because it seems that all i do lately on here are surveys (a post of substance follows - just to keep y'all on your toes!):

Name Four Things That You Wish You Had:
* a journalism job
* orlando bloom ;-)
* a british accent
* stamps in my passport (oh wait - make that that i wish i had a passport to have stamps in)

Name Four Scents You Love:
* vanilla
* cocoa butter
* coffee
* the scents that drift out of a dressing room in a theatre (flowers, makeup, powder, perfume all mingled in together with a healthy dose of excitement)

Name Two People You Know Best:
* my family (they should count as one entity)
* beth

Name Four Things You'd Never Wear:
* bikini
* tube top
* stilletto platform shoes
* dog collar jewlery (sorry, tom)

Name Four Things You Are Thinking About:
* what to do, career-wise
* where to live
* when i'm heading back to d.c.
* how much progress i'm making in the whole recovery process

Name Four Things You Did Today:
* ate breakfast
* fought unsuccessfully with a vcr
* found the world's cheesiest exercise program on the health network
* cleaned the kitchen and living room

Name Four Artists/Albums Most People Don't Know You Like:
* old school aerosmith
* the doors
* green day
* the beatles

APPEARANCE
- hair: currently in a state of discontent. blonde, kind of short, but not supershort. i tried to have it cut like kiera knightley has it in "bend it like beckham" but, because it's so thick, it didn't work out the way i hoped it would and i now have these sort of layers that i'm not crazy about. i'm contemplating having the ends bobbed so it's all relatively the same length so i can just grow it out again.
- height: i'd always thought i was at least 5'6, but i found out that i'm actually 5'5 3/4. i never thought the phantom 1/4 of an inch would be a big deal, but i was informed that i am NOT 5'6 - i am 5'5 3/4. so i'll just go with that.
- favorite feature: probably my voice.

STYLE
- clothing: depends. in my down time, i dress for comfort, but i've also started, without fully realizing it, adding a more classic slant. primarily, i think, so i didn't have to buy a ton of clothes between work, going out and down time. but i like a ton of different things and love, on occasion, to add to my silly clothing collection. i also have a plethora of concert/band tshirts because i'm a music whore. ;-)
- music: a genre i have dubbed "alternacoustic" and a variety of others. primarily singer/songwriters and alternative, but really, almost anything can go - although i'm not crazy about country or rap.
- makeup: depends on how ambitious i feel.
- body art: no ink and far fewer holes than i used to have. now it's just the ears, although i used to have my ears, cartiledge, tongue and navel.
- shoes: sneakers (black adidas sambas and old-school-looking red reeboks), sandals and swinger shoes.

LAST THING YOU...
- did: started chewing a piece of gum (yes beth, i'm addicted)
- read: my brother's livejournal.
- watched on tv: bodies in motion - the cheesiest exercise show EVER.

EITHER / OR
- club or house party: depends. generally house party, though.
- tea or coffee: coffee!!!!
- high achiever or easy-going: high achiever.
- cats or dogs: ferret. ;-) both are fine, although i don't want one in my place.
- pen or pencil: pen. blue ink.
- gloves or mittens: gloves.
- cassette or cd: cd.
- snuff or cigarettes: snuff is nasty.
- coke or pepsi: coke.
- matches or a lighter: lighter. less likely to burn myself.
- sunset beach or the bold and the beautiful: neither.

WHO DO YOU WANT TO...
- kill: no one?
- hear from: a newspaper. preferrably with a job offer.
- look like: kate hudson
- be like: linda winer (theatre critic - NEWSDAY)

FAVORITE
- food: mexican.
- drink: behaving myself: french vanilla iced coffee. debauchery: vodka cranberry or midori sour.
- color: water colors (blues, greens, indigo)
- shoes: since it's summer, sandals or nothing.
- site: jasonmraz.com ;-)
- song: constantly changing. currently, "you and i both" (mraz) or "follow through" (gavin degraw).
- vegetable: broccoli.
- fruit: strawberry.

LAST TIME..
- last movie you saw: hmm ... i think that would be "death to smoochy".
- last movie you saw on the big screen: "alex & emma".
- last thing you had to drink: water
- last thing you ate: bowl of strawberry burst cheerios.
- last time you cried: a couple of days ago.
- last time you smiled: about thirty minutes ago.
- last time you laughed: last night.
- last time you danced: last night. something about oldies - can't NOT dance to them.
- last person you hugged: my mother.
- last thing you said: "i'm awake, i'm awake ..."
- last person you talked to online: over email - carolyn. over IM, left a message with andrew.
- last thing you smelled: uh ... my house? cocoa butter body lotion.

ok, so now the Post of Substance. no pressure there, right? i'm still here, i'm still doing well. actually, i'm doing really well, which proves to be both positive and negative. first, the positive. i'm happy. i feel like myself again - silly, a wise-ass, energized, etc. i don't feel the tension, both physical and emotional, that has been plaguing me. i'm also much healthier - i've gained about fifteen pounds since leaving d.c. yay ... go me. anyway. while i'm feeling the itch to work again (from the desire to move and have a sense of purpose standpoint, not necessarily from the standpoint of wanting to resume my office work), having the opportunity to take time to think things over and reevaluate has been incredibly beneficial - i needed this. furthermore, it has been amazing to be around my friends and feel like there are people around me who are really interested and invested in how i'm doing and how i'm feeling. the sense of being able to give and receive love and friendship with no questions asked is something i didn't realize i was (for the most part) missing until i had it again - and i love it. for that, my dear friends, i thank you.

anyway - quick summary. a lot of eating ;-), a lot of laughter and visits with friends. discovery of "the search for america's next top model", enhanced by wine and con queso. fourth of july weekend spent in ashland, massachusetts (chucky d's hometown) and boston, where beth, chuck and i had a great day roaming the city, posing with oversized goldfish and, in the evening, experiencing the boston pops in person (complete with leann rimes and the mormon tabernacle choir - how much more appropriate can you get???). honeydew iced coffee is better than dunkies - although the reunion between vickie and dunkies iced coffee has been great, except for the morons who work at the rutland dunkies by the bowlerama. the latest harry potter book was fantastic, "girl, interrupted" is a better book than the movie, i'm learning to cook. a quick visit to the north shore, adventures with deer (damn bambi), but i inacted my revenge with the venison burger i had at chuck's last night. god bless all-new episodes of "sex & the city" and the morons of "real world: paris" - they should have kicked donnell off of "road rules" if they booted abrahm.

what else? tomorrow begins my return to soccer exercise - can't wait to run around and kick around a soccer ball! other than that, that's the real quick summary. vermont has been good to me. ;-)