St. Patty's Day, 2 weeks late

How sad, no body updated about St. Patty's Day on the blog. I posted my pics to MySpace but I'll put the link here too:

by esuejohnson

I had a great time on Saturday at the parade and the usual drunken street wandering, but I have to say one of my favorite moments was singing the Project Runway musical with David at Pelham, haha. I don't think I even heard about any Motel 6 sheningans, were there any?

OK, I'll post

So, last night I was hanging around at night court as part of my new position as night reporter. I was waiting for something to happen, which of course, it didn't, but I met this guy named JR who used to be a cop and now works as a bondsman. He starts telling me all these stories (which i think are actually true) about hanging out with NASCAR drivers, how Richard Petty taught him how to race, how he saw Dale Earndhart in the car after his fatal wreck and it was his own fault. But the best story was by far the following:

Photog: Hey, did you hear they're letting Hinckley out for conjugal visits and stuff?
JR, with a cigarette hanging from his lips that you think will fall, but it doesn't: Man, I arrested that clown.
Me: Whaaaa?
JR: About a year before he shot Reagan, I arrested that clown. He tried to get on a plane with a gun. In the back of the car he was asking me, 'can i get my gun back, how long do you think this will take, i GOTTA get to New York.' Blah blah, kept going on, so i asked him why did he have to get to New York so fast? And he said, 'well, I got a date with Jodie Foster.'
Me, laughing: you're not serious.
JR: Oh, yea,y'all wouldn't believe it. Then he starts asking me what I think of Reagan, and I tell him, he's better than Carter! Man, I'd take him! and he shakes his head and says, 'someone ought to kill that sonofabitch Reagan.'
So, I called the Secret Service up and let them know what he said and they were like, yea we know about this wacko, forgetaboutit. And then wouldn't you know, they call me down to the secret service a year later when he shot him, and i was like well, i told you so.

I love the South, friends.

Merry Christmas to all of you 20 Narry-iers. Oh I remember coming over for the Very Tacky 20 Narry Christmas. Right?

Shock me, shock me, shock me 

Newport news

Oh the poor Wave! "Car crashes into Newport statue".

Funny side note, I think it took me all of freshman year before I realized it was a statue of feet in a wave. To be honest, I never really looked at it. Even during all those times I waited for the Loser Cruiser at the post office.

Turkey-lurkey

Happy Thanksgiving all!


Sorry long time no post. I'll make sumthin' up for you all before the weekend is done.

sending kitten pictures till someone else posts...

My new boyfriend, Mike Jones 

Brit and K-Fed made an appearance in Nashville, baby and ugly chihuaua in tow.  

Why you should all move to the South

Yesterday, I had such an "i love the south" day. Honestly, they're infrequent. I really like living here, but it's rare that I LOVE living here. But yesterday, I had two assignments: go to a gathering of Hurricane Katrina evacuees and talk to Louisiana State fans about yesterday's game against Vanderbilt.
At the evacuee gathering, I met several interesting characters. There was a woman who had suffered so much abuse in her life and felt blessed to end up in Tennessee. She got her very first birthday cake in the shelter. She hugged me about 8 times. Then there were these college students who were from Nashville but went to college in New Orleans. We all know that college is more like home than home... they wanted to go HOME. Then there was a slam poet talking about being left to die in New Orleans, the joke that is FEMA and smoking cigarettes just to get the taste of the flooded city from his mouth. And of course, how he felt when he found out that plane he got on was going to Nashville... "Woo, hoo, we're gon' meet Willie Nelson! And Dolly Parton, who I'd like to hug."
Then, on to LSU fans... now, having gone to Salve, we don't really know anything about college team loyalty. But yesterday this whole city was packed with people who drove 6, 8, even 16 hours for the game. I barely even saw any Vanderbilt fans, and they're the home team. I met a guy who hasn't missed an LSU game, home or away, for 24 years. He lost three homes and his business, everything he owns, in the hurricane. But he wasn't about to miss a party.
In short, these Southerners know what's important. It's not stuff. It's being alive... and a good party.

P.S. Love to hear what y'all are doin. :)

Hello, my loves

Well, off I go then.

But, I'd love for you all to do the following writing prompt for me to read when I get baaaack...

Since three of you have been out here already, tell me.

What is your best Nashville moment/story?

My mistakes (hope you have an hour)

My mistakes. Ha ha ha. I'll start from most obvious to least obvious for all you brainiacs.

1) #1 and 2, 4-7, 9-11. If you know what I mean.

2) not agreeing with Jenn and Erica that we should all live together in Newport for one more year. especially since I'm the only one who ended up staying. although if we had stayed, House wouldn't have been. There's an interesting ad in the newport daily news this week for a housesitter, p.s.

3) f

4) Never telling My Husband that I was madly in love with him even though he had that girlfriend with the stupid bangs

5) not trying harder to get Betsy drunk sooner

and lastly, my biggest mistake was spending even a minute thinking I should've transferred or that all my student loans aren't worth it. Because I didn't spend too much time studying. I definitely spent as much time as I could having fun. Really, I wouldn't change a thing.

Except 7. I'd definitely take back seven.

My favorite drunk memory, you say?

Wow. There are so many things I would like to write about. Many of my drunk "memories" are actually reconstructions of what people told me happened though, so as a journalist, I'll just go with one I remember experiencing firsthand.

Schrabotnik came to visit, and we were all a-twitter with the news. It had been almost a year since that crazy fuck was in town, and he did not disappoint. Although slimmer, wearing glasses and acting intelligent, he was still the same ridiculous Schrabotnik.

He was with Patty at the time, I think. We didn't really know her yet, and Schrabotnik brought her over. We were all pretty wasted, and he handed out a bunch of our beers to everyone and ran around with scissors, poking holes in the side and making us shotgun them. I didn't really get how to do it, so beer was flying everywhere. He decided the shotgunning wasn't interesting enough. He grabbed a fresh Coors Light, shook it up and cracked it open, spraying it all over me and the kitchen. Surprisingly, Erica was a little concerned about this-- and surprisingly, I was not. I began stomping around in the ankle deep beer, hair dripping wet and clothes full of brew. Schrabotnik threw out a "Let's hear it for Patty!" And I stood there with a Coors river running through my own kitchen and I splashed in it, clapping and yelling "Patty, Patty, Patty!"
Erica came running out of the bathroom with this ridiculous mop, I grabbed it from her and tried to mop it up. Shcrabotnik basically pulled a 'Welp, see you later' and took off. The next morning, Erica was furiously mopping, wringing, mopping and wringing a pretty deep river of beer in the kitchen. Hank-O and the clan were on their way over.

Next question!

What's one (or 9!) mistake from college you would take back if you could?

Why? Because I like you

I've gotta be honest. I miss when we used to blog every day.

So, I've been thinking about perks that might get you all to write more. I contemplated a strip show reward, then remembered I'm 1,200 miles away without a Web cam. I thought about offering goodies, but I am broke. So here's where I ended up.

Honestly, I can't believe all my blogging teacher friends haven't started this. In a small way it's been done, but I think it should be done daily.

Writing prompts! Duh!

OK, I'll start. What was your favorite room in 20 narry and why?

While the bathroom's dirty deeds and the sleepovers on Erica's floor can't be overlooked, I have to say I always loved the living room most. Even in the winter when we had to cuddle under my electric blanket in tundra conditions, it was the only place we could all sit together (upright, that is).

I'd come home every day and bounce up the steps on the porch and peek into the window, that window Jenn broke into that time, to see who was on the couch. Often it was Betsy or Brian or Shaun.. or Shaun's guitar and amplifier, but no Shaun in sight. It was the first place I saw my friends when I got home and the first place people crashed when they came in the unlocked door to our house. And, of course, The Head lived there.


YOUR TURRRRRRRRRN

and... we ate

Gail came down this weekend, and in true "us" fashion, we ate all there was to eat in Music City.

We did the fast food- Popeyes chicken and biscuits, little White Castle burgers. We did the southern thing- pulled pork and burgers. And, lest I forget... we did the upscale romantic thing. We went to the Melting Pot and ate fondue. Man, it was great. All these couples around us delicately dipping their strawberries into their swirls of chocolate... and I smacked myself right in the face with a chocolatey fruit. Gail drank leftover chocolate with a spoon and burned her mouth. And, we nearly peed our pants and ruined the ambience for everyone else but oh man, was that fun.

And, of course, we honkytonked. We hit up several bars and chatted up a couple (wannabe) cowboys. And, I borrowed her shirt feeling all proud of myself because it was cute... and I broke the strap. Oof. Picture me even wearing a strapless bra in the first place then picture me after one of the straps busts.

I HEART NASHVILLE AND WELCOME VISITORS :)

Let me sing you a song

This weekend I got a mix cd from a stranger through an exchange on "el jay." I like this girl's style. But there were just a couple of songs I HAD to share with 20 Narry. You may or may not know them but here are the lyrics.

Few Drinks to Fall in Love
by Gavin DeGraw

You don't understand my jokes
You're burning my eyes with your smoke
If I wasn't alone, I'd ask you to move away
So I order up another round
Sipping my last one down
You're the best deal in town
And I've only got dreams to dream of
Sometimes you need a few drinks to fall in love

If you need a few drinks
You might as well start with a couple of shots
Give a couple of winks
And later blame it all on the buzz
Sometimes you need a few drinks

And this year burned a hole in my hope
I got debts that could choke out a rope, (spoken)like college,
And it's not my approach it's the way I go summing things up
And there ain't really nothing great about this bar
Except here I am and right there you are
We're both shooting way under par
But soon we'll forget what par was
Sometimes you need a few drinks to fall in love

If you need a few drinks
You might as well start with a couple of shots
Give a couple of winks
And later blame it all on the buzz
Sometimes you, Sometimes you,
Sometimes you, you need a few,
You need a few, you need a few,
I'll buy you one too, Drinks

32 Flavors
By Alana Davis
Squint your eyes and look closer
I'm not between you and your ambition
I am a poster girl with no poster
I am 32 flavors and then some

And I'm beyond your peripheral vision
So you might want to turn your head
Cause someday you're going to get hungry
And eat all of the words that you just said

I am what I am
I am 32 flavors and then some

God help you if you are an ugly girl
Course too pretty is also your doom
Cause everyone harbors a secret hatred
For the prettiest girl in the room
God help you if you are a phoenix
And you dare to rise up from the ash
A thousand eyes will smolder with jealousy while
You are just flying past

I am what I am
I am 32 flavors and then some
I'm taking my chances as they come
I am 32 flavors and then some
I'm nobody but I am someone
Someone, yeah

I'd never try to give my life meaning by
Demeaning you
And I would like to state for the record
I did everything that I could do

I am beyond your peripheral vision
So you might want to turn your head
Cause someday you're going to be starving
And eating all of the words that you just said
That you said

I am what I am I am what I am
I am 32 flavors and then some
I'm taking my chances as they come
I am 32 flavors and then some
I'm looking for truth but there is none

Ahe-he-HEM

Excuse me, if I may.

But, aren't we all in some kind of transition here? Right? I mean, we're all starting new jobs or looking for new jobs or learning new things about the birds and the bees, right?

So, why are only me and Erica J. blogging? Is it an English major thing? Because, I mean, I don't think so. 'Cuz we've had almost 200 entries since this thing began like 6 months ago. So uh, hello?

GOD, at least make comments so Erica J. and I can feel like you're paying attention!

Oh, the places you'll go!

This post is dedicated to the TOP TEN fun things me and Jenn are going to do when she comes to Nashville in like two weeks.

10) Go to the honky tonk bars and watch Jenn interact with Redneck Women (that one should be worth the trip alone)

9) After said honky tonk bars, get a taxi driver to take us on a tour of all the fast food joints that stay open for 24 hours- Jack in the Box, White Castle, Krystal... I know what you're saying, Jenn. Are these fast food restaurants or children's toys? Rest assured, they have chicken. But KFC will NOT still be open, Jenn, so keep your clothes on and don't ask.

8) We will cherish the expressions on the faces of the professional karaoke crowd out here when we put it down with "Magic Stick"

7) I will drive Jenn through the projects early in the morning so she can see them. Then, I will patiently explain to her that WE CANNOT GO THERE AT NIGHT FOR FUN! THEY SHOOT PEOPLE!

6) We will spoon on my aero mattress, albeit down a Guat :-( , and this time folks, my new roommate will NOT be having sex in the same room! Sorry for all you thrill seekers.

and the number one fun thing me and Jenn are going to do in Nashville in two weeks when she comes:

1) you think I'm going to give it up that easy? Ha! You'll have to come to find out for yourselves! OK, granted that two of you already came and it's only been three weeks but CAN'T YOU ALL JUST MOVE HERE?!?!

Move over, JFB

I've found Erica's soulmate. He's a big dork and he videotapes himself dancing to 80s-early 90s rap songs, assisted by white socks and an exercise ball. His 'wave' isn't as good as yours, Erica.

http://dailydancer.com

Seriously, check him out. I ain't got nuttin on this brotha.

Of all the random things

I am sitting at my computer, waiting for my brother to call so we can make plans to go see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, reading the links at the MSN homepage when I come across this: "West Coast girl's Big Apple blog"

Well obviously I like reading blogs so I figured why not see how it got linked on MSN's website. I clicked to the page and kind of browsed around, not really reading just looking what was there. A rather large headshot of this women Alexandra draws most of your attention. There is a slide show in the bottom left corner that I flip through: Summer in the City - Fourth of July - London - Paris - Newport, RI.

There are just a few pictures of NPT and nothing truly great. She made a little post on her trip too.