Urbanica

I've started a new blog for my pending travels. I'll be posting to that one for the summer and I guess I'll pick up the farm blog when I get back to the farm in August. Please follow this new one! Hopefully it will turn into something really cussing awesome. I'll be posting much more frequently for this one.

nocitylimits.blogspot.com

Thanks, OK, bye!

slapdash.

I have definitely been slack with the blog posts! My sincerest of apologies...does that sound heartfelt? The end of the semester was a whirlwind. April seemed to never end with the amount of work I had to do and then grading 150 architecture essays the first week in May rendered me incapacitated. Then, as soon as I get home to Charleston and was able to rest I developed cussing bronchitis. I'm the only person I know that either gets bronchitis or pneumonia every year in May or June. I'm almost all better now and that will be the end of my complaining!

During one of my trips in between Auburn and Charleston I stumbled upon this little gem...

Yes, this is an advertisement on the back of a bathroom stall, in the gas station. And yes, I took a picture while I was in a gas station bathroom stall and yes, people were waiting to get in after me. No, I did not care that they had to wait longer so that I could take this picture. Anyway, my question is, why in the world do we need to be socially connected to a cussing gas station food mart?! What on earth could their status updates be? "Marlboro Reds 25% off"... "Cheetos, buy one, get one free"... You get the picture.

Is this what our generation has come to? I mean, talk about a car-centric country! Out of curiosity I looked to see how many people were fans or "like" Quick Trip...216. That's 216 people I hope I NEVER meet. If you're one of them I will de-friend you without the slightest hesitation. This is what it says on their page, which I could not fully access because I have not clicked "like", but so be it.

Our goal is to make this Community Page the best collection of shared knowledge on this topic. If you have a passion for Quick Trip, sign up and we'll let you know when we're ready for your help. You can also get us started by suggesting a relevant Wikipedia article or the Official Site.

Who the cuss has a passion for Quick Trip?! I hope the 216 people are all major stockholders or something. Alright, that will be the end of my rant against Quick Trip and facebook.

Moving on...

What am I doing with my summer away from the farm you may ask? Well, actually I'm sure everyone that reads this (assuming anyone still does) is my friend on facebook and you've gotten my annoying messages regarding my summer research project. Just in case you choose to hit ignore, I'll tell you about it.

Basically, my brother William and I are traveling around the country stopping in cities to interview people aged 23ish-35ish on their thoughts on the "American Dream" and cities and yada, yada, yada. The only way this is going to work financially is if we can stay at people's houses. We'll sleep on the floor...I think we have an air mattress. Cuss, we'll even sleep on the porch. Anyway, I'll be blogging along the way in a hopefully more regular manner. We're also going to film the whole thing. We'll see how that works out...

If you want to know more about it please email me. The plans are somewhat fluid, but basically we're covering the perimeter of the country...sorry heartland, we can't do it all! I'd like to leave June 1ish, but we'll see how that goes. My planning hasn't been the best. I want to plan cities one day, but I can hardly plan what I'm going to do a week from now.

Here's the problem. My blog title is not very fitting for this trip. I need a new one. I need help with that. Any ideas? Anyone?

Alright, this post has gotten long enough on words and short on images so I'm sure you're all bored to tears...if you even made it down this far on the page. I'll try to be more regular in my posts, but there's a lot of pressure to be witty and I'm just not that witty all the time.

ok. bye.

2nd Semester Wrap-Up

Is that not the most perfect streetscape you've ever seen? (NOLA)

Yeah, I know it's been awhile but every time I thought about writing on the blog it made me feel guilty for not writing my papers that are due at the end of the semester. I'm here now though and not feeling guilty because I've been at school 11 hours today and made some good head way on one final paper. Two more papers, two tests and a project left before I'm free! Well, I'll have 56 architecture finals to grade after I'm done with my work...then I'm free! Cue in some pop song about summer...

This semester has definitely been a whole lot busier then last semester, academically as well as socially (thank cussin' goodness for the latter!). The amount of writing I've had to do this semester should be illegal and would you believe that I'm considering prolonging this higher education kick into a PhD?!  We'll see. I've been told that by a few people that they definitely could see me as a professor and one even flat-out said it was because I was weird. What the cuss?! I know I'm strange, but that's no reason to become a professor! Or is it? I was hoping people would see me as a professor because they thought I was a serious academic, but I guess not. Who am I kidding anyway? Serious academic? Not possible...

Despite my oddities I've managed to make a few friends. Sad part is, they're all in a one year master's program and will be gone by the time I get back to Auburn for the fall. I do have a couple friends in my program, so I won't be going back to complete and utter loneliness. 

I did get to go to New Orleans for the American Planning Association Conference, which was great and not for the professional part. Yeah, I'm glad I got to pretend that I was a professional for a few days but let's be honest, I'm more comfortable in my rainbows then heels. Good god why the cuss do we have to wear heels?! Maybe I do need to be a professor...

Anyway, the great part was getting to spend time in NOLA. I'd been before, but never for longer then a day. Let me tell you, I fell in love. The neighborhood called The Marigny is probably where I belong. Please visit and tell me you can't see me there. Cafes, bookstores, music, Bohemians and bars abound! I was grinning ear to ear the whole time I was there and the group I was with thought I was crazy (a recurring theme in my life?). I seriously haven't had that strong of a reaction to place since being in Italy. Those of you who have been to that sacred nation know how big of a deal this is. After this trip I've decided a place can't be worth me living in unless I have a strong, gut reaction like that. It's what I'm basing my life on after all. This may seem ridiculous to you, but it is fundamental to me.

There's a lot more I could say about New Orleans, but I will say this about travel in general:

1. Don't travel with 12 people.

2. When traveling with 12 people, everyone has a different sense of what "good" is.

3. You learn a lot about people when you spend 4 days non-stop with them.

There's a lot more to say and I know there are tons of funny things that have happened but my mind is burnt out on land use law and can't think much more. I'll just leave you with some images of my new hometown...

My next residence.

back to the *new* reality

These past few weeks have been somewhat hectic for me with school and then Spring Break 2010. Which is not as much fun, by the way, when you're in graduate school and 25 years old. Don't worry, I still managed to get some fun time in, but I felt slightly guilty having a week off in the middle of March. Now I'm back in Auburn and busier than ever. Which is why I'm blogging and not writing one of my three cussing papers due on Thursday. Priorities are set!

Anyway, my first part of spring break was spent in Crystal River, Fl with some friends from Auburn. That's right, you heard me. I have friends! I don't know why it took so long for these people here to realize how great I am, but I digress. Crystal River. Interesting place. The main attraction is the ever elusive sea creature, the manatee. Boy, those cussers are ugly. We got to go kayaking with them swimming (if you can call if that) underneath our boats, which was cool.

Anyway, I don't know why the font changes on me like that, but I'll just ride with it. Roll with it. Rock with it.

My apologies for that.

Crystal River is definitely in auto-centric retiree haven. The most interesting part of the trip was the three elderly people protesting outside a rental office about the rent increases. I wanted to join them, but I didn't have a fanny pack, a white hair-do, or a wonderfully, shaky hand written sign. I probably could have obtained all three if I wanted to, but the manatee beckoned. But how sad is that? Elderly protesting...I felt for them. They didn't get their cost of living increase this year with Social Security, but their landlord still increased the rent. I'm sure he is in just as much financial trouble, but it's still sad. No one is safe from this recession! Is it safe to call it a depression or are we all just avoiding that word?! I don't claim to know one lick of economics, so I should probably move on.

I rode to Charleston with the professor I work for, Carla, which was great. I hate driving and she drives a stick-shift diesel VW (aka good gas mileage), so it worked out well. We started the trip out having to fill-up her tank since she had only done this once since owning the vehicle. She bought it in August. It's March. She is my hero. We got all the way to Charleston and the back up to Orangeburg before having to fill-up again! How cussing awesome is that?! I did have to help her fill-up since she does it with such infrequency. That was funny. The car ride was one of the most fun times of the trip. We laughed the whole way. She laughs pretty hard at me and I don't know if it's because I am an idiot compared to her Ph.D from MIT or because she thinks I'm funny. I'll just continue to live in ignorance of which one it is. We were also mistaken for lesbians twice on the trip (to our knowledge, I guess it could've been more). Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I'd rather that not happen. Well, now that I think about it, I actually don't care. It was just funny.

One interesting thing we talked about on the ride was her experience living in a gated, suburban community. One day her neighbor said to her, "I'm having company over so don't be alarmed if you see strange cars." She was like, "what the cuss, I don't notice cars to begin with. Is that what they notice?!". Isn't it funny that the man warned her of strange cars and not strange people? That just goes to show how conditioned we are as an auto-centric country. We design our communities to facilitate cars and not people, so it made total sense in this man's eyes to warn her of strange vehicles. Sad state of affairs if you ask me.

Well, I must get back to my prestigious studies. I also have a favor to ask. My dear grandfather is in the hospital. He's hopefully getting out today, but I don't know yet. He has to live forever, so please pray he's ok.

Thanks.

bye.

millicent

(I made Millie get in this box at work one day. No idea why, but what can I say, I'm strange...but she actually did it, so maybe she's strange too.)

Today my close friend/sister I never had left for Haiti. I think it goes without saying, but please keep her in your thoughts and prayers! She's probably going to see some things that no one would ever wish on their enemy. Also pray she doesn't try to smuggle a child back in with her. I'd hate to have to write her in prison. Plus, she wouldn't last two seconds in jail. I mean, look at how miserable she was when I made her get in that box. She looks completely claustrophobic. An 8x8 cinderblock cell with Big Bertha and her 5 o'clock shadow and FUPA is not going to be any better...It's not like I would last in jail either, but I would never do anything illegal so there's no risk of me landing in the slammer. None. at. all. Lizzie Lawful is what they call me...

Anyway, there's some great opportunity to rebuild Haiti in a good way. Clemson's architecture school has actually been doing studies on container ship housing and was featured on one of my favorite websites. I'd love to be involved in something like that for Haiti. Also, Andres Duany, the practical father of New Urbanism, has donated his talents to the relief effort. Really cool. I'd also love to work for him in a completely selfish regard, but if I was able to do something really great as well, then added bonus!

On a totally unrelated note, a man moved into the "shack" that's on our farm. I have no idea why anyone would choose this house as their abode, but he has and that's fine. Well, it would be nice if he were a little less of a redneck and clean up his cussing yard, but that's not why I'm mentioning him to you. I'm mentioning him because he has two beautiful labs-a chocolate and a yellow. (I almost bought a yellow lab the other day by the way and would have if I didn't have such awesome plans for the summer that I'm not prepared to talk about yet.) ANYWAY, whenever I drive by his "house" and see the dogs outside I throw them up the peace sign! What the cuss do I do this for?! I realized it the other day and started laughing to myself. What am I trying to convey to these dogs...that I am cool with their existence? That I want them to be in peace? Again, I'm strange...Sully understands though, we email about it. I guess I'm just really missing having a dog. One day I'll have my own and I'll stop having part ownership in a dog. Oh, the future! How great it will be!

Alright, that's all I got. I will leave you with a quote from Gang Gang though. So, we were watching t.v and a McDonald's commercial came on and it must have evoked some strong emotions in her because she goes, "I remember the first time I EVA had a chicken nugget. We were at the World's Fair in Knoxville, TN and it was just wonderful. I remembered thinking, 'wow, no bones! How do they do that?'. It was sometime in the early 80s." Wow. The woman remembers a lot, but seriously being able to recall upon your first chicken nugget with such fondness is a feat.

Oh and I'd like you to enjoy some doggie photos as well.

Sully and Teddy. The two things in this world I might love the most. Sorry to my friends and family, y'all come second. Just kidding! Kind of...

And now the pups and the mother of the pups with the mother of all teets...

I think I deserve a medal of self-controll for not buying one of these guys. One even crawled up in my lap and told me he loved me...

Bye.

Insert Clever Title Here.

So I know you've all been thinking all week long..."i wonder how that honky tonk Lizzie went to was?" And the answer can be summed up by this: I'm still laughing about it. No, really. I'll be walking down the street and just start laughing! I know people think I'm crazy, but it's totally uncontrollable! I'm not even laughing at the fact that I went to a honky tonk in LOACHAPOKA, AL either, I'm laughing about my conversations with the professor I went with. We were the first people to get to Fred's, which is an old feed & seed store. She, being from Rome, was like, "what the cuss is this about!?" and me being from Charleston, but having some experience with farm life now, was just as baffled. (I live on a farm, but have never performed any farmly duties. That may make my experience less authentic, but who cares.)

We sat around and drank beer for about an hour and a half and she sampled the refined menu options of duck and sausage gumbo and a chicken "panini" until people started showing up and the honky tonk got under way. She laughed at what they called a panini seeing as it was just a grilled burrito. (There's a restaurant in town that claims to make panini's, but they don't have anything on the menu close to what you get in Italy or even any city and it pisses me off to no end!)

Anyway, I had a great time! So much so that I'm going out with her Saturday to check out a band called Lucero. It's supposed to be a mix of punk/country rock. Yeah, what the cuss? The reason I want to go is A). Nothing else to do and B). I feel like they keep coming up on blogs I read or other people I know have gone to see them.

It's nice having someone that is up for just about anything like I am. Since I haven't yet found my musical soul mate, I find myself having to cajole people into going to shows with me. By the way, the musical soul mate does not have to be a romantic one, just someone that enjoys the same music I do and isn't afraid to check out new music.

So, that's all I have to say today.

bye.

p.s. I would like to extend a big thank you to Pearls for responding to the question I posed in my last post! And also, Katie enjoys mozzarella sticks and The Bachelor.

p.p.s My last blog post has also inspired a project for me and I hope to share it with you soon!

Now I'm talkin honky-tonkin.

Well, I've been living in Auburn for a little over 6 months now and my social life has come down to honky-tonks with a professor. Wow. The picture above is for the event I am going to tonight. I wish it were bigger, but the deer's trucker hat says: "I'd rather be honky-tonkin...". This leads me to ask, "Would I rather be honky-tonkin?" and "What does that EVEN mean?". Well my friends, I will find out tonight. Some of you may know what it means, but I'm proud to say that I have never been to a honky-tonk. Julie, you probably have. What am I in for?!

Anyway, I can't believe I've lived here six months already. It seems I'm just getting into the swing of things now. I will say it's getting easier having some social contacts that aren't seniors in college that drink me under the table. They're great, but I need to be around people my own age more.

So, I'm kind of feeling like I'm having a cultural paradigm shift by going to a honky-tonk, but I'm going to embrace it and enjoy it! It makes me think of the other shifts I've had. For one, I've realized that the further away you are from the coast, the less people like seafood. I don't understand not liking seafood, but I know there are a lot of things I don't like that people love. For instance, my grandfather struggled through eating a piece of salmon last night and the man couldn't get a bite of pie fast enough into his mouth to take away the "fishy" taste. What fishy taste?! I couldn't believe it. But, in the same vein, I wouldn't eat a piece of coconut pie for fear of the too coconutty taste.

The good thing about living on a farm and in Auburn is that I've realized I am definitely not a country mouse, I'm 100% city mouse. That isn't to say I don't enjoy the country, because I absolutely do. It's just that when I'm in a city, my heart is full. When I was younger I equated city with New York City. When I visited Charleston for the first time I didn't think of it as a city because it wasn't huge and congested and sky-scraping. I realize now that Charleston is very much a city and is a very healthy city because of a lack of those three things. Technically, Auburn's a city for crying out loud! I think we all have our different perception of things because of where we grow up and it's part of life to have those shift and shaken up a bit. I think traveling does this very well, but actually transplanting yourself does too. I know I'll be thankful for this experience of farm life when I'm living in a city somewhere (hopefully soon) down the line. It's almost as if you have to live somewhere you hate, to know what you love.

[i'm not saying i hate auburn, i just hate this TYPE of town. big difference.]

So, I guess this is me saying challenge yourself and move out of your comfort zone. A year ago I wouldn't have seen the point because I said, "I love Charleston and want to raise my family here, why would I ever leave?" (ya know, that family that i've been promised, along with that husband).

Now I love Charleston even more and still would like to raise my imaginary family there with my imaginary husband, but the prospect of living somewhere else for awhile, even after I leave Auburn, isn't so scary anymore.

Anyway, I know people that stay in the same town their whole lives and they're perfectly happy and perfectly healthy, but I think the majority of people need to step out of their boxes for a bit and see what else there is...and then go back home. Wherever that may be. Or never return, that's okay too!

Just out of curiosity and because it's what I've decided to devout my life to...what comes to mind when you think of the word "city"? I'd really like to know and you can email me if you'd rather. Or maybe no one even reads this cussin thing anymore and I'm asking an imaginary audience...by the way, do you see my imaginary husband anywhere?! Even imaginary boyfriend will do. What is he like?

BYE.

roots.

it's 3:30am. i decided to get the hell out of dodge before the "snowstorm" (aka 1-3") hit auburn and drive to charleston tonight. i got here three hours ago and i can't sleep.

this might be because i had a dinner consisting of the following:

one gas station cappuccino

one off-brand coke

one sugar-free red bull

and for dessert, one java monster (it tastes like coffee flavored yoo-hoo, btw. sickening. william, you'll probably like it.)

i will say, my car ride was a lot more enjoyable than usual. that's a plus.

having never pulled on all-nighter in college, i didn't think all that caffeine would actually keep me up. now i'm pretty sure this much caffeine can wake the dead. anyway, as i've been laying here for the past three hours i've been thinking about my future. as i was thinking about my future, i decided to think about how i got to be interested in urban planning in the first place. it is somewhat obscure and i wonder why some people in my program chose this degree. for some it might be by accident (hopefully a happy accident), but others i think are really passionate about it. i fall under the passionate category and i'm glad about that. ANYWAY, i would like to share my journey with you and hopefully it's boring enough to put me to sleep!

it all began when i was a young girl. just kidding. well, kinda....

when we moved to charleston from connecticut i was very perplexed at the way mt. pleasant looked. in connecticut we didn't really have subdivisions. there were different areas of town with different names, but there were very few named subdivisions. you just lived in the town, not snee farm or hobcaw creek. i hated the idea of living in one of these places (no offense) and that's part of the reason we moved to daniel island. (an unperfect solution, i know. i almost hate d.i now.) sitting in 17 traffic seemed ridiculous. it still does. in connecticut there were a million different ways to get to one place. in mt. pleasant there are about three different routes you can take. yes, connecticut was congested, but at least there was an alternate route other than the Post Rd. sooo, in my fifteen year old head, i said, "i want to be the person that decides where everything goes". at the time i had no idea that was a profession. fast-forward to freshman year of college...i pick historic preservation to be my major. why? i can't remember, but i picked it while i was still a senior in high school. i guess because it was the closest thing to architecture. i didn't know that community planning was the second part of the major. once i started those classes, i fell in love. and the rest is history. well, the falling in love part really happened when i took urban design. and then love turned into obsession. and here i am! i wish i could say that i knew all along that i wanted to be an urban planner because for a little while i wanted to do interior design. then i did it (sort of) for a bit and come to find out, i don't love it! and you wanna know what else? i SUCK as a salesperson. i couldn't sell someone an umbrella in a monsoon. this is going to be a problem when i have to sell my ideas to a municipality or whomever, but at least i'll be passionate about it. well, that's my story. i know you weren't wondering, but i decided to tell it anyway.

and for the record, i love charleston. way more than connecticut. i just don't love mt. pleasant. once they fix 17 and coleman, i might like it. but, that might not happen in my lifetime. i know you mt. p'ers might be a little p'od that i dissed your town. sorry. i still like you. and if you want to know what i mean by "fix" i can tell you, just ask. maybe i'll even write a really exciting blog about it.

damnit, it's 4am and i'm still not tired. cuss!

bye.

Enthusiasm...

is not my strongest emotion. I'm just not good at it. I may say I'm excited and I probably am, but the expression on my face usually does not match one that you would typically associate with elation. Do not be alarmed! I am just inept in expressing this particular emotion. I am good at melancholy, or as Millie likes to put it, "being Eeyore".

But, this is not a post about enthusiasm, melancholy, or A.A. Milne....it's about "Curb Your Enthusiasm". I like the title because they're asking me to do something that I'm already really good at.

I'm a little late in getting on the "Curb" train [disclaimer:the clip may be offensive, i personally find it hilarious], but I'm catching up rather quickly. I will watch five episodes in one night, sometimes a whole season. Anyway, watching the show has awakened a strong desire in me to be on the show. If only I were a famous comedian and Larry David would ask me to appear on a few episodes, my life would be complete! Now, this may be disturbing to some of you, but to be able to angrily and without abandon throw down the F word like they do, would be so much fun! (Anger is another emotion I tend to not express.)

Anyway, I can sometimes relate to Larry's neurosis and that scares me at times. The things he says to people are often what I am thinking in my head, but have the foresight to see that it might not be a good idea to say that.

I do have some qualms though...First, Larry likes to walk in L.A. I guess it's because he's from NY, but I don't think anyone really walks in L.A., hopefully I'm wrong though. Second, Sheryl wants to save the environment. Besides going to NRDC meetings, she drives a Prius. They keep moving into bigger houses, maybe they should stop doing that. Maybe that happens later on, but I've only gotten past season 4 so far. I do love the Prius aspect and wish I drove one myself (even if they were all recalled). They even introduced the Prius before they were cool.

Those are my only qualms, besides not being able to be on the show of course.

Well, that is all I have to say about that.

I'll leave you today with some articles I found interesting.

"Do More, Buy Less" -NYT

"Federal Smart Growth"

"Fighting Obesity with Design"

bye.

The Time Traveler

So, sometimes my phone likes to play this little game of "Let's mess with Lizzie's head" and it thinks it's about 4 hours earlier than it really is. Not only that, it thinks it's January 2000!!

Umm, excuse me, iphone? You haven't even been invented yet in the year 2000. Why must you travel back to such a date?! I didn't even have a cell phone in 2000.

Anyway, I started thinking maybe my phone is sending me a message to think back on what I was like and what I was doing in January 2000. And then I remembered. That was not a happy time in my life. Why can't it go back to say, June/July 2006 when I was frolicking the streets of Florence, drinking copious amounts of wine and eating my weight in pasta and panini's?! NOOOO, it has to go back to a time when the only thing I was ingesting copious amounts of was prozac! Yes, you guessed it, or maybe you didn't, January 2000 marks the beginning of my extended stay at the venerable Silver Hill Hospital. Like I said, not a happy time in my life. I did learn a lot though....prior to January 2000 I didn't know a schizophrenic or really what that meant. Thankfully, I have had the privilege of listening to old ladies scream about crows being in their shower and thus not showering. That was a treat. Let me tell you, if you ever have the chance to live with a schizo, do it. It will make you feel VERY sane. I also had the distinct pleasure of really knowing what OCD is like. I had one roommate who was obsessive over toothbrushes. I would go into the bathroom at night to brush my teeth (being watched over by a nurse, I might add) and my toothbrush would be gone! Inevitably it would be in this lunatic's drawer. What the underlying issues behind stealing toothbrushes was, I'll never know.

There are some other fond memories, but I don't want to freak anyone out too much. I'm sure you're sufficiently scared of me now. And I'm gonna go ahead and say, I'm okay with that.

Maybe my phone likes the countryside of Connecticut better than the urbanism of Italia. If that's the case, my phone and I need to have a talk.

Silver Hill-Pretty outside, scary inside.

Now this is just all around perfection:

Florence, Italy-street vendors outside the San Lorenzo

You can't tell from this photo, but you can imagine...me sitting in an outdoor cafe, sipping the best red wine 5 euros can buy and eating the most decadent basil, mozz and tomato panini you've ever had in your life. Finished off with a nice shot of espresso. And just think, six years earlier I was sharing a room with the toothbrush thief...

bye/ciao. 

It's blazin in the ATL...

I got back from a fun weekend in Atlanta last night and frustration immediately sunk in. Partly because I went from a city with a plethora of options of things to do/eat/drink to a town where my choices for these said things are dwindled down to about none. The other reason was I have few friends in this place. I'm working on the latter, I wish I could work on the former, but I'm not about to open my dream restaurant that specializes in panini's and beer. Oh, and bagels. I guess I'd have some other things too, but those are my loves. ANYWAY, I've put in some applications with some people to see if they'd have a liking towards me and I'd say the prospects are fair to good. On paper I'd say I look pretty cussing amazing...I'm from Charleston, so if I had friends they'd have a free place to stay in an amazing city, I live on a thousand acres so if they wanted to be one with nature they could, and there are some other things that make me awesome, but I don't want to brag. Oh, and they'd get to hang out with my roomies (see pic below).

This may or may not have been a mind-blowing experience for them.

So, if you know anyone in Auburn looking for a good time...send them my way.

I also decided this weekend that I guess I could live in Atlanta. I used to hate it because you have to drive so cussing much, but I realized that I could live in a couple of different neighborhoods and walk to worthwhile places. I would just hate to live in a city so synonymous with sprawl. It'd be embarrassing for me. Sprawl is equivalent to the anti-Christ for planners, well the good ones at least. That, and cul-de-sacs.

Case in point:

Does this look appealing to you?

Or, do you prefer this:

I know this is a conceptual rendering, but suburban places can and do look like this, I just couldn't find a decent aerial shot.

Well, I must peace out because I have to go to a meeting with someone I hope will be my friend and not just my boss. Yes, she's in her 40s and is a professor, but I like her a lot and it's not just because she's Italian.

I wish I could leave you with a comment made by Gang Gang last night while watching the Grammy's, but I think I'd get in trouble with the p.c. police. But trust me, it was good.

Bye.

I want to ride my bicycle.

I don't know if you know this about me, but I yearn to be car-free. Maybe it's because my driving skills are under constant scrutiny (I've only driven onto a lawn once and have hit two fences-does that make me a bad driver?!) or maybe it's because I cussing hate spending money on gas. It makes my blood boil. I also hate how having a car makes me even more messy than I already am. It's another thing to clean and I don't like cleaning, therefore my car is a mess. I still haven't fully unpacked my car from Christmas break either. If there were an efficient train from Auburn (or ATL) to Charleston I would be forced to unpack! Well, I probably still wouldn't unpack the suitcase because I still haven't done that either.

Anyway, I really want to live in a city where my primary mode of transportation is the amazing bicycle. First of all I'd be in much better shape, second of all I'd be saving a TON of money. I was able to achieve this lifestyle in a somewhat limited fashion by living on Daniel Island, but Daniel Island is NOT a city and they have failed to create a good urban fabric and has very few establishments worth frequenting. I'd have been much happier living in downtown Charleston, but the bank account did not allow that and I wouldn't have had the distinct pleasure of living with Millie and Sully. I just want to be in a city with my bicycle! And I don't just want one bike, I want a whole fleet of bikes. There are just too many cool ones out there to choose only one. I could have one like this (and I'd get to build it myself, even cooler) and all of these.

So, one day when I'm rich I'll have all of these bikes and I'll travel around the world with a bike like David Byrne.

Exceptional picture of the Talking Heads frontman, no? Consequently, also a great read. Yes William, I have your copy.

All in all, I think people that ride bikes are a lot cooler than those that don't. Since I currently only ride my bike on the farm that doesn't really make me cool in my book, but I don't think I'll be cool even if I do ride my bike around my ideal city. Inevitably my klutziness will prevail and I will run into a sign/tree or car or pedestrian. Two out of the three have already happened to me, by the way. When this happens any aspirations of being "cool" will immediately be thrown out of the window and I'll just be an injured loser...much like my present state.

A video that combines bikes with my other love, beer, is seen here. Maybe my ideal city is Fort Collins? Thoughts?

Or, I could live in one of these cities.

Finally I leave you with a quote from Gang Gang: "I just can't understand them because they're speaking British." Yes, British is a foreign language. I'm sorry the film, The Queen, did not have subtitles for you.

Bye.

Fat hipsters?

Alright, day 2 of blogging. Do I really have anything to contribute to society through this? Probably not, but I'm going to do it anyway.

So, this week I decided to figure out my life but it's a little more of a daunting task then you may think. I know what I want to do, but it so happens I've chosen the wrong school to get me there. I'd transfer, but my tuition is being paid for in exchange for less than 10 hours of work a week. I'd be a cussin idiot to throw that away. Anyway, I'm trying to figure out how I can get my dream job of urban designer without really getting the requisite training. I read a lot about it and understand the basic principles for designing a good neighborhood, lot, street, etc., I just don't actually do the design part...yet. I'm still debating whether or not to pursue the dual degree in landscape architecture. The main deterrent is having to live in Auburn for an extra year and a half or God forbid, extra 2 years. The other is that I'd have to go through a bunch of b.s. I don't care about- like designing a cemetery. But, I had to learn chemistry to get my high school diploma and I REALLY don't care about that, so I guess you take the good with the bad.

If someone would like to step up and tell me what to do and why I should do that, I'd be forever grateful. I'll tell you what to do, no problem. Moving on...

Hmm, insert joke here.

Since I've decided this is going to be a blog about urbanism and living on a farm I better discuss that...I came across this article and thought it would be awesome if a developer in Charleston would do this. (Well, that link isn't working or I just don't know what I'm doing, google Vancouver 270 sq. ft. apt). I realize 270 sq. feet is extremely small, but think of how little furniture you'd need. (Not good for my mother's business though). Since I've been living on other people's furniture for about the past 5 years I don't really own anything anymore. I frequently fret over this when I imagine myself living in an apartment in some awesome downtown city somewhere. How the cuss am I going to afford to buy furniture? Well, if I only live in a 270 sq. foot an apartment I won't need much, now will I? I wouldn't be a homebody because I'd go crazy living in a glorified closet so I'd be out in my cool downtown doing stuff and meeting people. Now, this apartment would NEVER work in suburbia. In suburbia it's a pain in the ass to get anywhere so we need all of our needs met at home...i.e. home theater, home gym, home espresso machine. We don't need Main Street anymore, but we want it. The only way Main Street will stay is if we actually go there. Anyway, since I don't have internet at the farm I have to go places like coffee shops and the library to do enlightening things like write my blog. I haven't chosen one that I will go to every time. I'm still shopping around for that perfect fit. I mean, the possibilities are endless here so that may take awhile. I guess this is enough rambling for one afternoon...bye.

I wish I were here...

P.S. Have you ever seen a fat hipster?

Brave New Blogging World...

So, I've been thinking of creating a blog to chronicle my time living on a farm in Auburn while attending graduate school for community planning (and possibly landscape architecture) and here it is the end of January and am just mustering up the strength and boldness to do so! Oh, and did I mention my roommates (aside from the cows) consist of my 80 year old grandfather and 70 something grandmother?!

I have no idea where this blog will lead, if anyone cares, or if anyone will read it...BUT, it might just be the creative release I need in this land of farms, chicken fingers, and football! For those of you who know me, sharing my personal life (i.e. joys, disappointments, ANYTHING) comes as a struggle for me, so I'm going to step out of my self-made iron clad box and share my life for anyone who cares to read.

Since my passion lies in urban planning and urban design (and just urban culture in general) and I live in one of the most culture-less towns in America, I'll probably complain a lot and post things/places I wish I had or wish I could go to or do. Sorry in advance, and when I say sorry what I really mean is, I'm sorry I'm not sorry. Alright, well I've set up a task for myself with this and may or may not follow through. I don't know the proper etiquette for ending a blog, so bye.

huh?

did that first post publish? i thought this would be easy...