Shiny Toy Syndromes and Silver Linings

(Warning: this is really long)
For those of yall that don't know me very well, I suffer from something my mom refers to as "shiny toy syndrome." Every couple of weeks or months or so, I go through this stage where everything in my life just sucks. I get sick of everything and sometimes everyone that surrounds me and the only way to fix it is with shiny new toys. Now, these "toys" could range anywhere from something material like a car, clothes, jewelry and accessories to things like vacations, nights out on the town, dinner out, alcohol, new flings and new friends. Needless to say, I don't need or get 98% of the new things I want but I still can't help but get bored.
If you haven't figured it out yet, I am currently in a "shiny toy" week for some reason. It could be my unbearable excitement for the greatest and happiest day of the year (st. patty's day) or maybe my upcoming trip to the beautiful shopping mecca of Charleston, SC? Or maybe it's the impending arrival of my first official paycheck? Whatever it is, I truly hate this feeling. It's a short but excruciating time in which nothing and no one can please me.
Actually, I take that back...everything that is unsettling me is making me happy at the same time...why is my life so complex?
1) The fact that NO ONE sells green clothing is still weighing hard on my mind as St. Patty's day draws near but the fact that it's less than a month away makes me giddy. And let it be known that when I say giddy, I mean abnoxiously and ridiculously excited; just the thought of the day makes me grin from ear to ear and jump up and down like a school girl.
2) Work stung worse than ever this weekend...while all of my friends were out getting drunk on Williamson, my ass was sitting at work. No, wait, not just at work, INSIDE at work. It was the prettiest day of the year (until today) and I had to sit inside and hustle wedding dresses. It was the busiest day I've experienced so far yet not a thing was purchased...what a waste of my time. However, as much as I hate the retail world, my mom made a good point: sometimes jobs are meant to show us what we don't want to do; I used to think I never wanted to work in retail...now I know. But on the flip-side, I get a paycheck this friday...hellllll yeh.
3) I have two 7-page papers due on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. As usual, I am blogging instead of writing them but at least I have a topic for one! Ruth Bader Ginsburg vs. Clarence Thomas....what a relief. What is the silver lining of two papers (that I haven't started) being due this week, you ask? Well, the silver lining is that they'll finally be off my shoulders!!! If that doesn't instantly make me happy, then my life is a lost cause.
4) I am really starting to feel the stress associated with telling my parents that I'm dropping a class but I'm closer to getting the money to pay them off my back. If you didn't understand that last comment, my parents always jump on my back about dropping classes because of the "money it wastes" but this time I will get to shut them up by paying them back. Though I'm not excited to watch my money go 649762974569 times faster than it came, I'm thoroughly happy that my parents will really have no reason to yell at me. I only hope that they'll let me reimburse them slowly so that I can spend my money in Charleston...
5) I am utterly sick of everything involving cold weather. I'm sick of fires and I'm sick of scarves. I'm sick of long sleeves and I'm sick of jeans. I'm sick of jackets, socks, cold feet, chapped lips, static hair and the lack of vitamin D. Not to mention what torture it is to live 10 feet from the river, having and wanting to look at it all day long, just knowing that it's too cold to play in. There isn't much of a silver lining when talking about cold weather but regardless of the temperature, it still smells like spring, the sun is up longer and the birds chirp away all day long. Now if we could just bypass the bugs, I'd be happy.
6) Last but certainly not least, I miss my friends more than I've ever had to in my life. Sarah, Monica and Kaitlyn are in Athens and Julia is all the way in Italy. Skype has been a life saver and it's nice that I'm not the only isolated friend but it still sucks to hear about all the fun everyone is having together while I'm home alone. Well, I'm not home alone...Izzo, Ike, Bo and Jarrett are my heroes in this town and I owe my sanity to them. We have a great time just bullshitting around a fire, popping wheelies in golf carts and even just driving around Willmington Island but I can't help but feel that massive chunk of my life that's missing. That chunk is actually a major source of my unsettled feeling...Brian said something to me the other day that really brought it home: "come up here and visit...you know we all miss you more than you think." Until that comment, I always considered myself expendable; though I miss the ever-living shit out of those guys, there's no way they even notice that I'm not around, right? Wrong...those guys only live 45 minutes away (I've made it in 30) and I am making a vow to spend more time up there. Of all the things I've done in my life, the thing I regret the absolute most is letting these kids get out of reach. Silver lining: it's almost spring break and my schedule is clearing up...if yall are somehow reading this, get ready because I am attaching myself to yalls hips from here on out.

enough of the stress and on the the great things I've discovered recently:
1) I can't say it enough, ST. PATTY'S DAY IS ALMOST HERE!!! I really think I love this holiday more than many others do...
2) I am almost in the double-digits of my birthday countdown! since a lot of people don't understand what that means for some reason, let me explain: my birthday is 104 days away...therefore, in 5 days, my birthday will be 99 days away. 99 is a double digit. Understand? If you don't, you're not worth my time and explanation anyway.
3) I am well on my way to regaining the old me. I went downtown last night against my will. I was planning on leaving by 1 because I was tired and wasn't in the mood to drink, as usual, but then something miraculous happened. I drank and drank and danced and stayed until 2:30. I didn't feel sick while trying to sleep and I wasn't hungover this morning. Hello, old me...where the hell ya been?
4) Today was perfect (minus the stress of these papers). The weather was beautiful, I got to sleep in this morning, Renee and I went on a walk for the first time in 3 weeks and it felt great. Not to mention that we went downtown for lunch and a quick shopping trip just to soak up the weather. Copper Penny had the most beautiful clothes, as usual, though I didn't buy myself a shiny new toy...primarily because the dress that I fell in love with was $300 which not even I can talk myself into spending on a dress to spill alcohol all over...back to the charleston thing: God, I can't wait to go on my mini vacation.