with my lil's boyfriend. Um, yeah...hoochie. Anyway, so he and my lil break up (before she knows) THANK GOD and my lil is now with this great guy and I'm so happy for her-- but she's had to deal with an incredible amount of backstabbing and heartbreak over the whole thing because HER LIL SIS sided with the hoochie and others did too. It was just an awful situation and I'm so glad that she was able to get out of there. Well, this wretched jerk ended up getting together with his fiance' after breaking up with my lil and was still sleeping with that other girl (the hoochie). Now they're engaged. Who knows if he's still sleeping with the hoochie?! It's just disgusting. And none of her friends will tell her (the fiancee') whats going on because they are all sorority sisters with the hoochie. Ugh.

I know that sounded like a horrible high school rant and drama drama drama-- well, except for the pregnant/engaged part, I hope there's not a whole lot of high schoolers out there with those issues-- but I just had to say something and I felt like I could burden you all with it. So there you go.

Have you ever experienced drama like this and felt like you just had to tell someone? Anything juicy?

Once bitten, twice shy.

Just so you know- I am generally a "cool" person. I wasn't always "cool" and maybe I'm only "cool" in my mind, but that's not the point. I am about to describe to you what happens when my life drifts off to Lame City.

My friend Rachel's birthday was last week and on her blog she (thankfully) listed a few things that she would be happy to receive as gifts. I always have trouble buying things for Rachel because we've been such close friends for so many years (10) that I really feel like the gift should mean something. I don't want to just go to Target and pick something out I think she'd like. I want her to open it and know that she's my friend. Do you understand? Anyway, on her blog, she gushed that she was obsessed with this series of books by Stephenie Meyer. Apparently, they were written for a teenage-type audience because the series begins by chronicling the life of a junior in high school. But Rachel loved them all the same and was asking for the new book that was written for a more adult audience. So, I was at the bookstore the other day buying fitness magazines for my husband and I decided to get a few books to read on the cruise when I'm lounging by the pool or on the beach. I saw this stand with the three Stephenie Meyer books (Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse) and decided, "what the heck?!" and bought the first one. Just so you know, I also bought the 14th book in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series (Fearless Fourteen). So I went home and I read maybe the first 30 or so pages of the book. It hadn't drug me in yet.

Well, yesterday, I stayed at home from work- I wasn't feeling well- and I was just relaxing watching Regis and Kelly, when I decided to pick the book up and start reading some more. I had to the mute the T.V.- I didn't turn it off- I don't know why. Don't ask. Anyways- this book is like 500 pages long and I read the whole book yesterday. The story is kinda mushy (it's a vampire love story, essentially) but the author is great at getting people (well, me) to turn the page. So, when Z got home last night from work, I made him go with me to Wally World and buy the others in the series. I'm almost done with the second book (its more than 500 pages). I BARELY ate yesterday and forgot to eat this morning because I was so engrossed in this series. It's minorly ridiculous and lame. Whatever. At this very moment, I have the book in front of my computer at work hidden behind the screen of my laptop and I am ready to stop telling this story so I can get back to that one. Lame. I know.

Anyhoo- Thanks to Rachel for pointing the author out to me. Are there any books that have captured your attention like this? Which ones?

Ch-Ch-Changes.

So-I don't know if anyone reads this blog other than my faithful friends, but regardless, I want to explain the recent changes and flip-flopping around. I am somewhat fickle about how I choose to live, and this is no exception when it comes to my online abode. I think I have finally found a look that suits me and my blog and I don't expect any more changes in the near future. One day, I'll probably pay someone to create a template just for me...but for now, while I can't decide on ANYTHING and while I am still broke, this will do. I did make some edits to some of the posts and details listed on the site b/c I decided that I wanted to try to maintain some anonymity. Especially because of things I say about certain politicians (ahem, Chuckie!) and people and, most importantly, my firm. I have never mentioned it by name, but if someone happened to "Google" me and found this site, I would have a hard time explaining it- to my current boss and future employers.

When I first started law school, the career placement people warned us all to keep our private lives private for fear that a prospective employer would find out that we weren't the angels we pretended to be when interviewing. I hate the whole idea of being a "private person." I'd much rather make fun of myself and others (only when they deserve it!) in full-on candor. However- I also like money and things I can buy with money, so for the time being I must attempt to remain somewhat anon. Though, if anyone knew me, they'd figure it out quick. Ha.

Anyways- If you are reading, please comment. Let me know what you think. Purty please?

What it means to be an independent contractor.

1. You're not paid salary to be at work 9-5 every day.
2. You come in whenever you want.
3. You leave whenever you want.
4. You take vacation or sick days whenever you want.
5. YOU DO NOT GET PHONE CALLS IN THE MORNING ASKING WHEN YOU ARE COMING IN TO WORK.

So, as you can probably guess from the above rant, I was a little peeved this morning when my Guitar Hero-playing was interrupted by a phone call asking when I'd be in to work... whenever I damn well feel like it- that's when! But really, I just got dressed and came into work. Because I'm lame and I don't stick up for myself enough. I should have a pay raise. But I don't. I should have a new and shiny title. But I don't. AND I should make up my own schedule. But I don't. Blah.

Enough about that- a new rant, and, sorry, its about politicians again.
This guy came into the firm this morning handing out little bulletins about his run for U.S. Congress. Now, I don't really know this guy so I won't knock the ridiculous picture of him on the bulletin or the fact that his little piece of paper looks like he asked his 12 year old niece to design it... BUT, I do have a problem with the fact that he has no political experience and for his first shot, he decides to run for the UNITED STATES CONGRESS. Not County Council, School Board, or even Florida Congress. NOOOOO- the big house! Dude...baby steps! Who wants to elect someone who has a master's degree in communications and has absolutely no experience creating or voting on legislation? I mean, how do we know that he even knows how to digest legislation since he didn't even graduate with a political science degree (like I did!)??? Maybe I'm being a little harsh (not really), and maybe he would be a terrific congressman (not likely), and maybe he's like a genius and will be the best legislator to come out of the State of Florida (riiiight), BUT probably not. LORD.

Reality TV.
So, one of my favorite reality TV shows (close third after Survivor and The Bachelor/ette) premiered its new season last night- BIG BROTHER 10! Woot. This show satisfies my thirst for tv producer-created drama during the summer and the major "+" is that it comes on 3 days a week! Yessss. Check it out if you wanna- CBS on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.

Anyway, the one reality show that I H>A>T>E is The Hills on MTV. It is really sad to admit it because I remember watching Laguna Beach and the first season of The Hills with my friend Kimmie when I was in college- it was, like, our thing. We'd take over the GIANT television in the common room of the house we lived in with my husband (my fiance' at the time) and another dude and cook different food (mexican night was the best) and laugh and ooh and aah at all the goings-on in the show. But, now...ugh. It is so lame and scripted and interfered with and, most of all, I HATE HEIDI and her ridiculous boyfriend/not-boyfriend/fiance'/not-fiance'/music videographer/stupid ugly guy Spencer. Did you know that they have hired a photographer to follow them around and catch everything they do in their boring stupid ridiculous lives?? Can you believe it? I mean, how crazy/self-involved do you have to be? I have nothing else to say- except to all of you who look at their pictures and still watch The Hills- stop it. Stop the madness. I'm tired of reading about Speidi in US Weekly and People. I mean, she was the answer on Jeopardy the other day! How do we even explain this to future generations?


I'm done. Talk to you all again soon. :)

Chocolate cheesecake is the devil!

I know, I haven't blogged in a while.
I was out of town and when I got back to Tallahassee, I had a giant "to do" list on my desk at work. I'm still sort of on vacation mode, and I'm not feeling very productive, so, aside from practicing the art of procrastination, I haven't really been in the mood to do much at all (including blogging, unfortunately). I got into an e-mail argument with my boss over the weekend and that has just added to my case of the "screw its." Its a real disease, you know. I nurse it with sweets and very-bad-for-you-mexican-food. Hence the title of this blog... one of my co-workers brought in a chocolate cheesecake from Fresh Market this morning (because another of my co-workers is leaving the firm-- good for her!). The thing was so rich and I knew I shouldn't have eaten any... but I did and now I really don't care about doing anything. All I want to do is go home a crawl into my bed, and, perhaps, watch a marathon of some sort on TV. I have tried all morning to get things done and it has been impossible. So, if I'm not working on work, I might as well pretend that I am working by updating my blog. The typing sound tends to soothe my boss out of hysterics. :)

My peachin' good weekend.
So-- let me tell you about my weekend. I went up to the grand ole town of Gilbert, SC for the Lexington County Peach Festival. This is, like, a really big deal there. I mean, it is kind of huge. They have a car show and a market-type thing where you can buy all sorts of items that you don't really need. They also had several "acts" on the main stage in the park-- you know, where mothers have pushed their young daughters into shaking their asses in pink spandex on stage so that the audience can ooh and ahh and the mothers can live vicariously through their daughters. That kind of "act." I must say, the peach ice cream was DE-LICIOUS. Apparently, Gilbert sends their peaches to Mayfield and Mayfield specially makes peach ice cream just for the festival. They were unloading that stuff like crazy on the 4th. And like I said, it was scrumptious. Other than that, the parade was kind of a let-down because it was so political. In South Carolina, their elections for the county council and state congress is at the end of July so the campaigning was in full swing. I think that there were more politicians in convertibles in the parade than there were actual floats. Sad.

Speaking of, I was made aware of another candidate for President this weekend. His name is Chuck Baldwin and he's a nutjob. If you don't agree, you should probably stop reading this now. He wants to do all kinds of crazy things like abolish the IRS (which, I have to say, sounds nice but it a reeeeeeeeeally. reaaaaaalllllly. bad. idea.-- taxes are important), stop dependence on foreign oil (yeah, like thats possible), close the borders to the U.S. (ok, also sounds good, but then who is going to do all the jobs that YOU don't want to do?), and make the laws support a 100% pro-life stance (um, so if a rapist impregnates you, you must have his baby?? cool.). So, anyway, this guy had a "float" in the parade (a GMC truck with Baldwin magnets all over it) and there were people walking along side this truck handing out flyers about why Baldwin should be elected. (*by the way, he is running under the Constitution Party- just for your information). So, this old guy sitting on the sidewalk asks the guy handing out flyers, "Why should we vote for this guy??" and the guy says, "He's an American.... and a Christian." Really? Wow, that's so different from the other candidates. So, because I'm a smart-ass, born and bred, I yelled out, "Well, if that's all it takes, I'm running too!" The guy just walked away and people clapped for me. Haha! Needless to say, I won't be voting for Chuckie.

11 days until my cruise!
My husband and I are heading off on our (belated) honeymoon in a couple of weeks and I can't wait! Mexico and $1 Coronas, here I come! We are going on a Carnival cruise, and its supposedly the oldest boat in the fleet. Yay. I always get that kind of luck... of course, the travel agent didn't think to mention that when we booked it, but whatever. I'll have fun anyway. We are trying to figure out how we are going to sneek our own booze onto the boat because we would like to be able to save some money. If anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them!

For now, I'm going to go attempt to work on my to do list. Maybe I'll be back later if I can't focus. :)

Oh, one more thing!

I just wanted to share the super cool t-shirt I've got for the 4th of July.

It says:

I AMERICA.

Get it? Yay.

I'm freeeee!

I have finally finished summer classes.
All I can say is thank the Lord, because a few more days of that and I might have gone crazy. I finished my take home exam on Sunday and I really don't know how great it is. I told myself that I wasn't going to sit there all day and second-guess my self and make all kinds of pointless edits. I just got it done and sent it in. Got it off of my list and moved on to State Con Law. Which sucked. Real bad. I woke up on Monday morning at about 8:45 and got dressed for a hearing up at the school (I am the University Defender, so I represent students that are charged with violations of the Student Conduct Code). When I finished the hearing at 11:45, I went straight up to the school to study. I didn't leave the school until about 11:00 the next morning, after I finished my exam. I kid you not, I was up all night in the library studying. I wish that were a joke. I am just that dang dedicated. Not really, I just realized at about 2:00 in the afternoon on Monday that I knew absolutely NOTHING and that if I didn't stay up all night and study that I would fail and fail hard. Anyway, I think it turned out ok. He used some of his questions from past exams so I knew the answers to those (or I *think* I did). But the ones he created... yeah I had no clue. It was pretty sad. Anyway- I don't have to think about it anymore, at least not until the grades start coming out!

Peach festival this weekend!
What? Yeeeeeeah... Z and I are headed up to the good ole town of Gilbert, SC, for the annual 4th of July Peach Festival. They have a parade and food and live music and all kinds of fun all day. His mom says that Mayfield makes peach ice cream especially for this festival! Can't wait for that! Woot! So we are leaving tonight (assuming I can convince my boss that I should get tomorrow off) and heading up there! I need a break from Tallahassee right now since I can't even stay still because I haven't caught up with my sleep so I have drugged myself with caffeine! Anyhoo-- go check out my page on Twenty Something Bloggers. I've got nothing else!

Peace.

Get it, Al.

So, two nights ago, I was watching the BET awards (what?) and they gave Al Green the Lifetime Achievement Award, and then he performed two songs: "Let's Stay Together" & "Love and Happiness." At first, I was worried Al might have lost "it." You know what "it" is. "It's" that thing that you have when "you've got it." That probably didn't make a lot of sense- but whatev. So, anyway- Al made the audience sing his song because he's Al Green and everyone knows the words to his songs. So- this is the BET awards, right? There's all these gangstas in attendance (and that's not a racial comment- they are all trying to be gangstas, all tough and bad-ass. It's true). And all of these gangstas are just belting out Let's Stay Together. Dude, it was so funny. Busta Rhymes was gettin' it- so was T-Pain and Lil' Wayne.

By the way, I would not pay money to see Lil' Wayne (Weezie) perform live. That boy sucked. Sorry to Lil' Weezie fans, but dang. I think he should have laid off the Couvoisier before the show. Anyway..Al Green ended up rockin' it out. It was probably the best live performance I've seen on an awards show in a long while because he had everyone, and I mean EVERYONE standing up and belting out his tunes. Pretty supertastic.

Anyway, I'm supposed to be studying for my exams-- but instead I'm watching reruns of Grey's and downloading Al Green songs. Z just made me a Bacardi O and OJ. Before that, I had a Parrots Bay and diet. This is not facilitative (is that a word?) of study time. I don't really have anything else to say. I'm boring. I know. I'm sorry. Maybe tomorrow.

Loves.

(By the way, don't forget to check out my soundtrack. And, don't forget to comment!)