2012 Lookback + Resolutions

I'm getting down and dirty with you guys, gloves are off, sleeves rolled up. This thing is WAY longer than I expected but I feel like I'm being a fraud not being open with you readers, if anyone still reads this silly little thing.

2012 was a very ups-and-downs year for me, in so many aspects of my life. For some of the best, it brought to me a sewing machine, my first collaborations, jewelry making, being blessed enough to have my looks hit the front page on Lookbook (ironically enough, just after Madeline @ Jean Greige featured me on "Lookbookers You Probably Won't Find on the Hot Page" --  I see your reverse psychology/voodoo magic there, Mad) and some of the most heart-stopping and creatively inspiring trends I've have seen thus far.

The not-great events are ones I am loathe to address; I hate dwelling over such things if it's not beneficial, and a lot of things fell out of my control in the last year, but bottling them up can only be more poisonous. The only "lessons" I learned were that I need to try to be consistent and to continue to exercise effort, to try to make time for myself, and perhaps to find some therapeutic ways of keeping calm. I at times specifically avoided the blog out of pure pressure. Shopping trips became torturous because I have put so much time into this project of mine, and when picking out clothes to purchase I started asking myself, "is this blog worthy?"

I think one of the biggest culprits was money. I worked so hard this year, worked so many hours at the baleful minimum wage entry level job that I currently have, and I couldn't bear to spend that cash that I busted my bones to acquire on something "mild" for showcasing. When shopping, it felt wasteful, and I felt this invisible chain begin to sprout within my brainspace from the abstract idea and memory titled "Blog" that somehow leeched out of my head and had slithered its way around my ankle. Every shopping trip, every article of clothing I considered, I felt that little misfit tugging at my ankle. "But is it good enough?"

The other culprit was blog sponsorships -- and don't get me wrong, I love sponsorships...but I hate the pressure. Deadlines are bad enough (I swear, they make me just want to procrastinate MORE and my life has been one giant snowball rolling down a never-ending mountain that I can never stop long enough to take photos in a timely fashion) but when I post a look with a sponsored piece of clothing and it makes little or no impression on my peers, I feel like I failed the company nice enough to humour me and this dinky little blog. They are running a business, they are spending money sending me things to wear in the hopes that I will generate traffic and sales for them. It isn't just some event that happens when a brand pops up and says, "hey you're awesome lets shower you in things, no strings attached" like you won the lottery. It's a cooperation, a business deal. I'm actually trying to figure out how to write this email to ROMWE asking them to cut me off -- because I just feel too much like shit taking their money and not making it all back for them. I don't even enjoy receiving their items anymore, I just feel like I'm robbing them. (That and I feel like I'm blogging for UO or something, because I'm a little torn about ROMWE's products; I saw them directly ripping off a product from UNIF and since then I've felt a little less than trusting of them.) Sometimes I'm terrified to accept sponsorships, because my brain just screams, "but what if we're not good enough? What if the outfit sucks?" I won't name names, but one sponsorship I did this past year didn't even respond after I modeled their product, never mentioned me on any social networking platform, pretty much acted like I didn't exist. WHAT a blow to the Self Esteem Department, let me tell you.

My blocks of absence and lack of productivity were when I had thrown my hands up and cried, "I've had it." I needed something else to focus on...and I can't say I don't regret some of the alternative hobbies that I picked, only because for some, I just ended up wasting my time sitting at a computer feeling the same anxiety and pressure over something entirely different, and at that point, if I was just going to stare blankly with puffy, tired eyes forcing myself to write, I should have just done that for my blog.


I need a new approach to blogging. I feel like just posting pictures of myself simply won't cut it for a good blog. What is a "good blog"? Is there some fool-proof formula to follow? Popular trends, outfit photos, Instagram collages, Polyvore sets, macarons? Any ol' dog can play those tricks.

But my blog isn't some paid commercial advertisement. (Another reason why I hope to leave ROMWE's sponsorship. I hate to give too many deets but here on the lower end of the totem, bloggers aren't given monthy limits of items but now have to blog advertisements for store credit and that's just not what my blog is for. Not that I think I deserve more money or something for nothing, but it feels just slightly too skeezy for me.)

I'm not a "resolutions" kind of person -- not in the sense that I don't wish to better myself, but instead I want to look back and see what I can do better now with the benefit of hindsight. Still, putting stuff into a bullet list never hurts:


→ Diverse content for the blog
     I should blog about more than just what clothes I put on. It doesn't always generate more attention but I honestly did enjoy making posts like the Urban Decay makeup review, and it really can help readers discover some cool products. The whole idea of my blogging was to share the things that I wholeheartedly love with whoever bothered to notice. Does anyone remember back when I would just post massive linkbacks of similarly-themed items, like earcuffs and shit? Yeah, those were good times.

→ Pay more attention to brands, and tumblr
     I feel bad not having spotlighted more shops, brands, and lookbooks. I kept wanting to spotlight Tunnel Vision and stuff but I can't even remember the last time my brain felt like a semi-solid object. I'm going to be getting into some online mags and some fashion mags so that I'll be more up on the trendz and what have you, so I can be more interesting for you guys to look at. (Because daaamn while my Lookbook page has been booming, this blog's reception has been kind of pitiful. I kinda feel dumb.)

→ More DIY
     I haven't done a whole lot of DIY and I feel like crap for it. Which reminds me...

→ SOULMATES
     God, I don't even need to specify. I remember the literal day I last left off on making jewelery, and I'm pretty sure it was back in March or April. Somehow my remaining listings of jewels expired (I didn't realise Etsy did that?) so I have some I need to relist, and I need to get back on track for making stuff!

→ Sew some shit
     I have a folder on the desktop titled "make stuff" full of things that I want to experiment with, or things that inspire me to make some unique products. This also includes jewelry making, but I really do need to break out the sewing machine. God, a sewing class at Jo-Ann wouldn't hurt either, even if I end up making a dumb looking apron or something. My first plan is to make kimonos SO ORIGINAL I KNOW but I've looked at the seams of the one I own and dude, I can't mess that up. I'll probably do a giveaway for the ones I make since I'll feel like a cheat trying to sell something that everyone and their mother already owns anyway. (Unless I can come up with styles or fabrics I haven't quite seen yet. Juuust wait.)

→ Calm the fuck down
     Seriously, when did I develop such a cynical and self-deprecating outlook on my blog? It's been a rough year, guys. I can't even convey into words all of the crap that's happened but my only hope is to come out of it all one year older, and one year wiser. And hey, the new year comes bearing a new job for me: I'm starting at PacSun the week of Jan 20th! Can't quit the hellhole that is Dunkin' Donuts just yet, but retail experience is what I need, and at least in retail I have the drive and vision to try to work up the ladder. (Also I'm thinking about bartending on the side. It's practically what I do at Dunk's anyway just with way more ca-ching.)


I'm gonna try, you guys...just bear with me. I always did pride myself in saying "I blog for me" but in 2012 I was just constantly obsessing over what the reception of others would be. I gotta stop that silly stuff. To start, I think I'll be hanging out more at IFB because their blog prompts are pretty awesome AND they make lists of the posts that are submitted, which brings people into reading new blogs. Yay traffic! ♥

31; Voodoo Child

Top: Thrifted • Leggings: Ebay • Jacket: Target • Shoes: Maurices • Necklace: F21

Lookbook • Chictopia

Finally having more days off from work, only to spend them lying in bed lazily catching up on television and such. Kathryn and I cleared all of the last and current season of Doctor Who, only to have to wait until August for the next episode (and the new season of Sherlock). I hate waiting.

Basically getting some much needed R&R and exercise. I'm developing some nice skin colour from being out in the sun, at least. However, I'm sure it says something pretty bad that I go into work on my days off for coffee. I think I have a problem.

Speaking of problems, I can't stop my obsession with snake skin print. (My next post will further confirm this.)

30; Dark Lotus Mantra

Top: Insight • Shorts: DIY • Vest: Thrifted DIY • Boots: Etsy Vintage

Lookbook • Chictopia

Took this last week. Unfortunately, one of my boots is actually falling apart! I have some very awesome and reliable glue to fix it with, but it smells so horrible when wet that I'm kind of slacking off on the job. I'll get around to it eventually.

Also this is the vest that I bought forever ago and talked about studding and cutting up. I went into work the day these were taken to walk Kathryn home, and a co-worker likened me to 'a Breakfast Club character.' Perhaps if she were George Harrison inspired, then I agree.

Kathryn and I went into Boston yesterday for the annual Gay Pride fest, and I even wore an outfit that I wanted to make an outfit post of. Unfortunately, the weather was absolutely miserable and it just wasn't a good day to take many pictures. In fact, of all the pictures I did take, I didn't take any of the actual fest. It was cold, rainy, there were tons of people, and there just wasn't a ton of things to photograph. There were vendor booths (with a couple of big name companies like Bank of America and such, though some seemed like they were just there to sell their products or for advertisement) and a stage with either some performers, or drag queens. If I'd wanted to take a photo of some queens, I would have had two seconds of visibility before people would have gotten in my way. When Kathryn and I had decided we wanted to head out, I'd finally remembered that I had a camera stuffed into my bag. Thus I have shots of the train ride, when we hit Starbucks after growing bored of the fest, and everything afterward.

Luckily, we found a booth for the Hare Krishna Temple of Boston. We tried to look for them over a year ago (with no address, but heresay instead) to no avail. I now have a business card of theirs with an address and days they are open for 'free feast, chanting and dancing.' I'm quite excited! At this same booth there was a man doing henna tattoos, and was kind enough to let me buy one of his packets of henna ink. I also bought two books from them for really cheap. Probably the highlight of my day.

 

More shots on my LiveJournal and Facebook
(Yeah, I still play Pokémon. I'm not afraid to be judged.)

29; Lost Boys

Top: thifted • Vest: F21 • Shorts: DIY • Shoes: Etsy Vintage • Jewlery: everywhere

Lookbook • Chictopia

Yeah, not many shots this time. It was terribly hot outside and Kathryn and I just wanted to go home. (This location is about a five mintue walk from our place of establishment.) Also, pictures aren't as large as usual because for some reason I can't manage to think clearly this morning, and resized them all to Chictopia standards (instead of just one or two) and after having to brighten up two of them to decent visibility, I decided I wasn't going to do it all over again.

In other news, I'm very excited for this Saturday, because I will be over in Boston's City Hall Plaza for this year's gay pride festival and parade. Last month was the youth pride fest and march, which soley focuses on alternative sexuality youth, but the one this weekend is for anyone of all ages, and is on a much grander scale. I had to skip out on this last year because I'd just had spinal surgery and it didn't seem like a good idea to go out into Boston and walk around all day. (Though, I suppose I won't be really doing myself a favour by wearing the wedge heels I decided look best with the dress I'm going to wear, but since when does something like that deter me?)

All of my tip money since having bought my camera is going to required expenses for this trip, as well. I was going to save it up for the tattoo I've been wanting for nearly a year now, but that's what I decided to save up for this time around:

(Please ignore the silly Cinnamoroll stationary.) It's the astrology symbols for Libra and Aquarius joined together. Kathryn's a Libra, and I'm an Aquarius. (Did you know John Lennon and Yoko Ono were the same signs? Yeah, I'm a bit of an astrology nerd.) I want to get it on the inner most part of my wrist, probably my right one. I worry about how much it will hurt, but I'm determined, plus I'm only so worried because that part of the wrist is a sensitive spot.

Yesterday, Kathryn confirmed that she wants to get the same tattoo, possibly on the opposite wrist. No idea when I'll be getting mine... My huge tip collection jar-thing is currently empty, so we will see!

And yeah I know, it's 'risky' to get a tattoo that has anything to do with my significant other in case of break ups and whatever. I was still a bit nervous, because I'm seriously convinced some days that Kathryn will just wake up one morning and realise what a silly loser I am and that she could do better (blah blah insecurities blah) but when Kathryn said she wanted to get the same tattoo, that told me how committed and attached she is. I don't have much to worry about in that case, do I? ♥ (The flip side of the coin is that I could potentially leave her, but really, I couldn't. She's just too wonderful. There's no way I'd leave her!)

I'm already debating a second tattoo, something southwestern/involving a dream catcher. Not entirely sure yet, because that's too far ahead in the future for me to worry about at the moment.

27; On the Ganges

Top: thrifted • Skirt: flea market (Prescott Valley, AZ) • Vest: F21 • Belt: Delias • Shoes: Maurices • Shades: Newbury Comics (weird, right?) • Jewelry: various

Lookbook • Chictopia

I completely forgot to get a detail shot of the pattern/design of the skirt. Basically, it has flowers, paisley, camels, and elephants. Despite the fact that I've only just this year become comfortable with skirts and dresses, I bought this two years ago. I told myself I'd wear it someday...when I could find a top to go with it. I found one, two months ago. Day seized!


Someone on Chictopia once inquired as to what my connection was to my username, 'OnTheGanges'. When I first adopted the name in August '09, it was for my Tumblr account I was signing up for. I was six months into my relationship with Kathryn, and my whole life was changing around me, some for the better (Kathryn), and some for the worse.

Nothing in my life truly mattered to me up until her, and when she inspired meaning in my life, I began to care enough to contemplate what I wanted in life, where I wanted to go in life, where I wanted to end up... I realised I had no real religious beliefs, even though I'd been raised Catholic. None of the trips to church, the religious holidays, the Bible stories, or the things my mom had said about her beliefs ever made an impact on me. I wasn't fond of the idea that I was put on earth just to spend my entire life trying to impress some omnipotent being on another plane of existence to let me into his super secret club. I'm living my life for me. I'm going to be a good person because I want to be, not to earn my way into Heaven. If I were to serve anybody, wouldn't I be in their presence actually doing things for them? Wouldn't they make themselves aware? I had millions of questions, questions I couldn't find answers for on my own. I knew some things that I believed in (souls/ghosts, reincarnation and past lives, et cetera) but I still didn't know fully why, or had any proof to back up the things I felt made sense aside from my own opinion. Without secure evidence, I felt nothing in terms of religion could be trusted. This caused me a lot of stress -- being terrified of death, especially since I had no idea what would happen after death (more accurately, since I feared the idea of no afterlife or continuation of my consciousness or soul) it made me wonder, 'what's the point, if we don't continue on past this life?'

For a long time, I'd held a fascination with the Beatles, specifically George Harrison. At first, his level of religiousness weirded me out; I used to be a bitter person when it came to people 'flaunting their religion', but I know now that I felt that way solely because I resented not being so confident in my beliefs. Eventually I became used to his love for Hinduism/Krishna, once I actually researched the religion. I liked many aspects and ideas behind it (not everything, mind you) and the culture behind it, and it inspired me to try to just find peace within myself, to try to just be happy and go with the flow. Maybe if I stopped stressing over the stupid afterlife, it would stop bothering me.

The significance of the Ganges to me is its significance in Hinduism and the people in India. It's not only worshipped as a goddess, but it's also a lifeline to the people who live on its shores. It's a symbol of inner peace for me, an inspiration for me to be comfortable with my physical incarnation and with the idea that I'll never really know what happens beyond death. I'm not really Hindu, in the sense that I don't practice the religion that someone who is Hindu does, but I'm just not meant to be a religious person. Spiritual, yes, but not religious. I get by with picking out ideas that just make sense to me and suspect that most religions are correct in thinking we all started somewhere (created by a being, possibly) and all souls gather to one place once we die, with reincarnation a common occurrance. That's about the gist of it. The phrase 'On the Ganges' reminds me to continue to find peace and acceptance with myself, until I can find myself on the shore of complete contentment.

And you know what? I no longer stress over religious or spiritual beliefs. I think it has more to do with the fact that I now live with and am engaged to the person that gave me something to live for, who gave me a life filled with laughter and security, but what would the point of my life be if I didn't have someone to share it with? I think it was all just necessary.

26; Handle With Care

Top: Wholesale-dress.net • Shorts: thrifted DIY • Belt and boots: Etsy vintage • Jewelery: F21, antique, and eBay
(Also, gauges are fake! I'm such a wuss.)

Lookbook • Chictopia

I kind of enjoy how much I feel that I look like I belong in a vinyl-spread with the Travling Wilburys. (If you found this blog through the pages for this look on LB or Chic, you probably have already seen this point being made.) If you're unfamiliar with the Wilburys, all you need to know is that they're probably the coolest 80s band ever to exist, featuring the coolest Beatle. (George.)

As I mentioned in post 24, Kathryn and I headed out to the mall to see a film and shop around. (This is what I wore on the occasion.) We saw Pirates of the Carribbean 4, which was...okay. I was glad Barbossa had a bigger role, and enjoyed the bromance between him and Sparrow. (Geoffrey Rush is such an amazing actor, and I like any excuse to see more of his work.) That's about it.

My haul included the necklace you see here, a new denim vest (with a removable hood, which looks cute, but when I take it off, the button attachments are really obvious and look awkward, and I'm contemplating just snipping the buttons off) and my first ever bandeau -- which unfortunately is a little too big, and feels awfully 'small' on me, width-wise. I'd tried one on but didn't like the pattern, so I grabbed an entirely different one instead but never tried it on. Not sure if I want to wear it as a top now, but I suppose I might, if I can take it in and make it fit better. To rectify this disappointment, I found a bandeau resembling the kind I'd seen on a manequin in Forever 21 that I wanted (black, and quite wide) that they no longer had, and ordered it yesterday. Hopefully that will fit. I would love to wear it with the vest I bought and perhaps my black high-waisted pants that I'm going to definitely be turning into shorts soon, or perhaps under my open knit sweater.

The highlight of my day was when Kathryn and I were heading out of the exit to catch our ride home: there was a group of girls standing outside near the entrance, and as we walked by them, I overheard through their combined chatter someone exclaim, "you're so pretty!" Would you believe that she was talking to me? Yeah, me either, but it's true.

I was extremely flattered and thanked her, but I then became overly aware of the group of probably five or six girls just all staring directly at me, and I began to feel a little embarrassed. I hate being put on the spot, you see. I thanked her again and awkwardly rushed back over to Kathryn, and we hopped in her mother's car. Once I got over my stage fright, I was quite happy to hear that compliment. I think more people should speak out when they think someone is deserving of a compliment -- not with the intention to hit on them (necessarily) but wouldn't it eliminate a lot of self-esteem issues if we said things like that once in a while? I think so, at least.


Onto more interesting things, the kitty you see here with me is our outdoor cat Gypsy. I don't really know how old she is, because she's been with Kathryn's family for quite a long time...I believe six years, and they found her as a kitten. As soon as we stepped onto the porch to take pictures, Gypsy showed up and kept harrassing us for attention. For an outdoor cat, she really loves affection. She's very sweet, and I often wish she was allowed to be inside. (There's an indoor cat who has a history of being bad-tempered around other cats.) She's so much fun to hang out with.

23; Intermission (Where I pretend I'm a decent photographer)

I sort of had an impromptu outfit shoot a couple of days ago, with this pretty rad biker-y ensamble that I liked when I went out the door that day... Unfortunately, this was the only shot where I didn't look drained, awkward, or uncomfortable. My stances were weird, my smiles were ugly and forced... It just didn't work. Might have another shoot later on today though, if Kathryn was serious about going out for dinner after I get off of work this evening.

However, the new camera arrived! I'm still learning how to use it, but I've been taking pictures of everything to make use of the upgrade from a whole 8 megapixels to an astounding 12.1 megapixels! (There may be a tiny bit of sarcasm there.)

(This guy is a whole two and a half inches tall.)

I read by reviewers on Amazon that one should avoid Auto mode for great photos, but while in Program under Macro, a lot of my flower shots were unfocused. When I switched to Auto, it then went into Macro when I went up near a flower for a picture, and it came out great... (I know, flower-overload here all of a sudden, on my personal style blog of all things. Isn't it relevant if I'm testing out the camera that I will be using to take photos of my outfits, though? Besides, if I could instead hit a flea market and test my camera there, I'd leave work to run out the door and do so.)

A new outfit post will be coming soon; if not tonight, I'll definitely be making one for tomorrow.

22; Liverpool, 1961

Top: thrifted | Jacket: Target | Skirt: Wholesale-Dress.net | Belt: Etsy | Bag: vintage

[Lookbook] [Chictopia]

My new haircut. It's...significantly shorter in the front than what we were going for (Kathryn cut it for me) but it was nine at night (what we were thinking, I'm not quite sure) and the sides ended up being uneven and eventually...it became this short. It's not bad, and the sides look pretty nice. I've never had my hair this short, and my hair was pretty long twenty four hours ago, so I'm still adjusting to the length. I had other pictures of the sides, which is where this hairstyle is at, but I look so damn tired in them that it's not worth posting them. Even being so exhausted, I have an inability to sleep in past eight-thirty in the morning. I have no idea why. I also hold an inability to fall asleep before ten. Yeah, I don't know either. But I digress: I can't wait for it to grow in a little bit, though!

So yeah, this outfit was composed in about thirty seconds before I ran out the door to meet up with Kathryn and walk her home from work. On my way through the house, I passed by a (mostly) full length mirror and felt like I was rushing out the door to catch the Beatles in the Cavern Club. It was only emphasised by the weather outside: cloudy, cold, with moist breezes due to the heavy afternoon fog. It was so much like England weather, and I felt like some rock n' roll teenager in the late fifties-early sixties, sneaking out of the house to meet up with friends from school to loiter around and hit a pub to listen to the newest 45s in the jukebox. Maybe I was having some transcendental moment with a past lifetime or something.


In other (great) news, my trusty old Kodak Easyshare C875 will soon be laid to rest. I'd been saving up all of my tip money from work, plus collecting money that Kathryn's been donating, and leftover cash from various outings, to buy a new point and shoot. I'd love a DSLR, but I can't expect to save up enough money to buy one anytime soon. It's just not a realistic enough expectation. I'd have to be working Kathryn's shifts (six in the morning 'til about noon, or two in the afternoon) as often as I'm working now (five to six days a week) in order to afford one. Not happening. Ever.

Still, I love the camera I picked out, the Canon PowerShot ELPH 300 HS. I'm hoping it's as reliable as it looks, and I hope it delivers. I plan to take mostly outdoor photography (for plants and outfits) which is the best setting for pictures to be taken in, so I'm not seeing any potential issues. I placed the order with Amazon just a few hours ago, and it should arrive next week!

...Oh my god, I won't have to buy batteries anymore, and the camera will retain battery life for longer than a whole five minutes. (This is not an exaggeration.) ;____; I'm not sure if I'm ready for this much awesomeness.

21; Boston Youth Pride Parade & Festival, 2011

Clothing:
Top: Insight | Pants: Forever 21 | Jacket: Target (I'm so classy, I know) | Boots: Etsy | Sunglasses: Newbury Comics (staying classy) | Mala beads (bracelet): Ebay

Pictured: Me, Kathryn (fiancée), Molly (good friend), and a very fierce Lady Gaga drag queen impersonator (who said she loved my hair; I like pointing this out to people).

Latter four photos courtesty of SM Witherow.

[Lookbook] [Chictopia]

Yesterday was spent in Boston Common with Kathryn, her sibling Sarah/SM/Sam/Shraa (I've never figured out how to spell that latter alternative) and her/our mutual friend Molly at the annual Youth Pride parade-march-festival. There was free clothes, some very informative booths and great organisations, drag queens (one being someone that Kathryn and Sarah went to high school with, though didn't know personally), some awesome musicians, protesters, and best of all, gay/lesbian/bisexual/questioning/open teenagers who had the good fortune to make the day possible. Also, Jessica Wild from RuPaul's Drag Race was there to perform, as well as another queen whose name has totally escaped me, and a Gaga impersonator (whom you see pictured above) who...again, I've forgotten the name of.

We wanted to stay for the prom, but Kathryn and I were exhausted from dancing and had to show up for work the next day (aka, today), so we cut out early.

Kathryn and I got a surprising amount of 'congratulations!' from people who read the back of our jackets (and a lot of them asked for pictures of our backs). I didn't expect it, since 99% of the people there were teens, so I figured they wouldn't be so interested...but at the same time, a few commented on how much hope it gave them, which makes sense.

However, there were members of hate groups there who held signs in hopes of getting attention, one in particular who managed to aquire a press pass. They didn't start anything, but she kept lurking around with a video recorder in her hand. It was fairly irritating... I respect a person's opinion if they don't approve of a public gathering for LGBTQIA individuals, but it's annoying if they're going to show up just to take videos and pictures to post on their hate group websites and such. Alas, I suppose I can't complain: like I said, no fights were started, which was a huge concern on my mind. Being that nearly everyone was underage and had parents to go home to that night...well, I simply worried.

I also learned that androgyns (androgynes? It's how Sarah spells it) aren't recognised at these gatherings, which I find to be sad. Sarah/SM is androgynous, and is pansexual, but had no group to be included in. It was interesting to think about.


There's another celebration (Boston Gay Pride, not exclusive to youth, but more inclusive to adults) on June 4th, and a weekend-long parade and celebration the weekend after that. I'm really hoping to go, especially since it'll be warmer. Kathryn and I are thinking of going to the celebration on the 4th, but I need to double-check and make sure the dates haven't been moved. I did originally look them up in January, and in four months, things could have been moved around.

Also, if the quality of my writing is, to put it bluntly, crap...well, I apologise. I worked Friday, partied for five-six hours, and worked today. I'm a little worn out. ♥