culture shock

I feel like I experienced many different cultures today.

1. I went to Palmer's Seafood market to buy seafood for Christmas dinner (yum!) and felt like I was back in NYC at the south street seaport. 'Twas awesome.

2. Then went to Lori's natural foods. The people there were very interesting. They were all stoners and major airheads. fun to watch.

3.Pittsford Wegmans. I almost died. How can someone who doesn't work be in such a hurry?

4. Middle Eastern resturant- chicken pita. So hard to eat neatly.

5. Chinese food for dinner.

Prosperity

Just for the record, I believe the following, and, after watching the news, I feel this needs to be said:

Prosperity is not a right. America is a great country because it gives people the opportunity to prosper, through hard work and ambition.

People help those that are more needy than themselves during the Christmas season* because it is the right thing to do.

* And while I'm in a ranting mood... Yes, I celebrate Christmas, so I will say Merry Christmas to you. If you celebrate Hanukah or Kwanzaa or Ramadan or anything else during this 'holiday season' then feel free to respond with Merry/Happy __________. I promise I will not be offended. In fact, such a response would probably make me stop to think and be grateful for the religious diversity we are blessed with in this country. Unfortunately, this is not the way most of these interactions go. Apparently, we as Americans in general are not mature enough to appreciate this religious freedom and instead revert to the 'politically correct' Happy Holidays, or worst, Season's Greetings. Instead of displaying our religious differences proudly, we sap the spirit out of Christmas by watering it down and hiding it. Next time, instead of grumbling about the intolerance of the person who wishes you a Merry Christmas, swallow your own intolerance and reclaim the religion that is the core of these holidays.

you know it's that time of year when....

It's that time of year again. You know, Christmas time. Some of the obvious signs:

1. SNOW
2. People stalking people walking back to their cars for their parking spots and "claiming" them with their blinkers.
3. Christmas shopping bringing on that hint of agoraphobia
4. That strange feeling of urgency to get things done before Christmas but being off of school and doing nothing.
5. Incessent 'holiday music', which in stores starts to sound more and more like elevator music
6. That thought... "Can I possibly be related to these people?"

I've run out of titles.

Cats do snore. Mine just was, very cutely. Why is it that we find things that we try to avoid doing (as humans) so adorable when animals do them? I mean, is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen!?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzRH3iTQPrk

Old people are annoying.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZy105010SI&feature=channel

winter ramblings...

Don't get me wrong, I love winter. I love the snow. Love it. All the best things happen in winter, like the Christmas season and the day of my birth, etc, but really, just one complaint. I know it has to be cold for it to snow, but not this cold! I mean really, don't you think single digit temperatures are a little extreme!!!

It was seriously 8 degrees outside when I put my brother on the bus. 8. As in I have enough fingers to show you the temperature. That's just wrong. I should at least have to go to toes. I am way too nice. Matthew, if you ever doubt that I love you, read this post and note that I got up at 7 in the morning to help you with your homework and venture out to the bus stop with you in 8 degree weather on my day off. You so owe me.

Anyway, my two winter-y activities so far:

Sledding in the dark

Getting the family Christmas tree (during which time my siblings and I bundled up like the michelin man, pranced through the snow, and totally acted like a bobsledding team in the big old sled that the Christmas tree farm people provided. I'm pretty sure it was meant for the tree, but hey, it fit all four of us. :) )

Random Ramblings (like this blog is ever anything else.)

1. The team that I wanted to win won Amazing Race. yay.
2. Going to see Olivia's concert and the biggest loser finale tomorrow night. Yup, driving home tommorow because my mom needs the car wednesday and no one wanted to drop me off yesterday night, so 2 more hour long trips for someone. I like to be home though, so it's okay.
3. Some guy hit me at the gas station today. jerk. jk, actually, it was really funny. So I leave the house, and the gas light is on, so I stop at Hess to get gas, even though my dad said I could make it to kwikfill... anyway, I stick my debit card in to pay for the gas so I can start pumping and get on my way (it's like 7:15 in the morning) and it wont take my card and tells me to go talk to the cashier. So I get the guy, and it works the first time, of course, but I do have to type in my pin twice, so he admits there was a problem. Anyway, the guy goes away and I am pumping gas and freezing my hand off, and this car pulls up to the adjacent pump, and is creeping up to get his tank as close to the pump as possible, and he keeps getting closer and closer, and bump! he bumps my car. He throws up his hands, bangs on his steering wheel, and gets out of his car apologizing repeatedly in his awesome Italian accent (not gonna lie, I'm a sucker for the Italian accent, for obvious reasons) and telling me to check for damage. Granted, when he hit me, he was going so slow he was nearly going backwards, so I calmly (surprisingly calmly) tell him it's okay, finnish pumping my gas, take my reciept, and walk to the front of the car to, as he advises 'check it good'. There is not a scratch on my car, so I tell him it's okay and go to leave as he continues to apologize and say something like 'see what happens when you're in a hurry!' He was really nice, so I decided not to ask him if that crack in his front bumper was there before. Guess my car was stronger... :) Now the incident is officially documented, so I remember that it happened 3 days from now (my memory before 10 am is not great. In fact it feels like it was like a week ago already)
4. I forgot what four was supposed to be already... maybe about the movie "The Wedding Date" that I watched today... it was mediocre, the redeeming factor being Debra Messing, one of the most talented actresses out there. I think the problem was that it is too predictable... good accents though.
5. I played Taboo for 6 hours with Dan, Nicole, and Joanna on Friday. Friday was eventful...
That's all for now.

Read this.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/12/03/science_is_on_the_credibility_bubble_99388.html

Read this. It's very good. It is about the recent discovery that some of the leading scientists in the 'global warming' field have not been entirely truthful with thier data and conclusions, presumably for political reasons.

Experiment...

I was bored today. So I decided to do an experiment of sorts - I would test out my hypothesis on my friends (well, the ones that were on skype at the time - yes this is a convienince sample. Thank you AP stats).

I wanted to find out if people with different career paths thought differently. So I presented each of them with a set of silly questions designed to produce some sort of creative thinking. Since this is not an actual experiement, you will see my answers too. That's legal. It's my experiment.

Okay, first, a little background. I interviewed four people (myself included).

I asked them what their dream job would be. Our answers were, in no particular order (to protect Joanna's identity... oh damn... :)) are mechanical engineer, magazine editor, pediatric occupational therapist (OT), and manager of a non-profit which will help to educate the less fortunate by building schools, providing books, and training teachers. For easy reading, their answers will be color coded.

Here are our majors. All of us are either freshmen or sophmores in college, having graduated together in 2009. Engineering, new media publishing, occupational science, and english/soon to be switched to international studies.

So already some differences have become clear. The english major is more wordy with her answers. Just wait until you see the real questions. :)

Question 1: If you were a cannibal, what would you wear to dinner?
Answers:
A big bulky parka so none of my fellow diners look at me for dessert.
Something nice to attract my dinner.
Clothing. But that wouldn't be an issue because I would pretty much kill myself before I resorted to cannibalism.
My normal clothes.
Analysis: First, notice how the english/international studies major is not only the wordiest, but also the only one who mentions the amorality of cannibalism. The engineering major seems to be focused on solving the problem (aka securing the food), while the future OT is focused on the results/consequences. Unfortunately, the future magazine editor does not offer much data on this question, as she seems relatively unfazed by the question.

Question 2: Why is it that if someone told you there are a billion stars, you would believe him, but if someone told you there was wet paint on the wall, you would have to touch it to be sure?
*There is not much difference between answers here, but notice the differences in wording, and the oddball :)

Answers:
Because how would you test that theory? If someone said there are a billion stars, you couldn't prove or disprove that. Now, wet paint on the wall - that you can check yourself.
Because you can't verify that there are a billion stars, but you can make sure that the paint is in fact wet or that the person is a lying bufoon.
Experiential learning! (shameless shoutout to Keuka!)- People naturally learn by figuring things out themselves.
I wouldn't touch it.
Analysis: Lame answer from the engineer. Also, notice how the future editor spins her answer - it is way more dramatic and attention grabbing than the other answers - like a headline.

Question 3: What do you plant to grow a seedless watermelon?
Answers:
Pollination
The rind from a seedless watermelon
Plant the whole watermelon. Or just plant the seeds. They're just a variation.
Why do we as humans create species/mutations that cannot naturally reproduce? Then again, we use this same theory on humans. By prolonging the lives of people with genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis, we are allowing for those genes to be carried on.
Analysis: Everyone but the future OT gives a direct and reasonably logical answer. The OT relates it to health care. What a suprise.

Question 4: What would a chair look like if your knees bent the other way?
Answers:
Spherical, like an exercise ball.
The same.
We wouldn't have chairs. I can't picture them. My mind doesn't work that way.
The chairs would have to be more like a recliner, and be able to stand you up like those chairs they make for paraplegics - or that guy's chair in Private Practice. The whole world would have to be redesigned. Proves that humans are designed quite well.
Analysis: Lame answer from the engineer again. I mean, especially because your job is going to be to design stuff. The english/international studies major shows why she is majoring in and aspiring to more social fields. She does not think with that visual/design component like the engineer needs to. Her job will be based on people skills and networking.The OT's answer shows that her education is serving her well. Most suprising though is the editor's answer. Maybe people's job choice isn't dependent on their thinking style, I mean, the editor gives a wonderful and out of the box answer, which shows why interdisciplinary cooperation is useful.

More movies

Cant wait till movie gallery gets some good movies!!

Anyway, Transformers 1 and 2 were really good, for corny action movies. Kept my attention, which is good, but I mean, there were some really corny lines, and some really melodramatic parts.

Movies I want to see before Christmas:

Night at the Museum 2
The Ugly Truth
the Blind Side
The Time Traveler's Wife

Cooking

First of all, I am sucking at this 365 photo thing. It just hasn't caught on with me... oh well. Maybe when I have something to take pictures of.

Anyway, my new project is going to be cooking. I had relatives come over today- really Italian relatives, which I absolutely love, btw- and the food was so good. I mean, fabulous cooking all around. So I realized that pretty much everyone in my family can cook but me. I mean, everyone makes their own sauce, and fancy soups, and I even have an aunt who makes her own gnoccis from scratch. She actually made all the food for my grad party, which was absolutely fabulous.

So I realized I have all these fabulous resources around me, so I should have them teach me how to cook. I want to know how to make something awesome, instead of just scrambled eggs and ramen (and I'm not even that good at the scrambled eggs lol. Ramen on the other hand... I am the master of Ramen. A ramen noodle connoisseur of sorts :)). And I really want to learn how to make things from scratch, because that concept fascinating and admittedly very foriegn to me.

So, I've made a list of the things I want to learn how to cook and the people who can teach me how. Here goes:

1. Pasta sauce (any number of relatives could teach me this)
2. 3 types of cookies, from scratch (Gramma, and others.)
3. Pasta primavera like my dad makes.
4. A good omelet, or fritata I think my dad calls it. There may be some kind of technical difference here...
5. Perfect the pancakes and french toast.
6. Cake. (Aunt Liz)
7. A superb sub (Dominic, who by the way has a shop called 'A Taste of Italy' in Victor where you can go and get a wonderful sub and other great Italian stuff, including Marticello's bread, which is possibly the best stand alone food on earth.)
8. Gnoccis and all the other stuff Aunt Ducky makes.

Okay, so this is my mission for the next couple months...

Thanksgiving! (Day 8 of 365)

Got to see my cutie pie little cousin!!

This is her imitating my face. lol. "angry face!"

Clearly I did not take this picture myself, but I think that can be forgiven. Thank you Matthew, for taking a few good pictures among the millions of junk ones you take when you hijack my camera. I mean really, pictures of the tv? Not cool. Video of you walking through the house? No.

Day 7 of 365

The day before Thanksgiving! Actually, it was quite uneventful, as I was babysitting my siblings all day. Although... we did have hot chocolate...which makes me very happy because that means it's almost time for... SNOW!!!!

Day 6 of 365

My last class was cancelled, so I got to go home early! (should have just skipped Tuesday like my friends uh... suggested...)

This is the day we actually put that fiber optic tree up. :)

Day 5 of 365

Monday, Monday, Monday...

Before a break no less. Knowing you'll be home in just a short bit of time does not help with concentration. Especially when you're in college and ALL YOUR FRIENDS HAVE IT OFF!!! WHY!!!!!???

Anyway, harrowing drive in on monday. It started out fine... in fact it was all fine until I realized I was in rushvillle and had obviously missed the turn to Penn Yan and was now 15 minutes out of my way. So rather than just flipping a u-ie and retracing my steps, uh, tire tracks... I turned on the navigation thingy on my phone and it led me down the foggiest, curviest roads imaginable, and kept losing signal. And then it died. Thankfully I somehow found my way to school, in time for my first class too!

Anyway, here is the picture for Monday...

This is the lovely view from my dorm room window. Now prepare to laugh, because I only realized that I could see the lake from my window like two weeks ago, after having been there for months. Granted, this picture is zoomed in, I'm pretty sure I would have noticed if the lake was THAT CLOSE.

Also, this was taken later in the day, so you can't quite understand how foggy it really gets there some mornings. I'll work on getting a picture of that.

Day 4 of 365

Okay, I'll admit I didn't take any pictures on Sunday. So here's a good one I took later in the week.

This is the inside projector-ish part of this fiber optic Christmas tree we have. We went down and looked through crates and crates of stuff, and this was all we found. Of course, when my mom went down there, she found like 6 crates of stuff. Why can moms always do that?

Thankfulness, and to balance that, some complaints. :)

1. I'm thankful for my family, as annoying as they may be sometimes, especially for my dad and my little cousin (this is only her second thanksgiving! Can I hear that collective "awwww"?)

2. I just picked a zit on my nose and it bled like I was hemmoraging. I actually wondered for a bit if I had nicked a nose-artery.

3. Lots of good food yesterday. Lots. I gotta learn how to cook like that. Maybe that will be my next project.

4. Running sucks. I decided yesterday that tomorrow, (which is now today) I would try to exercise a little everyday, with the goal of looking good in a bathing suit this summer. (If I do really well I might even go bikini :) lol) So anyway, This morning I played twister with my sister (which not only rhymes but definately counts as exercise, as I was sweating. It was a very intense game of twister.) Then my brother asked me if I wanted to run with him (he is a cross country runner - one of those crazy people who likes running) so I said fine, I'll go 2 miles, but definately not the whole 4. So Olivia and I did some plyos (Which I learned should always be done AFTER running - NEVER BEFORE.) while he did the first two and then joined him - ran maybe half a mile, went on the swings at the park, and walked a mile, but made up for it by sprinting the last 200 yards, Indian run style. I realized this is definately not the way I wanna exercise. My soccer training completely betrayed me here. Now lets be clear, I'm not in the best shape, but I'm not pathetic. I just have no motivation to run in circles with no goal. My brother argues that the goal is to finish, but that doesn't do it for me because I can just stop running whenever I want. Running in a soccer game is completely different. Anyway, I also run like a soccer player, which means I run like I'm sprinting all the time. It feels weird to have my heels touch the ground when I run, which is what you're supposed to do when you're running a long distance. Anyway, I am no longer running with xc superstar over there - and I'm gonna have to get more creative...

Day 3 of 365

When pigs fly. lol. This pretty little lawn decoration was in the yard next to the church (that house where the priests live - I know it has a name... but I can't think of it.) I had the occasion to look because my two youngest siblings did their first reconciliation. It was remarkably simple. I mean, almost every other sacrament in the catholic church has crazy amounts of fanfare involved... but this is a "solemn sacrament" so there is no record of it and the deacon can wear jeans. lol, I say that because my mom made a big deal of all of us dressing up, and I had to search all the old clothes I had for a nice shirt that still fit. ( I didn't bring anything nice home from college).

Oh, btw, just wanted to note: this is proof that priests do indeed have a sense of humor. Lol, swine flu is ravaging our country, and they have a light up piggy outside.

Day 2 of 365

This is the butt-bump section of the secret handshake that my sister and I have now perfected. The rest is top secret. buh buh buh.

Day 1 of 365

KITTENS!!!!

These are the some of the smallest among the kittens I played with at the Yates County Humane Society today. They were so cute. Not much bigger than my hand and really playful. One clawed its way all the way up to my shoulder and sat there like a parrot. Another scared my friend to death (and almost made me die of laughter) when it decided to jump up and cling to her butt with its claws. She screamed bloody murder and was like "get him off!!" It was absolutely hilarious. Anyway, I think this makes a very good first entry for my 365 photo project.

In other news, my roommate says I was talking about farmville in my sleep last night. I think it's time for rehab.

Poor Sportsmanship

Elizabeth Lambert, a "villified" college soccer player for New Mexico, deserves to be villified. And I think her actions on the soccer field will have more severe and widespread consequences than she realizes. In case you missed the video which was all over the news and viral on Youtube, Lambert played an EXTREMELY dirty game against BYU. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNmPybFK2_o Lambert punched, tripped, elbowed and hair-pulled her way to national villany all in the course of one game. Maybe she has something against Mormans...?

Seriously though, this kind of play is absolutely unacceptable at any level, but at a high level like college soccer whre you have younger girls looking up to you. Lambert's actions reflect badly on her her family, the New Mexico socer program as a whole, and unfortunately, women's soccer. It rflects very well on the BYU players that there was no ovious retaliation and they wonthe game regardless of their opponents blatent and violent disregard for the rules.

Also, where was the ref? She should have gotten a straight red for the hair pulling alone. Where were her teammates? They should have told her to cool it. Where was the coach? He should have pulled her after the first hin of dirty play. Where is her conscience? She didn't even give a proper apology (read the article below) just saying that that's not who she is or how she plays. Obviously it is. This was not an isolated incident but a series of cheap shots and blatent attacks. She shows no remorse, only regretting the image it has given her.

Either she does not have the skills to defend properly and cleanly or does not have a conscience. Either way, she needs to be dropped from the program or at least suspended for a lengthy period of time.

And lastly, blaming it on her gender is not only wrong but absolutely infuriating. The reason it got covereage was not because she is a woman, but because her behavior was absolutely attrocious, for either gender. Women's soccer can be rough, and tends to be more rough than the men's game because women seem to spread/pass the ball less and tend to play close and attack the ball rather than containing defensvely like you would see in a men's game.

Anyway, I'll end this rant with a statement and solution. Lambert deserves to be suspended and humiliated like Zinedine Zidane in the world cup. (I doubt her reason was as good as Zizou's, at least he was retaliating, not instigating) The solution: Lambert should be dropped from the New Mexico team and made an example for athletes everywhere, showing that this kind of play is unacceptable. I would even force her to do some community service or something until she's really sorry. Because as of now, she's still making excuses for her behavior and doesn't seem to feel any kind of remorse for her actions.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/post/Vilified-New-Mexico-soccer-player-breaks-her-sil?urn=top,203447

Update: Lambert has been suspended indefinately (like she deserves). Her coach said, "Liz is quality student athlete, but her actions clearly crossed the line of fair play and good sportsmanship." You think? Obviously, overwhelming pressure from the media and the public forced her into this decision, because if she really believed this, she would have pulled Lambert as soon as she saw a hint of any of these atrocious fouls. Unless the coach is blind, she has no excuse either.

And a minor correction: Lambert did say she was "deeply and wholeheartedly regretful" before she went on to make excuses and prove she really wasn't sorry. She even goes on to say that she is sorry to her coaches and teammates and that she takes full responsibility for her actions - before she equivocates again and fails to take that responsibility, saying that she let the situation get the best of her, and that her actions were "in no way indicitive of [her] character." Way to take responsibility Liz.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=4629837

Field Trip!!

I now have a car on campus, so I am officially no longer trapped! Yay!

So, with this new found freedom, I decided to take a trip.

Heidi and I went to the Dollar General and bought GIANT SMARTIES. Seriously. They're huge, and in the trademark wrapper and everything. About the size of an ipod click wheel, and thick. Definately worth the 65 cents.

Then we went to Movie Gallery and rented movies and I opened an account (which is way harder than you would think. I mean, really, two forms of ID? Is this the FBI or a movie rental place?) So now I will be renting movies like it's my job.

What do we remember of tragedy?

My morning Ethics class brought this question to my head. How much does a young child remember about a public tragedy? I decided to examine my own childhood memories and find out.

1. Kidnapping of Kaylee Ann Poulton - this whole ting played out when I was about three, so I'm retty sure I don't have any direct memories of it... it was very big in Rochester though. I did rememer her name off the top of my head though, and that she was kidnapped from her front yard while riding her tricycle. I think I remember that because this was the fear for years after - that I (or my younger brother) would be kidnapped from under our parent's noses. It seems to have served as a wakeup call of some sort for my parents, and my mom says that's the reason she stated going back to church again, and bringing us.

2. Columbine School Shooting - This took place when I was about nine, so I believe it is safe to say that I should have significantly more memory of it. I don't though. I remember being in a hotel in Philadelphia, on vacation, and watching the news coverage and only partially understanding the tragedy. Sadly, this came to mind again last May at the Academy, when we marched out with our hands on our heads (just as I had seen on the Columbine news coverage) and later learned of the tragedy that had occured.

3. 9/11- I think I was 10 at this time. I recall that day being very confusing, from the time when our fifth grade teacher took us all over to the carpet and explained something about protesters and planes and not liking our country that I didn't really listen to. It didn't seem like a big deal to me, until my mom picked me up from school early because she wanted us to be close if something else happened. I remember arriving home and seeing the plane hit and the firey collapse of the tower played over and over on the tv. Then the other tower. On endless loop. I don't think any American will forget that news footage that played over and over that day, regardless of their age. We had a picnic and my mom tried to act as if everything was okay and normal, but that inexplicable change had already occured.

So, in summary, kids remember more than you would think. Examine your own memory and see what images are ingrained in your head.

Headlines

1. Sesame Street's 40th anniversary.
Yipee! Imagine how old Big Bird must be by now...! Jk, really though, the idea for an educational television program is amazing. How better to help our country than educate our future?

2. "Walmart to stay open 24 hours on Black Friday" USAToday.com
Really Walmart? What made you think of that? What a clever way to make sure none of your "associates" get trampled this year. This headline makes me sad. It reminds me how greedy our society is. This poor "associate" lost his life because someone wanted a good deal on a flatscreen. Really? Is that the value of human life today? And nothing has changed. Walmart, a multi-national, enormously profitable company can't think of a better solution than staying open longer? Really? That will solve nothing. Hmm...I wonder if this idea had anyhitng to do with the fact that if they stay open longer they can make more money...? Nah. Corporate greed was definately not the driving force in this decision.

untitled ramblings

keep your head up, and your eyes and ears open.

Often those who think they know the most know the least, and those who think they don't know anything can teach you the most.

Life is more than facts from a book and numbers in an equation. Life is about relationships and experiences; and sometimes, the experiences that you like the least teach you the most, and the people you least expect have the most to teach you.

Favorite Quotes: can you guess who said them?

"I find that very few people are scary once they've been poked in the eyes."

"WHO IS THIS SHE!!!???!!" (refering to "that's what she said")

"My face smells like ketchup"

"Scars are souveniers you never lose"

"They make us wear pants!!"

"Hair counts as pants!"

Farmville: Friend or Foe?

Aside from being a fantastically addicting time-waster, Farmville has the added entertainment value of producing some really interesting quotations, such as:

"Why are my squash sparkly?"
"Did you get my cow? I sent you a cow."
"I fertilized your raspberries."
"Pink cow up for grabs!"
"I named her prudence... She likes it"
"Oh crap, I have to go harvest my strawberries."
"I saved the pink cow!!!"
"Good to know you value my gifts."
"It will be my favorite of my like, 26 cows."
""I've decided to expand my farm"

You know you're jealous you non-farmville users. :)

realizations

1. Getting around in a manual wheelchair is awfully hard. There are obstacles that you can't imagine until you actually try it.

2. Some people love drama, but overall, people are more mature in college.

3. Securing a field period site is freakin difficult.

4. I am addicted to Farmville.

5. Life is fragile.

6. $7.25 an hour does not add up to that much

7. I have no idea how to study for a test.

8. Sometimes you do things because you enjoy them, but sometimes you do an activity because of it's expected long term effect.

9. The consensus is that I would be a hilarious drunk, but will most likely be the DD, by choice.

10. My list felt incomplete without a tenth item...

What is society's definition of poor?

I went to the Yates County building today and helped with childcare during a community outreach for a group called rotaract. The idea was to watch the children, which ranged from 9 months to about 7, while the parents were taught how to make a healthy meal and then actually made it for all of us to eat.

First of all, the kids were soooooooooooooo cute. Did I mention I wanna work as a pediatric OT when I get outta school? Anyway, I was with the nine month old, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. she was so cut and curious and drooly. (okay, the drool was a little gross, but what evs, no one's perfect).

So when the meal was ready, the lady that runs the program invited us to stay and eat, so we did because there was very little chance we were gonna make it back in time to eat in the dining hall, and as much as I love subway, I love my money more. So we stayed for some baked mac and cheese and applesauce, which was alright. I polietly took a small helping, cleared my plate, washed it, and went back and watched the kids while my colleagues had seconds. Now really, I couldn't bring myself to do that, because these people are here because they cannot afford to feed their kids a healthy meal , and I'm gonna take seconds?

Now, I have a confession to make. I've kind of been reading up on poverty, (Nickeled and Dimed and The Working Poor) as I'm on a weird non-fiction kick thanks to the crazy Mr. Obenauer who made me read Freakonomics (can't wait to read the sequel) for my Sociology class last year. On good point that The Workig Poor made is that people lving in poverty do their best not to be left behind by society, and thus, they pay for expensive cable TV to stay connected with society. I understand this to a point, but I have to say, I do not understand why an Env3 would be necesary. Any old cell phone would do, you would think, so why a $50 phone connected to expensive service plan? I have an Env3. It's a very nice phone. I got it for graduation, and I absolutely love it. But I think if I was struggling to feed my children, a tracfone would be just fine. I'm still wondering whether part of poverty is bad choices. The same man was also complaining about how expensive Rogaine is and talking about making a $400 purchase of some kind (I was trying not to eavesdrop, but he was talking very loud. discretion seemed not to be part of his repitoire). This is the same family who didn't bring shoes for their 9 month old and encouraged us to wipe the baby's nose (which was like a freaking fountain) with the blanket, which had been all over the floor. I don't get it.

Pizza, Patch Adams, and Heath Care.

We went to the Amazing Maize Maze again. This time Joanna, Dan, Nicole and I. it was awesome. Again. Love how they start the "stalk talk" by saying that there is no running and no touching the corn, and that is basically all we did. We ran through the maze throwing corn kernals at each other (btw, those things can really hurt when thrown with some velocity). Actually, I found some ammo in my pocket when I went to wash those jeans...

Then we had pizzas at Dan's uncle's resturant, Mina's, in Palmyra. The pizza was amazing, so if you're ever in Palmyra, go there, and if you can, bring Dan so you can get free soda.

Lastly, we went to Dan's House at about 10 to watch a movie. We decided on Patch Adams, and I decided that that idealistic view of healthcare is good in theory but way impractical, and am still sticking with my theory - health care companies should take the hippocratic oath (ie. do no harm) and become client centered. The health insurance system needs to be reformed. That is obvious. But a goverment-run program is not the way to do it. Especially not under Obama, whose previous legislation is not exactly helping right now...

The entire system does not need to be overhauled. We just need some caring, level-headed people to reform it to what we all know is logical. Abandoning capitalism is not the answer, but neither is abandoning the patients.

Ninja Squirrels

Today, as I was walking to class, I saw two squirrels chasing each other down the sidewalk. At first I was scared, but then I realized what they were doing. One would lead, run a short distance, and then hide behind a wall or tree. The other would then follow very stealthily. I remember when Andrew and I used to play that, pretending we were spies. So I respected their covertness and pretended I hadn't noticed them. MLIA.

50th post hodgepodge

This is my 50th post on Gatos Muertos!!! Yay! Thank you, thank you very much. Please, you may stop applauding... please, no need to bow to my greatness! :)

And now, a serious of pointless lists to cure your boredom for a couple seconds.

Things I wanna add to my bucket list:

1. Play a life size game of hungry hungry hippos.

2. Mess around in a giant sumo suit.

3. Learn to weld.


People that proved to me that I am going into the right profession:

1. Heidi Beichy - Heidi has a hereditary form of cerebral palsy that gives her a VERY unstable gait and makes it hard for her to walk long distances. Thus, she ambulates with a crutch and cruises in a power wheelchair. Lots of people would be discouraged by such a predicament and make excuses and get down on themselves about what they can't do. Heidi, on the contrary, thrives on what she can do. This was proven to me when she divulged her plan for passing the exercise requirement of her wellness class. Rather than taking the alternative assignment and writing a paper, Heidi treks up to the gym a couple times a week and does what she can. I find this utterly inspiring and can't wait until I can help people like Heidi inspire others as Heidi has inspired me.

2. Jess - Jess  is a student in the Keuka College DRIVE program who is developmentally disabled. When I started working with her, she would not speak to me, or talk much at all around me for that matter. I figured that was just the way it was and continued to include her in the group and ask her questions, waiting awkwardly for answers that probably weren't coming. Then, about a month into my job, I sat down at a lunch table with Jess, her boyfriend, and another work study. And here comes the good part - the turning point of sorts. Jess talks to me - like seriously, we talked about her cousin drinking mountain dew and high school musical and the cheetah girls for a good half an hour. I had to interrupt her to tell her that I had to leave to go to class. Jess was suddenly a chatterbox, apparently comfortable with me. The other work study later confided that she had been working with Jess for 4 years now and that's the most that she's ever heard her talk. Never have I been more surprised than yesterdy afternoon when I passed Jess on the sidewalk and said hi and she cheerfully returned the hello along with a playful punch in the arm. As simple and normal as this seems, I couldn't stop smiling.

Things I am currently addicted to:

1. Sporcle.com. Thank you to the optimistic pessimist for that.

2. Geiser's hot chocolate.

3. blogging.

4. MLIA

5. hulu. I've never watched so many shows.

6. Fantasy football.

7. texas holdem on facebook

Things I've learned so far in college

1. Diversity comes in many different ways.
2. Think before you get angry.
3. Not everyone should be measured on the same scale - I remember Zea saying this to our AP Lang class once and thinking, "why the heck not?" Now I understand. Just as we all have different abilities, we have different accomplishments. For me, walking half a mile is a piece of cake. For someone with a disability, walking a couple steps is an achievement. For me, getting a 70 on a test is a disaster. For some, it is a badge of honor. For me, just hitting a softball with that heavy metal bat is a feat worthy of applause. For some, it is a given.
4. Making friends and 'networking' is very important.
5. I heart hot chocolate.

Awkwardness

Yesterday, I woke up at an ungodly hour of the morning (not quite de la madrugada, but way too friggin close) to go to the breast cancer walk up at the waterloo premium outlets. I slept on the bus (which is hard to do) and when we got there, we walked around the place twice in awkward silence. Then the walk was done. (as a sidenote of sorts, they had really good bagels. They were cranberry cinammon and shaped like ribbons.) Anyway, here comes the awkward... after wasting 3 hours or so, we decide to sit on a bench until the bus would leave at 3.

So we're sitting there, and out of the blue, with no warning, my friend says, "Are you a virgin?"

And I was thinking, did she seriously just ask that so directly?

She did.

I said, "uh, what?" but she didn't get the message and just asked again. So I said, "uhm, yes. Why?"

And she goes, "just wondering."

Just wondering? Wth is this crazy wondering about my virginity? So as I'm pondering escape routes, I mumble, "you probably could have figured that out though. I'm 18, plus, I'm Catholic."

And then she gets all offended. really. What cause does she have to be offended? She goes, "don't judge me. I feel like you're judging me."

So I was like, "how am I judging you?"

And she says, "when I was 18..."

"well, that's your choice."

"so don't judge me."

"I'm not judging you."

At this point, I am frantically texting, trying to get someone to respond so I can politely ignore her and text. And guess what? She's offended by this. She raises her voice, all annoyed, and says, "You cant go 15 seconds without checking that freakin phone. You make me feel old!!"

So then she looks at her phone, and apparently has no one to text, so she calls her "crazy friend" whom she thinks has a mental disorder from being in the army. They talk for a while. I text like crazy.

She gets off the phone and stares at me. Just stares. I'm creeped out, so I say, "What?"

And she says, "Do you really think your parents were virgins when they got married?"

I cant fathom what would make someone ask this other than a scary mental illness, so I not so skillfully blow off the question and text even more frantically.

And thus, she gets more angry. "It's so annoying that you get all quiet when things get a little awkward," she says in a raised voice.

A LITTLE?

Homecoming

Homecoming was great! Got to see a lot of friends, and the football team won!
Took Heidi home with me, pretty damn sure she loved it.
Actually wish I could stay home longer - but I have to do the breast cancer walk tomorrow.
That's all for now, I'm a bit scatterbrained and a little homesick...

Party again!!

Partyin' with the friends again, and it was just like old times. I love my friends. Introduced Heidi to them. They got along great. The meshing is fantastic. Homecoming tomorrow... which is ironic because I only went 1/4 of the times I could in high school - and now I'm coming back from college to go. lol. kinda cant wait... more time with the friends and football games/ all the lovely floats.

College makes me...

1. Very resourceful- for example, right now, I put my contacts in two bottle caps filled with saline each night because I forgot my contact case at home. * I actually had a spare contact case in my desk and didn't realize for like 3 days. If only college made me less absent minded...

2. Appreciate diversity- let's face it, Canandaigua isn't exactly a multi-cultural mixing pot type place.

3. Have to pee - all I drink is bottled water and crystal light now, and way more often than I used to, so I have to pee like every couple hours. To think I used to make fun of Joanna for this. Lol.

It's freakin cold outside!!!

1. Some people need to relax. I'm a little frustrated with a very high-strung and moody person here at Keuka. I shouldn't blog while angry, but geez! Every little thing that goes wrong in your day is not the end of the world. Take a few deep breaths and dont make someone's else's day miserable too. I need to learn that not everyone wants to be happy and I should just mind my own freakin business. Sorry for trying to help.

2. Phew! I feel a lot better now. Anyway, this weekend's gonna be awesome. Bringing a college friend home, and she's gonna meet my friends from high school and then we're going to the homecoming game. Pretty much cant wait.

3. Wish my blog was more exciting.

4. Missed out on the flu shot clinic because I had a class, now I have to drive to Rochester on a tuesday evening. How suckish.

5. I think I wanna learn how to weld. modifying bikes looks amazingly fun.

"I don't think pirates say suppose"

I wish job interviews were conducted this way... the idea is that the interviewer offers a statement about themselves, and then the interviewee responds with a related fact about themselves. This way, the interview is a mutual exchange of information, with each person offering a possible connection in each statement. It would make interviews way less frightening and awkward.

And to demonstrate, Meet Meredith, blogger at http://dontweallwanttochangetheworld.blogspot.com .

A is for Allison, interviewer. M is for Meredith, interviewee. I know, obvious.

A: Ready?

M: I was born ready.

A: Okay. Here we go.

M: Should be interesting...

A: So, as an example, if I say, I am wearing blue soccer socks under my jeans now, you say...

M:Yesterday I wore socks that had little eyeglasses embroidered all over them with sandals.

A: lol. Perfect.

M: Yey!

A: I can't do the cotton eye joe.

M: I can't roll my rrrrrrrr's.

A: But you can still talk like a pirate, right?

M: I suppose... lol, I don't think pirates say suppose.

A: lol. Probably not. "Arrrrrggg!! I don't suppose you could pass the fish scampy!!!"

M: hahahaha

A: Okay, next question...uh, statement...?

M: Alright.

A: I've been told my face is blatently expressive.

M: I was told yesterday that I am the clumsiest person my roommate has ever met. And it's true.

A: I dressed up as an oompa loompa for halloween last year.

M: One year i cut a hole in a poster of a modern art and painted my face to match the piece that I had cut out and went as "modern art"

A: lol. That's awesome!

M: lol. Thanks. Am I doing this right?

A: Yes.

M: Good.

A: I wanna ride an elephant.

M: I have always wanted to go skydiving. I think it would be sooooo cool. But I'm afraid of heights.

A: I like to "snowboard" down my deck stairs on a plastic snowboard.

M: my sisters and I once took our dog sledding down our super steep hill with us. And he jumped off the sled.

A:When I get done with this, I'm gonna go sing karyokee to 70s songs with my dad and bro

M: When I get done with this, I am not going to go and sing karyokee.

A: I collect foriegn currency and postcards.

M: I collect snapple lids. (you know, when they say the interesting facts on the insides of the lids) I'm going to make them into magnets and put them on my fridge.

A: Sweet! What a cool idea.

M: Thanks.

A: I like to sing and dance when no one's watching.

M: Everyone does. If I was any good I'd sing and dance all the time.

A: I want a cute Australian guy to teach me to surf.

M:Don't we all? I wanna date a guy who's as much of an English nerd as me.

A: That could be difficult lol.

M: Haha.

A: My deodorent is frescia scented. It ends up frescia is a flower. I didn't know that.

M: Yeah, it's a flower. My perfume and soap are frescia scented. I love the smell.

A: Hmmm... that's weird.

M: Yep.

A: I have poor depth perception.

M: I am horribly clumsy, yet very graceful at ballet.

A: I actually enjoy shovelling snow.

M: I find ironing theraputic.

A: I hope my future husband can cook.

M: I'm afraid I'll never get married.

A: I'm afraid my kids will turn out just like me.

A: my favorite season is winter.

M: I don't have a favorite season. And whenever someone asks me what my favorite season is, I change my answer.

A: I've been playing soccer since five, and yet, today while passing it around, I kicked it into a tree. Twice. I said I did it on purpose.

M: I have a perfectly comftorable chair to sit on or a bed to lay on right now, and two bowl chairs out in the lounge area, but I am choosing to lay on the floor instead.

A: Antique books are boring.

M: Football is boring.

A: Other people's dogs scare me.

M: I have a pathological fear of the bark of a dog.

A: My favorite class is Anatomy and Physiology.

M: My favorite class is sociology.

A: I'm gonna be Waldo for Halloween this year.

M: I'm gonna be the elf queen from Lord of the Rings.

* This interview has been shortened and edited for content.

shout-out!

Everyone should read this story by this aspiring young writer:

http://cathryncarol.blogspot.com/2009/09/boot-camp-and-bird.html

This story is so good. I got lost in it and when it ended, I had that familiar, 'wth, I wanna see how it ends!!' feeling that a great story inspires in you. So btw Sam, when you publish a book of short stories, or a novel... whichever comes first.... I want an autographed copy. seriously.

More college

Thirsty Thursday passed without any abnormally bad incidents- I think... Don't worry, I was watching my TV shows with a friend... and now I pause to ponder the particulars of college.

1. There is a stunning lack of privacy. There is something enormously unnerving to shower and know that the only thing separating your naked body from the whole world's viewing (okay, just the other people in the bathroom) is a thin curtain. Plus, it is nearly impossible to tell which showers are occupied. We need a system people!!!!

2. Freedom rocks. And, freedom makes prof's way more interesting because they can say pretty much anything they want, and they can make their assignments more creative- though some choose to stick with the boring...

Not Dr. McKenzie though. We are doing an "ultimate research project" aka scavenger hunt where we search all over Yates County to find a tiny little statue of socrates. Correction- as of 3:00, this contest has ended, and MY TEAM WON!!!! ..."a bunch of freshmen won?!?" - yes. yes we did.*

3. Shrimp night last night was awesome. Real shrimp. Real good shrimp.


4. Went to a meeting of the college republicans (oh wait, I can't say anything bad... Kraig is a follower of this blog... jk) It was kinda cool, as there was collaboration between county republicans, a leader of the county young republicans, and our budding college republicans group. Looking forward to helping register people and 'get out the vote' - but not in a MTV, VH1, Obama way. :) The only thing was that I was way underdressed (the guys were wearing ties and the girls all had a black pants and sweater thing going on...) and that I couldn't stay for the whole meeting and probably wont be able to go to too many meetings because I have class at that time normally. Dumb classes too. :(

5. Went on a bike ride along the lake. One of the many benefits of Keuka College. It's really beautiful. All the cars kind of ruined it though- I had to move over way too much - it was like a mass migration, people leaving campus for the weekend and people coming to their little cottages on the lake for the weekend. It ends up Friday is not the best day for a bike ride.

*I am actually a sophmore transfer student, technically. All those AP classes really paid off. Although since I have to take things like Music Appreciation (bluh) and Psych 101 (sooooo boring), and English 112 in the spring, I mine as well be a freshman. Not that I'm complaining though (well, I am about the classes being so boring...) skipping my freshman year will save me thousands of dollars, and I can get out there and be an OT faster (can't wait!)

Ghost

I think there is a ghost in the bathroom by my room. I'm not talking Moaning Myrtle or anything, this ghost is very well mannered. And well manicured - it always, no matter what time of day or how many people are in the bathroom, sounds like someone is clipping their toenails. Always. Plus the faucets are always dripping eerily, but I wont blame the ghost for that...

Some notes

1. knee braces are for people who need knee support, not for people who need knee replacement.
2. I need some OT myself, I always break the stupid crayons!!!
3. Love Amiels. Best. Subs. Ever!!
4. The toilets here scare me.
5. parking sucks during the week.
6. My roommate was talking about her trip to Australia. Some day my blog will be about interesting stuff like that.
7. Someone knocked on my door and asked me if I was 21 so I could buy beer for him.

sprinkles: the sequel

I would like to make a formal apology to sprinkles. I'm so very sorry for blaming you for that ice cream disaster a couple months ago. It ends up it was the tension between you and the cone that was affecting your work. I'll keep that in mind.

See: Sprinkles post, July 18th

Day trip

Fun day today...accomplished a lot....sorta.

My day started wth remarkable lack of motivation - and a sing along.

My alarm clock went off at 7:15.
Wth was I thinking when I set that!!! What an ungodly time on a Saturday morning!!!

So I pressed snooze.

Twice.

Damn. Now it's 7:35 and i'm supposed to be meeting my friend in the lobby in like 5 minutes.

So I rush like a madwoman... carefull not to wake my roommate, and get to the lobby. And guess who's not there. The friend I was hurrying up for so she wouldn't have to wait.

Long story short, I read Glamour Magazine for a good ten minutes (I almost died. lol.) before she finally strolls into the lobby. strolls. Slowly. I hurried my freakin butt up, and she strolls. Unfortunately, I couldn't yell at her, because she was driving. (That's my goal for next summer - buy a car.) So we drive off into the entrails of Yates County and off to the autism walk at MCC. Long drive. We sang along to the radio the entire way. It was hysterical. it's great to have made such a good friend that we can sing in the car together without fear of hurting the other's ears.

So an hour and a half of horses and buggys, and finally the thruway, later, we arrive at MCC to see a massive swarm of people. Actually, more a gaggle. Or maybe a pod... flock? Ayway, definately more than a pack... maybe a pride? Anyway, we get to the voluteer tent, and no one can tell us where to go. We got big green buttons though. So finally, like 20 mins later, standing there like idiots in the drizzling rain, someone says, "hey, the other keuka girls are over there." Gee, thanks. Couldn't have just turned and pointed half an hour ago?! So we went and sat around for a couple hours. Glad our time was put to good use. I could have been sleeping. The most work we did the first three hours was put up cones.

But clean-up we were busy, so it was all good. I got to drive one of those dollies you use to move heavy stuff. Andby drive I mean push and then jump on. My friend called me a five year old. I agreed.

Anyway, when that was over, we went to a bargain store across the street. I bought popcorn. Cheap popcorn. Then we went to Amiels - best sub shop ever. Their bread is amazing.

On the drive back we got lost, so we got off at the Farmington exit and visited my house.

Overall a very productive trip.

More Random Details

1. That girl in the bathroom was either really drunk or really angry. I mean, what could the paper towel dispenser possibly have done to her to deserve being beaten and abused so violently? And seriously, banging on the stall, not cool. I almost peed my pants... except for the fact that I was sitting on the toilet. :)

2. I got beat at stress today. I know, sad... I am fabulous at stress. I know, I know, please, your outpouring of sympathy is so kind...please stop sobbing! lol jk. Seriously though, I wanna go back to playing against Joanna and Meredith! They never beat me!!

Homecoming

Came home for the weekend... and found that there's no place for me.

My room has been taken over by my little sister. I actually went to get underwear today, and found hers there. Oh yeah. Gotta do my laundry.

She's been waiting all day to kick me out of her (my!) room. What a freakin great idea.

I have nowhere to go. I want to be alone and be on my computer, because my family (ANDREW!!) is being mostly annoying right now. So guess what? I'm in the bathroom. Yup. I am blogging from the floor of my bathroom. And not for any of the more predictable reasons...

So, that homesickness has turned into the stark realization that for the next few years... I WILL NEVER BE ALONE!

Can't wait to have my own room again. Cannot freakin wait!!

expanding my horizons...

Joined adventure club.
My closest college friends are all 21 and over. I guess that makes me very mature... or very entertaining.
Met some Chinese students. My favorite is Poh-tay-toh. That's what she tells us to call her. She tried to teach me her Chinese name. My mouth doesn't move like that.
I learned how to say hello, goodbye, thank you, and one two three in chinese.

more to come. G2g.

Random Details

1. One of the library people is freakin insane. She takes her job way too seriously. They're just books lady!!! Don't have a stroke about it!!! I can still hear her freakin out about "desensitizing the book" and then frantically hunting and pecking and murdering that poor keyboard. Dude, I thought she was gonna poke a hole in the keyboard!

2. I color-coded my schedule. I'm officially a giant nerd. A very, very busy nerd. Freetime has become a luxury from about 8 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. Guess that's what it will be like to have a nine-to-five. Exausting.

3. I do not appreciate music. At all. No, I cannot identify that instrument by it's plucky sound and strange tone. Wth is a harpsichord? Why should I care!?!?!

4. I do appreciate the game of can jam. Love it.

5. I'm reading a book about gangsters.

6. Enjoying my work study. It involves playing basketball, going to lunch, and going to an uber interesting class with developmentally disabled students. Seriously, best job on campus. I get paid to play basketball. I'm pretty sure that makes me a professional bball player. :) Then again, that would also make me a professional eater. lol.

7. I've run out of random details. And pants. Time to do some laundry. Luckily, I can bring it home to my mommy tonight!

Bucket List

Crossed something off my bucket list today.

Ride in a hot air balloon.

check.

used the strikethrough feature on word07. Made me feel very accomplished.

By the way, it was awesome. A bird flew by. At the same level. Great view of beautiful Keuka Lake. I felt like my hair was on fire though... and that basket was taller than I thought... hard to get into. my friend almost rolled in. lol. So other than burning my face off (jk) it was freakin amazing.

Rather than go on about this for years, I thought it would be more interesting to list some of the other things on my bucket list -

it has 52 items. 6 and 1/5 of them have been completed.

Here are some of the highlights:

Ride an elephant.
Ride each of the 6 largest ferris wheels in the world. (I promised my sis she could come with me on the london eye, so that's our thing now.)
Go to a cheese rolling festival.
Go on a gameshow.

Just a few examples to emphasize my quirky personality.

Milestone!!

OMG!! I have four followers!! It's not just Meredith anymore!! :) No offense Meredith.

Keuka's Mentor program/ orientation part 1

I apologize in advance. My laptop is being kinda sucky and apparently some keys don't function all the time... so excuse the missing letters.

Hectic week so far... my first week of college (ooh, ahhh! - the magician had us saying that last night...). So, I arrived with all my crap, unloaded it, put it away (I know, definately not the exciting part) and then my parents left. And thus began my college life.

While I was unpacking, my 'mentor' walked in and introduced herself as Katie Campbell and gave me a nice little nametag. Anyway, then I read through my little blue orientation folder- which had candy!!!- and saw that my mentor's name was Jamie Caldwell. Uh oh. Confusion ensues. My nametag and folder say different 'orientation letters'. More confusion ensued.

Anyway, it ended up that I was in a transfer group because I had enough credits from all the AP classes I took to transfer as a sophmore, so right off the bat... different group than I thought. Only walked in circles for a little while...

So I get there, to my group, and everyone is... well... old. I think the youngest was 21. Other than me of course - tender young age of 18! Almost everyone in the group had kids. Yes, children!! And one of their children graduated with me. Weird. I was like, "crap, how am I gonna make friends!!" But it was fine. They are all nice people, and two of them, Heidi and Jess, are my Keuka college best friends.

All's good. The orientation really helped me get acquainted with the school and he people.

More to come.

Going off to college tomorrow

You never know how much stuff you have until you have to pack it and move out. I packed for college yesterday... well, I'm mostly done... and I just can't figure out how I got all this stuff. It reminds me of George Carlin's skit about stuff... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac . Anyway... tomorrow's the day!

St. Mary's Festival and the twlight zone

Went to the St. Mary's festival yesterday, and Olivia and I went on all of the rides. I was much fun. Then we had candy apples. yum.

Then I went to Marisa's, had worms and dirt and a bonfire, and learned how to speak some polish.

Just the important stuff, like yes (tak), no (nyeh), and I have to pee (mooshay shoe shoe).

Then, on my drive home, all the lights were yellow in canandaigua. Hence the aura of twilight zone.

Annoying drivers

Don't flash your lights at me when I'm driving and it's dark out because you make me think you're telling me to turn off my brights, which I don't know how to turn on in the first place, and that makes me fiddle with my lights and that makes me a not so safe and seriously confusing driver and makes me look like a fool to my passengers and when i keep turning off my lights thinking I'm being courteous and not blinding you, I actually cant see and the I have to put them back on right after you pass and then I look crazy and ADD to the next oncoming driver, who will invariably flash his lights at me and start the whole process again.

College in 5 days

Going off to college in 5 days... today I took down all the stuff on my walls (posters, postcards, etc.) and now my room looks sterile and uninhabited. I can see why I covered the walls with so much stuff, the paint job in this room is crummy at best. My mom and I painted it - bright blue with yellow stars, and inexplicably, clouds - probably about 7 or 8 years ago. It used to be boring white with a pine tree or lamb border... can't remember which... the lady who owned the house before us was crazy about stenciling things all over the place.

Anyway, I think the paint job should be categorized as a fail... but hey, it shows character. My sister is either gonna repaint it or decorate over the flaws like I did when she moves her stuff in here... (next week! Gasp!). I'm feeling homesick already.

I should probably start packing and buying all that last minute stuff...

Great couple days

Since we're all going off to college within the next week or so, my friends and I have been partying like... well, like party animals. We've hung out in Jess's basement and played singstar and guitar hero like every day of the week (good luck in college Jess! Her first day is tomorrow. Look out Naz, here comes Happy Feet! lol.), going to baker, the amazing maize maze, Marisa's house, Mary's house, my house for a while... Basically, we've been enjoying our last few days of freedom before we have to kick it into gear.

Okay, another thing that brightened my week was a call from my advisor. I officially obtained sophmore standing. 39 credits will do that for you.

Got my schedule, and I'm very happy with it. I do have an 8 am class on tuesdays and thursdays though...

Anyway, more to come as college quickly approaches.

Complaining about the dentist.

I hate the dentist. I hate going there. I dread it.

Especially when you wake up 5 mins before your appt. I almost fell asleep in the chair... except for the fact that some lady had her hands in my mouth and was scraping my teeth! Minor details...

Luckily, my dentist is like 2 mins away... so I was only a little late. I actually got a semi-interesting dental hygenist this time (if that's at all possible... ) Her stories were actually okay and kinda funny... and lo and behold... may I have a drum roll please... She actually took her hands out of my mouth when she asked me questions! Plus I got to tell my bear story, and let's face it, I love to tell stories (that's what the blog is for).

Oh, and on a bit of a tangent, when I was laying in that chair, staring at the bright light and making jokes in my head... 'don't go into the lllliiiiiiiiiiigggghhhtttttttt!!!' and I thought, why would anyone aspire to be a dental hygenist? They must get paid a freakin' fortune. I mean, that seems like the worst job ever! Is it something they aspire to as a small child... kinda like Dennis on Rudolph... are they really awkward kids who always want to stick their hands in people's mouths and then later are like, 'hey, I can do that as a job!?!?'

Anyway, they told me that my gums were puffy (?) and to floss more. K, whatever, I hear that every year, and then do it for the next week or so, until I forget again and move on.... I think my flossing habits are fine.

So then I walked home through the park, and it was very nice. This dude was mowing the entire place - I felt sorry for him, but I was mostly trying not to get run over by him.

My Favorite Roller Coasters

Here are my two favorite roller coasters - I just couldn't pick one. Both are heart-pounding, adrenaline pumping, out and back roller coasters that both amaze and nauseate with a flurry of loops, corkscrews, and impossible air time.

Millennium Force - Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

My favorite features of Roller coasters are inversions and air time. Millennium Force has plenty of both. This coaster provides the most weightlessness (air time) of any coaster I've been on. It's first drop is really freakin' scary, as it is one of the tallest in the world (310 feet), and also one of the fastest (98 mph).

Fahrenheit - Hersheypark (yes, they make it all one word), Hershey, Pennsylvania

This coaster actually has the steepest first drop in the world (97 degrees). Riding this coaster in the front seat and in the dark is one of the most thrilling experiences you'll ever have. This coaster straps you in and sits you vertically, like a space shuttle, until it suddenly blasts you upward, surprising everyone (and producing some colorful language). Then on the other side, you plunge 121 feet, at a 97 degree angle. Then you go 58 mph for 85 seconds through an 107 ft inverted loop, inverted corkscrew roll, cobra element, and airborne inverted s-roll. It's absolutely amazing.

Amazing Maize Maze - and generally acting like 5 yr olds

Today we went to the amazing maize maze in Macedon. It was freakin' awesome.
It was "Boomerang weekend, so we bought tickets to the maze and "back 40" - code for children's area- and got a free ticket to come back in the fall. Sweetness.

First of all, planning the trip was annoying... I'm too ADD for it and people don't read messages carefully (Meredith!). But hey, it happened, and it was fun.

Jess, Joanna and I got through the maze in less than an hour, but unfortunately Mack and Richard beat us by about 2 minutes. Btw, Jess is like the corn whisperer or something... She has a crazy awesome innate sense of direction which I envy.

Then we kinda snuck onto the back 40 when the guy was closing up, and Richard and I raced these tiny 'quadricycles' that were built for threee year olds and super tiny. It was amazingly fun and probably hilarious to watch.

Then we went on the jumping pillow, which was awesome. Less bouncy than a trampoline, but longer so you can run across it and slide on the ends.

After that we had ice cream and then went to Jess's house to play guitar hero and singstar. That was awesome fun and hilariously funny... picture Richard singing wake me up inside by evanescence, me singing Big girls don't dry by fergie, and Jess and Joanna singing Jenny from the block by JLo. Absolutely gut-bustingly hilarious.

Overall, great day. I feel like getting a blog has helped me because it's made me go out and do more so that I have something to blog about. I think making your life something to blog about is a worthy and admirable goal.

Roseland

Went to Roseland Waterpark today with the boys - my dad and brothers- and saw a great example of how not to treat your kids, a couple cute lifeguards, some people who should not wear bathing suits, and a really curious little kid who could not walk in a straight line.

1. Dear angry mean lady,
Hope I just saw you at a bad time. But I don't think so. If you're that mean to your kid in a waterpark, which is supposed to be all about fun, I can't imagine what you're like at home. I feel bad for your kids and hope they grow up to be nice in spite of you.

2. What more needs to be said about cute lifeguards? Definately the highlight of my trip. Except when I almost fell over in front of one of the cute, shirtless ones.

3. I know this is slightly rude, but it's true. Some people really need to wear less revaling clothing. Yes, I know it's a waterpark, but some people can't pull off a bikini. I'm not comfortable in a bikini. People need to cover up and have some modesty. Please, lay off the skimpy bikinis.

4. And now for my specialty- comic relief. While I was walking to the little kids splash place -which my brothers enjoyed a little too much, considering they are 9 and 15 years old - I saw this little kid who was walking like the drunkest person you've ever seen. Seriously, she was zig zagging all over the place, drifting through the crowd and constantly staring at everything in the park, like she couldn't stand to miss any little piece of grass, unfamiliar person, or colorful attraction. Seriously curious and unbelievably observant.

Vick to the Eagles!?

The Eagles - my favorite team, just signed Michael Vick to a one year deal. I'm so excited! He make the eagles so much less predictable... and they got him for like dirt cheap. I'm actually unreasonably excited.

Yeah, I know, the guy tortured dogs. But as awful as that is and always will be, I'm really glad he got his second chance with the eagles. (Believe me, I'm not excited for him, but for my team!!) Honestly people, football is a GAME. I think that's what everyone keeps forgetting. It's a game, and the point is to win. Vick will help the Eagles win.

Party!

We had a awesome surprise going away party for Mary from 5 until 12:30. She had no clue, even though I thought I gave it away, because I was the one who had to bring her and I kept having to delay...traffic on main street made me delay more than intended - they're repaving that road again. (In RI, they never repair roads, there are potholes everywhere, and the manhole covers stick up in the middle of the road. then again, they pay way less taxes...) So the party was a major success. Mary sniffled a little when we gave her the scrapbook, and the ultimate chocolate cake and ice cream cake were awesome (one more bite!!). Then we played scene it, outburst, and taboo all night. Then we left, and I almost ran over a possom on the way home, and had mucho trouble defrosting my windshield. The end.

My favorite websites to waste time on

According to John Lennon, "time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted."

Well, here are my top 5 websites for not wasting time.

1. Facebook.com
The ultimate way to waste time. Especially if you have something crucially important to do, like homework. Seriously, I could spend days on facebook. They even have games!

2. Stumbleupon.com
This is an awesome way to Holy cow! a bird just landed on the screen of my window. like the vertical screen! Spidey bird, spidey bird... lose a couple hours discovering random sites on the internet. If you've never tried it, stumbleupon lets you "stumble" to random websites and then you give them a thumbs up or thumbs down, and thus it figures out what you like and brings you more of that. You could find anything from an interactive autopsy to hysterical "motivational" posters. http://www.stumbleupon.com/s/#8XXJ5S/villageofjoy.com/25-motivational-posters//topic:Humor

3. Listverse.com
Yup. It's a website devoted to lists. and it's freakin' amazing. Want a list of the best soccer players never to play in a world cup? freaky science facts? Like that lightning can be fossilized... http://listverse.com/2009/08/04/15-fascinating-lesser-known-science-facts/ How about bizzare cases of mass hysteria? http://listverse.com/2009/08/07/another-10-bizarre-cases-of-mass-hysteria/ What more needs to be said? This website could keep an ADD person like me occupied for hours.

4. Goodreads.com
A site about books for a nerd like me. Or a librarian...

5. Pandora.com
A website where you create a radio station based solely on music you like.

Rhode Island review, with pics

Time to relive my wonderful Rhode Island vacation. Above is the wonderfully quaint little cottage I stayed in for the first week. Here's what was in back of this house...

Yes indeed. That is the ocean. In the backyard of the house. How sweet is that!?! We saw lots of surfers out there, but never swam there ourselves because it was too rocky. A breathtaking view nonetheless though.











This, to the right, is the Point Judith lighthouse. A stunning sight to see from our deck, regardless of its obsolete-ness. Apparently it was blocked off by Homeland Security. That according to my teenaged brother.



I burned like a lobster on this trip, but at least I got rid of my farmers tan! Later my skin started peeling, and along with the bug bites I got at Meg's Gramma (hereafter known as Deedo)'s house, I looked like I had leprosy. That, along with a healthy pounding from the ocean, produced quotes such as

"My freakin' leprosy hurts"

And other equally wise sounding comments. After my week with my family was done, I met up with Meg, Haley and Mary, and stayed another 5 days. Here we went in the ocean, Mary lost a frisbee (among other things) in the ocean, Deedo's dock shook and then collapsed like the Tacoma Narrows when the 10 pound Meg ran across it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxTZ446tbzE

If you haven't noticed, I'm prone to exxageration. We were never in any real danger (I know you were worried!) We were above about 3 feet of water. Anyway, Meg had to rescue the three of us that were stranded with a little inner tube -we really did not want to get wet (except Haley, who was to the point of dropping her pants and swimming to shore when Meg got back).

We also went to a candy store, mini golfing, and sightseeing. We played a lot of games. Overall, the trip can be summed up in one word. AWESOME.

I'll leave you with a few words of wisdom from the trip:

"You can ride a whole bunch of birds if you tie them together. Seagull?
Seagull!! The seagulls like carried the peach through the arctic. It can carry me!!" ~Mary

Strange signage in other states.

One of the few things NY has going for it seems to be its relatively normal signage. Or maybe I'm just used to it.

For example, Pennsylvania decided to step up their game and help promote safe driving habits by posting slightly alarming signs on their thoroughfares and turnpike saying things such as...

"High DUI area" and "High acccident area"

That'll make you drive slower... or scare you right out of the state.
My personal favorite was... "Buckle up, next million miles" lol. Someone thought they were being funny. lol.

Also, Pennsylvanians are so un-creative with their names. Everything ends in a -ton or -ville. how boring. We've got Canandaigua and other Native American names, and RI has crazy native american names like Misquamicut and Narragansett.

Sounds like Pennsylvania needs some Indians.

Dollar menus

I love dollar menus. Why? Because I'm cheap. The only problem with dollar menus is that milkshakes are never on the dollar menu. Milkshakes should be on the dollar menu. Why should my milkshake cost more than my chicken sandwhich!?!

Kayaking

As awesome as the ocean was, we decided to take a break from it to heal our sunburns - I looked like a lobster for the first couple days, then I looked like I had leprosy when it started healing.

Anyway, we decided to go kayaking. It's a wonderful outdoor activity. Except in some cases.

When we arrived at the small kayak rental place on Narrow River, we rented two double kayaks and then hopped right in (after some sunscreen of course). As my father and brothers paddled out, we laughed, because they were going sideways. haha, us girls could do way better. not.

The rental guy observed that that's why double kayaks are called 'divorce boats' and then pushed us off into the river. And then karma killed us.

We zig-zagged like the ball in a pinball machine, unable to go straight ahead for anything, probably because of our bad rhythm. The guy had told us to stay near the edges of the river because there we sandbars and shallow spots we might get stuck on in the middle, and guess what, we did.

Unable to follow his wise advice, we beached ourselves at every possible time (accidentally of course). We even got stuck one time... stranded on this sandbar... so I got out to un-beach us, and well... things went downhill from there. I got out and pushed them off, but that was not nearly the hardest part. Then I had to get back in the boat, which was really difficult considering that they were moving away and NOT COMING BACK FOR ME and I was stuck in the freakin' knee deep mud. Long story short, I left my crocs there, buried in about a foot and a half of mud. Hope the fishies enjoy them.

When we got to the end of the river -where the river met the ocean- we stopped at a beach (on purpose!!) and swam to a little sandbar that made it look like you were walking on water. Then my dad and I went ocean kayaking, which was freakin' amazing! Even capsizing was fun!

And thus our trip ended, our kayak zig-zagging into the sunset, only me paddling because my mom got tired. And me sans shoes.

Vacation car ride

Great day at the beach. Waves in Rhode Island are absolutely amazingly huge. Here's my monologue from the car ride. Sorry, I was bored.

First, a minor gato muerto in the road...we thought Matthew had chicken pox. The doctor told us that they were just a ton of bug bites. Sure. Apparently, because he got the vaccination as a lucky little kid, they’re hesitant to diagnose chicken pox. This little incident reminded me of my own chicken pox experience, which was, predictably, miserable. I got the chicken pox from my lovely brother Andrew when I was 8 and my parents were in Italy. I was left to suffer through itchiness and oatmeal baths with my worry-wart grandmother, and after all that, they didn’t even know if they were the real chicken pox. Real? I wasn’t aware there were fake ones. Well, anyway, I had to have a blood test, and yes, they were the real deal. A wonderful specimen of the absolutely fantastic virus we call chicken pox.

Okay, back to vacation...Matthew’s chicken pox scare averted, or so we think, we packed our bags – overpacked, of course – and left for our vacation destination.
We merged onto the Massachusetts Turnpike; crossed over the Hudson River on an old baby blue bridge, on our way to the tiny little state of Rhode Island. Apparently, normal radio stations cut out like ten miles from Farmington, especially when travelling east.
Luckily, we passed all the road work sites when it was still de la madrugada, so there were minimal delays there. As always, my brother was way too talkative. The problem with being up so early, well, one of the many problems with being up so early, is that then you get hungry about an hour later, and no one wants to eat at 5:30 in the morning.

The car ride actually wasn't all that bad, except when Andrew decided that he needs to narrate his music selections, ‘like a real DJ’. We almost had a 'fight fight fight' when he turned on that stupid AC/DC song.

Anyway, then we stopped for breakfast at this place that I think was worse than Keuka's cafeteria. It was like semi-self-serve, and the service was really fast. Food wasn't bad...

So we arrived, and our house is a cute little place - and believe me when I say small (there are like 4 rooms) - it has an awesome little garden, and is RIGHT on the ocean. The view is absolutely amazing. We can see sailboats all the time, and this awesome little lighthouse in the distance. I'll put up a picture if I can.

Well, more to come... Rhode Island is awesome!!

Beckham booed before return to MLS Galaxy

Poor David Beckham. Famous English soccer star. Unbelievably rich. And yet, he still gets booed in America.

Good. He deserves it. Beckham came to the U.S. to increase the popularity of his sport here. He failed miserably. He didn't play that well (especially when you consider he is one of the top midfielders in the world), had a falling out with his teammate, and my favorite player, Landon Donovan, and then left for Italy, to play for one of my favorite Serie A clubs, AC Milan. So much for his commitment to promoting soccer in the United States. He missed the first half of the MLS season to finish up with AC Milan. All he's been worried about are his chances to make England's roster for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He believes he needs to be playing at "a European level" in order to accomplish this. Thanks.

There's also a rumor that he's working on a deal with another European team, or looking for another 6 month loan, at the least. I say good riddance. Go back to Europe.

Soccer is becoming more popular in the United States, no thanks to Beckham's half-hearted 'help'.

100

Abby Wambach just scored her 100th goal- in Rochester!!!!

Ironically, this is also where Mia Hamm scored her 100th.

Soccertown USA!!!!

Sprinkles

Yes, sprinkles. I'm gonna rant about sprinkles.

Today my family and I biked part of the Erie Canal, and part of that trip is always stopping at Abbotts, which is right on the canal. So anyway, I go in and look at the flavors, and none of them are really jumping out at me. So I'm contemplating this, deeply contemplating this... like seriously thinking really hard about it, and I see this girl walk out with ice cream that is covered in sprinkles - and I mean seriously covered, like drenched, like, there may not have been ice cream under there covered. Well, I see that and I think, hmmm, I haven't had ice cream with sprinkles in a long time. So I order chocolate custard with rainbow sprinkles.

And as soon as I get it, I remember why I never get sprinkles. They're just so freakin inconvienient. I mean, they're blocking the ice cream for pete's sake. And they just keep falling off the cone like Niagara Falls as I walk out. I feel like little Hansel and Gretel leaving a rainbow sprinkle trail all the way to the bench. And then when I get there, I'm so worried about not letting my ice cream drip everywhere (I think the sprinkles weigh it down) that a stuck my thumb through the cone. yup. Broke a hole right through. I'm that talented. My mom goes, "good thing I didn't name you Grace!" and I mumble back my usual retort, "that would have been mean" between frantic licks. By now my ice cream cone is like a train wreck... it's got a thumb sized hole in it, stuff it falling off it everywhere, I probably look like a four year old with chocolate ice cream all over my face, and suddenly, we're passing around our cones. "Who wants to try coffee toffee" and "want some black rasberry." Isn't it obvious that my ice cream cone is a disaster zone? So then of course, my brother comes in for a lick and almost topples the whole percarious structure, and there's ice cream all over my hand because of that thumb-shaped hole in the side of the cone. Now I realize the wisdom in my mother's strategy of grabbing like a million napkins.

So I'm eating this ice cream cone, and there are like three solid layers of sprinkles until you get to the actual ice cream, which by now I've even forgotten is chocolate. And I'm not really enjoying it. First, sprinkles don't taste good. Especially not a mouthful of sprinkles by themselves. Then, centuries later, when I finally dig and tunnel my way through the sprinkle covered mountain that is my uber melty ice cream disaster, all that's left is chocolate. Plain chocolate ice cream is boring! Plus, by the time I'm to the point where my ice cream cone is manageable, everyone's done. Apparently, my disaster relief effort took longer than I thought. Darn.

So yeah, that's my sprinkle rant. stupid sprinkles.