U.S. Open!

Let it be known that I am in love with the fact that Maria Sharapova is the 2006 U.S. Open champion this year. Tennis is my life. Maria Sharapova is the bomb. That's the end of the story.

Now Andy, let's see what you can do against some guy named Federer.

"THE F*@% I AM!?"

Situation: Riding in the car with Person A (the driver) and Person B (the front passenger). Person A is antagonizing Person B about him turning the sound off on his phone and him texting...

...I know...

Person A: We all know that you turned your phone on silent so that we couldn't hear that you were texting.
Person B: THE F*@% I AM!!!!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAH! I love my emotionally disturbed friends.

"Ew, What the F*@%!"

...That was my expression at least 10 times today.

1.) When I woke up.
2.) When I got on the PRT to Beechurst and it smelled like someone was sitting on my face.
3.) When I got off the PRT and almost fell on my ass because I slid on fungus/dog poop/seaweed/slime that always appears when it rains.
4.) When I tried to call someone, and realized my phone got shut off.
5.) When I realized I was wearing sandals on a day that it was raining.
6.) When I saw this chubby little boy eating a cheeseburger at the Mountainlair...on a rainy day.
7.) When I got back on the PRT and I thought I got the same one as before, and it still smelled like someone was sitting on my face.
8.) When I was waiting for Art to start at 6pm and Shane said, "You have a dead bird feather on your foot," to which I looked to my foot and there was a soggy pidgeon feather attached to my foot.
9.) When I walked out of Art at 9pm and it was dark.
10.) When this fat guy behind me on the bus back to the District was wheezing in my ear.

I love life.

I'm A Published Author!

Good news everyone! A while ago, I set a few goals in my life that I thought were reasonable. It would take some time, and a lot of effort, but I knew I could do it. I don't like to tell people my goals before they happen, because I like them to be personal. One of them was to be a published author by my 21st birthday, and it looks like that's going to happen!

I submitted a sonnet to the Allegany Arts Council that I wrote for my Poetry class last semester, for a journal/review of literature of students and professors in the greater appalachian area. It turns out they were interested in publishing it!!! The poem is called "When I Compare You to a Rainy Day." It's a Shakesperean sonnet, and it will be published in the Backbone Mountain Review this December!!! I am so excited! Hopefully this is just a glimpse of what's to come.

I had been working on a book for a few years now...on and off again. After my laptop crashed a few years ago, I lost everything and started fresh. I uploaded it to a server that no one knows about, so that it will be available wherever I am, and I can add to it whenever I want. After the success I've had with my poetry, I think I am going to start working on it again!

Just thought I'd share some good news! WOOOO!

Check out the website, with the complete list of accepted authors here.

Life on the A-List

So far it's really hard being a celebrity at a major university. Since my new record went out the mother f*cking roof platinum, everyone really wants to know me, and what I'm about. The truth is it's tough. The other day I had 5 knocks on my doors. One was for an autograph, and the other 4 were from the neighbors telling me to "shut the hell up" because I'm singing Christina Aguilera too loudly in the shower. Her new CD is good...but it won't be as successful as mine.

VH1 called yesterday and asked me if I wanted to be on Divos Live 2006. At first I thought it was for DivAs live...and I said (in a chromatic scale:), "Yes, of course!" But then they told me it was actually DivOs live...which is like Divas Live, only for men. So far they only have Chris Kirkpatrick from N'Sync, Me, John Tesh, One of the guys from Milly Vanilly, 50 Cent, The drunk Backstreet Boy, an Elvis impersonator, and RuPaul...which is really confusing to me. But hey, it's money, and I can't turn it down!

I can't turn it down, because I'm the next big thing, you see.

The other day I was at Cheddar's (no, I don't go there often so don't go there and ask the waiters if they have waited on me before...besides I had my sunglasses and Diana Ross wig on the whole time, so they wouldn't have known), and this man comes charging towards me in a frenzy. He stopped at my table and asked me if I wanted anything to drink, and I said, "Ew no, get away you sickening paparazzi wannabe fuck."

Turns out it was our waiter, and I didn't get any service. So, I called Olive Garden to ask them if we could just come over there while they shut the restaurant down for me. After a long talk with the manager about who I was, he said no. So, we just stayed at Cheddar's.

Tomorrow I expect that everyone will want an autograph so I have to go sharpen my No.2 pencils. Ciao!

Zone.Out

Writing is going to end up being my profession, so you would expect that I would be on here updating more often, right?

I've decided to rededicate myself to this blog (for the time being!). I loved writing it, and it has dated back a few years now. It's always nice to go back and read what was happening in my life at that very moment. This is the same reason I began my tennis blog from 2005 and 2006, and will continue to log my matches. It's for my own personal reference just to compare my life from a year ago or more, to today. Makes sense right?

I've given my blog a new name. Zone.In was a creative name, but I feel like that part of me has changed now. I've grown as a person on many aspects, and I feel the new title is much more appropriate. My blog isn't just a place where I go and write stuff. It's a place where I can write whatever I am feeling, which is the most important part of having a blog in my opinion.

I go back to Morgantown on Friday, so I have looked at my new design, and new title as a recharge of sorts. A new beginning. Yes, there have been other new beginnings in the past, but this time I want to actually use this text block as an outlet.

My goal for 2007 is to write at least SOMETHING every single day of the year. It will be difficult for sure, but who knows what will happen!

Hope everyone is turning to my blog for anecdotes, as always. I get lots of feedback when I write humorously, so expect it in the future. The sad part is, the anecdotes are actual events that happen in my life. Maybe I need a reality show! ;)

Ciao for now.

Cumberland Is So Duh

Duh Italy is amazing, and Cumberland sucks. This has been the worst summer ever. Where the mother F*@% is everyone?

Morgantown in a week...awesome.

Morgantown, Cumberland...Milan and So On!

Three very random places have been the topic of discussion with me lately, and basically for the good! Although, I wouldn't have ever guessed that the third city would have followed in that sequence!

Morgantown - Oh Morgantown! It's 2:30a.m., but when I reference 'today' think of it as May 14. Anyway, today I drove up to my apartment and moved everything out, cleaned everything from top to bottom, and turned my keys in. I have been dreading doing it, only because I'm lazy and don't like physically demanding work (unless it's tennis). It ended up taking a lot more time than I intended because I had nothing packed, and had to clean the entire bathroom, and kitchen thanks to my irresponsible roommate. After I had packed EVERYTHING in to my tiny little Celica, my apartment was bare. I was too busy moving everything to notice it, and it turned out to be very emotional! I mean I didn't cry or anything like that, but it was just such an emotional time because so many memories (good and bad) were made there. Not to mention it was my first apartment ya know? I do look forward to returning to Morgantown, as this past semester has easily been the most successful, exciting, intriguing semester so far of my college career!

Cumberland - Oh Cumberland. Besides the fact that my allergies have paralyzed me for the past 2 weeks, I think I'm enjoying my time here so far. The month of May hates me in regards to allergies. I've had a bad cold until about today, actually. But now I am having serious sinus headaches, where I can feel the veins in my forehead protruding from my skin. However, I've been able to see my friends and family which has been my muse, easily. I mean, I miss having my own apartment which is the biggest turn-off about Cumberland, but hopefully that will change soon!

Milan - OH MILAN! Holy cow! So, I sent in this extensive, ridiculously long application to be a tutor for Italian children at a summer camp in Milan, Italy. Well, Friday morning I woke up to an e-mail responding that I was offered the position! I couldn't believe it! Another e-mail followed it from Rachel (Dillon) saying that she too was offered the position! So, this means I am going to be helping Italian children how to improve their English for 3 weeks, with one of my best friends, in Milan...and...I GET PAID! What!? Is this reality!? This is nuts! I am still just in awe about it all. Now, if someone wants to donate money towards my $1,200 plane ticket, feel free to contact me. :)

"Doing what I love with my best friends, and making cheddar?" - Destiny's Child

When I get back from Italy, I plan on using my earnings (850 Euros or $1,000) I plan on flying to California to visit one of my best friends, Andrew (Clark) where he will be working at Stanford University. I will be visiting Andrew the same week as the Bank of the West Classic tennis tournament, so that could quite possibly be the second most amazing thing that has happened to me (next to Italy).

This summer so far, looks amazing!

I Don't Want to See the Sun Come Up

What the hell is wrong with me? I had 3 green teas last night, 2 of which had caffeine in them. So, of course, I ended up staying awake until like 7a.m. to watch the sun rise. It sucked that I was up so late (or early) but watching the sun come up was actually very beautiful. It was the first time I had seen it happen since I have lived here.

Today, I did basically nothing. I slept until like 2:00 and then went to work at 3. I worked til 7:30 and saw some faces I hadn't seen in a while. It was nice.

I haven't been feeling well all day and I am not sure why. Maybe it was the 3 green teas? But I love tea so much I could just sit around all day and drink it.

My electric is probbaly going to be turned off tomorrow because BB&T (or BB& Fee as I like to call it) stole $107 which just also happens to be the amount I need to pay for my electric. I hate my life.

5 More Weeks!

Well, ladies and gentlemen there are only 5 more weeks of Morgantown left for me! I am really excited. The summer got here SOOOOO fast! It feels like just the other day I was jumping off the cliffs with Andy, and Rachel and filming "A Tragedy At Falls Cut."

I think I just looked forward to the summer so much that it has gotten here much quicker. Last summer was definitely an amazing time. So many memories. There is something magical about summers in Cumberland. I mean pure magic. The atmosphere, the smell of the mountains, Friday after Five, family cookouts, sincerity in friendships. All of those things may apply elsewhere but Cumberland harbors them the best, I do declare.

This summer is going to be VERY different from last summer. A lot of people are going to be gone. Lyndsay is going to be living in New York doing her internship all summer. Andy is going to be at Six Flags all summer.

I was just speaking to Rachel about this, (the irony is she is thousands of miles away in Limerick) and when she gets back, I believe it will make sense that she and I become very close this summer. With less people around, more intimate interactions can happen, and I think Rachel and I will find ourselves hanging out a lot more with just each other than large groups.

Man, I've learned so much since last summer. So has Rachel. It's crazy what each year of college has to offer the summer. Each summer I feel like such a different person from the year before. College is full of life lessons, and I have plenty to bring back to Cumberland from Morgantown.

Rachel and I may be teaching English to children in Milano, Italy, which is literally a blessing. If this opportunity happens for me, I know that someone will be looking out for me. If not, then that's life, and I will go on expecting great things in my life. I choose to be optimistic with the idea that something AMAZING is going to happen to me as long as I keep living. So, we'll see how that goes. I'll keep updated as much as possible.

Finally, if any of you (my lovers that follow my site) want a suggestion for a good movie to see, go see V for Vendetta. It's definitely one of the best movies I've seen in a while. Basically if you like action, the 1812 Overture, or things blowing up, or a combination of all three, you're in for a treat! Take care!