reneena davidson’s Neighborhood

It has been an entire year (and then some) since I've last updated. I guess I've been ridiculously busy. It's a wonder what a difference a year can make in one's life. I'm in grad school and just finished up my first year. It was one of the craziest years of my life... I have never been so stressed out in my entire life (I'm not sure if a 4.0 was worth that amount of stress... and I don't mean to gloat, but you have to be able to be proud of something that almost killed you!). Stress aside, though, I've met some of the most wonderful people in the world. I have made so many friendships and am surrounded by so many kind-hearted, amazing people. The school psychology department at UA is very small so we have all grown to love one another and are like family now. :)

This time in my life has been such a transition... I feel like I'm turning into a responsible adult... and it is scary. In less than two years I will be completely on my own, with a career and real bills to pay (I'm paying bills now, but using student loan money doesn't really feel like I'm doing much, ha). Even though being completely on my own is scary, it will be nice to be completely free and to do as I please. And after.. what?... almost 20 consecutive years of schooling, I will be SOOO happy that I will finally be done with school. I'm considering just staying and getting my PhD but I don't think I have the will or energy to stay in school any longer than I need to. Maybe I'll be telling a different story a couple years from now. Another thing that is nice about this "adult transition" is that in 2 weeks I'll finally move into my own apartment- a one bedroom! I am extremely excited that I won't have to worry about bothering or being bothered by anyone else!

So what else is new? I am in love! For the first time in a really, really long time. I had almost forgotten what it felt like to be in love. It is absolutely wonderful!! I'm sure I'm making plenty of people nauseous with all my "happy/love talk", but I'm trying to enjoy every second of this. I can't recall a time I've ever been happier. Vinny is such a great guy :) He's three years younger, but it really doesn't seem like it... and it really doesn't matter, ha. Well, I've finally updated and will try to keep doing so instead of waiting another year.

Life is great.

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6 comments

I just love this photo.  It captures childhood with the struggle to want to grow up and paint your nails, wear fancy dresses and necklaces.  I thought the colors well suited for the photo.  The dirty nails and the gently cupped hands remind me how precious and fleeting childhood is. 

These were taken around Easter, 2008 in North Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Only now getting around to uploading them.  Truthfully, while it is hard to complain about being at the beach, I really prefer the Gulf side of Florida.  The beaches are much nicer and the trade winds a little more mellow.  Maybe it was just the time of year but the trash line was indeed filled with trash, jelly fish, and man-o-war.  I've never seen so many used straws.  As for the town, I just felt like I was in a big city rather than an island feel I get from the Fort Myers area. The Hallendale Pier area is funky-sort of an old boardwalk with little pizza shops and tourist gift shops.  Lots of interesting people from the world. 

The first photo was the first day of our vacation and taken from our deck in the condo rental.  Not a bad way to start the day!  The sun from our home is rising below the tree line so there isn't much to see here in NE Ohio in the mornings.  I sure hope the sun shines a little on all the people in the Midwest who need a break from all the flooding.

I met Barack Obama. In a dream last night....

And he was really nice. This really ticks me off. Not only has my dreamland become much more exciting than reality as of late(which is unfortunately[fortunately?!] not usually the case) but now my subconscious is trying to warm up to Obama???? Agh! I want out of my head! Maybe I feel that I'm not being fair to him... except that I really feel like people aren't being fair to Hillary.

I wish politics didn't exist. I wish I had a life this summer. I wish I were in Spain right now.

I wish I had a genie.

        I took a trip back to 2000 and watched all of the 10th Kingdom again. I'll admit that I love the mini-series or whatever it is. If you haven't seen it, you should. It's pretty lame starting out but before you know it, you're hooked. Anyway, this "mini" series is sooooo long! So long..... I mean there's three discs and they're like 4 1/2 hours each. But anyway, I watched them all in two days and this has unfortunately crossed over into the realm of my dreams. The 10th Kingdom has influenced my subconscious. How pathetic am I?
        So... I'm having a lovely dream where I finally bought a brand new shiny green car and was driving it around town. My very first car! Sometimes my dreams feel so real that I wake up heavily disappointed that so-and-so didn't happen. This was like one of those dreams, except that I didn't have to wake up to be disappointed. I see a friend of mine on the rode and get out to go talk to him. For some stupid reason I leave my car on and doors open as I walk about a BLOCK away from it to talk to him. We talk for a long time and I turn to walk home. Yes, WALK. In about three minutes I had forgotten about my car (because I've gotten used to walking everywhere my whole life?? I don't know...) and then realize what I did and turn to run to my car. Then the really weird crap starts to happen. Three trolls are stealing my car. They were the same trolls from the 10th Kingdom. It was so lame. I was willing to get run over to get my car back but they got away anyway. Next thing I know I was trapped in some strange troll castle where I scheme to get out. I remember trying to call 911 but not having a signal on my phone. I wasn't trying to call the cops to get out, just to get my car back!!! Like I said, LAME dream and I'm glad to say the 10th Kingdom has been shipped and mailed back to Netflix. I'm good for another decade.

How would you like it if this was haunting you??

Trolls

    At the job. Surprise, surprise. It is 6 pm and I have been here since 8. And I will be here until 9:30. Pure insanity. But that's what you do when unemployment is just around the corner. And finding a job is like Alabama avoiding tornadoes this season. It's impossible. I didn't get that job I interviewed for. It's old news and I've gotten over it. I keep trying to reassure myself that they already had someone else in mind but then I start feeling insecure about myself again. But then I get to thinking about how I want to do so many other things (that exclude Montevallo) and I sigh with mucho relief. I'm not meant to stay here. I feel like I've done my time and now I gotta move on. There aren't that many jobs here anyway and not having a car doesn't help. But anyway onto other news....

    I've been thinking a lot about politics lately. It's all up in your face... it's kind of hard not to. But I cannot stress enough how badly I want Clinton to win. Did you know that it's common among Hispanics to vote for someone b/c they had a family member and/or experience in that position before? It's about knowing what you're doing, folks. Clinton's not perfect but I really, truly believe she will revive the nation's good reputation again and better than any of the other candidates ever could. I decided I'm going to list the reasons why I think everyone should seriously consider Hillary for president:

5) She has a better chance at winning against McCain than Obama does, and do I want to risk having another Republican for president? Hellooo? Did you see what that last one did? And I don't want to hear about how McCain is different from Bush... that's like saying rabbits and hares are different. One has bigger ears and the other greater longevity. But when it comes down to it, they're both still hairy twits (who unfortunately love to procreate).

4) Experience, experience, experience. It's almost cliché now. But it is true. The bitch (see #2) knows what she's doing. Nothing gets you better prepared than experience.

3) WARNING-- PC just jumped out the window!  African Americans got the right to vote through the 15th amendment long before women did (and yes, white men did make it hard for African Americans to vote by placing shitty rules and regulations but the same thing happened to women when they were finally allowed to vote [19th amendment])...this means black men were granted the right to vote fifty years before women were. If history has anything to say it's that Obama is more likely to get the presidency than Clinton. Why, oh why can't women do something first for once?? I assure you, we're capable of getting the job done just as well.

2) As a bundle here are political issues because I don't believe in single issue voting. I think her stance on them is great. She believes women have a say as to what happens to their bodies (being a woman this should be a given but you'd be surprised). She believes in stricter gun laws... people, seriously. Less guns= Less killing. Universal health care. Will someone tell me the down side? Oh, you have to fork over a few extra bucks to get a nose job? Big deal. Oh, you're gonna get the same care as a bum? At least you HAVE gauranteed health care and someone less fortunate than you does too. Is that bad???  (this list of issues can go on and onbut hopefully by now everyone knows where the candidates stand on issues)

1) Tina Fey says it all. My sentiments exactly, Ms. Fey.

Honorable mention, Bonus reason:

Bitches get stuff done. End.

    Today I took my last final exam, ever. Well in college anyway. Who knows if I'll go to grad school. But as for right now, I am terminado. I love how in Spanish that's "finished" but looks like I just said I am terminated. Yes, I am done for. I am so glad to be finished, folks! I really thought I would not see the day. Four years is a long time, and now it's come and gone and I don't know what to do. I had a job interview yesterday which I think went pretty well. I should be hearing back from them sometime next week. If I get this job, I'll be staying in Montevallo for awhile. I kind of wanted to do that anyway. I guess I'm not ready to let go yet. So we'll see what happens. In the meantime, I get to catch up on my movie watchin'!!! Oh snap!
    Netflix is going to get abused this summer. I just saw the movie Junebug and I actually really enjoyed it. I've heard mixed reviews about it, but I think it's safe to say it's one of my favorites. I wish more people liked it. I think it's brilliant and not just because my future wifey, Amy Adams is in it. (OMG, I love that woman! Ok, so it's pure infatuation, but she can act [yes, really, she can]). The best thing about the movie was how real it was. The writer and director knew exactly how people think and felt and it reflected in the film. The characters at times were a bit stereotypical but the point of the movie wasn't to focus on where they came from or whether their environment was portrayed accurately (it took place in NC, but people pissed and moaned about it not really portraying the south accurately... but they were missing the point).  The whole theme was about how people from all walks of life have quirks and deal with conflict in similar ways. For me, the best part of the movie was seeing the socially awkward moments. The heart of the film was the importance of family and I think it was shot beautifully. From the reviews I read, some people take this movie way too seriously instead of just enjoying it for what it is. So, there you have my mini-review whether you wanted it or not.
    Well, my eyes are starting to droop --I'm at work, what is that?!- so I will leave it here. I do have to add something Allison said today that made me snort a little bit of my soda out my nose.

Newsanchor: Next, do you know what Vanna White would be doing if she weren't on Wheel of Fortune?
Allison: She'd be wandering around, turning shit around.

I thought it was hilarious. Maybe I was a tad hyper. Well, I guess this blog is now terminado as well.
iBuenas noches!

Sun hands

Want to Hold the sun has a few more pix like these of people holding the sun in their hands.  Pretty cool!

    Finals are killing me! Too many papers. Too many exams. I quit. I wish I could, but just one more week and I'll soon be missing college life, I'm sure. I'm at the library again. At 1:15 in the morning. I feel like a zombie. You know what's been on my mind lately? Relationships. They're disturbing (are you noticing how short my sentences become when I'm tired? That's how fast my train of thought is- not very). So yeah... relationships suck ass. At least the ones I get into. Allison is going to take my head, turn it into a soccer ball and kick it like she's trying to win the FIFA cup if she sees this. I already told everyone her last name on here. She's gonna flip. But it's okay, cause I simply don't give a damn anymore.
    Man, getting into relationship after relationship is not healthy. I never really took a break after my previous relationships. I just jumped on board and hoped for the best. And sometimes it was nice, but most of the time I just missed really hard. Nothing sucks worse than putting all your time and energy into something and then having it fall through. And it scares me... I'm at a point right now where I don't know what I am going to do with the rest of my life. And Al has her own plans, which sort of include me, but we both know it's not going to be that way. It's all really kind of sad. And I really hate it when I meet someone amazing and really hit it off, but know that nothing could possibly ever happen. Blah, I'm feeling crappy. And I probably shouldn't be typing this late. Time to close the library. I need to find some people on here to join my neighborhood. What's the point if no one's going to read it, right?

G'night