Star Shaped

I’m back, after taking a month or so off from writing here at this domain. I didn’t completely stop writing, as you can see; I’ve posted a few things here and there and I’ve decided to start from scratch again. I think it’s that time for me, to start anew, to remember my past but not keep it in my present state or in my future. I lived it, I moved on, and I feel my life’s different now than it was even two or three years ago.

Also, this theme is not made by me. My biggest issue when I use different themes is that I feel my readers think I designed it myself, and usually I do make my own; this time, I’m feeling a bit lazy and though I liked my last layout, I like changing things up. I tend to maintain a six month limit with my personal appearance, changing my hair color every so often (see the entry below), and I feel restless with my site’s look and feel after a significant period of time as well. I’m using the very fantastic Tarski theme for now, but I’m certain I’ll concoct a theme of my own again shortly.

This entire week, we’ve gotten so much snowfall. Most mornings driving into work have been peaceful and oddly beautiful, watching the shadows cast blues and pinks on the newly fallen snow, tree branches lined, the world quiet. I love this part of winter.

I really needed a change.

Oh, 2003. How have five years passed since I rang in the new year with Kelly at her mother’s house in Connecticut, watching an Insomniac with Dave Attell marathon, driving to my parents’ house on January first, cursing the fact that while southern Connecticut bragged green lawns, Massachusetts streets were covered with the fluffy white stuff? Years pass so quickly.

I remember 2003, picking up my friend Peter at the Springfield train station to meet a friend of his online, and driving back to Indiana with him in my car, afraid of my erratic driving through the snow in upstate New York.

I couldn’t wait to spend time with a guy I started dating, named Scott, who I began dating only eight days before Christmas. When I returned to Indiana we spent four days together, and we fell in love. I spent much of my year with this boy, listening to music, going to shows, and drinking at a local bar. I moved from Long Island Iced Teas, to White Russians, to Amaretto Sours, to Woodchuck cider. I tried a Bud Light one evening but could not finish it. I did not enjoy beer.

I lost friends over a Livejournal post and spent my last semester of college a wreck. This makes me laugh now, as these people weren’t ever real friends and I’m glad to have washed them from my life. My true friends don’t write in ‘private’ online journals discussing how much they, in fact, dislike me, and my true friends also do not say they were just ‘ranting’ when later on, I confront them about it. Lesson learned.

I met Scott’s family in late January, in St Louis, and he met mine in March. We climbed Mt Holyoke and bought Guided By Voices albums, and I found I did not like California rolls while eating at a Japanese restaurant in Northampton.

I listened to Zwan, and Guided By Voices, Sun Kil Moon, and Grandaddy in 2003. I discovered Sirius radio and spent time discovering new sounds. We saw Zwan in concert twice, the Strokes once. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s second album came out in the fall and I bought it for $5.29 at a Best Buy in Massachusetts.

In May, I graduated college. My family came to Indiana to wish me well, and we stayed in a hotel with more humidity than most of the city itself, and we feared getting blown over by the many tornado warnings we endured during that weekend. Scott and I made a very funny couple our first year together. He met the rest of my family that Christmas.

I moved back to Massachusetts in the fall of 2003, and stayed for approximately three weeks before moving back to Bloomington. I initially went to visit Scott, who stayed in Bloomington to finish his degree, and ended my stay with a job supervising lab consultants for the university. I technically didn’t have a place to live for three months; I dumped my stuff at an old coworker’s apartment and paid rent there, but stayed with Scott at his tiny one bedroom apartment barely big enough for the two of us. My car lived at my old apartment complex from the summer, and we’d go check on it every so often to make sure it hadn’t been towed. Ah, the life of a new graduate without a real home.

I did not knit much in 2003; I cross-stitched. I met Cindy and Joe in October, and I visited Hershey Park which really does smell like chocolate. Cindy and I cross-stitched while watching Star Wars and we collected Monopoly pieces at a nearby mall, and saw animals in the dark, right before Halloween. I spent too much of 2003 in a car, driving to and from places far from each other.

2003 was a disjointed year for me, a year of new beginnings. I don’t like most of my memories associated with 2003 and I consider it one of the worst years of my life, mainly because of my state of mind. It’s interesting, looking back at my thoughts and the events that occurred.

I’m not doing that great of a job keeping this site updated. Granted, I had a bit of a challenging week last week, and much of my writing took place via my offline paper journal instead of here. I also didn’t have much time to do the things I love, except for playing some World of Warcraft.

Speaking of which, today Scott and I ran the Deadmines successfully with a group of people who weren’t morons, and I hit level 20! We’ve still been playing fairly casually and I’m still happy with the speed in which we’re leveling, so in all it’s been a good experience. It passes time, at least.

Today the temperature is in the mid 40s, but rainy and not so pleasant outside. I’m still venturing out to hang with a few of my knitting friends, some of which I haven’t seen since before the holidays. It’s strange, thinking about how long ago November and December actually were. When I got together with my writing friends yesterday, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen one of them since early December! Time flies when lots of things happen.

Just like Laura, I’ve been craving a fresh start somewhere else. I’ve owned Star Shaped now for seven and a half years; in some ways I feel much different from the 19 year old girl about ready to start her sophomore year of college. I’m as grown up as I’ll ever get; working full time, married, owning our own home. It’s been a difficult decision to abandon the place I called home for so long, as cheesy and strange as that seems, but I do believe in fresh starts.

What’s new in the life of Aubrey:

As always, I’m spending a ton of time knitting. I’m working on too many projects, of course, but I’m fully confident I’ll finish them all someday. Hopefully.

Scott and I started playing World of Warcraft again. Yeah, yeah, I know. I signed back up mainly to use up a 60 day game card I got for Christmas in 2006, so I figure there’s no harm in playing again for a bit. I’ve started a priest on the Alliance side and so far, myself, Scott, and Scott’s friend are having a fun time questing around in the Draenai starting area.

We traveled to Massachusetts to visit my family a few weekends ago, and Scott and I had a rockin’ good time playing Guitar Hero III with my dad. (Yes, my parents own Guitar Hero. This still amazes me.) Nothing’s funnier than watching your dad rock out to “Talk Dirty To Me”. I’m also, finally, finally mastering that orange button on the Guitar Hero guitars and have been able to actually play through some songs on hard. Don’t ask why I consider this an accomplishment.

I’m looking forward to winter being over. I’m not a big fan of driving on icy roads and clearing off my car before I leave work every evening. Thankfully February’s almost halfway over (how did THAT happen?), and hopefully March will not be bad, weather wise. (Of course, I say that now, and watch us be trapped in our home by snowdrifts on March 31st.) I’m looking forward to grilling again too, honestly.