1st first snow

it was the first snow of the season on saturday,

my 1st first snow in pittsburgh.

it was especially awesome because my brother was here.

it was one of those classic moments where i opened the blinds

and the, like, 25% chance of snow turned into a steady stream of big, fat flakes.

they only lasted until the late afternoon,

but it still added a wintry, adventurous feel to the tour i gave jordan

of all my favorite spots in oakland:

certain benches in the cathedral of learning,

the bamboo garden in the public libary,

the mary e. schenley memorial fountain 

(that jordan announced is now his favorite thing in the city),

the chairs by the window on the ground floor of hillman,

and the incredibly wide, cement steps outside posvar.

we spent the rest of the weekend 

eating cheese puffs + pizza, and drinking cheap wine,

baking + shopping + watching a lot (i mean A LOT) of TV,

but those couple of hours on saturday 

when the rest city was inside avoiding the sudden snow

and we were rushing from building to building

as our hair and shoes got wet and the sky stayed gray

were probably my favorite part of the weekend.

i'm officially psyched for winter.

how was your weekend?

-A

her normal sunday thing

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another week has flown by.

it's kind of creeping me out how quickly october is turning into november,

and how quickly i'm sure november will turn into christmas.

i barely picked up my camera this week.

i studied for my psych midterm, started a new story,

watched a semi-alarming amount of malcolm in the middle,

rooted for the boys (who are now 6-2-2),

and met with my history adviser for an hour and a half,

but my camera stayed in its bag for the last several days,

so i decided to take these shots while the coffee was perking.

it's chilly + sunny and GG has been doing her normal sunday thing 

of flying around the apartment like a furry pterodactyl,

knocking over stacks of books and trying to get inside my satchel,

my zipped-up satchel.

she's finally asleep in a tiny ball on my bed, 

acting like she's always this cute...which she kind of is.

as for me i'm going to spend the rest of today drinking that coffee,

catching up on my american lit readings, 

working on my final midterm essay for my russian history class,

and, let's face it, watching a semi-alarming amount

of malcolm in the middle.

how's your sunday?

- A

the corn and the trees

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those are the rest of the photos from my weekend in akron.

there is something innately ohio about those shots of the bus,

the puffy fall clouds and the corn and the trees

and midsize SUVs in the grass parking lot.

i really love it.

i also really love mrs. meyers spice cake candles,

the community commentaries,

chatting with my shuttle driver about apple butter,

skyping with my mom during pens games,

and being halfway through midterm hell.

those are my random thoughts from the day. what are some of yours?

-A

red beyond sober

from the camera:

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from the phone:

i'm back in pittsburgh after spending the weekend in akron.

i started to type "i'm back home", 

but then realized i'd had to finish that sentence with "from the weekend home",

which would've sounded weird.

the weekend was awesome.

there was junk food and pumpkin picking,

my favorite gas station coffee and many late night talk fests.

saturday was especially fun. 

i spent it celebrating one of my closest friend's birthdays

at a wine bar with a lovely/not-annoying live jazz combo,

followed by dancing at a gay club that played the best like a prayer remix ever.

(which is really no surprise)

it was one of those nights when i drank riesling like it was water

and ended up having a very serious conversation in a one-person bathroom

with a friend who was also two glasses of red beyond sober,

that i only remember half of now.

it made me miss home, of course, miss being so close to people who love me,

who make me laugh the most loud + obnoxious version of my laugh, 

and miss me as much as i miss them.

and it was wonderful to have a night out in my hometown,

especially after weeks of studying like a mad woman

and spending most of my time in my little studio apartment,

surrounded by books + notes + netflix envelopes,

but to be honest when i got back to my little studio apartment,

it felt good to be home.

which i guess is how it's supposed to be.

how was your weekend?

- A

home

i'm sitting in my father's sun room right now.

the fact that my father has a sun room,
and a formal dining room + living room, great room, laundry room, 4 bathrooms,
1st floor master, 4 spare bedrooms, & a full finished basement (with a kitchen)
that's bigger than my entire apartment,
when he raised us in a tiny 3 bedroom/1 bath working class house
with a dishwasher that never worked
makes being here a little strange + horrible.
but also kind of nice.
i mean, the sea green couch is very comfy.
and the leaves are turning.
and the skylights show drifting white clouds on a gray sky.
so i'm trying to work past the weirdness,
past the fire engine red walls and plantation blinds,
and enjoy watching malcolm in the middle in my PJs
while waiting for my big brother to wake up so we can make coffee
and play mario kart and eat cold pizza all morning.

in case you couldn't tell i'm home for the weekend.
so i thought since i'm feeling like a traveler,
just me + my cat and five suitcases for three days,
i'd put together some photos i've captured with my phone over the last few weeks.
the week since i've posted has been whirlwind of studying,
getting together with a good friend, surviving on luna bars + diet snapple,
just trying to stay on top of my schoolwork,
and hockey games,
and new episodes of my favorite TV shows,
because i have my proprieties straight.

what's your week been like?

-A

how you look at it

I: poet crush // II: i swear they're going to last forever // III: i judge people that don't love catcher in the rye. there i said it // IV: favorite album of the moment // V: the perfect earl grey

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i'm surrounded by notebooks and textbooks, 

sharpie pens and note cards.

i'm halfway through a paper on early 19th century american authors

and another on the connection between labor + hegemony in U.S. prison writings.

this time next week i'll be reviewing psych lecture slides

and figuring out how to incorporate turgenev's fathers and sons

into the essay portion of my russia to 1917 midterm.

basically i'm in upper level classes euphoria or hell, 

depending on how you look at it.

but i do have my record player, a pens game, 

and trader joe's spinach artichoke dip to help me through,

which isn't too bad :)

how's your weekend?

- A

use music as a sweater

I: she's like a shadow // II: present from my hermano // III: they just keep getting prettier // IV: another present from my hermano // V: "yes?"

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the regular season started last night.

and not to hyperbolize, but MOTHER OF BABY JESUS THANK THE LORD...

or something like that.

we won. got the two points. 81 games to go. woo hoo. feels like home.

here are some other things i like about my life right now:

// pilot precise V5 extra fine pens

// the collected poems of william carlos williams on my coffee table

// waking up to GG sleeping on my feet...under the blankets

// the absolutely unpredictable gifts my brother sends me in the mail

// being super responsible + totally on top of midterm insanity [go me!]

// cranberry muffins from the cathedral cafe on campus

// mustard yellow + carolina blue things together

// the music of the sheepdogs, andrew belle, the holidays, DM stith, and wildlife

    and new music from florence + the machine and lisa hannigan

// plans to make nutella hot chocolate tonight [that's right. i said nutella]

what's on your list of things you like about right now?

- A