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.