Tony's Week Seven: Rock and/or Roll

My Do Something Awesome of Week Seven, which feels like it was posted oddly quickly after Week Six, was seeing Ben Folds in concert in Knoxville.

Knoxville doesn't get a lot of big-name artists; probably since there are no suitable venues in town. So, I was pretty excited to nab some tickets for Folds a few days before he got in town.

Seeing Folds live would have been enough to qualify as a DSA. However, the event took place in a warehouse-turned-gay-club-turned-concert-venue called the Valarium, somewhere I had never been before. It was a non-descript building hidden underneath an overpass that you would have guessed had become forgotten to time had there not been a small neon sign indicating its name. Once inside, though, the atmosphere quickly changed to a very hip, alternative crowd with a egalitarian setup. No seating to speak of, just a large floor with a standing balcony, a bar, and a BBQ shack. And of course there was Folds rocking the suburbs. (See what I did there?)

This is the second time since DSA that I've stumbled upon an alternative crowd that I believed previously didn't exist in Knoxville. And it's the first live event I've been to in over 5 months. Sometimes I qualify an exciting night out as a 3d movie. It's nice to have the bar set a little higher again. Another successful week at unearthing the hidden wonders of Knoxville. Awesome.

Tony's Week Six: The One About Valentine's Day

You know what Tony's Week Six of Doing Something Awesome was not? It was not about being up to date on his blogs. Nope, not in the slightest.

I could argue that I've been so busy doing awesome things that I haven't been able to keep up with updating my online persona to accurately reflect my awesomenisity. Awesomenisity: Copyright Tony 2009. But that would be lying. On the Internet!

So, instead, my humble apologies. And we move on to what I have actually accomplished: Anonymous Valentines!

Of course, this was, you know, over two weeks ago. When it was Valentine's Day.

The project was simple. I created (and in some instances bought cheesy) Valentines with simple messages of what I thought were good qualities about people I know and have known over the years. Then, I sent them anonymously. The idea was that they would get a Valentine's that was uplifting and personal, but from an unknown source. I went through a bit of research to find some old high school names and addresses and this turned into the most thorough prep I've done for a DSA. But I think it was worth it. Unfortunately, I had to be pretty particular about who got a Valentine because I didn't want any future discussion (or DSA blog post) to spoil the anonymity of the gesture. And hopefully, no one will be the wiser.

Roses and Red. Violets are Blue. What makes this DSA so special is that it was the first one meant to improve the life of you. (It's late. The actual Valentine's were better. I assure you.) Hopefully, more DSAs will be good will gestures as I think that part of improving yourself through the DSA project is reaching out to others. Which is why next week I hope to not hate on homeless people! Wish me luck!

TJ's Week Seven: Dating, I Guess?

Ugh. Man, I don't know how awesome this is, but I joined an online dating site. Time to get out there and meet people in my age bracket and go have awkward meetings in public places that serve alcohol.

God, I just want to stay home and watch TV and eat chips. What would really be awesome is if I magically got a lady to do that with me without having to do all the dating stuff first.

TJ's Week Six: Actually Seeing a Real Celebrity

So earlier this week, I came into the office only to be pounced on by a coworker.

"Philip Seymour Hoffman is filming down at the Food Emporium," she squealed. "Let's go stalk him."

Hoffman was filming Jack Goes Boating, which, I'm told, he also starred in when it was an off-Broadway show. I guess he's a pretty big star? He, like, won an Oscar or something. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan. I've still got Capote on my Netflix queue.

But whatever. I wasn't about to say no to a real celebrity sighting. After all, fake celebrity will only get me so far.

So I walked down the the grocery store with a few coworkers. We were allowed to go in and shop even though the crew was everywhere and we were obviously tripping over their cables and such. While my coworker Jen pretended to be interested in energy drinks, we scoped out the place: and there was Mr. Hoffman, resplendent in a little beanie cap and olive army jacket.

"Cool," I said.

"Yeah," said the unimpressed cashier as she rung up my coworker's Vitamin Water. "I guess he's okay. He won an Oscar or something, right?"

So that's my cool thing this week. My very first For Serious NYC Celebrity Sighting. And it wasn't a crap celebrity like Jessica Simpson. My guy has an Oscar.

Shayne's Week Four, Five and Six: Fitting it all in

Alright, I admit I'm lame. I haven't posted for two weeks. After the New York trip, life picked up speed at an exponential rate and I'm finally starting to breath again. With that said, let the blog begin!

Week 4- NYC!
So I try to make it to NYC at least once a year. This was actually my third trip this year, but totally different than ever before. I went up to be with TJ and Tony but also to get away from Orlando for a few days. I made no plans, had no expectations and just wanted to escape. So what was so awesome? Waking up, taking it easy, going into the city and doing whatever came up. Tony and I walked through Central Park in 30-degree weather, sliding around on the ice. We went to a gay bookstore, ate hummus and walked the streets of Astoria. TJ and I even saw the Chinese New Year parade in China Town. It was a great trip and the perfect balance of fun, excitement and relaxation. Oh yeah, and if that's not awesome enough, we watched part of the Super Bowl from a gay bar. You haven't lived until you've seen the boys go crazy for Jennifer Hudson singing the national anthem!

Week 5: Gasparilla
So my intended awesome event for week 5 turned out to be not-so-awesome. My friend and I made our way over to Tampa for Gasparilla, the annual Pirate event. What I soon found out is that it was founded on Pirates, and developed into a giant frat/sorority party. We decorated half-gallon jugs with bling and puffy paint, filled them with our favorite libations and took to the streets at 8am. Ugh... never again! I failed.

Week 6: Going at it alone.
For years I've been wanting to prove to myself that I could go to a bar by myself. I can handle restaurants but I wanted to go to an actual bar. You know, sit on the stool, chat with your neighbors and bartender and watch the TV screens. So yesterday I did just that. After the longest 5 days I've had in a long time, I had a moment to relax. I was wound up from a school presentation and just wanted a glass of wine. But at the same time, I didnt feel like calling up the army of friends to go out so I drove right to the new lounge by my house. There were only about 6 people there and it was kinda chill. They were playing old movies on the TV (Lassie if you are interested) which entertained me until the guy next to me started a conversation. Who knew "nice tie" could start an hour long dialogue! By the end I was BFF with the bartender and got to know the owner. It was kind of like Cheers but classier...and gay.

Well there you have it...3 weeks of awesomeness in one run on sentence.

Tony's Week Five: Nothing.

Alright, so I knew this was going to happen eventually. For the last week, I have been doing absolutely nothing of any consequence to anyone. I have been knee deep in the mundane and I have no excuse for it.

I'm sorry, Do Something Awesome!

But all is not lost. Just like in life, I just need to pick myself up and do something awesome next week. So, hey, for anyone trying to follow along and do something awesome every week at home - just know that no one expects you to be perfect. Just keep giving awesomeness a go.

TJ's Week Five: Impersonating a Celebrity

This one was rather accidental. And while Tony assures me that successfully impersonating a celebrity is pretty awesome, I'm inclined to think it's more morally gray than awesome.

But what do I know? I'm just some asshole with a good Twitter name.

Y'see, it all started a few days ago. I was speaking to an online friend who has nabbed the Twitter username @HughLaurie. He's most assuredly not Hugh Laurie, nor does he pretend very well to be Hugh Laurie. And yet, nearly 3,000 people follow him for whatever reason. Misguided faith in the veracity of Twitter usernames? Boredom? For the lulz? Who knows for certain.

But I bet him that if I tried to impersonate a really low-ranking celebrity, it wouldn't be anywhere near as popular. He told me to give it a go.

So that's how a twenty-five year old, environmentally-conscious lesbian in Brooklyn ending up pretending to be a middle-aged, gun-toting motoring journalist who hosts shows about cars blowing up on the BBC.

I honestly couldn't imagine anyone at all following this silly Twitter account; it was just me making stupid one-liners. And yet here we are today, and I've passed the 1,000 follower mark. I'm strangely proud of that.

During the past week, I've tentatively replied to a fan with lolacious results, I created a hashtag for people to share pics of their cars with me, and I've posted a few car-related news items. Hardly anything genius, I know, but folks seem to enjoy it. And before I knew it, I was enjoying it too. The biggest joke, of course, is Twitter itself, since my fake celebrity would never in a million years use a computer except under duress, and would surely never use Twitter. So half the jokes I make are about trying to "get a hold of this Twitter thing." It's gotten a bit meta, as people come to me with their homegrown explanations of how to use Twitter. (No one, by the way, has suggested I use Twitter to impersonate a semi-celebrity. Shows what they know about proper Twitter usage.)

Because I didn't want my pants sued off, I clearly stated in my bio that I'm not real. But it appears that either no one reads bios or no one cares and is happily playing along, because so far 99% of people are treating me like the real Clarkson. It's absolutely bizarre. Chicks are digging on me, children are begging me to tell their parents to get a cooler car, and strange chaps with bad haircuts are challenging me to drag races.

Unsurprisingly, I'm starting to take this pretty seriously. I wanted to have fun on Teh Internetz, but I also didn't want to be a douchebag (unless I was being a douchebag in character). So my rules are: 1) don't give out faulty and stupid car advice, 2) don't claim to ever be real, and 3) don't talk about "personal" things.

I just want to make stupid jokes. But I also want to keep up the realistic tone. I comb over every single character in my allotted 140 every time I tweet. I dread making some Americanism or otherwise showing my hand and ruining the joke. I think I'm doing pretty okay so far. At one point, I thought about making a joke about nannies giving us juice boxes, but right before I hit "update" I thought, no, they probably don't say "juice box" in the UK. I Wiki'd it and sure nuff, it's "carton" over there. Well, just carton? Or juice carton? I decided to play it safe and make a joke about naps instead.

Turns out, lots of people have opinions on naps.

The only downside to this whole venture is, no matter how entertaining I might be, I'm always tied to the real celebrity and his doings. Today upon logging in, I found a pile of tweets from people demanding I apologize to the blind. Oh god, I thought, what have "I" done now?

Turns out "I" insulted the half-blind Prime Minister by calling him a one-eyed Scot. Christ. "I" should really think before I fucking talk, shouldn't "I"?

In fact, maybe "I" should step aside and let fake-me (that's me-me) take over all public relations from here on out. I'm obviously doing a fine job of it. I sound believable, I'm vaguely amusing, and no one's getting offended at anything I say. In fact, it's mostly a lot of picture-swapping of silly cars. Wholesome family fun.

Now if I can just figure out how to blow up a caravan on Twitter...

Tony's Week Four: What She Said.

Long time coming, this is Do Something Awesome, Week Four! Live from my cold, dark apartment!

Before Week Five hits and another several days of posting procrastination, I figured it was about time for a discussion of the tremendous awesomenesity of Week Four before the fresh memories faded from my mind. Oh wait, that's not an issue, since Week Four's awesome is recorded in all its glorious wonder on comedycentral.com - archived under "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - December 28, 2009."

That's right, Week Four was spent vacationing in New York City! Beginning with the taping of the Daily Show with m'colleague TJ Dietderich and to-be-long-time friend Will Aronson, the trip was a week-long romp of the not-so-touristy hotspots of the city. From kitchy, underground restaurants to fake tour-giving at the National Museum of Natural Arts. Influenza-influenced nightclubs to solving century old murder mysteries. The Daily Show was the only beginning of a mind-numbing awesome trip that only recently ended when I finally regained consciousness.

Recounting the whole adventure would be too cumbersome but suffice it to say that seeing old time friends (Shayne and TJ - both of whom are Do Something Awesome posters here), and experiencing life in a real city was a needed change from the mundane that I currently live in.

A truly awesome week to end Month One of the Do Something Awesome Project.

TJ's Week Four: The Daily Effing Show

This week's awesome thing was so freakin' awesome, I can hardly contain myself even 24 hours later.

Way back in 2008 (God, what a dump THAT place was), I managed to snag some of the free tickets to see a live taping of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. So I got to be in the audience for the January 28th show.

I got to see:

Jon Stewart
John Oliver
Wyatt Cynac
some astrophysicist who thinks Pluto ain't a planet

That's, right. ME. I got to see MY VERY FIRST taping of the Daily Show. Oh, and I guess Tony happened to be there too. Whatever.

Back to Jon.

Throughout the show, while Jon Stewart sat within what Tony called "flying tackle distance," I kept turning to m'colleague during breaks in filming and saying things like, "You know what this is like? It's like seeing Jesus after thinking for years he might not be real."

Ten minutes later: "You know what this is like? It's like finally seeing the Taj Mahal after only seeing it on postcards and TV for your whole life."

Two seconds later: "You know what this is like? It's like when I saw the Pope when I was a kid, and it took me awhile to realize he was actually there, and it hadn't been, like, a weird dream."

Moments later: "You know what this is--?"

"Yes, TJ. I do. It's like some sort of religious experience, apparently."

And it was. Except Jon Stewart wasn't quite as short as I was led to believe he would be. I was rather imagining a pocket-sized terrier-comedian. (They must prepare us for that so we're not disappointed in the reality, I guess?)

The show, too, was much smoother than I thought it would be. Besides a few expletives that would need to be bleeped for the broadcast that night, the entire show was run through and filmed in under half an hour: no screw-ups, no re-takes, nothing, absolutely nothing, that might need to be cut. It was like watching a live performance, because it was that cleanly done. I don't know why, but I thought it would be choppy and messy to make a show.

So everything exceeded my expectations. I've never laughed so hard in my life, both at the show itself and because of the good company of Tony and Will, who was nice enough to indulge us even though he's been to TDS tapings a zillion times. It was truly awesome.

Not that I'm judging Shayne or anything, but he said he couldn't make it to NYC in time to see the Daily Show with us. I guess some things are more important.

I will now doodle hearts on my letterhead and write over and over in cursive, TJ + Jon 4eva.

Shayne's Week Three: All By Myself

Note: TJ has openly expressed distaste for my "awesome" activity this week.
Another Note: I'm in class writing this so I apologize for any scattered thoughts.

So there's kind of a theme to this week's "Do Something Awesome" campaign. I decided I'm tired of doing the things I "should" do and not always the ones that make me happy. Now I'm not going to go crazy with this, but life has to be fun and exciting otherwise you've wasted your time.

For over a year now, I've known that my favorite singer, Ms. Celine Dion, was going on tour after ending her show in Vegas. Unfortunately I'm fairly committed to my schedule with school and work. The closest Celine was coming to Orlando was Tampa...on a night that I have class. Now I'm not a nerd but I really don't like to miss class unless it is dire. So I gave up the dream and decided not to go.

For months I agonized over the fact that I wasn't going to see her. Very few things in life make me truly excited and seeing Celine is one of the few. About two weeks ago I was talking with a friend about the concert and realized how much I really wanted to go. I looked at the tour schedule and saw that there was a concert in Miami on Friday night... so with four days notice (spur of the moment if you know me) I bought tickets. I didn't know who was going to go with me, where I would stay or if I could get off work. I didn't care. I was going.

So I did! Alan came with me and we got an amazing hotel in Ft. Lauderdale. The concert was phenomenal and kind of inspirational. She belted her heart out, pounded her chest and slid across the stage like a pro. It was amazing.

After the concert, Alan and I went out in Ft. Lauderdale and then strolled along the beach the next morning before heading home. It was a quick 24 hours that will stick with me and keep me motivated for a very long time.

I got home and decided to do something else that I felt had been holding me back... I canceled my Myspace account. A minor act, but it cuts the clutter and lets me live my life. It was jut another thing holding me back. Who knew canceling an account could be liberating :)

So I got to see my idol, take a road trip with a friend, explore a part of Florida I hadn't seen, and generally be happy. How will I top it? I leave for NYC in the morning to do something awesome WITH Tony and TJ!

Tony's Week Three: Purging

Three weeks of doing something awesome and still no Nobel Peace Prize. Sigh. Perhaps, this week's awesomeness will finally win me the gold! (I assume Nobel Prizes come with gold.) This week, ... I cleaned!

Really thoroughly!

Yeah, so it sounds less than awesome, but let me explain. In a short few months, I will be leaving behind my current life for one in the Big City. And as part of my ongoing preparation, both mentally and physically, for the life change, I decided it was time to part ways with worldly possessions that I'd been keeping around just for keeps sake. All in all, I donated a box of clothes to a Mission, sold 50 DVDs/CDs for some considerable spending money, trashed several odds and ends I'd been collecting from stocking stuffers over the years, and most importantly took stock of what I need and what I have for my move to the Big City.

I should also mention that, though on the outside this may have looked like a series of not-so-awesome chores, for me it was a nostalgic journey of past experiences and a sad parting with old mentalities. Also, I've got a totally empty shelf now!

I'd also accept a Pulitzer.

TJ's Week Three: Baking

Baking.

I shudder at the mere mention of the word. Baking is, to me, what the gestapo must have been like to the Fauvists. Exact measurements? Powders everywhere? KNEADING? This isn't cooking; this is torture.

I've been told by friends, Tony and Shayne among them, that I'm a passable cook. I can throw together a pasta sauce using a tomato and an old spice rack. But what I can never seem to do is sit down and follow a set of directions in such a way as to cause a fluffy, fresh-smelling loaf of deliciousness to come out of the oven.

Until now, I guess?

I set to work using my aunt's recipe for Irish brown bread. She assured me the recipe, reproduced here, was so simple a lobotomized monkey could do it.

Irish Brown Bread

1 C all-purpose flour
2 T sugar
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 T cold butter or margarine
2 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C regular or quick-cooking rolled oats
1 1/2 C plain nonfat yogurt

1. In a bowl, mix all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture forms fine crumbs. Stir in whole wheat flour and oats.

2. Add yogurt; stir gently. If mixture is too dry to hold together, stir in milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, just until dough holds together. It should not be sticky.

3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead gently 5 times to make a ball. Set on a lightly greased baking sheet. Pat into a 7-inch circle. With a floured knife, cut a large X on top of loaf.

Bake in a 375 degree oven until well browned, abut 40 minutes. Cool on a rack. Serve warm or cool.

Things weren't looking good for me from the outset. First off, did you know those little t's are different from the big T's? I had forgotten, and had to throw out the meager beginnings of my dough when I remembered.

Then came the "do not make dough sticky" clause. I was impatient, trying to get my dough to hold together after the addition of the yogurt, and, because I had no milk, I tried adding bits of hot water. A little too much hot water, I suppose.

Anyway, the whole thing came out heavier and cakier than I remember my aunt's version being. But at least I tried.



This loaf of fresh brown bread is only slightly less awesome than watching a presidential inauguration for the first time. I realize now I should have counted that as my DSA of the week and said eff it to the baking.

But as President Obama says, we must all try our best and do what needs to be done. And for me, I guess that means making dough.

Shayne's Week Two: Park Ranger Shayne

So when we set out on this "Do Something Awesome" adventure, I decided to make a list of some major activities I've always wanted to do. At the very top of my list was a visit to DeLeon Springs about an hour outside of Orlando. The Spring is famous for an old sugar mill that is now a restaurant where you griddle your own pancakes. And during the right time of year you can also see manatees there! I remember going there as a child but it has been well over 10 years.

So needless to say I took advantage of a free Sunday and went down to DeLeon Springs with some friends. Before going I saw that there was a hiking trail so I figured we would do that as well. Eat, walk, look at manatees...perfect.

Of course nothing is as easy as you plan. We get to DeLeon Springs and there is a Civil War reenactment going on. We put our name in for pancakes and decided to walk around. Well apparently not much has changed since the Civil War because within 5 minutes we heard one of the most offensive gay comments to date. Needless to say we went back to the restaurant and waited for our table. We got our pancakes and had an amazing breakfast!

After we ate we set out to find manatees. I stopped and asked a park ranger who told us that there weren't any that day but the spring about 15 minutes away had 170. She also told us about a great hiking trail around a wildlife refuge (aka Swamp) down the road. So we left State Park #1 and drove to State Park Wildlife Refuge #2. We walked about four miles around with birds, turtles and alligators. Yes, alligators in the wild. I faced my fear and it was actually pretty cool.

Then on to state park #3 to see the manatees. There were tons! Not very exciting, but still cool to look at. On the way home we found a Big Boy restaurant. I only knew of the place from the Austin Powers movie but my friends flipped out when we saw the sign. We grabbed dinner and headed on home.

We ate our pancakes, went for our hike, saw manatees and contributed to corporate America. It was a complete day of awesomeness. And I even came within 15 feet of a gator in the wild! Who knew.

Tony's Week Two: Fraternizing With The Enemy

This week's Do Something Awesome (technically last week, as I am a little late in posting this) was part of what I expect to be an ongoing effort to enjoy what Tennessee has to offer before I leave for New York. This week's broadening of my horizons focused on Knoxville's night life scene. After having experienced a genuine cowboy bar last month (my last Do Something Awesome of 2008), I wanted to see what other places I have missed out on because of fear from straying too far from my comfort bars.

As it turns out I have been missing out on the most unique nightlife spot I have ever been to - Sassy Ann's. Located in an old residential neighborhood of downtown Knoxville, and built out of a three-story Victorian house, Sassy Ann's is a completely alternative bar with 80's night, hipster decor, and the most mixed crowd of age, style, and sexuality I've seen at one bar. There were even two separate bar fights! (for some reason having two people struggle their way onto your table over whether it was appropriate for the bar to be playing Scissor Sisters only added to the awesomeness of the occasion.) The whole club sang in unison on several occassions, no cover, cheap drinks, and every song played was one that I liked or grew to like.

Also, Sassy Ann's, as it turns out, is a popular location for the law school kids. I had apparently shown up on one of their rump court nights (their cute name for drinking together socially). As I had never participated in a rump court, I got to see the law school kids in a different setting, letting me bond stronger with several of my peers more effectively than over two years of classes with them. Also, it never gets old yelling "Objection" across the room at each other. How Awesome.

TJ's Week Two: Learning 50 Languages

For my second week of doing something awesome, I decided to learn to say "hello" (or the closest equivalent thereof) in 50 different languages. I chose to do this because, like many people, I wish I knew more languages than I do, but I'm much too busy to think about learning one completely. So onto my half-assed attempt at international education.

Here is the full list of words I set out to memorize. Some of my favorites are:

Basque - kaixo (pronounced kai-show)

Cree - Tansi (pronounced Dawnsay)

Icelandic - góðan dag (formal; pronounced gothan dagg)

Zarma - fofo

Today, Tony called me up and quizzed me on all 50. I'm happy to say I passed with near perfection. Although I always hated memorizing things for school when I was a kid, I was always very good at it. And there's something very comforting about being able to absorb a large chunk of relatively useless information in a short span of time. After all, when am I going to ever run into someone who speaks Basque?

But the process of memorization, the way we can still teach our brains to hang on to this information, is what I enjoy. I think it's pretty awesome.

Shayne's Week One: The Open Road...and Meatloaf

I'm not going to lie, I was really nervous going in to this. I mean really, what can I do that is awesome? Apparently, a lot.

Over the holidays I spent a lot of time with my family...something I've been doing more of lately. I think as I get older I appreciate that time significantly more than before. My dad and I are planning on going to Spain when I finish my MBA and doing a couple hundred mile bike road across the northern part of the county. So last week I went out and bought a bike and went for my first real ride in years.

Dad met me at my house early Sunday morning and took to the roads of Downtown Orlando. For all of you that think Orlando is nothing more than theme parks, you're wrong. It was amazing. We biked through neighborhoods, around the lake, up and down city streets and even walked the farmers market. It was invigorating and nothing less than awesome.

After dad left I was refreshed and ready to go. I went about my Sunday business and decided that I would pull out my Crockpot for the second time in a year. I looked up a recipe and decided to make Meatloaf...well, Turkeyloaf. Who knew I could cook real food?

So needless to say week one was definitely awesome. I'm excited to see what the rest of the year holds. Get ready for some awesomeness.

Tony's Week One: Go Open Source.

I began Week One of the Do Something Awesome Project with something that I've wanted to implement for over a year now. With my current laptop on the precipice of failure, and no tangible monetary means of satisfying my technological needs, I've also had no further excuse to procrastinate. So, I requested my brother ship an old desktop of his to me in Tennessee. About 7 hours of set up after its arrival, and I have my very first fully open-source/recycled computer. I purchased none of the physical components of the computer; they were all rescued from collecting dust behind soccer cleats in the back of my brother's closet or found for free on Craig's List.

Windows Vista was wiped for my new, snazzy Ubuntu OS; my first foray with a Linux operating system. Furthermore, I've made a concerted effort to keep away from any non-open source programs. So, I listen with Foobar, browse with Firefox, word process with OpenOffice, and GTD with google. I'll never pay for my computing needs again .... that is, until I can afford a Mac.

Next week my awesome thing is to tape the bridge of my glasses back together. Cause, cause I'm a nerd. And it's AWESOME.

TJ's Week One: write a letter to an old friend

This week, I started small but bravely by writing a letter to my childhood best friend whom I haven't spoken to in maybe 8 years. It wasn't like we had a big falling out or anything; we just lost touch like you do when you go off to different colleges and such. But thinking about our formative years and everything got me thinking, and since I'm already in such a nostalgic mood from having the big Two-Five birthday and all, the letter had much more impact on me than I expected.

I would be lying if I said I didn't cry like a blubbering baby while writing the damn thing.

Here's a little bit of the letter, leaving out the more soppy parts:

I know it's been a long time since we saw each other, but I've recently found myself thinking about a lot of people I haven't seen in a long time, and I thought it might be time to write to you. I'm sorry if this is way too long; please don't feel any pressure to read the whole thing if you're busy. I can just give you the Cliff's Notes version: I just wanted to say hi.

I spent a long bus ride from DC to New York composing most of this letter in my head, so I hope it comes out correctly, though I'm afraid it's going to sound either too weird or too formal and stilted or something. I hope that's not the case, but it's all my fault if it does.

Mom told me maybe a year or more ago that she ran into you at the Walgreens on the corner on Prima Vista and Bayshore, and that you were a manager there. At the time I wondered if I should call you up and say hello, but I thought so much time had passed that we'd have nothing to talk about, and maybe that's true, but maybe I was just being lazy. I am sorry about that.

I don't want to spend this whole letter talking about myself and what I've been doing since high school, but I'm also afraid of spending this whole letter on "remember when, remember when, remember when?" junk. I just turned 25 and I guess, as stupid as it is, I feel nostalgic about a lot of things now. You must be turning 25 soon, too. I don't remember what day your birthday is, but I remember you're an Aries, right? So it must be soon. Maybe you're feeling something similar.

One of the things I find myself thinking about a lot lately is how I never told you I was a lesbian. I don't think this is a big shock for you, or maybe it is. But you must have seen my Facebook page or run into someone we knew in school, so I guess you must know. I just want you to know, first thing, that the reason I never told you wasn't that I didn't trust you. I can't ever remember you saying anything that would lead me to believe you're uncomfortable with gay people, or maybe you are and I just never knew, and if that's the case I'm sorry I just brought it up. My point is, I never told you because I didn't want it to be this big thing (like I'm sort of making it now?), and because I thought that maybe it would go away eventually and I wouldn't have to worry about it. I thought if I told you, the one person who seemed to know all my awful, embarrassing secrets, that it would be something permanent and I'd never be able to get rid of it.

I'm really pleased with this first project. It felt very cleansing to do, a good way to start the year, and a great way to prove to myself that I'm brave enough to do all sorts of awesome things this year.