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

I'm way late this year on this, but as I'm fairly confident no one even reads here anymore, I'm just making sure to get it under the wire for myself. Read More »

Well, what can I say, Internet? It has been kind of a crazy few weeks. I have been so busy with normal, day-to-day living, as well as just mentally unpacking all that has gone on, that I haven't been checking in as much as I would like.

We'll start with the basics, because that seems like as good a place as any to start. There was the Boston trip. There was a great deal more family conflict than I really cared for. I didn't get to see much of the city, spending most of the time being shuffled from location to location or trapped in an apartment.

On the upside, I got to spend time with both my sisters, which was lovely. I got to meet a few of Sarah's dear friends, who were for the most part great people, and made me feel like my baby sister is being taken care of up there in the seemingly cold north. I walked a lot, which I feel could only be good for me. And while I loathe being away from home, for some reason I love the act of the roadtrip -- driving through a part of the country I had never seen before, stopping at random gas stations and restaurants, and that feeling of being on your way somewhere. That feeling that makes you temporarily forget every goal besides your destination. There is something kind of meditative about that part. When you can ignore the screaming and antagonism from the other passengers, that is.

Things I learned on the road to, and from, Boston: Read More »

“Your Boobies' Names Are: The Bazoombas - Get your own Boobie Names”; DSX; Melissa acting as my official vacation driver; seeing many wonderful friends and getting trashed with them on New Year's Eve; lots of lowcountry cooking; the fourth season of Six Feet Under which I received for Christmas and have already watched one and one-half times; being ready to go home when it was time to go home

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.

This is what happens when you can't sleep.

You sit at your desk reading about TSA regulations and procedures and lusting after kitschy personal care kits, all in hasty preparation for a brief trip that is still 6 weeks, two tests, one project and one birthday away.

You now know that if you were so compelled, you could bring five liters of whiskey onto a plane. If you had that need.

You again inspect the beautiful locket that you would love to receive from someone and imagine dreamily what that would be like. To actually have a Valentine on Valentine's Day, or on any day. You decide you like the idea of receiving the locket even more than the locket itself, and somehow simultaneously applaud yourself for being so unattached to material things while using the same attachment to overshadow the issue at hand. You use them to cancel each other out.

A certain part of you feels hollow.

the encyclopedia of productivity that is Lifehacker, looking in the mirror and noticing that I actually am losing weight, the comfort of knowing that Jack can fly with me, having conversations at work about how “Jenna's website is finally NSFW”, random and timely massages from the gentleman formerly known as HGB, fetishizing air travel, the sublime hits-way-too-close-to-home writing of Stephanie Klein at Greek Tragedy

Digital cameras are fun. I'm out of practice (I stopped taking pictures long ago because I never got them developed) so my skills are still a little soft. But I ran a couple of these through Dawn's Amelie Effect Photoshop Action (guess which ones!) and it brightened them tremendously. I just want to emphasize the greatness of Photoshop yet again, despite evil corporate mongering.

And now, Jenna's Vacation in Pictures.

This is my adopted brother Kyle Kirby. Yes, his shirt does say, "Hello, my name is Stud."

This is my sister, Sarah, looking pretty. She doesn't even have to try, people! Don't you wish you were this guy?

This is my adopted sister/honorary cousin/girlfriend Sam actually posing, yes, posing for that shot. If you think that is genuine surprise, you don't know Sam.

This is obviously the new stock photo of the smartest coolest prettiest dog in the world, Ginger. Seriously she just poses. She's a lady.

Sarah going through the sheet music and other music books at Barnes & Noble, Athens, on our last evening of freedom out with our crüe.

It was a good break. But in the end, it's always good to come back to school.

This is the view from my dorm room. Isn't it petty?

These photo-centered entries are so goofy.

And here we are.

Without school, and without work, (having recently completed my latest project), I have no idea what to do with myself during this time off I have.

Somebody hire me!!

(Of course, fall break will probably be over before I know it. But it's nice to think I could actually get bored.)