A Day with Jane

Today is a paper-writing day. I'll be rummaging around in Jane Eyre for new and interesting things to say for the next several hours. I think I can I think I can!

Major: English. Minor: Man-repelling.

I apologize to you, dear reader, for temporarily backing out on the promise that this blog shall provide pretty things to look at and think about, because what you're about to see ain't pretty, in the conventional man-attracting sense of the word. 
I stumbled across this jewel of a blog (or is it a website? I don't know, damn you confusing internets!) called The Man Repeller, and it has got me all fired up and inspired. The chica who writes it defines a "man-repeller" as...

MAN·RE·PELL·ER1  [MAHN-REE-PELLER]
–noun
outfitting oneself in a sartorially offensive way that will result in repelling members of the opposite sex. Such garments include but are not limited to harem pants, boyfriend jeans, overalls (see: human repelling), shoulder pads, full length jumpsuits, jewelry that resembles violent weaponry and clogs.
–verb (used without object),-pell·ing, -pell·ed.
to commit the act of repelling men:
Girl 1: What are you wearing to the party?
Girl 2: My sweet lime green drop crotch utility pants!
Girl 1: Oh, so we're man repelling tonight?
*DISCLAIMER: the above conversation is not a dramatization, took place in this room 5 minutes ago.

I think the lady is on to something. Some of my favorite fashion friends could definitely be classified as man-repellers.
For instance, my girl Mary-Kate gets hated on a lot for her style, and hey, maybe guys aren't into the teeny-tiny-black-feathery-dress-wearing witch look, but I sure am! You go girl. 

Long hair, don't care.

Another furry fave of mine, from the Pucci fall 2011 show...

Is it man-repelling? Gonna go with yes. Is it awesome? Definite yes. 

Now this is just rude...

This philosophy is something to think about as I head to the Big Apple in the next few months as a strategy to ward off the oodles of creepers Mr. Big types dying to date me while I focus on having adventures. 

Ta ta for now!

That Gypsy Blood

During a recent conversation with my grandmother, she informed me that her mother (my great-grandmother) had gypsy in her blood, because she was constantly moving the family around when Grandmother was little. She also likes to say that she (Grandmother) and my mom have fish in their blood, because they feel land-locked when they're not near the ocean, and they love the water. I have always loved my mom's stories about when she was growing up and the family went to St Simon's Island every summer, and my grandfather would make an anchor for my grandmother's float, and she would bake in the ocean all day, floating in her bikini, covered in baby oil. My grandmother is the most glamorous lady I know.
I love the water too, (although I've never mastered that art of effortlessly floating on my back in the water which all the other women in my family seem to have been born with), so maybe I have a little fishy in me, but I think that gypsy thing skipped a few generations and landed smack on me, with a vengeance. I don't really believe in astrology or any of that, but when I read somewhere that as a Sagittarius I easily get restless and I have a constant need for change and adventure...well, I think they had something right. I call it my "ants in my pants" syndrome; I get into these phases where I just want to hop in my car and drive somewhere far far away and never come back.

Maybe it is the change in the weather? Or maybe it's that gypsy blood after all.

Maybe it would help if I had a sweet motorcycle like Mr. Dean here. Or it could be that I just love an excuse to look at a picture of him whenever possible.

Happy pollen season everyone!

The Low Country Calls

I've tried something new lately. With all the classic, stuffy (occasionally wonderful) books I have to read for my English classes, I sometimes feel like I've lost my love of reading. It's not that I don't love spending my nights slugging through Bleak House, but the combination of being forced to read in a certain window of time and also actively being on the lookout for the themes and other nonsense makes reading a chore. So, I've made a resolution to take some time for myself and make a point of reading for pleasure. My sister recommended Pat Conroy's novel South of Broad, set in the beautiful Charleston, so I'm giving it a shot and really enjoying it so far.

This was an appropriate book to read leading up to Spring Break, because I am headed to Hilton Head Island for the week. That marshy smell is calling me!