So it's winter break for me hear in my little irl life. So naturally that means a lot of parties and talking to people and things that generally require me to go outside. I mean, the other day I was outside for so long that I saw, like, seven clouds. Woo boy that is a lot of social interaction.
What do you mean that there's evidence on my tumblr and twitter accounts showing that I've spent the majority of the break watching Sherlock, Lost, The Office, and How I Met Your Mother? That's ridiculous. You can't do these things outside. Where I've been. What, do you think I'm so attached to my bed that I feel lonely without it? Me? Noooooo....
Hahaha. I could barely even type those outrageous lies. I mean, come on. Clouds? Doesn't that require me to leave the house, a thing I'm unfamiliar with?
Actually, that's also a lie. I have left the house a few times. I went to see Sherlock Holmes: A Game (Gay) of Shadows with Dan, Kate, Chris, and Elana for Dan's birthday. It was really, really good and got me to watch the BBC's Sherlock series the following day. If you ever talked about Doctor Who with me for an extensive period of time last summer you'll know that that is a miraculous feat for me as I refused to for months and months on the ground that I was angry at Steven Moffat for abandoning the Whovians with half a series to go and cheat on us with Sherlock. But I am so glad I caved. Sherlock is amazing. I think Moff is better suited for this type of writing than Doctor Who anyway, to be honest. I particularly enjoyed the first episode, A Study in Pink. That was excellent. So was the pool scene in the third episode. I'm so excited to find out how that's resolved. I'll find out soon! Also, I've always had a thing for the John Watsons of the world and seeing the movie with Downey and Law really renewed my love for all things Watson.
The next time I left the house was on Christmas Day. I went to the American Legion to work at their Christmas dinner. I worked desserts for the vast majority of the day and I was pretty good at it too. By the time I left I was giving orders. It was a bit like working behind a bar which I've done before, also for charity, and I'm good at it. Besides the fact that I'm still not sure what the American Legion does and a woman I was volunteering with who hid cheesecake for herself and my nearly passing out towards the end because I hadn't had anything to drink, it was a good time. The highlight of that event probably happened before the dinner actually started. One woman kept coming up to my family and asking all of these questions. Did we sing? Were we a church group? Were we the carolers? Are you registered to minister to people? Can you say a prayer? Have you seen our minister? Are any of you musical? It's like she thought we were the von Trapps or something. After she asked if we could say prayer for everyone I started muttering the Chanukah prayer in Hebrew but I don't think she noticed.
So I guess I've been out more than I originally thought. Besides these two days, I went to a friend's house to work on a Hamlet scrapbook a couple times for our English project. The first time disintegrated into us watching HIMYM and the second time ended in bagels.
And today, well, yesterday now, I had a five hour tea party with Elana, Kate, Dan, and Chris where I managed to break the house a little bit. You see, in my excitement at the fact that Elana and I were trouncing the boys in a game of Befudiom, I fist pumped a chandelier and the brass cover attached to the ceiling kind of fell off. As Elana said, "So much win it was a fail."
At this tea party I also realized that even when I'm being social, I'm basically still on the internet. You see, the people in this group of friends are all huge nerds. We talked Harry Potter, Doctor Who, gaming, SOPA, etc. While I was doing the dishes I distinctly heard the phrase "But you're already a werewolf!" from the other room. It was kind of incredible, as if my dining room table had been transformed into the internet. I'm always a bit in awe of the fact that these are my irl friends and at one point I came in to collect for dishes and said "How did I find you people!?" My replies were "Science Olympiad." "Science Olympiad." "Drama Club." "Challenge Team. No, playing with the hamsters in third grade." Of course. :)
And now I'm definitely not writing this while waiting for my sixth episode of Torchwood tonight to load while eating Doritos, hot chocolate, and chocolate cauldrons that Chris left. Definitely not. That stuff's for losers. I'm cool. Like a fez.
Oh deer lawd. I'll just end this blog post in shame, shall I?
Oh. And it's definitely not nearly four in the morning.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
The thing about Thanksgiving....
So the think about Thanksgiving is that it's awkward. It just is. Suddenly all of these people who you see a few times a year at most start flooding into your house. And even though they may be related to you, a lot of them are still basically strangers to you. Having similar genetics doesn't actually mean you know them or have anything substantial in common. And yeah, you love them in all but it's still weird, there's no getting around that. And yes, this is true for pretty much any holiday but Thanksgiving has an extra oddness about it.
For starters, it's kind of just shoved in the year. Here you are, going along and having a nice autumn, watching the trees change and whatnot when suddenly, a wild holiday appears in the tall grass! and really, what is it even doing here? I'm just trying to enjoy my November, the Holden Caulfield of months, but now I can't because of this random holiday that just decided to show up, catapulting us forward into winter before the tree I stare at everyday in biology class has even lost all of its leaves.
Second, what exactly are we celebrating? If you ask ten people, you will get ten different answers. And that's fine, really, it is. But isn't it strange how we have this national holiday that is supposed to bring people together that means a different thing for every person? And shouldn't we be thankful for things all year long and not just on one day a year? Which brings me to number three.
Every person has those two friends who see Thanksgiving completely differently. One is the all-American, I-just-shot-my-own-turkey-in-the-frozen-food-section, good old boy. And then there's the politically correct, never-shuts-up-about-how-we-shot-Indians, disillusioned cynic. And every year, you listen to the "I'm thankful America is the best" speech and read the "Hypocrites! You're all hypocrites! Eat nothing! Buy nothing! Trust no one over 30!" facebook status. And don't you just want to introduce them to each other so they can preach and yell at the other while you eat mashed potatoes?
The fourth reason Thanksgiving is weird is more personal for me. My birthday falls a few days before Thanksgiving every year and I can't really enjoy it because it marks the start of the most awkward holiday of all. And I feel awful that my mom goes through so much trouble for my birthday and then for Thanksgiving.
Fifth on the list is all of the food. Food is great, yeah? I personally love it, but after 18 years of eating turkey for a month each year I'm kind of sick of it. Literally. I don't know what it is but for the past few years the smell of cooking poultry just makes me ill. Oh and then when the left over turkey is put in a soup I get really confused because the house smells like apples from the pies or apple crisp so I start to think that it's Passover.
And lastly, when exactly does Thanksgiving begin and when does it end? In other words, when can I stop feeling like a stranger in my own house? When do people go home? It sounds rude, and it is, but I just want to have the house to myself for one night. The view from my bedroom window gets a little boring after long enough. And I want to film videos but I feel so awkward and nervous about doing it with a full house.
So now you know why Thanksgiving is so damn awkward and why this may have been my last "traditional" Thanksgiving. I'm not sure if I'll come home for it next year. Honestly, I would be so happy just spending the holiday on the floor with some cartons of leftover Chinese food, a good friend, and plenty of Doctor Who episodes. Is anyone free next year?
Also, I'm officially dropping out of NaNoWriMo. I got sick last week and had too much schoolwork so I couldn't write and I haven't caught up. I just don't want to. Next year, maybe I'll finish. But for now, I'm ending it with 28,169 words.
For starters, it's kind of just shoved in the year. Here you are, going along and having a nice autumn, watching the trees change and whatnot when suddenly, a wild holiday appears in the tall grass! and really, what is it even doing here? I'm just trying to enjoy my November, the Holden Caulfield of months, but now I can't because of this random holiday that just decided to show up, catapulting us forward into winter before the tree I stare at everyday in biology class has even lost all of its leaves.
Second, what exactly are we celebrating? If you ask ten people, you will get ten different answers. And that's fine, really, it is. But isn't it strange how we have this national holiday that is supposed to bring people together that means a different thing for every person? And shouldn't we be thankful for things all year long and not just on one day a year? Which brings me to number three.
Every person has those two friends who see Thanksgiving completely differently. One is the all-American, I-just-shot-my-own-turkey-in-the-frozen-food-section, good old boy. And then there's the politically correct, never-shuts-up-about-how-we-shot-Indians, disillusioned cynic. And every year, you listen to the "I'm thankful America is the best" speech and read the "Hypocrites! You're all hypocrites! Eat nothing! Buy nothing! Trust no one over 30!" facebook status. And don't you just want to introduce them to each other so they can preach and yell at the other while you eat mashed potatoes?
The fourth reason Thanksgiving is weird is more personal for me. My birthday falls a few days before Thanksgiving every year and I can't really enjoy it because it marks the start of the most awkward holiday of all. And I feel awful that my mom goes through so much trouble for my birthday and then for Thanksgiving.
Fifth on the list is all of the food. Food is great, yeah? I personally love it, but after 18 years of eating turkey for a month each year I'm kind of sick of it. Literally. I don't know what it is but for the past few years the smell of cooking poultry just makes me ill. Oh and then when the left over turkey is put in a soup I get really confused because the house smells like apples from the pies or apple crisp so I start to think that it's Passover.
And lastly, when exactly does Thanksgiving begin and when does it end? In other words, when can I stop feeling like a stranger in my own house? When do people go home? It sounds rude, and it is, but I just want to have the house to myself for one night. The view from my bedroom window gets a little boring after long enough. And I want to film videos but I feel so awkward and nervous about doing it with a full house.
So now you know why Thanksgiving is so damn awkward and why this may have been my last "traditional" Thanksgiving. I'm not sure if I'll come home for it next year. Honestly, I would be so happy just spending the holiday on the floor with some cartons of leftover Chinese food, a good friend, and plenty of Doctor Who episodes. Is anyone free next year?
Also, I'm officially dropping out of NaNoWriMo. I got sick last week and had too much schoolwork so I couldn't write and I haven't caught up. I just don't want to. Next year, maybe I'll finish. But for now, I'm ending it with 28,169 words.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Turning back months of mutual avoidance
I should really be writing my novel write now (I'm doing NaNoWriMo) but I wrote nearly 5000 words last night and got caught up after being days behind. Or I should be doing homework but I've got six hours in a car tomorrow as I'm going to visit my brother for the evening so I'll have plenty of time to study on the trip. And with my word count at 16739 and still another two days to get my schoolwork done, I've decided to write a blogpost on this thing that is currently happening to me.
Over in the Summer of 2010 I met this boy at a theatre workshop who I really fell for. From the end of July to the beginning of January he was basically the most important person in my life. I'm not going to go into details but basically things ended pretty badly and awkwardly a couple times during those five months. Finally in the middle of December we began to drift for good.
Now I have a history of depending too much on certain people. "Anchors" you might say. This kid was one of them. I told him pretty much everything about my life and he did the same with me. But we never actually dated. *cue Forever Alone music* So there were all of these text messages passed between us carrying the story of two lives. And then when the awkwardness came they dried up, were eventually deleted, and replaced by new phones. The only contact we've had for months and months now was the occasional joke on a facebook status.
But today is Veteran's Day. This guy's brother was (or maybe still is) a Marine. So I texted this guy asking him to wish his brother a nice day and to thank him for me. And from there a very tentative and short conversation sprouted up about colleges. I think the conversation has ended now. I sent the last message ten minutes ago so the balls in his court at any rate. But it's weird. Here's this guy who used to mean the world to me, who I used to tell everything to automatically. And now if we were standing in the same room we'd be staring at our shoes or out the window, talking about the weather.
I don't mean to make this blog into a diary- I couldn't never keep those, anyway- but it's just interesting and strange to me how just a year ago this guy had my entire life story in his phone and now we can't even carry on a polite and superficial conversation. It's really too bad. I miss him. I don't think it's possible not to miss someone who was as important to me as this man once was. But after this much time and this much distance I don't think we can start again. I've been thinking about it lately, though, and I think I'd like to try. So, not that you're reading this, but if you are, Anthony, do you want to be friends?
Over in the Summer of 2010 I met this boy at a theatre workshop who I really fell for. From the end of July to the beginning of January he was basically the most important person in my life. I'm not going to go into details but basically things ended pretty badly and awkwardly a couple times during those five months. Finally in the middle of December we began to drift for good.
Now I have a history of depending too much on certain people. "Anchors" you might say. This kid was one of them. I told him pretty much everything about my life and he did the same with me. But we never actually dated. *cue Forever Alone music* So there were all of these text messages passed between us carrying the story of two lives. And then when the awkwardness came they dried up, were eventually deleted, and replaced by new phones. The only contact we've had for months and months now was the occasional joke on a facebook status.
But today is Veteran's Day. This guy's brother was (or maybe still is) a Marine. So I texted this guy asking him to wish his brother a nice day and to thank him for me. And from there a very tentative and short conversation sprouted up about colleges. I think the conversation has ended now. I sent the last message ten minutes ago so the balls in his court at any rate. But it's weird. Here's this guy who used to mean the world to me, who I used to tell everything to automatically. And now if we were standing in the same room we'd be staring at our shoes or out the window, talking about the weather.
I don't mean to make this blog into a diary- I couldn't never keep those, anyway- but it's just interesting and strange to me how just a year ago this guy had my entire life story in his phone and now we can't even carry on a polite and superficial conversation. It's really too bad. I miss him. I don't think it's possible not to miss someone who was as important to me as this man once was. But after this much time and this much distance I don't think we can start again. I've been thinking about it lately, though, and I think I'd like to try. So, not that you're reading this, but if you are, Anthony, do you want to be friends?
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sue from Catering's Halloween Adventures
If you're a Doctor Who fan and haven't seen this video yet, then watch it now.
Yeah. So after this video went live or was leaked or whatever it hit tumblr like the Oncoming Storm himself. I had seen the clip of David and the Proclaimers before when the BBC was doing their countdown to the Christmas Special back in 2009 and the image of David, John Simm, and Timothy Dalton all in a line but I had no idea where it had come from. It came from that brilliant masterpiece that you just watched.
The entire video was great as you would of course expect when you look at the people who made it. Every single part is flawless and laughable and meme-able. But Sue from Catering seems to have stuck out the most for the Whovians of tumblr and so a bit after 9 last night I decided to be Sue from Catering for Halloween.
Lately I've just used Halloween as an excuse to wear hats to school. This year I was thinking of going with a garrison cap but at the urging of my friend Sophie I asked my dad for a ride to the grocery store to get an apron.
So there I am.
(The scene is Wegman's. Nighttime. The aisles are emptying and the night shift has clocked in but the bakeries still open and the donuts haven't reached their late night cheap prices yet. A girl appears in a long, black, slightly ripped trench coat over pajama pants and green Chuck Taylor's with a bit of masking tape on the toe. A knitted hat that started its life as a sweater sits upon her head. A man in sweatpants and a fleece is with her. They roam the aisles looking for a black apron, but none can be found.)
I had called ahead to make sure they had black aprons but I couldn't find any with the rest. So I went to the customer service desk to ask where they were. The man working there went behind the counter and came back with an employee apron. He took it out of the packaging and gave it to me. Perfect! But then came the problem of whether or not I had to pay for it. The cashier was just as perplexed on the matter as my dad and I were. Was I about to steal an apron? Is it company policy to give away parts of staff uniforms to any girl wearing a trench coat?
It turned out that the apron was free. Yeah! That's right! Wegman's gives out free aprons. I encourage anyone reading this to get to a Wegman's as soon as they can and ask for an apron, a hat, a shirt, a vest, anything. Let's see what the limit is on gifts from the customer service desk. Will they give us a fleet of shopping carts? There's only one way to find out.
Right. So I suppose I digressed about there but back to Sue. I wrote "Sue" on a bit of duct tape and put it over the Wegman's emblem on my lovely, new apron. Dressed in black and armed with two wooden spoons and a sonic screwdriver I went to school. I really only did this to amuse the internet and myself and I knew that of the people at my school only my best friend, Brooke, would get it, but my god it was worth it!
By the end of the day my friends Christina and Kelly had me carrying a banana in the pocket of my apron and said that if I heard anyone say they were hungry I was to whip out a banana, say "Hi! I'm Sue from catering!", and hand them the fruit. Unfortunately it never came to this despite the fact that I had them planted in my biology class to complain about their hunger.
I've got plans to go get the on-sale candy tomorrow with Kelly so I have to finish my homework. I'll just leave you with this picture.
Yeah. So after this video went live or was leaked or whatever it hit tumblr like the Oncoming Storm himself. I had seen the clip of David and the Proclaimers before when the BBC was doing their countdown to the Christmas Special back in 2009 and the image of David, John Simm, and Timothy Dalton all in a line but I had no idea where it had come from. It came from that brilliant masterpiece that you just watched.
The entire video was great as you would of course expect when you look at the people who made it. Every single part is flawless and laughable and meme-able. But Sue from Catering seems to have stuck out the most for the Whovians of tumblr and so a bit after 9 last night I decided to be Sue from Catering for Halloween.
Lately I've just used Halloween as an excuse to wear hats to school. This year I was thinking of going with a garrison cap but at the urging of my friend Sophie I asked my dad for a ride to the grocery store to get an apron.
So there I am.
(The scene is Wegman's. Nighttime. The aisles are emptying and the night shift has clocked in but the bakeries still open and the donuts haven't reached their late night cheap prices yet. A girl appears in a long, black, slightly ripped trench coat over pajama pants and green Chuck Taylor's with a bit of masking tape on the toe. A knitted hat that started its life as a sweater sits upon her head. A man in sweatpants and a fleece is with her. They roam the aisles looking for a black apron, but none can be found.)
I had called ahead to make sure they had black aprons but I couldn't find any with the rest. So I went to the customer service desk to ask where they were. The man working there went behind the counter and came back with an employee apron. He took it out of the packaging and gave it to me. Perfect! But then came the problem of whether or not I had to pay for it. The cashier was just as perplexed on the matter as my dad and I were. Was I about to steal an apron? Is it company policy to give away parts of staff uniforms to any girl wearing a trench coat?
It turned out that the apron was free. Yeah! That's right! Wegman's gives out free aprons. I encourage anyone reading this to get to a Wegman's as soon as they can and ask for an apron, a hat, a shirt, a vest, anything. Let's see what the limit is on gifts from the customer service desk. Will they give us a fleet of shopping carts? There's only one way to find out.
Right. So I suppose I digressed about there but back to Sue. I wrote "Sue" on a bit of duct tape and put it over the Wegman's emblem on my lovely, new apron. Dressed in black and armed with two wooden spoons and a sonic screwdriver I went to school. I really only did this to amuse the internet and myself and I knew that of the people at my school only my best friend, Brooke, would get it, but my god it was worth it!
By the end of the day my friends Christina and Kelly had me carrying a banana in the pocket of my apron and said that if I heard anyone say they were hungry I was to whip out a banana, say "Hi! I'm Sue from catering!", and hand them the fruit. Unfortunately it never came to this despite the fact that I had them planted in my biology class to complain about their hunger.
I've got plans to go get the on-sale candy tomorrow with Kelly so I have to finish my homework. I'll just leave you with this picture.
Sue from Catering, Neil Young/Brooke, and Tori the Mushroom
(note the sonic screwdriver, wooden spoon, and banana)
Monday, September 26, 2011
Blog ALL the Things!
Oh no! I have a blog. Whoops. I guess I should, you know, blog. Though I'm not sure if anyone reads this so actually I can blog whenever I want about whatever I want and no one will give me guff about it! Yes! I am blogging about cheesecake then.
My mom makes my siblings and I "back to school" pies. Which are exactly what they sound like. Except this year everyone forgot so she just made my little sister and I a chocolate cheesecake and it is so good and nearly gone and my mom is awesome, isn't she? I love her. And not just because she makes me cheesecake but because she's just really great.
Okay now I'm blogging about my mother. It's funny but so often people don't think about people from the internet as having parents. Like they're the children of Steve Jobbs or tumblr or a Dell and a Toshiba or something. But we do have parents. You just so rarely think about that.
If a Dell and a Toshiba did have a baby would that be considered a child of mixed race? Mixed brand? Wow. Maybe I should get out more.
I won't though. What's there to do and who's to do it with? Pretty much everyone who I mentioned over the summer has moved to college leaving me behind. I miss them. It's a bit boring without Kate, Chris, Elana, Dan, and Colin. Oh well. I'll see them in a couple months and I have gummy worms.
That's right! I have gummy worms. I forgot. Awesome.
Yeah I think it's safe to say I forgot how to blog.
My mom makes my siblings and I "back to school" pies. Which are exactly what they sound like. Except this year everyone forgot so she just made my little sister and I a chocolate cheesecake and it is so good and nearly gone and my mom is awesome, isn't she? I love her. And not just because she makes me cheesecake but because she's just really great.
Okay now I'm blogging about my mother. It's funny but so often people don't think about people from the internet as having parents. Like they're the children of Steve Jobbs or tumblr or a Dell and a Toshiba or something. But we do have parents. You just so rarely think about that.
If a Dell and a Toshiba did have a baby would that be considered a child of mixed race? Mixed brand? Wow. Maybe I should get out more.
I won't though. What's there to do and who's to do it with? Pretty much everyone who I mentioned over the summer has moved to college leaving me behind. I miss them. It's a bit boring without Kate, Chris, Elana, Dan, and Colin. Oh well. I'll see them in a couple months and I have gummy worms.
That's right! I have gummy worms. I forgot. Awesome.
Yeah I think it's safe to say I forgot how to blog.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Air Brat on the Road
I am an Air Force brat. Since my dad hasn't actually been in the Air Force for 17 years this doesn't really affect me except I have super warm coats and know the rules of saluting. But I'm learning to drive right now and so things sometimes come up that I imagine don't happen to civilian kids.
For instance, an example of a typical conversation between my dad and I when I'm behind the wheel.
Dad: Next left.
Me: I know.
Dad: And straight here.
Me: I know how to get to my house. I've lived here for most of my life.
Dad: I know but it's sometimes hard to think of directions when you're first learning to drive. It's like they say in the Air Force. "Aviate, then navigate, then communicate." Keep flying first, then think of where you're flying to, then radio in and say where you're going.
Me: They sure say a lot in the Air Force, don't they?
And then last night my windshield was super dirty and it was raining so that all I could see through it were glares of light and the occasional odd shape that could have been a car but might as well have been a horse drinking tea. So at dinner tonight when I was recounting the story there were plenty of "night flying" and "instruments only" jokes going about. And honestly, if I had to describe to someone just how bad the windshield was, I would probably say it was like being under the hood.
Also since the pilot in me has a need for speed I'm just waiting for the comment "You're driving a Subarau, not an F-117!"
At this rate I may have my pilot's license before my driver's one.
For instance, an example of a typical conversation between my dad and I when I'm behind the wheel.
Dad: Next left.
Me: I know.
Dad: And straight here.
Me: I know how to get to my house. I've lived here for most of my life.
Dad: I know but it's sometimes hard to think of directions when you're first learning to drive. It's like they say in the Air Force. "Aviate, then navigate, then communicate." Keep flying first, then think of where you're flying to, then radio in and say where you're going.
Me: They sure say a lot in the Air Force, don't they?
And then last night my windshield was super dirty and it was raining so that all I could see through it were glares of light and the occasional odd shape that could have been a car but might as well have been a horse drinking tea. So at dinner tonight when I was recounting the story there were plenty of "night flying" and "instruments only" jokes going about. And honestly, if I had to describe to someone just how bad the windshield was, I would probably say it was like being under the hood.
Also since the pilot in me has a need for speed I'm just waiting for the comment "You're driving a Subarau, not an F-117!"
At this rate I may have my pilot's license before my driver's one.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Random Wednesdays
Way back in the beginning of the summer my friend Kate told me that our friend Dan asked her to give him lessons on "how to be random". I quickly agreed to help and Random Wednesdays were born.
We didn't really know what that would mean at first. We had a few plans but not many that we really loved. The first Wednesday wound up being spent in a bubble tea shop with a few friends, including Gaylen and her three British friends she brought from Cambridge for a visit. The tea shop is kind of a gathering place for people from my school and as the night went on more people joined us including a crowd of people coming from a trivia night down the road. Unfortunately the slightly drunk librarian couldn't join us and her car had to be driven home by my friend Jordan. Dan came with the trivia group and all in all about 20 of us wound up at the tea house for nearly four or five hours. By the end of the night we hadn't really done anything random so Dan, Kate, Michelle, Ashley, and I waltzed/ran/skipped around the parking lot in front of a random person in a parked car for a bit and that was that.
The second Random Wednesday we decided to have a Night Picnic. NIGHT PICNIC! Except it rained. So we had to retire to Kate's basement where she had set up a "forest" including a plant, blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals including a Lorax. We had a great time.
Next Random Wednesday. My first one after coming back to LeakyCon. Kate, Dan, and I decided to dress up as vagabonds (a.k.a. "Land Pirates") and walk around the mall. Within two minutes of Kate and I walking in we passed a man who immediately burst out laughing after trying to hold it in. Then we met up with Dan. So there we went, walking around the mall. Me, covered in shawls. Kate, layers upon layers of ruffled skirts. And Dan? All black with red-lined black cape and a fedora with red and black feathers in it. Oh I'm sure the security guards loved us.
Fourth Random Wednesday was pretty tame. Dan, Chris, Kate, and I walked through the forest along the highway at night and just had a good time going to Wal-Mart and the grocery store while Chris tried to remember what he was supposed to remember.
And this brings us to last night's Random Wednesday. Another Night Picnic but this time at a playground by the highway we walked the week before. The same Picnic group gathered as last time (Dan, Kate, Chris, Elana, and I) along with the new addition of Colin.
Elana and I spent half the time comparing our new wands that we both got at Wizarding World this summer and swapping Harry Potter stories. And that was really great. Just completely nerding out about Harry Potter and having someone from my IRL life understand. When I told my StarKid stories from LeakyCon, Elana just got it and made jokes back to me. We talked about Doctor Who and counted the amount of times the Doctor has snogged people in the new series. It's funny. I spend so much time missing my URL friends that I sometimes forget that I have people like this in my very own town. For now at least as Elana will be leaving for college in two weeks. But I'll still have Brooke! My best friend who I haven't mentioned in this blog yet I don't think because she doesn't do things. That's her thing.
So I guess the whole point of this blog post was just to remind myself that I have damn awesome, nerdy friends outside of the internet, too.
We didn't really know what that would mean at first. We had a few plans but not many that we really loved. The first Wednesday wound up being spent in a bubble tea shop with a few friends, including Gaylen and her three British friends she brought from Cambridge for a visit. The tea shop is kind of a gathering place for people from my school and as the night went on more people joined us including a crowd of people coming from a trivia night down the road. Unfortunately the slightly drunk librarian couldn't join us and her car had to be driven home by my friend Jordan. Dan came with the trivia group and all in all about 20 of us wound up at the tea house for nearly four or five hours. By the end of the night we hadn't really done anything random so Dan, Kate, Michelle, Ashley, and I waltzed/ran/skipped around the parking lot in front of a random person in a parked car for a bit and that was that.
The second Random Wednesday we decided to have a Night Picnic. NIGHT PICNIC! Except it rained. So we had to retire to Kate's basement where she had set up a "forest" including a plant, blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals including a Lorax. We had a great time.
Next Random Wednesday. My first one after coming back to LeakyCon. Kate, Dan, and I decided to dress up as vagabonds (a.k.a. "Land Pirates") and walk around the mall. Within two minutes of Kate and I walking in we passed a man who immediately burst out laughing after trying to hold it in. Then we met up with Dan. So there we went, walking around the mall. Me, covered in shawls. Kate, layers upon layers of ruffled skirts. And Dan? All black with red-lined black cape and a fedora with red and black feathers in it. Oh I'm sure the security guards loved us.
Fourth Random Wednesday was pretty tame. Dan, Chris, Kate, and I walked through the forest along the highway at night and just had a good time going to Wal-Mart and the grocery store while Chris tried to remember what he was supposed to remember.
And this brings us to last night's Random Wednesday. Another Night Picnic but this time at a playground by the highway we walked the week before. The same Picnic group gathered as last time (Dan, Kate, Chris, Elana, and I) along with the new addition of Colin.
Elana and I spent half the time comparing our new wands that we both got at Wizarding World this summer and swapping Harry Potter stories. And that was really great. Just completely nerding out about Harry Potter and having someone from my IRL life understand. When I told my StarKid stories from LeakyCon, Elana just got it and made jokes back to me. We talked about Doctor Who and counted the amount of times the Doctor has snogged people in the new series. It's funny. I spend so much time missing my URL friends that I sometimes forget that I have people like this in my very own town. For now at least as Elana will be leaving for college in two weeks. But I'll still have Brooke! My best friend who I haven't mentioned in this blog yet I don't think because she doesn't do things. That's her thing.
So I guess the whole point of this blog post was just to remind myself that I have damn awesome, nerdy friends outside of the internet, too.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
College-ing: The Hunt- Part 1
So yesterday I went to go college hunting around New York City. And so I don't forget my impressions of the places I visited, I'm writing them down.
College One
Of the three I visited I think this one was my favorite. I mean, the first thing I heard when I got on campus was "Go to the castle." How can you go wrong with that!? I liked the more compact feel the campus had, the dorm rooms were nice, and it had a 24 hour library. Plus it seemed to have a solid history department. Our tour guide was pretty sweet, too. He kept misspeaking. My favorite things he said were "All the bathrooms have sinks" and "All freshmen are required to have cars". He's a senior and a history major. His general thesis topic is unity in the US during WWII. Seems pretty interesting. So yeah I liked this school.
Oh also the college used to be an all-girls Catholic school and this woman on the tour asked if it was "in your face Catholic". xD
College Two
This was a huge tour group and I could barely hear anything our guide said but my general impression of this school was that it is super artsy. And that they don't put a huge emphasis on the gen eds. So I could practically enter as a sophomore. And I don't think they have many history majors. But if I wanted to pick up a minor in film production and become the next Ken Burns then this would be a great place for it. And they have a Starbucks on campus. Just saying.
Before the tour started I heard a guy talking behind me and he kind of sounded like the serious actor type so I tweeted "Ugh. I think there's an actor who takes himself seriously behind me. No one should ever take themselves seriously. Especially an actor." Just hearing snatches of his conversation kind of reminded me of someone I didn't want to be reminded of. But as luck would have it his dad went to medical school with my father and he seemed like a pretty cool guy. A Shakespearean actor who's into Greco-Roman history. So sorry I made that snap judgment of you, Alex!
College Three
You seem like a lovely school for business and finance and economics majors who want to work with money and I know you have a great nursing program, but I just didn't get the feel that you were right for history nerds who don't really give a damn about money and don't have the patience for the Fortune 500. But you have a beautiful campus. And you have a farm. And a cute little pond. And you offer some pretty sweet financial aid and scholarships. And you seem organized. And I don't know if I'm seeing you objectively or not because of what happened right before the visit, though.
Before:
So here I am eating at a diner in Sleepy Hollow. I'm having a pretty good time. I'm awake. I have one more visit. And yeah Kara and Kristine are out of town and it'll be too late to visit West Point by the time we get there and I don't have Sierra's or Vikki's phone number to call them and possibly set something up and I missed Jason's exit. Okay. Whatever. It's not the first time I've had plans fall through. But then. Oh but then. I get a message. From Zach. Saying he'll be in Manhattan. Four. Hours. After. I. Leave.
Zach. My Llama. The one who I only just left in Orlando a few weeks ago. Who, living in Canada, I will probably have few opportunities to see again soon. Zach! It had to be him, didn't it? Mo? Okay we don't live that far from NYC or Poughkeepsie or someplace we could meet up. Alice? We're from the same general area. We're bound to see each other again. Kara? I wind up seeing you the most out of any of my URL friends. But Zach? A Canadian? Too. Fucking. Much. Ugh! Just another lesson in why life is not fair.
College One
Of the three I visited I think this one was my favorite. I mean, the first thing I heard when I got on campus was "Go to the castle." How can you go wrong with that!? I liked the more compact feel the campus had, the dorm rooms were nice, and it had a 24 hour library. Plus it seemed to have a solid history department. Our tour guide was pretty sweet, too. He kept misspeaking. My favorite things he said were "All the bathrooms have sinks" and "All freshmen are required to have cars". He's a senior and a history major. His general thesis topic is unity in the US during WWII. Seems pretty interesting. So yeah I liked this school.
Oh also the college used to be an all-girls Catholic school and this woman on the tour asked if it was "in your face Catholic". xD
College Two
This was a huge tour group and I could barely hear anything our guide said but my general impression of this school was that it is super artsy. And that they don't put a huge emphasis on the gen eds. So I could practically enter as a sophomore. And I don't think they have many history majors. But if I wanted to pick up a minor in film production and become the next Ken Burns then this would be a great place for it. And they have a Starbucks on campus. Just saying.
Before the tour started I heard a guy talking behind me and he kind of sounded like the serious actor type so I tweeted "Ugh. I think there's an actor who takes himself seriously behind me. No one should ever take themselves seriously. Especially an actor." Just hearing snatches of his conversation kind of reminded me of someone I didn't want to be reminded of. But as luck would have it his dad went to medical school with my father and he seemed like a pretty cool guy. A Shakespearean actor who's into Greco-Roman history. So sorry I made that snap judgment of you, Alex!
College Three
You seem like a lovely school for business and finance and economics majors who want to work with money and I know you have a great nursing program, but I just didn't get the feel that you were right for history nerds who don't really give a damn about money and don't have the patience for the Fortune 500. But you have a beautiful campus. And you have a farm. And a cute little pond. And you offer some pretty sweet financial aid and scholarships. And you seem organized. And I don't know if I'm seeing you objectively or not because of what happened right before the visit, though.
Before:
So here I am eating at a diner in Sleepy Hollow. I'm having a pretty good time. I'm awake. I have one more visit. And yeah Kara and Kristine are out of town and it'll be too late to visit West Point by the time we get there and I don't have Sierra's or Vikki's phone number to call them and possibly set something up and I missed Jason's exit. Okay. Whatever. It's not the first time I've had plans fall through. But then. Oh but then. I get a message. From Zach. Saying he'll be in Manhattan. Four. Hours. After. I. Leave.
Zach. My Llama. The one who I only just left in Orlando a few weeks ago. Who, living in Canada, I will probably have few opportunities to see again soon. Zach! It had to be him, didn't it? Mo? Okay we don't live that far from NYC or Poughkeepsie or someplace we could meet up. Alice? We're from the same general area. We're bound to see each other again. Kara? I wind up seeing you the most out of any of my URL friends. But Zach? A Canadian? Too. Fucking. Much. Ugh! Just another lesson in why life is not fair.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Life After LeakyCon
I have to say that it hurts to put down in words that it's been 3 weeks since I left LeakyCon. I don't want to accept the fact that it's already been that long since I've seen so many of my very best friends. And I can't tell if it seems like it's been shorter or longer than that.
But life moves on as it always does after Con and Tour Season (it's a thing now) comes to an end. You see you're URL friends less and actually start to answer when your IRL friends send you messages. You start going out with people you haven't seen since June rather than the ones you haven't seen since David Tennant was still the Doctor. You create memories with your IRL friends and soon the last time you were out that late it was because you were at the grocery store looking for peppers with Chris, Kate, and Dan rather than because you were sleeping in the lobby of the Royal Pacific with Annie, Kara, ShaSha, Zach, Alex, and the rest of the gang. And the blisters you got from running around the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for five hours are replaced with the ones you got from going on four mile walks along the highway at night.
But the reminders of friends stick around long after everyone has left the conference halls. Just the other night when Chris, Dan, Kate and I were out walking, Chris decided that if he shuffled along he would expend less energy. Of course I was still thinking of LeakyCon and started to sing "Everyday I'm Shuffling". But as soon as I got "shuff-" out, I remembered where I was and that no one would join in. Kate looked over at me and asked "Everyday you're shuffling?" I told her never mind. Kate! One of my best friends for six years. I couldn't even explain to her why I stopped singing.
A similar thing happened earlier that night when Dan got in the car and brought with him the scent of Man Christmas. Man Christmas is what we smelled on the morning after the Roflcoptour stop in Poughkeepsie. Kristine, Patrick, Alex D, Mo, and I were just sitting in Kara's room and then this weird scent that can only be described as, in the words of Kristine, "Like Christmas, but Man Christmas." So when I smelled it in Chris' car I had to say something. And no one knew what I was talking about. I had to text Kristine and then I remembered she's in Europe and wouldn't be replying. So not only did I sit in Man Christmas for nearly 20 minutes, I couldn't share my emotions on finally finding the smell again with anyone.
I love my IRL friends, but it's those little moments like that on days like these that make you realize how much of your life is made up of things that only people miles and miles away would be able to understand.
But life moves on as it always does after Con and Tour Season (it's a thing now) comes to an end. You see you're URL friends less and actually start to answer when your IRL friends send you messages. You start going out with people you haven't seen since June rather than the ones you haven't seen since David Tennant was still the Doctor. You create memories with your IRL friends and soon the last time you were out that late it was because you were at the grocery store looking for peppers with Chris, Kate, and Dan rather than because you were sleeping in the lobby of the Royal Pacific with Annie, Kara, ShaSha, Zach, Alex, and the rest of the gang. And the blisters you got from running around the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for five hours are replaced with the ones you got from going on four mile walks along the highway at night.
But the reminders of friends stick around long after everyone has left the conference halls. Just the other night when Chris, Dan, Kate and I were out walking, Chris decided that if he shuffled along he would expend less energy. Of course I was still thinking of LeakyCon and started to sing "Everyday I'm Shuffling". But as soon as I got "shuff-" out, I remembered where I was and that no one would join in. Kate looked over at me and asked "Everyday you're shuffling?" I told her never mind. Kate! One of my best friends for six years. I couldn't even explain to her why I stopped singing.
A similar thing happened earlier that night when Dan got in the car and brought with him the scent of Man Christmas. Man Christmas is what we smelled on the morning after the Roflcoptour stop in Poughkeepsie. Kristine, Patrick, Alex D, Mo, and I were just sitting in Kara's room and then this weird scent that can only be described as, in the words of Kristine, "Like Christmas, but Man Christmas." So when I smelled it in Chris' car I had to say something. And no one knew what I was talking about. I had to text Kristine and then I remembered she's in Europe and wouldn't be replying. So not only did I sit in Man Christmas for nearly 20 minutes, I couldn't share my emotions on finally finding the smell again with anyone.
I love my IRL friends, but it's those little moments like that on days like these that make you realize how much of your life is made up of things that only people miles and miles away would be able to understand.
Friday, July 22, 2011
The Pain of Missing You
It hurts. It hurts so fucking much. It hurts more than when I broke my toe or all the times I’ve contused or burned my fingers. It’s worse than when I tripped and slammed my nose onto the edge of a concrete step. Worse than the largest, pulsing blisters on my fingers from guitar strings or my lips being cut open after a long concert series. More intense than the most painful cramps. And more agony than last summer when I walked more than a half mile downhill on a gravel road barefoot while the ground burnt. And I can’t stop it.
I can’t put a band-aid on this wound. I can’t just clean it, wrap it in gauze, and tape it up. There’s no bracing it and no relief. It’s just the phantom pain of something not there.
It’s the pain of missing you.
And I don’t know how much longer I can handle it.
Not being there with you. Not lying against you as we drift off to sleep. Not feeling you breathe beside me. Waking up and you not being there. I can’t grab your hand as I walk down the hall. I can’t reach that far. I can’t get to you. And it hurts. It just fucking hurts.
I can’t put a band-aid on this wound. I can’t just clean it, wrap it in gauze, and tape it up. There’s no bracing it and no relief. It’s just the phantom pain of something not there.
It’s the pain of missing you.
And I don’t know how much longer I can handle it.
Not being there with you. Not lying against you as we drift off to sleep. Not feeling you breathe beside me. Waking up and you not being there. I can’t grab your hand as I walk down the hall. I can’t reach that far. I can’t get to you. And it hurts. It just fucking hurts.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Introductions and Adventures
So I finally caved and got a blog. It's made sense for me to have one for a while as I like writing, I usually forget to vlog, and I feel like I have a fairly interesting life that I would like to look back on and remember someday. So a blog it is! And an actual one, too. I've had a tumblr for a while now but I think most people can agree that that site's not for blogging so much as it is for sharing silly pictures of Voldemort giving out hugs.
Now that that's out of the way let me share my 4th of July with you. I woke up planning to spend a lazy day doing nothing and then having and Experimental Barbecue. So named because my family has never cooked a steak on this grill. But I got a text message from my friend Chris saying he and out friend Elana were picking me up. We didn't have the slightest idea where we were going or what we were going to do. But after some initial suggestions of mini-golf, playing Apples-to-Apples in a park with strangers, and going to the airport to pretend we were picking up someone's grandmother, Chris pulled into a Ukrainian cemetery.
I know, I know. It sounds really weird and slightly sadistic. But it was actually quite beautiful. It was on a little, secluded, grassy hill surrounded by trees on three sides, and there was a nice breeze. Because it was the 4th I picked wild flowers and put them on the graves of servicemen.
If you've never just wandered around a graveyard I highly suggest you do. You come across such interesting names and years that tell half a story for you to imagine the rest of. And by definition they're quite peacefully except for the ghosts. After a little while of this Chris, Elana, and I decided to leave for our next destination.
It wound up being the mall. It was the usual mall experience with three friends with barely any money. We had an Ugly Hat Finding contest, played Guess What Scent this Candle Is, sampled overpriced gelato, and pretended to be polygamists and nearly fell asleep on a bed in Sears. When the woman working there told us to move she said "If you knew what was in there you wouldn't be lying on it." We decided that it would be best if we left and got some average-priced gelato from the grocery store.
After the gelato Elana was still sleepy so she suggested going to a furniture store and sleeping there. We tried going to one but as soon as we walked in the door we were pounced on by a salesman, forcing us to pretend to be looking for an ottoman for our college dorm. (My favorite part of this was when Chris whispered to me "What's an ottoman?") Eventually we took pity on the salesman and left. But when Chris was driving back to my house he took a wrong turn and we wound up in the parking lot of one of the sketchiest grocery stores in existence where our dear friend Tori happened to be working. Naturally we had to buy the cheapest things possible and pay Tori for them with exact change and request our M&Ms packaged in "double paper, extra plastic".
When I got home the steak hadn't fallen into the fire and my brother hadn't razed the deck by grilling dry corn. All in all it was just a really nice day that you wish could have lasted longer.
Oh and then eight days after that I left for LeakyCon 2011.
Now that that's out of the way let me share my 4th of July with you. I woke up planning to spend a lazy day doing nothing and then having and Experimental Barbecue. So named because my family has never cooked a steak on this grill. But I got a text message from my friend Chris saying he and out friend Elana were picking me up. We didn't have the slightest idea where we were going or what we were going to do. But after some initial suggestions of mini-golf, playing Apples-to-Apples in a park with strangers, and going to the airport to pretend we were picking up someone's grandmother, Chris pulled into a Ukrainian cemetery.
I know, I know. It sounds really weird and slightly sadistic. But it was actually quite beautiful. It was on a little, secluded, grassy hill surrounded by trees on three sides, and there was a nice breeze. Because it was the 4th I picked wild flowers and put them on the graves of servicemen.
If you've never just wandered around a graveyard I highly suggest you do. You come across such interesting names and years that tell half a story for you to imagine the rest of. And by definition they're quite peacefully except for the ghosts. After a little while of this Chris, Elana, and I decided to leave for our next destination.
It wound up being the mall. It was the usual mall experience with three friends with barely any money. We had an Ugly Hat Finding contest, played Guess What Scent this Candle Is, sampled overpriced gelato, and pretended to be polygamists and nearly fell asleep on a bed in Sears. When the woman working there told us to move she said "If you knew what was in there you wouldn't be lying on it." We decided that it would be best if we left and got some average-priced gelato from the grocery store.
After the gelato Elana was still sleepy so she suggested going to a furniture store and sleeping there. We tried going to one but as soon as we walked in the door we were pounced on by a salesman, forcing us to pretend to be looking for an ottoman for our college dorm. (My favorite part of this was when Chris whispered to me "What's an ottoman?") Eventually we took pity on the salesman and left. But when Chris was driving back to my house he took a wrong turn and we wound up in the parking lot of one of the sketchiest grocery stores in existence where our dear friend Tori happened to be working. Naturally we had to buy the cheapest things possible and pay Tori for them with exact change and request our M&Ms packaged in "double paper, extra plastic".
When I got home the steak hadn't fallen into the fire and my brother hadn't razed the deck by grilling dry corn. All in all it was just a really nice day that you wish could have lasted longer.
Oh and then eight days after that I left for LeakyCon 2011.
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