well, austin and i had another one of those dumb anniversaries that aren't really anniversaries, but you call them anniversaries when you've been dating for less than a year: six months. we went to little rock and inadvertently recreated our first date. the main differences were in the car on the way home: i held his hand instead of wondering why he wasn't holding mine. and also he farted in front of me. disgusting, yes, but i guess that's love. it was special.

we saw the simpsons movie. (note: go and see this movie.)

on a completely unrelated note, i don't like drinking. i've tried and tried to be ok with it, because i realize that a lot of my friends are at least 21. and it's not the actual drinking that bothers me... it's how people my age behave around alcohol. the consumption of alcohol seems to be some sort of badge of adulthood to a lot of people my age, and it is simply not. furthermore, being around drunk people is boring and unfun. you have to be drunk in order to enjoy spending time with drunk people, and i think that is horrible. i am angry with myself that i pass judgment on people when they drink, though, and i'm not sure how to fix that or any consequences of that.

i realize now that i have been at a great advantage to have moved around with such frequency in my life. the dissolution of friendships is a sad, inevitable thing, but i think it has helped me tremendously. what's worse than being ripped from your friends is the phenomenon of keeping friends to whom you can't relate just because you have a history. although, i realize that history is important. (if any one of my friends is reading this, rest assured that i'm absolutely not talking about any of you. i just realized that incredible pain can be a great blessing.)

also, my grandfather has been in the hospital for a while now. he can't come home anymore, so please pray that he is well enough to leave the hospital and move into some sort of 24-hour care center. i am troubled by this. he is my only grandparent, and i like him a great deal as a person.

whoa:

today, i got up early (ok, early for me) and actually did something.

a friend of mine from hawaii--sharon jankosky--happened to be driving through little rock in transit to maryland, so i dragged austin to come to a museum with us: the clinton presidential library. and it was awesome. many have said (and i agree) that the library itself looks a bit like a trailer, especially if viewed just from the highway, but the inside is sensationally beautiful. if karyn is anything, karyn is a fan of sharp, well organized exhibits. the short video presentation was full of clips of clinton discussing his development into a civil-rights-minded politician, beginning with his early years in arkansas.



i relished the opportunity to know more about his presidency. additional knowledge of his policy was certainly welcome, but what charmed me the most were the insights into his private family life. chelsea clinton was only 12 years old when her father was elected president in 1992. the pictures of her growing up amidst the presidential whirlwind were phenomenal. the travel they enjoyed as representatives of the united states was tremendous, and each visit resulted in a diplomatic gift. those fascinating gifts are housed in the library, and i was overwhelmed by the diversity existing in the artistry and hospitality of the global community. i haven't talked politics on my blog for a long while--and with good reason. i'm afraid that expressing specific opinions will alienate many of my friends who read these posts. but, my political opinion was inextricably linked with my experience of the clinton library, so i will say this: i believe that he was a fantastic president. i believe that he improved the quality of life for millions of americans and folks abroad, and the details of the global responses to clinton from both the united nations and the general populations gave me a profound sense of pride in my country that i had not felt for several years.

so, there's that. i hope that nobody found that inappropriate, because i feel like i am forced to swallow others' opinions quite frequently simply because i am different here. which is strange, because this is arkansas. (if that guy from fishkite is reading, please leave me alone forever.)



seriously, this austin person is dreamy.

as austin and i drove away from an excellent lunch with sharon, it dawned on me that the only picture i have of her to share with you is the picture of her next to clinton's limousine, which was taken specifically for her sister. well, this is sharon:



the time i spent with her today reminded me of just how much i miss spending time with adult friends. it only seems to happen in the brief periods of time that i get to spend with my parents. i love the friends i have who are around my age, but there is certainly something to be said for variety in one's company. she is driving up to searcy tomorrow to visit for a while before continuing on her road trip to maryland, and i am proud to be able to share this fine town with her.

a few more things... katie gave me some custom shoes as a birthday gift, and i recently received them in the mail. i got to pick the color of every detail of the shoe, as well as the text embroidered on the heel. i love them.



i've been taking a lot of pictures lately, and this is one i took today. the photo looks much better in a larger version, but i had to shrink it for the blog.



tell me how you are!

for the 4th of july, austin and i went to visit his family in oklahoma. his parents live in lubbock, tx, but the rest of his family is spread around shawnee and tulsa. in total, i met 24 people. they were all remarkably nice, but being surrounded by strangers is stressful. also, austin's family culture is very different from mine... a lot of them play tennis nonstop. tennis? athleticism?! what?

though traveling is always a time of particular stress, i have discovered that austin and i actually get along better when we're away from home together. our hypothesis is that we have to spend so much time around other people that, when we're alone, we are relieved and happy to be together. i have tremendous feelings about that.

since i'm finished leaving searcy for a while, i started work on my room as soon as i got back in town. my curtains are complete and two of my walls are covered. my desk is set up and cleared off. my clothes are largely in order. as soon as my shipment arrives from hawaii, i can put the finishing touches on my own little oasis of adulthood.

yep, things are shaping up.

in calculating the time it would take to get to the wedding, i, the college graduate, forgot to take into account the 1-hour time difference between arkansas and georgia. this mistake, coupled with a tire blowout 10 miles outside of atlanta, meant that austin and i barely made the ceremony. the right rear tire was the problem, and we were forced to pull over onto the left "shoulder," which was about 3/4 the width of a toyota camry. austin's job was the actual changing of the tire, while i walked further down the highway and signaled to drivers to move over as to avoid killing him. i couldn't believe how few people paid attention to my frantic hand gestures. some drivers passed him at 60 mph as close as 2 feet. i'd never felt physically protective of a boyfriend before, but i was furious with these people. i've never pulled over to help anybody with a tire problem before, mostly because i'm usually alone and don't feel safe doing that, so i wasn't expecting anybody to pull over and help. the police finally showed up to help us direct people. austin wasn't hit, but it genuinely scared me that people got so close to him. next time we blow a tire, i think curling up into fetal position will be better than trying to fix it before the police arrive.

but! we made it. scotty and sallie's wedding ceremony was short, traditional, and beautiful. they were happier, individually and together, than i had ever seen either of them before. i definitely got the sense that they both understood what they were getting into, and, because of that, i think their marriage will last forever. they are flying to cancun right now, and they'll only be a 20-minute drive away when they return!

we're sitting in pep boys right now waiting to get austin's tires replaced. even though the situation isn't optimal, i am having a great time with him. throughout the trip, austin has had an amazing attitude. he drove the entire eight hours, and he didn't complain once. also, i never criticized his driving. we are certainly improving as a couple, which is the most encouraging thing i could have discovered during this adventure. in an act of unadulterated nerdiness, we spent most of the drive to atlanta listening to podcasts about video games. (though, actually, i spent most of it slipping in and out of a nyquil coma from the night before.) i had a good time. i think he's a great partner for me.

before we arrived at the church, we were already exhausted from the drive. the ceremony began at 5:00 and lasted about 20 minutes, and then the reception went until 9:30. dinner was served at the reception, along with amazing almond punch, and they celebrated with dancing and the traditional cake-cutting, garter-tossing festivities. i had a great time, but we were both completely spent by the time it was over.

which brings me to my next epiphany of the weekend... i think i am becoming less extroverted as i'm getting older. now, at parties especially, i have to steal a few minutes to find an empty room and sit by myself for a while. maybe i have just fallen out of the habit of being extremely social since my social group has been primarily katie, austin, and myself since the beginning of the summer? maybe the problem was that i didn't know anybody but the bride, groom, and 2 other guests? maybe i was sleepy? whatever the reason, i felt pretty socially drained. i don't think this is a bad thing at all--i just thought i should acknowledge it.

tired after the reception:


so... what did you learn this weekend?