What Are You Doing, New Year's Eve?

... was there ever a more depressing Holiday song than that one? Thanks, Ella!

Not much time to write today, but I just wanted to take a moment and wish everyone a very Happy, very Blessed, very Safe New Year's Eve!

Here's to next year being greater than the last - Cheers!

O Come All Ye Faithful...

It's pretty sad that I'm starting a new blog by reposting old blogs from years past... I would have written something new tonight, but well, I went to see Deals Gone Bad and Mustard Plug in concert and I'm a bit tipsy. And this was a damn good blog several years ago.

Enjoy!


There are a ton of stories I could share with you, but I'm going to talk about our trip to Mass on Christmas Eve.

Now, being Catholic, I'm used to attending Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve night. Well, this year, our Church cancelled Midnight Mass and held it at 5 in the afternoon instead because our Priest is well into his 80s and it was the best possible choice, I guess? I'm not really sure. Anyways, wow... I had no idea what we were walking into when we walked in at 4:30.

Church was packed, that was nice to see... lots of families and lots of little kids. Except, none of these parents had any control over any of their kids whatsoever. Especially where we were sitting. In front of us was a 3 year old little girl who halfway through the service yelled at her dad to "Shut!" meaning "shut up!" so then 4 other children felt the need to scream it. One little boy who couldn't have been more than 4 was across the aisle and 2 rows up from us, well, he didn't see any need to be quiet at all. And you know how it is in Church... you're not supposed to laugh, so when you want to, it's 4 times as hard not to laugh! Well, when this little boy burped during the Gospel, everyone around us began shaking with laughter. He looked so proud of himself! I'm pretty sure I heard him say "Did you hear that? That was me!" So I'm sitting there with a hand over my mouth not laughing, but smiling and shaking slightly and my dad actually hits my leg and tells me to behave. Really? I have to behave when no one else in Church does? Funny. I'm really glad that the Christmas Eve sermons are generally the same, because otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to tell you what was said, as I couldn't hear a thing over screaming, laughing, talking, burping children.

Then we hit Communion time, and finally, the dad of this little boy takes him out of the pew and into the back of the Church. I'm thinking finally, we can hear Father for awhile. Nope, 3 minutes later he brings the little boy back. And what does he do? Proudly announces as loud as he can: "Mom, I peed!"

Tell me you wouldn't have laughed. You so would have.

Oh I tell you, Church was wonderful this year. Really, the only thing I could think of as I walked out was how badly I wanted children and how when I do have them, they will be the most well-behaved children in Church.

It's their mother who will be laughing at other children.

So There Was This Girl...

Written back in 2006, when I was about to turn 25 and thought I knew exactly where life was taking me...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“No, no, no, I’ve got it!” Meghan slams her glass down on the table, the amber colored liquor sloshing over the sides. “It’s I’m twenty-three, which is like twenty-five, which is al-”

“-most mid-twenties!” Natalie and Alex chime in loudly, before all three dissolve into fits of giggles and clink their glasses together. I sit there laughing along with them, but at the same time, I’m fighting the urge to roll my eyes at them. I’m not sure which is sadder yet, that for the last fifteen minutes they have been discussing the intricacies a Jessica Simpson quote from two years ago, or the irritating fact that this was not the first time I had heard this quote in the last month or so, ever since the topic of my birthday had come up. Apparently, the cool thing to do when someone turns twenty-five is to immediately compare them to Jessica Simpson.

Apparently, I’m not cool, because I swear that the next person who screams this quote at me will meet the toe-end of my black boot. Via Spiga be damned, these boots were made for ass-kicking, and I was in the right mood to do it.

“Oh my god!” Natalie’s words are slurred as she points off somewhere behind me and jumps up from her chair. “It’s Damon, I have to talk to him! Come on!” She grabs Meghan’s arm and the two chase after Damon, whoever he is. I’m willing to bet one of them, if not both, have slept with him and now they want to do a round of shots.

Alex looks at me for a second, unsure what to do. She knows I’m staying right where I’m sitting and that the right thing to do would be to sit and keep me company but on the other hand, she wants nothing more than to stand up and race after Brenna and Meghan because god forbid, she miss out on any of their drunken shenanigans. The smile she gives me as I wave her off dismissively reminds me yet again just how much I really dislike going out with these girls and as I sip at my vodka and lemonade, I make a mental note of never doing this again. It’s a note I’ve written myself countless times, but this time, I mean it. I mean, I’m about to be twenty-five, it’s what I’m supposed to do, right? It’s what Jessica Simpson would do, right?

Unfortunately my thoughts go back to that insipid quote and I obsess over it for several minutes more as I absently stir at my drink.

In just three short days I, Casey Parker, will be twenty-five years old. I will be in my mid-twenties, and I have nothing to show for it. Nothing, unless you count a handful of friends I could do without, a slew of random jobs, and more failed relationships than my favorite character on General Hospital.

Yeah, I’ve got nothing.

The thought depresses me as I finish my drink and order another one before I even set my glass down. By now I should have accomplished something with my life. I should have something going on that I can dazzle people with when they ask that horrible question, so what is it that you do? I’ve got none of that, and as I finally set my glass down I realize that this doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. Look at Jessica Simpson, what does she have to show for the first twenty-five years of her life besides a really creepy dad, an annoying disaster of a sister, and a failed marriage?

Oh, and millions upon millions of dollars in her bank account.

I must be a logical tipsy girl tonight, because a brilliant idea strikes me just then, amidst the haze of raspberry Stoli and lemonade. So what if I wasn’t happily married with the requisite children and a fabulous job just yet? That’s what this coming year would be for! Okay, so the children thing would jumping the gun a bit, but everything else seemed reasonable enough. I could finish school, I could land that career I’ve had my eye on, and most importantly, I could get myself to exactly where I deserved to be.

But first things first I decide, as I watch Natalie and Meghan drag Damon back to our table with Alex in tow. I find myself some new friends.

Isn’t that what Jessica Simpson would do?

-insert screeching needle coming off the record sound-


Three years have passed since that original post on an old deleted blog. Life had been just peachy, as far as lives go. I was in a relationship that (at the time) seemed to be heading toward 'always and forever', I was in a career I absolutely loved, and I was bound and determined to focus on my writing, and that was going to be the year of my novel. The prologue of which, you just read.

Today is December 29th, 2008. In four short days, I'm going to be 28 years old. I am currently single, in a career that is simply okay, and my writing? Well, it never got any further than what you see here.

Will this be the year everything begins to change and fall into place? God, I really hope so, but if not... at least I'll learn some things along the way...

Won't you join me for the ride?