Well That Didn't Work
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME
| Your Birthdate: August 5 |
| With a birthday on the 5th of the month you are inclined to work well with people and enjoy them. You are talented and versatile, very good at presenting ideas. You may have a tendency to get itchy feet at times and need change and travel. You tend to be very progressive, imaginative and adaptable. Your mind is quick, clever and analytical. A restlessness in your nature may make you a bit impatient and easily bored with routine. |
I was bored and thought I'd do a quiz-thingie. These things are total B.S. You know what my birthday means? It means that my dad was slightly tipsy after a Thanksgiving party and my mom suggested that be the night they try for a baby. Nine months later, there I was.
But seriously, I actually had a pleasant birthday this year. Adi and I spent the afternoon shopping down in her area before heading up to mine for hibachi with my parents and our friend Ashley.
By the way, 10 days nothing...I'm writing this entry from my sister's computer.
Comments ()Once again, I've been told that I keep my life too sheltered, that I'm too secretive. So, while none of the following bits of trivia about me are really secrets, here is a list of some of the little things that make me, me...and so very odd.
-I will try just about anything once, from food to skydiving.
-Because of that,I love foreign food, but not just sushi, tapas, and escargot, the obscure stuff too. For example, when ws the last time you ate a Japanese pastry, stocked your refridgerator with bottles of tea labeled in another language, or went out of your way to go to the coffee shop that serves Turkish and/or Cuban coffee?
-I've never had a reaction to caffeine. It doesn't make me shaky or help me stay awake. I've stayed up all night keeping friends company as they downed one coffee or Red Bull after another with ease and without either.
-Despite being an insomniac, I'm a morning person and have scheduled all my classes in the morning. Then again, since I'm an insomniac, I guess I'm a night person too.
-I put more pressure on myself than anyone else. I do it to the point of punishment.
-I think that ignorance is bliss, but would rather be smart, aware, and miserable than clueless and happy.
-I take the phrase "You couldn't do that" as an insult, in almost every context.
-I typically only daydream about one of two things.
-I think the best feeling in the world is falling asleep in the arms of someone you love.
-I talk in my sleep. According to my mother, I've talked about mathematical equations on more than one occasion.
-I was three years ahead of my grade in math until statistics. I opted not to take calculus and regret it.
-Because of my acceleration in math, I spent the last day of my high school career in the library for 6 hours disproving my vice principal's doctoral thesis via statistical analysis; she had asked me to confirm her results. In light of my findings, she was forced to re-write her entire thesis.
-I went to the library 48 hours before my first final, collected a stack of books (not one relating to any of the classes I took that semester or their respective finals) taller than me, and stayed in the library reading them until I had to go that final. Everyone was so absorbed in their own studies that I don't think anyone noticed I was gone.
-I wrote a 30-page paper about the Kennedy assassination and nearly got picked up on suspicion of terrorism.
-I think String Theory and the Economist are cool and am not ashamed to say so. I'm proud to be the geek that I am.
-If I could have lunch with anyone alive, I think I'd choose John Nash.
-I'd probably fall in love with a guy if he asked me out and took me to the Smithsonian Museum of American History on our first date.
-I think the two best smells in the world are "boy smell" and "puppy smell"
-My favorite kind of flowers are yellow Carolina Jasmines and hyacinths. From a florist, white lilies. All are extremely fragrant.
-The only color of roses I like is tangerine. Not pink, not peach, not orange, tangerine.
-The only candle scent I like is pumpkin (or pumpkin spice, etc.)
-Fall is my favorite season, Halloween (by far) my favorite holiday.
-My favorite kind of junk food in the entire world are plain caramel apples (Granny Smith) but that is due more to the sentimental value I attach to them than their taste. They are yummy though.
-I think Joseph Smith's chocolate is better than any other chocolatier's, including Lindt.
-If I could live anywhere in the country, I'd live in San Francisco, no question. (And I swear, it has nothing to do with the location of Joseph Smith.)
-Every set of keys I've ever had has been on a single keychain, small enough to fit completely in my clenched hand. Additionally, I always add a skeleton key to the set. I don't know why.
-There's a black stripe that cuts diagonally across my right eye. The only people that have ever noticed it for themselves are my mother and Dennis, both of whom referred to it as "my stripe."
-I have extremely curly hair, but hardly anyone's seen it that way since November, 2002.
-I wish I could go scuba-diving, kayaking, climbing, and spelunking on a regular basis.
-In the last month, I have fallen in love with Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper, Peach-flavored Propel Fitness water, and Altoids Sour Cherry gum, despite not being a big fan of soda, flavored-water, or gum.
-If there's an Abbott and Costello movie playing on TCM or any other station on television, you can be sure I'm watching it.
-I wish it poured everytime it rained; drizzle and small rain drops are boring and depressing.
P.S.-Yes, Adi, I'm aware that you know a good number of these.
Note: Posting will be light to non-existent for the next 10 days or so due to the fact that my computer will be on the other side of the country being repaired. Comments ()
Before you read this entry, let me apologize for its exceptional sloppiness, it's 4:30M and I can't think clearly enough to write something coherent.
This is the Hillcrest Manor, a delightful bed and breakfast in Corning, New York, five hours north of my parent's house in New Jersey. It is from this 1890 mansion that I pen this entry.
My mother decided a few weeks ago that she wanted to go on a vacation but, extremely restricted by issues of money, she was forced to change her plans (the ones in her head) from flying to a Caribbean Beach to driving to weststate New York. So, Friday night, she, my father, and I hit the road. Corning is a small town, and by small, I mean I walked it's diameter in no more than 30 minutes earlier today. The entire town is sustained by the Corning Glass factory and museum. People, mostly collectors of fine glass pieces, travel from around the world to this tiny town to marvel at Corning artisans and their glass-making process. My mother isn't a collector, but here we are anyway. I admire her devotion to taking a trip, and her interest in learning, even about glass-making, but aside from touring the museum and seeing a piece get made (which take no more than 4 hours combined,) there's not a damn thing to do in this town.
Corning is a depressing little town. In the late 90's, Corning stock cost $300 per share. Everyone put their eggs in the fiber-optics basket, and in Corning, pioneers in the technology. Then...the tech bubble burst. Corning stock plummeted to $3 per share, devastating the town, which exists solely because of the location of the world-reknowned glass-makers. While the stock is now priced around $17 per share, the damage to the town is still painfully evident. While browsing the small-town shops on Market Street (the downtown of Corning,) I noticed that nearly every other shop was out of business, the space they once occupied, for sale. The houses here, like the Hillcrest Manor, are all extremely large, a considerable number for sale, and all extremely well priced at $100,000-$120,000 a piece. My family's house in New Jersey is far smaller than half the size of most of the houses around here and would sell for $250,000. I guess location really is everything. My mom teased about moving here for a big house with a porch. When I reminded her that she'd have to travel 30 minutes to find a dry-cleaner, a movie theater, a Target, a hardware store, a mall, a sewing shop (sewing is one of my mother's favorite things to do,) etc, etc, etc, she immediately reconsidered.
In other news, my sister called my father's cell phone in hysterics this morning. My mother had given her permission to have a few friends over to spend the night last night. Apparently, she had said friends over and, according to her, at 3 o'clock in the morning, while they were watching movies, three drunken teenage boys, none of whom she claims to know, entered our house and, annoyed when my sister insisted they leave immediately, threw a beer bottle at the our glass-topped dining-room table, which then shattered. Immediately, alarms began going off in my head. Something about her story just wasn't right.
I, of course, am much more suspicious of my younger sister than is my mother. She, for example, believes that my 17-year old sister has never tasted alcohol outside a family sedeur. I, on the other hand, know for a fact that the last time my sister was home alone for a weekend, she threw a party at our house where she played beer pong. Anyway, the alarms started sounding in my head. First of all, a beer bottle, throw at anything as solid as a table, even one with a glass top, would break LONG before the table would, it's simple physics. Second, my sister (Miss Not-at-all Independent, herself*) failed to call my parents or the police last night, despite her claim to being terrified about the supposed intruders, instead waiting until 11:00 this morning.
So, knowing that 1.) people don't randomly break into houses unless they plan to rob, rape, or kill someone (which the intruders failed to attempt--thankfully), 2.) that my sister through a party the last time my parent's house was left to her care, 3.) that people often do turn up uninvited to parties they hear about, and 4.) that she didn't notify anyone despite being the most dependent person I've EVER met...it is my conclusion that she threw a party, some guys (who she may or may not know) showed up univited, were or got drunk, broke the table, and she and her friends delayed telling anyone until they could come up with a story. Or maybe there were no univited guys, maybe the party just got out of hand or someone did something stupid.
Either way, it ruined my mom's day...it cast a shadow over her cherished (and long deserved) trip. She, at first, believed my sister's story. Why wouldn't she? To her knowledge, my sister is completely trustworthy, which I'll admit, she is -- for the most part. But after I got my two-cents in, and after she sent my uncle to our house to check on Nicki (who told her that he didn't think he was getting the whole story either,) she's not so sure anymore.
I know it sounds aweful, and that it's not really my business, but I hope that my theory pans out and that Nicki gets in trouble, even if her punishment is simply to pay for the damage to the table. I'm sick of the fact that we're held to completely different standards. She gets away with everything. If I run into her room to get nail polish remover without her permission, even if I immediately put it back, I get a lecture from my mother on invading her space. If she takes shoes from my closet and goes to another state with them (like she did last week,) I'm told that she is still readjusting to having a sibling in the house again...i.e. "she's used to being able to take whatever of yours she wants." She took the earrings I wore to my prom from my jewelery box a few weeks ago and lost one of them. I didn't notice they were gone until I wanted to wear them the other day. She said, "Oh, I was hoping you wouldn't notice" and gave me $10 to replace them. I know it's dumb, but those earrings were the only piece of high school nostalgia I had. I didn't (and still don't) want to remember high school, so I didn't get a yearbook, I didn't march at graduation, etc...but I knew I had those earrings to represent that period in my life. $10...psh. Now I just sound bitter about shoes and earrings...I'm not, I'm bitter about the double standard.
*Sigh.* I'm just trying to validate why I think she should get what she deserves. What annoys me the most is the "good-girl" facade she puts on to our parents, when really, she's terribly bitchy and a near perfect example of a JAP. What's worse is that they buy it; my dad never once suggested she call about the mp3 player (see * below,) he played right into the helpless, dependent thing. I guess, "when you get right down to it" (only Zak'll get that,) she treats me horribly and is praised for it, so I resent her. Do you remember Michigan J. Frog, the Looney Tunes singing frog? Nicki's just like him. When she and I are alone, she carries a red-hot pitchfork, but the second a parent enters the room, she trashes the pitchfork and adorns a halo. Alex would tell me it stems from "a need for my parents' praise," which she has and thus, I envy. That could be it, but at this point, I just hope someone sees through her bullshit, calls her a bitch and leaves her to figure out why.
I'm hoping my sister gets punished, that may make me a bitch too, but at least I'm not hiding it. My parents know exactly where I stand. I feel guilty now, so I'm not a complete sociopath, lol...schadenfreude ,baby...part of a healthy and normal human psyche.
Now I feel better.
On a funny note, I love the away message I had up all weekend:
In weststate New York for the weekend. Don't worry, I brought my laptop with me.
Haha, as if I would leave my computer in another state for a whole weekend..LMAO!
*For the record, when I say "Miss Not-at-all Independent, herself: At the age of 11, she broke down in tears at the San Francisco airport when our flight back to New Jersey was cancelled wailing, "We're never going to get home, I'm never going to see Mom ever again." Meanwhile, my uncle, who had not left the airport yet, and I arranged for us to travel on another flight. Another example, she whined at my father to call about getting technical support for her mp3 player for 3 months rather than call herself.)
Comments ()Without a degree in biology, chemistry, or medicine, I have indeed found the cure for the common cold. Two days spend entirely in bed doing nothing but overdosing on your favorite cold medicine (mine's Alka-Seltzer Cold Plus Liqui-Gels) and sleeping. It's worked for me three times now. That, my dear readers, is how I spent yesterday and Tuesday. Today I ran errands will I tomorrow.
I lead an exciting life. Comments ()
Crappy, sleepy day. Amazing, hookah-smoking, beer-drinking, karaoke-singing evening. Comments ()
I sit here after having spent a great day in Washington among many good friends, most of whom I have not seen in months, about to break down in tears. Even I am surprised by how fragile I've been lately. I'll start at the beginning.
Adi, a friend of ours named Ashley and I drove down to D.C. late Thursday evening to spend some time in the area I believe to be my home and to visit friends who were lucky enough to have stayed here over the summer. While the plans for our journey (from where we were staying to who was coming) changed a number of times, the trip went forward with the highest hopes. We arrived after a fun (due the good music and even better company) though long (rain) drive exhausted but excited.
I am staying with my former co-worker and current friend, Crissy, in the wonderful Hughes Hall, where she continues to live and work. She had a shift from 2:00 AM to 6:00 AM this morning and despite having an accumulated 6 hours of sleep in the two nights prior to coming here, I felt it would be nice to keep her company through as much of it as I could; she did, afterall, offer me a roof when my original plans fell through at the last minute (long story.) I stayed up until almost 5:00, at which point I decided to get some shut eye. I woke at 10:00 this morning and began my day.
Adi, Ashley, and I went to Georgetown while Crissy slept off her early shift. It was a lot of fun. I missed D.C. and I missed going out with friends. I don't have very many in New Jersey, so I seldom go out for much other than errands. Anyway, Crissy had another shift from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM so, the three of us went to keep her company for a while before heading off to Dupont Circle. By the time we got back, I was exhausted (sleep deprivation and a lot of driving) but I had promised to take Crissy to a mall accessible only by car when she got off work to thank her for letting me stay in her room for a few nights (and to have fun, of course.) That girl can SHOP, lol. She's a lot of fun.
Crissy and I left the mall as it was closing. Both starving, we picked up food on the way back to the dorm only to discover upon our arrival that Adi had left (she had remained at the dorm to rest;) she returned a short time later upset about what I can only assume was a number of small stresses that had finally gotten to her. As they say, misery loves company. I spent the rest of the night trying to console her. What are friends for, right? The thing is, when she gets upset, she doesn't really want to feel better, she wants to be miserable for a while. She doesn't intend for everyone around her to get upset when she's like that, but she gets really irritable, easily annoyed, frustrated, and just in generally pissy, which makes not getting upset around her exceedingly difficult. I'm gradually learning to simply leave her alone; I just hate not being able to help a friend though...I always want to help.
So, now I feel miserable myself, not to mention completely useless. *Sigh* Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. Comments ()
This is getting ridiculous. Comments ()