Well That Didn't Work

BEING A PYROMANIAC IS MORE FUN THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE
Dave and John upstairs both do lighter tricks all the time. Watching them the other night got me thinking that if I learned how to do some of those tricks, I could increase my tips when I start working at a bar. C'mon, wouldn't you tip a bartender more if they lit your cigarette with their fingers than a little lighter? (Ya, Dave taught me how to "hold" fire in your hand for a while.) Anyway, I ordered a lighter online and it arrived today. It's really cool. Matt even paid to have it engraved (his belated Christmas gift to me.)

I've already learned three tricks, but I ran out of flint within 3 hours of having the lighter because I was practicing them so much. Oh well, I'll get more when I go to Georgetown next week.
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I THINK IT'S ONLY RIGHT TO HAVE A MOMENT OF SILENCE
My Mp3 player died. : o (
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MY LAST SHIFT AT THE HUGHES HALL DESK ENDED AT 9:00
It was uneventful. Let the job hunt begin.

Revision (11:45 PM):Case of assault with a guy on my floor; he through me into a wall. He didn't really hurt me, but it brought back a particularly scaring memory...all of the sudden, it became a bad night.
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I JUST WANT IN ON RECORD THAT...
I went to a hookah bar with Alex last night. We spent four hours there "bonding." It was cool. Ok, that's it; I just wanted it on record that I attempted to open up to someone (well, story-wise, not really emotions and thought process-wise...that takes time) and smoked hookah (double apple flavor.)
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I'M TOO SEXY FOR...UM...?
Something interesting: once I started thinking of myself as attractive, so did everyone else. I've been getting hit on a lot lately and I'm not really uncomfortable with it. I've gotten pretty flirtatious so it seems. I remember seeing girls in high school hugging their guy friends hello and kissing them on the cheek goodbye; I never did that, but I've started to now. I've let myself be a little girly. Conrad picks me up and spins me around when he hugs me, I let guys tickle me, I tickle them...I don't know, it's just different for me. It's nice.

For the first time, I'm not uncomfortable talking about sex, even in the context of my life. (Well, I still don't "kiss (or anything else) and tell" but I don't care if the guys in the triple talk about my low cut shirt or anything it reveals., nor do I care about their joking references to their desire for me to pleasure them in some way..that's progress for me.) It's a Blossom moment, lol. "Look at me, I'm growing."

P.S.-This is me:

It isn't the greatest picture of me, but its slightly better than the only other picture taken of me since I was 14 (my prom picture--check the May archives.) I've gotten 4 Facebook messages from guys I don't know since taking that picture down and putting this one up. Enjoy!
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BUCA DI BEPPO'S
Last night was interesting. Frank (a guy on the 7th floor) asked me to dinner at this semi-expensive Italian restaurant in Dupont Circle. He was quite the gentleman, lol. (I've always been kind of old fashioned like that.) He made the reservations, held doors, ordered for me, and paid for the whole meal. I don't know why I was uncomfortable with all that, I guess it's because, for the first time, I think I'm worth it. When I got here, I was surprised by how many guys held doors for me. I mentioned to my mother how it made me feel uncomfortable and that was her response: "Why, you're worth it." Anyway, my outing with Franks was really nice, he's a great guy. We shared some really good conversation the whole way there and throughout dinner. We discussed everything from our home towns to foreign policy and economics. He's smart, he's funny, he's nice, he's (not really my type, but) attractive, he's half Jewish (which would appease my mother) and I have no interest whatsoever. I don't really now what the problem is.

I guess I got used to feeling in love every time I went out with Dennis. Dating someone for almost two years'll do that. Point is, I'd gotten used to (not in a monotonous way) to feeling so much for the person I was with that feeling nothing when I went out with Frank made me think that it couldn't go anywhere, like there was no spark. Obviously, I shouldn't feel love for Frank on our first (does saying "first" imply they'll be a second?) date, I know that, but I think I should feel a spark or something. Grr...

Anyway, when we got back to the 7th, Matt told me that Adam (the triplet that graduated) and his friend, Vinnie, were there. Since they're not around as often as we'd like, I raced down to my room to grab my camera, only to walk in on my roommate, Hannah, and her boyfriend...um...ya. She hadn't bothered to leave a note on the door, a message on our dry-erase board, call my cell or text me. I grabbed my camera and ran upstairs, where I ended up spending the night. As it happened, Frank and one of his roommates, Rob, were "sexiled" from their room by their other roommate, Phil. The three of our sexilations inspired Nick to make a documentary, as he often does. At the end of the night, we had a 10-minute documentary on sexiling. It was hysterical.

Ok, tiny bit of reading to do...cya'll.

P.S.-There's a running joke on the 7th floor that I live up there, I just sleep on the second floor, lol. It's so true. Comments ()
YAY FOR SATURDAYS
I slept in late, took a shower, did my laundry, cleaned my room, and bummed around in it all day. Then, at about 5:45, I got Joe, Vanessa, Adi, Anne, Matt and Frank together for dinner at this great "Mexican" place called Chipotle down the street from the university. It's a favorite of the students here. Adi said she was going through Chipotle withdrawal while she was home over winter break. Moving on...after we'd finished eating, we all sat at our table just chillin' for a while. Eventually, the conversation turned to finding something to do for the evening. It was too cold to make use of the city that we've found at our disposal since moving here, so the typical suggestions made their way around the table: movies, game room, cooking though (if you know anything about Chipotle, you should know that their food is very filling) no one truly considered it, etc. For no reason other than sheer boredom, I blurted, "Let's dye Matt's hair blue!" Everyone was silent just long enough to gage the responses of everyone else. Then, intense laughter lasting only as the silence...everyone was actually considering it; all heads turned towards Matt. He was smiling rather wryly.

Off we went towards CVS. Unfortunately, they didn't carry blue hair dye. The did, however, have fuschia.

For whatever reason, Matt decided that I'd be the best person to dye his hair. I informed him that I'd never done it before, but, he insisted. Guess what! I didn't screw it up. Matt really liked it and Anne (the girl in the picture above) asked me to put some it in her bangs. She was hesitant about doing it when we started, but by the end of the night, she'd decided that she would head over to CVS in the morning to get red (red-head red, not apple red) hair dye so I could highlight her hair with it tomorrow night. WoO hOo, go me! A good idea and a good execution of it. It was so much fun.

I just thought that was a cool shot. Cleaning out the sink wasn't as fun. Ok, I'm exhausted and slightly buzzed from the ammonia smell that permeated through the air of the 7th floor boy's bathroom, our base of operations. Later days.
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A WONDERFUL, BUT TIRING WEEK
Conrad just left my room; we ordered Thai food (including iced Thai tea, a favorite of mine.) Over dinner, he noticed that I was moving kind of slowly and asked me why. "Well, Sunday, I played soccer with Matt, Silby and these two guys we met on the quad who'd already been playing; that got my legs sore. Tuesday, I went rock climbing; that got all of my upper body sore, from my lower back, to my shoulders, to my arms. Then, on Wednesday, I decided the best way to rest my muscles would be to go rollerblading; that, of course, made my legs feel worse. To balance everything out, on Thursday, I played baseball with my friend Frankie. Finally, earlier this evening, I went swimming, an activity which requires the employment of almost every muscle in the human body.

Ladies, let me tell you, Conrad gives a damn good massage. I feel soooo much better. He asked me out, but...I don't know, he's smart, he's funny, he's really sweet...I just don't feel that way for him, I guess. He listens too much, lol. Don't get me wrong, a man who listens is rare, especially to someone who talks as much as I do, but I'd like the person I date to add to my life, not to simply be in it. If I can't have a conversation with the person I'm dating, that can't happen, so I probably shouldn't be dating them. It's a real shame though, he's such a wonderful guy...I really wish I felt that way about him. Comments ()
WELL, AT LEAST NOW I'LL HAVE TIME TO TEND BAR
Dear Nick,

It is with sincere regret that I must inform you that I have decided in favor of leaving the Hughes desk this coming semester; I feel that my resignation at this time will be most conducive to the success of the staff's plans for the coming semester, namely, the scheduling meeting V.P. has planned to hold this coming week. I will, of course, work all of the hours that I have already committed to do so and, if V.P. feels it would be helpful, I will work the desk while the rest of the staff holds the scheduling meeting, as I will not need to be in attendance.

Recently, there have been some occurrences relating to the desk that I feel practically forced me into making the decision that I did, though I had been considering it for some time. If I could make one suggestion to everyone affiliated with the the desk (though I know I am in no position to do so,) it would be to foster better communications not only between staff members, but between the staff and the residents of the Hughes Hall, many of whom have complained to me a number of times about their resentful sentiments towards most of the desk receptionists.

Please tell the staff that I wish them all the best this coming semester and that I apologize for having felt compelled to make this decision.

Very Sincerely,
Samantha (last name censored for privacy purposes)
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I DO LOVE WEDNESDAYS
My Wednesday schedule is ridiculously rigorous, it's such a bitch. I didn't have a single damn class all day! I slept in late, I went grocery shopping with Zak so that we could make dinner and desert (a yummy pumpkin pie,) we made dinner, I hung around the 7th floor and then I bummed around with Conrad in my room until it was time for me to sleep off the stress of my day.

*Yawn.* G'night all.

P.S.-Oh ya, I'm going to quit my job at the desk tomorrow.
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THE SORE MUSCLES ARE TOTALLY WORTH IT
Today was a few steps down from yesterday. Well, not so much the day as the classes. At 8:30 (bleh,) I had a class called "Reflections of American Society on Stage and Screen." Its a Gen. Ed. (AU has a general education program to encourage students to open their eyes to subjects they've never be exposed to before by forcing them to take 30 credits worth of classes as chosen by the student from a selection that one could hardly call substantial) and thus, promises to be a waste of my time. I love American history, especially American social history, but, unfortunately, the subject of the course is not what the course title suggests that it is.

My only other class was today was a course called "Individual Freedom vs. Authority," a political thought class that I have no desire to take whatsoever. To make things worse, the professor is a patronizing, arrogant ass. I hear he does it to weed out students he feels shouldn't be in his class; apparently, he likes small classes. I have no choice in the matter though; I absolutely have to take the course.

Normally, on Tuesdays, after Individual Freedom vs. Authority, I have a physics lab, but the professor decided it would be best not to hold such a meeting this week as people are still adding and dropping courses.

The day did get better though - much, much better. Over winter break, I received a message via The Facebook from this guy named Nicolas, well, "Nick" now. He said he'd seen in my profile that I like climbing and kayaking and informed me that he was always looking for new climbing/kayaking buddies. "If you're interested," he said, "send me an IM sometime." I was, of course, interested and spoke to him online a number of times before winter recess ended. He seemed nice enough, our topics of conversation ranged from NHL Hockey to AU and everything in between. At some point, he mentioned that he and two of his friends were planning on going climbing today and invited me to join them. Having never met him, I suggested he stop by my building while I was at the desk before saying yes. He checked out fine, lol, so I went climbing with him this afternoon. God, it was so much fun! I hadn't gone (real) rock climbing in years; I didn't realize how much I'd missed it. Nick and his friends invited me to go with them again on Friday, weather permitting. Yay! New friends and a fun way to exercise.

Every muscle in my body is sore, including muscles I didn't know I had, so I'm gonna go lie down. C'ya'll.
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THE DAWN IS BREAKING
It's the first day of classes, it's the first day of classes! This semester is already shaping up to be much better than the last. Now...now, I have my fresh start. Besides the fact that all of the classes I was in today were amazing (I'll get to those in a minute,) I've got a ton of things planned with friends and a handful of dates lined up for the next week or so. It's remarkable how different my life is here than it was when I was in high school. I have friends here; more than that, I'm actually kinda popular. I had to learn how to manage a social life, to find time for it, to make sure I don't lose touch with anyone. I have multiple groups of friends that I do different things with; I love them all, but finding time for them all is a bit of a challenge. I have my girlfriends with whom I talk and shop, I have various friends from Hughes like Conrad, Zak and Silby and, I have a few friends from southside, and, of course, I have Hughes 7 (where I was voted favorite resident that's not actually a resident : o ) ) including Adi and the triplets.

The best thing of all though, is that I'm pretty close with most of them and, for the first time, I have friends that seem to care as much about our friendship as I do. For example, I've always tried my best to get people gifts that I think they'd really enjoy for birthdays and holidays--personalized, hand-selected kind of things; I don't give gift cards. My high school friend, Ashley, wanted to be a paleontologist so, for Christmas, I got here a very detailed book on the subject and a scorpion that had been "frozen" in tree sap back in the age of dinosaurs. I didn't get a Christmas present and she didn't come to birthday party despite the fact that she said she would. For Christmas this year, I did what I always do; I thought of the best thing I could get for each of my friends (at least the best gift that I could afford.) This year was special though, my friends did the same for me. Tom (who moved : o ( ) gave me the most thoughtful present ever; a Nalgene bottle (because he knew I'd been filling the same three plastic water bottles since the beginning of the semester,) 6 pairs of really nice socks (because he'd noticed that I didn't have a single pair of socks that didn't have at least one hole in each sock,) and America: The Book (just because he knew I'd love it.) My friend Ashley (AU) gave me a book of drink recipes for bartending and Zak gave me a marble rollercoaster-constructing toy set. I feel loved.

I was never asked out in high school either, at least not like I have been here. It's really flattering. I've taken a few guys up on their offers, but nothing special yet. *crosses fingers*

Anyway, my classes thus far are excellent. My literature professor is incredible, he's absolutely hysterical. After reading his attendance sheet out loud he said "Bueller?..Bueller?..." I told him he'd better be careful or someone might start quoting lines back to him.

"Oh really?" he asked.
"Ya. My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend hear from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl that saw Ferris pass out at 31 flavors last night, so I guess its pretty serious.
"Thank you Simone," he said, half laughing.
"No problem whatsoever," I beamed.

He's a Star Wars geek too so I asked him a trivia question about the original trilogy after class. He didn't know the answer. I think he likes me, lol.

My physics professor seems nice enough. She seems like she's hiding something, her eccentricity, perhaps? I don't know if I'll get as much out of her class as I'd like to, but I hope I will.

Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed my final class of the day, it was microeconomics. The structure of the class is quite similar the hellish macroeconomics class I took last semester--large lecture (300 people to be precise,) eight reactions papers, online problems sets, etc--but with one important difference; the professor actually taught the material. Not only that, he made it interesting.

Alright, I have dinner plans with Conrad, Zak, and Silby, so I must be off. I bid you adieu.
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MY KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR
So, I passed my mixology exam (did you honestly doubt me, lol, jk,) I'm a certified bartender, wOo HoO!

Then, I managed to lock myself out of my mom's car. (I plead the 5th.) My friend, Mikey, rescued me, which was really, really nice of him considering how far out of his way I was. Even better though is that he's giving me a ride back to American in a few hours. Uber-cool road trip with uber-cool Mike who also agreed to let uber-cool Adi join us, lol...I'm such an uber-geek...ok uber-loser, fine.

He's staying with me for two nights once we get there and I'm gonna take him around D.C, it'll be fun. Ok, gotta pack. Bye.
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MY BRAIN, THE SPONGE
I don't have too much time for this post, my bartending exam is tomorrow and I really ought to be studying. As I said in a previous post, I had to learn the same amount of information as everyone else who will be testing with me tomorrow did, but I had to do it twice as quickly. I've been studying all week until God-awful hours in the morning and, even though I tried to space all of it out, I still feel like I'm cramming. By the end of the night, I'll know 167 drinks by memory...cRaZy! I have to know all of those drinks, which of the 10+ bar glasses each goes in, and the fruit garnish for each. In addition, I have to know what 50 or so cordials (a cordial is a sweet liquor defined by its sugar content which is between 32-37%) taste like (almond, orange, honey, licorice, etc) even though I've never tasted any of them, I have to be able to name x number of whiskeys, y number of vodka's, z number of rums, etc, etc. and where each specific brand is from, for example-Grey Goose vodka is French, Beefeaters gin is English, etc. It'll be worth it. The people at the school said they were pretty sure that the legal age to tend bar in Washington, D.C. is 18 (vs. 21,) so, hopefully, I'll be able to bartend in a really trendy area of the city known as Adams-Morgan. If I can't work in D.C. though, Maryland is a mile's walk or one stop away on the subway system and the age to tend bar there is definitely 18. It'll be a lot of fun, I can't wait. Ok, gotta go finish memorizing how to make Kamikazes and such, ttyl.
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OH, I FORGOT...HAPPY NEW YEAR!
That's all ya'll are gonna hear about what happened yesterday with Dennis, by the way, so don't ask. We'd planned to see one another yesterday, his request.

I did, however, see him on Saturday night--unplanned. Things with my family were a little crazy and I needed to leave my house. In the past, whenever that happened, I'd go to Dennis' place, I even had a key. I didn't know where to go this time. The only person I really talk to from my town in New Jersey is in Jamaica (and complained about having to get up early to fly there) right now and I felt uncomfortable calling mere acquaintances on New Year's Day, so I called Dennis and asked, very awkwardly, if I could just go over there. It went something like this: "Hey. Listen, I'm really sorry to call you, I know I'm seeing you tomorrow, but things here are getting a little heated and I need to get out for a while, but Mikey's out of town and everyone else I know has New Year's Day plans and I just, well...if I had anywhere else I wouldn't have called you, but..." He said "Of course you can come over, I was gonna go out with friends, but you can tag along, I suppose." I went over, we talked for a little while, he took a shower, and I went to his friend's house with him. I don't like that particular group of his friends. They're nice guys, but you wouldn't know it by talking to them, they treat each other like assholes, that's just how they interact with one another and act like even bigger assholes towards other people, like me. I would've been a smart ass back (since that's what they'll respect, basically) but after arguing with my family all night, I really wasn't in the mood.

Anyway, my bartending classes started today (well, technically yesterday now,) yay! It looks like it'll be a lot of fun, but its a TON of information. Most people take the course in two weeks and spread out what they learn, I'm taking it in one...it's a lot to take in in such a short period of time. I'll tell you all more about it in the next few days, I'm exhausted from staying up studying all of this stuff (after just one f*cking day) and I ought to get a little more of it under my belt before hitting my pillows. Gotta go, peace.
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UMMM....
Saw Dennis today. Great conversation (as always) over lunch. MUCH sexual tension. He kissed me. In my room for six hours. He went home. Mourning and confused.
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