I really like this entry. Your cat sounds adorable. And the sitting at the window with cigarettes coffee and a novel sounds wonderfully appealing. It's been a while since I read a decent novel, any suggestions? I love Jodi Picoult and Alice Seabold. I am confident you will figure out what you want from life, and achieve it. Glad I friended you, you sound like my kinda person. :)

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thanks! books, hmmmm...have you read the virgin suicides? it's melancholy, but beautifully written, and the author has another book called middlesex that i absolutely adored. for lighter fare, or 'mind candy', as i call it, nick hornby is great (about a boy, high fidelity), david sedaris (me talk pretty one day, dress your family in corduroy and denim, naked) is HILARIOUS, and jaqueline susann's stuff (valley of the dolls, the love machine), is a bit darker, but reads sort of like soap operas in written form; she's all about hollywood and sex...not very deep, but tons of fun. the beauty myth by naomi wolf changed.my.life. it's sort of dry, but you can probably guess the significance of it from the title...that's my number one pick, hands down. ayn rand is great, too; she's got the style/plot AND the deep, 'makes-you-think' thing going on at the same time. she'd be my favorite author if i had to pick. i've never read anything by jodi picoult, though, so i have no idea where any of these suggestions fit in with your tastes, but...there they are!

and i think we def. are a lot alike, too :]

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I like this entry as well...I may steal from you and do something similar!

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it was really fun to write, you should totally do it!

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hi. (not to sound bland or boring, or anything) i found you through the ed recovery community (although i didn't respond to your post, nor do i ever really participate in that community -- which i should!! because it's a great one), and was very intrigued by this entry...would you mind being friends if i added you?

i'm 23 years old, and have struggled with an ed for at least 7 years of my life. although many would consider me 'more recovered than not' right now, i still struggle. i grew up in so cal and lived in san francisco for 5 years (and sydney, australia for half a year!), and now i'm living in london studying for a master's in none other than....brain chemistry!!!
nice to meet you :)

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not at all! it sounds like we're alike, although you're much more well-traveled and educated...OMG how cool was living in australia? is it beautiful there!? i've always wanted to go! and you can correct my mistakes when i talk about brain stuff that i remember from junior year psychology, ha.

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oooh man, i cannot tell you how amazing australia is...not only is sydney beautiful, fun, the people are SO friendly, down-to-earth and open-minded...but my stay there was a HUGE turning point in my recovery (if i hadn't gone i don't think i would have recoverd. at all.) so...i plan on living there after working in london for a while, and just plain enjoying myself....(i also have a lovely tattoo to commemorate my time in sydney)
i really do love australia :) i 100% recommend going.

and hey, i'm not expert on brain stuff...i studied chemistry/psychology as an undergrad, and now i'm studying pharmacology with emphasis on neuropharmacology (so i'm basically studying DRUGS in lodnon :))

and just a question about ayn rand....are her works too difficult for someone not trained in politics/philosophy/whatevershetalksabout to understand??

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not at all...the only 'training' i had when i read the fountainhead was having read steppenwolf, which required a lot more studying and following up before i even sort of 'got' it, and it's totally unrelated. ayn rand is great because she presents her ideas in the form of a narrative; the novels are fiction: well-written, interesting stories with really thorough character development and lots of descriptive monologues and plot twists. the ideas/philosophical/political stuff just sort of...fits in and comes out through the story. i've not taken any sort of class on philosophy; i actually know hardly anything about it, that's why i like her so much. the ideas she presented really made sense to me, and they weren't presented in a pretentious way; i think her intention was actually to get her somewhat abstract and complex ideas across to 'the common' man...anyone can read her. anthem will take you maybe 30 minutes, tops, to get through; it's sort of an intro. to the concepts. from there, you can dive right into the fountainhead and atlas shrugged (my personal favorite). we the living is less fiction- based more in her personal experiences in post-revolution russia (she's very anti-socialist) that one's a little more emotionally charged, but also an excellent read.

sydney has definitely moved up on my list of 'places to eventually visit when i get the chance'...although i don't think anywhere will ever top prague...i MUST SEE PRAGUE!

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haha. why prague??

and thanks for the rand advice :)

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my favorite painter is from prague, and when i looked into the city, i discovered what looks like something from a fairy tale. it was the center of the art nouveau movement -- architecually, especially, and there are cobblestone streets and castles and amazing buildings with pretty shapes and colors...also, an ex's older sister spent a semester abroad there and he relayed the story of 'the mushroom man' on the corner: name the kind of trip you want to take and he will take you there (via psylosibin). that just made me laugh, but i've always wanted to see it first person.

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fair enough. you should go then! i have a star-crossed lover who was born n raised (and is currently residing) in prague. and through my relationship with him, i learned how to say some very important phrases in czech, such as 'i love beer', and 'i am waiting for you'.

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sweeeet.

how'd you meet him? why's he your lover? sounds like a good story...

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well, it's kind of a long story (and a bit strange because i had a dream that i was playing juliet in 'romeo and juliet' last night) buuut....for the past year(ish) i was in a long-distance, international relationship with my current boyfriend (mark) who was living in london while i was finishing up my degree in san francisco. he and i agreed on having a 'don't-ask-don't-tell' open relationship for the time before we could actually be together (and no, i think i was the one who came up with this idea). soo..this past summer while i was still living in san francisco, i met jan (pronounced 'yawn') from the czech republic who worked at the coffeeshop that i was working at. he and i had a very.......interesting fling. especially considering the fact that he didn't and doesn't speak english very well. i know nothing would have ever come from our relationship, but we both left the country to go back to europe around the same time....and i feel like what he and i had is unfinished business of sorts.
however, i am now living in london with mark, and jan is in prague. i am slowly but surely forcing jan out of my brain, and i fight the temptation of contacting him often......
moral of the story: long-distance relationships suck. 'open' relationships are a really bad idea. and prague sounds like a lovely place to visit.

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mmmm, yes, the one experience i've had with a long-distance relatinship, although it didn't involve a distance as great as the atlantic ocean, wasn't so happenin, either. at least yours was a learning rather than hurtful experience.

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i added you on the 'space. :)

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ahhh the 'space...thanks! :D

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I hope you don't mind me adding you.
I absolutely loved reading this post, and I find you rather interesting.
Let's be friends!

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added you back :]

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I'm adding you, because I love what you have written above....the content, and the style! Hope you'll add me back. :P

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of course, and thank you for the compliment! i'm pretty self-concious, so it was a big deal to put myself & my writing out there like that. i do believe you've just made my day, actually :D

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