Jenna's House of Idiosyncrasies Version 10.0 [Focus.]

“So... any boyfriends?”

“Boyfriends?”

“Or relationships. Whatever you call it.”

“Nothing that turned into a boyfriend.”

Heather looks at me, quizzically, interested.

“There was this one guy, [Shortstop]. I kinda sorta hooked up with him... in my roommate's bed.”

Laughing. “Where did you meet this guy?”

“He's friends with my roommates. I really had met him only about six hours earlier when they brought him over to the apartment.”

“Was alcohol involved?”

“Of course. But we just made out for awhile, nothing serious.”

Laughing. “How was that?”

“Drunk. He was drunk. I was drunk too. We were both pretty drunk. It was fine.”

We sit in silence for a moment.

“He is really cute though.”

“Yeah?”

“And before all the activity I talked to him for awhile, and he has this really fascinating internal life, and he's smart and funny—”

“—so you really like him.” Heather makes the declaration for me.

“Yeah. Yeah I really do.” I give a half-hearted sigh. “I don't think he likes me though.”

“Well that's a shame.”

“Yeah it is. But that's the way things go sometimes.”

On Wednesday night, my roommates called me into the living room to receive the previously mentioned special backordered gift. Wondering what it was had been driving me crazy for three days, but even more so, I was worried that after all the build up I wouldn't look excited enough. I'm not a great gift receiver, and never know how to properly show my gratitude.

In this case, I needn't have worried.

They had hastily wrapped it up in the cover of this weeks Flagpole Magazine. It was a small box, and I had no idea what it could be, until I cleared away the newsprint and saw the brand name on the top of the gift box.

I must have turned pale at that point. There is no way they actually bought that for me.

I opened the box, and they had, in fact, bought me the locket I had daydreamed about receiving for Valentine's Day.

Catie asked, “Jenna Tollerson, will you be our Valentine?”

It took just about everything I had in me not to cry.

Dear Apartment 6:

I don't know if I tell you enough, but living at Apartment 6 with you, my great friends, is the happiest I have ever been in all my 22 years. Not just the happiest, even, but the first time in my life I have ever been truly happy. The work and thought everyone put into my birthday is just one more reason I feel that moving into that apartment was the best decision I ever made. I love you.

I'm wearing that locket even now, as I sit in my sister's home office in Redmond, Washington. I've only been here 24 hours, and at some point there will be much to tell, but there has been so much airport-havoc-people-watching-meeting-people-and-dogs-talking-til-dawn that my head is spinning as I attempt to process all the details.

So I've been writing in a notebook for the past couple of days. Paper and pen, the old-fashioned way, and trying to jot things down, from my head, no self editing and none of the weaving into what would normally make it into the public domain. I'm doing this so I don't miss anything.

Details are, of course, what turns a series of events into a story. I continute to be, more than anything, in the business of Jenna Tollerson mythopoeia.

We at the House are not giving up cyberspace. You can trust that the stories will indeed follow. Soon.

Looking back, and forward. Read More »

This morning I was walking to work, through downtown Athens. Athens is a college town. 9 AM, Christmas Eve, downtown Athens, it's empty. Besides being eerily quiet, there are also about a billion parking spaces. And yet, there she was, the meter maid, wearing a Santa hat, giving out parking tickets to all the naughty boys and girls.

Merry. Freakin'. Christmas.

A YEAR IN RETROSPECT... a survey that actually means something, stolen from here. Read More »

Animals: 2 cats and my doggy all in Winder, my hometown

Best Friend(s): Sarah, Heather, Maggie, Gumby, Sam, Milton, JJ, Melissa, to name a few. I can't really call them all out I'll forget somebody and all hell will break loose.

Cohabitants: Dayana, my roommate for just one more week.

Desire(s): Get into art school, to get back in touch with an aforementioned "best friend", to lose weight, to read lots, and to make lotsa money. And to always be honest. Haha.

Eye Color: Way-bluer-than-yours blue

Favourite Foods: Pizza, maraschino cherries (I eat them like candy), cream soda, iced lattes.

Games: Dictionary Dabble, Chess, Trivial Pursuit, Starwars Monopoly. It is really way cooler than regular Monopoly.

Habits: Journaling, biting my nails, wearing headphones everywhere everytime I leave the house, complusively designing, plus sleeping, eating, drinking, showering and walking.

Interests: Web design, singing, cooking, music, live music, musicians.

Job: Full-time student, Part time web author, web designer, and live music venue techie

Kitchen...wonder or blunder? I love to cook. I wish my parent's kitchen was bigger though.

Languages: English, plus remnants of french and italian, but nothing really useful

Most valued possession: My artwork, or my CD collection. Tough choice.

Name (named after?): The official story until about 2 years ago was that Jenna is a mutation of my maternal grandmother's name, Jeanette. But my father used to be a huge comic book geek and swears than Jenna is actually Conan the Barbarian's girlfriend in comic #11. I myself have never researched it.

Outfit you love: Dirty-brown tinted jeans, camel-colored shirt with v-neck and johnny collar.

Pizza toppings: Pepperoni, or Hawaiian.

Question asked to you the most: "Why do you look like that?" Haha. I kid. It's probably "How do you make a website?"

Relationship: Argh. None.

Sport to watch: Soccer. and Snowboarding.

Television show(s): Buffy/Angel, Scrubs, 24, ER, The Simpsons, Malcolm in the Middle, Boston Public, Law and Order, X-Files reruns

Unsavory characteristic: I'm lazy as hell, mostly if I'm putting off something if I don't want to do. Also, I am very stubborn in my convictions. I get that from my father. The two of us butt heads a whole lot.

Video: Collection of Thing-a-ma-bobs, by far. Edited by Sarah Tollerson, master film maker.

Webpage: I can't pick just one, c'mon. Silliness.

Xylophone (or other instrument): When I was a kid I played clarinet in band. I would still like to learn how to play piano bt I have no time.

Year born: 1983

Zodiac Sign: Pisces Read More »