home again

Well, before J & I left for Maine, my little hit counter at the bottom was less than 4000. As I am writing this, its at 4080! I sincerely doubt that means 80 people read my blog over the past 5 days, but it is still cool to know people are checking in! :)

Our trip was really good, no, I am not engaged.

Now that that is out of the way, here is what we did...

Wednesday
J & I got up kind of late (we got in around midnight Tuesday night to M & Js) and we decided it was a good day to go to L.L. Beans. So we did. I got a cute mini messenger bag for myself (it is not a purse!) and some things for my mom and brother.
We drove back home (its about an hour and 15 mins from M & Js house) and they cooked us a yummy salmon dinner. After that, we just sort of hung out, played some apples to apples, and watched retro erotica on OnDemand.
....
what?

Thursday
We got up bright and early to go fishing on Thursday morning. We got to Grammie's house by 7:15ish and went out on the water with M, Aunt S, and Uncle P. Despite our scrumptious bait of worms and clam, all we caught were crabs. J caught our only flounder, and it was about 12.5 inches, just BARELY worth keeping. (Just barely legal to keep too!)
We got back to Grammie's around 10:30ish, I think. We sort of sat around and finally ate lunch. J cut up his fish, though I think next time I am going to try for him since I am the anal dissector. That sounds terrible. But you know what I mean. :)
C had the day off, so he planned to go to the beach with G and the kids. M, J, and I met them there around 2, I think. The beach in York, ME is dark sparkly sand that is constantly wet. At high tide, there is practically no beach, and at low tide, there is a ton. The water was COLD but it actually felt really nice once you got used to it. We spent some time digging in the sand with the kids, burying them up to their thighs and then watching them try to escape. It was fun! We stopped by a pottery place to get my mom a spoon holder on the way home.
After that we went back to M & Js and took showers.... then ran around to go back to G & C's to eat dinner with them and the kids. We had "meat house" meat... and it was YUMMY. I got to hold the new baby (3 weeks old!) for awhile, and in the process found the rest of the blue silly putty that T lost. It was on the couch in a crack. Now it is a lovely blue smear on my white zip up hoodie. Part of today's festivities include trying to get it out. Right. :)


Friday
We slept in on Friday and in the afternoon J & I met G and the kids at the 40th annual Stratham County Fair! It was hot as blazes and I was sweating standing still. I think I ate the majority of two snocones and sucked down a bottle and a half of water. We got J a bracelet and he went on several rides with the kids. It was actually a decent sized fair. By the end though, T & M were practically comatose with the heat and the activity... they both looked ready to pass out in their pools of sweat. :)
J & I were not in much better shape, so we went home and showered. After that though we headed out to Olive Garden with M & J. It was actually only a 20 minute wait... though we got there I think at like 4:50? Still, it was quick, and we were glad because after that, we went to see Harry Potter.
I REALLY liked the newest Harry Potter movie. I think its hard to cram an 800 pg book into a 2 hour movie, but they did it well. There were some things I would have liked to have been drawn out more (the battle at the end, the occulmancy lessons, the relationship between Harry and Sirius) but there were things they did just right (Dolores Umbridge in particular was PHENOMENAL). I realized what a conundrum the producers of this movie had. Since they made the movie without clues as to how it was going to end, they really didnt know what characters to pump up and which they could sort of leave out. For example, Kreacher is introduced in this movie, as is Bellatrix. Both play a reasonably significant role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (fear not, I am not going to spoil anything for you). But they have mostly left out a lot of the stuff with house elves in general. It seems like from that perspective, it will be difficult to film the final two movies because of story lines which have been left out in previous movies will need to be in those final movies. Shrug.
Anyway, the movie was great, I really enjoyed it. I adore Helena Bonham Carter, I think shes so awesome. The person who played Dolores was HILARIOUS and I loved loved loved the plates in her office with the kittens on them. I also appreciated her appearance getting more and more unkempt over the movie. It was great!

AFTER the movie, we went back to G & C's to play apples to apples. Fun times were had by all, and I think they appreciated being "grown ups" for awhile, even if we were playing a board game!

(Are you getting tired yet? Is this your idea of vacation?)

Saturday
We had hoped maybe to fish on Sat but we decided it was too crazy. We did not plan very effectively and C and the kids wanted to come and we needed bait and a driver and it was just sort of sloppy, so we scrapped it, instead eating blueberry pancakes for breakfast and relaxing for awhile.
J & I went to leave and magically my car would not start. I was not too pleased. Fortunately M & J showed up at just that time, and we took their car instead, leaving my poor car in the parking lot. I remarked on our way over that we were such deadbeats - at that point neither of us had cash and my car was broken down. Sadness.
We got to Grammie's around lunchtime, right before a huge storm hit. M, J, J, and I sat around the table and played Uno after eating lunch. The kids showed up during our Uno game, but they had a quiet time.
Around 3? we all went to Brown's for ice cream. Jon and I split some Mint Explosion (mint ice cream, chocolate chips, mint truffles) which I think was a good idea since it WAS 3 and we had a huge dinner awaiting.
Around 5:30, Uncle D, Aunt S, and Uncle P came with fresh steamed lobster. We had a traditional "lobster dinner" with corn, tomato/mozzarella salad, chips, and fugasse (a yummy focacia type bread). I had salmon, and so did M. Lobster is just too messy and its not really a favorite taste of mine.
After that we decided to go home because my car was really weighing on my mind and I wanted to jump it and drive around to charge the battery.
J & J played the role of manly men and got my car running. They then went out and had some male bonding time while M & I sat in the kitchen and had our own bonding time. About an hour or so after they left, J called to tell us they somehow ended up at Lowe's (natch) and were buying pipe insulation. Yeah. That actually turned out to be just fine though and M and I had a perfectly lovely time chatting about life.
They got back maybe 45 minutes after the phone call and we all went to bed around 10:30.

Sunday
J & I were planning on being on the road at 9. It ended up being about 9:30, which is not so bad. We packed up the car and started it up with no issues. J drove the first 4 or 5 hours. We stopped at a rest stop on the Jersey Turnpike to get gas. There was a huge line, it being full service, and we probably idled for 20 minutes while waiting. I pulled up to get gas, was like OH YEAH I have to turn off my car (so not used to someone else pumping for me!) and... left the lights on.
It was only 8 minutes or so.... but I went to turn the car on again and no dice. Dead as could be.
J and another dude pushed my car to the side and we waited for a jump from the service truck. We were fortunate to stop at a place where they had a battery jump pack. I got really frustrated and upset by the whole thing, and my parents were kind enough to go buy me another battery at the store.
We drove back to my house and then helped my dad replace the battery. We also put air in the tires. Yes, I know, things you should do BEFORE going on a 400 mile trip to Maine.
My mom had dinner waiting for us, which was nice. My family joked that they have not had a meal since J and I were gone... it seems like whenever J is around, we actually have real meals... or is it when we have real meals, he is there? Who knows. :)
J and I then drove off to Ardmore to go to Project rehearsal... our final one!
I did not have a great time at rehearsal... I am very concerned about my solo and was having a hard time remembering all the lyrics. I am nervous about it and not feeling very confident about my voice lately. Bleh. But come anyway... if nothing else, you may have the chance to see me make a fool out of myself when my voice cracks and I forget the words to my song. :(
Afterwards, we went back to J's house and unpacked his stuff from my car. We laid down on his bed to relax and decompress a little bit. I rubbed his back for awhile...
Then suddenly it was 3:15 in the morning and I woke up and said darn it, I gotta go home. I did. And I got up today around 11.



So that was the full extent of our trip. Hardly a vacation, but a nice visit. We got to see pretty much everyone and we did everything we wanted to do, I think. I could use another vacation after this one, of course, but it was good.

J has all the pictures, so once I steal them from him, I will put some up.

bizzy bee

Lots of stuff is coming up...

Tomorrow J & I leave for Maine (again) and will be there till Sunday. We do not have plans other than fishing, seeing the new baby, playing some Apples to Apples, going to Bean's, taking the kids to the fair in Portsmouth, seeing Grammie... oh yeah, I think J mentioned sleep at some point? So much for a relaxing vacation!

We will drive home Sunday morning and then go to rehearsal that night... our last one! EEK!

Which reminds me, again, to cordially invite anyone who cares to the Project Philly Concert. 8 pm, Lower Merion High School Auditorium, Thursday August 2nd. Its free. And AWESOME. Please come out!

So anyway, Sunday is rehearsal, Monday is work. Tuesday is frantically trying to memorize any leftover music I haven't mastered by Sunday (aka: all of it). Wednesday is the dress rehs, Thursday is the CONCERT! (You are invited, just in case you skipped the last bit of writing)

Friday is chillin (and lil'in)... Sat work again. Sunday is church and Project Party. Monday is bible study and working, Tuesday is docs appt and packing... then off to MONTANA!!!!!

After I get back, J (other J) and I and hopefully others have some kayaking plans. Also, J (previous J) and I are hopefully getting together with K and C (or is it a K?) from work and go boating and extremely dangerous wake boarding with them. I will post pictures of my inevitable face plant and resulting massive bruising and capillary busting.


THEN.............. school starts again. Ugh-tastic.

At least I do not have China to worry about.




Also, I read Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows in 2 days flat. I took it to work with me on Sat and made it half way through. Read another 2 hours when I got home... then I think it took maybe 2 more hours after that. I really wanted to savor everything. And oh was it delicious. Honestly, I think it HAD to be the way it was. It did not shock me, but it was still a great read, action packed, and nicely wrapped up in the end. It left me sad that HP is over, but not yearning for more. I feel quite satisfied and I wasn't left wanting or feeling like there needed to be more. Great job JK! You deserve the MILLIONS OF DOLLARS you are making off of a series of kids books that has spawned a cultural phenomenon. Actually, I am not sure that you deserve it... but kudos to you anyway. I liked it...

And since that is out of the way, I can get back to Sir Robert Jordan and his evil Wheel of Time series that, thanks to J's (kayaking J's) persistence, I have started reading AND CANT STOP MYSELF. Pathetic, really. I am on the third book, and I find myself day dreaming of what it would be like to be Aes Sedai, what Perrin's eyes actually look like, and the cruelty of Leashing. And then I start wondering if maybe my intuition is actually just the ability to Channel. Stupid, stupid, no! But fear not, I would not be of the Red Ajah. And not the Green, though tempting. I am probably a cross of Brown and Blue. Or maybe I would just be a kickin Amyrlan. Okay, sorry, dispensing with the nerdiness. Its not like you get it anyway.




Last but not least, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENN! (Even though technically at 12:52 its not your birthday any longer, but I figure you wont mind prolonging it a bit more)

the response

Here is the response I got:

We certainly are disappointed, but we also understand that it would have been difficult to teach your course load in addition to being there for the kids, and in additon to staying one step ahead of them with the Mandarin. You know, this is a pretty new and radical concept in education. When I talked to JW about this yesterday he said, "L, we are 250% behind you, and we expect you will be working out the bugs. This kind of program gives our school an edge no other school has. You go girl"

We are pretty sure this program has none of the bugs Panama had. That said, we have other issues, like a 5 month wait for passports. We are unable to get group visas without these passports. Thus, our delay getting visas. Fortunately, you can get a visa in an hour or two if you go to NY or DC, so no need to have these in August. We need to wait until September for the visas. But I see you have concerns, and therefore it is better to sit this trip out, and not be part of the first foray into Asia. However, we hope in the future you may be able to be a team member. We know, since you have been to China, you might have been a very nice fit. We were looking for someone young, to complement C and I, and we also need someone who is not afraid of a healthy risk, and will be a team player so that we can work out bugs as they come up. I feel like this is like playing the violin....learning from mistakes....getting better through practice until the end result is world class. Ericka, we wish you a wonderful school year!



Honestly.... I think she totally did not get it. I am 100% confident of my abilities to personally handle my commitment to teaching while at the same time learning Mandarin and watching over a few kids. It really really really annoys me that she started it off with that. I AM NOT INCOMPETENT and am fully capable of doing all that and more of the requirements.

I love how she mostly ignored the fact that I would never send my kid on this trip. Is she in la-la land or what?! Am I going crazy?

Seriously - am I? Because she kinda makes me feel a little bit like I am.

It really burns my buns when I feel like someone thinks I cant handle something... but in this case its the duel annoyance of having someone think I backed out because I couldnt deal with it AND at the same time totally glossing over the real issues here!

My first instinct here is to write back and say WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR MALFUNCTION MISSY?! I assured her more than once that I know I was capable of dealing with the pressure.... the reason I am not going is because IT IS POORLY PLANNED!!!!!!!!!!



I am so frustrated. And I have a pounding headache.

Please, relief, anyone?

the final letter

Here is what I sent... what do you think?

Dear L & C,

Over the past week I have thought long and hard about the trip to China in October. After considering all sides, I have decided that it would be in my best interest and your best interest as a team for me not to go. I hope that you understand that this decision has nothing to do with either of you personally. You are both wonderful people, and I am excited that you are making this dream a reality for the students.

Because I have been so enthusiastic about this trip, I believe you deserve somewhat of an explanation as to why I am backing out now. There are several factors, but the main one being that I am not comfortable with the level of preparation for this trip. I have been reminded several times to be open with you and to bring issues to the table. So to be brutally honest with you both, if I were a parent, I would not send my child on this trip as it stands right now. I am not a last-minute sort of person, and to me, the tickets and visa arrangements should already be made, or at least specific plans as to when that will occur and who will be doing it. This is just an example of worries I have about this trip, which is only 2.5 months away. Because I would feel uncomfortable sending my own child on this trip, I cannot support other parents sending their children. Frankly, I feel the trip is too soon and too little is known about the specific details.

Upon further analysis, I also strongly felt that I would be going to China as a student rather than a teacher and I would not have many duties there as a supervisor. Not only would I have my own class to worry about, but taking classes and living in a home-stay really made me feel more of a student than a chaperone. Although I would love to go to China as a student, I feel that is not the job I am supposed to be doing and it is unfair to use PALCS for my own personal gain. Believe me when I say that I really want to do it, but that it feels morally wrong.

I sincerely hope that you do not feel this is anything against either of you. Once the program is more established, I would be more than happy to accompany your team and oversee a group of students. In fact, I am greatly interested in staying on the team now and working with you to nail down some of the crucial details, as planning is part of my nature. Of course, it is up to you and I would understand if you decided upon a different person to complete your outfit.

If you would like to discuss any of what I have said, or any of the other (in my opinion) valid concerns I have about the trip, I am willing to sit down with you both and bring them to light. I deeply appreciate that you have invited me on this trip, and I hope that you will consider me again when the time comes.

Appreciatively,

Ericka

to china or not to china? that is the question

Blah.

Why is it that all of my travel plans have been falling through?!

Australia punked out...

Potential secondary p2p travel fell through...

And now China.



Here is the story...
There are three reasons I am feeling sketchy about the trip which really surfaced after a meeting yesterday at school.
1) I was told I was going, then I was told permission needed to be granted, then I was told I was "officially going" and that a definite yes was obtained, and then I walked in yesterday to find out that the two main people who I needed permission from were only asked YESTERDAY if I could go... hence I was back to unknown status. The person who was supposed to deal with all of this has NOT been doing her job.
2) I was told it was okay for J to go. I was also told we would all be staying in apts. I find out yesterday I have a homestay. So I ask what happens with J. He is supposed to get a hotel. I ask when he should go so that he can travel with someone else and come home with us. The answer: Uh about the last 10 days of the trip. Well guess what, thats not enough information. He needs shots, a plane ticket, hotel reservations, travel from Beijing to Shijiahuang, and a VISA. These things do not happen overnight. The trip is 2.5 months away. This stuff should be taken care of already. It isnt, and I cannot seem to pin down anything! Not only is it poorly planned for chaperones, but for the kids. At this point in time, there is no way that I would ever let my own kid go on this trip... so if I would not send my own kid, how could I support parents sending their students on this trip??
3) "what happens in vegas, stays in vegas"... The leader of this trip has mentioned this phrase to me about 4 or 5 times. Once or twice, I understand... problems are going to crop up, people should not air their dirty laundry and whatever... but she has said it to me so many times that I have basically lost my confidence in her as a leader. I am thinking to myself, what the HECK happened on your other trips that you are keeping secret so that you do not seem incompetent and are shut down as a department?!


Soo.... I talked to my science super and told him all of this. He told me that he shared the same concerns, this could go down in flames, and its probably not something I want to be wrapped up in. He said he would not blame me if I ran for the hills.

I talked to my brother and he said the same thing... but he made a suggestion... if I can stay in an apartment or hotel, then rotate around the homestays and visit them once a week for dinner and the evening... and then I would have my own space, my own toilet (just in case I get dysentery again), and a place for the students to go if they need to talk or hang out or get away... then that could work. But still... I dont know.

Please send your opinions! I am in desperate need of them. I love China, I totally want to go and learn Chinese, but so many bells and warning signals are going off... can I make it work?

wedding bells

On Sat I attended the wedding of my uncle!

My mom is one of 8, and uncle Jim is the last of the 8 to get married, the youngest guy. That being said, he is still in his 40's. It was a really pretty ceremony, though I have to admit I did not pay attention to too much of it because I was cantor. The church was pretty huge and the acoustics crazy. I think you could whisper and be heard across it. They thankfully had a choir loft with and organ and clavichord in it... plus a full mike system... I was so pleased that I did not have to stand and sing in front of everyone.








That being said, the singing part went well, though I was nervous. My family, of course, gushed with compliments. I have to admit that I find it both embarrassing and awkward to accept compliments about singing. I mean yes, I think I did a decent job of it, and I only messed up once on a timing thing, and it went well... but.... I dunno. I just feel like with my family and stuff they are obligated to say something nice to me. Like any time I ran into my cousins or whatever, the first thing they said was WOW you did a GREAT job or something like that... instead of like hi, how are you, how is life? I dunno... I just dont like it. I do not want to seem ungrateful or anything... it just makes me feel really awkward. I dont want them to feel obligated. I dont know if they actually DO feel that way, but maybe its just my insecurity over singing... its easier to accept that they feel obligated than to accept that I really did sound good and deserved the compliments.




Anyway, the ceremony went really well, and I do not think there was a dry eye in the house on the Wolf side. My uncle is paralyzed and basically everyone thought he would never get married. But I think we all knew from the moment he started dating Maureen that things would turn out as they did. It definitely takes a special woman to take on that sort of burden, even if she does love him.




One of my uncle's best friends gave a great toast. He quoted Shakespeare: "Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them". He explained further that anyone in his family knew that Jim was born great.... that his friends know he has achieved greatness.... and anyone looking at Maureen could tell that greatness has certainly been thrust upon him. :)

The only sort of unfortunate thing about the wedding was the guy Jim brought in to sing a special song for Maureen... Lady of Knock. His name is Stan. And he is probably the most pompous guy I have met in a long time. He sang his song... in mostly the right key (cringe)... but then did not walk away from the mike. I was singing some other stuff, and he just sang right along in the mike! And even when we did the Our Father, he started saying the prayer INTO THE MIKE! WTF?! He was a jerk.

Then he sang some more songs at the reception.... yeah... he also brought his wife and MOTHER to the reception. HELLO?! NOT YOUR WEDDING!

HE ALSO CAME TO THE BRUNCH THE NEXT DAY AND SANG THERE!!!!! UGH!

Here is a picture of me and my cousin (who played the organ and clavichord and organized all the music and is so so talented!!!!!!) and.... Stan. Ugh.









Anyway, other than Stan, it went beautifully. Special thanks go out to J, A, J, C, N, and A for singing The Rainsong by the SubDudes. Honestly, my uncle said one of the highlights of his whole day was to hear us singing that and for Maureen to be singing along and how happy and surprised she was that we got it together. :)








It was a great time, lots of dancing and singing. :) J & I came home that night to a wonderfully empty house (everyone else stayed there) and got to enjoy the time alone. It was blissful. :)

I am a nerd, I cant help it

I have gotten some pretty good gifts in my time...

I could list them off for you... but I would feel a little silly.

Even though I have gotten these wonderful unnamed presents over the years.... I cannot help but think that one of the coolest gifts I could possibly ever get is THIS.

Yep, that is right.

I think that would be such a freaking awesome gift I would probably squeal multiple times in delight right after my eyes bulged out of my head and I got a huge smile on my face. I would jump up and down and clap. Probably give lots of hugs and kisses (if we had that kinda closeness)... then I would probably jump up and down and squeal and clap my hands some more.

I am a simple creature, really... with simple needs. I am easily amused. I just cant help it.



I understand the monetary cost of something like this... but some day.... some day....



I figure if J gets to put the stupid ambiant lighting tv on our wedding registry, I can request this.

happy anniversary?

As I came into work last night, I went into hematology. The supervisor to heme was still hanging out, and like usual she asked me how things were going.

The women in heme are all like little mothers to me. They call me "baby" because I look so young, and I am indeed still (after 3.5 yrs) the youngest med tech in the lab. They have seen a lot of ups and downs in my life over the past few years... and nearly all of them are divorced. So they are quite cynical about relationships and men in general.

Anyway, for quite awhile I was coming into the lab with what they considered "juicy gossip" - that is, the soap opera that was my life for the past year and a half. The saga between J & E was of great interest to them... mostly because they were rooting for J.

When I told them I was moving to Florida, they always questioned it. They felt I was not actually going to go. Well, they were right.

When I talked about J, they saw how I lit up and could not help but smile... and they gave me that knowing glance and told me to just get on with it.


So often, now, when I walk into heme, they cautiously ask if everything is going well and if I am happy. Of course I respond that it is and I am!


Last night, however, they brought up the day that E broke up with me. It was a Sat. The heme supervisor had been working that day, I was in Chemistry.... one of the girls from Chem was there too. I walked in and just absolutely fell apart. I almost made them cry. K (the super) laughs recalling it, because she said I was just so incredibly sad, it seemed like I would never be happy again. I never thought that, but she was right, I was pretty devastated.

Actually, it was July 8th of last year that it happened. The funny thing is that I thought on July 8th of this year, I would be sad and reminiscing and missing E.... and.... well, I wasnt. It passed by without me even realizing it was the anniversary to our breakup. In fact, what would have been our 4 yr anniversary if we had kept dating also passed without me realizing it and without me feeling sad.

The girls at the lab kept saying how I am all smiles now... and of course it has turned to them asking me if I am going to "marry this guy".



I know I often talk about the difference a year can bring. And I maintain it is true! Look at where I am compared to then!

It makes me wonder, too, where I will be a year from now...

July of 2008, what will that be like? Where will I be living? It certainly will not be here. I will hopefully have finished my masters then. Will I still be at PALCS? Will I be traveling with P2P next summer? Who knows, who knows?! :)


Regardless, there are good things ahead... hurtful things behind. Thank goodness time keeps plodding along even if I think sometimes it has stopped.

Current goal: Learn "Thriller" dance.


I spent a good amount of time on Monday learning the short dance to "If"... an hour and a half of me pouring sweat (even though I was inside in the ac) and I have it down... but I am certainly no Janet Jackson.

I did manage, however, to choreograph some moves for Project Philly Blue, which I taught to a very unwilling C and a very excited M on Monday night.

In the process, I managed to break a bunch of capillaries on my thighs from doing what I can only describe as a stripper move. Or perhaps from the movie Coyote Ugly... yeah.... i wish I had had chaps on, that is for sure.

Anyway, it will be fun, and I am totally jealous that I will not be singing it.



I cannot believe that its almost midway through July at this point, summer has been absolutely non-stop, and there are plenty of things yet to come.



My uncle's wedding is on Sat, and I am singing several songs in the mass. I have been practicing a bit, but probably not nearly enough. I also need to get a pedicure. (Obviously that is just as important as practicing the cantor music. right.)


Anyway, things are good, and I am pretty happy.... happier than I have been in a long time.


Oh, in other news, my brother is moving out. He officially signed a lease and will be packing up to move to Cinci at the end of August. :( I am really proud of him for finally following through with his words and really making things happen. Just the same, I really do not want him to move away. He is one of my best friends! Boo...


But before he moves, I am going to make t shirts for us. Ohhh just you wait. They are going to RULE! I will try to post pictures later!!!

while the cat is away...

...the mice will play!


Woot!


Fri ~ dunno yet, maybe seeing Ratatooie (yeah I spelled that wrong)
Sat ~ working
Sun ~ church, Project rehearsal at my house

Mon ~ nothin during the day, rehearsal at J's at night
Tue ~ working at night
Wed ~ Project rehearsal
Thur ~ working at night
Fri ~ wedding rehearsal dinner
Sat ~ uncle Jim & Maureen's wedding! (holy cow I gotta get working on that music!)
Sun ~ church, Project

Mon ~ work
Tue ~ work
Wed ~ Project at my house
Thur ~ nothin
Fri ~ nothin
Sat ~ work
Sun ~ church, Project at J's

Mon ~ nothin
Tue ~ getting my third hpv shot, driving up to Maine that night?
Wed ~ Maine
Thur ~ Maine
Fri ~ Maine
Sat ~ Maine
Sun ~ drive home from Maine, Project



So there you have it, the next three and a half weeks.... summer is going SO incredibly fast. Right now though, it is raining and Shallow Hal is on. Fantastic! :)

4th of July

Now you may not believe this... but I actually have friends, and today was proof!

What started out as a small informal gathering of people to hang out on the 4th of July and go see fireworks turned into 12 people... which, on Monday night, became 17. And then yesterday became 20. And today became 22. Then it became 20 because two never made it! Oops!

I realize that having 20 people at your house does not seem like a lot. But imagine it rains, and all those people crowd into your living room and kitchen. Thank goodness my parents are kind and generous people!

This party was a bit strange for a few reasons.... one, there were people here I had never met before (a former Dreamer and a cute boy from Ireland)... two, the age range spanned 15 years (18 to 33).... three, there was beer (odd if you know me)... four, it was people from all different areas of my life (PSU, Project, Dtown, friends of friends, Penns).... five, I made hamburgers (I have never made hamburgers before in my life)... and, finally, six, this was like... MY party. My own party that I put together and organized and cleaned for (the pool, the bathroom, the basement, the living room, ugh I am suddenly my mother) and cleaned up after (still have beer... anyone want to take some?!)

Naturally there is no photographic evidence of this event, but my aching feet and tired eyes are testament to the fact that I had an honest-to-goodness party.

And it was even fun!

Granted, most of the people I know are not "partiers" in that sense of the word... when it rained, we just sort of sat inside and talked... later we played Taboo and Apples to Apples while some people went to see Transformers.

J was a huge humongous help and I could not have done it without him. He even cut the onions. What a sweetheart!


Anyway, everyone just left at 11:30, after getting here around 3. I have been up since 10 running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get things ready and to talk to people and be social and clean up as I go and things like that. It feels so incredibly good to sit right now and write this entry.


We did NOT go to see the fireworks, although they did apparently happen. We were in the middle of Taboo and it was raining and everyone was kinda eh about it, so we skipped. I did not mind too much, though it would have been nice to celebrate "our holiday". :) (And by that I mean me and J's not like America's. When have I ever been that patriotic?!)



So now it is 12:05 and I am sitting in the living room with the deck door open and the fan on high... reveling in the peace and quiet and enjoying the cool breeze and soft lighting. Ahhh....


I hope everyone had a good time!




Also, I should mention that J is an uncle for the third time. His sister G and his brother in law C welcomed little Theodore into the world yesterday (the third) at 1:36. Happy birthday!


(pudding pops)

Monday

Yesterday was a long day! I got a lot accomplished though, which was great. Here is what I did...

In the morning I woke up around noon. I wrote a few emails and scheduled rehearsal for my uncle's wedding. I met G at Bed Bath & Beyond, and here is what happened after that...

I tried to be nice but I do not think it worked out. My friends are getting married over Labor Day weekend. I ordered something for them to be shipped to my house. I paid for it. They sent me two! I think I only paid for one though... I am like 95% sure that I only paid for one. So I decided to take the other back. I explained this to the girl, who was surprised that I brought the extras back... but she credited the one set.... and I was like, uh, well, I dont know if I paid for the other. She said not to worry about it, if I got it for free, I got it for free. Shrug. Oh well.

Then we went to rack room shoes to try to find white flip flops to go with the $15 dress I got on Sunday. No dice.

So then we went to Kohls where I picked up a bright red tie for J to wear to my uncle's wedding which kinda matches my dress. Aren't we so precious? :P

I still needed flip flops, so we went to DSW but they ALSO did not have the flip flops I wanted. GRR! Today I am going to try to order them online I think.

We then went to the bank, then to the mall to look for a phone charger.... turns out neither the Cingular store or Radio Shack had them. Bummer. So then we went to Staples to make copies of a song, and they happened to have one! YAY!

THEN we went to Target where I smelled practically every soap in the soap aisle. Then I got a new shower curtain because my brother likes to scrunch up the shower curtain after he showers which makes it grow disgusting slimy mold.

Once we were finished at Target, we went to Malvern to pick up hot dogs and ground beef for burgers. The current tally is 14 for my little picnic and fireworks party tomorrow. My brother is like, geez, I did not know you had 14 friends. Sigh. Me either.

Oh! On the WAY to Malvern, we stopped at UA to get tickets for TRANSFORMERS...

Anyway, I dropped G off at Bed Bath & Beyond and I went home.


At 7:30 (errr 7:45) I met J to go see Transformers.... and let me just tell you... it was AWESOME. I mean, he has been excited about it for probably a year... at least since he has known they were making it. I, on the other hand, had lukewarm feelings towards it. There are few movies I really get EXCITED for. But, he was right, i SHOULD have been excited for it...

During the whole movie I kept leaning over to J and saying THIS IS AWESOME! And it WAS! It was so good, I really enjoyed it... it made me really excited, like on par with x men or the first spiderman movie... it was just really freakin cool. So I think you should go see it. I am by no means a movie buff, and I am not all that critical of them either.... but I really liked it.




So that was my day yesterday. Today, I do not know what I am going to get done.... I need to find some flip flops, call the eye doc, call school, clean up my room a bit, maybe do some laundry, check out fireworks in the area.....

uhhh....

lay out by the pool cuz it is beautiful out......


:)


yay for summer!