apparently all i write about lately is money and friends, so in light of this mood i am asking you all for your opinions on my parents' contribution for my upcoming day of birth jamboree. i don't have any clue what i want, but dad says it's my 20th and he wants to get me something nice. but not a car. so:

Me: oh okay, how about this 200 dollar marc jacobs messenger bag, since all i have right now is a carpet-muncher-like jansport that is the size of vermont.
Dad: oh, that is nice. how about this 700 dollar watch that all the gucci models wore for the spring fashion show in milan? i think it is also nice.
Me: 8>O

i'm not really a watch person, but i am a clanky silver bracelet person, and that is what the watch looks like. of course, it would be a 700 dollar clanky silver bracelet looking thing. but i'm not gonna lie, that twirly thing the watch face does is hella cool and unique and i love it. but i'm not sure if i want it, or if it's worth it. would i actually wear it? probably. would it really match my clothing all that well? maybe not. if i can't think of anything else i want though, why not? it's really nice and would be something i keep and wear when i'm older, too. okay but yeah, now my xanga is becoming a free marketplace of ideas, so tell me what you think i should do. or if you have any better suggestions for what i should ask for.

so allison came back from chicago :D and i spent all this afternoon with her. we saw the libertine, which i enjoyed, but i think you have to know a lot of english political/literary history to actually get a bearing on what's going on. i would've been completely lost if i hadn't know that the movie was actually based on a recent play, and that the play-within-the-film portrayed toward the end was a play written about the Earl of Rochester in his own time, by one of his contemporaries. i would've also been lost if i hadn't know anything about charles II and the parliament of the 17th century, but all that effing comparative politics and british history finally came to good use. Knowing a list of john wilmot's contemporaries by name helped a good deal, too. **the new quote of my life has to be "Dryden can't even draw a Shag Map."** overall the movie was sad, i think, but funny in the beginning and poignant in the middle. if none of that gets you going, but you have an interest in seeing johnny depp's skin being eaten away by venereal disease, this movie is for you.

after the libertine, we went to CPK. our waitress was very nice, but spelled her name Lyndsay, which means she immediately became an object of my scrutinous eye. allison and i had strawberry and raspberry tea, respectively, tuscan hummus, mushroom pepperoni sausage pizza, and apple crisp drizzled in caramel sauce, a la mode. i love food, seriously.

conversation is never scarce around allison. i'm so glad we caught up, her life in chicago is ... interesting. she has grown-up, but not really changed, which is a good thing. i'm very happy to see that she handles all situations in a very allison-like way, and i know that this doesn't make sense to read unless you know her. anyway, we talked about boys and college and how much we both hate crowds of people. tomorrow morning she's flying out for a model UN conference in berkeley. lucky. i will not see her for another 12 weeks :O(

i haven't been prepared for school so far this week, and i don't plan to be tomorrow either. i don't feel very healthy at the moment. maybe working out tomorrow afternoon will help me get back into the swing of things.