I've become obsessed with pickles. "Wickles," to be specific. Go get some and eat them. Right now. They rule, and go quite well with a Red Stripe.

happy muthafuckin new year, baby! great time in TN, as usual. the cabin was jumpin--the play this year was "hobo: the musical," and it was fabulous. giant swamp chicken attacks innocent vagrants. much to laura's (cassie's sister) chagrin, the aforementioned chicken--made of paper and sticks--ended up in a bonfire later. got historically smashed but didn't throw up; go me. andrew played the bagpipes while we all guzzled champagne to ring in the year. ate greens and black eyed peas for luck. got three kisses at midnight, and the rooms of the cabin were filled with the sounds of wilco and the flaming lips. so maybe 2003 will kick some arse.

cassie got into an interesting predicament. I woke up yesterday and she was nowhere to be found in the cabin. went to put some stuff in the 4runner and the door of the SUV next to it opens. cassie hails me from inside, where she's lying down and chillin with this guy she was talking to the night before. apparently they both slept there all night. hmm. but she told me later that she laid down some "ground rules" and remained virtuous to a fault. still, funny. at least a fella noticed her, eh?

all the notice I got was from byron, whose midnight kiss took me by surprise (pleasantly so). he paid a lot of whiskey-laden attention to me, and it was probably my addled imagination but it seemed that vanessa (his girlfriend) was irked by that. I mean, he is bi. whatev; sure he was just being drunkenly friendly. at any rate, it's always nice to be liked. and all of that crew is so damn cool. wish I saw 'em more than once a year!

finally saw "say anything." what a great flick. also saw "harry potter and the chamber of secrets." also choice.

now to finalize the NYC trip. can't wait to get up there and gabe the city for a few days.

random conversations from the past two days: tina turner should have been the spokesperson for the Big Wheel, the pope should really replace his ring with a Ring Pop, and the bonnie tyler song "hero" is really about being hungry for a sandwich.

one more thing. this blog is getting like ulysses, just describing every banal detail of my life. so once in a while I'll try to stick in something creative. here's a little of my output from high school:

Great-Aunt Constance

I wonder what she was in her prime,
This waddling pear of a woman.
Her eyes are crinkled with too many smiles.
A corner of yellowed petticoat peeks
From beneath her broadcloth gown.

Perhaps she was a scholar, once.
She regales her children with tales of grandeur,
Spouting homespun philosophy reverently—
Interspersed with snatches of Whitman.
This sage, soothsayer from an era long past.

What wheels turn in her mind?
Does she see herself as a crumbling idol?
Has she ever been blessed
With a circle of admirers?
Questions that hang like the pale fall of her hair.

word of the day: yark. it fits. dad's dizzy, mom's vomitous, and I sit fuming about how crappy it is that I'm not in AL. had to stay here and be respectful and witty with relatives, bleh. no boyfriend visiting for me! or carra, for that matter. hmmph. still heading for chattavegas tomorrow, at least.

tiffany and I had a fantastic time, though, the past couple days. friday was W-S/GSO. shopping, thai food, and too much coffee. bought a leather coat at banana republic that was marked down $125 from the original price. yesterday I took her to the airport in roanoke by way of b'burg.

I hung out in roanoke for a while after dropping her off, and I forgot how nice roanoke is, esp. compared to GSO. imagine downtown greensboro if the whole thing was like south elm st. all the old buildings turned into coffeehouses, yuppie eateries, and galleries. the museums on the square. narrow streets busy with as many pedestrians as cars, even at night. and all of it spotlessly clean--and somehow european. unfortunately I got lost in the warehouse district after that and it was very frightening. still, I lived to tell about it.

and being around tiffany was really affirming. it's like having an identical mental twin. well, almost identical. but there are so many occasions that one of us will say exactly what the other has just been thinking, even when it seems random. and get this, cruel world: I just learned she thinks robots are as scary as I do. I look forward to going to NYC next month.

gonna head to wal-mart for a new cd case, as there's no room left at the inn for all the new acquisitions. will write again in 2003! wish me a new year's as delightfully debaucherous as the last.